MetaFilter posts tagged with magic

RIP Carl Ballantine

ObscureReferenceMan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:53:37 -0800

Carl Ballantine passed away at age 92. He was probably most famous for his role in McHales Navy. And with appearances in TV and movies too numerous to mention - a favorite of mine was a cute movie called "Just You and Me, Kid" (George Burns, and a young Brooke Shields) as Reinhoff the Remarkable. But I loved him as the bumbling magician, "Ballantine The Great" (I hope that YT link works - I'm at work and can't tell).

Making <strike>Manaclash</strike> Magic

256 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:09:41 -0800

Sixteen years ago, Dungeons and Dragons aficionado Dr. Richard Garfield had an idea for a game. He mocked up a few black and white cards and then he and a friend played the very first game of Magic: The Gathering. The first modern collectible card game, Magic was a runaway success and within five years Wizards of the Coast, a company with Magic as almost its sole product, purchased TSR Inc, the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons. Today, Magic is still a tremendously popular game with an active community, a robust online offering and a highly competitive Pro Tour. This longevity can be attributed in no small part to the fact the Magic is one of the most heavily and meticulously designed and balanced games ever made. No new card gets added to the game without careful consideration of it's interactions with the more than 10,000 previously printed cards. In fact, the card commonly considered to be the most powerful ever printed (selling on eBay for over $500) hardly seems impressive at all until you know the game well enough to understand the way it wreaks havoc on game balance. All of this is by way of introduction to the fact that Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater has been posting a column a week on the subject of game design since January 2, 2002. Mark's columns almost always deal to some degree with Magic, but the observations and lessons contained within them are of universal application in not only game design, but any creative endeavor. Some gems: The Space Between the Notes | Resolutions | As Good as It Gets | Timmy, Johnny and Spike | If I Had a Nicol... | and a comprehensive self-rated look at his first four hundred columns

Do Not Adjust Your Mind.

lazaruslong — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:39:06 -0800

Chop Cup. There is a fault in reality. Do not adjust your mind. The Making of Chop Cup. (timelapse) Other videos from :weareom: Choices (For United Way Romania) Immerse Line

albino magic

w0mbat — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:07:33 -0800

Albinos often face mistrust and discrimination, perhaps because they tend to be portrayed as evil in popular culture. But in Tanzania and Burundi, weird delusions that albinos have magical powers mean that they are actually being hunted down, murdered and dismembered to harvest their supposedly magical body parts. One group of albino kids are trying to spread some sense by forming their own "magic" sports team.

Derren Brown: The Events

ashaw — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:31:55 -0800

Derren Brown: The Events. On Wednesday 9th September 10:35, Derren Brown will predict the National Lottery immediately before the draw. On Friday he will reveal how it was done. As part of a four week series for Channel 4, he will be controlling the nation live, conducting a nationwide psychic experiment and finally a special on how to beat the casinos.

Everyone needs a hug.

Liver — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:30:47 -0800

In which a chimpanzee is shown reacting to sleight-of-hand on a Japanese television show. [SLYT. Overuse of sound effects.]

Machu Picchu Post

homunculus — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:32:41 -0800

Machu Picchu Post. Cute animation about an air mail pilot in the Andes and his strange encounter with a boy and his llama. [Via]

The Necronomicon Files

Artw — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:15:03 -0800

"Necronomicons: The Scariest Book in the World" - A talk given by Daniel Harms, author of the Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, on the history of the Necronomicon(s) - taking in Abdul Alhazred, John Dee, assorted aquaintences of HP Lovecraft, some rather dodgy sounding occultists from the 70s and a man known only as Simon. Previously.

The Magic's Kingdom

geekyguy — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:01:09 -0800

She did it again. The Orlando Magic took no chances as they extended their undefeated record at home in the playoffs. The Magic remain undefeated when Gina Marie Incandela sings the national anthem(YT). Since first singing the national anthem for them in February, the team has won every game she sings at. Five years ago she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS autism and she now is a poster child for early intervention(YT). Not to get in a rut singing only the national anthem, Gina has released a CD single.

The Man Who Fooled Houdini

Bookhouse — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:43:52 -0800

Dai Vernon chased down card cheats and swindlers to make him a better magician. It paid off. One of the best magicians of the twentieth century, Dai first made his name in 1919 when he became The Man Who Fooled Houdini. Watch his version of the classic routines the cups and balls and the linking rings. Vernon also mentored many magicians throughout his life, including Ricky Jay. Vernon died at the age of 98 after years as the Magician in Residence at Hollywood's Magic Castle.

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

swift — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:08:29 -0800

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes
She told me she liked the wolves on my shirt, I told her I wanted to howl at her moon. She offered me a swig from her mountain dew, and I drove my scooter, with her shuffling along side out the door and into the rest of our lives. Thank you wolf shirt ... There is one thing, though, and that is that whenever I wear the wolf shirt I have a lot less issues with involuntary urination ... You are the wolf pack leader ... If you like it then you better put a wolf shirt on ... If you are planning on spending exactly $9.14 on yourself this year, this better be the purchase ... Unfortunately I already had this exact picture tattooed on my chest, but this shirt is very useful in colder weather.

Nothing In My hands

Xurando — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:03:01 -0800

Dick Cavett conjures up the great Slydini. Part 1., Part 2. "It was like seeing a man walk up a wall. Nothing prepared you for it. Right at the start, a solid, heavy silver dollar, held before my eyes, vanished into thinnest air. And by no method I knew of. Certainly no sleeves. The two hours flew too quickly."

quirky vintage catalogs

madamjujujive — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:24:03 -0800

A Crooked Gambling Supplies catalog from 1960, a 1914 Cyclopedia of 5,000 Puzzles, dozens of magic posters from the '20s to the '40s, and more fun ephemera from Old Catalog's flickr sets.

The Japanese Teller & Teller

TheSecretDecoderRing — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:11:01 -0800

Gamarjobat: well-dressed, colored-mohawk-wearing Japanese mime-magic-comedy duo. They may even fight crime, too. 1, 2, 3, 4

I've heard them calling my name.

cavalier — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:26:55 -0800

"Some day we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me." In 1979, Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher composed "The Rainbow Connection" [midi] which served as a radio hit and song for the The Muppet Movie. It was nominated for an Academy Award and reviewed in the allmusic guide as a song in which "Kermit the Frog sings with all the dreamy wistfulness of a short green Judy Garland." Enclosed are some performances of it I hope you enjoy. Performed by... Kermit the Frog - Original Movie Debbie Harry on the Muppet Show The Dixie Chicks Willie Nelson Jason Mraz Sarah McLachlan Kenny Loggins Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Dresden Dolls - Live Jamie Leonhart John Michael Higgins in an acapella version Heartland Men's Chorus I tried to cross a span here, but if I had to pick favorites you might be surprised with what Jamie Leonhart and Kenneth Ascher later did (with the cast of The Break-Up -- John Micahel Higgins et al)

Ron Paul rejects your entire mana-based monetary system!

casarkos — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:03:59 -0800

Magic: The Election . Part 2. Presented in the grand tradition of Katrina: The Gathering.

Magic in Mind

homunculus — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:20:20 -0800

How magicians control your mind. "Magic isn't just a bag of tricks - it's a finely-tuned technology for shaping what we see. Now researchers are extracting its lessons (PDF)." [Via BB and MH]

"Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money... or candy!"

bunnytricks — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:47:20 -0800

The Magic Hour: The Roy Sterling Story.

If it really works, it's the coolest audio production tool ever.

stenseng — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:10:24 -0800

Celemony are a bunch of crazy German software engineers known best for making Melodyne, a family of top of the line pitch correction tools. Apparently they've recently figured out how to do what they do with polyphonic audio. I can't begin to explain how cool this is. Just watch the video.

& Teller

flatluigi — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:44:52 -0800

The Last Living Entertainer in Vegas (behind the scenes)

Penn and Teller ripped off by Koreans

byronimation — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:35:35 -0800

Today on Penn Jillette's video blog he mentions a hilarious crew of Koreans have ripped off an old Penn and Teller trick.

Pre-modern home security

Abiezer — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:18:46 -0800

Apotropaios contains much fascinating information about the (here, mainly British and Irish) folk magic practice of concealing objects in buildings for ritual protection purposes. Yes, mummified Ceiling Cat is averting your evil. One aspect of the practice, the deliberate concealment of garments, has provided us with insight into ordinary costume of bygone days.

There's definitely a method to my madness. Definitely.

Wolfdog — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:37:01 -0800

Lightning calculator and "mathemagician" Art Benjamin goes through his paces in a 15 minute video.

Splinter your sides with laughter

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 07:52:30 -0800

The Plank, classic British comedy (Youtubed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Starring Eric Sykes, who despite being partially deaf appeared in his own show Sykes and elsewhere with 'sister' Hattie Jacques, and the odd interesting guest, and Tommy Cooper, Britain's worst magician but funniest man (Spoon Jar, Bottle Glass, Magic Cloak, Hats, Card Trick, Paper Tear, Milk) who finally died on stage for real, live on television.

Behold the power of ... underwear?

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:10:11 -0800

Panties for Peace "This is a way for women around the world to express their outrage."