Magicians sue TV stations for divulging coin-trick secrets http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070502a7.htmlv Magic Times http://www.magictimes.com/ Coin Manipulation [Real Player] http://www.coinmanipulation.com/ Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography http://books.google.com/books?id=-hQLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR8&dq=magic+tricks&as_brr=1#PPR3,M1 The American Experience: Houdini [Real Player, Quick Time] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houdini/ On the whole, magicians are an understanding and thoughtful bunch, but if you reveal the secrets behind their very livelihood, if you might incur their collective wrath. It would appear that this is just what happened this past week when a group of 49 Japanese magicians sued two television networks in Japan for revealing the magic behind their popular coin tricks. The magicians are seeking the princely sum of approximately $16,000, and noted magician Shintaro Fujiyama remarked that the networks had "deprived professional magicians of their assets." The networks in question have largely remained silent in this matter, and for the most part they have issued few formal press releases on this pending litigation. Fujiyama closed his remarks on this troubling affair by stating, "They must understand how all the time we have spent is wasted by exposure of the trick." Other members of the magic community, including prominent illusionists, have not seen fit yet to comment on this ongoing situation. The first link will take users to a news piece from the BBC, which offers some additional explanation behind this recent furor between Japanese magicians and the television networks in question. Moving on, the second link leads to another piece of reporting on the matter from this Wednesday's Kyodo News. The third link will whisk users away to what can accurately be described as the most thorough clearinghouse of online information about the world of magic, namely the Magic Times website. Here visitors can read updates about recent developments, and there's even a special section dedicated to that bad boy of magic, David Blaine. The fourth link leads to the Coin Manipulation website, where users can learn about such classic tricks as the coin spin, the one finger spin, and even more complex tricks such as the index-ring toss and sequential tiddlywinks. The fifth link will take visitors to a 1901 tome on magic, authored by Albert A. Hopkins. Here visitors can page through such legendary stage illusions as "the appearing lady" and "the magic palanquin". For the truly adventurous, there's a separate chapter on chronophotography. The last link leads to the American Experience site dedicated to Harry Houdini. Visitors will enjoy watching a clip of Houdini in action, and they can also look over a timeline of his life and many feats.