talkmagic.co.uk

mark lewis wrote:
"I can assure the gentleman who appears to have the very odd name of Bobby Cat that it is correct that I have no hair. It is also manifestly obvious that he has no brains. However once I had hair".

it would be funnier if it were true though...

the great Mark's been Aced since then a dozen times... interesting to see if he refrains from returning to the racist, political and personal stuff he threw up earlier (the issue that facilitated the PM's i received) now he's been warned to stay "above the belt".

i hope so, it would be a shame if this thread got shut down just because he refused to follow orders. let's keep it light hearted and in good spirits... and most importantly "above the belt". sure it may be unchartered territory for him, hopefully he can look at it as an adventure.

I have to agree Darren, that was a pretty good line ! But in all fairness I believe our friend, infiltrator and hijacker of email and forum accounts would have had plenty of an opportunity to come up with some good material in the past. As I am a more recent member of the balding head clan I have yet to develop the appropriate skills required to astutely deal with the comments that arrive with this newfound membership. But I am definitely adding this one to my repertoire

quoting costas:
[quote]:
"Mark, your post is once again entertaining as usual!
In your defence I will post the following quote you made at the start of this thread - just in case anyone was sincerely wondering what your intentions truly are"
[unquote]:


Hi Costas, in reference to your comment above, the post from Mark you refer to is one where he started back peddling. the earlier posts he made where he made comments like:

quoting Mark Lewis to Brad Christian:
"I must say that I am aghast and agape at how you have changed. At one time you wouldn't have dreamed of all this money making activity".

and

quoting Mark Lewis:
"Sophie and Harry Smith would be turning in their graves now if they knew what you were up to. In their shop you had to submit to a 30 page questionaire, then supply your blood type and DNA before they would consent to sell you anything."

and

quoting Mark Lewis:
"I am glad to see that you have learned the wisdom of foregoing all that art stuff and gravitating to the "grab the money" school of magic philosophy. "

then to determine the "spirit" of all this, lets review Brad's reply:
quoting Brad Christian to Mark Lewis:
"Magic is different and I'm different than the Harry and Sophie days, but perhaps not quite the way that you think. "

i also dont find any evidence of Brad jumping to Mark's defence... no: "hey I know Mark Lewis and he is a great guy, dont take him the wrong way, he and i really understand eachother and get along well". I see Mark flip flopping and taking Brad's polite replies literally... of course i really dont know anything more than is posted on these forums about the relationship between Mark and Brad, so to speculate as i have done is somewhat unfair... talking without all the facts is wrong, makes me feel a little like, erm... Mark Lewis!

anyway, now Mark has flipped flopped and I think that's great. not so bitter in his attack of a former colleague, student or whatever Mark & Brad's relationship was. that's super, because this forum should be about sharing information about a passion we all enjoy... and of course the occassional bit of fun providing it doesn't get "below the belt".

I would love to meet you one day Mark, no doubt it would be fascinating. perhaps you can point me towards somewhere on he internet I may get a glimps of your true greatness? seriously, I would enjoy that very much... as I am sure many of us would. t'ward where should we look?

Hmmm.... I must say you have made some interesting points Bobby Cat. It is a pity that forum posts sometimes do not properly reflect the tone in ones voice. As you seem to have read that post differently (and with the rightful freedom to do so) to the way I have read it. I wonder if Mr Christian would be so kind as to come over and enlighten us all on the dark and mysterious ways of the Great Mark Lewis. For if he is a true friend of Mr Lewis and did not think his colleague’s remarks were derogatory or envious in any way (and he has a second or two to pull away from processing my cheques) I am sure he will shed some light on the situation very soon.

that's a tough one Costas, a bit of a "no win" situation for Brad. i think he is far too smart to get embroiled in the back and forward banter that Mark has "trapped" us in... much less make any derogitory remarks about anyone.

but as i said in my most recent post, i dont know so really i shouldn't speculate as i have been, it's unfair to do so. sure i make my observations and come to my own conclusions based on what i read here and in my mind, i think it is quite obvious, but i should refrain from commenting on something when not in posession of all the facts.

that would make me just as bad as the people who "bash" Ellusionist DVD's they dont own...

either way, big soccer game tonite... Australia v Greece at the MCG. lucky you Costas... you cant lose! all the best and get yourself some of E's new card clips, they are A-Class!

nice to see other people understand our 'friend'

B0bbY_CaT wrote:that's a tough one Costas, a bit of a "no win" situation for Brad. i think he is far too smart to get embroiled in the back and forward banter that Mark has "trapped" us in... much less make any derogitory remarks about anyone.

My hunch is that if he is a loyal friend and knows the mind of the twisted chap we have had the honour to converse with then I am sure he will set things straight for the future readers of this thread.

Warning: the following paragraph is full of assumptions as I am no Brad Christian to give you a more accurate answer. ----------------------------------------
My personal view on this is that I have a friend who is very similar to the Mark Lewis persona, and he is often misunderstood because even though he has no real ill intent, he loves to push the boundaries with people, and this sometimes can create a serious backlash and an abundance of enemies. I believe Mr Lewis has probably suffered the same consequences throughout his life; he has probably been banned from several forums in the past and he has even, almost certainly, come close to being bashed by a thug on a couple of occasions. I actually kind of feel sorry for the guy! Where is he so I can give him a hug?
--------------------------------------------
All in all I think that Mr Mark Lewis is a very misunderstood individual. He definitely has a great insight into the art of magic, as is very self evident from his numerous helpful posts on this forum. And if you don’t let him rub you the wrong way, you can even have a good laugh with him (as we have had the opportunity of doing for the last few days )!

B0bbY_CaT wrote: but as i said in my most recent post, i dont know so really i shouldn't speculate as i have been, it's unfair to do so. sure i make my observations and come to my own conclusions based on what i read here and in my mind, i think it is quite obvious, but i should refrain from commenting on something when not in posession of all the facts.

Good on you for placing an objective spin onto your point of view!

B0bbY_CaT wrote:that would make me just as bad as the people who "bash" Ellusionist DVD's they dont own...

Very wise words! But I believe your entitled to your point of view as long as long as one doesn’t proclaim that it is fact (which I am sure, for some reason, I have made that mistake in the past ).

B0bbY_CaT wrote:either way, big soccer game tonite... Australia v Greece at the MCG. lucky you Costas... you cant lose!

It depends on how you look at it. If you’re a pessimist, either way you lose!

B0bbY_CaT wrote:all the best and get yourself some of E's new card clips, they are A-Class!

Thanks Bobby, after reading that review of yours, I think I will

P.S. Just don't tell anyone at the CUPS forum about my intended purchase. I was actually meant to go to one of their meetings today!

Be strong, resist! have a nice magic cake

Oh god, I have been busted ! Okay I am heading off to the CUPS forum now !

Ha! if Mark Lewis wasn't famous before... he is now. i bet he loves the attention we give him as well!

misunderstood? perhaps however people who try so overly hard to be perceived as a "delicate genius" rarely are. either way it's been fun right!

i tell you what Costas, when you find a cure for over coming the feeling of being "compelled to buy" some new magical accessory, please send me the details, because i suffer from the same bug as you!

and the soccer... i hope you enjoyed it??? AUS 1 d GREECE 0. 95,000 people at the stadium and no riots, fights, muggings or vandalised public transport... seems we have progessed dramatically from our "convict days"...

B0bbY_CaT wrote:Ha! if Mark Lewis wasn't famous before... he is now. i bet he loves the attention we give him as well!

Of course he does! He thrives on it !

B0bbY_CaT wrote:misunderstood? perhaps however people who try so overly hard to be perceived as a "delicate genius" rarely are. either way it's been fun right!

Yes, it has !

B0bbY_CaT wrote:i tell you what Costas, when you find a cure for over coming the feeling of being "compelled to buy" some new magical accessory, please send me the details, because i suffer from the same bug as you!

Many do my friend! Unfortunately I don’t have the answer for you Bobby but I can recommend the following link, which may help you on your quest. http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/sutra90058.php#90058
(there is no mention of ellusionist.com here!)

B0bbY_CaT wrote:and the soccer... i hope you enjoyed it??? AUS 1 d GREECE 0.

Yes I did, but as I said it was a lose lose situation .

B0bbY_CaT wrote:95,000 people at the stadium and no riots, fights, muggings or vandalised public transport... seems we have progessed dramatically from our "convict days"...

What have you got to say about that Mr Lewis? What was it like at the last Liverpool & Manchester game you attended?

visited your suggested link Costas. laughed and cried... at least i now know i am not alone! trouble is... there is a little voice inside my head telling me i need one of these fantastic card guards for every deck i own! of course then another voice reminds me how unnecessary that is given one would be unlikely to carry that many decks around with them.

I haven't the slightest intention of being "hugged" by Costas. It sounds a most horrific possibility and no doubt a Greek thing. If he wishes he can hug the rather odd Bobby Cat personage who might rather like it. He seems the type. He comes from an Italian background after all.

We British do not go around hugging people at the slightest inclination and I do not approve of the process. I have noticed that even boring Canadians have a habit of doing this but I suppose they have to keep warm somehow in this bloody fridge of a country.

It ill behooves this rather silly juvenile member of the cat family to yap about back peddling on my behalf when he now seems to be back peddling himself. Perhaps he has now reread my posts about Brad in a more tborough manner.

I haven't seen Brad for at least a quarter of a century except on a recent videoclip somewhere. He will be pleased to hear he looks just like he did 25 years ago and hasn't changed a bit.

He certainly won't be joining into an argument. As a businessman he has to keep above those things. Anyway he is probably in a trance at the moment. I remember that he often used to stare into space in great moments of disconcerting silence. I often used to wonder what he was thinking. He is probably doing that now.

My most amusing memory of Brad is when I called him up on arrival in Toronto and his mother gave me another number. I was amazed when a secretary answered and wanted to know who I was and what business I had with Brad Christian. Since Brad was only around 18 years old at the time and was barely out of school I was wondering what the hell was going on and how he had acquired a secretary. After all on my last visit to Toronto a year before he had been hanging around the magic shop lounging around like most teenagers and did not appear to be a corporate executive.

Anyway the secretary retired for a moment and then came back saying Mr Christian was very busy at the moment but would deign to see me if I set an appointment. I thought I was dreaming. However I went along with it and duly went around at the appointed time to his office.

When I got there I was astonished to find that he had acquired an office in a massive skyscraper type building. It was a very plush building too. I went up in an elevator and was astonished to see a reception area and after waiting I was ushered in to see an 18 year old magic fan who was sitting at a plush desk in a very expensively furnished office.

I had no idea at the time that you could hire these office suites out for the day or week. The secretary too. I cannot remember what business Brad was supposed to be in or whether he had just hired the office to feel important in or to impress his teenage friends.

It worked with me though. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Mind you a week later when I called him at this "office" he and the office seemed to have evaporated.

The last time I saw Brad was when I bumped into him by accident in a Macdonalds restaurant in Yonge St, Toronto maybe 25 years ago. He looked quite out of it and went into more disconcerting silences than usual. He told me that he was a great fan of some self improvement thing or other called EST. It sounded terribly weird to me and a bit like scientology.

After that Brad disappeared into the universe and I often wondered what had happened to him through the years. Then suddenly out of the blue I saw that everyone was talking about him whereas before nobody except me had ever heard of him. I was astonished to hear that he was a controversial figure and I still haven't quite figured out what is supposed to be controversial about him.

It seems according to one of his Toronto friends that I met last year that Brad was starving as a professional magician and was advised by relatives that he couldn't go on like that and it was about time he made some money.

So he did. Virtually overnight. And there is money coming out of his ears now. He probably has a plush office for real now and doesn't have to hire it for the day.

He must have had entrepreneurial dreams when he was young to have hired that office. Wanting to be a magician must have gotten in the way. I am glad he is now able to combine the magic with the business dreams now.

And extract money from Bobby Cat. The more the better in my opinion.

Good luck to him.

good on you Mark, good on you. and after re reading your initial comments about Brad and how you have recently chosen to "tone them down somewhat" i am starting to feel perhaps there is hope for you. i hope this is a concious decision you made to improve yourself and not simply as a result of being told to behave and take care not to go "below the belt" with your remarks.

i also have never been hugged by Costas, but hey... dont knock it until you try it... after all, making an assumption you wouldn't enjoy a hug by Costas is akin to those fools who "bash" an Ellusionist DVD they dont own... how would one know??? given i get all the hugs i need from my lovely wife, Costas is all yours if he'll have you (sorry Costas!).

OK, what else, well... i stand by my previous comments regarding your earlier posts Mark. it's all there to be read and evaluated. however, it's true i did decide to cut you a little slack after i saw you pull your head in somewhat... i can see your doing your best to behave and i dont want to lose you. especially now that this topic has gone full circle:
a discussion about Ellusionist
"grand-standing" & rhetoric by Mark Lewis
Mark Lewis trying to offend every race, creed and religion
Bobby Cat questioning Mark's motivation and adgenda
Mark Lewis furiously back peddling having been "told"

and now... here we are once again talking about Ellusionist.

interesting, is your insight into Brad's background. however, since i understand you have a long background in the magic art... (and i do hope you can answer this directly rather than with verbal gymnastics that simply go nowhere) what i would most like to hear from you is what do you think about the current trend of magic "secret's" being sold on DVD? what exactly is your problem with it (i will go out on a limb and say it seems you "may" have one) and what would YOU suggest as an alternative to allow more people to enjoy the art, and allow those who invent, enhance and develop magic a just reward for their efforts?

i would value your opinion on this.