2006 June | Inside Magic

Magician Saves Ship in Rough Seas

tommy_moss Tommy Moss was just vacationing ("taking Holiday") in the luxury cruise ship, Legend of the
Seas, minding his own business.

Then, Wham!

The ship was smacked by "a huge wave." The resulting flooding ran into passengers'
cabins and the very rough seas essentially stranded the ship. It would have been impossible to try to dock
in Guernsey, Portugal
or France.

The passengers were disappointed to say the least. Many planned on taking in excursions at the
ports of call but were now to remain on board in untoward conditions.

Mr. Moss is not just another passenger. Yes, he was traveling with his wife and
mother-in-law but that was apparently just a cover. But as circumstances presented no other
choice, Mr. Moss became The Magician.

The modest magician super-hero related his story to The Guardian (UK).

"I realised we were going to miss out on the excitement
of the ports so I decided to raise people's spirits. I spoke to the Purser and
after some discussion I was appointed as the roving magician for the
boat."

Although he claims to be nothing more than a mild mannered news vendor in London, the crew and
guests saw him as a true selfless hero.
He strolled from bars to lobbies and small gatherings, showing his
well-practiced close-up magic sufficient to boost the passengers' morale.

His work did not go unnoticed by the ship's Captain who invited Mr. Moss to
his table for a special, command performance the following night.

Mr. Moss told reporters, "It was a real honour to be asked to entertain
at the captain's table. I spoke to him and shook his hand and the guests
enjoyed the display. It was just nice to be able to do something for the
passengers and crew who had missed out on so much."

The ship eventually docked and passengers were given a 50 per cent refund
for their trouble.

The episode encouraged Mr. Moss. He
has been working weddings and parties as an adjunct to his "day
job." He intends to move from news
vending to develop his career as a magician.

What an inspiring story! Mr. Moss,
you have made our week.

Continue reading Magician Saves Ship in Rough Seas

Bigger than Words: Anatomy of Keys and Houdini

anatomy_of_keys This morning's Toronto Globe & Mail features Patrick
Watson's glowing review of The Anatomy of
Keys by Steven Price.

The new work
is inspired by the life and career of Harry Houdini but is different from many
of the other literary efforts similarly inspired.

"And now a young B.C. poet, Steven
Price, has imaginatively recounted that life in a gripping volume that travels
through a mind stricken by his parents' deaths to the point where the idea of
escape becomes the driving image: the pilgrimage, the grail. It is a psyche
that is always a part of a body, and a body always part of its own ending."

Mr. Price's work helps to introduce or reintroduce both
Houdini and poetry to a new generation.

"When I bring to a dinner party some
treasures from one of my recently discovered poets, I am often met with,
"Oh yes I used to like poetry when I was a kid, haven't read any since
school," and so forth.

. . .

"Well, now I'm going to start
bringing The Anatomy of Keys, and probably extra copies to give away."

Mr. Price's background as both poet and educator combines
with his love for the bigger-than-life Houdini to produce a "long
poem" that achieves "what all artists dream of: the virtual
disappearance from our awareness of the subtle technical intricacies that are
unfolding there."

Mr. Price's talent shines in his choice of language, metre
and rhyme, writes Mr. Watson. The result
is "a poetic adroitness here so knowing that it often hits you only
afterward how deliciously chosen each syllable has been."

Our poetry knowledge and sophistication would be sufficient
to fill to the brim an average sized Vernet thumbtip. We're stuck in the wonderful world of the
limerick and the two Robert Frost poems we were forced to memorize between
beatings and verbal shaming at "boarding school" — but what we do in
our time is our business, we suppose.

This review causes us to think there is a reason to again
try poetry.

A snippet from the epic related to the Substitution Trunk:

How she'd stub or shamble into trunks

ladders, chests, awkward before a crowd

yet glide with the careful verity of monks

when alone, when her wasp-slender waist flowed

with the relied-upon and regular-as-rust

assurance some goodness must come next.

Only because we trust you with our deepest secrets, we'll
tell you this passage made us feel, well, "funny." Not "funny" like someone belched at
a funeral, or "funny" like the "Headmaster" at our
"boarding school."

"Funny" in the sense we were excited, happy,
intrigued, vulnerable, motivated, anxious, guilt-ridden. Like the first time we
found the encyclopedia had entries related human biology.

We have often thought about Bess and her petite features –
including a "wasp-slender waist" — yet with the strength,
flexibility, and force of a gymnast. She
was always, for us, a magical Cathy Rigby or Olga
Korbut.

Poetry has a way of conveying a message greater than the
written words through which it is conveyed.
Houdini was both in life and death bigger than the man himself. We look forward to reading the entire book.

Please check out the publisher's page for more information
about this book and its upcoming promotion here.

Magic News Olga Korbut Houdini Poetry Cathy Rigby

Continue reading Bigger than Words: Anatomy of Keys and Houdini

And one more…

Continue reading And one more…

More Magic Cyril!

Continue reading More Magic Cyril!

Help Now! Barry’s Magic Shop Facing Eviction

barry-taylor George Schindler, Dean of the Society of American Magicians, had very troubling news on this morning's SAMTalk listserve.

We're including the entire press-release from Barry's Magic Shop because it so effectively relates the incredible situation facing Barry's Magic Shop.

In a time when many brick-and-mortar magic stores are closing for want of business, the Montgomery County (MD) officials hope to evict the store to improve the sidewalk and alley way.

But we are still in a democracy and while it may be tough to fight City Hall, it's not impossible.

We're reminded of a Tommy Cooper joke:

An explorer comes across a proud pigmy standing next to a dead elephant.

"Did you kill this elephant?" the explorer asks.

"I did," says the pigmy.

"With what?" asks the explorer.

"I killed it with my club."

The explorer looks at the pigmy and asks, "How big is your club?"

"We've got about 500 members," says the pigmy.

There is strength in numbers.

Here is the press release:

Barry’s Magic Shop Threatened With Eviction by Montgomery County After 31 years in Business in Wheaton, Maryland.

JUNE 14, 2006: The owners of Barry’s Magic Shop, Mr. Barry Taylor and Ms. Susie Kang, are dismayed to inform our many loyal customers and the general public that our beloved magic business located at 11234 Georgia Avenue in Wheaton, Maryland, is being threatened with eviction by Montgomery County through the Wheaton Redevelopment Program, which on May 31, 2006 forcibly acquired title to the building that we lease through a condemnation action.

Tragically, unless we are able to promptly work out suitable alternative arrangements with Montgomery County, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area may well lose its last remaining magic shop.

Ironically, Barry’s Magic Shop not only serves professional and amateur magicians, as well as young children interested in learning the traditional performing art of magic, from throughout Montgomery County, Maryland, but it actually attracts many hundreds of customers to Wheaton’s declining business district from relatively distant locations such as Fairfax County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Maryland, and beyond.

Customers who visit us at our Wheaton magic shop often patronize other local businesses in the area, such as delicatessens, coffee shops, and the like. We are puzzled as to how using taxpayer-generated public funds to potentially snuff out our wholesome, family-oriented business constitutes community redevelopment.

Montgomery County plans to demolish the building which we have leased for 31 years so that it can improve the alley sidewalk which connects Georgia Avenue to the parking lot behind our building.

It is a shame that the County has not given more serious consideration to creative ways to beautify and improve that sidewalk without demolishing our building and threatening our small business.

While Montgomery County has stated that they wish to cooperate with us to assist us in relocating to another building, and we welcome good faith cooperation, a forced relocation would place an enormous financial strain on our small family-owned and operated business.

Furthermore, we are unlikely to quickly find any suitable alternative business site which has the space and commercial access for anywhere near the rent that we have been paying under our lease.

We truly doubt whether Montgomery County fully considered the unique family-oriented nature of our magic shop and its customers, as compared to other alternative sites in the vicinity which might have been used for enhanced pedestrian access in Wheaton.

At this point in time, we do not know what the outcome of this terrible conundrum that we are facing will be, and frankly, facing this uncertainty has been very stressful to us at a personal level.
We ask for the prayers and support from our loyal customers and friends in Montgomery County, Maryland, where we have lived and worked for decades.

Please promptly send (by email or letter) your respectful expressions of support for Barry’s Magic Shop to the government officials listed below, along with copies to us in order that we may keep track of your efforts.

Every letter helps. Your letter may make the difference! Thank you very much for your many years of support as our customers and friends.

Barry Taylor & Susie Kang, Barry’s Magic Shop, 301-933-0373,
magic@erols.com, www.barrysmagicshop.com

Montgomery County Executive
Douglas M. Duncan
Executive Office Building
101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor
Rockville, MD 20850
(240) 777-2500
TTY (240) 777-2544
Email: douglas.duncan@montgomerycountymd.gov

Joseph R. Davis, Director

Wheaton Redevelopment Program

Montgomery County Maryland

2424 Reedie Drive

Wheaton, MD 20902

(240) 777-8125

Joseph.davis@montgomerycountymd.gov

Tom Perez, Councilmember (District 5, Wheaton)

Montgomery County Maryland

100 Maryland Ave, 6th Floor
Rockville, MD 20850
(240) 777-7966
Councilmember.Perez@montgomerycountymd.gov

Ms. Nancy Floreen, Councilmember

Montgomery County Maryland