Does anyone have seen the shows called “Criss Angel Supernatural” and "Criss Angel Made In Japan"?
To me, his tricks are horrific and terrific and are pretty much similar to “THEM”(
Totally Hidden Extreme Magic) and one of the best street performers. His stunts are extremely difficult and perilous to do so in my opinion. What’s your point of view about his shows? Unfortunately his shows have never shown on Malaysian TV.

Have an exciting day.

watched "supernatural" .. the coin under skin is awesome..

hey, they did show it on Astro not too long ago... a few months back. They showed Criss Angel Mindfreak and Supernatural.

Yeah his stunts were amazing. how did he float the chick on the street! He kinda performed street magic on th streets..... nice.. :)

and he jumped into a pool of water on the road which was not meant to be deep ut he just sank and reappear at the balcony at the appartment behind. amazing!

that's why he was named 2 times award magician of the year, the first magician that gain two titles in a yr! Lots of comparison between him and blaine... who is better and all... its been talked abt for quite some time already.

Supernatural has that wicked cool coin in the arm and all of a sudden he walked up to the wall!
I didn’t know Criss’s shows were shown on Astro a few months ago. Please inform us if any magic shows on a national TV ok? I would greatly appreciate it. Did you watch the show on the Chinese New Year called “impossible magician” by a Swiss guy? By the way, I still prefer Blaine’s specials cause they're impromptu, enjoyable, and astonishing.

Have an appreciative weekend

argh.. no i did not watch the impossible magician... never heard of it hehe.. any good? street magic style is it?

yeah i like blaine.. he is cool and no laugh one.... how can he keep such cool face and not laugh. if me i just burst out laughing lol...

Sometimes tons of unprofessional magicians misunderstood that complicated really does matter. If you consult a great magician and he or she will probably tell you the means isn't a point. For instance, if you can do a better cut or better flourishes or complex slights-of-hand and it doesn’t mean you are a better magician. What really make sense is the effect and the reaction you get! On the other hand, you may have the craft but however it is not magic when it comes to lousy presentation and without misdirection. As Criss Angel quoted as saying before, “it’s not about the trick, it’s how you connect to people as well as present the effect itself!”

There are also a lot of unknown magicians those who are jealous or like to criticise on Blaine instead of paying respect therefore I call into a query the perception in which people think of him despite his success. Sometimes their problem stems from the fact they are too self-centred and too demanding of others. They should reverse the attitude and begin opening up to others as well as paying respect. To me, Blaine is first-rate in acting and he dearly looks like a mysterious man in all his specials. (As MagicB said “how does Blaine keep such a cool face without laughing and I will have to admit that it is hard to do so as it’s just the way he is and his personality fits his look!) Nevertheless, I can't spend a week under the earth, frozen alive inside a 6-ton van sized block of ice for 62 hours, spend days standing on a pole, or starve for 44 days! However, I respect to Blaine for getting numerous new faces interested in the art and the way he's inspired people to get into magic. Thus, he has revolutionized the world of magic with his tricks and his unbelievable endurance stunts and has created one of the most eloquent and telling visual images of our time. Though his capacity to turn his art into a tiptop public spectacle, and he has helped life magic onto a new plane and many magicians can’t stand it.

Something to think about...

Yours magically
Bill

very true wat u said there bill.
Its not just abt the hands, its the presentation...

yeah.... blaine was the one the started the magic craze! man, before him, magic was kinda dead.. well at least at this part of the world.

i mean there were already many street magicians out there in the US way before blaine, but blaine was the one that had the guts to take it out and make a "special" and broadcast his specials worldwide. That really opened the eyes of young people and many became interested in magic becuase of blaine, seeing the reactions he could get by doing magic. Its just wonderful.

Despite other critisms abt blaine. I i respect blaine alot, because, if it is not for him... i wont be doing magic now. i never thought i would be the one doing magic. Desipite many saying his tricks are easy or old, well... again, like bill said, its not the trick its the presentation. :)

MagicB

Yeah, well alot people are into magic because of blaine. I think magicians do not complain about his effects, but the amount of people that got interested in street magic because of him. Mainly most of them are just kids who want to know the secret.

My god!!! I apologize for being soo blur that i discovered this topic only NOW..i'd be super excited if i know someone's talking on this topic..one thing i must say, BILL! I wanna giv u a big hug!!! seriously..u just voice out everything tat i wan to say..thanks alot!!
Indeed i'm quite pissed off when i hear ppl criticizing Blaine..esp those who can't even do a good trick..sigh i really hav no idea based on what yardstick they are qualified to 'comment' on him..Blaine is a total success..my idol in magic..and who inspired me to come into this art!! I can watch his specials over n over again without getting bored..he truly has some elements that make him SO special than others.

But i'm quite concerned tat how is he now..guys pls update me if u can, there is hardly any news bout him now..hope he's preparing himself to a next higher level..i'm anticipating!

Bill, thanks again! Gotta meet you one day!!=)

either he's busy inventing new trick , or busy with chicks...

we're off topic here guys :P

this is about the OTHER street magic guy

btw, check out Criss Angel as Kevin James' forum guest here :-

http://www.kjmagic.com/forum/index.php?act=SF&f=33

see the his comment when asked about blaine.

well since the blaine craze is here. i would just like to give my point of views. Well blaine brought magic cheaper, but blaine style of magic or in other words "street magic" is basically basking. Basking is asia is one of the lowest form of performing. Basking is acceptable in many areas overseas but not in Asia. Let me give u all an example. If you see a skilled guitar playing on stange fully lighted, dress like a performer and picture the total opposite. a guitar player at the side of central market. Which earns more respect? dont get me wrong here, i'm not saying basking is not good. i'm just saying is a lower form of performing. u guys can say all u want about blaine but honestly saying. you wouldnt want to be another david blaine. coz to my opinion yes blaine has brought magic cheaper n more affordable. but his style n performance isnt great! You would never see blaine performing in a 1st class event, becoz his a busker. But you certainly will see ppl like kevin james, copperfield, Carl Andrews performing in 1st class events. If you guys are interested in like street stuff. i would recomend Greg wilson but not blaine.

Uhm, as far as I know, David Blaine does perform at corporate functions and celebrity parties, and you know how much money he could cash in with those.

His signed poster with the phrase "to..." is worth USD$250. All from busking.

Blaine's performance isnt great??? hmm... think abt it again. I think Blaine is really good. so what if his tricks are easy to do. u do it and see how well u can do it. Its easy to say but do u have the guts and the proper style and way to do it the way he does?

B4 blaine, street magic was like just a normal thing and people never thought that it could be so mystifying or mind boggling. Performing magic on the streets... its impromtu and so nice to perform. Its a great training ground b4 u perform to big VIPS or in a coperate function.

Abt busking in Asia compared to other 1st world countries, well.. are u talking abt status? To me i dont care if people think "what la this guy... low class performer perform on the streets one". Reason for performing for me is getting to experience of real life audience and try to entertain them as much as possible with it. If i stuff up, nvm, ill learn somthing and try to improve next time.

Also, the thing is blaine never really like join magic community or do instructional vids or give lectures etc etc b4. he was just a normal ordinary guy that loved performing and wanted the world to see his stuff. thus, asked his guys to take him doing magic. he went around the country and even to native land to do magic for them. THat is wat its all abt. performing just to the VIPs aint matter much. Yeah money is BIG if u perform to the big shots, but that's money minded already. Being able to entertain all kinda people is much better.

Yes, copperfield and kevin james are well known professional magicians. They earned big bucks. Because i am not a professional magician and dont intend rely my income solely on magic, id rather follow blaine's footsteps. But hey... look at Blaine now... he is super rich. Why? Word of mouth spreads faster and people every where know who blaine is.... and not every one know who kevin james is. I never knew who he was until only abt 6 months ago.

guys,

1st off, this is topic about Criss Angel, not blaine. Poor Criss, gotta take backseat in his own topic.

ok, i remember reading in mysterious stranger , i dont think blaine was never a busker. that was his gimmick, his persona. he went straight to TV. he did strolling magic and took it to a new level (TV specials). The urban shaman was his gimmick.

Honestly speaking...

Unless you have won at least ONE Magician Of The Year Award, you are in no liberty to criticize these magicians regardless of how easy or how lame their tricks are...

You have no right or qualifications to just criticize what you think of these magicians. They have at least worked hard enough to get to where they are now and we should support them in anyway we can. By being and practicing the art of magic, you should see yourself as mature and show respect to the more experienced elders.

Remember, in your early years of performing, there would be some heckler who'd say..."its nothing, I know how he did that", "you wanna know how its done?", "ive seen it exposed somewhere, its something like..." or "its all child's play...". We all have the opportunity to properly handle hecklers. But hecklers that go on and on with their pride and LACK of respect for the art of magic will end up starting to criticize the pros...like our hidden friend...

I utterly agree with Brendan and mindfreak.

Criticizing about other performers accomplishes two things. The first is that it degrades the art in general and the second is that it makes you look like you have little or no class. Keep in mind that we rarely hear a "big name" performer speaks about others in the community in a negative way.

Therefore I call into a query the perception in which we human beings tend to dislike those people who are tycoon or are intellectual than we are. Sometimes our problem stems from the fact we are too self-centred and too demanding of others. We should reverse the attitude and begin opening up to others as well as paying respect.

Have you ever heard the world greatest magicians like David Blaine, Michael Ammar, Daryl, David Copperfield criticize on other conjurers? Just prove yourself someday you are more famous and more skillful than these magicians otherwise just pay RESPECT!

You will hardly become a tiptop magician if you are narrow-minded and self-centred! Hope that’s clear.

Something to think about…

Well explained Mindfreak and Bill.

I also wanna point out that there's just so many comparison made, who is the best magician, who is the best flourisher in msia or asia or the world.

Basically, the answer is No, there is no BEST magician/flourisher. WHy? coz everyone of us have different likings.

example, i may think Darren is the best Cardician in MMF. But someone may not agree with me for various reasons. eg. i may say i like Darrens style of combining flourish in magic but other (traditional magicians esp) may not like flourish in magic and may prefer more straight to the point magic without much hand movements. So i guess it all boils down to the person who makes the judgement or critisism. Then again, who are we to judge? Complimenting is great but harsh criticism is just asking for trouble.

We all have our own thinking and belief who is our favourite magicians. THere's jsut too many to say who is the best... coz the answer is alway no one. lol...

As for flourish, BRian tudor and bucks... they are my fav. But in terms of style i like Kev's best. why? coz i go for smoothness and rather than speed (not to say kev has no speed. he has great speed but his soft hands and smoothness in transitions just gives a wow factor).

One SMC guy named Daren gave the quote "smoothness gives the illusion of speed" i like that quote. Some of u may not think smoothness is good coz u can do faster. well go ahead. some like it fast but i think if u can do it fast and smooth then thats awesome but if ure fast but u jerk or ur transitions are not "flowing" well, then IMO i think it will be better if u slow down and work on smoothness.

I just read this morning abt the TUDOR's challenge in penguin magic website. Who can do it faster than DA MAN HIMSELF get USD 1000. Anyone think they can beat TUDOR? lol...

ok, how did i come to this topic? lol...

Brendan

ok, ive moved this topic from Product review to chit chat ... coz i think its more suitable here.

I've also modified the topic.

Cheers!
Brendan

Woo..thanks for using me as the example..haha..flattered.. :D

Sigh..eveyone has their own views..but i do agree with dokto..blaine performed in LOTS of rich parties..anyway maybe u should read more bout him..he's one of my all-time fav magicians..

haha.... darren... dont kembang so much k... its only an example lol.... :P

but IMHO u're a great cardician :). Look forward to jam with u more in the near future.

Brendan