Friday, November 02, 2007

Phenomenon?

Hello, all. Well, Halloween has come and gone and it didn't leave us without a little bit of controversy in the magic community. If you watched Phenomenon that evening, you know what I am referring to. Thanks to our friends at iTricks, we were able to learn the following:


Criss Angel and paranormalist Jim Callahan had to be separated by host Tim Vincent and Uri Geller on live television during Wednesday’s two-hour episode of Phenomenon. As he was judging his act, Criss objected to Callahan’s claim that he was actually speaking to the dead and said he would offer $1,000,000 of his own money if either Callahan or Geller could name what was in a sealed envelope in his hand. The video can be seen here on Access Hollywood’s site.

Callahan has claimed that he is going to take the James Randi Educational Foundation’s $1,000,000 prize for proof of paranormal abilities under scientific testing.

On the Magic Cafe message boards early Thursday morning, Callahan posted the following

It was not staged.

And it was not a fight but rather a heated confrontation.

I almost did pitch Tim (The host) into the audience and held him to prevent him from being injured as I saw he would have gone over the edge of the stage.

Sorry I cannot post more right now but thought I should clear this bit up right now.

Best Wishes,

Jim

As for those following the cuts, Jim Karol and Successor contestant Ehud Segev were dismissed in favor of "Russian Roulette" stand out Eran Raven and "Human Phone Number" stand out Gerry McCambridge.

Wow. So what did you think about the special that aired on Halloween? Was it an improvement over last week's episode? Was it exciting or did you feel as if the confrontation was staged? We'd love to hear from you!


Guy Bavli

On a related and brighter note, I felt our good friend Guy Bavli did a fantastic job creeping out the audience and especially Raven Simone with his "heart-stopping" performance. We really want to hear your thoughts on the show and performers, both good and critical right here on the blog. Feel free to post what you like below.



Switching gears, a new product hit the doors this week called Insta-Cube, and wow is it cool! Remember Daryl's version of the Enchanted Cube that came almost ten years ago? You know, the effect where a mixed-up Rubik's Cube is tossed into the air and instantly solves itself when caught? Well, what would you say if you could actually hand it out for examination after the cube has been solved? Well, now you can; Insta-Cube delivers that promise, and the method is extremely clever. When we took a look at it yesterday morning, we all had smiles on our faces when we figured it out. Check it out for yourself and watch the online video of Insta-Cube in action HERE!



Wow! The response to our latest contest has been truly overwhelming since we officially posted the rules on our site on Wednesday. We've received well over 200 entries for the chance to win a $1000.00 gift certificate to spend at Hocus Pocus, and all you have to do is follow the simple rules. It's like getting free money! If you're interested, check it out HERE!



The 2nd Annual Hocus Pocus Swap Meet and Get-Together is coming together quite nicely. In addition to finalizing all the talent to be showcased that weekend, we are also excited to announce that it looks like Johnny Thompson of The Great Tomsoni & Company fame will be joining us as well to lecture and host a workshop on the following Sunday! If you haven't already reserved your space or purchased a table to sell your wares for the swap meet, contact us now at sales@hocus-pocus.com or 800-407-4040 or 559-266-5150.

So here we are in the second day of November, and how time has flown this year! Last night they were already showing Christmas commercials, although I shouldn't be surprised; they were already selling decorations and fake Christmas trees in September... Oh well, it's time to get into the holiday spirit and mind set. Don't forget to check out the web site for all your holiday needs for upcoming shows, and there's a good way to make sure you're on top of things: sign up for our daily updates inside the shop. Every new product that is put up daily will get sent to you via email with a direct link to the product's description and image. Pretty cool, eh? All you have to do is enter your email address on the right-hand column underneath the New Feature.

Well that about wraps it up for this week. Have a great weekend.

Until next time,

Paul

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Guy Bavli was my favorite of the night as well.

I doubt the confrontation was staged; why would Uri agree to it?

Anonymous said...

I think the lack of audience response proves that mentalism doesn't play well on tv, especially when celebrity guests are used for everything. As for this week, Mike Super was the best. I thought Bavli was the worst (other than that guy that thought using IT close up would be a great idea. Can you say blinding flash).

As for the "fight," who cares. They are both fakes. It's just odd that Mr. camera trick/stooge/set-up Angel would call out anyone for being a fake.

The saddest thing of the night was Angel's alleged tribute to Houdini which started out ok but ended, as expected, with Angel saying how he beat all of Houdini's escape records. That's some tribute Angel. How sad.