Phenomenon

Five minutes in, and Phenomenon, which is essentially American Idol for Vegas magicians, is one of the funniest things ever:

- Criss Angel & Uri Gellar apparently both can't speak English; at least if it's written out in advance for them. They also said the same line twice in a row, once each.

- A contestant staring intensely in the camera, and breaking a teeny tiny light-bulb... WITH HIS MIND!

- Every time they say "Phenomenon," a second voice spookily whispers "Phenomenon."

- The first giant illusion is entirely based on tickling.

Update, 8:21pm: And here's another thing: Having a magic competition judged by two people who A) Know that magic is fake, B) Know how illusions are put together, C) Want to keep doing what they're doing for a living is ridiculous. They know what the real problem with the acts people are doing is, because they know how they work, and could possibly give them actual feedback. But they can't, because actual feedback would require them to A) reveal how the trick works, and B) Admit that magic isn't real. Which they can't do. Sigh.

Update, 8:31pm: So I'm live-blogging Phenomenon? Really? Okay. My new favorite phrase part of this show is, "So what shape did you choose, America? The circle? The star? The square? The plus sign? Or the wavy lines?" [Btw, I chose the plus signs.]

Update, 8:45pm: Uri Gellar - "It looked like you were going to kill yourself." Contestant, Humbled - "Thank you."