Psychics and Mediums are Scum!

Houdini, after the death of his mother, spent a great part of his life debunking these frauds and con artists who under the umbrella of entertainers take hard earned money from believers who in times of crisis are looking for answers.  Most folks go to these charlatans in times of feeling low. Questions about love, health and wealth are among the top three.

Today James Randi AKA The Amazing Randi has led the war against frauds like these by establishing the James Randi Educational Foundation that once a year invites these frauds to prove if their “powers” or “gifts” are real under scientific conditions & if they do show that they can predict the future or communicate with the dead Randi will be happy to give them the 1 Million dollar reward money & help introduce them to the world.                                (Picture is of James Randi)                                                  

Last month, three young girls who had been kidnapped some 10 years earlier were found in a Cincinnati home. One of these girls was named Amanda Berry. In 2004 Sylvia Browne, (a self proclaimed Psychic) appeared on the Montel Williams show and was asked by Amanda Berry’s mom “can you help me find my daughter?” Sylvia Browne looked at the mother with certainty  and said “It’s too late, she is in heaven and on the other side. And her last words were ‘Goodbye mom I love you’.” It makes me sick just to type out that last sentence!  The mother of Amanda Berry never found out her daughter was in fact alive because she herself died 1 year after appearing on the Montel Williams show.

You can see videos on youtube of Sylvia Browne’s arrogance when she gives a grieving mother false news.  There have been folks on TV for years claiming to be Mediums and Psychics and unfortunately being on TV itself gives them creditability with lots of folks.  The newest up & comer in the world of FRAUDS is the Long Island Medium. Who also has several videos on youtube showing her miss at her claims, but of course all that is edited out when you see her own show.

People will always be looking for answers, I think it is in our DNA, but by going to a Psychic or a Medium you are not only wasting time but also money.

For more info check out James Randi’s website at www.randi.org

Wes Iseli's Close up magic at the fair pt 1

Life on the road...

Yesterday, June 14th 2013, was one of those memorable days on the road. We left the house at 7:00 am with our breakfast sandwiches in our hands to arrive in Vienna (Northern Va) to perform at a summer camp at 9:30 am. Once the show was over we headed to Richmond, Va to perform at another summer camp at 1:15 pm. We ate our packed lunches along the way and Lana watched the Smurfs on the TVs in the van, but with traffic on the interstate we barely made it on time. As soon as that show was over we got gas and a couple of sodas from the gas station and headed back to Herndon (Northern Va) for an open house for a daycare who was signing up kids for their summer program, but once again with traffic on the interstate we barely made it on time for a 5:30 pm showtime. Once this show was over and we got all packed up we decided to hang out and play soccer with Lana who had been in the car all day like us; we wanted to stretch our legs too. Afterwards, we found a Ruby Tuesday and grabbed a bite to eat then headed home. We realized on the way home we needed a few things for the house and as tired as we were we had to stop for groceries, by the time we got home it was 11:00 pm.

People have no idea of what is involved in being a full time entertainer. The time we spend on the road and fuel costs are almost unheard of. Just yesterday we spent around $120.00 in gas and around 13 hours in the van.

My favorite part of being a magician has always been the time in front of the audience. Drive time, packing and unpacking the van, setting up and taking down the show, loading and unloading animals, office work, rehearsals, researching new tricks and illusions, and more are hardly ever seen, much less thought about; even our families are surprised when we talk about this part of our job.

Wes Iseli's Dollar to Impossible Location

This was filmed after an illusion show in Northern Va around 11:00 pm. I am in sweats because the audience is all gone and I was loading the van and trailer. This is an effect I have been working on for a while and I am thinking about marketing it to magicians later this year. You are seeing the effect just as it happened. The only edit was turning the camera point of view when the videographer turned the camera on its side while filming.