The first episode of PHENOMENON aired this evening and this writer was
not impressed. We saw parlour tricks, some items directly out of
dealer catalogs.
Let's now proceed with how this sillines was accomlished.

Trick #1: CARMEN GETS TOUCHED

This trick is right out of Sean Fields book EXPLICIT CONTENT. There
is a long, and I mean long thread running across the stage (think
Kevlar...this is live). It is raised and lowered by assistants to
tickle her nose, forhead, chest, ect. What gave it away is the fact
that the first thing the magician did was make them stand in specific
spots.

Trick #2: ANIMAL TRAP GUY

He showed us that the first smaller trap worked just fine, and look at
the damage it did. The bigger one must be more powerful. BS, the
spring was weakened. All of the standing on the trap to open it was
showmanship. Next time Trapper John use a bear trap with teeth. Leg
breaker traps aren't violent enough in my book.

Trick #3: NAIL GUN GUY

mitchell_leary wrote:

"mitchell_leary" yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Also credit to Banacek for his PK Touches, as Angel mentioned. The thread
theory is good, but it looked like a long way to any hidden wings on either
side of the platform they were on. I was thinking he had a thumb tip on his
downstage hand with a thin wire that he brushed across her face as he moved
his hand across her. There's a moment where he could have acquired it from
his buttoned jacket. Watch it again and notice the hand in relation to her.

"mitchell_leary" yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Close but no cigar. This version does not use a very long thread nor
assistants. Chris Angel even told you that this version of the trick was
pioneered by Banachek (Steve Shaw). Those familiar with Steve's method
could see the touches happening.

Whodat wrote:

mitchell_leary wrote:

AHAHAH!! Hilarious.....

carlo

"mitchell_leary" yahoo.com> wrote in message
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That's one of the problems with learning magic. With knowledge you lose the
sense of wonder that attracted you to it in the first place. But hopefully
you learn to enjoy the artistry that performers put into their acts. The
art is what turns mere "parlour tricks" into miracles. Even if you know how
it's done, you can still appreciate a good performance at many levels.

"randwill" triad.rr.com> writes:

That's in Ormand McGill's _How to Produce Miracles_ from his Psychic Magic series.
He used a horsehair.

I think Penn and Teller have about 6 or more failsafes in their bullet
catch routine. I heard of someone who did a guillotine escape at a
magic convention, and it have zero failsafes. Real stupid.

Ratings for the show sucked. I PREDICT it will not last. LOL

I disagree about telephone book. 6 people holding envelopes weren't picked
randomly from audience. Could have been stooges. Maybe envelopes weren't
empty at end of trick.

"mitchell_leary" yahoo.com> wrote in message
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In message <86odemh94z.fsf@localhost.localdomain>, Maxwell Lol
writes

I think I remember reading that there were 3, but that any one of them
was enough to prevent an actual shooting.
--
Will Tingle