Magician Blames Martha Stewart and Kmart for Chopped Finger

You know that old parlor trick where a person makes it look like they're taking off a piece of their finger, then sticking it right back on? Well, magician Patrick Albanese wants Martha Stewart to pay for a trick that was kind of like that, but ended without the applause.

Albanese, who works as a hand model and actor in addition to doing magic, filed a suit recently against Kmart and Martha Stewart Living after a Stewart-branded lounge chair he was moving collapsed, crushing his right index finger and slicing off the tip.

The fingertip was recovered and reattached by a surgeon, but Albanese is seeking an unspecified amount of money in compensation for "past and future medical expenses, physical and mental pain and suffering, permanent partial disfigurement and loss of earning capacity."

The "loss of earning capacity" refers to his hand modeling gigs and magic act. He's got some sensation back in the finger, but it seems that his sleight of hand isn't coming off as well now that his hand is a bit more slight.