Archive for October, 2005

Student Reporter’s Charming Look at Copperfield

A Student Reporter Wonders

We don’t know K.C. Vetter and we use the word “know” in the non-biblical sense.  That’s not to say we know her in the biblical sense, either. 

We just don’t know her, that’s all. But we wish we did.  We checked out her other opinion pieces on The Western Courier and were impressed by her production and novel approach. 

But
we enjoyed — although we did not know why we enjoyed — what K.C.
Vetter knew or did not know about David Copperfield’s well-publicized
Magical Impregnation effect.  She writes in The Western Courier this afternoon with either the satiric pen of Swift or youthful innocence. 

The article to which she refers was discussed last week on Today’s Magic News.

Ms. Vetter suggests magic may have lost its gusto. 

The
tricks aren’t as impressive anymore.  “Some people believe in
magic and some don’t. Magic is meant to entertain, whether it’s real or
not. But when is magic taken too far?”

The author suggests Mr.
Copperfield “doesn’t seem content with those accomplishments. Now he’s
going to kick it up a notch and essentially be playing God.”

She asks the musical question, “Wait a second. He’s going to make a girl pregnant right on stage? I don’t think so.”

Ms.
Vetter wonderfully accepts the premise and then considers the real-life
implications of making someone pregnant on stage. 

For instance, she asks, “How can he prove that he did it?”

Will
she be followed for the next nine months, take a pregnancy test? Plus,
Ms. Vetter asks, “how will we know she wasn’t pregnant when she came to
the show?”

This really is a charming article and we’re not trying to be patronizing.  But consider her last three paragraphs :

But
this is stupid. There aren’t any tests that can be done to prove this
woman got pregnant right there on stage. I suppose she could take a
pregnancy test right there in front of a crowd to prove that she’s
really not pregnant when this whole thing starts. But then what?
Implantation of an embryo to the walls of the uterus can take days. It
just won’t work.

And one final question is how he is going to find a
woman to participate? Is he just going to put up flyers asking who
wants to be the present day Mother of God?

The only moral way I see
this working out so it is acceptable to his viewers would be to use a
nun. Then he’d really be playing God. Impregnating a virgin through
Immaculate Conception and all.

We scan the news wires
around the world throughout the day and found no other writer asking
these questions.  Ms. Vetter isn’t naive; she’s insightful and
charming.

We found a great…
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Ricky Boone: An Inspiring Story

Ricky and Miss Marcie

Ricky Boone is one of the regulars at the South Carolina
Association of Magicians Convention but there is almost nothing
“regular” about him. Despite his handicaps and set-backs, Mr. Boone has
pushed on not only with a sense of humor and love for magic, but also
with a real talent to truly entertain audiences.

Heroes
come in all shapes and sizes. For example, take Ricky Boone, a
professional magician who lives in western North Carolina. A remarkable
person, he has risen above physical disabilities to succeed as a
performer and business owner. Through it all he has been guided and
strengthened by family and friends, an unwavering faith in God, and a
passion for stage magic.

Ricky was born forty-five years ago in
the tiny town of Burnsville, North Carolina, in the heart of the
Appalachian Mountains. As an infant he developed a rare bone disease
that prevented his body from developing fully. Combined with severe
scoliosis, it has kept him in a wheelchair for the last four decades.

His
parents decided early on that their son would have every opportunity
they could possibly give him. With that in mind they moved to
Asheville, NC in 1973, so he could attend a school for physically
challenged students. He was thirteen at the time. “Meeting the school
principal was the turning point in my life,” he relates. The first time
he saw the man, he rode onto campus on a motorcycle, pulled up to Ricky
and some other students, introduced himself, and then entertained them
for several minutes by doing coin tricks.

“I got hooked on magic
right there,” Ricky says. This began a long friendship between him and
the principal. The school official encouraged his interest in magic.
Through long hours of practice he mastered illusion after illusion, and
in his teen years began doing shows. By graduation he was an
accomplished magician.

After high school he entered college,
eventually earning degrees in accounting, computer programming and
small business administration. “Every time I was about to graduate they
would come up with another major that interested me, and back to school
I’d go,” he says with a smile. After finishing his studies a local
company approached him with a job offer, and for the next nine years he
was a bookkeeper and assistant manager for the firm. “I liked the
people I worked with, and the pay was good,” he relates, “but I always
felt there was something missing in my life.” That something was magic.

Ricky’s
chance to return to his first love came when the company he worked for
closed. He used his savings to open Magic Central, his shop in
Weaverville, NC. He also began to line up shows. Eventually he was
touring the East Coast from Florida to Massachusetts. “We performed in
some interesting places,” he says, “from churches and schools to seedy
bars on the wrong side of town.”

One memorable moment came after
a show he did at a tavern in Waynesville, NC. As he and his assistants
were packing up his equipment, a burly, hostile looking man approached
them. He stood in front of Ricky, gave him a long look, then reached
out to shake his hand. “I just wanted to tell you God spoke to me
during…
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Variety Hails Lance Burton’s Special on Houdini

The Lance Burton of His Day

Lance Burton teams with The History Channel to present a special two-hour program on our hero.

The special, Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery, premieres this evening on the History Channel.

The investigation into Houdini is not a new concept.   This is
well-trod ground but according to the very cynical Variety Magazine -
the defacto Industry Rag for the Entertainment Biz – says Mr. Burton’s
show is not just good, it could bring a whole new audience to Houdini.

You don’t often read such complimentary prose from Variety:

An auction of Houdini collectibles provides the excuse
for yet another documentary about the legendary magician that
nevertheless proves extremely interesting — an unsentimental portrait
capturing both his enduring influence and cultural importance in
turn-of-the-century entertainment.

Beyond a better understanding of the man, the various aficionados
who weigh in include the usually mum half of Penn & Teller, who is
shot in silhouette so as not to see him speak. It’s just one of the
nifty wrinkles in this unusually engaging specspec.

Although a Halloween-timed confection, docudocu also explores the
significance Houdini held for early 20th century immigrants (a point
alluded to in the book and musical “Ragtime”), offering symbolic escape
from their drudgery as they toiled in backbreaking jobs.

Blessed with an instinctive genius for marketing, his ascent from
poverty to vaudeville’s highest-paid performer burnished his
credentials as a populist hero.

Wow!  That is saying quite a bit.  The History Channel sums it up by suggesting, “Houdini
represents the kind of History Channel fare that if sold properly could
help bridge the gap to younger audiences — a program that entertains
without pandering or sacrificing its historical legitimacy.”

Frankly, we never tire of anything about Houdini.  But we also know
we love his story, myth, and legend precisely because we were hooked as
an elementary school student. 

That Mr. Burton, our era’s Master Magician, has apparently been able
to once again find a way to introduce Houdini to a new generation of
magic-lovers is perhaps a further testament his importance in our art. 

We’ll be watching tonight – flipping between Lance Burton and Criss
Angel.  It’s sort of the magic equivalent to the New Year’s football
bowl schedule.  It’s all good. 

Read the Variety article yourself here.
The show will air at 8:00 pm Eastern on The History Channel.

magic news魔术…
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