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.

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 …

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 …

Found out yesterday that the “thing” they cut out of my body was benign. I guess that means I’m OK. Benign is good right? I guess not having anything cut out of your body is best … but if you’re gonna have something cut out … well pray it’s benign.

I shipped off the new illusion for the competition yesterday and while on the road I had time to chat to some friends. It was great to chat and one of them was quite bummed I am sure I added a small “ray of sunshine” to their day.

My friends at Magic West have set up a new facebook group and have already posted a video or two of mine. If you haven’t heard of Magic West you should check these guys out. They really do a great job of promoting magic in Alberta.

I also found a copy of the current Harper’s on a magazine rack at Chapter’s book store. On the cover it read THE MAGIC OLYMPICS. I picked up a copy and was surprised to read it was a thirteen page article written by the competitor who followed me at FISM. Alex Stone was a super nice guy who was so nervous backstage that I could hear him vomiting in his dressing room next door. I took sometime to befriend him and tried to calm him down a bit. It was during this discussion I discovered he had never competed in any magic contest and it made me wonder how he ever got to be a contestant! Well I guess a good reporter can do anything he wants!

The article is quite interesting. Well written and although it does have some exposure of secrets I still enjoyed the bulk of the story. OK, I wasn’t so hot on him writing … “Shawn Farquhar must have performed his Ambitious Card over a thousand tines, and yet - incredibly - he blunders, flashing the load before it makes it back into the deck In an instant his dreams of first place fade.” Just for the record I didn’t “flash” any load! The damn card was already loaded and it for some reason just didn’t come out of the card case with the rest of the cards. Oh and for the record … that was the instant my dream of first place faded.

I am also not so pleased with the quote accredited to me while trying desperately to cheer on Jon Armstrong in the preliminaries. For those of you who don’t know. Jon is an outstanding card man and was basically a “shoe in” for an award as long as he didn’t screw up or go over time. During the course of his act he had some small problems that he covered without anyone knowing … but in his attempt to reinvent the trick he began to creep into the overtime area! In fact the yellow warning light was on and he was still a long way from finished. All he needed to do was end the effect quickly and he was a winner. Instead he stuck to his professional attitude and did the effect correctly and went over time and was disqualified. Alex Stone, the author of the article, wrote: ” I watch the rest of the prelims on the monitor upstairs with Shawn Farquhar and LA card mechanic Jon Armstrong… He’s (Armstrong) midway through the trick when the yellow lamp flashes a one minute warning. It’s the first time this has happened. “C’mon Jon” Farquhar says “Don’t fuck up. You said you wouldn’t!” … Isn’t that nice to be quoted cursing! My Mom would be so proud of me. Just for the record … It’s an accurate quote. I wanted him to finish, to win a prize. A contest is only as good as the competitors and winning an award because others have been disqualified is a hollow victory.

All in all though he does say a few nice things about me and I basically enjoyed the article. If you want to read more it’s available on your magazine rack right now …

“There’s no such thing as bad press, as long as they spell your name right.” - PT Barnum

Today is a very special day. Today the country I truly love turns 141 years young. Yes, young! In perspective England was founded by Alfred the Great the first Anglo/Saxon King to style himself “King of English” in 871 AD! Other countries however are not that old. I suspect you would think Italy was a very old country since Rome was founded in 753 BC! It might interest you to know that Italy did not become a united country until 1861 which makes it just a couple of years older than Canada!

I can say that Canada has the BEST flag in the entire world! No doubt! It has a look unlike any other country. It has great meaning and is easily recognized around the world. It took many years to design and select this gorgeous flag. You can see all the others not selected by clicking here.

In 1992, Hank Gigandet came up with the idea of modifying it to have it recognize the French fact in Canada. After failed government attempts at ratifying the Canadian constitution with the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, Canada’s Francophone population (based predominantly in Quebec) felt a lack of recognition of its distinctness and fragility from the rest of the country.

Mr. Gigandet added inner blue stripes alongside each red stripe on the existing flag design. The size ratio of the blue to red stripe was 1 to 4, the blue representing the 25% population of French speaking Canadians. The newly created “Unity Flag” was a means of outwardly representing Canada’s linguistic duality.

The flag was first flown on Parliament Hill on October 24th, 1994, a full year before the Referendum and months before one was actually called. It was shown on the television program, “Ottawa Inside/Out” by CBC on October 30th, 1994. In 2003, the flag was renamed the “Canadian Duality Flag”. Some claim that it has the potential of becoming the next to represent Canada in the 21st century. More information on the Duality flag can be found at http://www.trcf.ca (what a crock of shit!)

Canada makes the BEST beer in the world and we have a great sense of humor!

After the success of this commercial they produced this one too …

And here’s another fun song that will tell you all about how Canada is the second largest country in the whole world … right behind Russian.

If you still need to laugh check out this funny beer commercial. Probably not a fair representation of our neighbors to the South …

Have a great day … I’m going back to painting …


“I’ve been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.” - Stephen Wright

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

John Craig Finley
FINLEY, John Craig
1940-2008

John Craig Finley, 67, of Portland, passed away on June 20, 2008, in his home at Charbonneau.

Born Aug. 17, 1940, to Craig and Thelma Finley, John grew up in Portland and graduated from Washington High School in 1958. After high school, John attended Portland State College for one year and then joined the U.S. Army. His duty stations while on active duty included Okinawa, South Korea, and the Far East, where he served as a postal clerk and a performer with an entertainment troop. He was discharged from the Army in 1963.

As part of the fourth generation of J.P. Finley and Sons Mortuary, John attended San Francisco Mortuary College and ultimately obtained his licenses as a funeral director and embalmer in 1964. It was during this time that he met his wife-to-be, Kathleen Albers. John and Kathy married in 1965 and had two sons, Michael J. Finley of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Robert J. Finley of Portland. John and Kathleen later divorced.

John’s many hobbies included cooking, entertaining for friends, tending to his garden, and memberships in numerous civic groups such as the Portland Elks, the Scottish Rite and the Portland Kiwanis. He later became an exalted ruler in B.P.O.E. #142. John’s greatest hobby and life-long love was magic. As a magician, John spent over 50 years as a showman and entertainer in both recreational and professional capacities. He earned a lifetime honorary membership in the Society of American Magicians. He also attained the status as an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle in the Magic Circle organization headquartered in London, England. John was also a member of the University Club, the Portland Executives Association, and the Rotary Club of Portland. He was often referred to as Portland’s only “Mortician Magician.”

John retired in 1996 and spent 11 years in Chandler, Ariz. He recently moved back to the Portland area.

John is survived by his sons, Michael and his wife, Jennifer, and Robert and his wife, Cynthia; two grandsons, Sean and Alec; two granddaughters, Elise and McKenna; brother, George; sister, Tara; and niece, Stella Finley Bender.

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John and I shared a common bond other than a love of magic. We were both from the Farquhar clan. Yup, Finley is part of the clan and we share the same tartan and family crest. I first discovered this when John sent me a letter on the most impressive stationery that included an embossed family crest and the words “the Royal Family of Magic”. I was dumbfounded to see my family crest on the top of the letter and read the title! I had to telephone right away to say I could not agree more! He was also the organizer of the 2000 PCAM in Portland, Oregon where I became the fifth recipient of the coveted Grand Prix du Honeur.

“The future ain’t what it used to be.” - Yogi Berra

Used to be I looked forward to news. After all no news is bad news! Right? Well imaging my surprise when I opened my email today to be told of the memorial service for Meeks the Clown. Michael and I basically started our careers in Vancouver around the same time. He was at almost every event I got booked at for the first decade of my career in BC. He was one of those guys who was always there to help and looked at everything with a huge smile. Another victim of cancer. Michael leaves behind many family member who love him dearly and a community of entertainers who did as well …

Visit his blog to understand a little bit more about the man … CLICK HERE

MEEKING Michael Douglas June 16, 1961 - June 16, 2008 On his 47th birthday, Michael “Meeks The Clown” went to be with our Lord Jesus. He passed peacefully with his wife, Jody, and children Kyle, Alex, Brady and Kayla at his side. We will always remember Mike’s fun-loving smile and huge heart towards everyone he knew. We appreciate his courage and strength, which has given us the ability to continue to smile and laugh as we carry on. A celebration in Michael’s honour will be held on June 28th at Jericho Hill Centre Gymnasium (4196 W. 4th). Service will begin at 1:00 pm with a casual family picnic to follow. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and lunches!

“We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.” - Will Rogers

I am a firm believer in the freedom of speech. I don’t even take issue with the literature that abounds from such groups as the National Socialist White People’s Party or the Ku Klux Klan. You see I believe everyone can say whatever they want to and I have the choice to listen or not! In fact listening to others with different beliefs can help you to form an educated and informed decision. How can I say I disagree with something if I really don’t know what they stand for in the first place?

Why this subject. Well it’s because of an article today in the Province Newspaper here in BC. A Toronto comic, Guy Earle, has being called before a BC Human Rights Tribunal to account for his actions while doing his show at Zesty’s restaurant in Vancouver. You can get Earle’s side of the story by watching the youtube video of a recent radio interview. The other side of the story is that of Lorna Pardy who charges that Earle verbally assaulted her and her partner with derogatory comments. Hmmm?

From Earle’s account of the story, the couple came in late during the show, sat near the front and made out and finally heckled him. If this is the truth, then anything is fair game as far as I am concerned. Don’t go to a comedy club and heckle the comic. I know … haven’t I seen the footage of Michael Richard’s and his racial rant in a comedy club? I did and I know he was wrong … I personally would not attack the heckler with racial slurs but I sure as hell would have used my best heckler material to shut them up. If you don’t put a heckler in their place, which is in the audience, listening and laughing, then you will get your butt kicked by the whole audience when they smell blood! If the audience doesn’t join in the fun of picking on you they will certainly leave with the feeling your not very good as you couldn’t control the crowd. Take it too far and the audience will side with the heckler and then you lose too.

Oh did I mention that Earle’s heckler’s were lesbians? No! Well that’s because it doesn’t matter. The news however thinks this is the prime part of the case and the fact that the comic attacked them with comments about their orientation is why he is going before a tribunal. Apparently comedy shows are not what they used to be when I worked them years ago. I can understand if you were attending a function and the surprise entertainment was a comedian. You now have a different set of circumstances. You are at an event and the comedy is thrust upon you. Your options, listen or leave. If you don’t like the show, don’t go. If you’re already there and you find it to be less than entertaining, well leave! Don’t ruin it for everyone and don’t expect the entertainer to change just for you!

From Pardy’s view it is uncalled for to bring in to public light for ridicule her sexual orientation. Ms. Pardy alleges that she and her same-sex partner were subjected to a tirade of homophobic and sexist comments by Mr. Earle.”

Despite everything I have written this is not the reason I write this rant. The reason for the rant is my objection to a local comic Mark Dennison. In the Province article it reports: And from what he’s heard, he said, the material Earle supposedly used was “mean-spirited” and a “pointed attack” based on “completely wrong assumptions.” “Comedy is inclusive. We laugh because we see commonality,” he said. “I don’t think anything is off-limits as long as it is handled in a way that shows us what makes us the same.” If anyone should be Earle’s ally it would be a fellow comic. Even the Western Standard made note in their blog by saying “Mr. Earle is getting no help from someone who should be an ally”. For me the moment the article said “from what he’s heard” I was confused. What do they mean “from what he’s heard”? He wasn’t there? He didn’t watch the youtube video? Didn’t speak to Ms. Pardy? Where did he hear what he heard?

That’s why I am giving no opinion on this particular case. I don’t know Ms. Pardy or Mr. Earle and I don’t know enough about the case to make an informed decision. I however, can and did state my opinion on how one should conduct themselves when attending a comedy show and what should happen when one does not follow these simple protocols for being an audience member.

Freedom of speech is the backbone of our society, just don’t exercise it from the audience during a comedy show, unless you want a little “freedom of speech” coming right back at ya!

So ends my rant … you can agree or disagree … that’s you’re right. You can read this or not. That’s your right too. Isn’t it nice we have these rights? Imagine if we lived somewhere else where we didn’t have rights.

“Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. Some are bigger than others. Most of them stink!” -me

So I thought I had a fair amount of spare time this year. I found others, like the kid bouncing coins, who had more time than I, but today I saw dozens of people who have way more time than I will ever dream of wasting!

Don’t get me wrong! I love this stuff and wish I could do it too! In fact I wish I just had the patience to learn to do this kind of manipulation. I spend most of my time thinking of new magic ideas and ways to make money doing what I love.

Today was another day of house fixing as I had a deadline to be ready for the professional dry wallers. Remember I said I hated dry walling and was going to hire a professional? Well even the professional said it was going to be a handful! I had to strip the rooms corners and joints first and while I was at it I fixed the sliding window by making a new frame for one and replacing the running track for the entire opening. This may not sound hard but these are not store bought windows. These windows were built just for the house and are hand made. Even the running track was an odd size and I had to mill the piece of wood myself!

I also finally got around to removing the chimney pipe today. I removed the fireplace the week after my house was hit by a car. That was almost five years ago I believe! I always said I would get rid of the pipe but never found the energy. I still don;t have the energy but the dry wall guys are going to fix the wall next to the pipe and I don’t want to hurt it after it has been fixed!

I now have a huge hole in my roof and all day tomorrow I will try to patch the hole and fix the ceiling too. I have a master plan to patch the roof with roof cement, a sheet of aluminum, a couple of pieces of wood and a bunch of asphalt tiles! I bet right now as you are reading this all you can think is ” geez I wish I was Shawn!”. OK , maybe not!

The final finesse’s are being added to the new illusion and I think it will be a huge hit for both magicians and lay folks. I added a great little touch that would even fool me! I am still in search of the perfect music and hope to find it soon.

Did I mention I had surgery on Monday? I am actually moving much slower than normal for fear of ripping my stitches. It was supposed to be a pretty standard little procedure where they were removing a small lump from my chest. The Doctor said he was certain it was “nothing to concern myself with” and that it was probably just a sebaceous cyst. Well he numbed the area with a local anesthetic, used a scalpel to make an incision and then discovered the small little lump wasn’t so small! If you have a strong stomach or need to see gross things you can click and see the lump removed and the final results. If you did take a look you should know the small red dot on the left was the object we intended to remove! The one on the right was the surprise which has been sent off for a biopsies . Well enough about me and my failing body! I expect the results to be positive and I will live to see the wedding day of my dear Hannah. Which should be a long time from now as I’m not letting her date until she is forty-one!

“Next to being witty yourself, the best thing is to quote another’s wit.” Christian N. Bovee