Criss Angel – We’re Kind of Over It

Criss Angel with One Time Squeeze, Holly MadisonThis may be apostasy or just dumb politics but a recent in-house poll of the Inside Magic staff reveals we’re over .

This regretful admission comes on news of Criss Angel’s purchase of a $25,000,000.00 home and plans for the next Mindfreak season.

Could we be vaguer in our description?

Is “vaguer” a word?

At one time, we thought Criss Angel was doing great things for Magic and while we were not big fans of hanging by meat hooks as performance art, we respected his willingness to try new directions.

We were psyched he hired so many talented magicians as he readied his Mindfreak show. Johnny Thompson, Banachek, Steve Daly, Milt Larsen and others. They were the real deal, folks who know our art and have experience in big theaters and small close-up venues.

Yes, Mr. Angel’s use of the camera trickery was unfortunate but to paraphrase Chinatown, “It’s Hollywood, Jake.” We pretended not to care. Still, Houdini did not use camera tricks – even when he was filming his own stunts for the Houdini Motion Picture Company. There is no evidence that Robert-Houdin used video editing either.

There could be an argument made that David Copperfield has used cameras in a less than transparent manner, but his choice of a camera’s point of view or field of vision pales in comparison to the Criss Angel method.

We refused to contemplate too deeply the serial dating of starlets and wannabes proclaiming his undying love for each publicly with the abandon we normally associate with teen crushes.
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Nathan Kranzo Hit in UK

Nathan Kranzo - international star

We are proud of We discovered him when we were a nobody. Yes, he was already well known and famous but were and still are a struggling (psychologically) virtual rag on a gas powered server with a small staff and rapidly spreading staph infection.

Now, some 10 years after we first met Mr. Kranzo in only to learn his home is about 23 clicks from our town of Mystic Hollow, MI, he is an international star of multiple magic disciplines.

Ironically, we initially received shock therapy for Multiple Magic Discipline Disorder until it was dropped from the DSM (The Psychology Bible on diagnosis and treatment) and our insurance refused to pay for our visits.

We read with interest and caffeine and nicotine based attention that his trip to our former owners, England has been more than successful. (More than successful in that we presume he not only received adulation, great reviews, and new fans but was also likely paid for doing so).

This from the essential read, Magic Convention Guide:

Northern Magic Circle 2010 – Gala Show Nathan Kranzo hails from Michigan and is a super talented close-up performer and it became apparent a very funny stage guy too, damn him! He opened with a great Paper Heart restoration, transforming it to a Heart Balloon, incorporating a very funny squeaker gag. His Mindreading Crotch trick was an hilarious Named Card to Fly, and finally Nathan closed his set with a Borrowed Ring to Lemon.

(http://www.magicconventionguide.com/2010/northern-magic-circle-2010-gala-show/)

If there is one thing we know, it is that we have very limited knowledge about things. We tend to see things as perfected with little need or room for improvement. Hence our Ill-fated investment in the long-forgotten soft drink 6-UP.

Mr. Kranzo is costantly upping the stakes with improvements on his already perfect inventions.

We say, Bully for Him. Check out his blog and store at: http://www.KranzoMagic.com.