Road trip …

Crawled out of bed at 7:30 AM today and we were on the road by 8 AM! Yes, you read that right! For those of you who don’t recognize the significance of this, let me explain. There is a three hour time difference between California and Kentucky, which means we got up at 4:30 AM! That’s when I usually going to bed!

The drive was just over 8 hours and Hannah discovered our Dodge Durango has a Satellite radio which offers Disney Radio … eight hours of High School Musical, Jona Brothers and Miley Cyrus. Oh my heavens.

Our trip took us from Kentucky through Indiana, onto Illinois then over to St. Louis, Missouri and on down to Branson. During the drive we discovered a new semi-fast food restaurant called Steak and Shakes that make their burgers using steak meat. The waitress, Trina, was just delightful and shared her story of trying to visit Canada once but being denied by the Canadian border guards. Turn out Trina’s car mate had a fake gun which acted as a lighter.

We arrived in Branson, Missouri at 6 PM with the time change and checked into the Grand Country Inn and are off to see the Barber/Hamner variety show. The show stars magician Dave Hamner and ventriloquist Jim Barber. I met Mr. Hamner at the PCAM convention when it was held in Page, Arizona. I will be curious to see if he remembers me.

Did I mention I don’t like flying?

So for a guy who isn’t fond of flying I sure seem to do a lot it lately. This time we were flying Continental. The new rules regarding luggage are in full swing and with a restriction of just one bag per person it is getting quite expensive for me to travel with the act. I shipped two of the cases via FedEx to Louisville as it was more economical. Sure hope they arrive!

The first flight was interesting. We had two flight attendants who were really not interested in … well anything. My favorite moments were when a passenger asked if they new which terminal we would be arriving at in Houston. Her responses was “that’s a question you should ask some who cares ..” . I know you think I’m making this up, but I swear I’m not. So I felt compelled to lighten her day.

The moment arrived. The attendant asked what I would like to drink and I proceeded to spit a mouthful of cards magically … her response … well to be truly honest there was no response … none … she just stood there waiting for my reply to her question … like she had seen thousands before me vomit cards! I gathered my composure and said … I’ll guess I’ll have a Coke. She poured the Coke handed me the glass, I said thanks and she said uhhuh … which appears to be quite common among service personnel.

Our connecting flight in Houston was from Terminal C to B and we had a whole 20 minutes to make the distance. Did I mention Bush International is really huge! If we had not been given a ride half way through our run on the concourse and the shuttle had been any fuller we would never have made the flight. We would also never have met Michelle our flight attendant.

Michelle was a breath of fresh air. Finally someone on a plane who likes her job. She treated everyone with respect and actually spoke to the passengers. We even learned about her two kids, Megan and Ben. Continental should look at people like this to teach the others that taking a little interest in their jobs can be rewarding!

I’ll be writing to Continental to express, not my disappointment in the first flight but instead my satisfaction in the second leg of my journey. A direct result of Michele and the other flight crew members. Hannah wants me to add that Michele took the time to ask the pilot if she could push a button or two once we had landed! The Captain complied and Hannah now thinks we should always fly on that plane … oh if that was the case I would probably begin to like flying again.

I guess it’s time to try a few other carriers like Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Rumor has it they understand customer service …

The best made plans …

Well PCAM 2008 is over and I am officially tired. Each year I set aside these four days to be with the people who have helped to shape my career. Most of the “old guard” have passed and those that remain are my childhood friends of magic.

The convention was a huge success as it was lots of fun. My friend, Kevin Cardona did an outstanding job of putting things together. I was honored to be asked to book the acts and organize the ProChallenge contest. Both of these events were spectacular. Several of the acts in the gala show were even given partial standing ovations! Andrew Goldenhersh had them leaping to their feet with his finale.

The convention would never have been the success it was without my friends all agreeing to participate at what I call “you like me” rates! Once again thanks guys! Special thanks to Brian Cook, Dean Hankey and Steve Kline for making the tech side so much easier … it used to be just me!

My show was less than perfect. I was the host of the ProChallenge and the first half of the show went quite smooth. There were no delays in the set up of acts and with the new addition of interviewing acts between their sets made it interesting and smooth. After the intermission I was given some time to entertain while the ballots were tabulated.

I started with my hands and cups routine with a delightful young boy named Carson who apparently lived in the area and came to the show to see me! Turns out Carson saw my full evening show on the Norwegian Star on a cruise to Mexico. He was perfect for the routine and it rocked the crowd.

Now with audience firmly in the palm of my hand I decided to present the world premiere of an illusion. Truth is this was prototype #12 of an effect I have done since 1988. With the help of a friend, Ryan Pilling, and an hour of practice I was certain this new version was going to rock the room! Basically I was going to vanish from the middle of the stage, a silk handkerchief was going to fly from my hands and across the stage and off into the wings where I would reappear! Sounds good huh? The effect was fool proof … ok maybe not fool proof. The flying of the cloth was to act as the misdirection for the vanish. The moving silk would redirect the audiences attention away from my position at center stage so they would not see the vanish … it would have worked too … well if the silk had flown anywhere! So it just sat right there in front of me and didn’t fly …anywhere … oh I disappeared and reappeared … it just wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Oh well life goes on. No it really does. In fact in the world of entertainment it was already “going on” and I had to continue on with the show. I introduced my favorite routine, Shape of my Heart and at the conclusion the crowd went wild … nice!

Well that’s proof the the best made plans sometimes …. aren’t.

Well were packed and on the road back to Los Angeles for the evening. Then a quick couple of flights to Kentucky where I’ll make a quick trip to Branson and then prepare for the big contests …

Let’s Dance …

If this doesn’t make you smile …

“And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance .. I hope you dance” - Lee Ann Womack

Where do great ideas come from?

I guess the first thing would be to confirm that I do get great ideas. I can honestly say I often get good ideas but the great ideas are far and few between. It’s not from lack of trying either. I recall Andre Kole, one of the most creative magicians alive, in an interview saying he forced himself to create new magic effects every day or not go to bed. Well I tried that and to be honest the “not go to bed part” was easy. I like the night. Don’t get me wrong, I like to sleep! Sleep in that is! I think when I was younger I came up with all my great ideas in the middle of the night from sleep depravation! These days the staying up late is normal but I have to be quiet as Hannah and Lori are sleeping. This cuts down on my productivity as I can’t saw, paint, drill or crank tunes to spark my creativity. I have all the time in the world … as long as it is in the daylight hours … not so good for my creative juices!

Yesterday, I drove to Everett, Washington to hang out with Steve Hamilton and Brian Cook. We had a great conversation about magic, characters and power tools! On the drive down I was a bit tired as I started the journey at 10 AM which is usually when I am waking up! This slightly tired feeling gave me the necessary spark and I created a whole series of effects using one particular sleight. I look forward to exploring the idea further and performing them for real people.

Back at the house I have begun dry walling the basement. I have learned something very important. I don’t like drywall! I don’t like installing it, puttying it and especially sanding it smooth. I have several rooms to do and believe I will be hiring a professional to finish the job. The shop is kind of oragnized but I still have along way to go …

Production on the new illusion is going well and I think it will be a crowd pleaser. I guess it really isn’t a new illusion as I have done several variations on it over the past two decades. This variation is really close to a version I did in Athens, Greece for a magic festival a few years back.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that festival in Athens. It had a stellar line up of performers, a great theatre staff, incredible audiences and gave me an opportunity to make some friends for life. Funny thing is that as I have thinking about these friends … they have been calling me out of the blue to say Hi! OK I called one of them but the others called me! How cool.

“Putting a hammer in my hand means putting together two things with roughly the same IQ” - me

Long time … no see …

It has been sometime since I last wrote on this blog. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say. More of, how to say what I wanted to say.

So much has happened and even if I tried to put it all in sequential order, I would most likely not succeed.

First and foremost I lost another special person in my life. Earlier this year I wrote about Barbara, my Father-in-laws Wife. Barbara was a very special lady. I had the pleasure of knowing her for over 20 years and we had plenty of unusual conversations about subjects as diverse as alien abduction to christianity. She was a huge fan or Art Bell and took the time to introduce me to his unique radio program.

Barbara was another victim of Cancer. It seems that the spread of this terrible disease is never ending and I pray for a cure before we all lose more friends.

On a happier note I went to see a young magician do a full evening show in Washington to benefit Cancer research. Sterling Dietz, is a young man with a bright future. He did a remarkably great job of not only performing skilled magic, but more importantly found a way to connect with the audience. Most young performers are all about technique, skill and the art of fooling. It was refreshing to see a performer who spent as much time on his script too.

I went to two special events at Hannah’s school. The first was the final assembly of the year where the students bid farewell to Mrs. Finlay, the Principal. She will be leaving the school to once again become a teacher. She is such a bright light in this world with a genuine interest in everything and everyone around her. The best part of the assembly however was the presentation of awards to certain outstanding students. When Hannah was presented an award for social responsibility I cannot describe the pride I felt for my Daughter!

The second special event was a family reading night in the gymnasium of the school. There was even a theme involving camping so the entire room was filled with pop up tents and big ring in the center of the room for the guest reader to present. I’m not sure the idea of putting several hundred children into a room, giving them free “s’more” bars and then asking them to sit and read with their parents is the best idea. I love reading with Hannah, and in fact do it most evenings just before bed. The concept that a child can concentrate and read while another couple of hundred youth filled with chocolate are racing around a gym is just … well nuts!

The house is basically painted and we are just in need of trim for around the windows. I replace the house numbers and painted a lovely little lamp to light them above the front door. I also hired a guy to attach river rock around the foundation of the house. It really added a new dimension to the house and I love the new look.

Energized by all the stuff happening around the house, I jumped at the chance to wire a chandelier into the center of the living room. This lamp has a funny history. When I moved into this home 14 years ago there was a hanging macramé (yes macramé lamp!) that did not work. I fact I couldn’t even find a light switch. I spent several years trying to find the switch and finally gave up and put a nice metal fixture that was not connected but at least looked nice until it got dark in the living room! Well, I crawled into the poor excuse of an attic and wired a whole new switch to the lamp and fuse box. Sound easy? Well it took about nine hours to actually make the damn thing work. My hands now look like hamburger meat and hurt so bad.

You would think I would stop once my hands were hurting, but instead I did lots more. With the help of a friend, Brian Cook, we headed off to the lumber yard and brought enough stuff back to construct three walls in my shop. Once I had them up and cover with peg board I have begun the arduous task of organizing a basement that has been neglected for over a decade. Oh, I’ve been in the basement, built many props, painted, ground and drilled all sorts of stuff. I just never really cleaned up after any project. This means it is quite messy and unorganized. How unorganized? Well, every time I couldn’t find a tool I juts bought a new one. So far I have found three power drills, two jig saws, two grinders, three nail guns and more drill bits than anyone should ever own. Oh, but how many clamps do I have … well that’s easy … one less than I will always need!

I took a break from my chores of the house to attend a lecture by Dan Garrett. He’s a super clever magician from Atlanta, Georgia. I had seen his lecture in the past and he never disappoints. It was great fun to attend and even more fun to go hang out afterwards. The evening lasted until past midnight and I was surprised to see my best friend, David Wilson, popped up to wish wish me birthday wishes too!

My birthday has come and gone. We celebrated with friends in Washington and I am now the proud owner of the cleverest levitation illusion in the world. The plan for the day was an afternoon of wine and hot tubs but the weather was terrible. In fact the weather these past few weeks is just so odd. If anyone reading this is in doubt about the unusual climate changes affecting our planet (call it what you may .. global warming … whatever …) just look out your window and recall the last time June was this cold.

I’m off to the basement again to clean. I am have such a busy few weeks ahead as I polish up my acs for the IBM/SAM convention next month. They released the list of competitors and it will be a very challenging event. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends, some super great magic and making a few new friends.

Until next time…

“Never be careless with money, driving habits, or other people’s feelings.”

Tag you’re it!

I’m sitting in a park at the ferry terminal watching Hannah play Tag. Everyone else is faster than Hannah when it comes to this game. They are all much older, they climb faster and also jump higher! How can a girl get ahead when she has so many disadvantages?

Well, after being “it” for far too long she tried to change the rules. When they wouldn’t make the changes she tried to quit. That’s when Dad stepped in and told her quitting wasn’t an option. All she had to to do was study her opponents and learn their strength and weakness’s. Then use those to win. Hannah’s smart. No, really smart! Knowing she couldn’t win the way she had been playing, she changed tactics. Not once, but many times and now as I sit here watching her play tag, she’s in charge. The other kids are listening to her and doing as she says. She realized being “it” is not a bad thing. In my world, being “it” is everything.

Last night was a night of being “it”! I had the honor and privilege to close a gala show, Magic and Mirth, at the Isabella Reader theatre in Langford, BC. It was a sold out crowd and they were there for fun. The show, an annual event, was dedicated to Tony Eng. I was given an opportunity to present a special award to Sandra Eng, Tony’s Daughter, in memory of her Father. I also presented the Lottie Hemeon Award of Excellence from the Society of American Magicians to Teresa Midbo. Teresa is an outstanding assistant and partner to Murray Hatfield and I was thrilled to be the one to present this award. I in fact created this award in honor of Lottie who was a mentor to me and Lori.

In our youth Lottie taught us much of what we do today. I learned to how walk on stage, bow and act on and off stage. She was also kind enough to let me take her husband, Carl’s, tuxedo to a tailor and have it copied. The tailor was Rocco of British Custom Tailors and he was a master of his craft. He did work for such greats as Peter Reveen! He would never have done the work if Lottie had not said it was OK. That in itself is a fun story. Lottie had told me to go to Rocco and ask to have a tux made like Carl’s. Originally she did not give me the tux, she just said to go see him. When I spoke to Rocco and asked him to make the tux, he replied it would be impossible without the original to look at and study. So I went back to Lottie and told her I needed the tux. She looked surprised but gave me it to me and I headed back. When I arrived with tux in hand, he just laughed at me and said ” I don’t need that, I just wanted to make sure it was really alright with Lottie”!

Lottie was more than your average assistant. She was a partner in the the show. Without her I don’t know if Carl would have been the magician he became. Carl knew this and always insisted that Lottie had equal billing on all posters and programs. Most places didn’t want to do this but Carl was “it” and sometimes being “it” isn’t so bad …

“Be Praised for your integrity; be feared for your courage.”
Life’s Little Instructions

Standing room only …

Last night I did a show to raise funds for Hannah’s elementary school’s Parent Advisory Committee. We held it at the local high school which I was told had just over 321 seats to sell. Using just a flyer we were able to sell over 250 tickets to the event and thought it would be a pretty full room.

Well it certainly was full! You see, although the sign above the door says the room capacity is 321, there are just 217 seat. So there we were with more folks than seats! Lots of folks were super nice and put their small ones on their laps and others sat on the steps of the theatre.

The show was lots of fun and they were a super loud audience. I added a couple of pieces to the show I had never done for audiences and they went really well. In fact I plan to add them to the new show I have begun to design called “Secrets - can you keep one…”

Well I’m off to Victoria for the Mirth and Magic show tonight …

“If you can read this thank a teacher. Because it’s in English, thank a veteran.”

Been a fun week …

Well I have been quite active this week and creative too. I returned home from Taiwan with a brain full of ideas for card tricks. You see at magic lectures I usually travel with lots of whatever effect I am teaching. Lately these tricks have been larger heavier effects that take up lots of room in my luggage. While sitting at the airport I said to myself I should come up with more card tricks as they pack small! Great reasoning huh!

I have always loved an effect called Bicycle Built for Five by Ton Onosaka of Japan, but dislike the preparation and set up as I can’t keep it straight in my head. Max Maven did a great job with the instructions I just can’t retain the order and handling for some reason. Basically you show five jokers from a deck of Bicycle playing cards, backs and fronts. One joker, the leader, is set aside, face down. As you count trough the cards, one by one, the remaining jokers magically turn face down! Show the faces of the cards. Nothing left but the abandoned bicycles! Where are the missing jokers? Turn over the leader card. There are all five jokers, joined together and look like this:

Here is a video of Ivan Mallia performing the original version:

I liked the idea but wanted to make it super simple and not have all the set up over so many moves so I created this:

I also used the same gimmick cards to create an additional ending to my very popular MatriXpress routine. It really didn’t need anything extra, but I have to admit I love the idea … if I say so myself!

Tonight I have a sold out show to raise funds for the PAC of Hannah’s school. The show is in fact over sold by 24 seats as the administrators of the facility told us there were more seats than there really are … magic! Should be lots of fun as David Wilson, Trevor Watters and Lorena Paradon have all agreed to come help again. Last time we did a show together at the River Rock Casino it was a blast!

Saturday we will be off to Victoria to close the Magic and Mirth show for the Victoria Magic Circle. It will be lots of fun as I get to present a special award to Teresa Midbo as the assistant of the year for SAM #95. This is a super cool award named after my dear friend Lottie Hemeon. Lori and Hannah have both been presented this award in the past.

Sunday I will return home from the Island and for the next week or two it’s all about getting in gear for the IBM/SAM competition … oh and fixing and painting the house, filming the video, yada yada yada …

Coming Home …

Well my trip to Taiwan was fun filled and I feel so energized by the great shows and audiences. I am trying hard to forget the whole Whistler deal and focus on creating the theatre using an unconventional style format. I’ll tell you more about this in the near future.

My flight home was delayed for 90 minutes on the ground. Here’s an interesting note. JAL (Japanese Airline) had an issue with their onboard entertainment units and the flight attendants went through the cabin giving everyone a form to fill out to receive JAL coupons which could be used for payments towards future flights, in-flight shopping or JAL Hotels. On the other hand Air Canada, aware of an issue had us board the plane and then informed us we would be delayed. We sat in the plane on the ground for 90 minutes before the issue was resolved. Our compensation you may ask … nothing, not even a “were really sorry”. Oh well, other than that the flight was uneventful and it was great to be greeted at the airport by Hannah’s giant smile and a hug from Lori. I got home to find a house full of family and spent the next hour recounting the activities of the weekend and finding out all about my Father-in-laws 80th birthday party which I had missed.

I took a short nap and headed out for an evening of music with the incredible Missy Higgins. If you have not heard of this amazing artist, I’m not that surprised. She is just catching on here in North America but is a sensation in Australia. This was apparent to anyone in the audience since about 50% of the crowd were Aussie and sang every word to every song. Missy has so many great songs but I am particularly fond of Scar, the Special Two and Steer. These were songs I was told to listen to awhile ago and was thrilled to be given the gift of Missy!

To add to a perfect evening the club, the Commodore Ballroom, had a full menu and I had a huge Lobster tail and mushroom sandwich! The evening was perfectly divine. By the time the concert had ended, the jet-lag had begun to set in and it was time to go home and sleep. Tomorrow I start fresh on Plan B of Whistler Magic …

Life brings us special people to learn from and make us better. When these special people end up being our friends we are twice blessed.