STREET OF CARDS 2.0

Last night there was a  beta launch of StreetOfCards 2.0 at www.streetofcards.com This announcement was more then 4 years in the making. The response has been enormous already and they have received overwhelming feedback from many of today's predominant magicians! This project puts the power of StreetOfCards in the hands of ANY MAGICIAN! Have a look, share the buzz with your friends and we will ... See you on the street!

StreetOfCards began as an Independent Magicians Television Network more then 4 years ago, and to date has archived over 600 hours of exclusive magic related content.  With an impressive 10 million unique viewer minutes consumed. The StreetOfCards community is comprised of magic enthusiasts, has adopted the slogan "See you on the Street..." a creed the team says will live up to it's message for the first time tonight!

Of their announcement, CEO & FOUNDER Aj Olson says it  "May just be the most influential movement in magic to date."  Olson say's  "For years we have been trying to find a way to offset and monetize this huge community labor of love.  And tonight we plan to unveil our strategy, a strategy years in the making that will benefit all magicians world wide and offer multiple revenue streams to share in StreetOfCards success"

Olson went on to say "There is a place for everyone on the Street" and is claiming that StreetOfCards 2.0 will secure it's position as the authority in the field of magic broadcasting. Olson ended the conversation by saying "We were the first, and we will be the last"

BANACHEK ON ABC :: CHALLENGING THE PSYCHICS

Can psychics talk to the dead? One of the Magic Newswire's good friends, Banachek, was recently featured on Nightline Primetime exploring this very topic. Banachek was prominently featured in the episode which was seen by more than 4.4 million people. James Randi is obviously featured and we also caught a glimpse or two of Jamy Ian Swiss.

DAVID COPPERFIELD :: "ABRACA-DIAPER"

The Daily Mail is now reporting on the birth of David' Copperfield's daughter "Sky."  According to the article:

But magician David Copperfield proved he's still got his conjuror's spark when he made it public that he secretly became a father 16 months ago.

His daughter Sky was first spotted travelling with David, 54, and his girlfriend Chloe Gosselin, 26, around New York, the Bahamas and Las Vegas last month.

HAPPY 100TH HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN CALVERT!

In July of 2009, I interviewed one of the legends in our art, the amazing John Calvert. At that time, we discussed his upcoming 100th Birthday, and now the date has arrived. I hope you enjoy revisiting this chat with John and this video from our friends at Fantasma Magic from the recent Magic on Manhattan. Happy Birthday John! You are an inspiration to us all!

Listener Donations

LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CALVERT:

HTML 5 PLAYER ::

OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN:

RSS :: GET IT AT ITUNES :: ZUNE :: MP3 DOWNLOAD

WYRICK PREPARES TO REOPEN IN LAS VEGAS

It is no secret that in spite of the very public, and unexpected closing of his theater in the Mall at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Steve Wyrick is preparing to reopen a show in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Hilton.  In an earlier conversation with Mike Weatherford, Steve says that his Hilton gift shop will be supported by branding ventures with Ford and American Chopper, and the larger show will be promoted by national television exposure. "Shortly, there will be a couple of very interesting things announced."

Along those lines, I was happy to recieve a call from the Wyrick team and an email with thius picture of the newly posted building wrap at the Hilton.

According to the team, they have been working 16 hour days in rehearsal and they are very close to a ig announcement with regard to their opening show, which will coincide with Magic Live 2011!

Stay tuned for exclusive details here soon!

JONATHAN PENDRAGON AND THE SEARCH FOR THE GRAIL :: PART 5

Sweden

My childhood hero was Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer with a gold nose to replace the one he lost in a sword duel, who possibly had an affair with the Danish queen (which may have inspired Shakespeareʼs Hamlet), and who was the greatest observational astronomer that ever lived. More than four centuries ago he gathered astronomers from all over Europe to share his passion for the the stars, and to learn and develop philosophy and technique we still study today. When Tom Stone and Peter Rosengren asked me to come to Sweden to be part of a workshop in Svalöv, I looked it up on a map and discovered it was a mere 30 miles or so from Tycho Braheʼs observatory.

West accompanied me, which was fortuitous for all involved, as she became a valued member of the faculty, whose main jobs were a keen eye for performance and a strong hand on my leash. If it wasnʼt for West, I think that Peter would have had me sedated. I knew Tom Stone only by reputation; what I found was a brilliant mind, a caring heart, and a friend for life. Peterʼs strong hand, which kept the workshop on course, at times clashed with my turbulent gusts of enthusiasm. The four of us (Peter, Tom, West, and I) were like the four Anemoi of Greek mythology, pushing the students in every direction in hopes of expanding their perception of magic. If West was a zephyr (a light spring breeze from the west... how cool is that?), then I was a tornado. Tom always stepped in at the right time and said the right thing... it was irritating! What I learned from Peter was the importance of extemporaneous experiments that give the teacher insight into the studentsʼ needs and abilities.

I made use of this technique in my group seminar on “mastering the prop.” One exercise I devised placed a chair in the center of the room and each student had to anthropomorphize it in a way that that created conflict, and from which he emerged victorious. I was delighted with the results—the students were very inventive—but my biggest surprise came when I took a turn, sneaking up on the chair and wrestling it in a life-and-death struggle for supremacy. This mirrored the conflict I have dealt with during my entire professional life: a love/hate relationship with props.

I come from a family of academics: both my mother and father at some point in their life taught college. When I was a Senior at the University of California at Irvine, I created and taught a class in stage movement and combat—one of the first of its kind in the United States. It felt good to do more than lecture. It felt good to teach—to realize that this, too, would become a big part of my evolution as both a person and a performer. As I turn 58, surviving all that I have, there is a sense of legacy—that if I aspire to be a true Master Magician, it is not enough to rest on my laurels as a performer and to hoard my secrets. It is essential to give back... to teach what I know to those who come after me.

Tycho knew this. However fond you are of your earthly honors, never forget that the brightest feature on the moon, as seen from Earth, is a spectacular crater named for him. History remembers the teachers.

Until next month... Jonathan Pendragon

TV :: PENN & TELLER TELL A LIE

From a Discovery Channel press release:

Show-stopping iconoclasts Penn & Teller bring their unique vision of the world to Discovery Channel with the new series PENN & TELLER TELL A LIE, slated to launch this October. Each episode will feature up to seven outrageous, hilarious and mind-blowing stories, told through a series of visual stunts, like: Is it true that a head of hair can lift a 5,000 pound car? Or, can you blow out a forest fire with a jet engine? However, in each episode, one of these stories will be a fabrication – an out and out lie! It will be up to Discovery’s intrepid home audience to discover the untruths aimed at them through an exclusive, real-time interactive companion experience, synched to the show and available at Discovery.com, on the Discovery Channel App for iPad, and on iPhone.

THE BESPOKE MAGICIAN

One of the great friends of the Magic Newswire, Chamber Magic's own Steve Cohen was recently featured in GQ Magazine in an article with the above referenced title. 

"Vera Wang referred to Steve Cohen as the best-dressed magician she'd ever seen. Cohen was hoping for just best dressed. When the dandy magician isn't shocking the who's who of New York City from his private suite at the historic Waldorf Astoria, he's conjuring up bespoke suits from London and ties from Tokyo's finest men's shops. In between ducking in and out his closet to show off more "gems," we asked Cohen a few questions about his personal style influences and the importance of always dressing the part."

READ MORE

MNW #319 :: GUY HOLLINGWORTH

In 2008, Neil Patrick Harris & Guy Hollingworth began a colaboration. Following a sold out run at the Edinburgh Festival and a series of international shows culminating in a sell-out success at the infamous Magic Castle in LA and an amazingly well received presentation at Stan Allen's "Magic LIVE," Guy Hollingworth begins a new presentation of his acclaimed one man show, The Expert at the Card Table " in Los Angeles today. In his one man show, Guy presents amazing exhibitions of card chicanerywhile telling a fascinating tale of trickery, deceit and death. Based on the book of the same name, The Expert at the Card Table tells the story of two boys whose innocent love of card tricks develops in adulthood into a dangerous game of hustles, street cons and murder. Published anonymously in Chicago in 1902, the book describes in great detail, original and brilliant methods for conjuring effects, whilst at the same time revealing the author's true intent, a full exposé of the underground techniques used by hustlers, card cheats and con artists.

LISTEN TO MY CONVERSATION WITH GUY HOLLINGWORTH:

OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN: ITUNES :: MP3 DOWNLOAD
HTML 5 PLAYER ::

ANOTHER GREAT YEAR FOR THE ESSENTIAL MAGIC CONFERENCE

The second annual Essential Magic Conference has just wrapped and I am once again thrilled that the Magic Newswire was one of the media partners for this amazing digital gathering produced by Luis de Matos Marco Tempest & David BritlaNd.  In addition to the Magic Newswire's very own David Kaye & Rudy Coby, this year's EMC presenters included such illustrious names as David Berglas, David Copperfield, Akira Fujii , Ava Do , Apollo Robbins , Bruno Copin , Chris Power , Christian Engblom , Dave & Dan Buck,  Dani DaOrtiz,  Eric Mead ,  Gaetan Bloom, JJ , Jonathan Bayme , Jordan Gomez , Lennart Green , Lu Chen , Marvin Berglas , Max Maven , Mike Caveney , Paul Daniels , Peter Lamont , Peter Wardell , René Lavand, Richard Wiseman , Stan Allen , Topas , William Kalush. For what it is worth, it isn't too late to sign up as you'll get immediate access to streaming versions of all of the 2011 sessions and a complete DVD set mailed to your door step! Don't miss this amazing gathering and get ready to sign up for next year as soon as it is announced! Well done Luis, Marco & David! You have outdone yourselves once again!