Do you like magic?

I like magic!

I just realized I have two posts in a row of people running into doors. Hmm. What does that say about me? (Don't answer that!)

Derp Dog and the Magic Dude

And I wasn't sure what this little kid was doing at first...

It's time for your Friday magic trick:

One... two...

The Magic Library

By Celine Taylor.

Magical Thinking in the Morning

As you can see, I was pretty worked up about appearing on AM Northwest this morning. And I wasn’t alone! Note the responses of host Helen Raptis and youthful magician Caleb Sohigian. (Link to the video through the picture to the left or at the bottom of this entry.)

I was concerned because the show was also going to feature actor/musician Bart Kane. Note the promo; how could it be that Bart King and Bart Kane were going to be featured on the same program?

The more I thought about this, the more enraged I grew! What are the odds that there’s a guy named Bart Kane who’s breathing my air AND maybe going on the air before me?

So you can imagine my relief when the gentleman in question turned out to be Christian Kane (of TNT’s show Leverage). It was a mere misprint! (And Kane turned out to be pretty cool, too.)

As to our appearance, that realistic cry of pain from off-camera was courtesy of Caleb’s dad, Dave. (Not to worry; the doctors say that the eye-patch should come off in a couple of weeks.)

What's So Hard About Self-Decapitation?

Harry Kellar (1849-1922) was a huge name in American magic in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. And he went out on top; after being named the first "Dean of American Magicians," Kellar retired a year later. But while he was performing, Kellar had arguably the finest posters of any performer. (Houdini's are dismal by comparison.)

As to Kellar's act, I can't really comment, but self-decapitation? Please. It's all done with smoke and mirrors and floating heads. (The guy supposedly had some pretty impressive levitation skills as well.)
These images are both from the Library of Congress; see my subset of them here or the whole LoC shebang here.