Up, close and magical..
By Anand Holla for the Gulf Times
There’s a new illusionist in town and he is out to dazzle you. From Spain’s tourist haven Benidorm in Alicante, illusionist Javier Saba recently moved to Doha and is already a hit in the city’s events and party circuit.
Ripe with 12 years of experience performing cool, close-up magic (also called micromagic, it’s performed with small objects in an intimate setting) all across Europe and Spain, Saba is now testing Doha’s waters to launch his stint in the Middle East.
“All the tricks I pull off are stunning,” Saba says, without mincing words, “If I realise that even one of the tricks I do is not good enough for someone, I won’t perform it again. You must be awesome in performing every trick and only then can you make people see the impossible.”
Sometime in 2002, Saba’s mind embraced magic. “I had a magician friend who always tried out his tricks on me and my friends, until one day he did something that impressed me beyond limits and made me want to learn magic,” Saba recalls. That ruse was what is popularly known as the Voodoo ash trick — a card trick that ends with ashes forming the chosen card’s number and shape on one’s arm…
For Young Offenders, a New Confidence Game…
By John Leland for the New York Times…
At the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn, shrill buzzers announce the movement of sliding doors, and visitors leave all metal objects in lockers by the entrance. The residents are as young as 10 years old, awaiting trial on charges ranging from trespassing to murder.
Once a week, David Roth and Ricky Smith teach them how to be better deceivers.
Mr. Roth, 62, is a professional magician who has performed coin tricks on David Letterman’s show. At Crossroads, where coins are considered a potential weapon, he works strictly with cards.
“Watch and learn,” Mr. Roth told a small group of boys the other day, as he placed a deck of cards on a wooden game table.
Louis Watts, the facility’s executive director, interrupted to address one of the students. “Pull your pants up,” he said…
Penn & Teller perform for Prince Charles at Windsor Castle..
Las Vegas headliners Penn & Teller were welcomed to Windsor Castle on Monday by Prince Charles. Penn Jillette and Teller were invited to dinner and to perform for His Royal Highness in an evening benefiting his charities in celebration of his 40th year as a member of Britain’ esteemed Magic Circle.
Penn & Teller performed their version of the Cups and Balls, which was the trick Prince Charles performed 40 years ago to gain membership in the Magic Circle. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker was a guest at Penn and Teller’s table. Penn and Teller return to The Rio on June 28 after a two-week sold-out tour of the United Kingdom. At right are Emily Jillette and Glenn Alai, Penn & Teller’s manager. By NORM CLARKE for the
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL..