Sugar pills, injections of nothing — studies show that, more often than you’d expect, placebos really work. At TEDMED, magician Eric Mead* does a trick to prove that, even when you know something’s not real, you can still react as powerfully as if it is. (Warning: This talk is not suitable for viewers who are disturbed by needles or blood.)

*Residing in Colorado, Eric Mead has been at the forefront of magic for the past 20 years. His insight on performing effective magic, in any situation, will not only leave an impression on you, but also on your audiences.

See Eric Mead LIVE at Magic-Con 2010, March 19-21
Similar Post: David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min

Back in August we wrapped filming on The Daniel Garcia Projects vol. 4-6. Low and behold we have finally finished production on this massive 3 DVD set by Daniel Garcia. At this very moment both Daniel Garica and Paul Harris (producer) are reviewing the DVDs for final approval before heading to press. A teaser will be posted shortly.

If you haven’t already, check out The Daniel Garcia Project volume 1-3, they are fantastic.

In 1997 David Blaine took the art of magic to new heights with his debut television special, Street Magic. He presented a genre of magic that was organically fed by pop culture’s own dynamic surroundings. It was live, on the street, in your face and uncensored. People actually believed in his abilities. He was a “magic man” capable of anything.

“It was David Blaine’s first TV Special that inspired us to see magic as a visual art. Our style and even magic as it’s perceived today is owed to his influence.”

As organizers of Magic-Con, we are honored and privileged to announce that David Blaine will be joining us for our breakthrough 2010 conference. We have arranged a very special interview with Blaine and we’d like to include all of you.

For details, visit www.magic-con.org

Our newest (and personal favorite) edition of Smoke & Mirror Playing Cards designed by Si Scott will be available this spring. We had them printed using green metallic ink on recycled paper. More details will be posted soon.

If  you’re coming to Magic-Con this year you’ll be pleased to know that they will be available for immediate purchase. The “official” release date will be announced shortly.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to present Magic: The Science of Wonder, a new exhibition exploring the history of this secret art with fascinating artifacts and mesmerizing live performances.

In this captivating video, get a sneak peek into the magical mysteries and scintillating science in store!

Learn more about the exhibition at The Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Principles of Magic

In this captivating video (click the image), discover The Principles of Magic with Guest Curator Scott Cervine – and then visit the exhibition to learn more about “the scientists of show business.”

We all know the determination and focus it takes to master an effect. We also know the sense of satisfaction and self worth that stems from its mastery. These intangible benefits of practicing and performing magic are what Conjuring Arts’ outreach program brings to those who need it most.

Hocus Pocus is designed to teach magic to disadvantaged youth and adults… The goal of the program is to empower participants by introducing them to fun and accessible magic effects that, with some effort, they will master and be able to share in other settings.

For more information on the Hocus Pocus Project click HERE to visit the all new Conjuring Arts Research Center website.

I have recently become fascinated with a particular style of art that has lately been getting lots of attention on the internet blogosphere. 3D Street Art, have you heard of it? HAVE YOU SEEN IT?

Only when looked at the right point of view does the three-dimensional painting become a perfect illusion. “It gets thrilling when the observer runs into the picture.” For example, Edgar (the artist responsible for the Ice Painting) encourages the spectator(s) to place themselves within the creative elements thus turning a painting in a magical story.

Click HERE to watch the making-of the Ice Age painting. To learn more about this artistic technique I encourage you to watch Anamorphosis, a brief documentary of the subversion of perspective.

Anamorphic Street Magic: A few years back, Magician, Marco Tempest ingeniously applied the same principle into one of his virtual magic tricks.

There are many 3D Street Artists out there, Kurt Wenner & Edgar Müller are just the two examples I used. Do a search in google and let us know if you come across something truly magical by using the comment box below. I look forward to seeing the progression of 3D Art in the years to come and can only imagine what will be conjured up next.

Printed using the same color green as the original 1902 book on premium Aristocrat stock using the Bee® back design with white borders.

Each deck includes two custom jokers, a custom Ace of Spades, and two ad cards printed to look like pages from the book. The box looks exactly like a miniaturized version of the book with the same textured finish.

Available exclusively at store.dananddave.com during the month of February.

Following our appearance at Magic-Con we fly to New York to begin our “short and sweet” East Coast Lecture Tour. If you’re in the New York area you’ll be pleased to know that we have arranged an extremely exclusive hands-on workshop at a prestigious magic library **. We hope you can make it to one of these events we and look forward to sharing our material with you all.

*Please contact Mark Desouza directly at fkaps@aol.com for information on attending this lecture.
**Please contact Spencer Peterson directly at spencer@dananddave.com for information about this exclusive engagement. Limited to 8 attendees only.

Visit the site this Monday at 2pm PST for the exclusive release of the all new Bee® Erdnase playing cards. Printed using the same color green as the original 1902 book on premium Aristocrat stock using the Bee® back design with white borders.

Each deck includes two custom jokers, a custom Ace of Spades, and two ad cards printed to look like pages from the book. The box looks exactly like a miniaturized version of the book with the same textured finish.

Available exclusively at store.dananddave.com during the month of February.