Latest Magic News – February 5, 2004Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

It’s a Secret

In today?s magic news, we learn that some things never change and some things have never changed. Janet Jackson was not the only one to expose herself live on television, one of our own magicians did it well before her. Water Witching isn?t dead but James Randi is trying to kill it. Chris Rock has some funny comments about David Blaine and Mr. Blaine goes from looking starved to death to looking at models who look like they stayed in the box for 64 days.

The Amazing Randi is quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the efficacy of the ancient practice of ?dowsing? for water. The story features several practitioners of ?water witching? or ?divining? who claim success although they do not document their successes or failures. Says he ever-skeptical Randi:

“The bottom line is that [dowsers] all fail when properly and fairly tested. There are no exceptions. Even after they have clearly and definitely failed, they always continue to believe in their powers.”

Check out the full article here.

To see the very latest in Dowsing Rods…

It’s a Secret

“The bottom line is that [dowsers] all fail when properly and fairly tested. There are no exceptions. Even after they have clearly and definitely failed, they always continue to believe in their powers.”

Check out the full article here.

To see the very latest in Dowsing Rods for sale, check here.

To read James Randi?s essay on Dowsing, check here.

Walter Blaney

Walter ?Zaney? Blaney was recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for an upcoming article on the Houdini Museum of Appleton, Wisconsin and its plans to expose the Substitution Trunk. Mr. Blaney reports the interview went well and he followed on the interview with a letter to the reporter. Mr. Blaney wrote:

?It is not an earth shaking event in the overall scheme of things in this old world, but it is one more battle magicians everywhere have to keep fighting in order to maintain the integrity of the art of magic. We must try to protect the delight, wonder and surprise we are able to give to our world that often has too little magic left in it.?

As soon as we hear the publication date for the Wall Street Journal article, we will report it here.

Chris Rock

Chris Rock is featured in an Arizona Central article from Wednesday saying that David Blaine is a ?trickless magician? and that he was amazed Americans could be entertained by him.

To read the rest of the review, click here.

David Blaine

Speaking of David Blaine, the New York Post reports this morning that he is considered on the ?A-list? by the chic fashion designers and will likely be holding down one of the coveted front row seats in upcoming fashion shows.

?Fashion Week is prime time for celeb spotting – hey, they matter almost as much as the clothes – and this year the stars are flocking to the shows as usual. Just some of the names expected to fill those coveted front-row seats are Iman, Bjork, Sarah Jessica Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Parker Posey, Harvey Keitel, Daryl Hannah, Bijou Philips and David Blaine.?

You can check out the full story here.

Teller

Speaking of flashing or exposing yourself on television, The Toronto Sun did a piece listing several celebrities who have shown some or all of that which is normally not shown on television. One of the celebrities was Teller of Penn & Teller:

?The mute half of “Bad Boys Of Magic” Penn & Teller flashed the camera at the end of an interview session promoting their role in Celebrity Fear Factor (Teller later said he thought the camera was off). The satellite feed aired on several NBC affiliates . . .?

Check out the full article reprinted in Canoe and read about the other flashings by clicking here.