Who is Magic Babe Ning?

Ning Cai

Description

Asia's top female celebrity magician 'Magic Babe' Ning talks about her 10 years in the tough world of magic showbiz; an age-old industry traditionally dominated by men. Experience the real life adventures of this multi award-winning, world magic record-breaking, jet-setting illusionist as she unmasks the Magic Babe. Ning reveals how the shy teenage girl transformed herself into magic's wild child and became a 2-time FHM cover girl, embraced by international media and respected by professional peers worldwide. Ning shares for the first time her journey of quirks and struggles, betrayals and disappointments, fears and personal demons. She speaks candidly of her cancer scare at 21, which physically scarred her face but also changed the entire course of her life. Be prepared to laugh, cry, laugh again, and be inspired after reading the true life story of the real woman behind Magic Babe.

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814634878
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

2015 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Cover photography: Joel Low
Stylist: Verna Tan
Make up: Sherry Lew
Poetry on page 10-11: Rebecca Lammersen
Photos on page 78 87: Weili Chua
FHM covers on page 81 121: MediaCorp Pte Ltd
Photos on page 6, 206 and back cover: Greyberry Picture
Published in 2015 by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
All rights reserved
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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Cai, Ning, 1982-
Who is Magic Babe Ning? / Ning Cai. - Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2015.
pages cm
ISBN: 978-981-4561-26-6 (paperback)
eISBN: 978 981 4634 87 8
1. Cai, Ning, 1982-2. Magicians - Singapore - Biography. I. Title.
GV1545
793.8092 - dc23 OCN894100125
Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
To the amazing people I ve met on life s journey.
Thank you for all the life lessons and this gift of friendship.
This book is dedicated to you.

Namaste, Ning.
A wise magician never does the same trick twice. People have seen it already. They are waiting to see how you did it this time, to see what your left hand is doing while your right hand makes a casual and distracting gesture.
I, on the other hand (which is the one with the picklock and the coin hidden in it), have already introduced Ning once. (I introduced Adventures of 2 Girls , the book she did with Pamela Ho. The one in which they go off and have adventures.) Now I have to do it again, and I do not want to repeat myself.
The oddest thing about my friendship with Ning, is that I didn t meet her as Magic Babe Ning, and I m not actually sure how far into being friends we were that I discovered she was a mindreading, magical escapologist sex symbol. I thought she was a photographer.
Pamela Ho was assigned to interview me, when I was at the Singapore Literary Festival one year. She brought along a brown paper bag filled with amazing things to eat, and someone to take the photographs. The person taking the photographs looked familiar.
I ve met you before? I said.
She said yes, we d said hello the last time I was in Singapore, with the British Council. She got me to sign some of her books. Her name was Ning Cai and she was sweet and funny. She mentioned she did some magic.
I ve always been fascinated by magic, and I count too many magicians among my friends. My own inability to do a French Drop or to back palm a quarter doesn t phase them. We traded emails and stayed in touch, and over the next few years she sent me links to what she did.
I discovered that the nice, sweet, funny, down-to-earth lady I knew had a public alter ego of a sexy, knife-wielding escapologist and magician. And that, to the public, she was a glorious combination of Mata Hari and Harry Houdini. It baffled and fascinated me: it was like making friends with a reclusive millionaire and then discovering that he put on a bat-suit every night and went out to fight crime, and, in that identity, everyone knew who he was.
What I love about this book is it gives you both sides of Ning: the daring escape artist and magical genius on the one hand, and on the other, the nerdy girl who uses a little simple science to baffle other magicians; who loves books and yoga and, above all, life. It shows how one of them grew out of the other, and tells us all why, in the end, she is hanging up the bat-suit. Or at least, no longer risking sudden death and loss of limbs when she goes to work.
I m glad I know her. Life is always brighter on a day I get an email from Ning. This book is like getting a long email, which is also an origin story and a journey of discovery.
She s a wonder, and magical, no matter what she s escaping from.

Neil Gaiman
November 2014
There once was a girl who thought she was brave.
She climbed mountains to prove she wasn t a slave.
She denied help because she d have to admit,
She may need to be rescued or actually commit.
It was a risk she wasn t willing to take.
She knew there was a chance her heart would break.
Then, this life she would surely want to forsake.
She despised the idea of someone else catching her fall.
Cause then, she would owe it all.
See, in her life there was a condition,
For love borrowed without permission.
Somehow, someway she kept hoping and wishing,
That one day there would be someone to love her
In the way she d been missing.
Someone willing to listen,
Even on the days she started slipping.
So she tried and tried to give herself fully.
But no one wanted her,
She was too unruly.
Discouraged, she began to guard her soul.
She refused to be a fool.
Her walls went up,
Higher and higher with each ache,
How could they not?
The pain was too great.

She began to give up until the day
She finally realised
She was worthy.
Extraordinary was always a part of her story.
She didn t need to be brave in order to be saved,
Cause she already had the love she so craved.
Inside of her was the tallest mountain of all,
Filled with no fear even if she were to fall.
It was then she had a realization,
Which would be the catalyst for an eros creation.
The truth of it all had been there the whole time,
Just waiting for her,
To release her grip of the side.
She didn t need to be scared to let go,
Cause the act of letting go
Was always in her control.
So she did,
And she tumbled
Into the arms of that someone
Who promised her,
It was finally safe
To crumble.

- Rebecca Lammersen
You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.
- Friedrich Nietzsche
There I was, swaying precariously 75 feet off the ground, tightly bound inside two heavy-duty regulation straitjackets while hanging upside down from a burning rope attached to the huge construction crane below. All that was hooking me up were regular anti-gravity inversion boots purchased from a gym. There were no safety nets below me, just thin air. What was really bugging me was a damn itch on my nose that I wanted to scratch, but first things first.
It was the finale of the Singapore Night Festival 2013 and twelve thousand people had come to watch our world-record setting act, The Ultimate Inversion , where my stage partner J C Sum and I were attempting the classic Harry Houdini escape in tandem. J C was hanging above me and we needed to work together. Disengaging my core muscles, making big careless movements or not coordinating our actions would definitely cause us to fall. It was not the time for mistakes.
The huge crowd had been rowdy when the crane hoisted us up dramatically, but as we were lifted past the iconic dome of the National Museum of Singapore, it suddenly turned peaceful and quiet. I could no longer hear any sounds. Gone were the human voices and loud music from the speakers. There was just stillness.
I savoured the moment, feeling one with the universe. It was a beautiful moment of zen and I was enjoying the peace, until I heard a hyperventilating J C swear loudly above me.
This is high! my stage partner/mentor/manager gasped. He sounded queasy. Not a good sign, especially since J C was hanging above me. I wasn t the least bit keen about being the direct recipient of an inverted barfing situation.
Close your eyes, I suggested, stifling a laugh because it was actually J C s decision to raise the crane s height to 75 feet instead of sticking to the publicised 50 feet. Focus. Breathe. Let s do it.
It felt strange to be so calm; Bossman was usually the one giving instructions and orders. But now that we were far from the maddening crowd and big bright stadium stage lights below us, I felt tranquil and at peace.
That having been said, the heat and humidity were starting to take their toll and the heavy straitjackets were completely stuck to my skin. J C and I couldn t wriggle too much and it was a race against time since we had precious moments before the rope burnt through.
C mon, c mon, I struggled. J C was already done with his first straitjacket, sending it flying down to the stage below us. C mon, Ning!
The more I struggled, the more impossible the situation seemed. Then a sudden wave of clarity washed over me. I stopped moving and willed myself to soften for a moment and recalibrate. Now with focus and intention, I went back to it and managed to get out of the tight armstrap that had tightened because of gravity. Gritting my teeth, I removed the rest of the straps and shrugged out of my first straitjacket.
The second straitjacket was completely damp with perspiration by then. Reaching back as far as my shoulder blades allowe