Introducing the "Readers' Choice Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award

Updated January 3rd to add the following nominee:

• Matt DiSero - for having a "very sassy act."

 

Updated December 28th to add the following nominees:

•  Steven Lafond, producer and host of "Magic Mondays" in Ottawa for his continued support of the magic community. Hosting over 30 different magicians from all over Canada in 2016 alone.  (Additional supporting comment: He has done a whole year's worth of monthly magic showcases featuring locals and big names alike. Chris Pilworth, Bill Abbott, Mysterion, Zach & Steve, Jonathan Gold, Eric Leclerc...all opened by local professional and up-and-coming magicians. A real community supporter.)
• Murray and Teresa Hatfield for starring in and (even more importantly) producing the extraordinary magic and illusions-filled phantasmagoria "Unbelievable" at this summer's PNE in Vancouver. It was, without a doubt, the most inspirational, most wonderful, most entertaining stadium-scale magical event I have ever witnessed.

Updated December 27th to add official nominees:

• The Evasons for being classy and for being the most original non electronic using mentalists in the world today.
• Mahdi Gilbert - "He has inspired so many of us through his amazing sleight of hands without having any hands. The way he transformed his own life through magic is a role model for everyone who's searching for meaning, hope and inspiration."

Introducing the Canada's Magic "Readers' Choice 2016 Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award.  You may nominate living Canadian Magician(s) of your choosing by leaving their name along with a short note about how they inspired you in 2016, in the comments below.  (Or you may email me your nomination.)

Nominations will be accepted up until 11:59PM on Sunday January the 8th.  The full list of nominations will be published and voting will commence.  (Canada's Magic is not eligible for the award, nor will it be participating in the nomination or voting process.)

This is a "bragging rights" only contest.  There is no cash value for this award.

Here are some ideas for potential nominees (individuals and groups can be nominated):

• The Canadian magicians appearing on US television shows this year:  Shawn Farquhar, Murray SawChuck, Vitaly Beckman, Mahdi Gilbert, Neil Croswell, Ryan Joyce, Matt DiSero, The Evasons, and Greg Frewin.
• The owners of Canada's brick and mortar magic shops.
• The people who nurture the the next generation of magicians at Sorcerers Safari magic camp.
• Brent Kloeble and his team for establishing a magic festival for Regina.

The list of worthy entrants goes on and on ...

I look forward to seeing your nominations!

Quantity vs quality

I have to agree with Evelyn Matlin's observation about the sheer volume of magic effects brought to market these days.  The selection is far greater than I when I first dipped my toe in, *mumble mumble* years ago.  I wonder if the quality of the effects, over all, is higher, the same, or lower than back in the day.


From Perfect Magic:

As a magic dealer, I am overwhelmed by the new magic that comes out on a daily basis. Especially because I do the banners on our home page of Perfect Magic and edit the write-ups for our catalog. There seems to be no end to it.

I remember a time when Albert Goshman (think Sponge Balls – Magic by Gosh) came to Montreal to perform at Magie Montreal when we had our Conventions, back in the 80’s. He stayed in our home and we took him to the Brown Derby in the Van Horne Shopping Centre for dinner one evening. Unfortunately, neither Albert nor the Brown Derby are with us any more.

Read more.

Peter Mennie answers the question: "Why are you a magician?

From Abrakidabra:

This night there was only one possible helper nearby so I approached. She was really shy and wouldn’t give me her name. Her sister did and after a bit of conversation I was able to get her up front. She didn’t want to sit on the stool initially but with my help, she got comfortable. She is 4.

As you saw, this routine is a bit animated and sometimes young helpers won’t open up and relax to have fun. this was my worry here because she was REALLY shy.

Read more.

Pacific Contact 2017 Showcase Applications Available

From the BC Touring Council's Facebook page:

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Brainstorming presentation in support of magic as a cultural institution

If you have ideas or feedback for Clive, I encourage you to post them on his Facebook page.  If you don't have a Facebook account, you're welcome to leave a comment on this post.

From Clive Court's Facebook page:

Next year Canada celebrates its 150th Anniversary and the government intends to get us hyped on our own culture with a variety of activities and events. And one of those activities across will be hearings about the future of our cultural institutions including, film, theatre, radio, television, publishing, and the internet . I am interested in putting together a visual presentation (video) for use at various hearings. As I see it at the moment, the video(s) will feature Canada's world champion magicians and others who have appeared on major TV shows around the world. For example, clips of Shawn Farquhar on Penn and Teller, Greg Frewin in The World's Greatest Magic. or Richard Forget on Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde. Each clip would be followed by each magician explaining how he/she is able to make a living in Canada by touring around the world and appearing on international TV specials, etc. Suggestions?

The Department of Canadian Heritage Questionnaire

From the Globe and Mail:

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says the main goals of her office’s review of Canadian content rules and regulations, announced Sat., April 22, 2016, are to foster creation of Canadian content and increase the international audience for Canadian creators.

Read more.

From Clive Court's Facebook page:

Attention All Canadian Entertainers! Our new government is asking for YOUR views on how they can change the system to develop more Canadian content they can sell around the world to strengthen our currently weak entertainment infrastructure. This is REAL and they do pay attention to what you say. If you don't respond---they spend more time listening to the lobbyists (who do not always have your interests at heart!). DO NOT IGNORE THIS OPPORTUNITY. (PS> No BS...just give them the real facts and examples about how you make a living in Canada. So they can put the right questions to TV network bosses, and industry lobbyists).

From The Department of Canadian Heritage:

In summer 2016, the Minister of Canadian Heritage will lead public, stakeholder and online consultations on Strengthening Canadian Content Creation, Discovery and Export in a Digital World. We invite you, as Canadians and stakeholders, to help us establish the scope of these consultations by answering the questions below. Your answers will be used to better define the themes and questions that will be used to guide the consultations.
 
The questionnaire will be available until May 20, 2016.
 
The questionnaire will take 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your answers.
 
Participation in this questionnaire is voluntary, the anonymity of respondents will be respected and all responses will be kept strictly confidential. Questions are asked for information gathering purposes only and will not be used to identify respondents. To this end, please avoid directly identifying yourself or your organization in any typed answers. All information collected will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Read more and complete survey.

Monday musings: What's the strangest thing that's ever happened to you during a show?

I've seen a lot of strange and unexpected things happen at shows.  I've seen stage platforms give way.  I've seen entire sets fall over actors (thankfully no one was injured), I've seen audience volunteers walk off the stage.  And there was that one time when a smoke machine caused a cape to catch fire...

I haven't performed often enough to experience anything like that.  Best I can do is report a family member who zealously tried to make a fool out of grade-school-me (boy was he surprised when he opened his hands to find an entire family of sponge rabbits!), and the suggestion of "Abracadabra, hey presto!" as a magic "word" by a grade-school student.

I'm sure a number of you have some juicy tales to tell though, and I'd love to hear them!

I'll let James Alan start you off with this video from his Reality Based Magic post, "The weirdest thing to ever happen to me on stage."




And now, over to you. What's the strangest thing that's ever happened to you during a show?

Monday musings: Popcorn and milk

I wonder if anyone has ever incorporated this into their act? A fun experiment for little hands during March break!

"You can fill a glass full to the brim with milk, and fill another glass of the same size brim full of popcorn, and then you can put all the popcorn kernel into the milk, and milk will not run over. You cannot do this with bread. Popcorn and milk are the only two things that will go into the same place."[1]

I wonder, does it really only work with milk?  And if so, why?


From Peter Brown's YouTube channel:



--

[1] Wilder, Laura Ingalls, and Garth Williams. "Winter Night." Farmer Boy. New York: Harper & Bros., 1953.

Monday musings: Search engine optimization

It's time consuming to become a master of manipulation.  I get that.  On top of that you're trying to grow your business.  One of your tactics, you're told, should be harnessing the power of your website through search engine optimization.

"Search engine optimization" as defined by Wikipedia:

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's unpaid results—often referred to as "natural," "organic," or "earned" results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users.

But you find the tubes and gears and pulleys of the interwebs overwhelming.  So you decide to outsource this task to people who know it better than you.  This makes perfect sense.

What do you really know about these people who promise you high search ranking for your money?  Does it matter?

Yes.  Yes it does matter.

When you hand over the promotion of your internet identity to the lowest bidder, some interesting things can and do happen.  The people doing the work may be located in a different country and may not have a great handle on the English language.  The people doing the work may use the strategy of comment spamming any semi-related website they can find.


Why should this matter to you?

How do you think it reflects on you if the people who are promoting you uses spammy language?  It's a red flag for many people, who view paid comments as meaningless.  (If you're a believer that any publicity is good publicity, then maybe it doesn't matter.)

As for comment spamming to impact SEO, not only does it not work, it can work against you.  It doesn't work for one or more of the following reasons: a) the comment section of many websites are coded so as to not pass on "Google juice," b) comments are sometimes left on untended sites which don't have high PageRank, and c) when comments are left on actively managed sites like this one, the spam comments are deleted within 24 hours  (you've paid good money for something that gets permanently deleted in less than a day!!).

Worse than that, some SEO organizations will target blogs of potential clients, and leave comment spam representing themselves as you and your brand.  These can hurt both you and your SEO in the long term.

When I get those types of spam comments, it's annoying to be sure -- and I remember who you are because you're wasting your money and my time every time I have to cleanup the spammy mess you paid for.  However, when potential clients get those kinds of spammy comments, they often black list you and share your name around with all of their contacts as people to avoid.  It happens.  I've seen it.  It's not pretty.


What should you be doing?

You know your business best.  You know your budget.  I can only suggest to you that you do a quick search for "things you should ask before hiring seo company," and that you remember you pay for what you get.

Canadians on the list of "Top Ten Magicians of the 20th Century"

Have a look over at The Top Tens and see how Doug Henning, Dai Vernon, Shawn Farquhar, and Shin Lim are ranking in their list of "Top Ten Magicians of the 20th Century."

While you're there, add your vote!

Jason Palter in Derek Selinger's "The Walking Man"

Wishing Jason Palter and Derek Selinger much success with their short film "The Walking Man."

(Looking back, I think I met both Jason and Derek for the first time at the very first Magical Arts Festival.)


From Derek Selinger's Facebook page:
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Posted by Canada's Magic on Wednesday, 10 February 2016

Magicana presents: The oldest trick in the book

Visit Magicana's site where they're hosting "The oldest trick in the book," an in depth look at the cups and balls.

April 2nd: A magical day

  

From the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook page:

April 2nd - A day that goes down in history!

Historically speaking, April 2nd has proven to be a magical day. It's true. Yes, it's when we're holding this year's Browser's Magic Bash, but also many other unique moments have happened throughout history on this day.

MAKE MAGIC WITH US ON APRIL 2nd - http://www.browsersden.com/bash

DID YOU KNOW THAT ON...

• April 2nd, 1902 - Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California. 
• April 2nd, 1931- Teenage girl strikes out Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
• April 2nd, 1954 - Plans to build Disneyland are announced.
• April 2nd, 1956 - Soap operas As the World Turns & Edge of Night premiere on TV.
• April 2nd, 1963 - Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km).
• April 2nd, 1968 - Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Spacey Odyssey is released.
• April 2nd, 1972 - 44th Academy Awards - French Connection, Gene Hackman & Jane Fonda win.
• April 2nd, 1974 - 46th Academy Awards - The Sting, Glenda Jackson & Jack Lemmon win.
• April 2nd, 1977 - Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 31 weeks.
• April 2nd, 1978 - Velcro was 1st put on the market (Dove magic says thank you!).
• April 2nd, 1980 - Wayne Gretzky becomes 1st teenager to score 50 goals in a season.
• April 2nd, 1989 - Wrestlemania V at Trump Plaza, Hulk Hogan beats Macho Man Savage.
• April 2nd, 2016 - The Browser's Magic Bash Returns!

MAKE MAGIC HISTORY WITH US ON APRIL 2nd - http://www.browsersden.com/bash
We look forward to making magic history with you at this year's Browser's Magic Bash on Saturday April 2nd, 2016. If you'd like to join us, please register right now by clicking the link above.

Magical Hugs,

Jeff Pinsky
(Your faithful magic shopkeeper)

James Alan on why math is important

From Reality Based Magic:

On the way home, however, was another story. I hopped off the 401 to get gas in Whitby. I located an Esso station (150 Consumers Drive, for those who want to avoid it). They had gas posted for 92.3¢/L which seemed quite reasonable. I authorized my card and began pumping. But soon it stopped. When I looked up, I was rather confused to see that I had managed to pump less than 14L of fuel and the price at the pump what a whopping $125.00.

Read more.

David Ben's ‪#‎NoHairSelfie‬

World Cancer Day is February 4, 2016.

From James Alan's Facebook page:
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My friend David Ben is raising money for cancer research, and he's willing to shave off his glorious mop for the cause. Check out his campaign, the #NoHairSelfiehttp://www.nohairselfie.com/davidben
Posted by James Alan on Monday, 16 November 2015

The magic inside Canadian plastic bills

From BuzzFeed:

Apparently, built into the transparent maple leaf design on our Canadian bills is a diffraction grating technology…

That when you shine a laser light through the maple leaf…

An encoded value of the bank note can be seen projected onto a blank surface.

Read more.

Watch Steve Mould explain it on YouTube:

Happy 2016!

Wishing you and yours a year filled with awe and wonder!

To start things off, here's a video from Murray Sawchuck's YouTube channel:

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[via iTricks]

And now for something completely different

Not magic, but magical in its own way.  Sorry.

From JB's YouTube channel:

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[via Shawn Farquhar]

Searching for military paramedic Nathan

On August 23rd at approximately 9:30pm, "Pick Pocket" James Harrison was in a bad car accident driving northbound on the 400, just past Hwy 9.  As he swerved to avoid hitting an out of place construction pylon, his tires caught the shoulder causing his black Mazda 5 to roll over.  Twice.

James experienced the best side of humanity that day.  Several people stopped their car to offer help and make sure James was safe.  One gentleman, Nathan, is a military paramedic.  Nathan asked permission and then entered the back passenger section of the car.  He then talked James through the idea that he was going to hold his hands around James' neck to prevent possible spinal cord injuries.

Nathan kept James company, kept him calm, and kept his neck stable until the paramedics arrived.  During this time James learned that Nathan is stationed at Base Borden, effective August 24th.  From the ambulance stretcher, James had a brief moment to shake Nathan's hand and say thank you.  And then Nathan disappeared before James could get any more information about him.

We're very grateful that James only received minor injuries and is recovering well.

Nathan, if this message gets to you, please contact me or contact James directly through his website (http://www.pickpocketmagic.com/).  James would very much like to give you a proper and well deserved "thank you."

The 2015 Len Cooper Memorial Award

Congratulations Ahmed!

From Reality Based Magic:

Every year the Browser’s Den of Magic in Toronto gives out an award commemorating the shop’s founder, Len Cooper. The award is given to a promising young magician and includes a complete set of the Tarbell Course in Magic. This eight-volume set is one of the most expansive magic references sources in English. I've won the award, as have a number of my friends in magic in the city.

Read more.