Shane Gillen Lays the Cards Down for Kelsey Grammer

Shane Gillen, 22, is an Irish entertainer with his expertise lying in card and mind magic. Shane is in New York City this summer to perform his street magic.

He visited us at the shop last week stocking up on some supplies and said that he was going to perform magic for the actor Kelsey Grammer, famous from TV sitcoms such as Cheers and Frasier, at his home. Well he did!

Shane specializes in close-up table-to-table magic, and has dabbled in stage work. He is progressively getting more-and-

more into the mind control mentalism area. He has

done magic for some very prestigious clients - most recently performing magic both backstage at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards and at the afterparty, as well as in the VIP section and backstage at Lady Gaga's show in The O2 in London.

Steve Cohen: How'd he do that? With twins?

This week on David Letterman was Close-Up Magic Week. Steve Cohen has a regular weekend gig doing his sleight-of-hand magic at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria here in New York City. He gets a suite and everything. Wow! Talk about a magic trick! Mr. Cohen, the Millionaires' Magician and a former Tannen's Magic Camper, asks for a ring from Paul Shaffer...check out this "hat trick" of an effect...

The Art of Astonishment is coming to DVD!

Art of Astonishment #1 DVD 
by Wayne Houchin and Paul Harris

Forty years ago, learning magic was different. Black and white pictures of old men stared at you from the pages of bad reprints of classic books. And then Paul Harris started creating magic - and magic changed forever.

Cards stopped being just cards and became objects with personalities of their own. They linked, danced, and twisted themselves into the impossible. Paul introduced exciting plots and unconventional methods that inspired a generation of magicians.

This February discover the magic that gave birth to astonishment. Paul Harris and Wayne Houchin explore the revolutionary thinking that is the foundation of one of the most popular magic book series of all time. The Art of Astonishment is coming to DVD.

PRE-ORDER here!

CIA’s Lost Magic Manual Resurfaces

From Wired.com by Noah Shachtman on November 24, 2009 

At the height of the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency paid $3,000 to renowned magician John Mulholland to write a manual on misdirection, concealment, and stagecraft. All known copies of the document — and a related paper, on conveying hidden signals — were believed to be destroyed in 1973. But recently, the manuals resurfaced, and have now been published as “The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception.” Topics include working a clandestine partner, slipping a pill into the drink of the unsuspecting, and “surreptitious removal of objects by women.”

This wasn’t the first time a magician worked for a western government. Harry Houdini snooped on the German and the Russian militiaries for Scotland Yard. English illusionist Jasper Maskelyne is reported to created dummy submarines and fake tanks to distract Rommel’s army during World War II. Some reports even credit him with employing flashing lights to “hide” the Suez Canal. 

But Mulholland’s contributions were far different, because they were part of a larger CIA effort, called MK-ULTRA, to control people’s minds. Which lead to the Agency’s infatuation with LSD, as David Hambling recounted here a few weeks ago: 

In the infamous Operation Midnight Climax, unwitting clients at CIA brothels in New York and San Francisco were slipped LSD and then monitored through one-way mirrors to see how they reacted. They even killed an elephant with LSD. Colleagues were also considered fair game for secret testing, to the point where a memo was issued instructing that the punch bowls at office Christmas parties were not to be spiked.

The *Boston Globe has put together a great visual summary of some of Mulholland’s best tricks for the CIA: the shoelace pattern that means “follow me”; the hidden compartment to smuggle in an agent; the best ways to appear dumb and non-threatening. Because there’s no better misdirection than appearing to be a fool.
---

*Boston Globe Articles

Tinker, tailor, soldier... illusionist?: When the CIA tried its hand at magic

Use your illusion: Among the CIA's many tricks during the Cold War, it turns out, was some actual magic. A now-declassified manual by magician John Mulholland taught American spies the arts of deceit.

Mario's Magical Creations

Mario's Magical Creations: a vintage-inspired series by Mario Marchese 

New York-based magician and tinkerer Mario Marchese, a.k.a. Mario the Magician, has spent his downtime over the past couple of years crafting beautiful, vintage-inspired close-up magic illusions from found objects and re-purposed materials. Mario's favorite creations, chosen especially with Tannen's Magic loyalists in mind. These are truly works of art, intricate and intriguing. Each item is made-to-order and completely handmade, so you will receive a collector's item that is uniquely yours and one-of-a-kind (design of box or tin will vary).

Take a look at Mario's five new creations Bouncy Ball Mayhem, Corinda's Coin Box, Old Tin Card Rise, Tarot Mind Mystery, Think of a Card Box here!

Penn & Teller's Chat Magic Trick

Penn & Teller's Chat Magic Trick was revealed at TechCrunch50 a conference held at the Design Center Concourse in San Francisco, California. Its aim was to find the best Web 2.0 start-ups and launch them in front of the industry's most influential venture capitalists, companies and press.

This new iPhone App is a tool for fooling your friends into thinking they're texting directly to Penn or Teller, who answer with smart-aleck remarks and the punch line to an amazing trick. It works 24 hours a day withe different replies (and different levels of courtesy) depending on the time of day or mood you find Penn & Teller in.

Street Magic: See a Card by David Blaine iPhone App

Press Release:

Magician David Blaine Teams up with Partners 1993 to Bring His Favorite Close-up Card Magic, See-A-Card, to Apple’s App Store

Now iPhone and iPod touch Users Can Amaze Everyone with Easily Downloaded App

The coolest new app for the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod touch lets users perform famed magician David Blaine ’s amazing card effect that astounds audiences everywhere, thanks to the skills of software engineering firm Partners 1993 .

The user-friendly app -- “Street Magic: See A Card” -- works on supported iPhones, including the new 3G S, and iPod touch devices, and allows users to become a magician, like Blaine, in boggling the minds of those who see the effect performed. The app became available for downloads at Apple’s iTunes app store for $1.99 on Friday, June 26, 2009.

“This is my favorite piece of magic; it was pivotal in gaining my first TV special. Now, for the first time, I am making it available to magic fans as a download from the Apple app store,” said Blaine, who continually strives to amaze audiences with magic and public feats of endurance that include levitation and remaining under water longer than any other human being.

“Turning the iPhone into a virtual deck of cards is no small feat,” he added. “This is one of the hardest card effects to get right, and Partners 1993 has really demonstrated its technical skills. This application makes every owner of a supported iPhone and iPod touch a magician.”

David Blaine’s software firm, Mindboggling LLC, chose Partners 1993 to develop Street Magic for the iPhone and iPod touch because of its track record of innovatively solving complex mobile-application problems.

“Partners 1993 is pleased to have collaborated with David Blaine in adapting the physical effect to one that works in the iPhone and iPod touch formats,” said Lew Roth, Partners 1993 vice president of business development. “We’re proud that we could apply our out-of-the-box thinking and implementation skills to Street Magic and deliver an app that allows any performer to duplicate what David Blaine does best – leave audiences of all ages amazed by what they have just seen.”

Roth said building Street Magic to replicate Blaine’s legerdemain presented many challenges, including:
Developing the full size, composite animated imagery and sequencing needed for the iPhone to be perceived as a three-dimensional full deck of cards.
Getting the iPhone 3-D deck to behave the same as the physical deck of cards when David Blaine performs the effect.
Getting the card seen by the viewer to be the same card that is revealed on the iPhone screen.

“Street Magic was one of the most fun yet challenging iPhone projects we’ve undertaken at Partners 1993. We were inspired by David Blaine’s initial vision and driven by the extraordinary responses that this card trick evokes,” said Roth.

For other iPhone effects go here!

Tarantula

Tarantula 
by Yigal Mesika 

Check this out: You’re in a normal setting – maybe a coffee shop, a classroom, even a party. You borrow a friend’s ring and hold it very fairly – nothing to hide. Suddenly, you give it a gentle horizontal spin and slowly move your hands away – the ring is now floating. Imagine that it continues to spin – without you touching it! The ring hovers up and down above your hand, from one hand to another, and slowly lands on your own finger! Now get this: You instantly repeat it, and end up with the ring floating onto the spectator’s own finger! Sounds impossible? Believe it or not, it’s easy to master! This levitation has it all. It’s fun, mysterious, edgy, and leaves a strong emotional impact. Check it out HERE.

The Tarantula is a unique gimmick that has shattered the conventional wisdom of what reels look like and accomplish. This stealth utility allows you to easily master levitation and animation for any situation. You can fearlessly perform completely surrounded with the Tarantula, and the preparation only takes a second. Literally, you have the power at your fingertips, and can show your hands empty at any time. The Tarantula allows you to perform countless effects that have never been seen or done before. The Tarantula comes with an explanation DVD, and everything you need to get started right away. 

Every detail of the Tarantula Motorized Reel will be taught step-by-step. 
You will learn new, incredible effects, including: 

• Hovering 
• New Haunted Pack 
• Magnetic Money 
• Magic Pen 
• Floating Dollar Bill 

“The Tarantula is magically genius. I highly recommend it.” 
-Cyril 

“This is the best levitation I have ever seen” 
-Whit “Pop” Haydn 
(6 time Magic Castle Winner of the year) 

See live performances of the Tarantula in action. 

Subtleties that will teach you how to perform with the Tarantula FLAWLESSLY! 

You will receive in-depth detail on exactly how your Tarantula works and how it can work for you. 

By seeing first-hand exactly how Yigal Mesika works with the amazing Tarantula, you will feel as though you are receiving a live, personal lesson. 

• Easy to master 
• Unlike any other reel 
• Versatile 
• Perform sleeveless 
• No assistants 
• Perform completely surrounded!!! 

Ok, I am sure you have heard the word on the street about this new item from Mr. Mesika called the Tarantula. 

So what is the Tarantula? Tarantulas are a group of hairy and often very large spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae. But that’s not important here. 

The Tarantula is a new electric invisible thread reel device. 

It is very stealthy, let’s say you can have it in the palm of your hands and no one will see it. (not like the picture) See the video demo 

It is designed not to tangle, easy to fix and replace the thread spool and battery, it is virtually invisible and you can do some extraordinary levitating or floating of objects with it. 

You have complete control of the thread management (reel in and out) 

Some things you can do with the Tarantula: 

• Spin cards in air and come back to your hands (like boomerang) 
• Levitate money or other paper items 
• Card rise (even under glass) 
• Floating ring 
• Haunted deck 
• And many, many more! 

The Tarantula uses the same spider pen spooler thread and a common button cell battery. 

If you use the spider pen, loops, Invisible thread or ITR then you will use and love the Tarantula. 

ORDER HERE NOW: AVAILABLE ON MARCH 1ST.

THE REGULAR RETAIL PRICE IS $75.00, YOU CAN PRE-ORDER THIS ITEM FOR ONLY $69.95. 

FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE: All pre-orders will receive a package of Invisible Thread: Loops by Yigal Mesika, a $10.00 value, FREE!