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Wonder Thunder

Episode #1 : Why saw a woman in half? What is the connection between a deck of cards & the calendar. Remote card location.

Episode #2: Espionage, jealousy & murder among magicians. Adam calls his arch nemesis Richard Vegas.

Episode #3:The first aircraft pilot down under was a magician and a live random number challenge via phone.

Episode #4: Bar stunts, Alice Cooper as a magician and magic used in pop concerts.

Entries by Dodd Vickers (1785)

Saturday
Jan212012

THE WHIP :: BY HOMER LIWAG

My email box blew up this week with links to various sources sharing the story of "The Whip," an  engagement ring designed by Homer Liwag for his Indiana Jones loving fiance Aimee Reich. Homer tells how this amazing piece of art came to be below.

Congratulations to Homer and Aimee from the Magic Newswire!

Being a designer and artist, I felt I had to do something special. Since Aimee is a very enthusiastic Indiana Jones fan, the thought of a coiled whip as the ring seemed perfect. I did a few quick drawings and found a custom jeweler in Las Vegas. The “bag of sand” bought me some time to have the ring custom made. And with her favorite color yellow, I selected a fancy yellow diamond which also represents “The Idol”.

View More images of the ring a Homer's Facebook Page, BuzzFeed, on Imgur and in this blog post on The Mary Sue.

Saturday
Jan212012

PAUL DANIELS INJURED IN SAWING MISHAP

Famed UK Magician Paul Daniels was injured at his home in Berkshire while using a saw to create props for his act. Speaking with the Daily Mirror, who also obtained this photo of Paul just after his trip to the hospital, Paul said:

He said: “It’s my ring finger that’s gone. It’s still really tender and my arm’s in a sling. I can’t do very much or test it out yet and I am already having to make adjustments.”

Paul says he will still go ahead with his latest 26-date tour of the UK – due to begin in Southsea, Portsmouth, on February 22.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY HERE

Tuesday
Jan172012

MAC KING CELEBRATES FIG NEWTON DAY

Special thanks to Steve Bryant for making me aware of this holiday video from our friend Mac King. What holiday is that? Why, National Fig Newton Day of course!

 

Saturday
Jan142012

BURT WONDERSTONE SET PHOTOS

Friday
Jan132012

JAMES RANDI INTERVIEWED AT THE MAGIC CASTLE

Thanks to several of our friends from the Magic Castle who passed along this link to a very interesting conversation that James Randi had with Max Maven at the Castle:

 

Friday
Jan132012

DAVID BLAINE SPEAKING TOUR

As was first reported here on the Magic Newswire, David Blaine has begun a series of speaking engagements with the first being in Dallas and here's what happened: 

At precisely 8 p.m., the opera house curtain rose to reveal, center stage, a large tank, seemingly filled with water, in which Blaine, wearing a thick, dark suit, sat submerged. In front of him a small table held a plate of fruit, bottle of wine and other props. Breathing through a mask at first, Blaine finally tapped his watch, indicating that he'd take off the mask and commence holding his breath for 12 minutes.

A loud soundtrack of a rapid heartbeat boomed out of the speakers and the digital clock inside the water tank started adding up the seconds. One minute, two without breathing. Then five. Blaine, always positioned in three-quarter view, lifted the lid on a silver bowl inside the tank, releasing goldfish that swam around him. He peeled and nibbled a banana. Occasionally, a few bubbles escaped his lips.

At the nine-minute mark, he floated slowly toward the top of the tank, headfirst but still underwater. On the large screen projecting his image via live video above the stage, he looked shaky. Two assistants scrambled up from the wings and positioned themselves over the top of the tank. Would Blaine make it to 12 minutes without breathing, risking brain-damaging hypoxia?

Read the complete article here.


And, in case you missed it the first time around, here's David "Dressed for Dinner":
Friday
Jan062012

CHAIRMAN OF THE AMA BOARD OF TRUSTEES PASSES

I just received this sad news via email and the Magic Castle forums:

As many of you have already heard, we received word today of the passing of Mark Nelson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Here are the details about which many have asked. 

 Jean Boyle, long-time close friend of Mark's, became concerned when he didn't return her phone calls. At almost the same time, Dave Clement called Jean to say that Mark had not called in to do the Castle phone recordings for a couple of days. 

Jean was even more concerned and drove out to Mark's home. A few days worth of newspapers greeted her so she knew something was terrible wrong. Jean called Mark's parents and his sister, Vicki, who then called 9-1-1 from San Francisco. Save & Close

The police came and, somehow, looked though a window. Their visual confirmed that Mark had already passed. They, then, broke in the door and determined that Mark had been dead for "a couple of days." They did not permit Jean to see Mark. 

Jean called Vicki who had already made arrangements to get down to LA as soon as possible. 

The mortuary was called. 

I wanted to go to Mark's to wait with Jean but she asked me to go to the Castle in case anyone had questions.

I went but I didn't stay long as I was too upset. When I spoke to Jean again around 8:15 PM, a couple of her friends were with her, including one who was able to fix the door so that they could lock it after the mortuary took Mark away. 

So, those are the facts. Mark was also a long-time friend of mine (as he was everyone's friend) and he stayed in my guest room for quite a while several years ago. 

Mark Nelson had the greatest smile in the world. The voice of the Magic Castle has, sadly, been silenced.

My personal condolences to his family and friends.

Friday
Jan062012

NATHAN BURTON ON CHINA'S GOT TALENT?

Yes, the Las Vegas Sun is reporting that the Flamingo headliner is teaking five days off from performing in Las Vegas this month in order to fly to Shanghai for an appearance on the live finale of "China's Got Talent." 

 

Nathan was chosen because of his six guest appearances on“America’s Got Talent”, part of the 39-country “Got Talent” franchise based in Britain. He wowed the judges with “Microwave of Death” and “Steamroller,” where then-judge Piers Morganexclaimed: “That’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!” Still secret is if his four showgirl assistants will make the flight, too.

 

Sunday
Jan012012

MAGIC YEAR IN REVIEW 2011 BY DUSIN STINETT

Isn't life strange
A turn of the page
A book without light
Unless with love we write;
To throw it away
To lose just a day
The quicksand of time
You know it makes me want to cry


(—Moody Blues, 1972)



More simply put, I cannot believe it has already been a year since we last did this: The “quicksand of time” indeed. Let us see just a bit of what sank into it over the last twelve months here on the Genii Forum:

Ya Know a Fence for This Stuff?
Chuck and Jan Jones have their truck and trailer containing all of their magic props and costumes stolen while stopped at a Carson, California store. They had just returned from a tour in New Zealand. The Joneses retrieved their equipment from customs and were on their way home when they stopped at the store. The trailer was gone when they came out.

The trailer is found in Long Beach near a storage facility. Some equipment was recovered, but their signature piece, “The Mismade Lady” (created by Mr. Jones), was gone.

Many area illusionists come to their aid and loan them equipment so they can meet contractual obligations.

Letting Joe be Joe
During the swearing in of Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Vice President Joseph Biden performs a French Drop for the three-year-old son of the senator:


A Million Here, A Million There and Pretty Soon We’re Talkin’ About a Lot of Downloads…
Dodd Vickers’ Magic Newswire podcast reaches the one million downloads mark. Among those is this remarkable list of people just in 2011: Teller, Guy Hollingworth, John Gaughan, Mac King, Jonathan Pendragon, Andrew Mayne, Richard Wiseman, Gary Vaynerchuck, David Ben, Julie Eng, Richard Hatch, Rob Zabrecky, Jason England, Milt Larsen, Erika Larsen, Irene Larsen, Dan Sperry, Ken Klosterman, Morgan Strebler, Jonathan Bayme, David Kaye, Rudy Coby, Christopher Martin, Luis de Matos, Marco Tempest, Brian Daniel, Banachek, Brian Brushwood, CJ Johnson, Danny Garcia, Tim Ellis, Craig Mitchell, Michael Ammar, Joshua Jay, Andi Gladwin, Alejandro Portella, Jay Sankey, David Sandy, Lance Rich, Aaron Jones, James L. Clark, Wayne Houchin, Jeff McBride, Jim Steinmeyer, Gabe Fajuri, John Archer, R. Paul Wilson, Johnny Thompson, Todd Robbins, Stan Allen, and our very own Chief Genii, Richard Kaufman.

And let us not forget all the interesting news he links us to that might otherwise be missed here on the Genii Forum. Thanks Dodd, and congratulations!

We’ll Have You know That You’re Not Dealing with Just ANY Fools!
John Archer and Ben Earl "fool" Penn & Teller on their UK series, “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.” They each win an appearance in the duo’s Las Vegas show.

The Entertainment Capital of the USA: Logan, Utah
Richard and Rosemary Hatch open the Academy of Magic and Music in the 1878 Thatcher-Young mansion in Logan, Utah.

Click to read more ...

Sunday
Jan012012

JOHNNY CARSON PERFORMS FOR JACK BENNY

Every year, our friend Dustin Stinett publishes a year in review post on the Genii forums. Tossed in the middle of his most recent one was the following reference:

In an appearance on the old “Jack Benny Show” which was clearly a promotion of the fact that he was the new host of the “Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson is seen performing some card manipulations, playing drums, as well as some singing and a little soft shoe.

Having never seen this video and went hunting to see if it was online. Indeed it was! Enjoy!