Bon par contre, avant que le défilé ne commence j’ai tout de même pu voler quelques clichés d’une ancienne starlette de la télé réalité… L’avez-vous reconnu ?

Hello!

Did you all know that Cyril Takayama was in Singapore recently? He was actually here to film his television special in lovely Singapore! He is one of my favourite magician! To me, he brings magic up one notch with items that are real and ordinary.

In the interview, he talks about his magic experience. In the interview, I was actually quite surprised that he is quite a down to earth guy. Quite what you will not expect for someone with that kind of fame. Check the interview here!

Anyway, our good friend, Red Dot Magic, has a special contest for you Cyril Fans! Some interesting prizes to be won too! Click the picture to find out more!

Simply Magic

Signing off

Marco the Magic Adventurer!

bonjour. Je me présente, Cyril et je fais des études de journalisme à Paris. Je suis chargé de crée des images, et de les publiées ensuite. C’est très interressant. Je prend mon appareil photo et je me rends sur le terrain. Ensuite sur un logiciel je construis mes photos, qui je publierai à la suite. Je fais toutes sortes de photos : pubs pour les blog, photos de “spécials”, de stades, de joueurs, annoces de jeux …. quelles photos a été la plus dûre à créer ? : le logo sportfr ! J’ai du m’y prendre à plusieurs reprises (72 fois, j’ai compté ). Voila, et aussi, je suis venu chez sportfr quand j’étais au lycée …. ça remonte mais c’était un bon moment que je n’oublierais jamais.

au revoir.

vos questions sont les bienvenues !

J’ai fait mon stage dans la confiserie à L’Isle. J’ai remarqué que le patron était un peu rude avec ses apprentis et ouvriers. Les premiers jours, c’était dur de me lever chaque matin à 5 heures. Les ouvriers et apprentis étaient sympas, ils avaient toujours un petit travail à me faire faire. J’ai même pu ramener des pâtisseries chez moi. C’était un plaisir de travailler dans cet atelier, mais je ne pense pas faire un apprentissage là-bas.

The haunted pack is a trick where a card is chosen, shuffled into the deck and then cuts itself. Then one card where the deck was cut move out of the deck. It is the chosen card. Street magician cyril performed this illusion on television. He does it standing up and uses the shadows of his hands to manipulate the cards.

street magic cyril

more magic at ellusionist.

I learned of the release of Agora at Kallisti in Spain on October 6th, 2009. I hope it’ll come out in the US soon.

Historical & Religious Context
Agora takes place in the 4th century C.E. (Common Era) in Egypt under the Roman Empire. This is the year that Christians in Alexandria go on an iconoclastic rampage, obliterating pagan statues and images throughout the city, as well as the Temple of Serapis. Co-emporer Theodosius (of Rome) orders that all non-Christian works be destroyed. Fire consumes the Great Library of Alexandria (established in 275 B.C.E. [Before Common Era]), considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. Among the works lost were parchments by the astronomer Aristarchus of Samos asserting that the Earth orbits the sun (see Ptolemy, 140 A.D.; Copernicus, 1543 A.D.), and dozens of dramatic works by Sophocles and Euripides.*

Hypatia, brilliant astronomer and philosopher, trapped inside the burning Library, fights to preserve ancient knowledge.

This is a mere 78 years after Constantine and his co-emporer Licinius accept Christianity (in 131 C.E.).*

In 321 C.E. (70 years prior to the setting of this film) Constantine declared that Sunday would thereafter be a day of rest throughout the Empire (although, he continued to worship Apollo despite his acceptance of Christianity).*

In 324 C.E. (67 years prior to the film setting) he bans “pagan” sacrifices and pillages “pagan” temples.*

A year after this the council of Nicaea is held* in which many issues are debated and doctrine of the Christian church is established (note, there are pieces of the Bible that were not included in the final agreement of this council, and Revelations was only barely approved.

About Hypatia
From About.com:Women’s History**

Hypatia dressed in the clothing of a scholar or teacher, rather than in women’s clothing. She moved about freely, driving her own chariot, contrary to the norm for women’s public behavior. She exerted considerable political influence in the city…

Cyril [Christian bishop, later made a saint] probably objected to Hypatia on a number of counts: She represented heretical teachings, including experimental science and pagan religion. She was an associate of Orestes ["pagan" opponent of Cyril - who objected to Cyril expelling Jews from the city, and was murdered for his opposition to Cyril]. And she was a woman who didn’t know her place. Cyril’s preaching against Hypatia is said to have been what incited a mob led by fanatical Christian monks in 415 to attack Hypatia as she drove her chariot through Alexandria.

Notes
*4th Century C.E. via EndNotes.com
**About.com: Women’s History: Hypatia: Philosopher, Astronomer, and Mathematician

I found out about an upcoming (December 2009) historical movie that looks interesting from N.S.Gill’s Ancient History Blog.

Go here to see a trailer and other related stuff.

The antique Atticus is hot.  Little wonder parents are searching history for more choices from way back.

Thanks to Alicia for suggesting Cyril as Name of the Day.

Cyril comes from the Greek kyrios – lord.  You  might recognize it from church – kyrie eleison translates to “lord have mercy.”  Or if you’re a child of the 80s, there’s two-hit wonder Mr. Mister’s 1986 chart-topper “Kyrie.”

The Greek name would’ve been closer to Kyrillos, with a hard k.  But as the Greek was translated into Latin, Kyrillos became Cyrillos.  (Ks are rare in Latin.)  That’s when Cyril started to sound more like cereal.

Back in the ancient world, Cyril and company must’ve been fairly common.  It was worn by a number of notables, including:

• The scholarly Saint Cyril of Alexandria lived in the fourth century;
• His contemporary, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, is considered a doctor of the Roman Catholic Church;
• In the fifth century, Cyrillus taught legal theory in what is now modern-day Beirut;
• The ninth century Saint Cyril and his brother Saint Methodius are remembered for creating the Cyrillic alphabet, allowing them to translate the Bible into Slavic languages.

Cyril might mean lordly, but he sounds brainy, and the early bearers of the name back this up.

Until recent centuries, most Cyrils were Slavic, though English playwright Cyril Tourneur penned The Revenger’s Tragedy back in 1607.

The English speaking world overlooked Cyril until the nineteenth century.  While he was never wildly popular, you can find Cyrils in many fields of achievement, including:

• Cyril Cusack, an Irish actor successful on stage and screen in the 20th century;
• British military officers like World War I’s Sir Cyril Deverell;
• Cyril King was elected governor of the US Virgin Islands in the 1970s;
• Cyril Power was a modern artist and co-founder of the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London in 1925;
• The quips of 20th century literary critic Cyril Connolly are oft-quoted.

Toss in scientists and athletes, and there are Cyrils aplenty.  In the US, Cyril charted right through 1966, so American Cyrils are among the list, too.  But to many, Cyril feels British, not unlike Basil.

He enjoyed a spike in usage in 1970s France, and as you cruise through a list of Cyrils, you’ll find plenty of them throughout the French-speaking world, too.

Today his prospects for a comeback seem slim.  Fictional Cyril O’Reily is a character on HBO’s gritty prison drama, Oz.  He’s not likely to inspire many parents.

Slavic variants Kiril and Kirill fit right in with current trends.  Neither have charted in the US Top 1000, but they track with hyper-masculine picks like Cannon and Slade, as well as all those kreative-with-a-K picks.

The Italian Ciro is another variant, but he sounds just a smidge too much like zero.

Instead, the related name poised for a comeback is probably the regal Cyrus.  While he shares Cyril’s soft C, he’s not nearly as gentle.  Between the bookish Cyril and the commando Kiril, Cyrus seems to inhabit a perfectly masculine middle ground.

Cyril has some saintly appeal, but he’s probably not quite ready to be rediscovered.

Bonjour monsieur Robert,

Comment allez-vous ? On a une nouvelle prof de gym, elle est trop sévère avec nous et on ne fait jamais de jeu. C’était vraiment cool quand vous étiez là l’année passée. Pour moi l’école ça roule !

Bonnes « vacances » en Australie !

Alexandra et Cyril de Secret Story 2