David Copperfield - World's greatest Magician Ever

David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician of all time. Over the last 30 years, he has managed to amass an astounding $800 million personal net worth.

Worldwide magical celebrity David Copperfield is being reported as on track to become the world’s first magician billionaire. David Copperfield is hailed as the greatest magician of our time, who can manipulate, materialize, dematerialize and transport living and non-living objects of any size — or so he makes us believe!

David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), in Metuchen, Jersey, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American illusionist, described by Forbes as one of the world's most famous commercially successful magicians and wealthiest entertainers in history, originally wanted to be a ventriloquist but soon diverted to magic.

He has presented innovative magic in his many television specials and continues to tour and perform for live audiences. He's an immensely talented and skillful entertainer who has effectively changed with the times and does it all: illusion, manipulation and close-up. At times in his career, he’s had the popularity of a rock star.

David Copperfield’s long, illustrious career has allowed him to become the most successful solo entertainer in history.

He began taking magic lessons, and at the age of 12 he was performing professionally in his hometown of Metuchen, New Jersey. David was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians and by 16, he was teaching magic at New York University.

By age 16, David Copperfield was teaching a course in magic at New York University, and performing under the name David Copperfield, after the popular Charles Dickens novel. After a brief stint at Fordham University, Copperfield was cast as the lead in the Chicago musical The Magic Man.

At 19, he was headlining a show in a large hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was approached by ABC in 1977 to produce a magic special.

The success of The Magic Man led to a job hosting an ABC magic special, which Copperfield parlayed into a lucrative career.

Magician David Copperfield is best known for his wild and amazing feats of illusion that leave audiences around the world stunned and bewildered. Like most magicians, David Copperfield is especially talented at making things disappear. In 1983, David Copperfield’s special tricks include making the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience as millions of people watched on TV from home, and walking through the Great Wall of China, levitated over the Grand Canyon; and in his shows, taken a member of the audience and transported him/her instantaneously to another part of the world, and escaping from a flaming raft over Niagara Falls.

While in college, he was cast as lead in a musical under the name David Copperfield, where he sang, danced, acted and created all the magic in the show. He was introduced to the world when he hosted The Magic of ABC, starring David Copperfield. Years of successful network special programmes and extensive touring has led him to be considered by Forbes magazine as among the top 10 highest grossing entertainers in the world, seen worldwide by more people than any other magician in history. Copperfield has also won dozens of Emmys.

Over his long career, Copperfield’s television specials has garnered 21 Emmy Awards of a total 38 nominations. been named "Magician of the Century" and "Magician of the Millennium," received the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded to a living magician, and received the prestigious U.S. Library of Congress' Living Legend Award (other award recipients include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Colin Powell). Additionally, Copperfield was knighted by the French government, becoming the first magician to receive the Chevalier of Arts and Letters.

Copperfield’s passion for preserving the history of the art of magic has led him to establish the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, housed in Nevada, which is the world’s premiere collection of historical documentation and artefacts regarding or pertaining to magic, illusion and the allied arts.

Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield's career of over 40 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a knighthood by the French government, and he has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress.

Magic Daily wish to congratulate David, wish him all the best and would like to let David know about our sponsorship opportunities!

But, in addition to making things disappear, David Copperfield is also quite talented at making one very important thing appear: Money. David Copperfield is the most commercially successful magician of all time. Over the last 30 years, he has managed to amass an astounding $800 million personal net worth. Within a few years, he is expected to become the world's first billionaire magician. This is his magical success story.

David Copperfield is an enchanting performer who works the stage and his magic to the enthrallment of audiences. His Las Vegas shows and world tours have sold more than 40 million tickets and grossed $4 billion in revenue to date. He has sold more tickets than any other solo performer in history, earning him one of his 11 Guinness World Records. To put that in perspective, David Copperfield, a magician, has sold more tickets than Madonna, Justin Bieber, Elvis Presley and even Michael Jackson. His 1996 show, Dreams and Nightmares, still holds the record for the most Broadway tickets sold in a week. Ultimately, the stage production grossed more than $6 million during its five-week run.

Copperfield's MGM Grand Hotel & Casino show alone has had an uninterrupted 13 year run. Running up to 3 shows a day, 7 days a week, 42 weeks a year. That’s dedication to the cause! Ticket sales gross roughly $50 million each year and that doesn't include merchandising, which, by the way, Copperfield owns entirely.

Even at 56, Copperfield still performs many shows a week. He was one of the first magicians to successfully combine amazing magic tricks with great storytelling.

Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over $4 billion, which is more than any other solo entertainer in history. In 2015, Forbes listed his earnings at $63 million for the previous 12 months and ranked him the 20th highest earning celebrity in the world.

He went on to perform his magic feats more than 500 times a year. According to Forbes magazine, Copperfield earned $57 million in merchandise and tour revenue in 2005 alone. By 2012, the magician's net worth was estimated at $150 million, and his ticket sales had grossed an estimated $3 billion.

When you consider that income on top of his investments, wealth in the memorabilia collections and all the merchandise, David has obviously been a shrewd businessman alongside his magical success.

When not performing, he manages his chain of eleven islands in the Bahamas, recalled by him "Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay", which has completed a $35 million renovation under Copperfield's supervision.

Though his magic shows are the most profitable of all time, impressively, David Copperfield's $800 million net worth doesn't come from illusions alone. Thanks to incredibly shrewd investments and acquisitions, David has managed to build an incredibly valuable financial empire that includes real estate, restaurants, merchandise and even magic memorabilia! Before we get into that magic memorabilia collection, which is quite impressive, let's take a look at other facets of David Copperfield's career, investments, and fortune.

Guyana in South America - The highest rate of suicide in the World

Suicide in Guyana is a serious social problem, as Guyana is ranked first in suicides per capita worldwide, a staggering rate of 44.2 suicides per 100,000 people (the global average is 16 per 100,000) the small nation of Guyana in South America has the highest rate of suicide in the world. And with fewer than 10 full-time psychiatrists in the country, a shortage of social workers or psychologists and no operating crisis hotline, there are limited options for those seeking help.

About 40% of people who commit suicide in Guyana poison themselves by consuming agricultural pesticides. The most famous case of suicide in Guyana was the mass suicide of 909 followers of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple

On November 9, 2013 the Guyana Chronicle carried the story of a 17-year-old girl from Affiance who committed suicide by hanging herself. This followed the suicide of another 17-year-old girl from New Road, Essequibo Coast, who committed suicide by ingesting deadly poison. The Kaieteur News of November 12, 2013 reported that five men took their own lives during the previous week in just Region 6. And on Saturday a 55-year-old man from Industry on the East Coast of Demerara reportedly killed himself by burning down his house.

Those are a lot of suicides for a country with a small population the size of Guyana, no matter how one looks at it. The World Health Organization, in its 2009 report rated Guyana as the country with the highest rates of suicide in South America and the Caribbean. Judging by the number of newspaper reports on actual suicides, it seems as though the situation hasn’t improved, but may in fact have gotten worse.

Suicide is described as “the action of killing oneself intentionally” and the reasons people commit suicide are as varied as the methods they use to commit the act.

No one factor can explain Guyana’s shockingly high suicide rate. Health workers have pointed to the deep poverty in rural areas, the prevalence of alcohol abuse (which is notorious for its contribution to successful suicides) and the ease of access to deadly substances.

One of the most frequently used suicide methods in the country is the ingestion of pesticide. As many people are farmers, pesticides are readily available and contribute significantly to the high suicide rate. In response, the government distributed storage cabinets with locks to farmers who won a lottery, with the aim of limiting accessibility and encouraging safe usage. In the initial stage, 10 farmers received cabinets, with the total number distributed said to be only 150.

Some scholars have theorised that exposure to certain herbicides and pesticides used in the country makes farmers more prone to suicidal behaviour.

Savitri Persaud, a doctoral candidate at York University who has done extensive research on mental illness in Guyana, highlighted the inadequacies of one recent government initiative.

In Guyana, Persaud notes the powerful effect of stigma and the importance of grassroots intervention. Mental illness is misunderstood in the country, with symptoms often mistakenly attributed to witchcraft (known locally as obeah). Communities often ostracise sufferers, and on occasion have physically assaulted them, at times with the endorsement of religious leaders, who are highly respected figures.

“Guyana is a place where most people live in villages and rural areas, so those who people tend to reach out to are religious leaders,” says Persaud. “In some ways religious leaders become first responders.” Taking into account Guyana’s specific culture with religion, she says, “we have to take into consideration the way mental health symptoms can be interpreted certain ways by religious leaders”.

Because of a strong stigma and a lack of resources in Guyana, suicide as a public health issue has fallen by the wayside. Efforts by the ministry of health in the last few years have been nominal, and those interventions that have taken place seem misguided at best.

Mental illness is misunderstood in the country, with symptoms often mistakenly attributed to witchcraft.

“That is not suicide prevention. That is not proactive, that is reactive,” says Persaud. “We need to think twice about our knee-jerk responses.”

Restricting access to potentially lethal means, such as firearms, ropes or poisons, is a necessary part of prevention but is not of itself sufficient. Effective suicide prevention involves intervention on an individual level – psychologically and physiologically – and also in the wider community.

The Guyana Foundation, a private philanthropic institution tackling Guyana’s social problems, has taken on the problem of suicide at the ground level. Anthony Autar, the managing director, spoke about the multiple ways in which the foundation has approached suicide prevention.

The foundation has reached out to police, family and survivors in rural areas to educate them about suicide and suicidal behaviour. In addition, it conducted training sessions in Georgetown, the country’s capital, for religious leaders, social workers and representatives from NGOs. It also launched an information campaign in local newspapers to challenge misconceptions about mental illness.

The foundation is currently trying to partner with international agencies, such as those in Canada, to route calls from those in need to crisis lines abroad. “Guyana just doesn’t have the capacity,” says Autar, “so we’re doing our best to become creative in seeking solutions”. They’re seeing success. Autar reports that large companies are requesting more information on suicidal behaviour and intervention for their employees. When the foundation offered to connect citizens with mental illness to professionals, they received 50 phone calls in a fortnight. “It shows that people are recognising they can get help and are willing to reach out,” says Autar.

Persaud herself encourages a multi-sectoral approach, saying: “The medical community needs to be actively involved, the church needs to be actively involved, community members need to be actively involved.” In a sentiment echoed by professionals worldwide, Persaud says a comprehensive approach should apply not only to Guyana: “The problem is cross-cultural. We can’t call certain countries advanced just because they use the medical model.”

In the region overall, the issue is gaining attention. The Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) has recognised suicide as a major problem, and is focusing special effort on raising awareness and implementing changes in government policy and in public health services. Between 2010 and 2013, PAHO launched region-wide initiatives to address treatment gaps in mental health, and has integrated mental health in its strategic plan for 2014 to 2019.

Efforts have seen some success. According to a report released in 2014, only six countries and territories in the region do not have mental health policies established. (Simultaneously, much work remains to be done, as only eight countries have established targeted, up-to-date mental health laws.)

While top-down interventions are beginning to show results, with psychiatric care moving from psychiatric hospitals to communities and more legislative action on mental health, most Caribbean countries are still struggling to fight the stigma of mental illness at grassroots level. Jamaican blogger Brandon Allwood, one of the few to share his experience of mental illness and suicidal feelings publicly, recounted how the most resistance came from his family and friends. “I understand, now, that my mother and most Jamaicans are of the ‘help-yourself-nuttin-nuh-wrong-wid-yuh’ ilk.”

Allwood concludes: “This is not a call for the government; it is a call for us all to seriously look at our attitudes towards mental illness. How we support our children, siblings, parents, friends and colleagues who are affected by the gamut of mental ailments. It is about us, as a people, being more open to the idea that sometimes we actually do need help.”

Indeed, while psychiatric facilities can keep those in crisis safe, medical intervention alone is not enough. Effective suicide prevention comes from a holistic approach – taking more than the individual or the attempt into account, but also the communities in which they live, the cultural attitudes towards mental illness, and the awareness of the issue of suicide. Globally, there needs to be more open discourse about suicide. For those at risk, there are still significant obstacles, both cultural and logistic, in seeking treatment. Suicide prevention has simple, but proven measures for countries to implement. Putting it on the agenda for 2015 has the potential to save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives.

With a 2014 World Health Organisation (WHO) report naming Guyana as the country with the highest suicide rate per capita, the trend seems to be continuing with recent suicide statistics showing 272 reports over a thirty month period.

Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan, who has responsibility for Public Security on detailed police statistics as it relates to reported cases of suicide in Guyana.

Ramjattan released the statistics at the launch of the Inter-Agency Suicide Hotline which was spearheaded by the Guyana Police Force.

He pointed out that in 2013, there were some 129 reports of suicide with the Berbice area amassing the highest amount of reports at 42, most of whom were East Indians. It was indicated that 90 of the 129 reports were relative to male victims.

Ramjattan indicated that the same trend continued in 2014, although there was a stark decline in the amount of suicide reports. There were 97 suicides and again most of the reports involved male victims with 68 of the reports being persons of East Indian descent.

For the first six months of 2015, the Public Security Minister stated that the Guyana Police Force recorded some 46 reports of suicide, 29 of which emanated from the Berbice area.

It was further noted that there were three major underlying factors that led to suicide, the first of which was domestic violence and this was followed by alcohol abuse and terminal illnesses, respectively.

Suicide by hanging and consuming poison was also pointed out to be the two major mediums utilised. Ramjattan pointed out that there is need for more stringent monitoring of the pesticides sector and indicated too that access restriction is something that will be explored by the current government.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud told those gathered at the launch that the new helpline will be subject to weekly reviews to ensure that it is working in a manner that is satisfactory.

“We decided we won’t open these lines until we are comfortable that they can deliver what they are intended to deliver…we will be collecting data on suicide to prove or disprove what happened…You can call, you can text – by any of these means communicate to us and we will respond appropriately,” said the Police Commissioner.

Baby boy born with 15 Fingers and 16 Toes

The three-month-old boy, nicknamed Hong Hong, was born to two migrant workers from the village of Zhongping, in Pingjiang County of China’s central Hunan Province, was born with polydactylism— a congenital condition in which the individual has extra ( Total 31 ) fingers and toes and has two palms, but no thumbs on either hand, Central European News (CEN) reported. 

 

The child suffers from an extreme case of polydactyly which is a congenital physical anomaly that can occur in humans, dogs, and cats giving them a larger number of digits on their hands and feet.

Astonishingly, Hong Hong has two palms on his hands and no thumbs.

Zou Chenglin, Hong Hong’s father, said his wife, who works in a factory in Shenzhen City, in southern Guangdong Province, also has polydactylism.

"My wife has one extra finger and toe on each of her hands and feet, so we were worried that our child would inherit the condition,” Zou said. "But after going to three big hospitals in Shenzhen, doctors found no birth defects on our son during prenatal scans.” When the boy was born, he had seven fingers on his right hand and eight on his left, along with eight toes on each of his feet.

Zou Chenglin, the father, said the family has visited multiple hospitals and learned that their son can be operated on between six months and one year of age, which could cure the abnormality.

Now that the shock and disappointment has worn off, the couple are hoping to raise money for their son to have surgery to largely correct the syndrome.

The surgery could cure the polydactylism and hopefully give the boy a chance at a normal childhood, without the stigma and social pressure and difficulties that would accompany having an inordinate amount of fingers and toes.

However, the poor migrant worker family will be unable to raise the 100,000 to 500,000 Yuan($20,000 to $100,00) required for the operation and the post-op recovery. The family is now trying to reach out to local charities and is hoping that the public will extend a helping hand to give their son a more normal childhood. One difficulty is that the boy’s condition is not life-threatening and therefore not perceived as a priority, compared to the condition of those suffering from more severe diseases, CEN reported.

Japan Railways Broad-Minded Nature for a Only Train Passenger

There is only one high school girl who uses the remote Kami-Shirataki Station in Hokkaido, Japan, but the station has been kept open for her till she graduates, goes a Facebook post by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday (Jan 8) which has gone viral.

“The Kyu-Shirataki-Shirataki train station is located in Japan’s north island of Hokkaido,” the post read. “Three years ago, due to its remote location and ending of freight trains, the Japan Railway (JR) decided to close it down. However, they changed their minds after they discovered a young girl used the station to go to high school every day.”

According to the report, the only two trains that stop at the station now are just for this girl, with a “unique timetable depending on when the girl needs to go to school and back.” Japan Railway apparently intends to keep the station open until March this year, when she will finally graduate.

The touching tale naturally gathered thousands of likes, going viral on Japanese social media in just one.The story was shared several times over, and eventually covered by other media outlets as well. Lots of people left comments commending the empathy displayed by Japan Railway in supporting the girl’s education.

“Why should I not want to die for a country like this when the government is ready to go an extra mile just for me,” one person commented on CCTV’s post. “This is the meaning of good governance penetrating right to the grassroot level. Every citizen matters. No child left behind!”

Earlier, the same story was widely circulated in Japanese social media. But there is a little more to the story than that.

CCTV's Facebook post, recounting the poignant tale, was shared more than 5,700 times and liked by more than 22,000 people by Saturday.

The story goes that Japan Railway wanted to close the remote station in Hokkaido three years ago, but changed its mind when they discovered that a girl uses it to go to school. For years now trains have stopped at the station just for her. Japan Railway will keep the train station open until she leaves school.

She is expected to graduate on March 26, 2016,which is when the station is expected to close.

The post said: "Every day only two trains stop at the Kami-Shirataki station with a unique timetable depending on when the girl needs to go to school and back."

Many expressed their admiration for Japan Railways in the comments thread following the post. However, the situation may have been romanticised.

A Taiwan Apple Daily report said that the girl featured in the story does take the train every day, but the year-three student takes it from Kyu-Shirataki Station, instead of the Kami-Shirataki Station, along with more than 10 schoolmates at 7.15am. That is the only train in the morning.

On their way home, they have a choice of three trains, with one as late as 7.25pm.

Apple Daily also confirmed that Japan Railways, as part of an effort to rationalise its operations, will close three underused stations - Kami-Shirataki, Kyu-Shirataki and Shimo-Shirataki stations - by March 2016.

But this may not have anything to do with the schoolgirl's graduation.

It is not clear how the story started, but nostalgia for Japan's vanishing rural villages and the heartwarming details, which many say are akin to a Hayao Miyazaki film, probably helped it spread online.

Hayao Miyazaki is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, known for anime films like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away.

Others took the opportunity to lament about the dwindling population in rural Japan, resulting in the slow extinction of railway services in these areas.

But it looks like people might be getting emotional over nothing. According to a report in the Taiwan edition of Apple Daily, the tale is most likely a romanticized exaggeration. The girl actually boards the train from an entirely different station every morning, along with 10 other schoolmates. In the evening, she has a choice of three trains to get back home.

World's first complete granite temple in India !

The Brihadeshwara Temple (Tamil:Peruvudaiyar Kovil) a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is the world’s first complete granite temple and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas kingdom.It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron RajaRaja Chola I.

It remains as one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture. The temple is also a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", with the other two being the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.

It is also known as Periya Kovil, RajaRajeswara Temple and Rajarajeswaram. Brihadeeshwar temple is the best example of excellent workmanship, grandeur and it has stood the testimony of time with its magnificent central dome which is a great attraction for one and all.

It is one of the largest temples in India and and one of the India’s most prized architectural sites of Dravidian architecture during the Chola period. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I in time span of just five years, that is between 1004 AD and 1009 AD, the temple turned 1000 years old in 2010.

The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimanam (temple tower) is 216 ft (66 m) high and is the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock 80-ton piece of granite. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 ft (4.9 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) high at the entrance. The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones, a material sparsely available currently in Thanjavur area where the temple is located.

The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are about 60 km to the west of temple. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.

The temple is most famous due to its unique architecture. The temple is said to be made up of about 1,30,000 tons of granite. Granite is not found in the surrounding areas. It is not known where this massive granite was brought from. The absence of a granite quarry within a 100 km radius of the temple requires logistics of epic proportions to get the stone to the construction site. As hard as it was to find, Granite is harder to carve. Yet the great Chola wanted a temple to be covered with the most intricate designs.

On 1st April 1954, Reserve Bank of India releases a 1000 Rupees currency note, which features Brihadeeshwar temple’s panoramic view marking its cultural significance and heritage.  Now, these currency notes are popular among collectors.

However, as part of the millennium celebrations, a commemorative coin of 1000 Rupees was issued by the Government of India. The coin, weighing 35 gm, has 80 per cent silver and 20 per cent copper. On the obverse side, the coin bears the emblem of the Lion Pillar with the words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ in Hindi below it.The name of the country and denomination are spelt out in Hindi and English.

On the reverse side, figure of Raja Raja Chola-1 in a standing posture with folded hands with a figure of the temple and the words depicting the 1,000 years of the temple is written in Hindi and English.

The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum portraying Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to heaven. The Archaeological Survey of India, for the first time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process to restore 16 Nayak paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola frescoes. Other significant feature is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramidal tower usually over the gateway of a temple) never falls on the ground.

Having the world’s tallest temple tower, 1,30,000 tonnes of granite in the structure and being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brihadeeshwar temple is a Marvel and a tribute to the South Indian Architecture.

Every month, the day on which the ruling star is Satabhisham is celebrated as a festival, as that was the birth star at the time of Raja Raja. The other festival is Krittika day in the month of Kartika. The annual festival for 9 days is celebrated in the month of Visakha (May), during which a drama on Raja Rajeswara is also enacted.

For more details you can log on to this link http://www.brihadeeswarartemple.com