Word came down minutes ago that iTricks has won the Magic Woods Award for Best Website. First, we would like to say hooray. Secondly, we would like to thank everyone who voted for us as well as the other fine sites Magic Week and Magic Unlimited that were also nominated. These sites specifically, as well as most magic sites generally, seriously rock. We are only going to all grow if we work as a community.
I know that I (Editor, Justin Robert Young) speak for our esteemed publisher, Andrew Mayne as well as contributers including but by no means limited to Eddy Ray, Derek Merdinyan and Matthew Hampel who work on a daily basis to make this site what it is when I say that this is an honor. Also, a huge thank you goes to all of our dedicated readers and those that take the time to email us with tips and stories.
Here are the full results, congratulations to all nominated. Also, special thanks to Edd Withers who organizes the awards as well as keeps peace and order on TMW boards with his moderator voice.
UPDATE: As mentioned by Leif in the comments, here is the link to Oprah’s page where you can see the final moments of Blaine’s attempt. Dig that killer diving suit though… Below is the original post.
CHICAGO (AP) – David Blaine set a new world record Wednesday for breath-holding, 17 minutes and 4 seconds.
The feat was broadcast live during “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled the 35-year-old magician from a water-filled sphere.
Blaine looked relaxed afterward and said the record was “a lifelong dream.”
The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland’s Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.
Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called “oxygen hyperventilation” is allowed under its guidelines.
As we all wait with baited breath to see the results of David Blaine’s big stunt today, the New York Times Science section delves into just how dangerous his feat really is.
The man who first reported on Blaine preparations for the New York Times gives a gentle mocking to the television commercials claiming that Blaine is risking potentially fatal damage with the stunt.
Ah, nothing like daytime television when it comes to sober presentations of science. “The Oprah Winfrey Show†is promoting David Blaine’s appearance this Wednesday as a death-defying feat, which is not quite the way scientists (or Mr. Blaine) see his attempt to break the world record for breath-holding. Underwater breath-holding can lead to fatal blackouts if you do it without proper supervision, but Mr. Blaine will be carefully observed. Experts like Ralph Potkin, the pulmonologist who monitored Mr. Blaine during his training (which I described in my Findings column), say that prolonged breath-holds don’t appear to cause harm to the body — at least not in the short term.
His entire post shows the results of several studies on the subject. Pretty neat stuff.
Sure, we heard some rumors about big name magicians competing on America’s Got Talent, but what about the little guys? Isn’t the whole concept about finding the diamond in the rough?
• Here is the official lineup for David Letterman’s Magicians Week beginning next Monday: Lance Burton, Mac King, Dirk Arthur, Steve Wyrick and Penn and Teller.
The newest issue of Brit tech magazine T3 features an interview with Mr. Brown where he confesses his love for all things Mac, but particularly the iPhone.
“I bought my iPhone the day it came out,” he says. “It took a bit of getting used to, as I used a Blackberry before. It’s slow for emails, so I’ll definitely get the 3G version. But the design is phenomenal. It’s so satisfying to have it done right.”
He also confesses that Stephen Fry, who along with author Douglas Adams was among the first to own an Apple computer in the UK, convinced him to switch from PC to Mac about a year ago.
We can only hope this happens for every episode but Chris “Kid” Reid raps us the plot lines seen in the first episode of Celebracadabra. Awesome. This alone our favorite video uploaded in the past 24 hours.
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