David Blaine

OK what's the deal?

Dude is doing some stuff that's got to be electronic assists or some stuff like that.

Freaky. The body writing thing, that takes some prep.

you can look up some of those tricks online - wikipedia has explanations for a lot. i wasted a good hour ruining the levitation illusion for myself.

either way, you gotta admit the levitation thing looks pretty cool.

http://www.gofish.com/searchVideo.gfp?searchFor=videos&keyword=criss+angel

How to Perform the Balducci Levitation
Amaze someone by gently rising about 4 inches off the ground.

Steps
Stand in front of the person with your back facing away, and your body positioned at about a 45-degree angle to the person's point of view.
Turn so that they can see your left foot and heel, and the back of your right heel.
Use your hidden right toes to slowly push yourself up a few inches, keeping your heels together.
Remember to keep the heel of the foot closest to the person level with the ground, to provide a sense of level levitation.
Hold the position for 2 or 3 seconds, then let yourself down quickly, avoiding sudden moves or shudders.

Tips
Angle is everything. Practice this in front of a mirror or another person. Lack of practice will surely give you away.
Turn so that they can see your left foot and heel, and the back of your right heel. If they see your right toes they will see how it's done.
Try to be subtle when doing this. Don't just say, "I'm going to float now." Say instead something like "Now watch my feet closely" to make the person focus on the illusion. Make sure every one is on one side of you.
There's a good video called "The Self-Levitation Video" starring Michael Maxwell and Paul Harris, which is dedicated to the Balducci Levitation, and contains lots of psychological subtleties which help to sell this effect.

Warnings
Don't go up too high or they will see your toes.

Easiest way is to hire a bunch of actors, get them to be a "street audience," and use wires to hoist the magician, then the film crew films the crowd "gasping" with "disbelief," and the editor in the editing bay carefully selects that shots that don't show the wires. Then sell it to FOX.

OK, someone please explain this one to me.

http://www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

I've done it numerous times now. It's creeping me out. There must be an explaination for this!

pick your #...I'll use 24...2+4=6. 24-6= 18 your end # will ALWAYS be a multiple of 9. Look at the chart...all multiples of 9 have the same figure. Go away from the site and then go back. All multiples of 9 will have the same figure but it will be different than last time. Pick another #..67..6+7= 13...67-13=54 (9x6]. The trick is that your # will always be a multiple of 9.

OK, but the multiples of 9 have different symbols. So how does it know which symbol you've chosen? Sorry, I'm a bit dense....

Stuff-o-rama:

Again, it's a matter of the crudest editing techniques. As in: buttonhole the curios in malls or whatever, do the "trick," and if it doesn't work, throw it on the editing room floor, and if it does, great, sell it to Fox.

None of these are ever "live," now are they?