‘Brain training’ claims dismissed
People who spend money on brain trainers to keep their mind sharp may well get the same benefit from simply doing a crossword, experts conclude.
Consumer group Which? asked three experts to check claims made about several devices, including the Nintendo DS, on memory and staving off dementia. They found the evidence behind such claims was non-existent or “weak”.
But there is evidence that exercise, a healthy diet and an active social life help keep an agile mind, Which? said. Brain trainers, often promoted by celebrity endorsement, have been increasing in popularity.
Parrots teach man to speak again
A US fireman who lost his power of speech in a traffic accident has been taught to speak again by parrots.
Brian Wilson, from Damascus, Maryland, suffered life-threatening injuries in the accidnet 14 years ago. He also lost his ability to speak.
But he now claims that the chatter of pet parrots confounded the bleak outlook of doctors, who were convinced that he would spend the rest of his life in bed at a nursing home.
“Two birds taught me to talk again,” he said. “I had such a bad head injury I was never supposed to talk any more than a two-year-old.”
But two of the birds that he had had as pets since he was a child “just kept talking to me and talking to me”. ”Then all of a sudden, a word popped out, then two, then more.”
To show his gratitude to the birds who helped him on the path to rehabilitation, Mr Wilson has devoted his life to feathered pets whose owners are no longer able or want to keep them.
Telegraph (Thanks Katherine)
Rising chorus of alarm from church leaders at “aggressive secularism”.
There’s been a rising chorus of alarm from church leaders at what they regard as the “aggressive secularism” marginalising Christianity, the religion whose precepts – such as “do as you would be done by”, and upholding the sanctity of human life – once underpinned British laws.
A few years ago, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, warned that “Christianity had been all but vanquished in Britain” as the underpinning for the nation’s moral life.
The Church complains that recent legislation – such as the laws guaranteeing equal treatment for gay people that forced Catholic adoption agencies to place children with homosexual couples – seek to control people’s morals as well as their behaviour.
Plaques unveiled to Zig Zag Girl inventor and a comic genius
MAGICIANS unveiled a plaque in honour of the “godfather of illusion” in Camden Town on Monday.
Robert Harbin, who lived at 1 Camden Square in 1928, is renowned among members of the Magic Circle for creating the world-famous Zig Zag Girl, where an assistant in a box is seemingly sawn into three parts.
Chris Woodward, a member of the Magic Circle, based in Euston, said: “He came to Camden from Johannesburg and his original name was Ned Williams. He developed a series of illusions, including the Zig Zag Girl and the Blades of Opah.” Mr Harbin, who died in 1978, worked for Holborn toy store Gamages while living in Camden Square.
May Geasley, who lives in his former flat, said: “My dad Eugene was a magician and he used to do the Zig Zag Girl. I’m really amazed to find out Harbin lived here.” The illusionist is credited with bringing origami – the Japanese art of paper-folding – to this country. Throughout the 1960s he had his own television show, Paper Magic, and gave Rolf Harris his first job in this country, illustrating a book on the subject. Mr Harris could not attend the event because of poor health. Steve Megumi, of the British Origami Association, said of Mr Harbin: “He was a real gentleman off stage as well.”
More! Woo-Hoo!
Keep ‘em coming.
Cheers to Rob for this one.
Email any you find to me at coops@derrenbrownart.com
Tommy Cooper statue is unveiled
A statue of the comic Tommy Cooper has been unveiled in his hometown – just like that – by Hollywood star Sir Anthony Hopkins. Cooper – thought by many to be the greatest comedian of his generation – was born in Caerphilly, south Wales. The 9ft (2.7m) bronze was sculpted by James Done who said Cooper would have been “the highest paid jester in any kingdom.”
Cooper died of a heart attack during a TV show in 1984. It ended a career built around magic routines which went wrong He was born in 1921 in Llwyn Onn Street, Caerphilly, before leaving with his family as a small boy to live in Exeter. The Tommy Cooper Society was set up five years ago aimed at erecting a statue of the comic in the town of his birth.
The Secret Life of Houdini The Making of America’s First Superhero
Did Houdini Have Ties to Scotland Yard, MI-5, Secret Service?
Before television or even “talkies”, there was live vaudevillian entertainment for the masses, and Houdini was the king of the stage. Not only were Houdini’s magic tricks and escape artist routines known worldwide, he went on to become a movie star and an aviation pioneer.
Houdini was indeed what we would call today a “superstar.” Kalush and Sloman have taken him to the even higher level of “superhero” by exposing yet another facet to Houdini’s legend, that of international spy.
The authors have done an admirable job stating their case, which is primarily their conviction that Harry Houdini was a spy for both the U.S. and Britain in the days leading up to World War I. Much of their “proof” lies in the relationship between Houdini and officials in England’s Scotland Yard and the MI-5 and the U.S. Secret Service.
The magician’s behind-the-scenes access to leaders in Germany and Russia, for whom he did private shows, presented a unique opportunity, particularly for perhaps the world’s greatest “sneak”. The combination makes for enticing possibilities, and though Kalush and Sloman never conclusively prove their beliefs, their case is a strong one.
Full review of this book at Suite 101
Anonymous tube stickers
I took this on the tube last night, anything to put even half a smile on my face whilst enduring the hell that is TFL is alright by me.
A few months ago I even stole (yes stole) one of this guy’s stickers from a central London tube station, in the form of a “No Smoking” sticker it reads, “No Smiling – Penalty £200″.
Keep you eyes peeled Londonites and let me know if you see any crop up.
Hopefully more to come.
The Brown from your Woofers
I have just been informed that the Tricks of the Mind audiobooks will be released on iTunes on March 10th.
There will be 3 available excerpts from the book covering Magic, Memory and Hypnosis.
If you don’t have iTunes you can download it from here
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