Thank you to everyone who pointed out that my picture was in the New York Times last weekend. It’s true, I was pictured in the Style section, performing at the Harvard Law School Association annual summer party at Sotheby’s. Here is a scan of the article:
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At the same time, my friend Russell Steinberg made Page Six of the New York Post on August 8th, by swinging from a chandelier and dropping into Sting and Trudie Styler’s laps, when we were working at the after-party for the last Police concert at The Box. It was hilarious!
Here’s Sting with a beard at Madison Square Garden. By the time he reached The Box he had shaven it off.
Designer Marc Ecko hosted a fabulous benefit for the Tikva Children’s Home at Cipriani 23rd Street last night. Tikva is an orphanage in Odessa, Ukraine, and Marc is one of its trustees. It was a star-studded event with a casino theme and I performed magic for the guests. Supermodel Marisa Miller was there, and Tony Sirico (a.k.a. Paulie Walnuts from the Sopranos), as well as boxer Miguel Cotto, the Jets Flight Crew, the New Jersey Nets Dancers and the Olympic figure skater Oksana Baiul. Oksana, herself an orphan from the Ukraine, spoke very movingly about how much Tikva meant to her. We all had a fantastic evening and a lot of money was raised to help the children in Odessa.
Here are some pictures from the party. (To see a larger version of the slide show, with captions, click here.)
I am doing a promotion for Dos Equis beer all around the country this month with comedian Russell Steinberg. This weekend we’re performing in Houston.
Last night, at about 2 in the morning, while our production crew was packing our car, Russell and I decided to walk over to the nearest restaurant for a snack. It happened to be a Jack in the Box. A friendly woman named Tiffany from Clear Lake, TX, took these pictures of us walking through the drive-thru. When she drove by I did a couple of card tricks for her and her boyfriend.
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Ferriss at a friend’s house in East Hampton, and then seeing him speak a week later at a conference I was attending. Tim wrote a bestselling book called The 4-Hour Workweek, which is about finding the right balance between your work and your life. He is a very tech-savvy guy who is all about efficiency and productivity, and a real expert on social media marketing, blogging, etc. I enjoyed learning about his ideas and am already starting to put some of them into practice.
This is Jim Moore. Not only is Jim a talented mime and photographer, he is also my former roommate. I lived in his ultra-cool loft in Tribeca in the mid-80’s. It remains my favorite apartment ever. This place was so enormous that it contained a private dance studio where we would rehearse at all hours. It is also one of the places where tight-rope walker Philippe Petit masterminded his stunning walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Jim and many of his amazing photos are featured in the award-winning documentary ‘Man on Wire’ that just came out. Don’t miss it.
I just shot four days for the ABC soap opera ‘All My Children’. Amazingly, this show has been running since 1970. I had worked on the show before - both as a magic consultant and as an actor. A few years ago I had the pleasure of being in some scenes with Susan Lucci. This time around I was cast in a different role. If you want to see which part I am playing, be sure to tune in on August 7, 8, 11 and 14 at 1 PM ET/12 PM PT!
Last night was the State Department’s 4th of July reception for the chiefs of diplomatic missions and their spouses. The Head of Protocol invited me to perform magic at this amazing party with an Americana theme. The Blue Daze blue grass band and a group of square dancers completed the entertainment. One highlight was when a Gambian diplomat helped with a magic trick in Zulu, and the Georgian Ambassador’s wife said the name of her selected card in Russian. The party took place in the John Quincy Adams Room and the Benjamin Franklin Room on the ceremonial floor, which has a balcony that overlooks the Mall. It is a perfect viewing spot for the fireworks over Washington.
The fascinating people, the historic furnishings and the aerial display were spectacular. It was a 4th of July I will never forget.
I just returned from the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA. It is the coolest place! Founded by Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman, the institute houses 40 scientists who study the brain and consciousness in small teams of two or three researchers.
Dr. Edelman’s son David, who had invited me, had arranged meetings with scientists who study the relationship between language and music, and with experts on spatial memory. I also visited the workshop of the so-called ‘Brain-Based Devices‘ team where Battlebots champion Donald Hutson builds amazing robots. After lunch with Dr. Edelman, I lectured on the principles of deception. At night, in the Institute’s beautiful theater, Dr. Edelman talked about optical and auditory illusions. Then I did a show for the scientists, their families, and supporters of the institute, gave another demonstration of a simple deception, and answered questions from the audience.
Needless to say, it was an extremely stimulating day. Thank you to everyone at the NSI for a wonderful time!
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