MAGIC AT THE BEACH 2011 BEGINS

As maguicians from around the world begin arriving in Myrtle Beach, South Caroline for the annual convention, the local media takes note and reports on it with stories like this one from SCNow.com in which convention organizers David Tanner and Mike Heidtman are interviewed :

"It's all fun, we don't consider it a job, we consider it a get together where we can all get together and have fun, do magic, and put a little back into the community," said Tanner.

"It's a win-win for the community because we're able to produce this great show to benefit the children's museum and the public gets to enjoy that show just as much as the registrants," said Heidtman.

PENDRAGON STORGE LOCKER SALE COMPLETED

In a followup story from KSBY, the auction of the equipment left in storage has been completed in a public auction attended by more than 150 people.  

The first Pendragon unit went to Ezat Darabi for $3,700; he came from southern California and was prepared to spend $5,000.

"I took a big chance of bidding on this," Darabi said. "Maybe I'll find some nice interesting stuff."

"They could be empty, too," Darabi said. "The cases could be empty, nothing inside."

The second Pendragon unit went to Donna Simpson, an Arroyo Grande woman, for $350.

PAUL DANIELS MAKES HIS WIG VANISH VIA EBAY

It's certainly one of the most unusual magic related auctions that I have come across on eBay. Paul Daniel's "wig." I'll leave it to the man himself to help you understand how an old hairpiece has received 29 bids and is almost at $1900 USD.

Don't email me about this ... I KNOW it's silly! When I was clearing out my props store a few weeks ago I came across a box of the wigs I used to wear when I thought it was necessary. For a laugh I put one on, took the above photograph and made 'em laugh on Twitter. It surprised me when peeps started making offers. End result... Here's your chance to own one of the hairpieces that decorated the head of one of the Greatest Sex Symbols of all time... oh yes, AND I nearly forgot, Body Builder! p.s. It can keep your head warm in the winter!

Thanks to Andrew Murphy for posting this to Genii.

MNW #202 :: R PAUL WILSON

Previous Magic Newswire guest R. Paul Wilson rejoins us to talk about his role as consulting producer for the BBC1 show "The Magicians." Paul and I talk about the success of the show, the impact that it will have on future of magic broadcasts and the response of the magic community. Wilson has worked on projects with Sylvester Stallone, Stuart Townsend, Jamie Foxx, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Bo Hopkins, Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keys, Andy García, Jason Bateman, and Jeremy Piven. He also produced A&E's television show Mondo Magic, advised Criss Angel on his television show, appeared on Modern Marvels casino technology episodes, co-created, produced and starred in Court TV's The Takedown, and is the resident cheating expert on Italian television's Arcana show.

MAGIC NEWSWIRE SPONSORS ::
Trick Shop Magic • Mak Magic • L&L Publishing • Outlaw Effects • Houdini Magic
Maxello Magic • Blue Microphone • Websites4Magicians• IMX 2011• Maxello

LISTEN MY CHAT WITH R PAUL WILSON :

OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN:

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

HTML 5 PLAYER :: NOTE :: I realize that this show hasn't yet been available outside of the UK. So, for our non-UK readers. after the jump you'll find all of the clips that I have discovered which I hope will allow you to watch the first episode. Enjoy!

Click to read more ...

THE CAPE :: TV MAGIC OR JUST A CHEAP SIDESHOW?

BY CAMERON RAMSAY

NBCs new show "The Cape" (Mondays at 9pm) is a one hour comic book drama series that has been getting mixed reviews since it first premiered. Like many superhero shows there  is a ex-cop who has ended up on the wrong side of the law and who unexpectedly gains crime fighting super powers.

Where do all his abilities and good fortune come from? A mentor named Max Malini. There are many magic, mentalism and escape references scattered through the shows first three episodes. For example, the villain in episode three, "Kozmo," is a magician also who uses playing cards to kill. No one is not going to win a Emmy for this show, but it is a fun hour of television for comic book lovers, magicians, and anyone that likes sideshow history.

MNW #201 :: TELLER, TODD & TOMSONI

"Some demented magician would take over a movie theater at midnight on Saturday. He'd choose creepy tricks and return-of-the-dead patter and the show would climax with him producing a monster, like a mummy, who would stagger into the audience as the lights went out. All the teenagers would clutch their dates and scream and giggle," he adds, "and take advantage of the darkness to have a great time."

This is the Teller's description of the Midnight Spook Shows that served to inspire he, Todd Robbins and Johnny Thompson as they collaborated to deliver the off-Broadway production, "Play Dead."

Somehow, magic and mystery are combined to bring joy to the audience by scaring them to death and we talk about how that's possible!

LISTEN TO TELLER, TODD & TOMSONI PLAY DEAD :

OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN:

RSS :: GET IT AT ITUNES :: MP3 DOWNLOAD

MAGICIAN CONVICTED OF USING A DRESSING ROOM SPY CAM

In April of 2010, I received information from one of my magician friends on Facebook asking that I publicize an accusation against Magician Rob Rasner for placing a hidden camera in one of the dressing rooms at the Magic Castle that had been used by his girlfriend during a performance.

After receiving this information from him, and after reading a number of public posts made by him on Facebook detailing the incident, I made some of  calls to confirm the veracity of these accusations.  

As a result of my efforts, I ended up speaking with an LA County Sheriff's Deputy that assists with security at the Castle. The then "accusation" was confirmed, but I was counseled to

Click to read more ...

ONE MILLION DOWNLOADS AND COUNTING!

In 1994, as a founding partner of one of the first Internet Service Providers to operate in  Atlanta, I was tasked to learn HTML so that I could assist customers who were beginning to discover the need for an online presence.

While doing this, I launched the first incarnation of my magic website which I called the Magic Linking Pages. As the content grew to include daily news updates, links to other magic related sites and coverage of magic events, it evolved into the Linking Page & The Magic Newswire. I began to realize that people were actually paying attention to what I was doing after getting a call from a local magician telling me that the site had been highlighted in the Net Magazine's Top 100 Sites of the Year issue in 1996.

My exploration of podcasting began in much the same way. When I discovered the concept in 2005 through Leo Laporte's TWiT show, and several smaller niche podcasts, I decided to try my hand at a magic podcast which I decided to call "The Spirit of Magic."   After only three episodes, I realized that the concept that I had at that time didn't work for me and I set it aside.  I spent some time thinking about what I wanted the show to be, studied the tools and techniques that I would need to do it right and in 2008 I decided to try my hand at it again.   I still had no idea if anyone would like what I was doing or find it relevant to the art that I've loved since I was a kid playing with my first set of sponge bunnies

Over the last three years,  I have watched the audience grow and have been flattered by the support that I have received from all over the world in the form of encouraging emails and donations given to support the show.

Today The Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic Podcast" hit a major milestone that proves to me that I'm doing something right and I can't thank you all enough for validating the time and energy that I have invested in this project.

What is that milestone? Well, as you will see from the graphic here, we have just exceeded ONE MILLION DOWNLOADS of the 298 episodes that I have produced to date.   I know that there are shows covering more mainstream topics which have reached and surpassed this goal in a much shorter period of time,  but given the very narrow focus of my podcast, I find this statistic to be simply amazing!

I will continue to do my best to deliver interviews and content that will keep you coming back. All I ask from you is that you keep listening and that you continue to send me your thoughts and feedback

I would also like to thank those that have contributed to the show by reporting from conventions or co-hosting the newer This Week in Magic roundtable discussion including Scott Wells, Chase Goforth, Cameron Ramsay, David Kaye, Rudy Coby and Dan Sperry. You have all brought somthing new and unique to the show and I cannot thank you enough!

Feel free to email me using the links above or through a direct email to MagicNewswire@gmail.com. You can also call the Magic Newswire Hotline and leave me a message at 702-714-0372.

Thanks so very much! Until next time, I'll see you online!

Dodd Vickers
Editor and Producer
MagicNewswire.com

JOHN ARCHER FOOLS PENN & TELLER

Yesterday I did an interview with John Archer about his success on the UK show, Penn & Teller : Fool Us. Today, I received an email from Jeremy Black with a link to the video of that segment of the show. Enjoy! 

In addition, here's a clip of the other winner from the show, Benjamin Earl:

MAGIC MAGAZINE APPEARS ON THE IPAD

UPDATE: Stan joins us for a quick chat to discuss the release of Magic Magazine on the iPad:

LISTEN TO OUR CHAT WITH STAN USING THE HTML 5 PLAYER ::
As promised in his monthly column, Stan Allen and the staff of Magic Magazine have delivered the first magic publication for the iPad. Here's what Stan had to say in his column:

Then, last year, I ran across something that lit up the path and made it clear that this was the road for me. What showed me that I was on the right track was the Apple iPad. After only a few days of playing with it, there was no question — this was the direction for the digital MAGIC Magazine.

VIEW THE APP IN ITUNES

And before you get it, you can watch this video by Mac King explaining how the app works and giving you a preview of what you can expect:

MAGIC Magazine on the iPad from MAGIC Magazine on Vimeo.