Murray Hatfield: US lectures

Murray Hatfield will be lecturing in the United States in March and April.  Visit his Facebook page for an up to date listing of dates and cities.

The list below is current as of February 14:

Mar. 5 Tulsa, OH
Mar. 6 Kansas City, MO
Mar. 7 Pigeon Forge, TN
Mar. 8 Pigeon Forge, TN
Mar. 9 Pigeon Forge, TN
Mar. 10 Huntsville, AL
Mar. 12 Jacksonville, FL
Mar. 13 Memphis, TN
Mar. 14 Murfreesboro, TN
Mar. 16 New Orleans, LA
Mar. 18 St. Louis, MO
Mar. 19 Peoria, IL
Mar. 20 Chicago, IL - Midwest Magic
Mar. 21 Chicago, IL - Tinley Park
Mar. 24 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Mar. 25 Lake Charles, LA
Mar. 26 Houston, TX
Mar. 27 San Antonio, TX
Mar. 28 McAllen, TX
Mar. 30 Albuquerque, NM
Apr. 1 Tucson, AZ
Apr. 3 Las Vegas, NV

Broken wand: Leonard Miedzianowski

From the Montreal Gazette:

1951-2013 Leonard Miedzianowski, aka Nemo Turner son of the late Peter Miedzianowski and Wanda Lorek, survived by his brother John and sister Regina, and numerous friends. Leonard was a well known Montreal magician.

Read more.

[via Perfect Magic]


From "Remebering Nemo" over at the Rotary Club of Montreal.

Nemo Turner, born Leonard Miedzianowski, age 61, died early Friday morning, February 8, 2013.

Nemo (the name he took when he began to perform magic) was a well known Montrealer having frequently appeared in the media.
After attending Concordia University (Loyola campus) and receiving a Bachelor’s degree in psychology he carried on with his career as a magician and llusionist, his loyal assistant, Melvin Rabbit at his side. A sense of whimsy and an ability to generate publicity on Nemo’s part led to Melvin, a small white rabbit, gaining his own measure of fame, resulting in a lifestyle that included his own bank account and dining at the Mount Stephen Club. Nemo went on to blend his entertainment skills with education and also was involved in real estate ventures.

Read more.

John Cox writes about Houdini Never Died

Over at Wild About Harry, John Cox writes about Houdini Never Died:

Here is the entire 1979 documentary Houdini Never Died. This was produced by John Watson and Pen Densham who later wrote and directed TNTs Houdini. It intercuts Houdini's story with footage of contemporary magicians including Doug Henning. It also has nice footage of James Randi performing a suspended straitjacket escape over Niagara Falls and the 50th Anniversary Official Houdini seance held at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame. Definitely a product of its time, but that's what makes this great.

Read more.

David Peck: TEDx talk on wonder

Last month, David Peck spoke at TEDxSixteenMileCreek.  Watch his talk, "Pockets of Wonder" on YouTube:

Does Magician of the year mean the same thing as Perfomer of the year?

When Shawn posted the list of current nominations for "Magician of the Year" on the CAM website, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one completely floored to see the name of an amateur magician in the mix.  (I was floored because the name was mine.  But many of you were shocked, I think, because an amateur was on the list.)

I, like many of you reading, assumed that "Magician of the Year" meant, among other things, "Performer of the Year."  I am incredibly honoured to be listed with all of the fine performers nominated thus far. (Imagine my surprise, to receive messages from people in support of my nomination!)  A casual glance at the names on the list, informs me that I don't stand a chance.

But it has lead to interesting discussions.  I'm pretty convinced that to win Magician of the Year, you have to be a professional peformer.  What do you think?

Should non-professional performers be eligible for CAM's Magician of the Year award?

Ottawa: Denis Behr lecture

From Magic Information Canada:

Friday, May 3

Denis Behr. Magic lecture.

Royal Oak Laurier, 161 Laurier Avenue East (at Copernicus), Ottawa.

Read more.

CAM Magician of the Year: Nominations for 2013

Last month, Shawn sent out an e-mail via Ballot Bin, inviting CAM members to nominate up to two people for the Magician of the Year award for 2013.  Recently, he posted this on the Canadian Association of Magicans Website:

As the time draws to the end I have been less than thrilled with the lack of interest in nominating magicians for our most prestigious award.  We have 400 members that are eligible to vote and 77 of you have participated.  That’s about 20%, which is dismal. I know you all care and want to have your own say, so what’s the problem?  Well I asked a few of you and found many didn’t know who to nominate.  With this in mind I have compiled a list of those already listed in the nomination process.  They are in no particular order, but will  help you to think perhaps of someone to name.  The four magicians with the most nominations will be placed on a the final ballot for the vote.  If you don’t see a name on the list that you feel is being missed, add it today!

Click through to read the list of current nominations.
 

The last date to submit nominations is February 28th.  What are you waiting for?

The very observant of you, after reading the list, will haved noticed a certain, ummm, magic enthusiast's name!  What an absolute honour to see my name listed there, with all of those fabulously deserving performers!  Thank you!