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Here’s a sweet music video just released across the pond by singer-songwriter Mike Marlin called “The Magician”. What happens when four magicians sit down for a game of cards? Well, not much card playing, but a lot of chicanery and some great visuals to boot. And the song is pretty awesome!
The magicians: Steve Dela, Dafedas B, Scott Perry, and Magic Singh.
It seems that there’s a magical connection in everything nowadays. Many that have seen Forrest Gump witnessed the mystical transformation of Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) from two-legged actor to double-amputee. The illusion was amazingly convincing, and those guessing that it was digital editing are only partly right.
Enter Ricky Jay, magician extraordinaire. The famous scenes of Lieutenant Dan in a wheelchair were actually a specially designed illusion chair by Ricky Jay. The magic seat allowed Sinise to convincingly make his legs disappear with no amputation required.
There you have it — the little bit of Magic behind the classic Forrest Gump.
Meet Yorick Brown, a socially-challenged NYC Magician and escape artist. On July 17, 2002 he went from petty New York Magician to the last magician on earth. In fact, he became the last man on earth.*
With the exception of Yorick and his pet monkey Ampersand, every mammal with a ‘Y’ chromosome was killed by a mysterious virus. In this comic series, written by the brilliant and always-controversial Brian K. Vaughan, we follow Yorick on his transformation from socially awkward trick monkey to humanities last hope. Turns out that being the last man on earth ain’t all it’s cracked up to be — a lot of very crazy woman seem to think that there should be no men on earth and see their opportunity to finalize that goal.
Suddenly, his magic and escape artistry becomes more than a mediocre form of entertainment, but a vital survival skill. Escaping restraints, picking locks and sleight of hand turn out to be invaluable survival skills in an apocalypse. Who knew?
To join Yorick on his epic journey through the post-gendercide world and to find out how magic can save you in a disaster, make sure to pick up Y: The Last Man.
Rating: I give this book 4/5 psychopaths in a straight jacket.
Perfect for magic enthusiasts and those that want an alternative narrative to the zombie apocalypse.
*Yes, before you send the hate mail, there technically could be female magicians, but it makes the article a lot less fun if I start using senseless things like ‘facts’.
Great surprise for you readers out there! Dan White, star of The Supernaturalist, sat down for an exclusive interview about the show, magic in general and more.
So if you want to learn more about The Supernaturalist and Mr. White, read on:
First and foremost, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down for this interview. Now that you’re a big TV star, has there been a noticeable change in your everyday life?
Nothing extremely different except for a lot more emails.
I think most readers are hoping that The Supernaturalist will become a Discovery mainstay. Is there anything in the works for future projects? Maybe turning it into a series?
I am hoping so as well. There are no definite plans yet, however I have a lot of ideas for future episodes that I would love to see become realized.
You’re on Discovery, traveling to remote areas and facing dangerous situations. You’re like the Bear Grylls of magic now. What are some other locations you hope to travel to in your continued quest for real magic?
Its wide open at this point. Anywhere where mystery and wonder are a strong part of their culture is a place where I would like to visit. Right now I am most interested in visiting Machu Picchu and parts of South America.
You’ve done tons of magic gigs, you’ve published amazing material, done TV (both behind the scenes and now in front of the camera) and you’ve traveled the world in the process. Is there anything else that you would like to do with your magic that you haven’t already?
I would definitely like to work more on performing for larger audiences on stage, just because it is something that I have had the least experience with so far. Perhaps a staged version of The Supernaturalist concept.
Are you working on any exciting non-Supernaturalist projects that you would like to discuss?
Right now I am working with David Copperfield and his team of guys on some new projects. Obviously I cant say too much, but the things we are working on are very exciting.
The road to success is often paved with failure. Can you recall any particular stumbling blocks that you have encountered in your career?
That is very true. This isnt my first attempt at creating a television special. About 7 years ago, myself, Bob Smith and Dan Hauss worked on a great concept that got very far-but in the end wasnt picked up. That missed attempt turned out to be a great gift because it made me realize that I was not ready yet for that responsibility and at the same time made me work harder for this show. I also knew exactly how to improve and what mistakes not to make again.
Finally, if you could travel through time as part of your journey, who would you like to meet or where would you like to go?
I have always been obsessed with the Italian Renaissance and Baroque eras. I think it would be great to exist in a time of such respect for beauty and learning. Of course, that is assuming that that era was actually similar to my romanticized vision of it.
There you have it! Now let’s cross our fingers that Discovery turns the special into a new series.
Still trying to work blog updates into my new schedule. All-video edition of Magic Notes:
-David Copperfield on Funny or Die.
-A classic from a classic: Paul Daniels Chop Cup routine.
-You may remember my mentioning Ricky Jay in the old Celebrity Magicians post I made some time ago. On youtube I just found Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, an entertaining and intellectual show directed by David Mamet.
-Speaking of Ricky Jay and Funny or Die: Ricky Jay on Funny or Die.
David Copperfield is a little bitter that Harry Potter is the most famous magician on earth. This fantastic clip from the folks at Funny or Die actually stars David Copperfield himself! Watch…or die…
Sorry about the sparse updates everyone. Life has done everything possible to keep me away from the interwebs. Very, very busy. Hang tight! We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in no time.
For now, enjoy this great clip of a terrible, terrible magician. I’ve worked restaurant magic here in NY, and I’ve worked with guys this tactless and bad. Sad, but at least the vid’s funny!
As mentioned earlier, mentalist Lior Suchard had his second appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On this episode (original air date June 14, 2011) Lior appeared with Kim Kardashian. Personally, I think his first appearance alongside Zac Efron had much stronger material, but without a doubt Kim K is much easier on the eyes.
Watch the clips of Lior Suchards Tonight Show performance below, including a newspaper prediction and mind reading with a die.
My apologies on the late weekly update, but with the long weekend things got a little off-track.
-Penn & Teller have a wicked T.V. show out in England. Seems like every week there’s a brilliant clip coming out of it. This week, we meet Piff the Magic Dragon. LOL.
-On June 30, the late Harry Blackstone Jr. (1934-1997) would have turned 77. He is fondly remembered.
-Another sad anniversary. July 1 marked one year since the passing of mentalist legend Tony Corinda. His seminal work, 13 Steps to Mentalism, has become the core foundation to mentalists worldwide.
-Video of the week is a classic but disturbing routine from Tom Mullica.
Dan White
This is a complete review and episode guide of The Supernaturalist with Dan White, first aired on the Discovery Channel on June 29, 2011. The premise of the program is that Magician Dan White travels off of the beaten path to Discover if there is real magic in the world. Does he discover real magic? Does the program deliver on its promise of a fantastic quest into the unknown?
“The role of the magician is to remind us that magic is everywhere…” – Dan White
The show starts with Dan White, the host and adventuring magician, describing a supposed magical monk in Nepal, who he will attempt to find. He commences with a card trick in Nepal, a classic card transposition in a man’s hand. This trick helped put David Blaine on the map, and it’s still as potent on TV as it was a decade ago. After the brief segment, Dan White begins to tell the story of the magical monk; how he discovered his powers early on as a child while playing with pebbles, making those pebbles move without touching them.
Next, Dan says that he learns magic by watching other magicians in his travels. He approaches a snake charmer in Katmandu to find out if the snake is magically possessed to dance to the music played by the charmer. The street performer admits that it is not real magic, but does reiterate the existence of the magical monk in the mountains.
Nepal Magic
We then meet a street magician who does a trick where he pierces his tongue with a giant spike, only to have it be unscathed moments later. Dan then enters the realm of the fire walker: a group of devoutly spiritual men that walk and jump on hot coal. Another trick it seems, but the men claim that a “guru in the mountains” has taught them. Unfortunately they won’t divulge where he is or how to reach him.
Dan takes advantage of the moment, showing a trick to the gathered audience. He has a young boy hold a light bulb in his hands, when it suddenly lights up in the boys hands. Dan White never touches the bulb during the illumination.
Moving on from the Capital to an ancient city, Dan reveals that the monk has a dark side, indicating that for that reason people may be hesitant to reveal any information about him. A card trick on a bus, where a local selects and signs a card. It is returned and shuffled into the deck. Dan throws the cards at the bus window, and it is on the outside. One rub of the window and it vanishes entirely. The people on the bus love the trick, but when asked about the monk get very quiet and refuse to discuss him.
Dan White arrives in Bhaktapur, considered the spiritual heart of Nepal. There must be a lead in the town; it is home to many wandering holy men called Sadhu who should have more information on the holy man.
With a crowd gathered around him on the street, Dan borrows a stack of Rupee bills and changes them to hundred dollar bills. The much more valuable bills are given back to their owners. Dan then does a trick to one of the holy men, where he has the man select a card and return it to the center of the pack. He places the card on the ground before them, and without touching the deck, makes the cards slide forward and cut on their own to the location of the selection.
After that, a quick bit on the street, where he bites into an apple, gives it a rub and it restores back untouched and unbitten. After that, Dan draws a hole on his palm, burns a match over it and magically breathes smoke out of his mouth. The audience begins to give him information, claiming the monk can levitate and that a local monk called Hizbaba would have more information.
But finding the shaman Hizbaba is a challenge in itself. While walking down the street, a young boy offers to show Dan a magic trick, having a card selected, returned and found. Dan White then takes the boys cards, has a card selected, returned and placed on the ground. Similar to the clip before, he makes the deck cut itself to the selection.
Suddenly a boy grabs our adventurer and says that someone wants to see him. Is it Hizbaba? Indeed the town elder wants to speak to the foreigner. Hizbaba has taken a liking to Dan White, but warns that it is a bad idea to see the monk. He recounts how a foreigner once came to see the monk, bribed many people to find him and then simply vanished.
Dan White is unscathed and shows Hizbaba a trick. He takes a painting made by the holy man and changes it. The moon, painted on by the monk, shifts from full moon to crescent with the simple wave of White’s hand. Will this miraculous display be enough to convince the monk to give more information? Yes, amazingly Hizbaba agrees to take him to the mountain temple where the monk resides.
They fly to a small undisclosed mountain town, then hike for two days to reach the vicinity of the holy man’s abode. In the town, they meet some sherpa’s, friends of Hizbaba. More levitation stories about the monk, and more warnings follow.
Suddenly, the next morning, the Shaman refuses to take Dan any further, claiming a bad vision has told him not to
Magic Monk?
move on. Dan and his crew are abandoned, continuing on the same trail alone, only knowing to look for an orange temple. Ten hours later, they find a curious structure similar to the one described.
Dan knocks on the door. No answer. He lets himself in. Inside of the temple, there are hundreds of lit candles in a large room. Suddenly he is surprised by a monk. The monk seems like a friendly man but says that he is unwilling to share his meditative powers. Dan needs to impress the monk enough to get him to share his secrets. He has the monk look up at the full moon and makes it disappear completely.
The monk is amazed and says he will try something special. He steps back, sits down and begins to meditate and chant. Suddenly he begins to float, hovering least a foot off of the ground. Slowly up, then down. It’s almost shocking to see the levitation.
The quest is at its end. Dan White does have a degree a skepticism, saying that the monk did need the crew to step back, but makes a point of the fact that magic is more than just a question of miracle versus deceit. It is the art of creating an impossibility; that real magic involves making an audience believe that the world is much deeper than we often perceive it to be, methods and secrets aside.
This is probably the best TV magic show since David Blaine’s second special, Magic Man. Obviously there is a question about how much of the show’s material was staged and how much of the story was pre-determined, but regardless it makes for good viewing. It makes you suspend your disbelief and want to live in this magical world. Unlike any magic show on TV to date, this program is much more than just a performer showing his tricks. The Supernaturalist is magic with a plot, which is both refreshing an exciting.
It also immerses the viewer into a culture very different from our Western society. Dan White is a humble performer and his humility shows throughout the program. It is amazing to see a magician get a prime time special and sacrifice self-gratification for the telling of a sound story and the introduction of a beautiful culture. This review will end with a feeling of great hope; the hope that Discovery will be airing more episodes of The Supernaturalist in the near future.
What did you think of the show? Comment below!