Professor Rem had a rule. And I broke it. A lot. Jim Reminicky, known to most as Professor Rem, was a magician, well-known in many magic circles, not so much for his performance skills, but as a scholar of magic. He read every book on magic he could get his hands on. Early in my … Read more
I didn’t set out to become a photographer. I just wanted my balloon sculptures to be photographed the right way—which, at one time, meant “the way I saw them in my head.” Back during the first Balloon Manor (a 10,000 square foot haunted house made of balloons. More on this coming soon to a blog … Read more
I have always been fascinated with flight. As a kid, I did all the usual things. I built paper airplanes, flew kites, and launched model rockets. Somewhere along the way, I also started designing my own paper planes, then balsa wood gliders. What I didn’t expect was that it would lead me to build a 25-foot-tall piloted octopus out of latex balloons.
I didn’t sleep much the week I arrived in Tokyo in December 1998. Not from jet lag, though that certainly didn’t help. No, I was buzzing with nerves and anticipation, preparing to lead the most ambitious balloon project of my life. It was my first trip to Japan, and it was for a New Year’s … Read more
Anyone who’s ever visited a hospital emergency room knows the drill: the excruciatingly long check-in process, the wait for triage, and then the endless anticipation of seeing the right medical staff. But I’ve discovered a surefire way to skip the line: slice open an artery—yes, even a small one—and you’ll get expedited treatment. Recently, I … Read more