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Pickpockets
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic), misdirection. A thief who works in this manner is known as a pickpocket. Italy, France and Spain have the highest rates of pickpocketing. As an occupation Pickpockets and other thieves, especially those working in teams, sometimes apply distraction, such as asking a question or bumping into the victim. These distractions sometimes require sleight of hand, speed, misdirection and other types of skills. Pickpockets may be found in any crowded place around the world. However, Barcelona and Rome have been noted as being particularly dangerous pickpocket havens. Thieves have been known to operate in high traffic areas such as mass transit stations, even boarding subway trains so they can use the distractions of crowds and sudden stop-and-g ...
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Pickpocket (film)
''Pickpocket'' is a 1959 French film written and directed by Robert Bresson. It stars Martin LaSalle, in his feature film debut, in the title role, and features Marika Green, Pierre Leymarie, and Jean Pélégri in supporting roles. It features a pickpocket who is drawn to crime, despite the intercession of his family, his friends, and even an empathetic policeman. The film is generally considered to be one of Bresson's greatest films. Along with '' A Gentle Woman'' and '' Four Nights of a Dreamer'', it is one of three Bresson movies heavily influenced by the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Bresson's favorite author. It combines elements of ''Crime and Punishment'''s Rodion Raskolnikov (who questions whether moral rules should apply to superior men) with a street-crime plot inspired by Samuel Fuller's film '' Pickup on South Street'' (1953). Plot Michel is an unemployed young man living in Paris. His friends Jacques and Jeanne try to help him, but while Jacques finds him several ...
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James Freedman
James Freedman (born 6 April 1965) is a British entertainer who is best known for his skill as a pickpocket. He has picked the pockets of the Mayor of London, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England. In 2013 '' Time Out'' wrote that he is "the world's number one pickpocket". Freedman is an authority on pickpocket techniques and is consulted by police forces and security professionals for advice. In 2015, he was appointed the UK's first Fraud Prevention Ambassador by the City of London Police. Special consultant Freedman acts as a consultant inventing magic tricks and illusions for feature films, television shows, theatre and stadium productions. He worked on the 2006 film '' The Illusionist'', and taught Edward Norton and Aaron Taylor-Johnson the necessary skills for their parts; Norton said that "James is one of the ultimate all-stars in his field today". He was asked by Roman Polanski to teach Sir Ben Kingsley (for his role as Fagin) and oth ...
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Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John Dickens, John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed Penny reading, readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigor ...
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Fagin
Fagin () is the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a " receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them) whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for shelter. A distinguishing trait is his constant and insincere use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children. Nancy, who is the lover of Bill Sikes (the novel's lead villain), is confirmed to be Fagin's former pupil. Fagin is a confessed miser who, despite the wealth that he has acquired, does very little to improve the squalid lives of the children he guards, or his own. In the second chapter of his appearance, it is shown (when talking to himself) that he cares less for their welfare, than that t ...
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Artful Dodger
Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of the gang of child criminals on the streets of London trained and overseen by the elderly Fagin. The term has become an idiom describing a person who engages in skillful deception. Role in the novel In the novel, Jack becomes Oliver's closest friend (although he betrays Oliver when Oliver is caught) and he tries to make him a pickpocket, but he soon realises that Oliver will not succeed and feels sorry for him, saying "What a pity it is he isn't a prig!" He also has a close relationship with Charley Bates. The Artful Dodger is characterised as a child who acts like an adult. He is described as wearing adult clothes which are much too large for him. Like an adult, he seldom gives in to childish urges: Ultimately the Dodger is caught wi ...
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Frontispiece From The Memoirs Of George Barrington
Frontispiece may refer to: * Frontispiece (books), a decorative illustration facing a book's title page * Frontispiece (architecture) In architecture, the term frontispiece is used to describe the Façade, principal face of the building, usually referring to a combination of elements that frame and decorate the main or front entrance of a building. The earliest and most notable v ..., the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building * ''Frontispiece'' (Unsuk Chin), orchestra by Unsuk Chin {{disambig ...
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Sleight Of Hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Jerry Sadowitz, Cardini, Tony Slydini, Helder Guimarães and Tom Mullica. Etymology and history The word ''sleight'', meaning "the use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive", comes from the Old Norse. The phrase ''sleight of hand'' means "quick fingers" or " trickster fingers". Common synonyms of Latin and Frenc ...
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The New York Observer
''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment and publishing industries. History The ''Observer'' was first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, as a weekly alternative newspaper by Arthur L. Carter, a former investment banker. The ''New York Observer'' had also been the title of an earlier weekly religious paper founded 164 years before by Sidney E. Morse in 1823. After almost two decades, in July 2006, the paper was purchased by the American real estate figure Jared Kushner, then only 25 years old. The paper began its life as a broadsheet, and was then printed in tabloid format every Wednesday, and currently has an exclusively online format on an internet website. It is headquartered at 1 Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan. Previous prominent writers for the ...
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Frieze Art Fair
Frieze Art Fair is an annual contemporary art, contemporary art festival, art fair first held in 2003 in London's Regent's Park. Developed by the founders of the contemporary art magazine ''Frieze (magazine), Frieze'', the fair has since expanded to include editions in four cities, in addition to acquiring several other art fairs. Following the original Frieze Art Fair (also referred to as Frieze London), the fair added Frieze Masters (2012), also in London, dedicated to art made before the year 2000; Frieze New York City, New York (2012); Frieze Los Angeles (2019); and Frieze Seoul (2022). In 2023, Frieze acquired The Armory Show (art fair), The Armory Show in New York, and EXPO Chicago. In 2016, American holding company Endeavor (company), Endeavor acquired a majority stake in Frieze. In 2025, the co-founder of Endeavor, Ari Emanuel, is set to buy Frieze in a deal valued at $200 million. History ''Frieze (magazine), Frieze'' magazine was launched in 1991 by Amanda Sharp, Ma ...
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Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of newspapers in the United States, sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the largest in the Western United States with a print circulation of 118,760. It has 500,000 online subscribers, the fifth-largest among U.S. newspapers. Owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by California Times, the paper has won over 40 Pulitzer Prizes since its founding. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to Trade union, labor unions, the latter of which led to the Los Angeles Times bombing, bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. As with other regional newspapers in California and the United Sta ...
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