Wind ’round his fingers
Asi Wind. Israeli. His dream was New York. He emigrated in 2001. His English, terrible. He surprised Penn & Teller. He is now called today’s newest brain-boggling magician.
Asi: “No proper school teaches magic. It’s a brotherhood. In Bangkok I put on Facebook, ‘Any magicians in the area?’ An hour later, 20 I’d never met before were in the lobby. We brainstormed till 4 a.m. as if we knew one another forever.
“I wanted only to stay here, live here. So I started in Washington Square Park doing street magic.
“Like a grand piano is to a musician, so is a deck of cards to us — and me — addictive. It’s a fixation of fingers, moving them around, fanning them.
“Have I ever effed up? Sure. Like when I wasn’t used to America’s winter cold. Heading to an early gig I had no gloves. My fingers wouldn’t move. In the bathroom I had to wash my hands in warm water 20 minutes. If not that before a show, a few times, you get rusty. Cards become an extension of your fingers.”
His theater, tailor-made for tricks, is downtown on Thompson Street. See him. He’s great. So agile that his answers to probing questions can sometimes seem as creative as his fingers.
Stay out!
Lest you think I’m some yenta sitting around doing nothing, here’s what I know: Drake has a nice 35,000-square-foot house in Toronto. Big rooms. Big place. Big money. Big ego. Priced — not that he’s looking to unload it — at $100 million. There’s 28 johns. One fixation. Nobody’s allowed to peep or pee in his personal loo. Forget emergencies. He does not — not! — let guests use, see, borrow or investigate his very own can. Also, not that this comes up a lot in conversation nor was I ever invited to partake of his private men’s room — but I’m told he will only buy RED toilet paper for it. Listen, who knows, maybe he’ll flash it to Santa.
Bad blunder, a bad idea & bad facts
Remember 2018’s doors-off chopper tour company FlyNyon? Sightseeing helicopters — based out of Kearny, NJ, — behind the deaths of five in the East River? The feds learned that the owner of its New Jersey heliport headquarters received federal Paycheck Protection money during the COVID lockdown. People who should’ve asked questions then are asking questions now . . . Another horrific idea. A new gun for CHILDREN! Marketed as the JR-15. “JR” as in little kids. From those who brought us the AR-15 one of battlefields, it’s a smaller assault rifle. This is so small ones can hold it easier. This is while kids are shooting teachers in classrooms. This is a great idea. This is what is happening to us?! . . . RUMOR. Rep. Adam Bullschiff hasn’t even told the truth to his own urologist.
Meeting the new ‘Boss’
The 1980s sitcom “Who’s the Boss” has a reboot pilot ready starring Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano. Judith Light opted out, but she’ll OK an appearance . . . Hunting Fran Lebowitz? She traipsed 65th and Amsterdam smoking a cigarette and talking loudly to an old lady . . . And Fran Drescher, of “The Nanny” fame, just walked DC halls fighting for a tax policy to help union actors.
Our current president may be even smarter than Asi Wind. Only a select few are said to possibly figure out the talented magician. The president nobody understands.
And not only in New York, kids, not only in New York.
