Monday, June 29, 2009

Lu Chen on Taiwanese TV

One of my favorite opening tricks to perform is "Color Blind," a simple Ace production that I originally featured on my Brainstorm DVDs. I was honored when my good friend Caleb Wiles asked if he could use "Color Blind" as the lead-in for his acclaimed effect "Reswindled" (featured on Paul Harris' new project and Caleb's superb book, High Spots).

The pairing of these tricks caught the eye of acclaimed magician Lu Chen, who can be seen performing "Color Blind" and "Reswindled" on a Taiwanese variety show. And oh, the reactions he gets. Watch the video here.

While Caleb's trick is the true attraction here, it's fun to see how my simple opener can make such an astonishing impression half way around the globe.

More so, watching the clip reminded me that just because something is simple, does not mean it's insignificant. And just because something may have lost that "newness factor" to you, does not mean it can't be astonishingly new to others.

Friday, June 19, 2009

One of my earliest magical memories was watching Doug Henning on television. I was 7. With all the lavish and whimsical illusions coming from the TV screen, one image captured me—a close up of Henning's hand. In it, one nickel. He slowly closed his hand, and when he opened it the nickel was gone! With my jaw still dropped and my eyes fixated on the screen, his fingers closed, then slowly opened to reveal the nickel. It was so simple and pure, yet incredibly magical. It defied explanation. Well, that's all it took for me. It was a tipping point. I officially became a student of the art so that I too could bring the same childlike wonder to others of any age.

As I approach turning 41 next month, it's kind of cool to look back at how the whole magic thing got started with me. What's your earliest memory? How has shaped you?