Bound And Gagged!

.:DK-Oke!!!:.

Wotta night, wotta night!

Thursday night last week was a historic night for the Disenchanted Kingdom and the rest of 99.5 RT as they took over 121 Bar and Grill in Pasong Tamo extension to bring to their friends and listeners “DK-Oke,” an awesome night of music and drinking, where you get to go onstage and perform with a live band and you on lead vocals.

I got there fairly early, fully prepared to sing one song and only one song: “Nobody,” by the Wondergirls. Prior to that, though, seeing Lou Skywalker, Anna Q5, Marf, Cleo, and of course, King DJ Logan, was quite a sight for sore eyes. Everyone was in a festive mood, and this was going to be quite a night for the show, its listeners, and the station as a whole.

I sang first, and lowered the bar sufficiently for the rest of the night, but with Cleo singing “Alone” at top form, it was rather difficult to keep the bar low, although Ms. Nancy Jane and her friend CJ did have fun singing “Torn” and “I Touch Myself.” Overall, it was an insane night, and hearing Logan belt out “With Or Without You” and Marf sing “I’ll Be” with gusto definitely drew a lot of reactions.

At some point, the King asked me over onstage to perform a bit and entertain the audience with my magic and mentalism act, and I happily obliged. I decided that doing the Michael Finney classic, the Lady and the Rope, would be most suited for a wonderful volunteer as Ms. Nancy Jane herself…

I love this routine.

Overall, I must say this was a pretty awesome night, and I can’t complain about how things turned out. With the DK hoping to do this on a monthly basis, and with the show just firing on all cylinders as of late, and the couple of days a week I’ve been guesting with them, I must say that the Disenchanted Kingdom is looking towards exciting times en route to its first anniversary.

It was pretty hilarious what happened last week, though…

KDL: So, if we guys all ended up trapped in the Amazon, and we had no choice, who would we be gay for among the four of us?

Lou Skywalker: Kel looks like a softie. I think I can take him. I ain’t gonna be a pitcher.

Marf: I think I’d go for Lou. He’s hairy.

Cleo: Marf, you’re Chinito! I guess that means Kel will go for you!

KDL: Wait, dammit! Why is nobody gay for me?!?

Uh-huh…

.:For The Lulz:.

Remember this infamous picture from when Facebook controversially deleted Alodia Gosiengfiao’s accounts?

Gasp! How could they?!?

This was always why I believed in Friendster far more than Facebook, no matter what everybody else says. After all, they’d never delete an account for no reason at all, would they?

Would they?

Double gasp! How could they?!?

Project 365 comedy, disenchanted kingdom, friends, karaoke, radio, randomicity

.:I’m Amused:.

I had a brush with celebrity last Friday. Check this out. Heh.

So apparently, they aired one of my guest bits on the Front Act Show with Mike and Stanley, and you’ll see what happened around 1:45 on this clip…

Apparently, my skill with the ladies needs a lot of work. Heh.

It’s good to know that great things have been happening lately, though, as I’ve had an amazing show with Mike, Stan, and Uli last night in Grub, and of course, there are a lot more things that we can look forward to in the coming days as the machinery starts roaring back into full steam ahead. It’s going to be an awesome time, to say the least.

.:The POC On The Rise:.

My latest article was published on The POC recently, and it’s called “Beating Around The Odds.” I hope you like it, and you should check out what’s going on in the Sosyal channel as well, as my good friend Fabucelles continues writing about soap opera stars in the way only he can.

Project 365 brush with celebrity, comedy, friends, magic, politics, television, thepoc

.:Another Fine Night!:.

I met some awesome people at last night’s show in Taumbayan with Stan and Sir Ony. Look for us to be doing even more shows soon, though. Heh.

Tonight will be awesome too, as we take over Grub in Paranaque around 9:00PM. I’m sure it’s gonna be an awesome time.

.:Front Act!:.

Around 4:30PM, catch “Front Act” on Solar 9 with Mike and Stanley. It’s bound to be fun. Check it out!

News and Updates comedy, friends, magic, television, ventriloquism

.:Yet Another Successful Taumbayan Variety Night!:.

Last Friday, myself, Stanley Chi, and the great Ony Carcamo took Taumbayan by storm one more time as we performed for a packed house in T. Gener corner K-1st in the Kamuning area. It was a night filled with laughs and gasps, and I was pretty happy about how things went for everyone that night, as I went significantly longer than I normally do, going for a full half-hour of magic and comedy as I established the rhythm for the other performers that night.

I opened with the Coloring Book repeat, followed with some shackles and some rope, then went off to do some good ol’ mentalism by doing some card improv, the shaker, some psychokinesis, and of course, the piece de resistance, levitation.

Stanley was on fire last Friday as he went close to half an hour of old and new (!) material that just had everyone chuckling and then guffawing like mad. The audience was a perfect mix, as half of the audience were laughing because they got the 80’s jokes, and the other half were laughing because they realized they were too young to get the joke.

It was a great run-up, really, because after about an hour’s worth of performances, after packing the house to the point that people were actually watching us by the stairs already since the venue had two floors worth of people watching, sir Ony Carcamo took to the stage and gave everyone more than their money’s worth by doing an hour of amazing ventriloquism. Everyone was in stitches over how funny the jokes were, and he even did his own brand of mentalism while he was at it, as he joked around and “botched” predictions left and right, only to prove to everyone that he knew all along what was going to happen.

All in all, this was a pretty amazing show, and I even managed to sit down and chat with none other than John Lapuz that night, whose movie, “Here Comes The Bride,” I was especially fond of. Hopefully, when we do our show again next month, even more people would come and see it, because at 150 bucks, the show is practically a steal.

Thanks, everyone! You can expect more from us in the days to come.

News and Updates comedy, magic, magikel, mentalism, taumbayan, ventriloquism

.:127/365: Three Card Monte:.

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s a classic.%0

Project 365 cards, comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:125/365: The Card Stab:.

Well, here’s a leftover from comedy month: a gem of a card routine from Penn and Teller. There’s practically nothing here they didn’t expose, in all honesty. From explaining a key move in card magic to actually visibly palming a card, the Card Stab routine here was just insanely done and meant to irk a lot of magicians.

But once again, Penn and Teller get away with it. Hard to imagine that they’ve built a career that has spanned about three decades already, and it’s been all about playing mean tricks on each other while interspersing genuinely good magic in between, but there you go.

The routine is very simple: pick a card, and Teller will find it by stabbing a knife across the card, while blindfolded. Except for the fact that Teller ends up stabbing Penn’s hand instead, and the card is actually right under Penn’s hand. Simple, fast, easy, but definitely gets reactions across the board because of the sheer shock value of seeing something that unexpected happen.

I like the Card Stab because it’s funny and it gets the point across of what Penn and Teller as a tandem are all about. It’s hilarious and well-done as a routine, and it’s hard to imagine anyone pulling it off the way these guys do.

Yes, I’m such a Penn and Teller fanboy. How’d you know?

Project 365 cards, comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:122/365: Criss Angel:.

I would always give my props to a magician, especially a successful one.

Criss Angel is a different story because he may be successful, but he sure as hell ain’t a magician.

The favourite target of the notorious “Trickbusters” on YouTube, Angel’s performances have been rife with criticisms for years and years, none ever directly confirmed, but irreparably damaging the perception of television magic as a legitimate avenue for performers.

As this is the last day of comedy magic month, let me just say that as far as I’m concerned, Criss Angel has turned magic into a joke with the way he has treated it on his television specials. When you can achieve the seemingly impossible only because of camera tricks, editing, and paid actors, you’re no longer doing any magic at all: you’re just turning it into a special effects extravaganza.

In short, if this is your idea of magic, what’s the point?

Why would we allow Criss Angel to tear down the institution of magic on television that has been established for decades upon decades of hard work and legitimate skill? Why would we praise him for achieving feats in magic no magician could possibly achieve in front of a live audience? It’s deplorable, to say the least.

I have a lot of respect for magic. This is precisely why among all the magicians out there, the only one I would have nothing good to say about would have to be Criss Angel, because for all intents and purposes, this guy is not a magician. If a live show exposes the man as disappointing (and that’s being charitable), then it certainly means that he simply does not deserve to be considered a magician, when he needs those “little advantages” any magician worth their salt should never even touch with a ten-foot pole. His treatment of Perez Hilton is also deplorable and unprofessional. Leave the Hilton-bashing to the Will.I.Am’s of the world.

Did Criss Angel take magic in a new direction? I empathically say “no”. The only thing he had over David Blaine was that he had more TV shows because he produced a weekly one, and not a TV special ala Blaine.

Did Criss Angel revolutionize magic? Definitely not. Nobody is doing routines and saying this is “as popularized by Criss Angel”. Blaine was levitating before Angel did. Copperfield was doing it even before that, and doing it better and onstage. Anything “special” Angel came up with, was something nobody could legitimately approximate, much less duplicate, because it required special effects and paid actors in the audience.

Did Criss Angel get people talking about magic? Yes. Unfortunately, he emphasized how “fake” magic can be more than even the Trickbusters have, thanks to his machinations. It’s also very hypocritical of him to act like everything he does is real then expose Jim Callahan in a heartbeat (Although that whole thing seemed pretty scripted to me.). That the magical community has become so apathetic of him speaks volumes about him as well.

With all this in consideration, how can I possibly give any praise to Criss Angel? He has set the entire industry back by destroying the legitimacy of television magic, and all for the sake of feeding his own checkbook and his own ego. That is selfishness at its worst, and it is arguably even worse than what Valentino has done to the art because of “Exposed”.

So with all due apologies, I have zero respect for Criss Angel as a magician. He aptly caps off comedy month for April because quite frankly, he’s a joke. A sick, twisted joke and a slap to the face of the magic industry.

Project 365 comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010, vituperation

.:121/365: Magician Zero:.

Let’s take a break from all the American performers for now and head on to Japan, where an affectionate parody of the famous Japanese magician Cyril Takayama, exists.

Played by actor Takuya Kimura, magician Zero seems to be a bumbling but well-meaning magician who not only looks suspiciously like Cyril, but even has the same mannerisms as Cyril does, which results in a lot of hilarity from time to time. There seems to be a running storyline where Zero is following a single mom in hopes of winning her over by doing his unique brand of magic, which, contrary to most magic parodies, isn’t actually overplayed (Like the Blaine parodies.) or repeatedly screwed up (Like Tommy Cooper’s style.). Zero’s magic is actually effective and well-done, and this affectionate parody was something Cyril liked so much, they eventually had an inevitable showdown on television.

What I like about Zero is that he is really good at doing an impression of Cyril. Whenever he looks at the screen and says “surprise,” I sometimes forget I’m watching a parody and not the real thing. The fact that he does legitimately good magic while he’s at it doesn’t hurt at all, either.

Look for this guy’s videos all over the net. And if you’re so inclined, look for his crossover with Cyril himself, as that was an epic meeting, to say the least.

Project 365 comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:118/365: Brad Manuel:.

I’m sure the man has plenty of fans and is very well-known in the industry, but I am rather unfortunate in admitting that I have no idea who he is, although I wish I did, because he is extremely funny and his “instant magician” bit is made of sheer genius.

If Mr. Manuel is reading this, I humbly apologize for not knowing you as well as I should, but just know that I have nothing but sheer respect for your craft. You’re very funny and you’re very good.

Project 365 comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:117/365: The Amazing Jonathan:.

The man known to others as John Edward Szeles, the Amazing Jonathan, is arguably the most successful solo comedy magic act of all time. Yes, that includes having a more profitable career than stellar acts like Michael Finney and Tommy Cooper.

The Amazing Jonathan’s schtick is fairly interesting in that he is really more in the realm of comedy, much like Michael Finney, who actually has a pretty good pure standup comedy set himself. Jonathan is also a member of the all-star group, “The Madmen of Comedy and Magic,” finding himself in the same league as Michael Finney in that particular group.

With a gimmick that appears to owe a lot to Tommy Cooper’s distinct look plus bumbling style, the Amazing Jonathan appears to be a very interesting spin on that established archetype, since unlike Cooper, he had Las Vegas as a venue to ply his trade in. While Tommy Cooper’s long TV career may have brought him a lot of fame over the years, not only is Jonathan finding that Vegas is arguably more rewarding for him, he also has far less personal demons to contend with than Tommy cooper had to.

This man has made his mark in comedy and magic, and his really brazen style of performance is something I admire and am very impressed with. For any budding new aspiring magicians, I hope these small features on various people has you taking notes and considering people who could inspire you to become even better than you already are.

Project 365 backblogging, comedy, magic, magikel, project 365 2010