Magicians still casting spells across Canada and the world..
By Allan Maki for the Globe and Mail..
As curio shops go, Brent Smith’s Vanishing Rabbit is all things magical. Attached to the ceiling is a series of old billboards advertising the greats through the ages – Houdini, Sorcar, Mandrake and a young Doug Henning as Chou Chou (pronounced Shoe Shoe), the clown who actually sold shoes for a living.
Inside Mr. Smith’s store, a creepy-looking Charlie McCarthy puppet sits above display cases filled with easy-to-perform tricks and novelties, including the ever-popular Fart Extinguisher.
“It’s a big hit with the kids,” Mr. Smith says as he emerges from behind a counter holding a deck of Svengali playing cards. “I sell a lot of cards, too. Magic is really hot right now.”
Magic isn’t just hot: It is a bubbling cauldron of showy illusionists, polished prestidigitators and expert sleight-of-hand artists. Turn on the TV and out pop the master tricksters – Dynamo, known as Magician Impossible; David Blaine, street magician/endurance artist; and Criss Angel Mindfreak, who can lop off the arm of a willing volunteer using hypnosis and a power saw. Viewer discretion is advised.
Watch a Guy in a Dragon Suit Charm the ‘America’s Got Talent’ Judges..
Britain’s Got Talent 2015: Jamie Raven divides Twitter as fans expose mind-boggling magic trick..
Jamie Raven magicked himself into the final of Britain’s Got Talent after winning the public vote in Wednesday night’s semi, but not everyone has been left impressed with his wizardry.
The magician asked 52 members of the live audience to think of an object and write the word down on a piece of paper. He then asked Alesha Dixon to shout ‘stop’ as he shuffled the pack of answers, before giving each judge a word.
Jamie proceeded to conjure up the objects from nothing – a goldfish for David Walliams, an ice cube for Alesha, a shoe for Simon Cowell and a helicopter for Amanda Holden (yes, really).
However, some viewers began pointing out flaws in Jamie’s trick, noting that he had taken off his shoe before Simon had said the word so must have known what it was beforehand.
The most beady-eyed Twitter users took screenshots of Jamie slipping off his shoe while working on Alesha’s ice. The cameraman and your TV’s rewind button have a lot to answer for. So does the person in the audience who wrote ‘helicopter’ but failed to make themselves known when asked by Simon.
“How do you think Jamie Raven conjured up a goldfish and a helicopter? Answer – He knew what was coming. Not magic, pure bluster #BGT”