Peter Mennie unpacks his TV archive

From Peter Mennie's blog post "That’s a Lot of Magic!":

Way back when (about two years ago), I did a lot of television. Every month for 11 months, I had an appearance on a local TV chat show. I did two-three routines every time (that's 20-30 tricks) for nearly twenty years!

Over the next few months, here are some of the greatest hits - in no chronological order - and with apologies for the video quality of some of the segments.

Read more and watch video. [1 - Straight Ahead]

Peter's also posted:

• Television Magic Archives – Part 2 [2 - No Cards Required]
• Television Magic Archives – Part 3 [3 - Never Play with Matches]
• Television Magic Archives – Part 4 [4 - The Cards Know Everything] 
• Television Magic Archives – Part 5 [5 - A Dual Reality Card Trick]

Random thoughts from the Kayla Drescher lecture

I should start with congratulations to Kayla for keeping her energy up through the evening after having just completed a grueling 41 show run with the recent Champions of Magic tour!

• Hurray for Loblaws, Roots, and Canada Canadian Tire!
• And beer, ginger beer, and Brio!
• Colour changing bottle caps are very cool.
• How do you define magic, art, and craft?  (Definitely not the same way I used the term "arts and crafts" in my earlier report of the show!)
• Because ... science!
• And bar towels!
• Kayla gave Rosemary Reid a shout out for her video:
  (You may remember that Rosemary delighted us all with the first iteration of this speech which she shared at the 2017 Browser's Bash.)

• Chris Westfall made a memorable entrance.  (How many elastic bands do you wear on your wrists?)
• There was a mini Sorcerers Safari reunion with Rosemary Reid, Lee Asher, Chris Mayhew, Chris Westfall, and Jonah Babins!  (Which made Kidlet doubly regret the decision to not attend.)

  @MagicinHeelsKD Toronto lecture with @LeeAsherMagic @chrismayhews @jonahbabins & more! pic.twitter.com/S0b08IBkes

  — Rosemary Reid (@RosemaryReid) January 8, 2019

• Staff appreciation and lessons from street performers.
• Described a fabulous pseudo-controlled study on colours that increase tips! (Also pseudo-controlled for gender with surprising results.)
• Demonstrated a fabulous tip for bar magicians to increase probability of receiving a big tip.  (I wonder how one could design a study to see if that methodology gives the same % tip increase for a man using the technique as for a woman using the technique?)
• Something spontaneously happened at the 1 hour 15 minute mark that Kayla was totally expecting.  (I'm not entirely convinced that it wasn't just a case of a poorly worded question.)
• If you aren't already, subscribe to Shezam, the feminist podcast that hopes to make itself obsolete.  The podcast has great tips and strategies for young women starting out in magic (No pockets? No problems!)  Carisa Hendrix and Kayla also share entertaining anecdotes about performing and lots of pro-tips too!
• After the break, Kayla gave a fabulous hands-on lesson for colour changing bottle caps using a technique even I can master!
• Good times, good fun, good magic.
• Thank you Kayla!

Great turnout for a great lecture at the first @IBMring17 meeting of 2019! Thank you @MagicinHeelsKD

I hope you can finally get some well deserved rest! pic.twitter.com/g7keN6Dxlk

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) January 8, 2019

View this post on Instagram

The Champions of Magic did 41 shows in 17 days in Toronto this holiday season! Well done!

A post shared by @ starvoxent on Jan 6, 2019 at 6:10pm PST

MagicTube

Canadians include Shawn Farquhar, Luc Langevin, and Shin Lim.

From MagicTube as translated through Google Translate:

Do you like magic? Looking for the video of a magician ? MagicTube gives you categorized access, by menu and keywords, to the best videos of professional magicians (conjurer, illusionist) published on the web via hosting sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, etc ...

The site is for magic enthusiasts or anyone who wants to discover through magic videos of the best current or past numbers.

The site references more than 400 magicians' videos from 26 countries.
 
Read more. 

View untranslated site.

Gambit "Smiles Across India"

From Gambit's Facebook page:

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The Outerbridges in go/be Weekly

Catch them in Niagara on December 29th!


From the article "Ted Outerbridge: Clockwork Mysteries Tour Delivers Holiday Magic" by David DeRocoo:

“I was in a restaurant eating a bowl of spaghetti when this guy pulled an egg out of my ear and it blew my mind,” remembers Outerbridge, who shares the stage with his wife and partner, Marion Outerbridge. “From that moment on I wanted to be able to create a sense of wonder for others.”

By the time he was 12, Outerbridge was already being paid to perform magic at neighbourhood birthday parties, delivering 15-minute sets of slight-of-hand tricks and small-scale illusions. At 19 he was earning his living as a professional magician, developing illusions that would eventually be used in such sold-out tours as Magical Moments In Time and the Time Capsule Tour.

Read more.

From Marion Outerbridge's Facebook page:

Julie Eng on Pop Life CTV

From the Pop Life CTV Facebook page:

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McIlhany Film Archive acquired by Magicana

From the October 11th article "McIlhany Archive Moving to The Screening Room" by Julie Eng at Magicana:

Imagine it… Houdini, Alexander, Buckley, Buckingham, Blackstone, Dunninger, Kreskin, Charlie Miller in rare, stunning performances… and right on your computer screen.

Magicana is delighted to announce the acquisition of the McIlhany Film Archive of historical magic film and videos.

In September, it was confirmed that we were the successful bidder for the collection through a sealed-bid auction conducted by The Magic Auctioneer David Goodman in cooperation with Owen Magic Supreme.

And what a collection it is!       


Read more.

Help Neil McNally fund “Doug Henning’s Magical World”

From the September 24th post, '“Doug Henning’s Magical World” Indiegogo Funding Begins Today!' at The Doug Henning Project:

Hello Everyone, 

It’s been a long road, but here we are!

The funding for my documentary “Doug Henning’s Magical World” begins today on Indiegogo and I hope you all will consider donating.

As I mentioned, this will be the first feature length documentary regarding Doug’s life and work and features many of Doug’s close friends and collaborators. Please share the links with anyone you may know. Doug deserves a project of this scale, and I’d love for you to contribute to its creation.

The links are:

Official Doug Henning Indiegogo Page

Official Movie Website

With Magic and Wonder, 

Neil McNally

Read more and donate.

 From the YouTube channel of Doug Henning's Magical World:

Congratulations to Shin Lim!

From the September 19th article "Magician Shin Lim Crowned Season 13 Champion of America's Got Talent" by Karen Mizoguchi in People:

“When you told me at 16 that an awkward, shy kid would one day be performing at the Dolby Theatre performing on America’s Got Talent, I wouldn’t have believed them. To compete on AGT, it means the world to me,” said Lim, who opened up about his carpal tunnel syndrome due to a career-ending injury to his thumb tendons.

The 26-year-old self-taught magician, who was born in Canada and currently lives in Acton, Massachusetts, wowed audiences through sleight of hand magic and close-up tricks. For his final trick, Lim performed a card trick with host Tyra Banks and American Ninja Warrior co-hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila.

Read more.

Watch the announcement from the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:




Watch his final performance on the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:

Shin Lim smoking the semifinals of America's Got Talent 2018

From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:
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From the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:

Chris Funk on Masters of Illusion season 5

From Chris Funk's Twitter feed:
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Chris Funk The Wonderist - Masters of Illusion s05e04 https://t.co/iizcw4zU0c via @YouTube is up!

— Chris Funk (@chrisfunkmagic) July 24, 2018

Toronto: Tickets for the 2019 Browser's Magic Bash

A little bird has told me that tickets for the 2019 Browser's Magic Bash will go on sale on Monday, September 17th, 2018!  Keep your eyes open for more news from the Browser's Den of Magic as we get closer to the date.

To whet your appetite, have a quick peek at Chris Mayhew's 90 second video synopsis of the 2018 Bash!

Shin Lim on AGT

Last Friday America's Got Talent leaked some footage of Shin Lim's appearance on tonight's (?) episode.


Watch "LEAK: Shin Lim Proves Magic Is Real With Unbelievable Card Tricks - America's Got Talent 2018" posted Jul 20, 2018 on the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:

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If you missed his previous appearance, watch "Shin Lim: Magician Blows Minds With Unbelievable Close-Up Magic - America's Got Talent 2018" posted May 28, 2018 on the America's Got Talent YouTube channel:

Back in time to 1994

I remember Herb Morrissey, back in the mid 1990s, talking about a young man in southern Ontario who was working hard to take the magic world by storm.  He very much did.

Here's a video of the bird act, that he presented at FISM in Yokohama, Japan in 1994.


From the Greg Frewin Theatre's YouTube channel:

TMR studios interviews Shawn Farquhar

From the TMR Productions YouTube channel:

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News so big, it's worthy of a second post!

Congratulations again to Renee-Claude Auclair and the FISM Quebec team (Renee-Claude Auclair, Jocelyn Guertin, Pierre Hamon, Joan Caesar, and Shawn Farquhar) for securing the first North American FISM!!!

Be sure to visit the FISM Quebec 2021 website to take advantage of early bird pricing!


See the official announcement on Shawn Farquhar's Facebook post:

Paris: Luc Langevin in 2019

From the June 28th article "Le magicien Luc Langevin de retour avec un Nouveau Spectacle en mars 2019" in Stephane larue as translated by Google:

After his triumph at the CASINO DE PARIS in 2016 and 2017, LUC LANGEVIN returns to the stage with his new show NOW DEMAIN. Combining numbers of great illusions, new technologies, poetry and mentalism, LUC LANGEVIN propels us into a futuristic world while keeping his passion for science and magic at the heart of the show.

Je serai officiellement bientôt de retour sur les scènes françaises avec mon tout nouveau spectacle : Maintenant Demain https://t.co/OEUk5MfMXB

— Luc Langevin (@LucLangevin) June 27, 2018

Le magicien @LucLangevin de retour avec un Nouveau Spectacle en mars 2019 - Lire l'article : https://t.co/D5jrelbpDh

— Stéphane Larue (@larueofficiel) June 28, 2018

Spot the Canadian(s) in the 2018 Magic Castle Awards Show Opening Montage

Have a look at opening montage of the 2018 Magic Castle Awards Show, edited by Tom Frank.

Can you name the Canadian(s)?

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From Tom Frank's YouTube channel:

Rosemary Reid: Magic Isn't Real (and other lies we tell ourselves)

Watch the TEDx Talk Rosemary Reid presented on April 25th for TEDx St. Mary CS School in Oshawa.
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From the TEDx Talks YouTube channel:

Masters of Illusion 2018 (season 5)

I spied Chris Funk, Murray Sawchuk, Billy Kidd, and Greg Frewin.

Who'd I miss?

Masters of Illusion returns for a fifth anniversary season on The CW with two 30-minute episodes airing back to back on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. Central.


Watch the promo on Chris Funk's Instagram:

@cw_mastersofillusion sizzle reel is out! Enjoy! #magic #wonderist #magician #corporatemagician #internationalmanofwonder

A post shared by The Wonderist (@chrisfunkmagic) on Jun 12, 2018 at 4:24pm PDT