I’d Rather Be With Lance

In Today’s Magic News, we learn why we are fooled by illusions, how to spark romance in your loved-one’s heart and see a great magician at the same time, where your kids can learn to perform magic, how a limber dancer was stretched even more, and one other thing that doesn’t fit with this list.

If you have news to share, drop us a line at tim@insidemagic.com and you could see your story here.

Thirteen Year Old Joe Rushworth Takes Young Magician of the Year

Joe Rushworth

Joe Rushworth, the thirteen year old son of magicians Geoff and Molly Rushworth was named Shropshire’s (UK) Young Magician of the Year 2004. The act took him two years to perfect and mirrored his grandfather’s manipulation act.

The young Mr. Rushworth is the third generation of magicians in the family and was coached by his grandfather in the ways of manipulation and presentation. His mother and father work under the stage name, Geoff Ray and Pat on cruise ships and are so proud of their son’s accomplishment. He’s now firmly part of the family business.

“He is carrying on the tradition of using the family’s stage name of Ray, by going under the stage name of Joe Ray,” his father…

I’d Rather Be With Lance

If you have news to share, drop us a line at tim@insidemagic.com and you could see your story here.

Thirteen Year Old Joe Rushworth Takes Young Magician of the Year

Joe Rushworth

“He is carrying on the tradition of using the family’s stage name of Ray, by going under the stage name of Joe Ray,” his father told the Shropshire Star newspaper. The youngest member of the magical family received his award at the Shropshire Magic Circle’s Annual Competition ? it was the first time it has been awarded.

To read the full article in the Shropshire Star, visit here.

Tom O’Brien to Teach Magic Classes

Tom O’Brien

Master Magician Tom O’Brien will be offering his popular magic classes for the first through fifth grades in Oxford, Connecticut this spring. Tom will offer two sessions of three-classes each. Session I begins Thursday, February 19; Session II begins Thursday, May 6. Each three-class session is $32.

Read the full article by clicking here.

Check out Tom O’Brien’s website here.

Dancer Expands Experience to Become Magician’s Assistant

Kristen Musanti

Kristen Musanti received a great write-up in The Farmington News Journal. Ms. Musanti has been dancing her entire life and was delighted when she was selected to be one of the permanent dancers on the Norwegian Sea Cruise ship. But, according to Ms. Musanti, she was even more delighted when she expanded her horizons and worked with the magicians performing on the ship. “He needed an assistant for a show. I rehearsed with him and performed his biggest tricks. It was something I would have never done and I enjoyed doing it.” The work allowed her to use her skills and training in a different manner.

To read the full article about this remarkable dancer, click here.

Lance Burton Offered As Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift

Lance = Romance

ABC television affiliate WLS in Chicago has the perfect, romantic get-away for you and your beloved. Actually, they offer three: a Spa out West; a horse-drawn carriage tour in Montreal; or to travel to the Monte Carlo Hotel and sit in the “plush seats” of The Lance Burton Theater ? presumably to watch the show. Apparently the sparks of romance that are likely to be kindled by watching the Master Magician will be worth the trip from Chicago to Las Vegas.

It is interesting to note that the reviewer did not suggest The Amazing Jonathan or Penn & Teller’s shows to enhance the romance of this Valentine’s Day. There is something about stapling a blindfold to a woman’s head that kind of kills the love buzz.

To read the full article, click here.

To Visit the Romance-Inspiring Lance Burton Theater, visit here.

Researchers Now Know How We Separate Reality from Illusion

Looking for Reality

Daniel Moran, Washington University’s assistant professor of biomedical engineering and neurobiology, and his colleagues Andrew B Schwartz, PhD, and G Anthony Reina, at the University of Pittsburgh, focused on studying perception and playing visual tricks on macaque monkeys and some human subjects.

Their goal was to determine how the brain reconciles that which seems real but can’t be.

In the past scientists have been able to identify the moment when illusion is perceived but never the manner in which it is perceived.

According to their article in the journal Science, the brain works to reconcile what it believes it is seeing with what really exists constantly and instantaneously will disregard sensory clues that do not seem to match up with what the brain believes is reality.

Not answered in the article is whether the brain can be so fooled, that it will reject reality and endorse the illusion as the standard against which all sensory input is judged. “[The researchers have shown that] sometimes it is not possible to believe anything that you see and they have also identified areas of the brain where what we’re actually doing (reality), and what we think we’re doing (illusion, or perception) are processed.”

Science Proves Gene Right

The thesis of the article reminds me of the Gene Anderson Newspaper Tear patter. “You think I am tearing the newspaper because you see it being torn, hear it being torn and even believe you see pieces falling to the floor; but really it is all just an illusion.”

To read more about this research, check out the Hindustan Times article here.

To see a listing of articles on this research (but you’ll have to pay to download the articles) in the journal Science, click here.

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