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January 19, 2007 - GELLER REDUX

davefoc

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davefoc
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Fun little mention of Geller this week:

http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-01/011907tam.html#i2

The column says video is no longer available on youtube. I found it here.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WmG4G6sdGoQ

Kind of scary how credulous the audience is. One of things I have noticed from being in the audience of magic shows is that the audience really wants the magician to succeed and even if the trick goes a bit awry the audience seems to be forgiving. Here though the audience is being told that the magician is doing something with supernatural powers, and it doesn't seem to matter, they still want most of all for the magician to succeed. Maybe it says something good about human beings and how they empathized with the performer or maybe it just says we're mostly a bunch of credulous followers who just want to be part of the group.
 
I'm confused about the front page of randi.org, under this week's comentary. Isn't a little late to tell us that Randi may be appearing on O'reilly on January 18 when today is January 19?
 
atari24 said:
I'm confused about the front page of randi.org, under this week's comentary. Isn't a little late to tell us that Randi may be appearing on O'reilly on January 18 when today is January 19?
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Obviously, Randi, was testing your precognition abilities and it appears that you failed.

Or this might be just another case where the skeptics at JREF combined their negative energies to block your precognition ability in the same way that the JREF skeptics blocked some of Geller's telekinetic experiments.
 
I found it kind of surprising.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it didn't even look like he was trying to hide it. It looked like a move that somebody might do that was trying show how a magnet can be used to move a compass needle. Something like, see no matter what I do the compass needle won't move, but now when I go pick up this magnet and put it near the compass, see the needle moves.

Did one of his support people forget to paint the magnet? Or maybe there was supposed to be some sort of cover that fell off the magnet when he picked it up..

ETA: There were some other youtube videos related to this stunt that I didn't link to because they were in Hebrew. If somebody felt like looking at them and providing a little translation it might be interesting.
 
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When Randi mentioned "children's magic trick books" in his letter, I was reminded of the "cereal box tricks" comment that prompted Uri to sue. Randi had to appeal to people to finally get a copy of the Coco Puffs trick box. This time I'd bet that he has at least a couple of children's magic trick books in his library. I can almost remote view them.
 
It's not just Randi see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6285005.stm about his latest show:

...snip...

But Israeli magician Eliron Toby said the show "damaged" those who wanted to believe in Geller and Dandi Asraf said there were "no supernatural powers".

...snip...

I am not a magician and have never been one," Geller said. "I keep my powers mysterious."

Asraf said the prime-time show was "entertaining".

"But obviously everything is tricks and stunts. There are no supernatural powers. There is no magic - it does not exist in this world."

Toby said he was sad "that such a man has for so many years been able to fool so many people.

"He contradicts the saying that you can't fool all of the people all the time.

"The Successor has damaged those people who want to believe that Geller can heal or help them."

...snip...
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Quite a few people in Israel are pissed at the hijinks geller is pulling.

He made some very stupid "predictions" like being able to wake up Ariel Sharon (currently in a coma due to brain seizures/bleeding). He claimed he predicts that the Israeli soldiers that were captured by a hizballah ambush that started the second lebanon war would be returned home.

He was interviewed on israeli TV and the host asked him what the hell was he thinking. He said that in the UK, some woman asked him if he could come to her son's hospital (her son was in a coma) and instead he sent the guy a CD (containing something he made, i can't recall waht) in the mail and then the guy woke up.

The guy is absurd.
 
Geller in Hebrew

davefoc said:
I found it kind of surprising.

ETA: There were some other youtube videos related to this stunt that I didn't link to because they were in Hebrew. If somebody felt like looking at them and providing a little translation it might be interesting.
Click to expand...

Hi (new member),

I just looked at one of the Utube versions in Hebrew... Two attempts without the magnet; on both of these attempts, one of his assistants (or at least one of the people on stage with him) says, "it [meaning the compass] moved a little." Geller says, "but not enough." (Nice touch, Uri.) He tries again, another assistant notices that "it moved a little," and again Geller says, "not enough." Then Geller suggests that everyone in the audience hold hands to create "positive energy." That's the "distraction" during which he puts the magnet on his thumb. I guess that the cameraman wasn't distracted enough. But the audience is really into it. And the trick works. The compass moves about 30 degrees. Pretty good showmanship ~ kind of like Edgar Bergin ~ no one seemed to mind that his lips moved.

...Mike
 
Welcome to the forum mherzbrun,

Thanks for the interesting response. I am honored that you chose my little thread to make your first post.

Unfortunately, it seems that somebody had already started a thread on this topic. I'd like to copy my request and your response over to that thread. Would that be OK with you? I didn't want to copy a post of yours without your permission.
 
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