Uri

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Terry
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Re: Uri

Postby Terry » February 28th, 2009, 8:22 am

Lee Almond wrote:He is a fake psychic exploiting the art of magic, today more than ever, for his own personal gain."


You could exchange magician for fake psychic and it would relate to a certain media whore.

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mrgoat
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Re: Uri

Postby mrgoat » February 28th, 2009, 12:16 pm

Dustin Stinett wrote:Right! I had it bass-ackwards.


No you didn't.

You were right. It's an oxymoron.

I, myself, personally, find tautology abhorrent.

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Re: Uri

Postby brian ovens » March 1st, 2009, 8:30 am

that is the worst cover in genii history, cool? where?

i would like to know why geller is in genii anyway, he says he is not a magician, he does do tricks very badly mind you. the inside photo of him standing with a bent spoon is embarrasing, does he really think we believe he just bent that with psychic powers? come on folks, this guy is not worthy of genii. the interview it also bad, not so much the questions but the [censored] this man talks, total [censored].in fact, anyone who thinks they have psychic powers is full of bull. please keep this guy away from genii, the rest was good but i still have to pick it up and see that terrible photo on the cover.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 1st, 2009, 10:34 am

He does not think he has "psychic powers" and he clearly says so in the interview.
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ori ashkenazy
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Re: Uri

Postby ori ashkenazy » March 2nd, 2009, 2:50 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:He does not think he has "psychic powers" and he clearly says so in the interview.


...and since he's been so honest in the past, you tend to believe his words and disregard his actions.

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Re: Uri

Postby brian ovens » March 2nd, 2009, 5:00 am

uri geller has conned the world by telling people he has psychic powers, he said he had them as a child. he may have changed his opinion in the interview but that doesnt mean he hasnt said different in the past. he is a terrible magician, if being an entertainer qualifies you to be one then i think this is wrong. check him out on youtube, he once said he is not a magician, i agree with him on that. i would like to see uri admit on tv that he has no psychic powers, then i will be satisfied. he can say it in a magic magazine because the world in general wont know he said it.

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Re: Uri

Postby Carlo Morpurgo » March 2nd, 2009, 8:12 am

mrgoat wrote:
I, myself, personally, find tautology abhorrent.


how do you define tautology?

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mrgoat
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Re: Uri

Postby mrgoat » March 2nd, 2009, 8:20 am

Carlo Morpurgo wrote:
mrgoat wrote:
I, myself, personally, find tautology abhorrent.


how do you define tautology?


Ah, did you miss the irony?

I could hold up a sign or something next time?

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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 2nd, 2009, 9:06 am

One of the elephants in the room answers to the name Pander.
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 2nd, 2009, 10:52 am

Uri will never say he's a magician, and he stated that in the interview. He also said quite clearly that he doesn't claim psychic powers and he crossed the line by saying that he did earlier in his life.

Despite what he says, he is a magician, and the most influential magician since Houdini. (Then, Houdini wasn't really a magician to most of the people who saw him: he was an escape artist.)

I found the interview interesting, which is why I printed it.
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Re: Uri

Postby Leonard Hevia » March 2nd, 2009, 8:04 pm

I read the interview and found it interesting. I was surprised that Geller admitted being depressed after he fell flat on his Carson appearance. According to Paul Gertner and Dean Dill, who were friends with Carson, Johnny asked Geller privately to come clean about his powers some time before he was scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show. When Geller insisted that it was genuine, Carson made sure that his "powers" would not manifest during his appearance.

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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 2nd, 2009, 8:50 pm

Geller did successfully bend a spoon on that Carson show, but that portion is never shown.
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Lee Almond
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Re: Uri

Postby Lee Almond » March 2nd, 2009, 8:54 pm

" Johnny asked Geller privately to come clean about his powers some time before he was scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show. When Geller insisted that it was genuine, Carson made sure that his "powers" would not manifest during his appearance.

Rock on Johnny, you were the man, top notch. Rest in peace. Thanks Leonard for the above post. An excellent read. Peace all.
Lee,

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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 2nd, 2009, 8:59 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Geller did successfully bend a spoon on that Carson show, but that portion is never shown.


Okay...

What supports this intriguing claim?

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 2nd, 2009, 9:40 pm

It's common knowledge and has been written about.
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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 2nd, 2009, 9:46 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:It's common knowledge and has been written about.


Common knowledge is usually BS.
Let's roll the video tape here.
Where's the clip?

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Michael Kamen
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Re: Uri

Postby Michael Kamen » March 2nd, 2009, 10:12 pm

So, the perp is tricky enough to pull one over on Johnny. Even if thats true Richard, common knowledge or otherwise, so what?
Michael Kamen

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 2nd, 2009, 11:24 pm

Spoon bending is a magic trick.

Claiming you have psychic ability is the presentation.

You're not a "perp" (i.e., a perpetrator, a criminal) because you bend a spoon on national TV.

I'm not going to defend Geller--I don't really care one way or the other about him. I thought the interview was interesting and wanted to print it. He said interesting things that I haven't seen him say in print before.

End of story.

If he wants to charge people to follow him around while he's dowsing for oil or gas or whatever, that's between him and his customers (who have to be gullible dumb [censored] don't have much sympathy for people that stupid or greedy). But that's their business.

If he was taking money from old ladies for talking to their dead husbands I'd get more worked up about it. But I'm writing three different books and working two and three months ahead on Genii. I've got other fish to fry.
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Re: Uri

Postby Furneaux » March 2nd, 2009, 11:52 pm

I just read the interview and was riveted by it.

( the issue arrived today. Having read the opening posts on this thread days ago,
I expected the cover to have Uri looking like Ernest Thesiger... but he didn't )

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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 3rd, 2009, 12:31 am

I'm afraid most of our readers won't know who Ernest Thesiger is. He was a British character actor.

Think Dr. Pretorious in The Bride of Frankenstein, or Roderick Femm in The Old Dark House.

Or the undertaker in the 1951 Alistar Sim version of A Christmas Carol.
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JordanB
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Re: Uri

Postby JordanB » March 3rd, 2009, 1:16 am

I thought the cover was cool and a very interesting read. Good work.

brian ovens
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Re: Uri

Postby brian ovens » March 3rd, 2009, 11:06 am

uri geller is the most important magician since houdini? thats got to be a joke, hypno dog is more important than geller.

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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 3rd, 2009, 11:44 am

Don't misquote me: I wrote "influential," not "important." And that's not a joke.
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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 3rd, 2009, 11:53 am

Maybe if you're selling spoons - or watching too much Everybody Loves Hypnotoad.

We did get a very good trick from Sawa out of the bargain though.

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Re: Uri

Postby NCMarsh » March 3rd, 2009, 1:39 pm

I think it signals the shape of things to come.

Certainly, the influential magicians of the past 10 years (and I mean in terms of public impact - Derren Brown, Chris Angel, David Blaine, Cyril - stars of youtube and of that other small screen, the telly) have already played it mentalist-style. And much of their impact has not been through playing cards, or coins. It has also been achieved mostly through a form on mind-control - at least that is what the public is led to believe...Is there much of a future for the close-up pad? I do not think so. The close-up kinda guy was an 80's creature. The future seems to belong to the mystery entertainer


And they were all doing Channing's act, almost verbatim, or pieces of his act. I didn't meet Channing in person until 1966, and he said, 'If you're getting back into the business, why don't you take my act? I don't think I'm going to be doing it much longer.' And I said, 'Well, Channing, why would I want to do that? Everybody in magic is doing your act.
-- Johnny Thompson quoted in The Art of Magic

As for mentalism being "the future" -- if you were writing that in 1986 you'd be right...now you're late to the party. Derren Brown, through fantastic performances, has popularized a frame for mentalism that is topical and that a lot of people are jumping on. What is happening with mentalism after Derren strikes me as very similar to what happened with doves after Channing: someone does innovative, fresh, exciting work and everyone thinks that the material is the reason for their success, or that a particular kind of material is "the shape of things to come."

Put the Channing Pollock of the 1950's in front of a contemporary audience and he would kill. Put Brown in front of a 50's night club audience and he would kill.

The really successful acts are the ones that aren't out chasing fads. They find the material that fits them, they are comfortable in their own skin, they connect with the audience, and they master their craft.

Whether they're working with dragon-painted tubes; coins, cards, and a close-up mat; or the latest $100 billet peek..it doesn't matter...it's always the same process: find the material that fits you, get comfortable in your own skin, connect with the audience, master your craft...

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Uri

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 3rd, 2009, 5:10 pm

Derren Brown would not be on TV if it were not for Uri Geller.
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Re: Uri

Postby Dustin Stinett » March 3rd, 2009, 6:17 pm

I agree with that to a point, and it is certainly the point of the Berglas award to Geller. However, Kreskin (and Dunninger before him) predates Geller and was quite popular, though I do think that he became even more so after Geller hit the scene. But Im not 100% convinced that had Geller not arrived that a TV mentalist, such as Darren Brown, wouldnt be on the tube and very popular today. Peoples fascination with this stuff goes way-way back, so the idea that its the future (even starting in 1986) is flawed. The Piddingtons were a sensation decades ago and there were numerous mentalists working steadily in nightclubs during that period and well after. And prior to all of them there were second sight acts, mediums, etc.

Dustin

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Re: Uri

Postby NCMarsh » March 3rd, 2009, 6:55 pm

so the idea that its the future (even starting in 1986) is flawed


Eh, sort of. Magicians' interest in mentalism as the "hip new thing" is cyclical. Long before there were stacks of dvds on billet peeks and swami writing, Chung Ling Soo and David Abbott were writing books for magicians on slate writing and sealed letter reading -- tools with the very same objectives (i.e. obtain information without them knowing and reveal it in a startling way).

But, if in '86 you were to say that we were about to hit a new peak in this wave -- that guys known for close-up magic (Mead, Weber, Kurtz, Conover etc.) would soon be working primarily as mentalists and that the guys who were collecting packet tricks in '86 would be collecting center tears now -- then yeah, you would be dead on.

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Re: Uri

Postby Furneaux » March 3rd, 2009, 9:45 pm

Dustin Stinett wrote:I agree with that to a point, and it is certainly the point of the Berglas award to Geller. However, Kreskin (and Dunninger before him) predates Geller and was quite popular, though I do think that he became even more so after Geller hit the scene.

Dustin


I'm old enough to have seen and remembered both Kreskin & Geller on the shows.

Watching Uri Geller with Johnny Carson & Randi was spellbinding... even though Geller failed.

Kreskin always came across as a friendly doofus on the shows I saw as a kid. A nice guy who presented a puzzle but didn't leave me spellbound like Uri Geller did.

Geller! What a showman. It was theatre. I saw him on t.v. a bunch of times.

Kreskin was safe (boring)

Geller seemed dangerous. He was a threat to Randi.

I loved Carson,
but I was rooting for Geller to succeed.

What beautiful tension!

Kreskin never had that.

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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 3rd, 2009, 10:53 pm

Gee, somebody never shook hands with Kreskin.
;)
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Re: Uri

Postby Furneaux » March 3rd, 2009, 11:49 pm

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Gee, somebody never shook hands with Kreskin.
;)


No. I'm talking about my impressions as a youngster watching them both on t.v.

*yawn*

But hey, you get to rack up another post!

*yawn*

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Re: Uri

Postby Steve Hook » March 4th, 2009, 1:23 am

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Gee, somebody never shook hands with Kreskin.
;)


???

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Re: Uri

Postby jason156 » March 4th, 2009, 1:47 am

If Kreskin doesn't find his check, does that mean I get my money back??

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Re: Uri

Postby David Alexander » March 4th, 2009, 8:51 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Derren Brown would not be on TV if it were not for Uri Geller.


Nonsense.

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Re: Uri

Postby Michel Asselin » March 4th, 2009, 9:53 pm

NCMarsh wrote:Whether they're working with dragon-painted tubes; coins, cards, and a close-up mat; or the latest $100 billet peek..it doesn't matter...it's always the same process: find the material that fits you, get comfortable in your own skin, connect with the audience, master your craft...



Is there a real market for adult entertainment with Dragon-painted tubes? Even if one is comfortable?

It isn't about "doing your thing". It's about connecting with the audience. And that extends to material selection.

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Re: Uri

Postby NCMarsh » March 5th, 2009, 7:53 pm

Is there a real market for adult entertainment with Dragon-painted tubes?


Denny Haney and the "legs" table. Chris Capehart and Fraidy Cat Rabbit. Geoffrey Durham and the blocks.

It isn't about "doing your thing". It's about connecting with the audience.


Ah, we hit the false distinction!

The point isn't to "do your own thing" for the sake of doing your own thing. You do your own thing because audiences crave a genuine connection to a real person -- they can't connect with a mask.

Being natural and authentic goes hand-in-glove with connecting with the audience.

And you're right, connecting with the audience absolutely extends to material selection: which is my whole point about mentalism not being for everyone!

We have all of these ideas about how we want to look and sound; about the kind of material that we want to do...success is about having the discipline to really listen to your audiences and separate what you think works, or what you see work on TV in someone else's hands, from what works, in your hands, for them

I fell in love with David Berglas' published presentation for the chair balance (which was a major part of his active repertoire for decades). It takes an effect that I thought of as a compromise -- a "floatation" for those without the cash or venue for a "real" one -- and makes it into an incredibly memorable miracle by the way David frames the effect. I thought it would be a perfect fit for me. I dropped $1,100 on the prop, busted my butt writing and rehearsing what I thought would be my new feature piece...did it five times and came to the realization that, while the magic was strong, it just felt "off"...it wasn't connecting with them the way I thought it would because I'm not David Berglas and the premise just wasn't credible in my hands (hence the prop is looking for a good home)

When strong material fits a performer organically it is the best of all worlds. But, when a performer does strong material that doesn't fit him -- just because it is strong -- it impedes connecting with the audience, there's no relationship and the material overshadows the performer ("we saw a guy who..." instead of "we saw Michel")

N.

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Re: Uri

Postby David Alexander » March 5th, 2009, 9:18 pm

The best acts and the best shows all grew "organically."

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Re: Uri

Postby Barefoot Boy » March 8th, 2009, 2:54 pm

Geller was a pioneer in Mentalism! Created a mold which stands to this day.
Outward sunshine; Inward joy,
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Re: Uri

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 8th, 2009, 4:05 pm

Barefoot Boy wrote:Geller was a pioneer in Mentalism! Created a mold which stands to this day.


Our literature records much more effective charlatans, or do we have some sort of special "JDPowers" type class system to hide behind on this one? Most best spoons in a decade perhaps?

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Michael Kamen
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Re: Uri

Postby Michael Kamen » March 8th, 2009, 4:52 pm

Barefoot Boy wrote:Geller was a pioneer in Mentalism! Created a mold which stands to this day.


We see someone without scruples gain some notoriety thereby. We decide that it must thus be ok, define a mold, and jump inside, keeping magic squarely where it apparently belongs, in the gutter with other varieties of swindler.

Monkey see -- monkey do. Lets give monkey a cover of Genii as a reward.
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