Number 180
- 6th December 2003
Hiding
the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer is now available from
Amazon.co.uk. "Hiding the Elephant is simply the finest,
best-told, most graceful history of the Golden Age of magic I've ever
read. It belongs on that elite shelf of historical explorations, like
Longitude or The Professor and the Madman, which are so
entertaining, so informative that the reader with no prior interest will
feel educated and enthralled on every page. Jim Steinmeyer has braided
together the historian's trifecta of penetrating analysis, entertaining
narrative, and larger themes, which combine to create a terrific story.
Ultimately, he pulls off the holy grail of scholarship: his terrific yarn
will make novelists jealous." Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats
the Devil. To order
Click Here.
6.12.03
The
32nd International Magic Convention takes place this weekend
at the Holiday Inn, Kings Cross, London
(Map)
and in a change from tradition the names of close-up competitors have been
released. In order, they are: (drawn at random) 1. Jupiter (Hungary) 2.
Seth Engstrom (Sweden) 3. Sean Heydon (UK) 4. Alex Cahill (UK) 5. Manolo
Talman (Spain) 6. Carlos Vaquera (Belgium) 7. Dr. Gabor G. Szabo (Hungary)
8. Paul McCormack (UK) 9. Ryan Swigert (USA) 10. Andy Field (UK) 11.
Ferenc Galambos (Hungary) 12. Tony Price (Belgium) 13. Carducci & Jim
Langley (USA & UK) 14. Michael Vincent (UK) 15. Hayashi (Germany) 16. Tom
Stone (Sweden). If you hurry along you should still be able to register on
the door (weekend £55.00, single day £35.00). More convention details from
International Magic. This is always a first class event... not to be
missed!
6.12.03
Blaine
blasts Sky over starvation stunt coverage. "David Blaine today hit out
at Sky TV as he revealed he was paid only $100,000 for his starvation
stunt, a fraction of the £1m widely reported as his fee for going without
food for 44 days. The US magician said he wished Sky had not been
involved, claiming he had no idea it was going to broadcast live coverage
of his stint in a Perspex box over the river Thames." To read the full
story in The Guardian
Click Here. David Blaine's return visit to the GMTV studios on Tuesday
went without a hitch and this time it was Eammon Holmes who was
'protected' with a 'mysterious eye', the encounter was reported by
ITV.com
and
Ananova. Meanwhile he continues to do the rounds promoting his new DVD
and video
Above the Below which was released on Monday.
6.12.03
Channel
4 cleared over 'Russian roulette' stunt. "Channel 4 has been cleared
of glamorising gun culture by TV watchdogs investigating complaints about
a programme in which illusionist Derren Brown apparently played Russian
roulette with a real bullet." To read the full story from The Guardian
Click Here. Derren's new Marylebone flat is discussed in the
Evening Standard.
Derren Brown Live 2004, see What's
On.
6.12.03
Seventeen
year old Edd Crafer, who performs in the Norfolk area as "Magical
Edd", won the Anglian Magic Society's Powell Cup Competition
on Wednesday evening last week. The competition took place at the Norwich
Puppet Theatre and the award was presented to Edd by Margery and Dennis
Powell. Having come second in this competition last year, Edd was
extremely pleased to achieve first place this time around. Back in July he
was awarded runner-up in The Magic Circle's Young Magician of the Year
Competition with an act that is both stylish and original.
6.12.03
Paul
Kieve's career was profiled in an article in Liverpool's Daily Post on
Friday, "There was a Canadian magician called Doug Henning doing magic
specials on the television and I recorded them and tried to duplicate his
illusions using cardboard boxes from the supermarket. I tried to cut my
younger brother in half with a prop made out of a cardboard box but it
fell apart..."
Click Here to read the full story. Paul can be seen live in
Duckie's Christmas Performance Palais - C'est Barbican! over the
Christmas holidays, reported in The Independent
Click Here, for more information and to book
Click Here.
6.12.03
John
Archer, Mel Mellors, Joe Riding and Mark Worgan
appear at the
Komedia Theatre, Brighton,
on Monday December 8th in
Klub Magic, Mark Worgan's monthly night of
cabaret magic which has been doing great business since its inception
earlier in the year. Tickets are £10 and doors open at
7.00pm with the show starting at 8.00pm. The venue has recently been
redesigned and seats 300 allowing guests to enjoy food and
drink. To book in advance
Click Here.
6.12.03
Mark
Leveridge Magic are currently featuring a number of offers and
promotions on their website including Christmas Crackers and Web
Offers plus details of the upcoming IMAGE day, December's
Feature of the Month, and regular features such as Chatter,
Back-Chat, The Wrinkles Column, The Comedy Zone, and
more. Visit
www.markleveridge.co.uk.
6.12.03
"Derren
Brown is a great guy but I did say to him, 'Why don't you use a real
gun and a real bullet and just fire it at your hand so that you have a one
in six chance of getting your hand blown off but you don't die?'" David
Blaine responding to questions from the Oxford Union on Thursday evening.
Libby Brooks from The Guardian was there to try and find out more
about the man and what his 44 days in a Perspex box was really all about
Click Here.
6.12.03
Dominic
Wood's Spooky Magic (just published) features "scary tricks
such as Dead Man's Finger, Spooky Hanky and Ghostly Coin"
and looks set to be a popular present amongst 7-11 year olds this
Christmas. Available from
Amazon.co.uk.
6.12.03
Lance Burton's
On the Road today at 4.40pm on ITV2 •
Joe Labero's new
television special, Magician
Impossible, will now been shown on December 27th at 6.25pm on ITV.
Originally planned for transmission on December 13th it has been moved to a
peak-viewing Christmas slot •
"Illusionist Roy Horn may
be released by the month's end from the Los Angeles hospital where he's
recovering from an attack by a white tiger, his publicist said on Monday"
Click Here •
That's about it for this week, but before I go, here's
one I wouldn't want anyone to miss!
Click Here • Your UK magic news is always
welcomed, see you next week, Duncan.
6.12.03