I'd like a magic arm, too. Calumet do an own brand one which is significantly cheaper than the original Manfrotto one, by the way.
Speaking of which - yesterday, I bought a nine foot Manfrotto Telescoping Three-Section Crossbar, a pair of heavy duty lightstands and a seven foot roll of background canvas, painted in an eighties-tastic blue cloud pattern - all on eBay for a song because we collected.
The background canvas is pretty nasty, but if you turn it round and blast it into orbit about a stop and a half above your main light, it's ideal for high key work until I get a pukka roll of seamless vinyl. I can now at least do three quarters or head and shoulder portraits at home like this:
(With thanks to my long suffering and awesomely lovely cohab)