Criss Angel Named 2005 Magician of the Year

[tatertop]

"He is the most important person in magic this side of Doug Henning," said Milt Larson. “Criss is presenting a new and different form of magic. He’s definitely bringing it into the future and I can’t think of anybody who’s doing it better.

"Doug Henning and Sigfreid & Roy were forerunners, but Criss is now," said Irene Larson. “Criss Angel has elevated the art of magic to new heights.” According to Irene Larson, Angel is successfully bringing the fun and wonder of magic to a new, younger generation."

http://magic.about.com/od/biosonfamousmagicians/a/2005magicyear.htm


Criss uses lots of stooges, it's true, and he makes liberal
use of stop action editing on his live show, Mind Freak.
But he is still damn entertaining. A thousand times better than david copperfield.
I have heard his Broadway show is spellbinding.

[Shine]

1. My 12 yr old son is TOTALLY into him

he's been into magic since he was about 5, so this guy is like his hero.

[tatertop]

2. He has that Goth look that appeals to kids

Magic is a wonderful endeavor

[Shine]

3. Yeah, you're right. about that Goth look.

my kid is not so much into the goth look as the magic, though. Cool stuff. He's got some pretty good little tricks for a 12 yr old!

Hey, I just happened to notice you and I joined DU within days of each other....funny, huh?

:hi:

[tatertop]

4. Hello there. I see you have more posts than me.

You must reeeealy like it here :)

[Shine]

5. I do. Good thing I'm a fast typist, too!

;)

[tatertop]

8. Drat, I shall never surpass you...

with your handy lead and typing proficiency I shall
always be a laggard :)

[Shine]

12. Hey, we can still be friends.

this ain't no competition, darlin'. It's all good. :pals:

So, you like potatoes, eh? :) My super powers of deduction gathered this factoid, from your username.

You'll be amused to hear this story:
My aforementioned 12 yr old son absolutely LOVES potatoes and he likes to say he's actually got three stomachs: "One for regular food, one for desserts and one for potatoes." :rofl:

[tatertop]

13. Three stomachs, I like that.

Tatertop is the name of one of my cats and he's coming this way.
Looks like he is going to walk across the keyboard in
about three seconds.
He says this:
]'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Perhaps your cat can translate.

[Shine]

15. You must be psychic. How did you know I have cats?

Hell, doesn't everybody in the lounge? heheh.

Our cats are sisters, born on Aug. 2nd, which makes them little fire sign Leos, so we accordingly named them "Spark" and "Flame". Cute, huh?

It's funny b/c I've heard of many other DU'ers who have chosen their usernames based on the names of their pets.

[tatertop]

16. "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life:

music and cats." --Albert Schweitzer

I can't imagine how people live without them.

[Shine]

17. What a great quote!

I'm definitely more of a cat person, too.

Hey, nice chatting with you tonite, tatertop! It's late out here on the w. coast, so off to bed I go...

Ciao for now!
:hug:
Shine

[tatertop]

22. good night... and good morning

[mikeytherat]

18. "Tatertop?" Well, here's one of my furbabies, Tatertot!

(Tatertot's his name, though he's usually just called Tate or Little Man Tate. He also responds to Mr. Boo)

mikey_the_rat

[tatertop]

21. Tummy time for Tatertop!

That cat is a Beauty.
Looks like it's story time (please don't forget the treats).

[Initech]

6. So it wasnt GOB Bluth? COME ON!

[tatertop]

10. You got me on that one. Not familiar with that name.

[Initech]

25. Never seen Arrested Development, I take it?

[tatertop]

27. No, I never have.

[BigMcLargehuge]

24. didn't he make the cover of "Poof" magazine?

LOL...

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!!!

[Initech]

26. Yeah, it was the "Poof Goof of the year!"

:rofl: :rofl:

[alarcojon]

7. The dude is really good

I can't really get into the stunts (getting zapped by electricity, hanging by meathooks, etc.) or the persona. However, he can walk through a window, push objects through plate glass, levitate a foot into the air, and is a very good mentalist. Then there was the time four people put a garbage can over him and he escaped from underneath it, appearing on the balcony of a nearby building.

[tatertop]

9. I know how he performs most of those illusions

Sometimes he over aces an illusion, performing it again and again
without enough set up time in between. This can make a good trick seem
cheap and less than magical.
People need the story to draw them in and sometimes less is more.
He definitely overplays the worrying family/friends/cohorts
angle. Way over the top.

But he is still damn good.

[alarcojon]

11. Good points

he also overplays the mind/body thing too much. But hey, nobody's perfect.

He is really good at switching objects - I have a feeling that is at the basis of many of his tricks.

[tatertop]

14. His sleight-of-hand is most masterful.

And he has more stuff specially-built than people might think.
And even though some of his stuff is gimmicky
he is way braver than me. He is very young yet,
it will be very cool watching him progress and excel with time.

[LynzM]

23. Yeah, the garbage can one blows my mind...

I suppose it could just be the editing, but damn. Good stuff!

[Brewman_Jax]

19. Very entertaining

I like watching "Mindfreak" when I catch it on A&E. Lightning on a chain mail suit and other incredible stunts will keep him on the forefront for years to come.

[tatertop]

20. He's fun.