Lemme Reiterate...

.:TV Appearance Tomorrow!:.

Tomorrow, I'll be making an appearance for an interview regarding psychic phenomena in ANC around 9:30 AM or so. I'll be doing the Acid Test, so this will be a doozy that you better not miss out on!

.:What Business Do They Have Exposing The Art?:.

Last Saturday, GMA-7's program, "Imbestigador", had a segment where they exposed several magic illusions including the Zig-Zag Lady, the Linking Rings, and even a locally devised effect known as "Burikadabra".

For a program that prides itself in bringing to justice the less desirable elements of our society, it boggles the mind why they would make it a point to disrespect the art of magic and expose these effects? Has it ever occurred to them that these people perform and keep a code of secrecy to preserve the integrity of the art? Or are they too concerned in exposing magic for no other reason than to just bring the craft down even further?

Programs like these are not unlikely to find themselves at odds with pirates: people with no regard for intellectual property and profit off of it. Isn't that what they just did here? Did they ever care about the livelihood of magicians whose credibility they undermined with their exposure? Did they even care that they were divulging ideas that they did not themselves own, and almost assuredly did not pay for either?

It's a slap in the face of an art that has made it clear that they deal in deception to begin with. People pay to be deceived. To even compare the art of magic to street hustlers and swindlers is an outright insult to magic as a whole.

What business does Imbestigador, a show meant as a public service, in sticking their noses into someone's decent, honest livelihood? If they want to do a witch-hunt of quacks and frauds whose claims bite off more than they can choose, sure thing, but expose magic wantonly and irregardless of the fact that people pay their bills through it? That's just uncalled for, especially when it even goes as far as to trample over intellectual property rights?

This isn't just a protest over something petty. It's a protest over a very unethical, unscrupulous, and willful exposure of an art whose key to success is secrecy, for no malicious reason, but simply to entertain. It honestly makes no sense why a reputable program like Imbestigador would go against its own principles of fair play and justice and flat-out ignore the welfare of magicians trying to make a living all for the sake of what? For the sake of ratings?

Count me in as someone who wishes to file my indignation against this program.

Bushed, As Usual...

.:Frustration:.

For a magician, hecklers could be the worst kind of people you'd ever meet.

However, I am inclined to think otherwise.

I truly believe that the worst spectators around are the ones who practically destroy your props, whether by sheer carelessness or outright malicious intent to ruin you.

Last Saturday, I was treated to the rare privilege of performing, upon request by another magician, for a group of people containing two of the worst possible types of audience ever: the said heckler who had something to say every five seconds, and the blithering nincompoop who heavily damaged my Wizard Manual finale.

I cannot conceal how annoyed I am at the one who asked me to perform for his friends, because he knew in the first place that I was going to deal with a mouthy know-it-all in the audience, when I wasn't even going to do "magic", to begin with. I was going to simply do mentalism, and the bloody fool, in her desire to be the star of the show, was too stupid to remember the two words I asked her to remember on the page. My only vindication was when one of the other people asked me if I could turn her into a monkey, and I snappily retorted, "It's been done already."

Nomer, friend or no friend, I'm never going to do magic upon your request ever again. That was a horrible experience that just pissed the Hades out of me. The Wizard Manual does not grow on trees, so I'm being exceedingly nice in not asking for a replacement.

Le Sigh...

.:And The Ink Has Dried...:.

... Yet somehow, I feel I'm getting the short end of the stick. I'm actually going to making less than I was making from WAVE with my new job, but I guess the normal hours should at least make up for it.

But I just wish I had more breathing room financially. Now, having gigs isn't a "nice-to-have", it's turning into a must...

.:That Took Guts...:.

I approached Pilita Corrales and Kuya Germs last night in Greenhills to give my calling card.

I should've prepared a demo... =(

Guh... Unemployment

.:It's So Weird...:.

After three years, I'm *really* unemployed.

It feels so weird being unemployed, even if I happen to still be a student. I guess it just feels so unnerving, as if this isn't how it's supposed to be for me.

And now, I'm feeling the crunch. Until September, I have no source of income whatsoever, and it's been rather disorienting for me, since for all of my previous company's shortcomings, they were still a reliable source of income...

I know this seems rather blatant of me, but I am really calling on anyone who can help me out of this pickle, because this month may just very well get the best of me otherwise.

Most of you reading here know who I am, and what I do. I am an accomplished host and master of ceremonies, as well as one of the more high-profile mentalists out there not named Sonny Minoza or Erik Mana. I would really appreciate help from any of you who might be able to give me leads and contacts I could use, because I really want to take the next logical step in this "career" of sorts.

I am very much available for bookings, and all you need do is e-mail me at mistervader@gmail.com. I'd really, really appreciate it.

Thanks, guys. This is one of those times where I really can't just coast along. It's time for me to really step up...