Jamy Ian Swiss on YouTube

"I did a trick for a little boy. He was probably about 5 years old. Anyway, he looked up at me and said, 'I know how you did that.' I said, 'How?' He said, 'You used magic.' It's the best explanation I ever heard."

So said Al Cohen.

I've got a soft spot for magic.  And I look forward to when I can teach some simple magic to Edward.

Adam Gopnik has got an outstanding story about the current state of the magic industry/business/way of life/sub-culture in the March 17, 2008 issue of the New Yorker.

There's only an abstract available online here. One of the magicians featured in the lengthy article is Jamy Ian Swiss who is a specialist in close-up magic.  Card magic and the like.  Many people say he's the best at that there is.

Swiss is quoted in the article as (mainly) being opposed to magicians on YouTube.  So, I checked to see if he is on YouTube, and sure enough he is.  Probably unauthorised content.

Check him here, here.

Also, on his own website here.

Aside:  I read Steve Martin's recent memoir Born Standing Up - and his reverence for old-time magicians is quite touching.  Martin was no slouch in the magic stakes himself.