Marilyn Abbott, the daughter of Percy Abbott, speaks about on
the true history of Abbott’s Magic Shop and its relationship with Harry
Blackstone, Sr. as well as the controversy surrounding the ejection of
her business partner from the Abbott’s Get-Together two weeks ago on
the Inside Magic Forum.

Check it out.

Read the rest of this entry

Is Kim Jong-il Next?

At first, I thought I could use the deck of cards to do some kind of force and revelation. I wanted to figure out some kind of revelation that would be entertaining but when you think about it, there isn?t anything really funny about hated criminals. Nor is there anything profound about revealing Chemical Ali to be the selected war criminal card.

I knew I couldn?t use the deck with kid shows. Well, I guess I could, if I hated the kids and wanted to scare them into weeks of bad dreams and possibly court-appointed counseling. ?Suzie, do you have the picture of Hassan Hasim, the Chief Torturer of families suspected of disagreeing with Saddam ? known for his ruthless handling of mothers and children??

New Use for Frame?

But maybe, I thought, I could use the cards for classics to be performed for adults (or older kids) such as the Penetration Frame. I could put Saddam?s two sons on either side of the frame before shoving a very sharp pencil through their faces and apparently through the glass. Or I could use the cards for my new Sand Frame but that is almost pedantic. I am proud of my new Sand Frame, by the way. I bought it from Ron London during his lecture in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Thinking back, I probably should have waited until his lecture was over before going up on stage and buying the trick ? but it was so cool. Ron was so kind by my inadvertent…
Read the rest of this entry

Todd Robbins is bringing back the wonder and fun of carnival side-shows in his new show at the Soho Playhouse in New York. You are greeted to the show with five tickets that can be used to play carnival games, buy cotton candy or popcorn.

Robbins approach is to bring life to what was once a lively art. He has festooned the theater with banners from Ten-In-One shows. One
review described his demonstrations of sword swallowing and other
talents as being ?too gross or intense for some audience members not
comfortable with watching a human put himself into deadly situations
for attention.?

The
show includes glass eating, levitation, self-electrocution, fire
eating, the Human Blockhead, Twistina the Rubber Lady, The Headless
Woman, Madame Electra, The Flying Ebola Brothers, and the Gorilla Girl.

The audience is given souvenirs of a whistle and balloon on their way out. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Check out his website for information about the show but also great links to carnival show sites.

Read the rest of this entry