Showing posts with label # media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label # media. Show all posts

15 August 2019

Windsor's former International Playing Card Company factory

From the August 9th article "Jarvis: Bringing back Windsor's history, brick by brick" by Anne Jarvis in the Windsor Star:

Underneath the recreated flap, on the side of the building, will be vertical red and blue panels — the colours of the Bicycle playing cards once manufactured in the building. The tops of the panels will be shaped like the diamonds that decorated the back of the cards. Drive one way, and the red will appear to change to blue. Drive the other way, and the blue changes to red, like the kind of sleight of hand performed with cards.

It’s J. P. Thomson Architects’ salute to the handsome former International Playing Card Company factory built in 1928, a designated heritage property and a link to our industrial history.

Read more.




26 July 2019

Did Houdini own a Canadian made organ?

From the June 30 article "Ottawa organ linked to famed magician Harry Houdini" by Charles Stanley in My Web Times:
Could the legendary magician and escape artist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) have owned and touched the keys of an organ built in Ottawa?

It is a tantalizing thought — but undocumented. The provenance chain for the organ since leaving the Ottawa factory is missing crucial links. It is likely the possibility may, in fact, just be an illusion.

Read more.





[via John Cox]

25 July 2019

Gordon Precious in the Hamilton Spectator

From the July 18 article "Jeff Mahoney: Gordon Precious, Hamilton’s own, is in the Guinness World Records as oldest heli-skier" by Jeff Mahoney in The Hamilton Spectator:
He enjoyed skiing, as well as tennis, from an early age. "As I got better (at skiing) we'd go to Cedar Springs, but I was 15 and not allowed to drive so I'd go with 16-year-old friends who were. Once there were four of us in the car. Our names were Precious, Love, Darling and ... Anguish."

Gordon's conversation, fed by the springs of a terrific memory, is full of such delights, and when he tells me that, in addition to skiing and tennis, he practised the art of magic, I am not surprised, as there's a general feeling of magic about the man.


Read more.

24 July 2019

Julie Eng in Business Class magazine

From the June 17th article "Magician Julie Eng conjures wonder" by Keith Norbury in The world from here:
Magic has played a leading role in her life for as long as Julie Eng, BCom ’95, can remember.

“The story goes that I wasn’t delivered by the stork,” the Toronto-based Eng says. “I was pulled out of the hat.”

She learned her first magic trick from her magician father, Tony Eng, when she was just a toddler. He later introduced her to a secret world that would eventually permeate every aspect of her life and lead her to networking with the likes of Las Vegas showmen Penn and Teller.

Read more.

20 July 2019

Content creation and magic

From the July 9the article "How to Create Captivating Content Using the Secrets of Magic" by Laura Mingall in CMF Trends:
Masters of cinema, such as Georges Méliès and Orson Welles, were also master magicians. Magicians are storytellers that harness the science and art of constructing captivating illusions. And storytellers have the ability to leverage these secrets of magic when creating all forms of content.

My experience with magic began in preschool. I learned firsthand both the thrill of watching the impossible become possible, as well as the thrill of understanding how it can be done. My grandfather is Henry Gordon, an acclaimed magician and debunker whose career spanned over thirty years and is a fascinating story in and of itself. He appeared on various media platforms, such as a range of CBC programs, through to The Oprah Winfrey Show. He often performed or taught the art of magic, or unapologetically debunked those using it to take advantage of people. He authored regular articles for publications such as the Toronto Star, as well as multiple books. And he would lecture for those fully immersed in the skeptic and magic communities, including at the iconic Magic Castle—the private clubhouse of The Academy of Magical Arts, in Hollywood.

Read more.

13 July 2019

Review: Indulgence with Lucy Darling

From the July 2nd post "MMF 2019 Review: Indulgence with Lucy Darling" by  Tay Around Town:
We giggled and snorted with laughter, followed Lucy along in her games and marvelled at her wonderful magic. Each time I see Lucy Darling’s shows I become even more enchanted – as does her audience, I’m sure. She has a supreme stage presence and personality, which the audience just revel in. Despite a ‘larger than life’ personality, Lucy (Carisa) is careful to have this aspect not diminish the magic and storytelling. Everything in this show is within perfect harmony.

Read more.

08 July 2019

Derek Selinger on Fool Us and Breakfast Television

Derek Selinger's performance of "The Deadly Gallows" from Penn and Teller Fool Us Season 6.



From the Magic Inspired YouTube channel:

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From the Breakfast Television Twitter feed:


18 June 2019

Catching up with Luc Langevin

Catch Luc Langevin in Montreal and Quebec City in November and December respectively.  Or watch him record the show "The Children of the TV."  Or watch the show once it airs!  Or watch the Geminis and see if he takes his category "Best Variety Special."

Congratulations Luc!


From the June 12 article "Luc Langevin de retour au Québec" in La Press:
L'illusionniste présentera ainsi son spectacle Maintenant demain sur plusieurs scènes québécoises dans les prochains mois.

Il sera notamment à la salle Maisonneuve de la Place des Arts le 9 novembre et à la salle Albert-Rousseau de Québec les 22 et 23 décembre.

Read more.



From Luc Langevin's Twitter feed:







09 June 2019

Billy Kidd in the Vegas News

From the June 4 article 'Women Are (Secretly) The Driving Force Behind Facebook’s “Making Magic”' in the Vegas News:
The last two episodes of Facebook’s Making Magic featured people you don’t often see in the magic industry: Women. Not only are women featured; their back-to-back episodes have been streamed more than those of their male counterparts.

This comes as no surprise to Making Magic guest Mistie Knight.

“People are excited to see women in major magic roles, not just the shadows,” Knight says. “For so long, it was assumed that women in magic were merely ‘lovely assistants’ providing eye candy. The truth is, in illusion shows women are often the ones doing the heavy lifting.”

Read more.



Making Magic Episode 4: Billy Kidd Defeats Duct Tape






08 June 2019

Nicholas Wallace in ET Canada

From the June 5 article "Gabrielle Union Is Possessed By A Creepy Doll In Magician’s Mystifying ‘AGT’ Audition" by Brent Furdyk in ET Canada:
“America’s Got Talent” has seen its fair share of nightmarish magic acts over the years, but magician Nicholas Wallace has raised the bar when it comes to sheer creepiness.For his trick, Wallace explained that he saved an old rocking chair and a disturbing-looking doll from a fire in a hotel, revealing that the chair and the doll share some kind of a supernatural connection.Enlisting judge Gabrielle Union as his volunteer, he asked her to sit in the rocking chair and then covered her eyes with a blindfold.

Read more.


From the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:




01 June 2019

Greg Frewin in the Metrolinx News

From the May 16th article "No illusion – Magician Greg Frewin reveals Niagara Falls spectacles GO customers need to unlock" by Sara Wilbur in the Metrolinx News:
Greg Frewin has pulled off one of the most elaborate feats in the history of prestidigitation. He’s managed to quietly hide a very Canadian existence within a bigger-than-life Niagara Falls spectacle.

 The 52-year-old magician seems as much a modern staple of Niagara Falls as, say, running water. His production, inside a local 700-seat theatre named after him, is based on decades of performances around the world that have won him a magic box full of trophies, including the prestigious Magician of the Year Award at the World Magic Awards, as well as a first place for the International Federation of Magic Societies.

Read more.

29 May 2019

Toronto: Mystery & Magic featuring Beyond Mental Borders

From the May 22 article "Toronto is getting a Las Vegas style magic show series" by Tanya Mok in BlogTO:
One of Toronto's most popular mind-reading duos, Beyond Mental Borders, is launching a new stage show called Connection on June 16 at the Rec Room.

According to the mentalist pair, Melissa Ronson and Armand Antony, it'll be an extravaganza of divination, accompanied by some of the best magicians across the country.

The pair have previously wowed audiences on CityTV, at Second City, and other venues in the city with their ability to do stuff like guess what number or place you're thinking of, down to the tiniest detail.

It's still a mystery what exactly the show will incorporate, but according to the team, it'll be a "Las Vegas-style magic show that is currently lacking in the city of Toronto."

Read more.




28 May 2019

Halifax: Nathaniel Rankin at the Halifax Busker Festival

As an aside, has anyone witnessed Mike Wood's “Catapulted Cabbage Catch”?  I can only assume it's as hilarious as it sounds!



From the May 22nd article "Halifax Busker Festival performers announced" by Victoria Walton in Halifax Today:
The 33rd year of the festival will take place on the Halifax Waterfront from July 31 to August 5.

Some of the Canadian artists featured include living statue Jenny Jupiter, comedian Mike Wood, and magician Nathaniel Rankin.

Last year's winners of the Busker's people's choice award, Canadian break-dancing group Break City Allstars will also return.

The festival will include the Nova Scotia Marquee Music Stage, which is now in its third year, and will be set up at Bishop's Landing in partnership with the province and Develop Nova Scotia.

Read more.

26 May 2019

Matt DiSero on Comedy Above The Pub

Season 17, episode 16 of the Comedy Above the Pub podcast has Matt DiSero in the hot seat with a bonus anecdote about David Acer.


From Matt DiSero's Facebook page:




25 May 2019

Peter Duchemin in the CBC

From the May 20th article "Meet Newfoundland's first certified doctor of magic" in the CBC News:
It may not seem like a subject that has any place in academia -- outside of Hogwarts, of course — but one St. John's magician is now a certifiable doctor of magic.

Peter Duchemin just completed his indisciplinary studies PhD at Memorial University after defending his thesis, called "The Art of Hidden Causation: Magic as Deep Mediation."

The doctorate program itself is a kind of mish-mash of various subjects, Duchemin explains.


Read more.

21 May 2019

Nick Wallace on AGT 2019

We previously mentioned that The Sentimentalists were going to be on AGT 2019.  Here's another representative from the Canadian magic scene!

Keep an eye out for Nick Wallace!  The season starts May 28 on NBC.


From Nick Wallace's Instagram:

15 May 2019

Joe Schwarcz in The Suburban

From the May 8th article "Dr. Joe and company mark two decades of excellence in science at McGill" by Mike Cohen in The Suburban:

Born in Hungary, Schwarcz came to Canada at the age of eight. He told me that he credits a magician at a Grade 6 friend’s birthday party who used a so-called magical chemical to perform a trick for turning him on to what would become his future vocation. “I still include magic into many of my lectures,” he says. “Magic expands the mind.”

Read more.

08 May 2019

Discourse in Magic with Matt Johnson (plus 60s docs)

Via iTricks, Matt Johnson featured on the web series "60 Second Docs" in the episode "The Bittersweet Ache of Escaping." (embedded at the bottom of this post)


From Discourse in Magic:
On episode 158, Matt Johnson joins Jonah to discuss escapology, adding human elements to your magic, and recreating your brand. You may know Matt for his water tank escape on Penn & Teller: Fool Us or for his semi-place finish on Britain’s Got Talent.

Matt remembers a wind-up box at his grandmother’s house sparking his initial love for magic. While not a magic trick, it still gave him this magical feeling and caused him to want to know how a little box could play music. At the age of twelve, he started learning tricks and, after performing for Matt’s siblings’ birthday, a magician took Matt under his wing. Soon, he was attending his local shop every weekend right through his teen years.

Read more and listen.





From the 60 Second Docs YouTube channel:







22 April 2019

Gwyn Auger on Illusionary

From Yeats Magic Co's Facebook post:

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