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Live Concert CDs

Every so often, a band or artist’s performance in a live show goes down in history. We can’t all be there but we can own the live concert CD of the event. Not many western performers played in Japan in 1978 but Bob Dylan at the Budokan was a commercial and critical success. The recording has good sound quality and Dylan concentrates on his classic songs, such as Mr. Tambourine, Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, Like a Rolling Stone, and All Along the Watchtower. There are 23 tracks in total on the double album. Dylan’s band and female backing vocalists are top notch. The venue has presented many live performances over the years, including the Beatles, Pearl Jam, Abba, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton but its main use is as a martial arts stadium.

In the 1960s, a ticket for a Beatles concert was like gold dust. They were very impressive live, if they could be heard over the screaming! The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl live concert CD and vinyl took songs from two performances from the LA venue. The first was from August 1964, and the second was from August of the following year. The record was not released until 1977 because it was felt that the sound quality was not good enough. This was until the Beatles’ record producer, George Martin, worked on the master tapes and improved the sound. The hard work and the wait paid off as the album reached Number 1 in the UK and Number 2 in the United States on the album charts. The live concert CD contains several major hits, such as Can’t Buy Me Love, A Hard Day’s Night, and She Loves You. There is also a reminder of the group’s Rock ‘n’ Roll roots with their covers of Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout.

One of the most famous live albums of all time is The Who Live at Leeds, from their appearance at the University of Leeds in 1970. The New York Times called it ” the best live rock album ever made.” It always features high on any best album list and it is also often named as the loudest ever! There is a Blue Plaque on the University building where the gig took place, denoting its official distinction as an historic landmark. The 1970 vinyl was digitally remastered as a live concert CD in 1995 with I’m a Boy, Summertime Blues, and I Can’t Explain added as new tracks. A Deluxe Edition was released in 2001 with almost all of the songs from rock opera, Tommy. Original tracks from 1970 include the Who’s hits, My Generation, Magic Bus and Substitute.

The Apollo Theatre in Harlem has been the venue for many legendary performers, particularly for soul singers. James Brown Live at the Apollo was recorded in 1962 and was placed at Number 24 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of all Time list. The record was 66 weeks in the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, reaching number 2. With backing vocals by The Famous Flames, Brown sings from his classic songbook, including I’ll Go Crazy, Try Me, Lost Someone and Think. The live concert CD version came out in 1990 and a Deluxe Edition with bonus tracks came out in 2004.

Uncategorized Magic

Sore Throat

I found something in the store that causes my daughter to mysteriously develop a sore throat in the middle of the night. I found a bottle of small chewables that look something like jellybeans, and they are a child?s equivalent of a lozenge. She tries everything she can to get out of going to bed, and she uses these as an excuse to get up. She tells me she has a sore throat and she needs one of her magic beans. I guess there is a fine line between finding a medicine your child will take without complaint and finding one they think is candy.

I don?t think having one of these will hurt her if she really doesn?t have a sore throat, but I don?t like the idea of her taking anything she?s not supposed to have. She?s never been a sick child, but she does get a cold at least once a year, and that cold usually comes with a sore throat. She hates to take medicine, even if she is having problems breathing. I don?t like sending her to bed when she seems like she can?t breath, but sometimes I don?t have a choice.

The problem with a sore throat is that you can get one when you have no signs of anything else going on. She might even get one when she?s been talking a lot, which she tends to do, or when she has been outside shouting at the top of her lungs. I know you don?t have to be sick to get a sore throat, but I don?t always know when she really as one and when she is pulling my leg. When she asks me for a ?bean? I sometimes just have to give her one.

Usually when she really has a sore throat she?s not asking for anything. Her voice will be raspy and she?ll say her throat hurts, but she won?t take anything. Even the beans don?t always work. That?s why I always suspect she?s not quite telling me the truth when she asks for one out of the blue. You can?t really see a sore throat, unless it is strep, so I just can?t tell. I guess I?d rather err on the side of caution than to deny her the chewable when she really does need it. I know I have had cough drops when I really didn?t need one, and these aren?t any different.

Uncategorized Magic

Good Luck Spell

I have a friend who casts witchcraft spells for a living, and I’ve heard all kinds of crazy stories about the client he sees and the results yet. I always viewed them as entertaining tales, but as nothing but stories. I figured that what he was doing works at all because people wanted to believe. I never considered the possibility that a good luck spell or a love spell could have any sort of lasting effects. It just didn’t make any sense to me that it would.

That all changed one day when I needed a good luck spell cast for myself. It wasn’t that I believed differently, but more that I was getting desperate. I would take any help that I could get, be it a lucky amulet, a good luck spell, or just a sound pieces of advice. My relationship was on the rocks, my financial affairs were in ruin, and in pretty much any way possible I was a wreck. I figured that lucky spells couldn’t hurt, and they might just do a whole world of good.

Unlike many spell casters, my friend makes sure that his clients are there when he actually casts a spell. He says that it makes the magic more personal and more powerful if a person is there to witness it. He had me bring over several different ingredients for the good luck spell. I brought over a few strands my own hair, dust from my floor, some herbs, a candle, and a few other things. He mixed them all together, asked me to proclaim what I wished to happen, and then cast the spell with a grand gesture. I guess in retrospect I must have been expecting smoke or pyrotechnics, because I was a little bit disappointed when nothing immediately happened. Nevertheless, my friend seemed completely sure that it had been a success.

It took awhile for things to start turning around, but they did eventually. Within a week, things were back to normal with my relationship. Soon after that, I found a new job. I know that good luck spell put me in a better mood, and I wondered if my own expectations played a role in the results I got. Whatever the reason, it did seem to work. Since then, I have used good luck spells every time something troubling and difficult comes up. I figured that it could not hurt to have a little bit of extra luck, and who knows but that might help. At the very least, it makes me feel optimistic, and that optimism takes me through whatever I have to face. And sometimes, I even suspect that there is a little bit of magic at work.

Uncategorized Magic

Overcoming Social Anxiety

As I found out the hard way, there is no magic bullet for overcoming social anxiety disorder. Anxiety phobias are always complex, and social anxiety may be the most complex of them all. There are so many factors that come into play. If you’re uncomfortable around people, it may have to do with experiences you had growing up. Perhaps your classmates bullied you for looking strange or coming from a different background, or maybe you just always had a lot of trouble fitting in. Social anxieties don’t just spontaneously appear in general. Usually they are the product of years of growing discomfort. As a result, unraveling them can take years as well.

One of the most important things to keep in mind if you are trying to overcome social anxiety is that you need to spend time around people. Put yourself and positions that are relatively comfortable for you. Hang out with one or two folks instead of a large group. Just be sure to go out in public and socialize sometimes. If you sequester yourself and cut yourself off from other people, your anxiety worries will continue to get worse. If you make sure to socialize a few times a week, at the very least things will stay the same. They might even begin to improve.

Another good tip for overcoming social anxiety is to join an anxiety support group. This is a hard step to take if you are socially anxious, since a support group is by nature a social organism. Nonetheless, anxiety support groups are some of the most welcoming, understanding groups of people there are. After all, even if you are anxious around other people there, they won’t embarrass you. They all know what it is like, and they will understand your issues as you will understand theirs.

Of course, there are more direct ways to treat social anxiety. One of the most popular ones is medication. If you have never taken and anxiety medication, You’ll be amazed by how powerful it is. It can make all of your worries melt away. It is a great way to start overcoming social anxiety, but it is not a solution in and of itself. It can be habit forming, and it doesn’t tend to address the root causes. Counseling in conjunction with medication is one of the best methods for overcoming social anxieties. Meditation is also very helpful for many people struggling with symptoms of anxiety. Don’t be afraid to try a multi-pronged attack. The more strategies you use, the more likely you’ll be to succeed.

Uncategorized Magic

David Blaine Magic

Everyone likes to see a spectacle and try to work out how it was done. David Blaine magic and endurance performances leave the audience bewildered. The magician and illusionist began his career doing ‘close up magic’ tricks in the street. This kind of performance relies on sleight of hand. Instead of someone doing a card trick on a distant stage, the magician is right in front of you.

In 1997, Blaine toured the country and stopped pedestrians to perform his card wizardry. His performances were aired on his debut TV special, David Blaine: Street Magic. Everyone was impressed and audiences knew that he had a superior talent. However, doing David Blaine magic tricks was not enough and he embarked on a series of death defying stunts that would stun the world.

The first stunt took place in 1999 in New York City and involved the magician being entombed in a small plastic box placed under a tank filled with water for a duration of seven days. Blaine had a hand buzzer just in case he got into difficulties and needed help. He did not eat anything and he drank very little water.

The next stunt was called Frozen In Time and this was televised from Times Square. Blaine stood, encased in a block of ice with tubes supplying him with water and air. He endured this for more than 63 hours. Was this David Blaine magic or did he have incredible powers of endurance? He stated that his hero was Harry Houdini.

The Vertigo stunt followed and this one was in Bryant Park in New York City. Blaine stood on top of a pole, 100 feet (30m) in height and a mere 22 inches (55.88cm) wide. He did this for a remarkable 35 hours, often in high winds. He went to London for Above the Below where he was sealed inside a transparent plexiglas box, suspended 30 feet (9m) in the air, close to the River Thames.

It was back to New York City for his Drowned Alive stunt. He was submerged in a water filled sphere at the Lincoln Center for seven days. He then attempted to beat the record for holding breath under water but had to be pulled out after seven minutes as he was showing signs of distress.

Revolution was a stunt performed close to Times Square when he was in shackles to a spinning gyroscope and extricated himself after two days. The Dive of Death was an attempt to hang upside down above Wollman Rink in Central Park for 60 hours. Unfortunately, this one did not go to plan.

The magician turned author with the publication of Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic. It is partly an autobiography and it also explores the David Blaine magic card tricks with instructions on how to perform some of them.

Uncategorized Magic, TV

Accurate Psychic Readings

When my new clients ask me if I provide accurate psychic readings, rather than reassure them that I have skills as a psychic, I ask them what they mean. This takes most people by surprise. Most people assume that the meaning of psychic reading accuracy is simple and fixed, but it isn’t. Many psychic readers will say that their job is to foretell the future, but it isn’t. The point of going in to see a psychic, just like the point of going in to see a therapist or any other sort of counselor, is to come up with guidelines on how to live your life and accept future experiences. The magic powers and startling predictions are just the icing on the cake.

You see, an authentic psychic reading is accurate, but the predictive accuracy is only one part of it. Anyone trained in psychology can tell basic facts about someone and what they want to hear by the way they talk, the questions they ask, and their mannerisms. This is called cold reading, and it isn’t the same as having psychic power. Accurate psychic readings differ from cold reading in that they try to depend more on the spiritual vibrations of someone than that psychological makeup, and that they tend to be more influenced by concern over someone’s future than by the desire to make money. Therefore, an accurate psychic reading will tell people enough about the future to convince them of the psychic ability of the fortuneteller and then dispense with some good advice. Contrary to what most people think, it is the good advice that matters, not to reading.

When you go into the fortune teller, don’t worry as much about whether the psychic readings are accurate. Think instead about what advice you’re given, whether that advice jells with your experience, and whether the person seems to have your best interests in mind. Accurate psychic readings are all well and good, but the fact is that occult power either works or it doesn’t. If it does work then we shouldn’t be so mystified by someone who can do it, but should focus on what they can do with it. If it doesn’t work them we are just wasting time. Either way, accurate psychic readings are the beginning of the experience, not the end.

Of course, the opposite doesn’t hold true. If a psychic reader is not accurate, you probably shouldn’t trust them. Anyone who claims to be a psychic but doesn’t have the ability to understand basic things about your life that you haven’t told them is probably a fraud. Psychics can be unsure about certain things, but they shouldn’t get willfully wrong answers. This is a good way to screen out people who you probably shouldn’t let tell your fortune.

Uncategorized Magic

When people think about professional magic tricks, they picture stage magicians. Picture if you will, A strange, Faustian looking man in A dark robe lined with red felt performing conjuring tricks on stage. Think about his lovely assistants, his strange slights of hand, his fantastic special effects involving smoke and bright flashes, and his suspenseful music. It all goes together to make a quite elaborate and over-the-top production, doesn’t it? That is not the kind of magic I do at all.

As a close up magician, I have to rely on almost completely different skills. Although close up magic does rely on some of the same techniques such as sleight-of-hand, misdirection, and things like that, the way they apply it is completely different. For close up magic to work, you need to establish a rapport with your audience. The stage magician creates aloofness and distance. He courts mystery, assuming an otherworldly appearance as a way to be more impressive to the people who are watching him. With close-up magic, however, being down to earth is sometimes your best ally.

You see, you learn close up magic not on stage, but in parlors and bars. You learn to perform not for wealthy and jaded patrons, but for drunks and people out for a good time. Most of all, you learn to abolish the disconnect between performer and audience. With close up magic, you are there in the moment, bring something extraordinary to everyday conversations.

In terms of its staging, close up magic is usually pretty simple. You really don’t have a lot of room for special effects or elaborate planning because you always have to wing it. All you have have is your hands, the props you need for the trick, and whatever incidental tools the room provides for you. Still, paradoxically the simplicity makes the magic conjuring much more difficult. You can’t resort to  special-effects or planned stage shows. You need to use your wits, your voice, your hands, and the gullibility of your audience. Fortunately, for most  magicians this is plenty.

The great thing about close up magic is that you start off with what you have. You observe yourself and how you talk to your friends. Know your own personality and how you can use it to do close up magic. You may not naturally be a show off, but you can just as easily use A shy or restrained persona to make your magic tricks impressive. You can be the master of all illusion, or a jester somehow conjuring miracles despite his own ineptitude. It really doesn’t matter as long as you can make it work for you. Ultimately, that is what magic shows of all types are about anyway.

Uncategorized Magic, Men, Music