[Guest post] Magic Magazine: January 2015

The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon.

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Magic Magazine always makes good reading but the current issue contains noteworthy Canadian content.

First and foremost, a feature profile of the award winning Canadian photographer, cinematographer, magician and Ellusionist production manager Peter McKinnon. It is eloquently penned by the multi-talented Vancouver magician Jamie D. Grant.

Peter McKinnon's inventive photographic work is well known within the magic community. Magic Magazine's September 2014 cover was his; and if you've ever seen any special deck of playing cards advertised in an unusual or attention-grabbing way in the last decade or so, chances are it was also one of Peter's photos or videos.

It was just about ten years ago that Peter McKinnon was cutting college classes and hanging out at the Browser's Den of Magic in Toronto. Today he bases his internationally acclaimed photographic work out of both Toronto and San Francisco. He usually manages to combine his love for magic with his awesome creativity in the visual arts. It's an inspiring story.

Secondly: Prominent within the article is a whimsical photo of Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic in Toronto. It was originally part of Peter McKinnon's compelling and idiosyncratic "Plaid Chair" online project. It seems a fitting salute to the man behind the b&m magic store which perhaps initially helped to energize Peter's impressive career.

Editor's notes:

• Visit the Browser's Den Facebook group to see Peter Mennie's post which inspired Wilson to comment "So this is how Harry Potter looks like when he grows up"

• Read Peter's thoughts about Jeff over at The Plaid Chair (in keeping with Wilson's comment above, the photo is filed under "Hogwarts")

Thirdly (and finally) in this issue: Ian Rowland's always must-read "Loving Mentalism" column features a fun and quirky mentalism effect contributed by John Pellatt, known to readers of this blog as the founder/curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site. John credits fellow Canadian Patrik Kuffs for inspiring the creation of his original mentalism effect/routine. It is called "Expresso ESP" and described as "a seemingly impromptu experiment in mindreading suitable for informal occasions."

So, not bad for Magic Magazine's first issue of 2015. In fact, it's a Canadian magical hat-trick!

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Thank you The Magic Demon for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

Johnny Giordmaine's tribute site is four!

From John Pellatt:

Today marks the 4th anniversary of the original launch of the only online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician, Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974). Begun in 2008 with little more than a few pages of old photos, flyers and a lot of happy memories, the site has grown into (at last count) 33 pages of recollections and appreciations in visual as well as text form. Past contributors include James Randi, Bev Bergeron, Bob Taylor, Johnny Ould and others. The latest two page update features why/how Johnny transformed himself into "The Merry Magician" - an intriguing example of the continuing evolution of language... plus a moving remembrance of the Society of Canadian Magicians' unique celebration for Johnny's 75th birthday back in 1973... New contributions are always very welcome. Contact information is on
the site...

http://www.johngiordmaine.com

Johnny Giordmaine tribute back on line

From John Pellatt, creator of the "A Tribute to John Giordmaine" website:

The on line Tribute to Johnny Giordmaine, Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898-1974) went off line last month. The good news - it's back on line now at its own new dedicated domain. Discover what a gifted performer he was and what memorable achievements he made. Did you know, for example, that he was the very first magician ever to appear on TV in Canada? Or that he was a positive role model and mentor to countless hundreds of young magicians - many of whom ended up working professionally in the business today? Check it all out at http://www.johngiordmaine.com/

Thanks for the update John!

Book launch: "The Lives of a Showman"

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending a book launch party for “The Lives of a Showman” by Mark Lewis. (I live tweeted the event with the tag #TLOAS though I missed tagging a few tweets here and there.)

Upon entering Browser’s Den of Magic, I was instructed to direct my attention upward. Hanging from the ceiling were more than a dozen cheerful Lee Asher sign creations containing “Markisms” such as “If they were all the nine of hearts it would look like this” and “You're quite slow, do you work for the post office?” The mood was set!

It was clear that Mark has a tremendous amount of support in the local magic community! I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with Jeff Pinsky, Jeff Hinchliffe, Ariel Fralich, Mia Ngueyn and Adam Harmes who had all made contributions to, or were mentioned in, the book. Other notables present include*: Gordon Precious, Owen Anderson, Paul Pacific, Chris Westfall, John Pellatt, Richard Lyn, John Michalson, Shawna Ross-York, Dan McLean, Steve Shrott, Joe Schwarcz and young Daniel (one of Mark’s students).

While reading from his book, we were regaled with stories of Mark’s experiences with The Worst Audience Ever at The Blue Angel and his early days of (not so) psychic readings in Ireland with Adam Harmes. Mark also read a piece written about him by Mai Nguyen, winner of the Jerry Gladman Memorial Scholarship in Journalism.

To round out the evening we were treated to James Alan’s rendition of Mark’s “Pig Trick” and then we all laughed ourselves silly through Jeff Hinchliffe’s impersonation of Mark doing his Svengali deck hustle.

It is always a delightful experience to hear an author read his own words. If the rest of the book is even half as entertaining as the launch party, it should be a good read indeed!

To purchase “The Lives of a Showman” visit Mark's website, Browser’s Den of Magic or contact your local magic dealer.


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* If I’ve missed listing anyone who was there please send me an e-mail or leave a comment below! Thank you to John Pellatt, Ariel Fralich and James Alan for providing attendee intel on the parts of the room I didn’t make it to.

Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974) tribute site

Edited August 12, 2011 to update the URL of the tribute site to it's new home at http://www.johngiordmaine.com

It seems fitting that on this day, the 37th anniversary of Johnny Giordmaine's passing, I learned about John Pellatt's website: "A Tribute to John Giordmaine."  Pellatt as been working on this project since 2008.  His site contains images and text from his personal collection as well as archival materials from John Giordmaine's own family.

To contribute your own memories or photos of John Giordmaine contact John Pellatt directly.  His e-mail address can be found on page 11 of his site.

To learn more about this extraordinary children's magician visit A Tribute to John Giordmaine, the Canadian Magicians' Archive or MagicPedia.


[h/t: @WorldOfMagician, CAM eZine]