10 February 2011

Looking on the bright side of things

At a time when it's almost de rigueur to find fault and complain about how badly things are broken, it's refreshing to see someone consciously focus on the positives within their domain.  Imagine my delight to see that Andrew Musgrave, in the course of his own 365 project, has declared February to be his "favourites" month.

From his first post in February:
The ironic thing is that if you get really good at being the opposition, however, and embracing that mentality, it can almost have a paralyzing effect upon you. It becomes that much harder to commit to an idea because you can almost start automatically seeing both the flaws in the idea, and the merits in competing ideas in dealing with those flaws. Unfortunately, if you shift to a new idea, then the flaws of that idea start making themselves known, and still more ideas occur to you as being superior (including potentially the one you abandoned earlier on). It can become the psychological equivalent of MC Escher’s “Treppauf und treppab”, and, if you’re like me, that can have a paralyzing effect on one’s development as a magician.
 
Andrew's favourites so far include:

I can't wait to read about the other favourites he has in store for us!

07 February 2011

Tax lawyer transforms self into conjuror

That's the title of Michael Rappaport's article about David Ben in the January 28th issue of The Lawyers Weekly.

To access a PDF version of the article, visit Sharing Wonder.

Eleven years ago today

The hard must become habit. The habit must become easy. The easy must become beautiful.
-- Doug Henning
Eleven years ago today, at the age of 52 Doug Henning passed away five months after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

Last October 16th he posthumously received Canada's Walk of Fame Legends Award.

View the tribute to Doug presented by Howie Mandel at Canada's Walk of Fame Tribute Show:
 


Read more about Doug at Wikipedia, the Canadian Magician Archives, or purchase the book Spellbound: The Wonder-filled Life of Doug Henning.

06 February 2011

James Randi took entire bottle of homeopathic sleeping pills

Skeptic James Randi joined hundreds of consumer advocates in more than 25 countries in exposing so-called homeopathic remedies.

From his website:
In his message, Randi issued a one-million-dollar challenge to the manufacturers of homeopathic products to prove their claims, and challenged major drug retailers like CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens to stop tricking consumers into paying real money for fake medicine.

To learn more, visit Randi's site or view his video statement below:




[h/t: Mr. Teller]

04 February 2011

Montreal: Caleb Wiles lecture February 19th

Can't make it to the Caleb Wiles lecture at  Browser's Den of Magic in Toronto on the 16th?

No worries, he's also lecturing at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Montreal on Saturday February 19th at 1:30pm.

For details, visit the Montral Magic Jam website.

Toronto: Bob Fitch performance workshop May 6 & 7

Bob Fitch is offering a two full day performance workshop on Friday May 6 and Saturday May 7.

Location: 
Holy Trinity Church, Guildwood, 85 Livingston Road, Scarborough
Fees:
Full Registration - $300 with performance critique (limited to 6 people)
Non-Critique Registration - $100 for two full days Enrolment is limited
Contact Stephen Kirkegaard or Ron Guttman for more information.

Links for 2011-Feb-4

02 February 2011

Welcome Ring 17 members!

Hello to everyone stopping by from Toronto's Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit club (Ring 17)!  Thank you to Chris Harvison for the kind mention in this month's newsletter.

Comments and feedback about the site are always welcome, either online or in person.  Hopefully I'll see you at the Anthony Lindan lecture tomorrow!

To find out what the other clubs are doing this month, visit the post Rounding the rings in February from Jan 15.

31 January 2011

Morrissey Magic: Winter clearance sale

Check out the Morrissey Magic Winter Clearance Sale!

From their Facebook page:
Winter madness is it! Due to the cold in canada were creating SHRINKAGE… on some of the prices when you come in the shop or buy online.
For complete details, visit the Morrissey Magic website.

29 January 2011

Toronto: March magic for kids!

This March, Magicana presents Piff Paff Poof!

Poof the rabbit and his magician Julie Eng will be performing at The Lower Ossington Theatre (aka the LOT) in Toronto.  Audiences will see some amazing magic for the young at heart – colourful, visual, participatory, funny and, most of all, magical. 

In addition, Poof will also be joined by either Mark Lewis or Tricky Ricky (Richard Lyn), two of Canada's best children's entertainers.

Visit the Piff Paff Poof website for more information or to purchase your tickets!

27 January 2011

Greg Frewin at Magi-Fest

The 80th annual Columbus Magi-Fest started 2 hours ago!  If you're there and you're going to the Saturday night Headliner Show, leave us a comment and let us know how Greg Frewin did.

To learn more about the convention, visit their website.  Tickets for the Magi-Fest Headliner Show, which is open to the public, can be ordered here.

Welcome visitors from The Busker's Cafe and Forbidden Wisdom

Hello to everyone stopping by from The Busker's Cafe forums and the Forbidden Wisdom forums.  Whether you're here to read about Mark Lewis's memoirs, "The Lives of a Showman" or just to poke around, we welcome you and invite you to send us your feedback!

Toronto: Abracadabaret at Chalkers in March

The first Abracadabaret (formerly Friday Night Magic) of 2011 will be on Friday, March 25 at Chalkers (247 Marlee Ave, Toronto).

From the Abracadabaret website:
The magicians, mind readers and assorted lunatics of Abracadabaret descend on Chalkers for another evening of fun, magic and mystery.
Join us for fabulous food before the show and an evening of magic, mystery and mirth with:
James Alan, Alex Kazam and Jason Palter.
To purchase tickets or learn more about this event, visit the Abracadabaret website.

26 January 2011

Welcome readers from "Ye Olde Magick Blogge"

Have a look around and send us your feedback!

Thank you to Andrew Musgrave for today's kind mention of Canada's Magic on "Ye Olde Magic Blogge."  I appreciate your kind words! 

We'll be following-up later in the year to see how Andrew's doing with his own "365 project"!

Ray Chance: cameo in JRDN’s new video "Like Magic"

Toronto magician Ray Chance  was the magic consultant for Canadian R&B Artist JRDN’s new video "Like Magic."  Ray also has a funny cameo at about the 3 minute mark!



To see more of Ray's magic, visit his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/chancemagic which includes his appearances on Much Music, Breakfast Television and stage show clips.

Mark Lewis: "The Lives of a Showman"

Mark Lewis (magician, hypnotist,palmist and tarot card reader) has just published his memoirs, "The Lives of a Showman."

David Ben had this to say about the book:
"The Lives of a Showman is not just a self-portrait of a magician, grafter and seer, but it is also a portrait of a landscape-one spread across several countries and continents. From night clubs in London, to hustling in Blackpool, to upheaval in Ireland during "The Troubles", and the open space of the new world. We are richer for it." —David Ben
Visit Mark's website to learn more about Mark or to purchase (or read more reviews of) his book.


[h/t: Ariel Frailich]

22 January 2011

Andrew Musgrave's project 365 and website for Vancouver magicians

Vancouver magician Andrew Musgrave is 22 days into his own "365 project" where he's committed to "do something that’s both productive and magic-related every day of the year" on his blog "Ye Olde Magic Blogge."

As part of that project, on Day 16 he created  the Magicians-In-Vancouver blog, which offers "a neutral venue for magicians in Vancouver to post a profile of themselves and link back to their website(s), Youtube videos, news articles, etc."  To have your profile published, contact Andrew directly.

[h/t: John Pellatt]