Talk about living the dream. Magician Nate Staniforth was already on his way to breaking big when he appeared on Crash Course 2 performing an awesome ambitious card routine. (Editor’s note: Seeing his hands shake cured me over worries about my own hand shakes.)

The Daily Iowan reported on Staniforth’s upcoming performance Friday at the University of Iowa, and found out that street magic legend David Blaine called him up about one of his illusions.

“I had just got done doing a show, and I get this phone call from some weird number,” Staniforth said. “And it turned out to be David Blaine. At first I thought it was one of my friends messing with me, but it really was him telling me that he wanted to use one of my illusions for his upcoming special. He was one of my heroes growing up, so it was quite an experience.”

Killer. One of Nate’s effects could be part of what’s rumored to be Blaine’s last stunt special.

Friday’s show is also a keystone portion of an upcoming documentary he’s been producing. A 12-person crew has followed him on tour for the last eight months.

Also, check out the awesome pictures of Staniforth taken by the Iowan’s Kathleen Willem.

One of the debates we always hear people ask about is about who’s better: David Blaine or Criss Angel? Even though the two magicians haven’t locked themselves into any public rivalry, fans easily join one of the two sides.

Back in the vaudeville age, there was a similar battle: Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston. Where Blaine and Angel never acknowledge any sort of battle, Houdini and Thurston competed openly.

A new book argues that, even though history has mainly forgotten him, Thurston was the victor.

Legendary illusion creator Jim Steinmeyer writes at length about Thurston in his new book, “The Last Greatest Magician in the World.” The book gives a detailed look into the illusionist’s life and career, from his con-man and carnival beginnings to his storied performances. According to Kenneth Sullivan of the Wall St. Journal, Steinmeyer also does a wonderful job at describing what a magician’s life was like back in that golden age. You think magician’s have rivarlies now? Nothing like it was back then.

But the battle with Houdini takes center stage. As Sullivan wrote, it’s clear Steinmeyer thinks Houdini won. Because, as he states in this video, Houdini didn’t really seek to be a magician. Though Houdini succeeded at becoming a legend and household name, it wasn’t for his career as a performing magician. Thurston had that covered, with a fantastic illusion show that packed more and more into each repeat performance.

That thought puts an interesting twist on the Blaine vs. Angel debate, doesn’t it?

Judging from a breakdown by Jane Murphy on TV Squad, you might think so. She laments that David Copperfield, David Blaine and Criss Angel didn’t have TV specials this year. We agree about Copperfield, but Angel had season six of Mindfreak and Blaine had two new specials (although he didn’t film any new magic).

While Murphy didn’t catch those two things, she did catch a lot of great magic moments on the flat panel in 2010. Some things that we would add to her list if we were writing it:

• Magicians finally got some respectful treatment on America’s Got Talent. The battle between Murray SawChuck, Michael Grasso, Dan Sperry and Antonio Restivo was classic, and how they competed against non-magical acts was even better.
• David Letterman, Craig Ferguson and others followed Ellen DeGeneres’ lead and put more close-up magicians on their shows with special weeks. Ellen also upped her favorable treatment with her own Magic Week.
• And let’s not forget how magicians have spread out to take on TV roles outside of simple magic shows. Lance Burton was on “Cash Cab,” Justin Kredible hosted “Cupcake Wars,” Angel was a guest star on “Rules of Engagement” and featured on “Cribs” and Blaine was featured on “Iconoclasts.”

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a new David Blaine special, much less two. While these two shows, scheduled to air Sunday on The Travel Channel don’t promise new footage, they do promise unseen footage in a documentary style:

• 8 p.m.: “David Blaine: Beautiful Struggle.” This show promises a glimpse into the inspiration behind David Blaine’s stunts and feats of endurance. According to a post on his Facebook fan page, this special has been called the best of all of them, because it shares a deeper, more personal look at the man. Maybe we magicians will finally get a good answer to the question, “Why do you do the stunts instead of the magic?”
• 9 p.m.: “David Blaine: Discover Magic.” This is the one we REALLY want to see — it’s a collection of David Blaine’s magic through the years, including the first tape he shot. It documents Blaine’s evolution as a magician, including his first children’s parties, his teen years and independently shooting the TV special that redefined street magic and — let’s be honest, here — opened the door for a new, powerful kind of close-up magic.

The two new shows will be preceded by a marathon of all his other magic specials. Here’s the teaser:

We’re going to pre-emptively snuff a spark before an issue becomes a fire — now that David Blaine is involved, this issue is likely to get debates going on magic forums worldwide.

Surely, you’ve seen the Mindfreak magic kits. Available from the ads on TV and from nationwide retailers, the kits feature a slew of street magic effects for beginners, intermediates and the “most advanced mystifier,” including several we are all familiar with. You can get “platinum” and “ultimate” kits — some include one of Angel’s levitations, and the kits also come with instructional DVDs.

Also causing some controversy is this kit featuring Ed Alonzo. Some, including About.com’s respected resident magician Wayne Kawamoto, have argued that the kit’s head twister is so poorly made that it is tantamount to exposure. Roland Henning, the chief of Weekly Magic Failure, goes a step further and calls Alonzo a sell out. (Yeah, Roland gets angry when we don’t send him free cards, but we still like him and his site.)

Now David Blaine is getting involved. MagicTimes.com in September spread the news that the street magic legend is releasing three new gaff decks. The decks are Blaine’s take on a stripper, Svengali and marked deck, but the key words in the story: “They are U.S. Playing Card Co. products that are being released to the general public.” Blaine has a publicity tour planned to talk about the decks, and they should be available sometime after Oct. 31 wherever Bicycle cards are sold.

So is the world falling apart for magicians? Does the appearance of magic’s biggest current stars on products meant for the masses mean we will have no secrets left? Are Blaine, Angel and Alonzo SELL-OUTS?

Chill. Take a deep breath, practice your pass. Take these two bullet points, and call us in the morning:

• All these kits appear to be filled with gimmicked magic tricks that have been in mass markets for ages. Take that Mindfreak kit: From the sales page, it looks like he’s put his presentational feel on effects that my stepkid already has. The serious secrets of sleight of hand appear to remain intact.
• But even if one of those 500 Mindfreaks happens to be a solid technique for a pass, remember: People like to watch US, not magic tricks. Even though these gimmicked decks have been available in mass markets, we know pros who still kill with them because they put the work, effort and practice into a truly convincing performance. The same goes for sleight of hand.

This won’t be the last time a magician makes it big enough to use his image to market magic products. Magic has been just fine ever since. So get out there and perform already. That’s what people want to see.