I like this guy, although I have never seen him.

http://www.magicbeard.com/view.php?id=34

Not the only one brother..

I was fortunate enough to see him when he came to lecture last year, and go out for dinner afterwards. I also saw the affects of a bottle of Chardonnay on him. Amusing to say the least. Brilliant mind he has.

He's very likable. Everything he does screams "IT"S ALL ABOUT PRESENTATION!!!". His books teach thinking beyond the method, and learning by doing.

He was a guest at the Café last year. Check out his comments in the "Chef's Specials" section.

He recently did a Question and Answer session over at The Magic Woods. Here's the link if anybody's interested...

http://www.themagicwoods.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2861

He is one of the great thinkers in magic, and for me, a personal inspiration.

Eugene was also featured as a guest on the january 12th 2007 podcast, Point of Inquiry.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Burger discusses belief in the paranormal, "Spirit Theater," and the possible deception of the public by paranormal claimants or entertainers such as Israeli psychic Uri Geller and American psychic medium John Edward. He also explores the relationship of magic to religion and to science, what magic can teach us about how we believe, and the kinds of benefits the student of magic receives from learning the art.

He is one of the great thinkers in magic, and for me, a personal inspiration.

Eugene was also featured as a guest on the january 12th 2007 podcast, Point of Inquiry.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Burger discusses belief in the paranormal, "Spirit Theater," and the possible deception of the public by paranormal claimants or entertainers such as Israeli psychic Uri Geller and American psychic medium John Edward. He also explores the relationship of magic to religion and to science, what magic can teach us about how we believe, and the kinds of benefits the student of magic receives from learning the art.

Add me to the long list of admirers of Eugene Burger. Met him at WMS last year, he was doing magic and teaching in the room he and Jeff McBride had promoting their Master Classes. Got his Chicago series and several books, all excellent. One of the best philosophers of Magic who ever wrote, and an incredibly good teacher.

I visited the Magic Woods forum and could read all of the questions but noneof the answers. Maybe I have to join 'though saw nothing about that. Site is not very legible IMHO

Hi, the answers are there even if you are not a member.The answers are on the last
pages..4..5..6.

So, what say you fellow card fanatics? Someone told me that on one of his videos Burger says he doesn't do "goofy card tricks like Chicago Opener." Here he talks about how he doesn't use the double-lift.

Also, what did Burger do before becoming a magician? I always assumed he was an academic, but I don't think that's right now. In the Point of Inquiry interview, the host's bio said he attended Divinity School at Yale University. I was also disappointed to learn has what some would favorably characterize as an "open-minded" view toward ghosts, hauntings, and general paranormal nonsense.

Why on earth would anyone care about whether he uses sleights when performing...

Unless you are doing flourishes as a demonstration of skill, nobody should even suspect (much less know) you are using sleights anyway.

:(

Maybe Cain when you do a double lift the only person you are fooling is yourself!

.. and what a boring place the world would be if everyone thought the same thing!
You are disappointed that Eugene Burger has the nerve to talk about some anecdotes about ghosts that other people have told him?

I always enjoy listening to what Eugene has to say and thank you tommy for the link. tommy if I might suggest buying one book it would be 'Mastering the Art of Magic'

I did not say "sleights"; I mentioned a sleight, specifically the double-lift. We can always broaden the question: "Why on earth would anyone care about whether a person uses sleights, what effects he chooses, what presentation he uses, and why he does magic?" Gosh, maybe I just have this utterly crazy, irrepressable curiosity. And maybe, just maybe, I tend to be -- like most humans on planet earth -- more curious about a person's idiosyncrasies.

If some 15 year-old kid came on here and said Chicago Opener was "goofy" and the double-lift is bad technique, then people would probably ask for an explanation. Well, actually, most people would probably personally attack him. If you can't see why Burger's statement is a provocative one worth highlighting, then I don't think I should bother replying.

Mark Whalberg wrote:



Well, that's certainly a possibility! I must however note -- without sounding too immodest -- that considerable eye-witness testimony protests against this (outlandish) possibility.



This doesn't follow. No, I don't mind Eugene Burger had "the nerve" to relay anecdotes of ghost stories. I do question his judgement. If I may tie together a couple of themes: He seemingly invests more credibility in a handful accounts on a haunting than the ability of magicians to fool lay people with a double-lift!

I'm disrupting the chronology of your post here:



Oh, bah! What if someone believed John Tesh was president of Uganda?! Yeah, sure, maybe it's an oddly charming belief befitting someone's crazy uncle, and maybe the world is a little more enriched because of it. Too bad more than enough people already believe in ghosts and other nutty things! I knew I was going to get some crap for that comment -- that it would be mistakenly perceived as provincial -- so I might as well underline my remark: Eugene Burger is too smart to give credence to those claims.

Well the context of Mr.Burger talking about the Chicago Opener was as HIS opening
effect.This is on the video 'Gourmet Close-up'.He is talking about knowing when he
opens with his 'Haunted deck' that he has this great animation instead of something like the 'Chicago opener'.
A lot of people can turn over 2 cards well...but why on the deck? and then
face down again on the deck!Dai Vernons 'Fingerprint' card trick does address this I know.But Eugene is really talking about himself and his own work.
You may be right about ghosts and a afterlife....but of course when your time does come to an end you may find out you have been VERY wrong!

OooooK, but does he, in that video, characterize Chicago Opener as a "goofy" card trick? What you're saying here does not dispute the account I have heard and related. Suppose a person gives an interview where he says -- in an off-hand manner -- people who claim to have had encounters with ghosts are "irrevocably stupid." I ask if such-and-such said so-and-so and the person who answers me glosses over that part and (accurately) says, "Well, he was explaining why he personally does not believe in paranormal phenomenon."



Here you go again! Yes, he is talking about his own work, but has it occured to you he refuses to do it because he thinks it's poor technique? I'm sure there are lots of cool tricks neither of us perform. One of these, for me, happens to be Chicago Opener; I have not done it in quite awhile! But there's a huge difference between me choosing not to do it (for my own reasons) and deigning not to do it.

Back on the double-lift, here's the brief explanation offered by Burger (via Collins):


Another poster gently corrects the record:



I don't want to appear to be trashing Burger. I like him; he has a twinkle in his eye, and an enthusiasm about life. Honestly though, I'm disappointed his "Honestly" comment didn't tip me off sooner. Like "frankly," it's a word I normally try to flag. I suppose we say it when we know that we've never been unmistakably consistent on a matter; it's what we use to communicate emotional truth. And it's worth noting the conditions are far from ideal: he's pounding out answers to a barrage of questions in one sitting.


Oh, bah!

Or did they feel fooled?

Or did they simply feel fooled and deceived? (Smiles) You know, Romany, let’s be honest: that's okay too! It’s okay to be a trickster! That’s just one option. You need to understand that I don't think that my way is the only way for everyone else to do this! I believe truly that the House of Magic has many rooms and that there is room for everybody. There is room for people who just want to be tricksters and do stunts. That’s okay for them but not for me. That's not what I want to do. I want to do more that perform stunts. I really want the people who experience one of my performance to feel that they were very fortunate to have seen this, that they were lucky to have someone so special for this event. Magicians by definition are very special people, you know. I want my audiences to sense that they are lucky to have me there because I am special!

You know Eugene, we really are. Thank you.

http://www.magicbeard.com/view.php?id=34

That seems fair to me.

But if it is, we will never find anything to argue about. We can't have that!