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

I heard the news today … oh boy … two

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________

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

I heard the news today … oh boy …

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

Freedom of speech …

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

Got time?

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

Shawn for President …

Hey folks, lots to say but so little time as I have spent another day working on the yard and practicing my newest illusion for the big competition. Sure is looking good though. I had so many other things I really wanted and wished to do but working on the competition has to come first. On Monday I am off to have a small surgery performed. Nothing to worry about I think, hope. I told Hannah I was having an alien implant removed! She thinks it cool.

Will leave you with a little video …

“An independent is the guy who wants to take politics out of politics.” Adlai Stevenson

Each day is a lesson …

So everyday I seem to learn something new about myself. Like today I learned I don’t like yard work either! I don’t like to mow lawns, dig holes, plants bushes, shovel sand, lay ground cover, install edging or anything else that has to do with landscaping!

I also learned I get angry and loud much quicker in situation where I have little or no knowledge, other than that gleamed from the internet. I learned that spending a couple of grand on a new lawn does not necessarily mean you will have a nice lawn. Especially if there is an infestation of Chaffer bugs in your community. Not to mention the folks who put in the lawn gave you one that was already infested! So these little buggers eat the roots of the grass which kills the grass and the grubs are apparently really tasty to crows and raccoons who tear up your lawn for food. Life just keeps getting better! I remember when the hard decision of my day was whether or not to go ashore and lay on the beach of just stay on the ship and sit by the pool!

“Strange how much you’ve got to know, before you know how little you know.” Anon.

Legal Tender …

Take a bill out of your pocket. If you live in Canada it says right on the note “Bank of Canada – This Note is Legal Tender”. By definition this means it can be used at its face value for all debts public and private. Oh but wait, now days we have counterfeiters of $100 notes so there is always the chance the bill could be bogus! For this reason many businesses have taken up the practice of not accepting $100 notes! Ok, let me get this right. You have a business in Canada. You obtain a business license that outlines what you can and cannot sell, how to conduct your business, hours you can operate, etc. Then you open your store in a local community and proceed to not accept the legal tender of the nation! What? That would be like me opening a dollar store and then only accepting dollar coins (loonies)! Well you know I don’t want to have to make change and stuff!

I understand the owners of these stores don’t want to risk accepting counterfeit notes, which is why they should invest in a machine that detects this sort of thing. Can’t afford to buy a machine? Well they sell lights that work just as well. Heck, can’t afford the light, buy the damn pen that you mark with to expose the fakes! Don’t want to spend a dime! Well then educate your employees with free online programs like this one CLICK.

I for one have decided to no longer spend my money at establishments that don’t accept all forms of Canadian currency. If I am forced to use their business I am going to only use Credit Cards because they loose up to 3% on every transaction. Sometimes a transaction fee on top too! That means I will be buying three separate admissions to the cinema that is the only place to see the newest kids film Hannah is dying to see! Yup, I’ll be the guy taking up the time in the line, sorry!

I really dislike seeing these signs and if you just go on supporting places that have adopted this practice, it’s only going to spread. Soon they won’t accept $50’s and $20’s … and if you don’t think that will happen … just wait and see!

So ends the rant …

“If you owe the bank a $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 Million, that’s the banks problem.” J.Paul Getty

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

Three’s a charm …

Well, today I’m doing finishing work in the bathroom. A few years ago I did all the work in there but never finished off the cove moulding at the top. That pretty much describes the way I work around the house. I generally will do all the hard stuff and then get bored and stop just before the job is done. Today I am finishing off that job I started years ago!

I am also working on the front planter boxes as the wood to frame them was cut about four years ago and I just never got around to gluing them to the concrete blocks. Some of them warped due to weathering so I will replace a few, glue them in place and then the paint them to match. Doesn’t that sound so exciting?

This week I get to do a magic show in Canada. It will be my third one this year! Ok not really a show as much as a presentation in a hotel banquet room for a 150 bank folks. My stage is going to a whole eight foot by twelve foot, oh and two feet off the ground. Wow what a huge area! I suspect there will be lighting and I’ll have to move a podium before I start. OK, I can deal with all that … here’s the fun part. The show starts at 9:30 AM. Wait it gets better … since there is a speaker before me I have to setup even earlier … which means leaving the house at 5 AM!

At least I’m not bored like the guy in this video:

Well back to work on the house. Here one more video to make you laugh.

“It’s easier to find a travel companion than to get rid of one.” Art Buchwald