Browsed by
Tag: magic news

Magic-Trick Apps to Unleash Your Inner David Blaine..

Magic-Trick Apps to Unleash Your Inner David Blaine..

LIKE MANY BOYS, I was obsessed with magic as a 12-year-old. I was that kid who would make your quarter vanish, then pull it from the crook of your elbow. Guests who came over to my family’s house for dinner were an involuntary audience to my 20-minute magic routine during dessert. It ended, dramatically, with a daring escape from a pair of thumbcuffs.

At some point, though, self-consciousness kicked in, and embarrassment barred me from asking friends if they wanted to see a card trick. Instead of becoming the next Doug Henning or David Copperfield, I grew up to be an editor of personal-technology articles.

Luckily, the worlds of magic and gadgets have converged to provide an ideal hobby for me: illusions that require neither a cape nor a wand and instead rely on a prop I always carry with me: a smartphone. Read more…..

http://www.wsj.com/articles/magic-trick-apps-to-unleash-your-inner-david-blaine-1448476092

The case for Magic – There simply are some unseen elements in life that defy scientific cause and effect..

The case for Magic – There simply are some unseen elements in life that defy scientific cause and effect..

I saw the bird trick for the first time at age 6, when I made my inaugural visit to California. We visited San Diego and saw Richie, my grandmother’s nephew, who was a magician and illusionist. He looked the part, with a black chevron mustache, curly hair and a wacky plaid shirt. He was a professional photographer, but his main skill, particularly around children, centered on correctly guessed Bicycle playing cards and disappearing quarters.

Richie ripped off two strips of tissue and wet them with his tongue before wrapping one around each pointer finger. On the living room carpet with his knees pressed to the ground, he sang a song:

Two little blue birds, sittin’ on a hill.

One named Jack, the other named Jill…

Fly away, Jack. Fly away, Jill.

Come back, Jack. Come back, Jill.

During the first line, Richie bounced his extended index fingers jauntily with all his other fingers tucked under his thumbs. In the second line of the ditty, he raised one finger, then the other, to give each Kleenex blue bird its due recognition. The third line heralded a peculiar disappearing act: Read more..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/10/28/the-case-for-magic/

Great Read – An American magician takes his tricks to China..

Great Read – An American magician takes his tricks to China..

Magician Franz Harary is driving through the Las Vegas of China, trying to remember the last time he did a show in the United States. “Three years ago, maybe?” he says tentatively. “I think it was some Christmas thing. Or maybe it was an Indian casino.”

As he pulls into the parking lot of a new $3.2-billion casino resort called Studio City, the gate attendant gives him a blank stare. “Do you have a pass?” he asks.

Harary is used to it. Though he’s made the space shuttle disappear, levitated Michael Jackson and filled scores of stadium shows across Asia, the 53-year-old has neither the debonair air of a David Copperfield nor the goth theatricality of a Criss Angel to mark him as a celebrity offstage. His L.A. publicist even touts him with the somewhat awkward brag: “The most famous magician on planet Earth is a guy you’ve never heard of.”

“My name’s in the computer,” Harary tells the guard with not a hint of annoyance. “Have a look.”

But now the Hollywood-based illusionist can just point to the Studio City marquee. On Tuesday, the casino opened Franz Harary’s House of Magic, a permanent, $40-million venue with a rotating cast of magicians. Read more..

http://www.latimes.com/world/great-reads/la-fg-c1-macau-magician-20151028-story.html

Magician conjures up best trick accolade..

Magician conjures up best trick accolade..

A top magician from the Ripon area has just scooped a major national award in recognition of his craft – and one trick in particular.

West Tanfield magician James Ward had cause to celebrate after landing the prestigious Cecil Lyle Award for Magical Innovation.

The trophy is awarded annually by the world-famous Magic Circle for what is judged to be the best trick published in its members’ magazine, The Magic Circular.

James, who is a comedy magician and children’s entertainer, won with a mind-reading routine involving the use of any borrowed banknote.

Cecil Lyle himself was one of the country’s last great touring illusionists.

Billed as ‘The Greatest Living Exponent of Magic,’ he appeared at Harrogate’s Royal Hall in September 1946.

James, who has originated almost a hundred magic tricks over the years, co-authored books on magic, and even performed on TV and radio, said the award was a huge, but wonderful surprise.Read more..

http://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/magician-conjures-up-best-trick-accolade-1-7524953