Criss Angel

/in /by

Yesterday Oprah had on Criss Angel. I had never heard of the man before. He is an illusionist and his first trick was right up my alley. I rather enjoyed it, and I will have to give it a try myself.

For his first trick, Criss asks Oprah to choose a number between 1 and 100. “I’m a student of humanity, of behavior, and I’m going to show you how I use psychology and your mannerisms to get inside your head, Oprah, and tell you what you’re thinking,” he says.

As Criss closes his eyes, Oprah writes her number on a piece of paper and shows it to the audience. Once she hides her choice from his sight, Chris studies Oprah closely, while talking through several numbers. Then he announces his pick. “It has to be eleven.” And, he’s right!

Thankfully, the camera zoomed into Oprah’s face enough that you could actually see her eyes grow wider when Criss said the number 11.

Criss told Oprah that he was going to asked her outright what the number she wrote down was BUT HE TOLD HER not to respond to him. He even told her she could try to throw him off, if she wanted. Adding more stress to Oprah only adds more clues, if she so tries.

“Is the answer 1-10, 11-20, 21-30,” he asked. As he asked Oprah, he studied her face. He used non-verbal clues to guide him.

He then narrowed it down to 11 to 20. He verbally said while watching her face, is it 11, 12, 13, 14…and as he said “11” Oprah’s eyes grew open wide for a second. It was all Criss needed.

He talked about Oprah blinking as well which was a clue for him (I don’t quite understand that) — but I certainly saw Oprah give a non-verbal clue to the number 11. So much so, I am dying to try this trick on someone!

It’s fun and fascinating — even if I don’t master this one — I love some of the “magic” behind it! Good old psychology and facial expressions. They speak volumes.

Do know that I don’t think this is fool-proof. I do realize this man is an illusionist. But some people will leak clues. How many and how often, I have no idea.

Quote of the Day

/in /by
I love you, and because I love you,
I would sooner have you hate me
for telling you the truth
than adore me for telling you lies.

– Pietro Aretino

Adam Saleh Found Guilty

/in /by

Case Overview:
Adam Saleh was accused and later charged with murdering an aspiring young model, Julie Popovich. Popovich disappeared from a college campus night club and was found three weeks later in a farmer’s field near Hoover Reservoir in Ohio.
* * * * *

Marie K. wrote the following | 05.02.07 – 7:08 pm |:
You got another one. Adam Saleh was found guilty today on all counts but the most serious aggravated murder charge. He’s getting 38 to life in prison. While there wasn’t any physical evidence to link him to the crime, he made efforts to establish a false alibi, which, when discovered, convinced the jury of his guilt. I no longer disbelieve that lies can be discovered through body language.

Thanks for your comment, Marie. I didn’t know the verdict came in! I have been watching what little snippets I could find about this trial online because I’ve been getting comments this week, and I knew the jury was in deliberation, but I didn’t know a verdict had arrived.

Back in early February of 2006, another reader of mine asked for my opinion on this story. There was a good video of Saleh online. Saleh talked to a news reporter because he was detained for another charge that was subsequently dropped. Saleh talked on and on and on, and acted like he was a at a tea party instead of being questioned about a murder. It was clear he liked attention. It was also clear he was very intelligent. I gave my opinion and wrote about it here.

I had no knowledge about any of the facts in this case because at that time, Saleh was not charged with anything. Then slowly over time, Saleh was arrested and some facts came out. I wrote an update on it last summer. It didn’t look good for Saleh, but I like all of you, I watched eagerly at the edge of my chair wonder what the facts would ultimately support.

Would they support an honest person or would they support a liar? I believed Saleh’s actions, behavior, and expressions supported that he was lying, and I think the facts that came out in court clearly showed for everyone that Saleh was in fact lying.

Justice was thankfully served today for the Popovich family.

I called another person accurately as Marie says above by spotting deception before any facts were known. I will add Adam Saleh’s name on my list. That makes my total accurate calls NINE right to ZERO wrong (or 11 to zero if you count all three in the Duke University rape case).

Do know that I don’t add people in court cases unless I believe a reasonable person can clearly see the truth in a trial. Given the fact that Saleh, in the end, asked an undercover cop to give him an alibi — I think that speaks for itself. (With the Mary Winkler case, while I still don’t believe her, not everyone sees it so hence she is not on my list).

Here is an article on Saleh’s conviction.

No News is Good News

/in /by

…but it makes for a quiet blog.

There are few stories in the news right now where people wonder what the truth is — so with that — if you see a local or national story that you are interested in a getting a second opinion on — don’t hesitate to tell me about it.

I just request that you send me a video link that clearly shows the person’s face when they talk.

Quote of the Day

/in /by
I do myself a greater injury in lying
than I do him of whom I tell a lie.

– Michel de Montaigne


I think of the person who tells me that I look good when I know I don’t. Perhaps I have an outfit on that isn’t flattering, or a haircut that leaves much to be desired. For it is he, who says I look good when I don’t, that convinces me he has bad taste, and isn’t a good judge of such attributes.

So you may think you are being nice telling a political lie. I see it differently. I believe, instead, you are tarnishing your credibility.