Latest Magic News – January 17, 2004Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Sir Paul McCartney continues to receive press in the UK for the fracas he allegedly began while watching the David Blaine in a Box stunt. The Telegraph ? which seemed to take great joy in attacking Mr. Blaine during the 44 day of endurance ? reports the law enforcement officers want to speak with Sir Paul.

Read the story of the original incident as reported by the Telegraph here.

Read the story of impending questioning here.

Read the Mirror?s slightly more ?blue version? of the story here.

David Copperfield has the publicity thing down cold. As we?ve watched him traverse the Southern U.S., we?ve appreciated how he focuses on a different effect for virtually every newspaper article. Today, The Tennessean, quotes Mr. Copperfield on why the Lottery Ticket effect is so special to him:

”?His big dream was to win the…

Read the story of the original incident as reported by the Telegraph here.

Read the story of impending questioning here.

Read the Mirror?s slightly more ?blue version? of the story here.

”?His big dream was to win the Irish Sweepstakes,? the magician said of his grandfather, Samuel Kotkin, who died when Copperfield was 17. ?The piece is based on the fact that I really never made up with my grandfather,’ he said in an interview. ?He disowned me, in fact, because he didn’t want me to do this as a career ? even though he actually taught me my first illusion, a simple card trick. He felt that by being stubborn, he would beat me out of it. So I do this illusion as a salute to my grandfather to make things right with him, and to make his dream come true.?”

You can read the full article here. Mr. Copperfield is appearing today at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Robert Olson

Author of A Christmas Carole and A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens was also an amateur magician. In 1849, he called himself “The Unparalleled Necromancer Rhia Rhama Rhoos, educated cabalistically in the orange groves of Salamanca and the ocean caves of Alum Bay.” That is a lot to fit on a business card but the name makes sense from a man who would write paragraphs consisting of nothing more than one sentence ? or in some cases, a dependent clause. The man liked words and he liked magic ? sounds just about perfect for Inside Magic. Dickens and five other magicians are re-enacted by Robert Olson in Massachusetts every Saturday at 8:30 p.m. through Feb. 28 at Old Sturbridge Village‘s “It’s Magic: 400 Years of Fun.”

Mr. Olson?s unique magic show features effects and magicians from the past.

Read about the show here.

Read the Boston Globe?s Date Book Entry here.

An enterprising Magician teamed up with a bubble machine maker to invent a card that allows drinkers to determine the presence of various ?date rape? drugs. Drink Safe Technologies, creator of the card, was founded by Florida Magician Francisco Guerra. Mr. Guerra said he came up with the idea after a woman he knew was raped after her drink was spiked. The cards also come in the form of coasters. The cost approximately $1.25 each.

Read the full article from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel here.

Mr. Guerra is also quoted in an article addressing the questions of the coasters? effectiveness. The Michigan State Police Crime Lab says it is difficult to determine whether there has been a color change. The product also warns users it will not work on drinks that contain cream or milk.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Mr. Guerra hopes to invent panty liners that will absorb or change the smell of flatulence into a more pleasant smell. ??We?ve played with lemon, lime, orange,? he says. ?But I?ve found the best scent is meat loaf. When you [experience flatulence] all of a sudden, the methane out of your — and this scent make it smell like meat loaf. People would want to [be flatulent]: ?C?mon, let me smell the meat loaf.??

For now, though, Mr. Guerra believes he is tackling the ever-growing danger of date-rape drugs. He is quoted in the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department newsletter as saying, ?You have no f—–g idea how big GHB and ketamine are.?

To read the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department?s Newsletter on Project Ecstasy, visit here.

Finally, The Michigan State Police Crime Lab doubted the efficacy of the product:

In tests at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab, however, the coasters failed to react clearly to drinks spiked with gamma hydroxybutyrate, a major date-rape drug known as GHB, said forensic scientist Anne Gierlowski. “We tested red wine, cola, whiskey and orange juice and because three out of the four have color already, it was very hard to decipher a color change,” she said. “It’s a nice idea, but it’s probably a nicer idea for the people selling them because they’ve probably made a lot of money.”

Read the comments of the Michigan State Police Lab here.

To visit the Drink Safe Technologies website, click here.