David Blaine and Criss Angel

There has been a lot of controversy in the magic community over David Blaine and Criss Angel. The controversy spreads from which is a better magician, to how they have hurt the magic community at large.

Now, my opinion, and this is one that is shared by very few magicians, is that both Angel and Blaine have done amazing things for the magic community and that we wouldn't be where we are today without them.

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Criss Angel being a dick?

I know that for many of you, the news that Criss Angel was being a dick recently isn't going to make you do a double-take. But someone forwarded me an article where it seems that Criss went off on two other magicians who happened to be at the Luxor, going so far as to have them removed from the property. Geeze, what a dick!

There is another side to the story, a side that the brief article I read didn't really cover, and I'd like to speculate on.

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Sleep deprivation and magic

Red Bull gives you...evil mustaches?

I've heard that that the average person sleeps almost a third of their lives. A full third!!! That means if you're thirty years old, you've spent ten of those years asleep! Think of everything you could accomplish in those ten years!

Last night I got four hours of sleep after staying up all night watching The Prestige and The Halloween Tree (both fantastic movies for those of you who haven't seen them) and hanging out with a good friend and this morning, despite battling bouts of horrible exhaustion, I've managed to put down on paper some fantastic new ideas and methods to create a really amazing routine.

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I can't even explain it

Just got this link from Clay, the President for the Order of Aggie Illusionists. I can't explain what it is, but Whit Hadyn never looked so funky!

http://theuglydance.com/?v=bkdrepjkma

~Cameron Rivers, Kings To You Magic

Creativity 101

Creativity is one of those things that is really easy for some of us, and really difficult for others. Sometimes it seems like the ideas won't ever stop, drowning you in a flood of thoughts that eventually cause your hands to cramp from trying to put them on paper; other times it seems like the next idea will never be there, that you've been abandoned by the Muses in some vast wasteland for has-been artists.

So how do you make sure that you always have a free flow of ideas? There are a few ways to do so, but overall, the best and most effective way to ensure creativity is to go out and do something creative. Now I know what you're thinking: who has time for arts and crafts? But creativity isn't just about arts and crafts. Expand your definition of what is creative from physically creating something to menatlly solving a problem or emotionally experiencing something.

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Moments of Downtime or Why the Convention Was Funny

Yesterday I mentioned that I would be sharing some of the funny/amazing moments that happened at TAOM 2010, and after a solid eight hours of sleep, I'm ready to get to it!

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Broaden your horizons

One of the things that I tried to instill in the members of the OAI is that magic is a performing art. What this means to me is that you, as the magician, are creating a world for the spectator where it is, in the words of the great Tommy Wonder "possible to pass a ball" through a solid object or hang a coin invisibly in mid air, not just performing a sleight.

One of the best ways to improve this world that you create for the spectator is to add some spectacle: color, movement, music, anything helps. But the way that you include things like that is to broaden your performance horizons to include things like:

• Juggling
• Fire-breathing
• Poi
• Sphereplay
• Dance

By expanding your performance horizons, you allow yourself access to a new style of performance and performance philosophy  that will help you to create new, more exciting magic for yourself and others.

So take a look at taking on new skills and hobbies and see if just the act of learning something new doesn't spark the creativity inside you.

~Cameron Rivers, Kings To You Magic

After-Action Report: TAOM 2010

"It's just your average convention," my friend said sarcastically as we stood there next to the like of Max Maven, Michael Weber, Shawn Greer, and Chad Long. 

"Let's hope that this becomes the average festival," I said.

I've had less than ten hours of sleep over the last four days. I've been running on mostly caffeine, excitement, and general insanity. I'm exhausted, burnt-out, and barely functioning. It was f*****g amazing.

An honest assesment of TAOM 2010 would be that it was a life-changing experience. With so many amazing performers crammed into one place bringing in various levels of experience and a wide variety of performance backgrounds and styles, you can hardly be surprised, but even knowing the lineup of performers and lecturers beforehand couldn't prepare me for the whirlwind of amazingness that was coming my way.

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Try Out Toys vs Fushigi

My first magic trick, my first *real* magic trick, was a floating dollar bill, and it ran me $60. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the case to find the secret was some wax and string. I got taken in by the advertising and the quick talking salesman who had way to much time to practice that effect. I wanted to believe so much, that I forked over my hard earned cash (and as a teenager, that money didn't come easy. It was days of putting together hamburgers).

Well something similar is happening with something I love, and I figured I'd warn you all.

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