Angel at Houdini's Grave

magikrn · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:21 am

Thats classic, I think someone is changing my posts. When I click submit, it looks right. What I think the problem is, I have just half assed it for so long that mistakes look fine to me because I am so used to seeing them. I actually am a very good speller and punctuator, I just got lazy for a while and now I have to fix it again. You will see a big change from me in the near future in the art of grammar. If you do see alot of mistakes on a post, it is because I am at work and rushing what I am saying.

Now I believe this has gotten very far off topic, let's try to regroup to what the topic actually was. Oh wait, I don't want to talk about Criss Angel in a thong or with his shirt off for that matter, anymore!

sirbrad · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:41 am

I also used to just type without using caps and such, as I did not really care about typing accurately on forums. It was also a lot faster. But I used to do computer/office work part-time in the summer, so it all became a form of habit. My words per minute decreased for awhile, but then actually went back up. I used to hate typing correctly at home because I had to at work. So why work at home?

Typing a lot on forums actually helped my typing and Grammar skills tremendously, especially working on my essays. It also helps others to take you more seriously, especially if you are a professional and aspiring author. I doubt many here would send their money to someone saying, "i wil bee comin out wit a new dvd this summar! you gots to get dis yo! it will be da bomb! i got mad skillz!" OK well maybe "some" wouldn't.

Because if you appear lazy on forums, others may assume you are lazy in your work as well. Which is not always the case, but it is best not to leave that perception at all; especially in my line of work. On other forums such as gaming, it is not as important to me. But I still type the same out of habit fortunately. You are right though, once you get used to typing a certain way and see it all the time, it is tough to detect errors.

Now I don't mind an occasional typo here and there, heck even I make them once in a great while. But what irks me is people who absolutely butcher paragraph after paragraph every post. Some are very difficult to read, yet they want to be taken seriously. That is my only gripe with that. Wait a minute what was the topic anyway?

Oh yeah Criss with no shirt and wearing gothic thongs. Continue...

magicfiend8612 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:14 pm

Anyone remember that long-[edited] topic I made calling "chris angel: Immature Loser"?

Some darn mod deleted it.

fallingblood · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:37 pm

sirbrad wrote:

An effect only looks easy when it is done flawlessly by a competent performer. That is the way it should be. It also appears easy when you have an insider knowledge of what is going on, nonetheless it still does not detract from what a layman will get out of it.

Also even from a technical standpoint which I have already stressed is irrelevant, Blaine does not exactly do only "easy" stuff. Push off doubles, Randy Holt's Curly Cue, Simple Switch, Shapeshifter, and the Hotshot Cut, to name only a few. Not easy to do well, and consistently without a lot of practice. He also does a very good one-handed riffle shuffle. But Blaine only does so much per special every 5 years, so we have not even seen a fraction of what he can do.

However Criss is getting the chance every single week and still coming up short as far as quality material. I think Criss' (<---- :wink:

) character was a lot worse on "Supernatural" when he had the longer hair, bad clothes, and over-dramatized acting. Some of all which he still has, but not nearly as bad as he was. However I thought his material was better back then. I think if Blaine had a weekly special we would see some great things from him, and I personally love the fact that he is staying true to the art by doing legitimate magic that you usually can buy for a reasonable price at any dealer.

This actually gets more people involved in the art, and Blaine is still why the majority of members are at this forum. People motivated by Angel have been showing up within the last year or so, a new generation so to speak; and that is where the confliction lies. Most want to pick one or the other, but personally I see no comparison really. It just seems to me that Criss is trying to cover up for lack of close-up skill with bad camera work, and hoping that not many will notice. Probably laymen never will notice, but magicians are going to be watching as well.

So he is going to be discredited by working professionals for that, regardless of how small that particular fan base is. If you want proof just go to the Cafe'. Personally I find it far more impressive for a guy like Blaine to go out and do real magic with no cut-shots. I would not mind the occasional camera mishap, but Criss was cutting away, and jump-cutting EVERY single time on every show that a sleight was involved. That to me is unacceptable.

Blaine's magic is good enough to stand on camera, and to repeated viewings. To me that is remarkable. He is not insecure about his handlings because it is obvious he put the work in. That being said, Blaine is not perfect either. But I respect him a lot more for staying true to the course from a magician's standpoint. He just needs to actually do more shows.

I have to agree with you on this post. Criss is a horrible director. I think if he had another director, who knew what they were doing, then we could accurately see his skills.

And I do agree that Blaine is a great magician. His performance of the effects are very well practiced. He just looses points with me because his presentation of the effects annoy me. It just doesn't entertain me. But I still watch him because even though I know what he is doing, he does make it look like true magic. It's just that his presentation really annoys me. But then again, some of the time, Criss's presentation annoys me also, mainly with his mentalism.

I also agree that there is no comparison between the two. Blaine is a close-up/street magician. Criss is a stage magician. I don't think many people realize that Criss is mainly a stage magician.

But I do agree with pretty much everything you said in this post.

gphil5 · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2005 **Posts:** 1

fallingblood wrote:

I said that he made a mistake in his choice of homage. It doesn't mean that he doesn't respect Houdini. Everyone makes bad choices. Big deal. I doubt if Houdini could come back that he would care about what Angel did. Angel did in respect for one of his heros.
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It's apparent that they both hold Houdini in high respects. Angel has done countless stunts in homage to Houdini (including the barrell escape, and water torture cell stunt)
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I know the history of Houdini because he is one of my heros. So don't insult my intelligence.

I will admit to watching the show, being entertained, being delighted for him & his success, being envious of his bank account, etc. But something in the barrell escape episode kinda struck a chord with me & figured it would amongst the posters here as well, maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen it mentioned... and falls very close to the 'Angel is disrespectful of Houdini' theme.

I'm not interested in a flame war. I'd like to hear your comments about the following.

In the barrell escape episode there were comments by several, including Angel himself that seemed to go as far as discrediting Houdini to prop up Criss.

I'm paraphrasing here, but something along the lines of "What people don't know is that Houdini was a master at creating the illusion of danger, when in fact, Houdini rarely did anything dangerous. Houdini would never attempt something like this, because this way of doing it is indeed dangerous."

Hyping the perceived danger is expected... it makes the trick more entertaining. But was there really a need to pretty much discredit Houdini in order to sell that perceived danger?

Like you, I'd say that the grave pics wasn't the best way to show one's respect. But after the comments on the show, I'm wondering about Angel's true thoughts:

Does he not care about those who paved the way & will go as far as ugly on them to sell himself?
-or-
Does he honestly respect Houdini & just need to work on his presentation of that respect.

sushix · **Joined:** 18 Nov 2004 **Posts:** 52

This is not a hate issue. It is a matter of respect. This is wrong no matter how you look at it. Chriss's ego is going too far on this one.

neilwiththedeal · **Joined:** 20 Aug 2006 **Posts:** 29

*OPINION AHEAD*
I just see it as him accentuating the whole "dark magician" image. Many magicians do this, but certainly not many to this extreme. Blaine is most definately guilty, as well as people like Wayne Houchin and others at E. They all do the same thing but maybe about 10% as far as Angel takes it. Unfortunately, something that comes along with the "cool, dark, mysterious magician

The only one photo I saw that made me a little uneasy was actually standing on the grave, but weren't they taken when he was much younger? I can't say for sure if he wouldn't do something like this again, but who hasn't done something in their youth that was somewhat less than stellar.

Any psychologist can plainly see that much of the Angel hatred stems from jealousy. So to those flamers...keep at it!! You can do anything in life you want to. You'll get there some day

I think magic right now is doing what it was always intended to do, make people happy and make people think.

PS Oz your're awesome

Angel at Houdini's Grave

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