Wizard Wars episode 4 (with Billy Kidd) recap

You can watch Episode Four, "Blown Away" at Space.

From Liberty Voice:

After the calculator in the balloon trick, Kidd mentioned that being Canadian meant that she loved maple syrup, a container of which had been sitting on the stage in front of a trashcan since the act’s beginning. Giving the bottle of sealed syrup to wizard Gregory Wilson, who confirmed that it was sealed, she and Leon began their finish.

Taking four leaves, Leon asked Penn & Teller to sign one of them and he then put all four in the leaf blower to be ejected so that Billy could skewer the autographed leaf with a single chopstick. This did not work and the payoff was that the object was in the sealed bottle of syrup. Cue real excitement from not just the audience but the judges and wizards as well.

Read more.

SPOILER ALERT ! ~~ SPOILER ALERT !

Post by Billy Kidd Magician.

Wizard Wars episode 1 (with Chris Funk and Ekatarina) recap

You can watch Episode One, "Spam-Tastic!" at Space.

From Liberty Voice:

In the first episode, the two teams consisted of Kyle Marlett and Dalton Wayne who were team one and team two was made up of Canadian duo Chris Funk and Ekatarina (formerly from Russia). Each team had to make use of the same three items as a major portion of their magic act.

Both team one and team two had a large element of humor in their presentation and Funk made the most of being the “ditzy” member of his act. The Canadians actually impressed the judges with a new trick that none of the four had seen before.

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Félicitations Luc Langevin!

From the Fonds médias Canada Twitter feed:

Le prix #galagémeaux Meilleure direction photo ou éclairage est remis à @LucLangevin : Aux limites de l’illusion 3
— Fonds médias Canada (@CMF_FMC_FR) September 11, 2014

To view the list of all the winners, visit the page Gagnants aux prix Gémeaux 2014.

Clive Court to introduce Les Beaux Frères

From Clive Court's Facebook page:

Post by Clive Court.

Tony Chris in The Tri-Cities Now

From The Tri-Cities Now:

Tony Chris produced the ultimate in magic competitions last month: he pulled a silver medal out of his hat. And then a gold.

For Chris, a professional magician who lives in Coquitlam, it wasn't an easy feat. The other acts at the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians were good, he says.

So good that he assumed he hadn't even placed.

Besides that, impressing the judges at the annual gathering requires a whole other kind of showmanship than entertaining the public, he adds. The judges, who are all professional magicians and past officers of the association, pretty much all knew how the illusions are accomplished. They're judging how well the illusion is performed, based on several criteria including ranging from the artist's wardrobe to their "magicality" and entertainment value.

Read more.

[via Perfect Magic]

Murray SawChuck in the Las Vegas Sun

From the Las Vegas Sun:

Tropicana magician Murray Sawchuck, a regular on “Pawn Stars,” joins forces with fellow illusionist Jan Rouven from the Riviera to shoot a new TV series in Las Vegas this week.

“Sons of Houdini” will air on the Reelz cable network starting Sept. 26 featuring young magicians following in the footsteps of the famed and respected magician Houdini.

Read more.

[via iTricks]

Watch David Merry on CTV Ottawa

From the CTVOttMornLive Twitter feed:

ICYMI, @davidmerry dropped by CTV Morning Live as part of Canadian Comedy Awards Festival. http://t.co/Y6O5pJv46M
— CTVOttMornLive (@CTVOttMornLive) September 12, 2014

Toronto: MAYhew MAYhem lecture

From the Browser's Den of Magic:

Sunday October 5th

Just back from a whirlwind west coast lecture tour, and a super successful week at the the world famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles, California, Chris Mayhew has an abundance of new material to share with you.

Magic is not only a profession for Chris Mayhew, it's a way of life. Throughout the past decade Chris Mayhew has developed a beautifully unique way to create, perform and entertain with magic which has garnered him a reputation, world-wide. He will disarm you, charm you, and make you laugh out loud with his uniquely entertaining brand of magic.

Read more and buy tickets.

David Merry to be on CTV Ottawa Morning Live

From the Canadian Comedy Awards Twitter feed:

Tomorrow morning #CCA15 nominee @davidmerry LIVE on @CTVOttMornLive show! David performs TONIGHT 8.30 @YukYuksOttawa pic.twitter.com/A2jATeyg45
— CanadianComedyAwards (@canadiancomedy) September 11, 2014

Billy Kidd in Mississauga Life

From Mississauga Life:

In the summer of 2004 Billy Kidd saw a magician entertain a crowd on the streets in Canada. Two years later Billy left her job, friends and country to become one of the few female magicians working in the world today.

Read more.

Watch a YouTube clip of Billy performing in Poland this past summer:

James Randi in the Miami Herald

From the Miami Herald:

For a guy who has spent most of the past 40 years busting treacherous telepaths, spurious spoon-benders and fake faith-healers, James Randi can do some pretty impressive psychic tricks himself. When I visited his home in Plantation last week, he read my mind.

“Pick any two books off the shelves,” he said, waving at his library of 4,000 volumes on UFOs, witchcraft, the Kennedy assassination and pretty much any subject that lends itself to exploitation by grifters and wackos.

Read more and watch videos.

[via iTricks]

Clive Court asks "who is the Best Magician on Canadian TV?"

From Clive Court's Facebook page:

Post by Clive Court.

Toronto: Bill Abbott's Every Trick in the Book

From Ben Train's Facebook page:

Post by Benzi Train.

From Bill Abbott's Twitter feed:

Debuting my new show at Dave & Busters in Toronto next Friday Sept.12 https://t.co/nkXMGjvbgl
— Bill Abbott (@billabbottmagic) September 5, 2014

HWDYKM answers: part 4

The fourth and final post in a short series of answers to those true or false questions asked in the post "How well do you know me?"


Question twelve:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic has created and marketed at least one original magic effect.

Two of you (33%) correctly guessed that I mustered the courage to put something on the market.  It's called The Fools' Monte.  I'm grateful to Harry Anderson for his permission to follow through with the idea.  I'm also grateful to Jeff McBride for his encouragement.  Special thanks to the folks who lent their support for the final product:  Dan Morrissey, Richard Olsen, Tony Eng, Jeff Pinsky, and Murray Hatfield.


Question thirteen:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic has been involved in the magic community for more than 10 years.

Two of you think that I've been plugged in for more than 10 years.  While that is technically accurate, there's another more accurate answer.


Question fourteen:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic has been involved in the magic community for more than 20 years.

One of you correctly guessed that this is the most accurate answer.  I've been a member of the IBM for over 20 consecutive years.


Question fifteen:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic has been involved in the magic community for more than 30 years.

All of you got this one right.  I hope it to be true someday!


Question sixteen:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic has two X chromosomes (making them either female or a male with Klinefelter's syndrome)

Five of you (83%) correctly guessed that I've got two X chromosomes.
.
Hi!  I'm Nicole.  I'm the person behind the curtain.

How did you score?

Was anyone out there surprised with the results?

Paul Pacific and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

A reminder that donations to ALS research can be made at ALS.ca

Watch the video at Paul Pacific's Facebook page.

Review: Murray Celebrity Magician

Read Wayne Kawamoto's review at About:

From his TV appearances on "Pawn Stars," and “America’s Got Talent,” and from his trademark mop of blonde hair to those designer glasses, you may think that you know Murray the magician (aka the Celebrity Magician). But it's not until you attend his Las Vegas magic show that you can truly experience the magic of this talented entertainer. His show, which runs at the Tropicana, is an hour of baffling magic and illusions, comedy and fun.

Read more.

Toronto: Free magic club

From the Browser's Den Facebook group:

Magic Club-Saturday, September 6 from 2:30pm until 5:00pm...all welcome! 

Read more.

Review: James Jordan's Vaudevillian

From The Marble:

James Jordan has Vaudeville in his veins, and what he puts together is a magical, humorous, and enjoyable spectacle for the whole family.

Jordan stars in Vaudevillian, a show featuring original magic tricks, some inspired by the notes of his real life great-grandfather who himself was a magician in the days of Vaudeville. Jordan begins the show with some simple tricks with his hat, then slowly ramps things up with new twists on classic tricks, and even the world’s most dangerous card trick to top it all off.

Read more.

Keith Brown on Shaw TV Edmonton

Watch Keith Brown on Shaw TV Edmonton's YouTube channel:

David Merry and Ray Anderson at the First Annual Peace Country Comedy Festival

From Peace Country Comedy Festival:

September 18th-20th, 2014

• David Merry
• Ray Anderson 

Read more.