The Hit CBS series "NUMB3RS" looks to have a magician to play a role in its' fifth season. Penn Jillete will play himself in an episode to air on November 7th. According to Pittsburgh Live, "Jillette's episode, airing Nov. 7, has him in a cameo role as himself, helping in the case of a vanished magician. Apparently, magic wasn't the only lure for Jillette. 'Penn is actually one of the die-hardest fans of the show I've ever met. He's seen every single episode. He's a very opinionated person, so it's good to be on his good side. 'He feels really strongly towards the show and was really into the idea of doing it. He's having a lot of fun.' "
According to MSNBC, the "Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician'." "A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found a bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world's first known reference to Christ." The full engraving on the bowl reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted by the excavation team to mean either, "by Christ the magician." Goddio said, "It is very probable that in Alexandria they were aware of the existence of Jesus" and of his associated legendary miracles, such as transforming water into wine, multiplying loaves of bread, conducting miraculous health cures, and the story of the resurrection itself.
The Louth Leader recently published a letter from an anonymous reader, "who claimed to have started a campaign for the iconic TV personality to be given a permanent monument in the town. The man, who asked not to be named, suggested it would be a good way of attracting more visitors to Mablethorpe." A flatterd Paul has responded saying, "I don't think I am worthy of a statue, but thank you." Paul was born in the town while his mother stayed with her mum during birth, but they returned to the Northeast after delivery.
Amateur magician and "Game God" Richard Garriott, aka "Lord British," will be traveling to orbit in October 2008. In doing so he will become Earth's sixth private citizen to conduct a space mission aboard the International Space Station as a client of Space Adventures. Word on the street is that Garriott plans to do a bit of magic while in space making him the first astronaut to grace the cover of a magic related magazine (MUM January 2008). Garriott is the son of US astronaut Owen Garriott. The Soyuz TMA-13 is due to be launched from Kazakhstan on October 12. This will not be the first time that a card trick has been performed in space however. In 1991, aboard the Shuttle Columbia, Astronaut James Bagian told Mission Control to pick a card, any card, and performed what may have been the first magic trick in space. Read more on Garriott's space training in a great article from Wired Magazine!
LISTEN TO AN INTERVIEW WITH GARRIOTT FROM FANBOY RADIO:
Page Six analyzes David Blaine's career in their own special way in a recent article focused on the failed ending of "Dive of Death. The author even goes so far to claim that members of the magic community feel betrayed by David using the following quote as evidence: "He started to go AWOL with all the stunts. It was very off the deep end," says Brad Christian, CEO of Ellusionist, a Web site that trains and supports aspiring street magicians. "To a majority of magicians, he is a bit of a joke now." Most of the balance of the article focuses on his past love interests, the various stunts that he has staged as a part of each special and selected quotes from acquaintances which seem to reenforce the slant of the piece.
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CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN TO BLAINE COMMENT ON THE FINALE:
On Friday October 24th at 2:30 PM, the renovated Walk of Fame Star of magician Harry Houdini will be unveiled. According to many sources including Broadway World, "Siegfried Fischbacher, Neil Patrick Harris and Magic Castle co-founder Milt Larsen will unveil the newly renovated star of history's most famous illusionist - Harry Houdini. Among those contributing to the restoration include top magicians such as: David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Tihany, Marvyn Roy (Mr. Electric), as well as Siegfried and Roy. The star is located very close to the Magic Castle at the corner of Orange & Hollywood Blvd. According to the article,on November 1st, 200, Milt Larsen discovered that sometime during the previous night of Halloween, the star of Harry Houdini had cracked. "This occurred exactly 25 years to the day that the famous magicians star was first unveiled. On October 24th, 2008, exactly 82 years after Harry Houdini's final performance, the star will be repaired and unveiled for the public to enjoy for many years to come."
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