2/26/2009 - Uri Geller

Whether or not he's a fraud, we'll never know. But... what a whiner. At present I'm a follower of the second season of a show called 'The Next Uri Geller'. It's a rather enjoyable show, and you're constantly tossed around between asking yourself, is this just illusionism, or could it be real? There is one disturbing factor however, no two, but let's not get into the Patty Brard factor. There are no words in the English language to describe her. The disturbing factor I wish to talk about is His Imperial Bendyspoonness himself.

First of all, it is a show about mentalism, right? And to demonstrate the power of the mind, you sometimes want to show something dangerous, or else nobody watches. Yet, everytime someone does something where someone could get an earlobe pierced, Mr. Geller keeps shouting, yes, SHOUTING, that it was dangerous, and this is a family show, and there are kids watching... Yet at the beginning of each show, and at the end of each commercial break, the viewing public is properly warned that there are dangerous acts going on, which, incidentally, are never to be tried at home. Do it at someone else's place. If people don't want their kids to see anything dangerous, they don't have to let their kids watch, do they?

Then there is this one contestant, a Belgian guy by the name of Vincent. He wants to prove thru his performances, that vampires are real. His acts are gross, and he works with blood and leeches, but there is a clear mentalist aspect to his shows. That is more than can be said for certain others, whose tricks, minus the swords and chainsaws, do appear in magic books written for ten year old novices to the art of illusionism. Uri Geller has repeatedly walked off when Vincent was doing his thing, and has attempted to tell him off, although he completely lacks the linguistic capacities to impress Vincent even mildly. His latest attempt to get thru to Vincent came in the form of a large bundle of garlic...

Another example comes from last Friday's show. There is a masked contestant whose identity is being kept a mystery (are you watching Geert Wilders... someone is trying to hide his identity). On Friday, a few people wearing masks and robes of their own ran onto the stage to reveal the Mask's identity. The way Uri Geller reacted, I have a distinct feeling that this was all prearranged. He reacted just a little bit too well.  

The worst thing about it all are Uri Geller's own demonstrations. They clearly do all come from the Fool's Guide to Boring Parlor Tricks. Let's see if this works, for instance. In my mind I am picturing a photograph of a building in a European capital. Anyone who reads this, post a comment, and name the city, and the building. It doesn't matter if you (are made by me, to) think of the same city and building as anyone who has posted a comment before you. At least 75% should get it right. Even if no one posts a comment, I will tell you the correct answer in a comment of my own on Tuesday. 
 

2/26/2009 - I'm game!

I'll say the Eiffel tower.
Uri Geller, omg, hide the spoons!

3/3/2009 - The Eiffel Tower

It's exactly that.
And it's exactly what at least 75% of the world's population with any knowledge of Europe would say.