Illusion and Magic - The Art of the Prank

June 6, 2012December 15, 2023

Patrick Hruby on Sports Conspiracy Theories

The Truth Is Out There: From The 1985 NBA Draft Lottery To The Olympics To Game-Fixing … Which Conspiracy Theory Can You Believe?
by Patrick Hruby
The Post Game
May 30, 2012

“You know,” says the magician, “it’s very easy to fix flipping a coin.” For instance: The tosses before football games. Turns out they’re totally riggable. Even with a straight coin. Con men know how. So does the magician, Richard Kaufman. He’s in his 50s, has dark, curly hair, works as the editor of Genii, the nation’s leading magic magazine. Specializes in card tricks. Only now, here in the sunlit kitchen of his suburban Washington, D.C. home, he’s talking tumbling coins.

Heads or tails. Even odds. As indifferent as the universe itself, like the flips that sent Lew Alcindor to the Milwaukee Bucks, Bill Walton to the Portland Trail Blazers, Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon to the Houston Rockets.

Unless …

Continue reading “Patrick Hruby on Sports Conspiracy Theories”

May 18, 2012December 15, 2023

Dynamo Walking on Water

The Magician Dynamo Walks on Water:

Marco Tempest: A Magical Tale (with Augmented Reality)

From TED TALKS about the role of the magician as storyteller, exploiting the way audiences think, and about why it’s fun to be fooled.

Marco Tempest spins a beautiful story of what magic is, how it entertains us and how it highlights our humanity — all while working extraordinary illusions with his hands and an augmented reality machine.

A magician and illusionist for the 21st century, Marco Tempest blends cutting-edge technology with the flair and showmanship of Houdini.

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

LG Optimus Hyper Facade event in Germany

From Cheryl: 3D marketing stunt in Berlin from LG for the Optimus…

December 22, 2011December 15, 2023

John Chamberlain, R.I.P.

John Chamberlain, Who Wrested Rough Magic From Scrap Metal, Dies at 84
by Randy Kennedy
The New York Times
December 21, 2011

John Chamberlain, who almost singlehandedly gave automotive metal a place in the history of sculpture, smashing and twisting together a poetic fusion of Abstract Expressionism and Pop from fenders, fins, bumpers and hoods, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 84.

His wife, Prudence Fairweather, announced his death but declined to give a cause. He had spent his last years mostly in Shelter Island, N.Y.

In a restless career of almost half a century, Mr. Chamberlain worked with a broad range of materials, some as pliant as foam rubber and as ephemeral as brown paper bags. But he returned again and again to the more substantial stuff of the scrap yard, explaining the attraction as one of practicality. “I saw all this material just lying around against buildings, and it was in color,” he said, “so I felt I was ahead on two counts.” Continue reading “John Chamberlain, R.I.P.”