I'm mainly talking about houchin, and madison. their stuff is just wierd. houchin even said that with his stigmata, he had a church send people over to make sure he wasnt possessed or something, and if you ask me, that is not something to brag about. and with the pulse stop thing, whoever came up with that, that is just sick. you are basically fake dying. If someone were to come up to me and do that, it would just make me think of my grandpa when he was in the hospital, slowly dying, untill he finally passed on, and I wouldnt freak out when i was shown the trick, theyd be lucky to only be called sick and appauling. Sankeys stuff is actually magic that makes sense, that I enjoy performing, and that others enjoy watching.
I don't think it was his performance, though, that roused the church's ire - I think they simply reacted (with much zeal) to good magic.
What has Madison done that's so weird? Is it the flourishing? The sandwich effects? Lapse is pretty weird, I guess.
Yes, with a pulse stop, you are fake dying. That is exactly the point. Now, your memory that you would attach to it - touchy subject, and before I go further, I give you all due respect. That's a painful memory to have. Not attempting to compete or anything, but my one and only experience with death was holding a family member as they died of severe brain hemorrhage. Totally respect your view there. Different ends of the spectrum, maybe - when reminded of that event, I get sad, but I would not blame some random magician who had no idea of the event, and was only trying to show me a trick.
Have you seen the videos for Control? Performances? He performs for a crowd full of people, who I guarantee you have all experienced death in some fashion. They smile in awe when Houchin's pulse stop. Afterwards, they discuss how if a healthy man's heart can suddenly stop, then come back like that... Wow, this guy says. It makes him want to live his life different. And they all enjoyed themselves.
Moral of the story? Apologies for your loss, but you cannot throw that on a performer. Say you come to me and do a card trick Sankey taught - if I lost all my money gambling away on cards, is it appropriate to lash out at you and call you insensitive for showing me this? Are you trying to make fun of me? That's not cool.
You could also say that such a trick as controlling your own life is
supposed to dig deep down within you and make you think of death. How you handle that memory is up to you, and I'm in no way calling you immature or anything for your chosen process. Simply put: this magician means no ill will towards you personally, it's just a trick. It's a weird trick. It's freaky. It's scary. Do you know why? Because people get bored of card tricks. They get bored of coin tricks. They get bored of manipulation acts. This is strange, original, and so utterly devastating that it makes you look at magic differently. It makes you say, "I thought we were going to get some Vegas hocus-pocus rabbit and hat pulling, but... no. Instead, it's a night I'll never forget."
Sankey's stuff makes sense - that's good! Magic should make sense, or at least have a logical flow. "Hello, I am a Magician. Watch what I can do with this Object. Did you like what just Happened?" Madison's stuff all makes sense, too: Angle Zero? A torn corner vanishes then reappears elsewhere. A selected card mysteriously appears between two other cards. A torn card magically mends itself.
And then Houchin: Stigmata? A thought of person's initials eerily appear on your wrist. Sinful? You manage to slam a quarter inside of a soda can. Instead of flossing your nose with thread, you floss your eye.
Which of these effects does not make sense to you? Some are quirky, eerie, and odd, but they are by no means illogical. You understand exactly what is happening in all of them.
Dude, I'm not even trying to slam you or Sankey. I admittedly don't have much experience with what he teaches, and I don't know you. I'm just replying to what you say.
) and getting me AoA.
