Fake or real........

[Mousey]

I once figured out how David Blaine levitated and I did it in front of ooooh, half a dozen girls at work. All of whom screeched and thought it was real.

[viber]

I once figured out how David Blaine levitated and I did it in front of ooooh, half a dozen girls at work. All of whom screeched and thought it was real.

I've had that same experience. Just about the only time i've made a girl scream after saying, "hey, i've got something to show you..."

I think generally the more "amazing" the tricks are, the more of a shyster the magician is. I think you do have to give them credit though, there's an incredible amount of creativity and cleverness that goes into devising these illusions, regardless of whether they involve camera trickery, setups, etc. I just find it annoying when the magician is trying to make out that its real, and that they have some amazing power. They just end up looking like a douchbag, whereas guys like penn and teller, who are basically saying "look, this isn't magic, its just a silly trick, but its fun to watch so sit back and enjoy" are much more entertaining.

[Marko1980]

No I am not. I refuse to watch smoke and mirrors. I am thinking how much of a budget did it take to hide the strings and rope Now, Houdini, I have respect for. A snake oil merchant with soul. The likes of this particular snake oil merchant,plus David Blaine et al, um, I don't. They are just the same as the people who claim the bible helps them kiss snakes and walk on glass.

Lucy, you sound like you hate all the razmatazz bullshit of showy magicians/illusionists/mentalists, as I do.
For something refreshing you should watch Derren Browns stuff, particularly his shows titled Seance and Messiah, where he goes out to essentially blow the lid on how people (evangelists in US and fortune tellers) use techniques, employed by him and many performers, to con people out of their hard earned cash.

He is probably the only one out there who openly admits that there's nothing supernatural about what he does, its doesnt make his stuff any less impressive.

[Curvaceous Kate]

I did once see a man once walk on custard in brainiacs. That was real!