Toronto: Grumpy old magicians

Catch Matt DiSero and Glenn Ottaway in James Alan's "Magic Tonight: The grumpy old men of magic" on September 15th.


From the Facebook page of James Alan:

Winnipeg magicians on "The Amazing Race Canada"

Tune in to "The Amazing Race Canada" on Tuesday Aug 14 to see Carey Lauder, Dan Wiebe, and Greg Wood!


From the August 8th article, "Winnipeg streets become the latest venue for The Amazing Race Canada" by Randal King, in The Winnipeg Free Press:

Since the production keeps a tight lid on the specifics of the competition to prevent spoilers, the show descended on the city with the impressive organization of a top-secret military operation. Only in a couple of instances — competitions at the Legion and The Forks — were members of the general public allowed to witness the proceedings. 

The Winnipeg leg was something of a homecoming for unflappable host Jon Montgomery, a former gold medal Olympian skeleton racer born and raised in western Manitoba town of Russell. 

Read more.

From the Facebook page of Carey Lauder:

The Amazing Randi in the media

James Randi celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this week.  Here are a couple of pieces from the internet.


From the August 6th post, "Magician the Amazing Randi has dedicated his life to promoting critical thinking" by Troy Lennon in The Daily Telegraph:

The interview on August 13, 1980, ended with Lane throwing to a commercial, telling Randi to “piss off” before storming out, flicking away Randi’s bent cutlery as he left. Randi was flustered but largely maintained composure. Lane later apologised for swearing but insisted the American had failed to prove anything. But the controversy made the sceptic more famous in Australia.

Read more.

From the Twitter feed of Interval Magic:

In honor of magician and skeptic James Randi’s 90th birthday, I posted a radio interview he did that hasn’t been heard since 1982. Enjoy! https://t.co/QsMQY1KRMH pic.twitter.com/t3lMrxOUw8

— Interval Magic (@intervalmagic) August 8, 2018

Michael Close's "The Road to Riffsville"

Go to MichaelClose.com to purchase your copy of  "The Road to Riffsville."


From the Facebook page of Michael Close:

Steve Bedwell has this to say about The Road to Riffsville: "Can't put The Road to Riffsville down and focus on anything else. (Especially frustrating because I'm at MAGIC Live!) Fascinating analysis of some of the issues I've personally experienced with the estimation aspects of memdeck work, with robust solutions. An outstanding contribution!"

Guelph: Dueling Magicians

From the River Run Centre:

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Mesmerizing magicians Mike D’Urzo and Ray Chance have entertained audiences around the world with memorable mental demonstrations and incredible illusions. The pair is bringing their unique performance styles together, joining forces in a dueling magic show that’s sure to inspire awe.

“Be amazed as renowned magicians Mike D’Urzo and Ray Chance square off in a magic show designed to challenge each other and mystify audiences.” – Inside Halton


Read more and buy tickets.

From the River Run Centre Twitter feed:

Mesmerizing magicians @MikeDurzo and @RayChance bring their unique performance styles together in #DuelingMagicians. https://t.co/LSbSIDTiq1 pic.twitter.com/jmUJgo2cdI

— River Run Centre (@riverruncentre) July 23, 2018

Bangkok: The Magnificent Seven

From the July 23rd article "Now you see it …." at The Nation:

September 19 and 20

The Magnificent Seven are Peter Gossamer and Rocco Silano from the US, Raul Alegria from Spain, Double Fantasy – Vitaliy and Helena Gorbachevsk – who hail from Ukraine, Pole Vlad Kryvonogov, Germany’s Sos and Victoria, and Ariann Black from Canada.

The show is produced and directed by Tony Hassini, the founder of the International Magicians Society who is often referred to as a walking encyclopaedia of magic.

Helping create the magic are lighting director Nick Morss, choreographer Maryna Popova and stage manager Mahdi Moammer, himself a professional magician.

Canadian Ariann Black is one of the best female magicians in the world and has staged six successful Las Vegas shows in six different casinos. She’s tailoring a new act just for Bangkok.

Read more.

Toronto: Jeff Hinchliffe Memorized Deck workshop and private lessons

From Jeff Hinchliffe:

Firstly, I'm going to be giving a 4 hour Memorized Deck workshop on Saturday, September 8th, 2018, from 6pm-10pm. The cost of the workshop will be $50, and it will be limited to 20 people.

The workshop will cover a wide range of memorized deck work. We'll begin with the differences between stacked,cyclic, and memorized orders, and the advantages of the common/popular published mem-deck stacks (Aronson, Tamariz, Aragon, Redford).

From there, we will delve into tricks which are stack-independent (meaning that they work with any stack) to the open-index system, jazzing, and estimation. We will discuss the various sleights, techniques and subterfuges that one should have in their toolbox with the mem-deck in order to achieve maximum impact.

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Secondly, I'm happy to announce that I am again offering private lessons at the shop. I gave these lessons years ago at our Bathurst and Eglinton location and over the last several months enough people have inquired about lessons that I've decided to bring them back.

The lessons will take place at the shop, after business hours, Tuesday thru Friday evenings. The lessons will run 90 minutes in length, from 7pm to approximately 8:30pm, and will cost $120.

What we cover in the lesson is dependent on what you'd like to achieve. Whether it's adding a few new tricks to your repertoire, adding a few new sleights to your toolbox, or tightening and polishing existing material, I can help you.

Read more.