Speaking of the Pendragons – How Did You Celebrate Pendragon Week? The Pendragons are pushing the Houdini envelope. The Coloradoan gives the Pendragons about two takes – newspaper talk for two pages of typed double-spaced text – of praise in today’s paper.
The paper shares secrets about which we had no knowledge. For instance, did you know that this week was Pendragons Week in Denver, just in time for their two shows?
The honor was proclaimed by Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper, in recognition of their recent inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Guinness folks say The Pendragons are the fastest performers in the history of magic to perform Houdini’s Metamorphosis.
Here is another secret. Did you know Mr. Pendragon was the stuntman who was standing in for John Belushi doing backflips down a church aisle in "The Blues Brothers (1980).
It’s true.
But it is not just speed and agility that gets a week named in your honor. "Charm is an under-rated element nowadays," Mr. Pendragon said in an interview from his California home.
"Knowing the secret doesn’t make it interesting. It’s the interpretation, all the presentation and the craft that comes in behind it.
"The audience should expect personality," Jonathan Pendragon said from his home near San Luis Obispo, Calif. "It’s not television. It’s not a movie. It’s the live performance where personality can come through. It’s also has charm, magic and poetry."
Eyes, Lies and Illusions – A Cultural Examination of Magic’s Images. A wonderful new exhibit tracing the history of optical illusion will open in London on October 7th. Tracing the tools of magicians and those who claimed supernatural powers, Marina Warner asks “are they the work of the devil, a gateway to another world or the key to our minds?”
Beginning with the concept that optical illusions are not supernatural but are mysterious, the exhibit traces how “illusions kept disrupting the boundaries between reality and fantasy.”
The art and commentary concludes that “running through the history of magic and the anxiety that… Continue reading Inside Magic’s Weekend News
Speaking of the Pendragons – How Did You Celebrate Pendragon Week? The Pendragons are pushing the Houdini envelope. The Coloradoan gives the Pendragons about two takes – newspaper talk for two pages of typed double-spaced text – of praise in today’s paper.
The paper shares secrets about which we had no knowledge. For instance, did you know that this week was Pendragons Week in Denver, just in time for their two shows?
The honor was proclaimed by Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper, in recognition of their recent inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Guinness folks say The Pendragons are the fastest performers in the history of magic to perform Houdini’s Metamorphosis.
Here is another secret. Did you know Mr. Pendragon was the stuntman who was standing in for John Belushi doing backflips down a church aisle in "The Blues Brothers (1980).
It’s true.
But it is not just speed and agility that gets a week named in your honor. "Charm is an under-rated element nowadays," Mr. Pendragon said in an interview from his California home.
"Knowing the secret doesn’t make it interesting. It’s the interpretation, all the presentation and the craft that comes in behind it.
"The audience should expect personality," Jonathan Pendragon said from his home near San Luis Obispo, Calif. "It’s not television. It’s not a movie. It’s the live performance where personality can come through. It’s also has charm, magic and poetry."
Eyes, Lies and Illusions – A Cultural Examination of Magic’s Images. A wonderful new exhibit tracing the history of optical illusion will open in London on October 7th. Tracing the tools of magicians and those who claimed supernatural powers, Marina Warner asks “are they the work of the devil, a gateway to another world or the key to our minds?”
Beginning with the concept that optical illusions are not supernatural but are mysterious, the exhibit traces how “illusions kept disrupting the boundaries between reality and fantasy.”
The art and commentary concludes that “running through the history of magic and the anxiety that… Continue reading Inside Magic’s Weekend News
Assume you grew up in the wild and never knew of civilization; as if you were a modern day Kaspar Hauser.
This strange man/boy wandered into a German town and lived a short, mysterious life. He lacked the social, hygienic and language skills that come from being raised by humans.
And yet he was very bright and inquisitive. He was plagued with a terrible hunchback apparently caused by his prior imprisonment in a small space.
He was either murdered or killed himself in the center of the town one evening and the cause of his death has never been determined.
Now, you as little Kaspar, stumble into civilization and are adopted by a very rich person and treated to only the best in life.
You have the best food, even though your palate lacked the sophistication necessary to discern Filet Mignon with a fine 1989 Mondavi Cabernet Reserve from Beanie Weenies and Grape Kool-Aid.
You would rightfully guess that all food in this brave new world tastes so wonderful and that all homes were stately mansions populated by caring and giving people.
You’re probably thinking, “what the heck is he talking about? So much for modern psychotropic medication!” Or maybe your thinking, “I haven’t even read this far. I gave up in the first paragraph.” Actually, no, I don’t know how you could think that if you stopped reading in the first paragraph.
Susan Hachette (pronounced like ‘hat-CHAY’) is the secretary for the Centre Michigan Magic Club. The modest organization is dedicated to the promotion of all forms of magic in “all kinds of people.”
You’ve probably have never heard of Ms. Hachette or the Centre Michigan Magic Club. To be honest, neither had I until I received the following note last week:
Sirs or Madams:
We are a small magic club here in Michigan. We like to think of ourselves as amateur magicians who get paid for performing their hobby. I am writing to you today because we cannot get our words out to the mainstream magic population. Our club has 22 full-time members and about 11 more when summer comes and people vacation here in Centre.
The Centre Michigan Magic Club is not a member of the IBM or the Society of American Magicians because they did not want us to join. We are like the Amish to them ? not that we are Amish but we do have a Mennonite couple who perform but in regular clothes.
The major organizations do not want to have magicians like us in their organization because they think we will take away from the commercialism of their organizations.
I am not saying we are better than the other clubs in the IBM or the Society of American Magicians. We are just different than they are. Because I am the secretary for the club, I have been writing up reports of the meetings but because we can’t get membership in the IBM or the Society of American Magicians, they don’t get published.
The Greater Detroit area has several favorite sons: JoeLouis, HenryFord, Eminem, and RobinWilliams.In fact, Mr.Williams attended school just two miles from where I write this review of a magician who most resembles Mr.Williams, JoeLouis, HenryFord and Eminem.
JaySankey isn?t from Detroit but he could be.He has an edgier feel than you might expect from a Canadian Magician.Of course, I can?t tell you why that stereotype should be true.
Mr.Sankey has been to our area several times and yet he packs the room each time.People return to see him not just because he refreshes his lecture each year, but because he brings so much to those who come to learn.
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