Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (19 de dezembro de 1967), mais conhecido como Criss Angel, é um mágico/ilusionista, ator e músico. Já teve vários projetos relacionados ao ilusionismo e à música, mas sua maior produção é a série televisiva Criss Angel Mindfreak, exibido no canal A&E Network, na qual é protagonista.

Vida Pessoal:

Criss Angel é descendente de gregos mas nasceu em East Meadow, Nova Iorque, e reside atualmente em Las Vegas, no Hotel e Cassino Luxor. Tem dois irmãos: Costa e JD, que fazem parte da sua equipe e aparecem constantemente nos episódios de seu programa. Uma das maiores influências de Criss é seu pai, que faleceu em 1998, vítima de câncer no estômago. O ilusionista mantém uma forte ligação com a mãe, que frequentemente aparece nos programas dando força para as apresentações perigosas do filho, ou demonstrando apreensão com elas.
Criss foi casado com Joanne Sarantakos durante quase 7 anos. O relacionamento nunca foi explícito porque ele não queria perder o respeito de suas fãs pelo fato de ser casado, mas ela também aparece nos primeiros episódios da série. Em 2007, eles se divorciaram. Joanne alegou que quis a separação porque supostamente ele havia se envolvido com Cameron Diaz, enquanto ainda era casado. O último de seus relacionamentos foi Holly Madison, uma das coelhinhas da Playboy. Holly disse, logo após o término do namoro que ainda guardava fortes sentimentos por Criss, mas a distância atrapalhava na relação (eles trabalhavam em estados diferentes).

Em entrevista, disse que não pretende ter filhos.
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Carreira

Desde criança, Christopher sempre foi ligado à mágica e a música e diz ele que quem o inspirou a ser ilusionista foi uma tia, após lhe ensinar um truque simples. A persistência, a busca pela perfeição e o trabalho árduo combinados ao enorme talento, a habilidade e às idéias visionárias perpetuaram Criss como um dos artistas mais provocativos dos dias atuais.
Criss redefiniu o termo “artista” do século XXI. Ele é criador e produtor de todos os seus projetos, sejam eles televisivos, musicais, especiais, shows ao vivo ou trilhas sonoras.
Estudou misticismo, mágica, música, artes marciais e dança quando adolescente. Aos 18 e aos 21 anos, Criss adquiriu as licenças necessárias para usar pirotecnia em suas apresentações. Em 1994, fez sua estréia no horário nobre do canal ABC em um especial de uma hora chamado “Secrets” e em 1998, Criss encabeçou o espetáculo anual de Halloween na Madison Square Garden.
Incontáveis apresentações ao vivo levaram Criss a sua aclamada produção da Broadway “Criss Angel Mindfreak” no World Underground Theater, na Times Square. A produção era extremamente inovadora e trouxe uma nova visão de entretenimento à Broadway. O show remetia ao delírio e à demonstrações de mágica “close-up” e “in your face”. Noite após noite, Criss apresentou quase 600 shows antes de completar a temporada, em 6 de Janeiro de 2003. Como parte da campanha de marketing para o show, em fevereiro de 2002 Criss surpreendeu mais de 75.000 pessoas na times Square quando estabeleceu um recorde mundial por suspensão do corpo com oito ganchos durante 5 horas e 40 minutos, enquanto trausentes e curiosos olhavam maravilhados e perplexos.

Alguns truques, como o de levitação, foram explicados pelo próprio Criss, em seu DVD “Criss Angel Masterminds”, que pode ser encontrado para compra em seu site oficial ou em lojas para mágicos. Escreveu um livro intitulado “Mindfreak: Secret Revelations from the Master of Surreality.”, que foi lançado nos Estados Unidos em 1º de Outubro de 2006. Outros permanecem um mistério até hoje como a incrível levitação sobre o hotel Luxor, o truque em que ele é esmagado por um rolo-compressor ou ainda vez que ele caminha sobre as águas em um lago.

Para alegria dos fãs e dele mesmo, a terceira temporada de Criss Angel Mindfreak, estreou nos Estados Unidos com uma classificação inédita de 3 milhões de espectadores. Tornardo-se o 1º em audiência da tv a cabo no seu horário, um número nunca alcançando em qualquer produção envolvendo ilusionismo. A quarta temporada, programada para estrear em 2007 culminará com um memorável episódio 100, uma marca raramente alcançado por qualquer programa de televisão da história.

O nome ‘Criss Angel’ já foi o mais procurado durante semanas seguidas no site Yahoo. Além disso, é sem sombra de dúvidas o mágico que mais domina a internet, sendo que seu vídeos de apresentações no Youtube são 10 vezes mais vistos que os de David Copperfield e 5 vezes mais vistos que os de David Blaine. O site CrissAngel.com é o site de ilusionista que recebe mais visitas mensais da história da internet.

Vida artística

Aparições Externas

Devido ao seu grande sucesso e popularidade, foi convidado para fazer uma participação especial em CSI:NY. No episódio 18 da 3º temporada, Criss Angel encarna o mágico Luke Blade, acusado de assassinato. Uma vez que é ator e o personagem era um mágico, ele não encontrou dificuldade em interpretar o papel, demonstrando ótima atuação. O episódio alcançou um índice de audiência nunca antes visto ente pessoas de idade de 18 e 19 anos. Outro grande índice de audiêcia foi a participação do programa da Oprah Winfrey em que a deixou abismada com um truque de mentalismo.

Criss recentemente foi convidado para ser um dos juízes do programa ‘Phenomenom’ da grande rede de tv NBC. O reality show mostrará artistas que dizem ter dotes sobrenaturais ou mentalistas e escolherá o melhor deles que será chamado ‘O próximo grande mentalista’. A tarefa de Criss e dos outros jurados é desmascarar os impostores e auxiliar na escolha do melhor candidato.
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Cirque du Soleil

Graças ao seu destaque como ilusionista, Criss Angel lidera um novo show do Cirque du Soleil, intitulado “Believe”, apresentado no Luxor Hotel, em Las Vegas. Tendo assinado um contrato de 10 anos, o show é um dos poucos do Cirque de Soleil que são fixos, ou seja, “Believe” não fará turnês, o que é uma pena.

Ao contrário do que muitos pensavam, Believe não é um espetáculo de pura mágica. Misturando dança, teatro e artes circenses, os números agradam uns ao mesmo tempo que desagradam outros que esperavam ver episódios do programa tranformados para teatro. Criss Angel, chateado com as críticas, em entrevista, ele disse que a proposta do show não é essa e sim, mostrar um novo lado da ilusão. Entretanto, como diretor, frequentemente altera os roteiros das apresentações esperando alcançar um formato bom para todos.
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Quinta Temporada

Denominada Five Lives of Criss Angel, a mais recente temporada da série foi apenas exibida nos Estados Unidos, com cinco episódios e sem previsão de estréia no Brasil. O cenário da série continua sendo o Luxor Hotel & Cassino, em Las Vegas, entretanto, agora o tema principal é a vida de Criss Angel colocada em xeque. Na série, o mágico passa por vários desafios sempre colocando em risco a própria vida. Mesmo com grandes episódios, como ‘White Death’ em que Criss é enterrado vivo no gelo e ‘Mass Levitation’, onde ele levita ao mesmo tempo inúmeras pessoas, a temporada não foi prolongada. Apesar de muito bem gravada, os fãs ficam no aguardo de uma temporada mais longa, uma vez que Mindfreak tinha em normalmente 20 episódios por temporada, totalizando mais de 300 truques magestrais até hoje.
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Semelhança

Criss Angel ao longo de sua carreira foi ganhando grandes habilidades em suas ilusões e é considerado o novo Houdini (maior mágico de todos os tempos) alguns o consideram até mesmo melhor que o próprio Houdini, que fazia truques avançados para sua época e foi considerado o melhor ilusionista do mundo.
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Música
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Discografia
1998 – Musical Conjurings from the World of Illusion
2000 – System 1 in the Trilogy
2000 – System 2 in the Trilogy
2000 – System 3 in the Trilogy
2002 – Mindfreak
2003 – Supernatural
2006 – Criss Angel Mindfreak
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Ligações externas
Sites oficiais
Site oficial de Criss Angel
Site oficial do programa Criss Angel Mindfreak do A&E
Perfil oficial de Criss Angel no MySpace
Site Oficial do Believe
Twitter Oficial de Criss Angel
Recursos
Criss Angel (em inglês) no Internet Movie Database
Site de fans
Criss Angel NET
Mindfreak Connection
Mindfreak Outlet
Videos of Criss Angel

Fonte:wikipedia.org

Meeting Criss Angel briefly a few years ago in Hollywood was amazing fun! Very impressed with Criss. Met two wonderful women in line and we are STILL friends today! Never have shared these snaps before and there was more to the gift I gave to Criss than meets the eye:

A magnesium bar with steel to shave it and to strike a spark. Why in the world would you give that to someone? Make yourself comfy and I’ll tell you the story:

Criss announced he would be doing a signing of his first-season DVD at the Kodak Theater building in Hollywood. Decided to go so I was in our neighborhood Longs Drug store getting munchies for the drive down the coast. Going through the camping supplies, I stopped in my tracks — a magnesium bar! You scrape a magnesium bar for shavings, spark it and when ignited it burns at nearly the temperature of an oxy-acetylene welding torch. It’s used as an emergency fire starter.

Suddenly, my vision shifted and I saw Criss. Let me tell you, it was NOT the kind of vision of Criss Angel you want to see. There he was in a large, clear, Plexiglas tube rehearsing for a new illusion but something had gone wrong. Very wrong — he was trapped. There was little air left in the tube and it did not look good. He needed an air hole to breathe because for some reason that I could not see, no one was able to help him fast enough.

The vision of Criss stuck felt completely real and was totally vivid. It seemed he had to decide to risk using what little oxygen he had left to burn a hole through the Plexiglas or possibly suffocate. In the vision, he scraped the shavings, struck the steel and the a magnesium flared and melted a hole for him to breath! I felt his relief and the impression people were coming to help.

Holding the package, I prayed that by giving him this tool to escape such a circumstance perhaps the entire event could be averted. On the other hand, if it were to come to fore he would have a way out.

When we met, I was blown away. Criss is brilliant, intense, spiritual and just plain fun. Nevertheless, I could NOT tell him the vision because I felt that to speak it would give it the power to manifest. Criss could tell I was holding something back. He asked if I thought this was something he might need…all I could say was, yes — but not WHY he might need it!

Now that over three years have passed, I no longer feel that vision is a threat. So it’s finally safe to tell the story of Criss Angel and the Magnesium Bar. Don’t leave home without it!

Hi,

Apologies for the layout and the delay in posting I have just become a new Dad and this as you can imagine has taken up all my time. I have posted here the very best offers that are available in Las Vegas, these offers are available for anyone, almost all are fully refundable so if the rate drops after you book you call the hotel and they will adjust your rate. Look for the great rates at the new and amazing Aria and Vdara, if you want free buffet passes look at MGM and both Excalibur and Luxor have rates that allow up to 4 in the room with no extra charges. Happy Holidays. – Simon

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Have you ever heard of the World Magic Awards Show? Yeah, me neither. Anyway, their 2007 show didn’t attract many top people nor top magicians.  Here’s an article written on Fox News, although I don’t know why they say it was aired on MTV? Was it?

Our Favorite Magicians Ever

By Amy Harrington & Nancy Harrington  - Getback

This week the 2009 World Magic Awards aired on MTV, and while prestidigitation sometimes gets a bad rap (OK, we admit Doug Henning did not do much for the industry’s hip factor), in our minds, the thrill of illusion doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

We saw David Copperfield perform in the ’80s. He made a motorcycle — with him on it — disappear from the stage and reappear in the middle of the theater on a platform that covered a few rows of seats about 20 feet away from us. Now we get that there was probably a stunt double onstage, but there was NO accounting for the bike. People nearby were touching it and the chairs below it. It was not a hologram or mirror trick. There was no trap door in the floor and nothing suspended from the ceiling — just a 650-pound chopper carrying the Master of Illusion himself. It blew our minds.

To us, all the current-day spellbinders owe a huge debt of gratitude to Copperfield. And while many of the performers’ presentations can be a bit cheesy, we are big fans of the art. Here’s our list of our favorite magicians EVER!

Siegfried & Roy

It’s a life-long question that only Hall and Oates can relate to — which one is Siegfried and which one is Roy. The answer is simple: it doesn’t matter. One would not be a success without the other. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn met on a cruise ship where Siegfried was a magician. Roy (the dark-haired one, for those who are still curious) joined him as his assistant and upped the ante by adding a cheetah to the act (Roy had allegedly smuggled the wild animal onboard the ship). The German-born magicians ultimately became a staple of the Las Vegas magic scene, signing a lifetime contract with Steve Wynn’s Mirage Hotel.

But things went terribly wrong on Roy’s birthday in 2003. That night, one of their legendary white tigers, Montecore,grabbed Roy by the neck, seriously injuring the illusionist. There are many theories about what happened that night. Some say Montecore tried to protect Roy when he stumbled, in a protective mother/cub kind of way. Some say it was a brutal attack by a wild animal. Still others contend that Montecore got distracted by the oversized hairdo of a fan in the front row, and that when the woman reached out to pet the dangerous feline, Roy sacrificed himself by getting in between them. A final theory holds that Montecore, injured by a trap door, was scared and accidentally injured Roy in a pileup with the tiger and some stagehands.

Whatever Montecore’s motivation, the illusionist was in critical condition for weeks and suffered partial paralysis as the result of a stroke. The act was put on hold for five years while Horn went through intensive rehabilitation. But six years later, Roy proved to the world — and the tiger —that it was all water under the bridge. In a ten-minute performance filmed for “20/20,” Siegfried, Roy, and Montecore performed together one last time before officially retiring.

Doug Henning

Doug Henning was a Canadian il-LUUU-sionist who brought a truly theatrical flair to his work (and his stage clothes). The Houdini hippie created a live stage show in the early ’70s directed by fellow Canuck Ivan Reitman; Henning later brought the Tony-nominated show to Broadway. His magical routines soon became an annual network television event called “Doug Henning’s World of Magic.” He also created stage effects for such performers as Michael Jackson and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

But Doug never had a chance to see his biggest dream materialize. The project, called Maharishi Veda Land, was the brainchild of Henning and the founder of Transcendental Meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. A Disneyland for the spiritually attuned, the destination location was to combine theatrical illusions and technology with the teachings of sacred Hindu texts. The thought that such a place could exist and succeed sounds implausible to us. But in the words of Henning, “Anything the mind can conceive is possible. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is look within, and you can realize your fondest dreams.”

David Blaine

In the mid ’90s, David Blaine looked like he was on the fast track to becoming a legendary magician. His first TV special, “David Blaine: Street Magic” was a SERIOUS mind-freak (take that Criss Angel!), and his quiet and thoughtful demeanor was often spellbinding. Then he became a stunt magician, constantly trying to one-up himself with endurance tests: being buried alive, freezing himself in a block of ice, and standing inside a plastic box on a pillar. Was this magic or a way to avoid getting a real day job?

Either way, we can pinpoint the moment when David Blaine crossed over from being cool to being odd, and it wasn’t even in his control. During Michael Jackson’s still inexplicable 2002 VMA acceptance speech for what he thought was the Artist of the Millennium Award (it was, in fact, a sparkly decoration on a birthday cake), MJ said these simple words, “David Blaine, your magic is real, and I believe in you.” Not exactly a career-building character reference.

Penn & Teller

Penn & Teller are often called the “Bad Boys of Magic.” Penn Jillette (the loud, tall, funny one) and Raymond Teller (the short, silent, creepy one) are known for their gory, macabre tricks that combine illusion, comedy, juggling, and mime with a touch of politics. They describe themselves as “a couple of eccentric guys who have learned how to do a few cool things.” Their act includes a strait-jacketed Penn hanging over a bed of spikes, Teller’s run-in with an 18-wheeler, knives going through hands, and the ultimate version of the bullet trick, in which they both simultaneously fire guns and catch each other’s bullets in their mouths.

“Penn & Teller: Bulls#*t!,” their Showtime TV series now in it’s fifth season, exposes fraud and fakes and debunks the myths from everything to New Age healing and relaxation techniques to alien abductions. Personally, we think that Penn’s best illusion was making himself disappear after week one of his stint on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Harry Anderson

You might know Harry Anderson from his days as Judge Harold Stone on “Night Court,” but he’s actually quite an accomplished magician. In fact, he got his start as a kid doing card tricks and shell games on the street and doing gigs at Hollywood’s legendary Magic Castle. That honor led to a recurring guest spot on “Saturday Night Live,” which won him the role of Harry “The Hat” Gittes on “Cheers.” From there, he went on to “Night Court,” playing the wacky judge who’s an amateur magician obsessed with Mel Torme (two character traits shared by Anderson that the creator claims were coincidental).

Then, after playing a fictionalized version of humor columnist Dave Barry on “Dave’s World,” Harry left the TV spotlight and returned to his first love: illusion. He moved to New Orleans, where he opened a curiosities shop called Sideshow and a nightclub named Oswald’s Speakeasy. Sadly, he and his family left New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Anderson still tours as a magician and regularly hosts magic conventions.

Lance Burton

Since his first magical moment as an audience volunteer at age five, Lance Burton has been fascinated with the art of prestidigitation. His first bewitching moment in the spotlight should have been the sign that he would go on to have a career in illusion. Only one week after moving to Los Angeles, he made his first appearance on “The Tonight Show.” Magic fan Johnny Carson was so impressed with the young man’s talent, he gave him an unheard-of 12 minutes of air time. No one would have suspected then that he would grow up to be the most famous magician on the Vegas Strip. After long runs at the Folies Bergere and the Hacienda Hotel, Burton settled into his new home, signing a 13-year contract with the Monte Carlo Resort to work his magic in the Lance Burton Theater. If you find yourself in Sin City anytime soon, check out his newest illusion: the $10 million “Solid Gold Lady.”

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris, an amateur magician, has said that his tricks are better suited for the talk show circuit than a club. He’s performed his sleight of hand on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” His tricks are so impressive that he managed to cast a spell on the powers that be at the Magic Castle, who invited him to sit on their board of directors — the first celebrity to be so honored since Cary Grant.

Sure, he’s hosted the Emmys and the Tonys, but more impressive to fans of illusion, he hosted the 2008 World Magic Awards. Harris, who became a self-proclaimed magic geek as a kid, admits there is a certain nerd stigma to the art, saying, “It’s the coolest hobby in the world, but people tend to get into magic because no one would talk to them.”

Criss Angel

MTV has dubbed Criss Angel ”the post-modern Houdini.” The star of the A&E series “Criss Angel Mindfreak” is a bit too pretentious for our tastes. But he has been named Magician on the Year five times in a row, the first illusionist to achieve that honor. Plus, he can levitate, walk on water, and cut himself in half. And as a self-proclaimed escapologist, he has freed himself from strait-jackets and imploding buildings and even got run over by a steamroller while laying on a bed of glass. Maybe Perez Hilton is not a fan (he tweeted during a performance of Angels’ Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, “Believe,” that he’d “rather be getting a root canal”), but his “Loyals” — the nickname of his hardcore “Mindfreak” fans — would follow him to the ends of the earth, or at least to his latest “Mindfreak: Secret Revelations” book signing.

Ed Alonzo

If Ed Alonzo looks familiar and you’re not a magic fan, you must have loved “Saved by the Bell” when you were growing up. Alonzo played the owner of everyone’s favorite hangout, The Max (which was also his character’s name). After guest-starring roles on other sitcoms, he started doing a comedic magic act at the Great America theme park in Santa Clara, California. Ed’s continued to work his magic on TV and in live venues and recently designed and performed illusions in Britney Spears’ big comeback — her 2009 Circus Tour – but unfortunately he couldn’t make the lip-syncing rumors disappear. Sadly, Ed didn’t get the chance to join Michael Jackson during his planned London concert appearances, but he did witness Jackson’s final rehearsal just before the King of Pop’s untimely death.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/11/27/favorite-magicians/

This is too weird.

As we walk through life we get mud on our shoes. We when take time to stop, we realize the muddy mess. We do this by lifting up one shoe and balancing on our other. Or we do this by plopping down on the back door step. As we access the situation we realize just how much mud is caked on the bottom of our shoes. Eventually we have to sit down and take the time to scrap off the layers of mud.

Getting mud on our shoes is inevitable. It is unavoidable. We cannot levitate through life. I cannot be Criss Angel. Alright, I know I probably lost most of you with that obtuse Criss Angel reference. Back to the matter at hand. We have to continue on our journey in both sun and storm. Sunny days in life are enjoyable and energizing, stormy days can be the real pits. We have to continue on our path, even when it’s clearly muddy up ahead. Take time to check the soles of your shoes for mud everyday. Also, time take to check your other “sole” as well. After all, as I’m learning, muddy shoes aren’t good for me, and they aren’t good for the people around me either.

The pre-order for Celldweller’s Wish Upon a Blackstar: Chapter 2 went live yesterday.  The second chapter (of five total) will feature the songs “The Best It’s Gonna Get“ and “Eon.”

Chapter 2 will be available for download in several bundles (including a deluxe edition for $4.99) on December 8th from Celldweller’s FiXT store.  The deluxe edition features a remix from chapter one, “So Long Sentiment” mixed by Toksin’s Anhedonia…

After all five chapters are released, I expect there will be a full-length album (and hopefully CD) issue.

~Dan – np: Celldweller – Wish Upon a Blackstar Ch 1 (coincidence, I swear)

The most recent addition to the family of lovely and talented Miss Novembers is 2009’s Playboy Playmate of the Month, Kelley Brooke Thompson.

Photographed by Arny Freytag

Miss D and I were talking about the television program “The Girls Next Door” a little while back and I commented, “Don’t even talk to me about Holly Madison right now; I am so mad at her. I would’ve credited her with more brains than this. I’m so disappointed in her.”

This was in reference to the I-once-thought-shrewd Ms. Madison having lost her mind, broken up with Hugh Hefner, and moved out of the mansion to be with that filthy hobo illusionist Criss Angel, who has, on top of that, now broken up with her. Both Miss D and I were completely familiar with the details of all this: I don’t have cable but Miss D keeps me up to speed on the choice, juicier details of reality television, and naturally I keep my own eye on goings-on in the Playboy empire. We are not the only ones, it seems! Ms. Thompson credits “The Girls Next Door,” E!’s reality show about the life of the playmates at Hef’s mansion in Holmby Hills, as the inspiration for her decision to become a nude model.

Kelley has wanted to be a Playmate ever since she became a fan of “The Girls Next Door” four years ago. “I immediately fell in love with Hef and the girls on that show, and I was, like, ‘Wow, it would be really awesome to experience something like that. It’d be like a dream.’” (“Lone Star,” Playboy, November 2009)

You keep on chasing the dream, kiddo! I think Ms. Thompson looks pretty sweet and natural. No hate from this corner.

In keeping with the modern age of her appearance in the magazine, you can hit Ms. Thompson up on the myspace (her current mood is “giggly”!) or the twitter any ol’ time, although her myspace profile is set to private, so you will need an account and an accepted friend request from her to view her pictures. Her most recent tweet is: “Don’t twitter and drink lol”. Words to live by.

She also has a personal website and blog.

Kelley has the mixed bag of blessings of being the Playmate of the Month in the issue of Playboy featuring Marge Simpson on its cover. All hail the gimmicks brought about by the impending death of print media! I say it’s a mixed blessing because, while it means this issue is going to sell bunches more copies than normal, Ms. Thompson may find her pictorial and interview overshadowed by the Simpson shenanigans as far as what is being paid attention to within the pages of the issue. Good luck, kiddo! Time will tell!

Did you see the Straits Times on Friday? Well, if you had, you might have seen a colourful advertisment for the Singapore Flyer which looks something like this….

The magic event at Singapore Flyer!

Yup, yup, that is me up there! Actually this snap shot is only about one-fifth of the whole advert, there are other fantastic deals on the Singapore Flyer for the family! There are packages for familys, student promotions and a lot more! So be sure to check them out.

For more information on the Flyer, you can check their website here.

And more more information about the magic events happening at the Flyer, check this out.

Great! Pretty excited about the whole event actually. Sure, there will be fellow magicians and hobbist there too! Can’t wait to see some of my good friends in magic as well. Also, even though you may have seen me performing the kids shows as Marco the Adventurer, but I am really really passionate about close up magic! Even though I do not perform close up magic as Marco, I perform close up magic as myself, Alexander, because I think close up magic should be an closer extension of yourself.

Close up magic is the kind of magic that one would associate with David Blaine, Criss Angel and of cos, Cyril! This kind of magic entails high impact, up front magic. Not the usual magician with the box or rabbits kind of magic, which garners a different occassion as well as a different feel. This is not to say that close up magic is raw, in fact, I don’t think it was suppose to be that way. A lot of young magicians and new magicians I see who does close up magic to their friends often try to imitate David Blaine. And what they do is simply showing off how good they are. And that is not the point in close up magic, in fact, any aspects of magic. You are to share with your audience your magic. Not share with your audience how good you can do the moves. Well, a more in dept discussion for another time, or another medium. ; )

Alrighty! See you at the event of the year this December at the Singapore Flyer!

Signing off,

Marco the Adventurer!

Jadi pengen bisa terbang kaya Criss Angel. Bisa keliling dunia gratis.he..he..

Download Link:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/7288360/CrissAngel-Terbang.avi.html

Tubuh Criss Angel dipotong gergaji mesin. Tapi anehnya kok gak  berdarah yah?

Download Link:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/7288359/CrissAngel-Digergaji.avi.html

Menakjubkan sekaligus mengerikan. Seorang wanita ditarik dan tubuhnya terbelah menjadi 2 bagian.

Pengen tau lebih lanjut?

Download aja disini:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/7272378/CrissAngel-Memotongtubuhjadi2.avi.html

Pengen liat aksi Criss Angel saat berjalan di atas air?

Download aja disini:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/7271934/CrissAngel-Berjalandiatasair.avi.html

By Anthony D Jacques

The other day I was talking with some folks about my personal experiences growing up within Evangelical Christianity. I must have offended a couple of the believers present because they instantly demanded empirical data to back up my “so-called truth claims.” It quickly became clear that there was nothing I could say to convince them that I was not speaking about religion in general, nor was I quoting statistics or research. I was merely talking about my own experience.

A little more recently, I was on a blog discussing Christianity with some internet folks, and the moment I mentioned personal experiences that were negative (though not when I mentioned the good times I’d had, mind you) one of the Christians present said my opinion was obviously jaded and I was clearly not in the position to speak about Christianity at large.

And once again, nothing I could say could convince the other party that I wasn’t speaking about Christianity at large. They got mad, and I just left. (I am learning, slow as it may be.)

I’ve been thinking about all this, trying to come up with a parallel. I suppose if a Christian were to say they had felt the presence of God and I demanded numbers or data to back up their “so-called truth claim” they would be offended. After all, that’s the difference between evidence and experience.

Or is that difference an illusion?

1957 Bel Air

If I said I like the ‘57 Bel Air better than the ‘56 or ‘58, I certainly shouldn’t need statistics to support that. If I said it was the best car ever designed, I’d still need no evidence to support this claim. But that’s only an opinion.

If I claimed the ‘57 Bel Air would save your soul and you should believe in it and hail it as the ultimate automobile, you might want a few more reasons why. If I said this “fact” simply must be accepted on faith alone, you’d likely stop stifling the laughter you’d been holding back and, if you’re nice, simply walk away, leaving what’s left of my dignity intact.

The difference is that most people don’t just laugh in the face of Christians who say they must blindly believe certain propositions on faith alone. We are tolerant, but because of that tolerance, I think a good many silly ideas remain intact within religion to this day.

And the moment you find a facet of someone’s belief that cannot be supported with evidence or data in any real sense, they back into the “highly nuanced” corner of “mystery” and “theology” and other such nonsense. Thus, all manner of silliness continues outside the realm of rational critique. This is the problem with separating evidence and experience and pretending they shouldn’t depend on each other.

Case in point: Magicians and illusionists rely on convincing you that something which is, by definition, impossible, is actually happening. You certainly experiencethat woman getting cut in half, or the Statue of Liberty disappearing, but you never fully allow yourself to believe it because you know it’s a magic show. After the trick, the woman walks back on stage fully restored, and the Statue of Liberty is “back where it belongs,” as it were. Of course, if you’ve watched any TV during the last five years, you know how both these illusions are achieved.

If the magician is good, then your eyes and brain are both taken in by the experience.That’s what makes it fun. But there would be trouble brewing if you took a magic show as evidence. Ifyou started believing people can really catch bullets in their teeth and walk on water, or worse, if you thought maybe you could as well, then you might find yourself in a world of pain.

Alright, next time we’ll dig a little deeper into the realm of evidence, but for now, enjoy this video of Criss Angel walking on water.

By Anthony D Jacques

The other day I was talking with some folks about my personal experiences growing up within Evangelical Christianity. I must have offended a couple of the believers present because they instantly demanded empirical data to back up my “so-called truth claims.” It quickly became clear that there was nothing I could say to convince them that I was not speaking about Christianity at large, or even most Christians’ experience, nor was I quoting statistics or even budding research.

This morning I was thinking about this, trying to come up with a parallel. I suppose if a Christian were to say they had felt the presence of God and I demanded numbers or data to back up their “so-called truth claims” they would be offended. And they should be. I mean, isn’t that the difference between evidence and experience?

The more I think about this, however, the more I think this dichotomy gets abused when Christians defend their faith.

Evidence

About eight years ago, when I was in my first year at Bible college, I read about a study that showed Christians did better in school and had less disciplinary problems than non Christians. I found the study flimsy and couldn’t see the purpose in trying to show that religion makes for better students. This upset many of my classmates who thought the study was just one more proof that religion is good for society at large.

Then it was discovered that the study was skewed because it relied on the variation in nomenclature of disciplinary procedures between public and private (Christian) schools. For instance, if public schools used the word “detention,” the study grabbed statistics from private schools that didn’t use the word “detention” in their disciplinary system, thereby stating that public school children got X-number more detentions than private school children in such and such city. (I wish I remembered the source, I’d love to quote both the study and the evidence proving its falsity).

My Christian classmates were miffed, to be sure, but many stuck to their guns, essentially claiming that even though that particular study was flawed, they still believed its results were true and some study, someday, would prove that.