A To Z Of Well-Known Magicians

There are many well-known, skilled magicians that you might not know about because even though they're well known, they haven't reached magician cult status. Most people know about the magician David Copperfield, but there are many more magicians equally skilled. So, take a moment to learn about other wizards of magic and expand your knowledge about magicians.

Curtis Adams: A magician who appeared at the age of 16 in the Young Magicians Showcase featured on Fox Television. He was born on October 12, 1984 and was one of the youngest magicians to perform in Reno, Nevada casinos.

Criss Angel: The only three-time magician winner of the Merlin Award from the International Society of Magicians. Angel is a skilled magician who did stunts like lying on a bed of nails while a Hummer drove over him.

Ed Balducci: A street magician who died in 1988 at the age of 82. He is a magician known for his gimmick-free trick of visibly rising several inches from the ground with his back turned to his audience.

Derren Brown: A British magician who practiced traditional close-up magic in the 1990s. Brown's claim as a magician is his "mind-reading" act. Brown claims aliens abducted him.

Cardini: Richard "Cardini" Pitchford was a magician with almost 50 years of performing tricks and illusions. He's one of the world's most imitated magicians, but no one to date has ever been able to completely duplicate his tricks. He was a magician known for his sleight of hand. Items were forever appearing and disappearing from his hands. He died in 1973.

Tommy Cooper: A magician and comedian known who was a member of the Magic Circle until his death in 1984. He collapsed while doing a live magician act that became his last.

Paul Daniels: A currently retired British magician who in 1983 became the first magician to ever receive the prestigious Magician of the Year Award by the Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts.

S.W. Erndase: A magician and author whose real identity has never been figured out. Erndase is a magician who wrote a book in 1902 about card playing tricks.

Ching Ling Foo: The first Asian magician to achieve fame. He was a magician who did tricks like breathing fire and pulling a fifteen-foot pole from his mouth. He died in 1922.

Lennart Green: A magician known for his close-up card tricks. In 1991 this magician became the world champion of in close-up card magic.

Paul Harris: A magician known for pulling coins from mirrors. Many claim he is a magician with skills like a combination of Copperfield and Henning.

Scott Interrante: An American magician specializing in escape-artist tricks. He won awards from the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Ricky Jay: A magician listed in the Guinness Book of Records as throwing a playing card 190 feet at 90 miles per hour.

Fred Kaps: A Dutch magician who died in 1980. He is a magician known for making a saltshaker create an endless supply of salt.

Juan Tamariz: A Spanish magician who in 1971 founded a school that has trained generations of Spanish magicians.

Dia Vernon: This Canadian magician was born in 1894 as David Frederick Wingfield Verner. This magician, who died in 1992, is known for fooling Houdini with one of his card tricks.

Paul Zenon: A British street magician who also performed in the bars and pubs in the U.K. This magician has written three books about magic, the most recent published in 2005.

A Sudoku A Day Exercises The Brain

Negative issues are usually associated with addiction. Drug abuse, excessive drinking, and even too much gambling are all negative activities that are highly addictive. But if there is one kind of addiction that is actually beneficial for adults and kids alike, it would be an addiction to sudoku puzzles. Researchers rank solving sudoku puzzles daily among the top ten non-traditional and alternative ways to boosts brain power. Other brain boosting moves include high-protein diets, listening to classical music, and lots of rest. These are simple but are rather difficult to follow because of budget limitations, personal preferences, and lifestyle. This is the advantage sudoku games holds over other brain boosters. They are accessible from newspapers, books, and even the Internet. They are also workable between breaks or at any spare time. So every time someone chastises you for doing sudoku again, kindly explain and hope that they pick up the habit too.

Though sudoku puzzles are not mathematical problems, solving the puzzles requires the most basic tool of mathematics and science: logic. Since the puzzles entail the use of logic, common sense, and concentration, the brain is put out of the stupor of doing routine, mundane tasks. In other words, your brain actually gets a break and a good work-out. Studies reveal that the more the brain uses its skills, the better it works. Brains that get more exercise are determined to be more active, and its cells are healthier. Researchers even associate sudoku brain exercises to physical exercise. They stress that just as physical exercise keeps muscle loss at bay, sudoku exercise keeps brain cells from dying and also encourages better brain function. Education is important, but studies actually show that students who do mental workouts like sudoku have higher IQs than students who do not. This only shows that doses of sudoku are more than just ways to pass time. They actually help in improving your ability to comprehend more complex ideas.

Ian Robertson, a neuroscientist, facilitated a research among the elderly with the premise that decreased mental ability is not inevitable with the right stimulation. The research included two groups of elderly people: the first group solved sudoku puzzles as part of their routine, while the second did not. After some time, their IQ levels were tested and compared to their test results before the experiment. The sudoku-solving group was found to have increased their mental abilities by a significant percentage while the other group showed no change. Dr. Robertson cited a similar research wherein 3,000 people, aged 65-94, were found to have increased their mental capabilities and age by as much as 14 years, just by ten sessions of brain boosting exercise like sudoku.

Other experts agree with these findings, saying that solving challenging mind games like sudoku puzzles inhibit or prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss. Health trends also show that adults with demanding, and intellectually challenging jobs benefit from better mental function when they age. Sudoku functions just like these jobs because it requires brain exertions.

As it is, experts advise adults to encourage children to solve puzzles like sudoku to start mental improvement earlier in life. Sudoku exercises are actually adopted by some schools to stimulate thinking and foster better academic performance of their students. So instead of letting kids watch TV, or read comics, hand them sudoku puzzles. Then, both you and your kids can defend your love of sudoku to those poor souls who do not understand the beauty, joy, and benefits of solving it.

A Picture of Perfection

Never work with children or animals... easier said than done when you're a parent. Over the last few years I have tried many times to get the perfect photograph. With one child, trial and error often results in an image you are happy with. And with the advent of the digital camera, dud photos are a thing of the past. However, with three children, I've finally realised it's not possible to get the perfect picture, even with the help of a professional photographer!

I recently enlisted the help of such a man for the all-important christening photos. All dressed up and looking the picture of perfection, my husband and I set off with our adorable little troop to the studio!

Upon arrival our eldest took off upstairs with his eldest, our middle one trailing behind.

The baby then decided he absolutely had to be fed! As a breastfeeding mum it was no mean feat undoing my not very practical top to quite literally feed his demand! Eyes averted and a hastily placed teacloth spared some blushes, as we all waited until baby had his fill.

Finally, everyone gathered together, we were ushered into the studio, only for our eldest daughter to put on a display worthy of a two year old - and she is six! Tempers fraying we waited, coaxed and encouraged her to act her age!

Needless to say the session ran into overtime, the photos were hastily shot and as we left we vowed never to put ourselves or any photographer through such an ordeal again!

They say every picture tells a story. We received our pictures with trepidation. Amazingly the photographer had captured some wonderful angelic moments - although we still have some trouble believing the children in the pictures are ours. Maybe some new photographic wizardry replaced sullen angry little people with little shiny happy people.

However it happened, neither of us can look at the pictures without being transported right back to the stress of the day itself.

And so the beautiful photographs languish at the back of the wardrobe until such a time as we can laugh about the situation and our own naivety as parents. We thought it would be easy...

A Peek Through Heroes: When Drama Meets Science Fiction

One of the most top-rated television shows currently on air would be Heroes, a sci-fi series created by Tim Kring. It is an epic drama that shares the lives of seemingly ordinary people who later discovers that they possess extraordinary abilities. This TV series somewhat copies the style of American comic books in aesthetic as well as storytelling. The shows starts with a genetic professor from India, Dr. Mohinder Suresh and his father's theory that there are people with extraordinary abilities living among us humans. Starting with Claire Bennet, an indestructible cheerleader who needs to hide her abilities from her peers while working to maintain her relationship with her father, a man of mystery who has a keen interest in people like her. Niki Sanders, a Las Vegas single mother with superb strength and has a dangerous mirror image struggles to support and protect her young son Micah, a genius who can interact with electronic machinery through touch. Matt Parkman, a police detective from Los Angeles, attempts to put his ability to hear thoughts of others to good use. Meanwhile, in Japan, Hiro Nakamura's ability to travel through space-time continuum has empowered him to change the future as he travels on wild adventures with his best friend Ando Masahashi. Nathan Petrelli, with a congressional position, has the ability to fly. His dreams went down after failing to stop his younger brother Peter Petrelli, a nurse with the ability to absorb the powers of others, from exploding over New York. After this clash in New York, the fate of Sylar, a manipulative serial killer dedicated to violently collect the extraordinary powers of special people, is unknown. Meanwhile, in Dominican Republic, a young woman named Mava Herrera and her twin brother, haunted by her threatening ability, attempts to make the dangerous cross to the United States in search for answers. Monica Dawson, cousin of Micah, has mimicking abilities and would give up everything to help the people around her.

Every episode shows how these people deal with their powers and how they are somewhat interconnected. Every person has their own lifestyle, making the series much more realistic. It shows different ways of living in different countries, only to find out that they have supernatural powers. These characters offer a wide range of relationships, and are inclined to self-destruction. Of course, they fear what other people might say, and fear not knowing exactly what they could do with their powers. The show offers a life drama that everyone could easily relate to, plus a twist of extraordinary powers. In season one of this series, they gave us an introduction of how these special people become connected by their unique and special abilities. It gave us an overview of these characters and their unique abilities, and how others try to manipulate these powers in a bad way.

Season two is still on and is focused on introducing new sets of characters, also with unique abilities as well. Many people all over the world have been constantly raving about this series, proving its success and good ratings. With each episode, they consistently show us different stories of different people with only one goal: to save the world.

A Moving Experience

I’ve found a cool apartment! Okay, okay…so it’s not perfect. Just a few bugs. I mean literally! First expense? An exterminator! Is it worth the cash? Well, I can’t afford a more expensive place, so a one-time (please!) cash outlay should be okay. Maybe just a can of “Raid?”

I need a way to move my stuff. Daddy, can I borrow your truck? You don’t have one? Why not? Do you want one? I’ll help you pick it out! Well, it was just a suggestion. No need to get all bent out of shape! I guess I’d better call the truck rental places. What do you mean…$200…PLUS mileage? AND Gas? Good grief!

While I’m on the phone I’ll call the utility and phone companies. Yes, I know I haven’t used your services before. No, I don’t have a credit card; this is my first place. You want what? A $100 deposit? For EACH? Holy cow…do you people have a license to steal?

Daddy, I need $500 for moving expenses! I used all my money for the first and last months rent AND the damage deposit. Well, how was I to know this was going to be so expensive? Sell something? Daaaaad…I NEED my TV!

Boy, this place is pretty empty. Maybe I should buy a couch and a chair. Nah…I have my bed. That’ll be good enough. I don’t need a table; I’ll just use this box.

Renters Insurance? I don’t think so! What do I have to insure?

Just got my first phone call! I’d love to come to your party! Daddy, I need a car. Because it’s too far to walk to work, that’s why. Umm, Daddy…there’s car insurance too! Thanks, Dad…you’re the best! And gas? I didn’t think so…

Time for dinner. Let’s look in these boxes. Oh, No! No dishes or pans. No FOOD!

Uhhh, Mom?

A Magician’s Oath

A magic trick is created to amuse and mesmerize an audience who comes to the show knowing that all the tricks are not real and have fun because they can’t figure out how the magic was done. You won’t see a magician exposing magic mainly because telling how a magic was done is to kill the thrill and fun in watching them.

Magicians wanting to join a group of other magicians are required to give an oath to that effect. Never tell anyone who is not a magician the reason behind a trick and to never show a trick to anyone when you haven’t fully mastered it.

Once you gave your oath as a magician, it is expected that you will live up to your promise. Once you tell somebody and the organization found out about it, you may find yourself not receiving new tricks or that no one is teaching you how another trick is done.

Note though that you can tell it to somebody who is really willing to learn on how to be a magician. In fact you can see instruction videos and detailed instructions on sale in many shops. This is to help budding magicians into starting their careers or hobbies. Some of the tricks included in these instruction videos are common tricks and very easy to learn.

Some magicians also tell their tricks to misdirect others and help them appreciate a new trick that they have done. Old tricks seem to bore adult audiences that they tend to ‘bungle up’ the old tricks in preparation for their new tricks which proves more astonishing.

Magic tricks, once shown how they are done, may be posed with risk of becoming stale. Sometimes it is because you are disappointed at how easy it actually is or maybe because you found out that the trick requires a lot of props to accomplish. This is the reason no magician in his right mind will tell an audience how a trick is done. A magic told is a magic lost. Secrecy is the key and the magic is in keeping those secrets within you.

Magic is a living art, new illusions are propping up and new ways are introduced. Yes, you will see magicians telling their tricks but true magicians will always find their way around it. They will devise new illusions from old illusions and they will get more creative in how they show those illusions.

A Look At The Crystal Bridges Museum of Art

Some critics might say Jasper Cropseys The Backwoods of America, part of the Crystal Bridges growing American Art Collection, is a symbolic icon for billionaire Alice Waltons passion for the arts.

Designed by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie, and funded by billionaire Alice Walton, the 50 million dollars that is just the cost of the facility and does not include the artworks Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is scheduled to open in 2009, in Bentonville, Arkansas. It was two years ago this month that the daughter of Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart, made the controversial announcement.

The museum will house a permanent collection of signature works from American artists along with galleries dedicated to regional art and artists including Native American art, but oddly enough, this monumental task is not making everyone happy.

The depth of the museum is indicated in a purchase from Christies Americas auction house in New York City in 2004 of Charles Wilson Peales portrait of George Washington for $6.1 million. This is causing some critics to puff up, believing that the art works are being snatched from their own backyard. No need to worry, collaborating with other institutions will be an important focus of Crystal Bridges, even before the museum opens, and they can also rest easy to know Bentonville does have an airport.

A number of the works from the Crystal Bridges permanent collection are already on loan at various museums throughout the United States including: The Hudson River School masterwork Kindred Spirits which was loaned to The National Gallery in Washington, D.C. for public viewing from 2005 - 2007. It is currently on loan to the Brooklyn Museums exhibition by the same name featuring the works of Asher B. Durand. The same exhibition will also travel to Washington D.C. and San Diego.

Thomas Eakins Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand is currently on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jasper Cropseys majestic depiction of early American frontier life, The Backwoods of America, is now featured in the American galleries of The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City, and the most extensive surviving group of Colonial American portraiture, the Levy-Franks family paintings, is currently on loan at The Jewish Museum in New York City. Also, the distinctive painting George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait) by the American painter Gilbert Stuart is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

While the puffers puff, others admire Waltons passion and dedication to the arts, and recognize the fact Crystal Bridges will be the premier American Art Collection, once it is in place. The collection is headed up by Bob Workman, formerly associated with the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

When completed, the museum complex will encompass approximately 100,000 square feet of gallery, library, meeting, and office space, a 250-seat indoor auditorium, areas for outdoor concerts and public events, gallery rooms suitable for large receptions, as well as sculpture gardens and walking trails. Walton is building this American Dream on 100 pristine, wooded acres her family owns in Bentonville.