Happy fourth blogiversary to me!

Four years ago today, this blog was born!

Thanks to you wonderful people who have supported this project!  More than 1,770 posts have been published, and well over 67,000 page loads have been served.  Ninety-two of you have given us your thumbs-up on Facebook, more than 680 of you are following along on Twitter (8800 tweets and counting!), and approximately 80 of you have subscribed to this site's feed.  The bulk of you are Canadian, and I'm delighted to see visitors from United States, Ireland,United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, and the list goes on.

There are so many of you doing such a fabulous job of making magic a priority in this great country!

A special thanks to:

• All of my early supporters.  Special shout outs to Ariel, Doug, James, and John for your continued  encouragement.
• All of you readers, Likers, RTers, submitters, guest posters, contest prize providers and all other manners of promoters of this site.
• All of my sponsors, past and present.  That means you: Magic Information Canada, Ryan Pilling, Clive Court, Perfect Magic, and The Browser's Den of Magic!
• My family for their support of this bloggy experiment.

My continued thanks to all of you!

Watch Keith Brown's TEDx lecture

Missed Keith's talk at the TEDx University of Windsor earlier this month?  Not to worry, you can watch it online.

From Keith Brown's Facebook page:

Post by Keith Brown - The Official Fan Page.


Watch the video on the TEDxUniversityofWindsor YouTube channel:

BT Calgary interviews James Randi

Watch the BT Calgary interview of James Randi from November 21.

Broken wand: Kevin George

We were notified by Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring, of the passing of Kevin George.

From Legacy:

GEORGE, Kevin William
1946 ~ 2014

GEORGE, Kevin William

GEORGE, Kevin William
1946 ~ 2014 

It is with great sadness that the family of Kevin George announce his passing on May 4, 2014. Leaving behind is his mother Henrietta, son Ryan and his family, brother Kerry and his family.  

Read more.

From the Edmonton Journal:

EDMONTON - Wanda Karstens met Kevin George when she was a mall rat at Bonnie Doon and he, the head of security and the object of Karstens’ teenage crush.
George was a compassionate man, even at age 23, Karstens said: hard on shoplifters and drug dealers, but fair and friendly to mall rats like herself, arranging for an empty store front to become a teen centre.

George remained in the security world, eventually opening his own security firm and training guards, correctional officers and jail riot squads, but also training dogs to track criminals, and to find missing people as part of Alberta’s first Search and Rescue team.

Read more. 

The following will run in the December issue of the Linking Ring:

KEVIN W. GEORGE

Recently the I.B.M. headquarters learned that Kevin William George, 67, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, died May 4, 2014 from a massive stroke, after several heart attacks and problems with diabetes. He was a former member of the I.B.M. (1994-2013). He was a member of Ring 28 (Edmonton). He developed a love for dogs and helping other people in his youth, which led to his life’s work. He opened his own security firm, training guards, correctional officers, and jail riot squads, as well as training dogs to track criminals and search and rescue dogs to find missing persons in storm-damaged sites. His animal-training skills even led him to train the elephant at the Edmonton Zoo. He used magic throughout his life, both to teach and to lighten tense situations. In addition to magic, other interests and skills included ju-jitsu (including teaching self-defense classes for women), conga drums (in bands), and rodeo clowning. Survivors include his mother, Henrietta; brother, Kerry; son, Ryan and his family; and granddaughter, Carmen.    

Luc Langevin: spokesperson for la fondation sur les leucodystrophies

Congratulations Luc on the fundraising success!

From Luc Langevin's Twitter feed:

Un immense merci du fond du coeur à la Fondation @sthubert pour son don à la Fondation sur les Leucodystrophies ! pic.twitter.com/Vj4iMjda9R
— Luc Langevin (@LucLangevin) November 12, 2014

Watch the video Luc made with St. Hubert to raise awareness:

Fundraising for Breath is Alive

I know I'm not the only one in this community who has had the pleasure of instruction from David Smukler ....

From Equity Showcase Theatre:

This documentary project chronicles the important work of Canadian theatre artist and master voice practitioner David Smukler. It is intended as a moving archive of the voice and David’s remarkable ability to see into the soul of the artist. The film follows him into the studio where humanity is revealed through the process of voice work, a process to which the audience is rarely privy. Studio scenes are woven together with intimate interviews with David, artists and colleagues from across the country and framed within a natural environment. External shots of trees, water and sky contrast the subjective internal world or the artist with a more objective, natural environment. The natural world fuels David’s practice and reflects the organic process of the work emphasizing David’s connection to earth, breath, heartbeat and light. Too often we allow the contribution of our senior artists in Canada to go undocumented. The directors Laurel Paetz and LJ Nelles, both trained as voice teachers with David and offer this film as a legacy to his enormous and lasting contribution to the artistic community in Canada.

Read more and donate.

Peter Marucci wins second Howard Bamman trophy

Congratulations Peter!  

From the Wellington Advertiser:

FERGUS - Retired Fergus “magicomedian” Peter Marucci has been awarded the Howard Bamman trophy for the second time by the International Brotherhood of Magicians, in recognition of his 28-year contribution to the organization’s magazine The Linking Ring.

The Fergus resident is the only Canadian ever to receive the award and the only magician to receive it twice.

In his Showtime column, Marucci would outline a new illusion every month and give detailed instructions on incorporating “patter” into performances - his trademark.

Read more.