Supernatural Magic Secrets

The past few weeks have been full of magic for me. First I ran into a collection of old magic posters on Pinterest: Sim Sala Bim

The poster above is one of my favorites, probably because of how mysterious it is. The magician isn't named on the poster, although I read on Pinterest that his stage name was Zan Zig. He's surrounded by flying objects like the classic flowers and doves. I wonder what the significance of the steaming pan is.

Not long after discovering the old magic posters, I watched a David Blaine TV special: David Blaine Real or Magic? You might remember David Blaine as the guy who survived being frozen in a block of ice for over 60 hours. Or you might remember how he  somehow lived through being suspended above London in a plexiglass box for 44 days. With no food! He gets through some amazing feats in the TV special too. Here it is for those who missed it:




Most of the acts David performs in this video are done in front of celebrities. They give him a mix of reactions from laughing to crying to running away. I wasn't used to seeing some of these people act so freaked out. Wait until you see Harrison Ford. The show is worth watching for these reactions, no matter what you think of magic.

It's hard to make sense of what you're seeing. I think Ricky Gervais sums it up pretty well at the end of the show. In essence, we wonders what he just witnessed. Was that a trick? It has to be a trick! But how could he have done this? But it can't be real! Back and forth. In the end, he decides that whatever he witnessed was very well done.



Something amazing about David Blaine, aside from his magic tricks, is his attitude. He's very self assured and serious. He always has a confidence that he won't kill himself with these stunts even if everyone around him is cringing. There's a darkness to some of what he does. I can't explain why, maybe it's how he makes things appear on video. Or maybe it's how he doesn't seem to feel any pain or spill blood the way a normal human would. It seems supernatural.

I was reminded of that series of magic posters again during this show, because many of them had a supernatural element. Most of the illustrations on that page showed a little devil or an imp giving the magician their secrets. I could imagine one of these little critters whispering to David Blaine. "Psst... This is how you stick an ice pick through your arm."



I love all the action going on in this picture. It looks like that one little devil is getting its foot and ear ripped off! I just noticed all the little ones propping up the magician's book. I guess those little guys at the bottom are imps, fairies, or leprechauns. 

Sometimes the devil is seen as more of an assistant.


 

That wizard is kind of bored looking considering what just popped out of his cauldron.

This one covered all the bases with devils, imps, and several kinds of birds:

No devils or imps here, but it's plenty spooky. How do you think he pulled off this trick? Mirrors and a head on a string?




Would this sort of devil/imp/floating head imagery make you want to see a magician in person or scare you away? I'd like to get in a time machine and go see Blackstone, because it looks like he'd put on quite a show with all those critters running around. If the posters are any indication, a Kellar show was probably pretty classy.

I was curious to learn more about the men behind these posters. I found some videos that give a short history of Kellar and Thurston. It's amazing what some people go through on their way to the top. Talk about perseverance! Kellar must have been one tough, smart, charismatic man.

KELLAR



THURSTON



I watched some old clips of Thurston performing, but they were pretty grainy. Luckily, the man you just heard from (Jim Steinmeyer) has made another video showing one of Thurston's signature tricks. He also shares a "confidence game" that is a variation of a Thurston trick. Thurston was a con man before he was a magician, so he had a wealth of con knowledge he could apply to his magic. This is pretty cool.

Wicked Renaissance 2013

Me, a bridge troll, and my mom

It's that time again when I share my yearly Renaissance Faire photos! Be sure to click on these to see them larger. My mom and I had a fun day until it rained, although even that was interesting. I ended up with a very different set of photos later in the day. The day started off very sunny and hot. These are the opening gates we passed through on the way in. You'll see the lady in the balcony later on.

Cool Hippocampus on the crest below her

The storefronts and restaurant facades are very cool as are the hanging signs. We're lucky to have such large trees in this area. They add a kind of Sherwood Forest feel to the place.

Here are some of the many dresses and costume accessories that are for sale.

There are lots of little shops in the middle of the forest, like this wonderful gypsy cart that is painted with bleeding hearts.

I think this is some kind of demon wild boar on one of the buildings. Check out his eyes!

Robin Hood and Little John giving one of their performances. They're usually walking around interacting with the crowd.  I didn't notice that moose until I saw the pictures at home...

Bluebeard the pirate with an actual blue beard. He has some awesome accessories on his costume. Check out the ship's wheel with a little skull.

It was Steampunk weekend at the faire. I didn't get a lot of photos of the Steampunkers aside from this one. This guy was wearing a heavy looking propeller hat and I'm not sure what kind of backpack. It looks like some kind of early rocket pack. There's a cool elf lady behind him.

This is "The Rat Catcher". I wish I'd gotten a clearer picture of him, but he was busy moving around catching rats. He kept poking that staff under plants looking around. That bunch of fluff on the top of the staff is his collection of "rats". They were all toy rats of course! I found a clearer picture than mine on Flickr:

The Rat Catcher making a face

There were plenty of fairies this year, like this mossy herb fairy:

These were the best wings I've ever seen at the faire! They are so iridescent and pretty.

This sleeping fairy was lounging around for a long time. She was a nice non-moving photo op!

This lady, who I like to call the fire fairy, was perched high on the balcony of a building. I was happy that my camera could close in on her this much! I wonder if someone airbrushes the makeup on the fairies?

In front of a metal flower shop:

A man modelling the wares of the leather shop behind him. Every year there is a different guy in a different leather outfit out front.

Remember Evil Seth Green from the 2011 photos? He had a new white outfit this year.

He was coming towards me at kind of a quick pace and I was shaking a bit when I took this, so it's a bit blurry. I really wish it was more clear! Despite having seen a lot of scary dudes at the faire, this one got to me. He had that creepy sneer going on.

Here are a few more fun guys. There are some funny details in this one if you look at it closer. The man to the left of me has red eyes, which I didn't notice until I looked at this on the computer. I actually didn't look at his face at all when I went over to pose with these guys, so that was a bit of a surprise.

There were plenty of statues. This one was an actual person!

St. Michael

A very cool stone head on the ground near where the Queen's court meets. I oddly didn't see the Queen all day!

This jester statue has stood high on a rock as long as I can remember going to the faire. If you look closely, you'll see a spiderweb complete with a spider hanging off his nose!

I'm not sure what to call this woman's talent, but it was awesome. She was way up high in a tree doing some kind of air acrobatics on long pieces of fabric.

A man pushing the little kids on a ship ride. I can almost hear the high pitched screaming and giggling again looking at this.

These two were dispensing free advice to the passersby. They were about as sassy as they look.

Remember this little witch from last year's photos? She's such a character. This year she brought some friends along.

Here they are being asked by a religious character which one of them started the rain. It had rained a bit by this point, but we found cover under a tree.

On to the Joust to the Death!

Unfortunately, it rained again and big time with thunder, lightning, and a total downpour. The storm continued for a long time.We had to run for cover under the stables. A few diehards stuck it out in those bleachers waiting for the show. The expression on this drenched kid's face says it all. Let's all say it together "Awwww!"

Despite the rain, the show went on! Not for very long, but still the knights got out there. We were hiding under the cover of the horse stables when I took these photos. We were in such a hurry to get under something, I didn't even realize we'd be standing with a horse. We got to see maybe 15 minutes of sword fighting. No one wanted to bring the horses out in that muck and I'm sure leather and armor can only take so much rain. There was a new Xena: Warrior Princess type character out there this time. I really like this action shot!

A proud warrior and his victim:

One of the knights even brought out the firey whip in that rain. You can guess how long that stayed lit, so I was glad to snag a photo of it.

These two looked pretty hardcore as they stood out in the middle of a rainstorm in their black leather outfits.

I actually found a video someone took of that joust at the same time I was taking my photos:



I can tell from the view this was shot, that one of the diehard people who sat out in a rainstorm taped this. Go to the 1:41 mark to see the fire whip!

Here's what the faire grounds looked like once the storm finally stopped. The ground is usually hard and dry with a layer of sandy dirt on top of it. It had transformed into a muddy lake that our feet were sinking into.

We thought we were out of the woods as far as stormy weather, but as we were leaving it started up again! I managed to snap one more picture as we ran out to the car. I couldn't pass up taking a picture of these two.

It was a shame that we didn't get to see the drum circle and dancing at the end or the parade. Remember those photos I shared of the deathly parade last year? I would have liked to have seen that again. I guess I should just be grateful for how much we did manage to see and take pictures of! The rain did at least give this year's Ren Faire photos a different look.

I have one more video to share. This is a montage of characters from our Ren Faire this year. You'll see some of the people and creatures I photographed, like the troll, the fairies, Bluebeard the pirate, and that fabric acrobat high in the trees. It's all set to some of the bagpipe music we heard this year.  I think this person really captured the mood of the Faire.



P.S. ~ If you missed my Bristol Renaissance Faire posts of past years, here they are:

Wicked Renaissance 2012

Wicked Renaissance 2011