Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Blind Card Shark Will Amaze You with His Incredible Card Tricks

Posted: 14 Feb 2014 02:00 AM PST

Richard Turner is one of the world's greatest card cheats in the world. He's so quick with cards that if you ever played with him, you just couldn't see him cheat. But then, neither could he. That’s what makes his skill even more special – he’s completely blind.

The card shark, or 'Card Mechanic' as he prefers to call himself, has been cheating at cards since the age of seven. "A mechanic is somebody who could control the outcome of a card game," he says. He never loses at cards. Not even when someone else is shuffling. And the only way he got that good is by practice. "For years, I practiced 10 to 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, which boils down to around one-third of my entire life 24×7," he said. Kim, his wife, added: "There are times when he's doing like a one-handed shuffle and he makes a little 'prr' sound. You might be at church and then you just have to do the gentle touch like – not now."

Richard, a native of San Antonio, hasn't had an easy life. He began to lose his eye sight at the age of nine and was bullied by his school mates. He's also struggled with drug and alcohol problems. But none of these obstacles got in the way of his passion. "I'm always practicing," he says. "Liberace couldn't carry his piano with him, but my act can fit in my pocket."

Richard-Turner-card-mechanic

Baring More than Their Souls – Virginia Church Congregation Worship in the Nude

Posted: 14 Feb 2014 01:00 AM PST

White Tail Chapel, located in Southampton County, Virginia, has recently made a bizarre decision to welcome its congregation the way they were made – nude. Pastor Allen Parker, the leader of the church, said that he found the clothing requirements of other churches overly pretentious. So he wanted his own flock to be able to let go of such materialism if they desired to.

He argues that many of the Bible's most defining moments occurred when people where nude, including the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. "When he was born he was naked, when he was crucified he was naked and when he arose he left his clothes in the tomb and he was naked. If God made us that way, how can that be wrong," said Parker, in an interview with CNN.

The pastor's theory is that nudity is the 'great equalizer' that reminds the people gathered in church that they are all simple human beings. His goal is to drive the fact that beneath all the personal wealth and glamorous clothing, everyone is more or less the same. "There's not a feeling that you have to be better than one another, physically," he said. We're humans, we have scars, we have what we have. It's learning to love and accept that."

White-Tail-Chapel

Comments system

Disqus Shortname