THIS WEEK IN MAGIC :: SAY HELLO TO THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT!

Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit! This just has to be a good sign for magicians right? In this episode of the podcast we wrap up 2010 and chat a bit about 2011 with the usual cast of misfits that has been joining me for our talks this year including Chase Goforth, Cameon Ramsay, David Kaye & Scott Wells. In addition, we toss in a few minutes with Mac King, Johnny Thompson, Pamela Hayes and Jonathan Pendragon before heading off to chat with our friends Dan Sperry, Rudy Coby Justin Robert Young, Andrew Mayne and Joe Monti as a part of the iTricks 2010 office party! Thanks for making us all a part of your magic life over the course of the last year and we look forward to bringing you more in 2011! Now get out there and start pulling some Hares!

WELCOME TO THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT! :

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HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR NEXT PURCHASE :: BY JAMIE D GRANT

Hello everyone!

My name is Jamie D. Grant and I'm the creator of the Magic Friday review column which, I'm proud to say, has been going strong for almost ten years! In that time, I think it's safe to say I've had a lot of magic come across my desk, and whereas Magic Friday is a bi-weekly review that's featured on a bunch of wonderful sites, here at the Magic Newswire Dodd Vickers is giving me a place to talk about some of the things that go on "behind the scenes", as it were.

So I hope you enjoy these columns and essays! 2011 is going to be an amazing year and there's already some great tricks and effects in the works. You know, I kind of feel that 2010 saw a resurgence in the quality of workable close-up material. It seems like a couple of years ago (pre-recession) that everyone and anyone was releasing material in attempt to cash in on the willy-nilly spending of you an I. But I think the downturn in economy started to make us all think a bit more about our purchases and put the onus on creators to put out quality work. A good thing!

So that's the question. What makes someone's work quality and, as a result, purchasable? With all the stuff out there on the market, how does one decide where to spend our hard earned moohlah? Here's what I do...

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MAGIC 2010, A YEAR IN REVIEW BY DUSTIN STINETT

NOW that we are actually finished with the last year of the first decade of the 21st century…(Oh will he EVER give that a rest???? “NO!!!” he squeals, laughing with Renfield-like delight, hunkered in a corner, wringing his hands)…

Nothing from this past year jumps to mind as the “Top Magic Event of the Decade.” Okay, one thing: Dodd Vickers’ round table discussion of the same name that started off the year with a pop…and a “doomed” Magic Cruise…

Two things: Dodd Vickers’ thing, the doomed cruise, and the Essential Magic Conference…THREE…three things…oh heck, let’s just jump right into a wrap-up of the year that was 2010:

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MAGIC NEWSCAST :: IGENII

As we wrap up the year in magic for 2010, This Week in Magic podcast co-host Scott Wells and I are joined by Genii Magazine publisher and editor Richard Kaufman to talk about his thoughts on the past year in magic, what is in store for 2011 and what digital publishing means for the Conjurors' Magazine.

LISTEN TO OUR CHAT WITH RICHARD KAUFMAN:

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

In Teller's Twitter feed, I found a link to this video from an infrared camera which caught the audience reaction during a performance of Play Dead last week:

PENDRAGON PROPS TO BE AUCTIONED

From a report by KCOY:

The contents of a  storage locker rented by Charlotte Pendragon will be auctioned to the public at 10 AM on January 19th of next year after it was seized for non-payment of the monthly fee.  Of Jonathan Pendragon,  the owner of the storage unit said, 

"He's one of the world renown magicians and i think there will be a lot of interest in this and the other lockers that are going up for sale that day. There are just some people that they don't pay on their storage unit and that unit is no different than any other. But what makes this storage unit so different is who it belonged to and what could be inside those metal trunks. The only person who will be able to see that is the highest bidder."

I spoke today with Jonathan Pendragon by phone today in preparation for our end of the year show and he told me that with the exception of one case, there are mostly empty. He also said that there are a few other props, like his Excalibur sword, in the room.

THE TOP 10 THINGS THAT I LEARNED FROM MAGIC FRIDAY :: BY JAMIE D GRANT

The Top 10 Things I Learned from Magic Friday in 2010

  

1) People actually love card tricks.

 

2) Books are still easier to open than DVDs.

 

3) The best method is the one you're actually going to remember.

 

4) Pick 5 people online whose opinion you respect. Ignore everything else.

 

5) Angry Bob is getting smarter (as are audiences), yet can still be fooled by simplicity.

 

6) Magic doesn't have to be expensive to be awesome.

 

7) Gaffs can do amazing things but will not replace sleights for practicality.

 

8) Everyone should Busk at least once in their lives.

 

9) Don't be afraid to show someone something.

 

10) Know when to stop.

MAGIC MAGAZINE HITS THE IPAD ON JAN 6

Magic Magazine Editor and Publisher Stan Allen emailed and advance copy of his January column to me today to share with our readers. In it, he announces the release of the Magic Magazine iOS (iPhone & iPad) app version of his publication. Here's a sneak peek:

For the past five years or so, I’ve been standing at a fork in the road. Both paths lead toward a digital version of MAGIC Magazine. One direction was to take more and more content from the magazine and put it on our website, while somehow securing that content for subscribers only. I repeatedly took a few steps down this road but always came to a stop, mainly because I couldn’t find a reader-friendly experience that I was happy with. Sure, we could place PDFs of every page of the magazine up on the web, but PDFs are basically photographs of the printed page. Depending on the size of your computer screen, you might be able see the entire layout, but reading the words requires zooming in. Then you have to scroll around to get the whole story. To me, it’s like reading a magazine through a telescope. So, even though this road was clear and well traveled, I kept turning back.

The other direction was less clear and certainly less traveled. In fact, that path was dark and had so many twists and turns, I couldn’t see what was ahead. 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. 

We’re launching our first digital issue on January 6. Appropriately enough, that is the same day I launched the first issue of my Inside Magic newsletter 26 years ago. We don’t have all the answers; nobody does. But we’re moving on down the road!

ABRACADABRAVISION 2010

TVSquad.com bids farewell to what they see as a less than mediocre year for magic on television saying:

2010 is about to disappear, and magicians might be glad to see it go. TV illusionists Criss Angel, David Blaine and multiple Emmy-winner David Copperfield did not have TV specials this year. Penn & Teller's Showtime staple 'Bulls***' continues, but the only trick on that show is how they get away with the title, even on pay cable.

Still, TV still had some enchantment up its sleeve. Magic abounded again on 'America's Got Talent,' and Houdini's lesser-known brother, Hardeen (at right), dazzled the patrons of 'Boardwalk Empire'.

Enjoy a review of this past year's sleight of hand.

READ THEIR LIST OF HIGHLIGHTS HERE

MAGICIANS GONE WILD

From our friend David Kaye and Reel Magic: