07 August 2014

Win tickets to see "An honest liar" in Toronto

Great news! I have been offered three pairs of tickets to give away to my readers, to attend "AN HONEST LIAR" at the Friday, August 8, 6:30pm screening in Toronto, Canada.  (I understand that there's a Q&A with Randi at that screening.)

I will be holding a random draw for each pair of tickets.  (There will be three winners. Each winner will receive a pair of tickets.)  The draw results will be posted on Friday August the 8th.


To enter:

  1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me your favourite Amazing Randi memory (from a personal encounter, an interview, a performance etc).  (You do not need to be a magician to enter the contest.)(Your favourite memory could be entering this contest!)
  2. Leave your name, along with a way that I may contact you (e-mail address, phone number, website, Twitter handle etc.) so that I can notify you if you win.
  3. If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and contact information for me to share with Hannah from Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

The fine print:

  • To participate in the contest, you must be 18 years of age or older.
  • One entry per person.
  • This giveaway is open to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (Je m'excuse!)
  • This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
  • If you experience difficulties leaving a comment, you may e-mail it to me for posting.  (I am not responsible if your e-mail is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder.)
  • You must be able to use the tickets as offered.  (No cash value will be offered if you cannot use the tickets.)
  • Photo ID will be required to claim the tickets at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema box office prior to the show on your way into the screening.
  • The odds of winning depend on how many people enter the contest.
  • Contest closes on Thursday August the 7th, 2014 at 11:59pm EST.

With thanks to Hannah from Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival for generously making these tickets available to you!

Toronto: An honest liar

Updated at 14:40:



I'm hoping to set up a ticket give away for this documentary.  Details to follow.

From Hot Docs:
AN HONEST LIAR
August 8- 21
James “The Amazing” Randi is an 85-year-old magician and escape artist who has been enchanted with illusions from a young age. Dedicating his life to learning the tricks of the trade, Randi became a sensation who toured the world, always honest about being a “liar, cheat and charlatan.” When people start using the same tricks but calling themselves “psychics”—like spoon-bender Uri Geller or “faith-healing” like televangelist Peter Popoff—Randi is angry and afraid for the people who are duped.  
James "The Amazing" Randi will participate in a Q&A on August 8, at 6:30 p.m., moderated by NOW Magazine's senior film writer Norm Wilner. 
Read more and buy tickets.


Bob Cates in The Record

From The Record:
Bob Cates, champion juggler of fire sticks and sharp knives, stood at The Hot Corner.

Third base on a baseball diamond somewhere outside Ottawa.

All is not fair at the county fair. Not in the fall of 1998.

"Behind me was a hay machine, threshing away," recalled Cates, now a 43-year-old Hespeler resident and 2014 Canadian Comedy Awards nominee for best variety act.                          
Read more.

06 August 2014

Montreal: Patrik Kuffs

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:


05 August 2014

James Jordan on Global News

From Global News:


03 August 2014

HWDYKM answers: part 1

Last month, I posted some statements about me for you to guess as true or false.  Today is the first in a short series of answers to those true or false questions.

According to Google, there were over 150 views of the post.  Six of you dared to guess.

I was reminded by Sammy, that "... some of us know who you are and would skew the results."  (I was also reminded that the results may not have been skewed in my favour!)

Fair enough.


Question one:  True or False?
The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic is shorter than the average of the heights of Richard Forget, Ryan Pilling, James Alan and David Acer.

Four (66%) of you correctly suspect that I'm not that tall.  (Which makes me wonder who the other third of you think I am.)  While it's true that we grow some of our magicians real tall in these parts, I'm not one of them.  (I echo the thoughts by Doug, who commented "Wait, people can be taller than David Acer?!")

How are you scoring so far?