David Blaine is the devil

[cartman]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

But honestly, what is his first language? I dunno if I ever caught that.

Italiano

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by cartman

Italiano

Nice. I give him credit. I could hardly do spanish, and english has to be complicated enough to learn.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Me neither.

Italian first language

i speak english better than i write. but taking notes and trying to get better.

[jeff061]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Didn't see that one. Usually when they do the whole "burn the paper to ashes and rub it on my arm or chest" it's done with soap. He somehow writes with soap on himself what was written on the paper and the ashes stick to it.

Yeah I know that trick. But it was very detailed and large, not simple, and he wasn't given anything to use soap with.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Italian first language

i speak english better than i write. but taking notes and trying to get better.

Where'd you learn it?

You're doing a good job.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Italian first language

i speak english better than i write. but taking notes and trying to get better.

I wish I could speak Italian. Bonjourno is about it.

[jbmagic]

i really think David Blaine tricks are setup with the people on the street prior on doing them.

he told a guy to pick a card, and then put card back in rest of the deck. David could not find his card in the deck after he suffle it.

David told the guy its in your shoe, and when the guy took his shoe off, his card was there.

i believe his magic is setup with the people on the street and he probably tells them to react surprise.

if not, he is damn good then.

[DeToxRox]

I think he just camps outside of Dave Matthews concerts and finds the most stoned people ever.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

i really think David Blaine tricks are setup with the people on the street prior on doing them.

he told a guy to pick a card, and then put card back in rest of the deck. David could not find his card in the deck after he suffle it.

David told the guy its in your shoe, and when the guy took his shoe off, his card was there.

i believe his magic is setup with the people on the street and he probably tells them to react surprise.

if not, he is damn good then.

I highly doubt the marks are in on it. The footage is edited, yes and he has the aid of his crew. There are some tricks I can't explain but I'm sure there's a fairly simple explanation.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Where'd you learn it?

You're doing a good job.

thanks

here in the states, i grew up all my life here. i learn how to speak English mainly thru school and friends at school.


when i was growing up, my Mom, Dad, and relatives just spoke mainly Italian to me. and didnt have much help with english writing when i got home from school.

but years and years later, trying to get better. i never like English subject at school. My favorite was math and computers.


i am an accountant now, so ,mostly just data entry in the computer, and 10 key touch on the calculator. dont have to worry to much about writing out things. i try to get my practice here and learn my reading alot.

thanks for being patience with me all. you guys are great,

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

thanks

here in the states, i grew up all my life here. i learn how to speak English mainly thru school and friends at school.


when i was growing up, my Mom, Dad, and relatives just spoke mainly Italian to me. and didnt have much help with english writing when i got home from school.

but years and years later, trying to get better. i never like English subject at school. My favorite was math and computers.


i am an accountant now, so ,mostly just data entry in the computer, and 10 key touch on the calculator. dont have to worry to much about writing out things. i try to get my practice here and learn my reading alot.

thanks for being patience with me all. you guys are great,

ha no problem at all.

so whats the fofc rate for taxes?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

i really think David Blaine tricks are setup with the people on the street prior on doing them.

he told a guy to pick a card, and then put card back in rest of the deck. David could not find his card in the deck after he suffle it.

David told the guy its in your shoe, and when the guy took his shoe off, his card was there.

i believe his magic is setup with the people on the street and he probably tells them to react surprise.

if not, he is damn good then.

The chances of not one of these people coming forward to claim it was a setup, in this tabloid society, are next to nil. The most I am willing to buy is that he's some sort of Jonas Nightengale, working off of information being fed to him by operatives, with the marks not suspecting a thing.

That still wouldn't explain most of the tricks he's able to do, though.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The chances of not one of these people coming forward to claim it was a setup, in this tabloid society, are next to nil. The most I am willing to buy is that he's some sort of Jonas Nightengale, working off of information being fed to him by operatives, with the marks not suspecting a thing.

That still wouldn't explain most of the tricks he's able to do, though.

It explains a lot of it though.

The twisting arm thing where it goes around like 3 times is a well known common trick. Levitation the same. Biting a quarter in half...you can buy a kit.

I'll agree there are some but not most. Maybe 10% of them I have no idea.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by BigJohn&TheLions

When he did that stupid "standing on an 80 foot tall pole" thing here in NYC I saw it. I was having lunch in Bryant Park one day and saw that idiot climb on top of it. I had no clue what the hell it was, or who he was. It looked like it was about to start pouring rain. I was hoping he would get struck by lightning...

When he jumped off the pole into a ton of boxes it took a minute for him to move. We were all laughing. When he then started moving I was boo-ing. You could tell who the tourists were that night. They were the ones who liked it.

If we are to believe this story either you sat there eating lunch for 35 hours or what you saw was a test run from the stunt man.

[Lathum]

Like I said before. He is the devil. Why won't anyone listen?

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

If we are to believe this story either you sat there eating lunch for 35 hours or what you saw was a test run from the stunt man.

I work down the block and walk by Bryant park almost every day. I was having lunch there on the day it started, and on my way home from work when it wrapped up. If I had to walk one block out of my way to see any of it I wouldn't have bothered, but since it was practically in front of me I said "What the hell."

I guess he has some sort of talent, mostly finding original ways to shout "LOOK AT ME!!!"

[Karlifornia]

Haven't you guys even considered that *maybe* magic is real!?!? I never thought someone would top David Copperfield in the blackest of the black arts. God help us if a terrorist is even born with these gifts!!!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

Haven't you guys even considered that *maybe* magic is real!?!? I never thought someone would top David Copperfield in the blackest of the black arts. God help us if a terrorist is even born with these gifts!!!

The shortlived new Twilight Zone series on UPN from a couple of years ago had an episode where Xander Berkeley was a famous magician who used real magic and tricks a young magician.

SI

[Ksyrup]

FYI, 10pm EST on The Learning Channel, Street Magic is on.

[dawgfan]

The Learning Channel David Blaine videos

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

The Learning Channel David Blaine videos

That first one freaked me out. I'm sure there is some brain/sensory explanation but he got it right.

The second one is my favorite trick.

[Danny]

four of hearts was the last card shown. I actually said queen of hearts, so he didnt get me.

[cartman]

I've got one of his DVDs. He is really smooth. Even if you pause the DVD and go frame by frame, you can't figure the tricks out, or catch anything you might miss watching at normal speed.

[judicial clerk]

I used to know a trick that worked about 1/2 to 2/3 of the time. I can't exactly remember it, but I think it goes like this: Pick a number between 50 and 100 where both digits are even numbers. I will read your mind and in the next post write your number.

[judicial clerk]

Your number is 64

[Danny]

Wrong

[Anthony]

i picked 88, fwiw

[Danny]

My original number was 62. I then also picked a few other numbers (60, 66, 88, 80), none of which was your answer

[QuikSand]

jc - Blaine has used the simpler version of the same trick, which requires one more element to work effectively:

-pick a number between 1 and 50
-both digits have to be odd
-the two digits can't be the same, so you can't say "11"




...pause...




Most people pick the number 37.

First, the requireemnt that each digit be odd narrows down the field a lot more than people intuitively think. The mention of the number 11 tends to subconsciously "scare" people toward the higher range of numbers. And 35 sounds to nice and even, while 37 sounds more "random" to people. So, a sizable share of people will pick exactly 37 as their number.

Not magic, just a bit of simple psychology.

[Anthony]

i picked 31, fwiw.

[SegRat]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

That first one freaked me out. I'm sure there is some brain/sensory explanation but he got it right.

The second one is my favorite trick.

The first one there is a slight pause. He knows which card it is. Most people will origanally start by picking a diffrent card, but they question which card they see when his card is shown. So they end up picking the card he has chosen and it is one of the last shown.

The second is cool, but it is just a double and triple lift. It is easy to do, but difficult to do it smoothly.

The third is a gimmick deck.

[judicial clerk]

I really screwed that up. The digits cannot be the same. The trick I was think of is actually exactly what QS just wrote.

[ThunderingHERD]

In the 1st trick the cards go by so quickly that by the time you see one and think "ok, i'm pick the 8 of--" the next card is already up. The four of hearts is the only one that your brain has much time to process.

[JeeberD]

So how did that last one (beer can) work? Also, was the wine glass pre-rigged in the second to last one?

[ThunderingHERD]

It's just a trick can. You can find one on the internet for like $15. Don't know about the glass, but I would guess it's a plant.

edit: google search reveals that it's probably a trick table

[JeeberD]

So if it was a trick can then the people were in on it?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

So if it was a trick can then the people were in on it?

No, the people are stupid. He just waits until the guy is positioned correctly and has finished a beer of the same kind as the prop he has. Notice it's outside in the park. Easy to scout the location.

[ThunderingHERD]

No, I'd say he just switched it out at some point. It's edited to make it look like he's just now meeting the people as the clip starts, but he's probably been doing tricks with them for a while. Or an assistant discretely switched the can earlier.

[SegRat]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

So how did that last one (beer can) work? Also, was the wine glass pre-rigged in the second to last one?

It is a normal can. It will have a small hole, usually a pin hole, towards the top. You let some of the contents out of the can and crush it a little in the middle, so it looks like someone crushed it. When you pick up the can you cover the pin hole with a finger and move the can back and forth. The carbination will then expand the can back to the way it was. The top of the can looks like it is open, but really it is just a piece of paper.
This trick works much better with a can of soda, than beer.

[hhiipp]

Some of these shows are on TLC right now.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

-pick a number between 1 and 50
-both digits have to be odd
-the two digits can't be the same, so you can't say "11"




...pause...




Most people pick the number 37.

I just tried this on both my wife and daughter...they both picked 37. Now my daughter thinks I'm cool like David Blaine