Inside Magic

The Sturgis
Journal goes front and center with a great profile on one of our
favorite magic dealers and people in the world, Rick Fisher.

It seems like it wasn't that long ago that FAB Magic began
what some considered the magic equivalent of shipping coal to Newcastle. 

We didn't know what that meant so we just took it in stride.

But it sounded like, "does the world need Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan?" 

How can you have too many magic stores?

FAB Magic opened its beautifully adorned magic shop just
yards from Abbott's Magic Factory.  Colon is not a large
town, or even a medium-sized village. 

It
boasts a population of 1,227 residents and the main road to the south
accommodates both motor vehicles and horse-drawn Amish carriages and carts. 

Colon, Michigan is a beautiful and historic
location.  However, could it support two
magic shops?

It appears Newcastle
needed more coal because both Abbott's and FAB Magic are still open for
business and have expanded their plans for the upcoming Magic Week.

Whilst Abbott's charges registration for participation in
the iconic Get-Together, Mr. Fisher offers most of his events, lectures,
activities and shows free.

"Tuesday through Saturday is pretty much going to be non-sleep,"
owner Rick Fisher told The Sturgis
Journal.

The shop will be open from 9:00 am through 10:00 pm during
Magic Week.

We presume we're supposed to go back to the campgrounds
behind the high school and sleep while the store is closed.

Mr. Fisher signed up a bunch and a half of corporate
sponsors,  to present all but the Friday
and Saturday evening shows for free. 

Special for this year's edition, Mr. Fisher will be offering
two DVDs: one of Percy Abbott performing and the other is a collection of shows
by Jerry Conklin.  We viewed an advance
copy of the Percy Abbott DVD and were so impressed.  This is a keepsake worth keeping. 

Marilyn Abbott will be on hand to sign DVD's on Saturday and
Mr. Conklin will stop by to sign his DVDs on Friday. 

Mr. Fisher has worked hard to make FAB Magic a real magic
store; a brick and mortar location that has a high-speed avenue to the
internet. 

We've purchased much from FAB Magic and have yet to be
disappointed in the quality, service, or price. 
Artisans (some formerly of Abbott's) are not apparently driven to meet
quotas or crank out merchandise but to design and manufacture tricks they would
be proud to use in a show.

We purchased our Suitcase Table and Close-Up Table from FAB
and have not seen such high-quality since we attended an antique magic
auction.  The FAB version of the Torn and
  

Mr. Fisher once said he wanted a magic shop attractive to
both the beginners and seasoned pros.  He
has produced that in FAB Magic.  The
floorboards creak as you walk into the historic storefront, the long counter
with demo pads and tricks in various stages of preparation invites you to join
other magic-lovers for swapping and showing magic, discussing the "best of"
any particular magic category, and the type of fellowship you don't see outside
of the traditional magic store. 

Visit Mr. Fisher's FAB Magic in person during Magic Week
(we'll see you there) or virtually on the web at http://www.fabmagic.com.

Continue reading Rick Fisher, FAB Magic Featured

We love magic.  There
we said it.  Sue us.  We'll pretty much see anything with magic in
it; or even in its title.  We bought a
gross of Magic Markers just because of the name. 

(We also learned that while the fumes from one Magic Marker
may not be hazardous to your mental or physical health – the wafting aroma of
magic solvent from 144 uncapped Magic Markers will mess you up something
fierce. 

We still have flash-backs and
disturbed dreams – we can't stop our paranoid delusions the story book
character, Harold of Harold and the Purple Crayon is stalking us.  He hopes to draw the silhouette at the crime
scene of our cringing, lifeless body. 

Plus, he doesn't really wear proper clothes and that scares us in and of
itself – we feared non-conforming clothes long before our experimental and
unintentional abuse of Magic Markers). 

Whoa.  Where did all
that come from.  We were writing about
how much we loved magic and all things magic when, "Wham!" we're in
the midst of an Ibsen soliloquy of angst, regret, and fumes.  Sorry.

Magic is what we love. 

Right.  Let's get on
with the story, then.

We had no intention of seeing Woody Allen's new film Scoop. 
We knew nothing about the story line or plot.  In fact we assumed it involved a newspaper
person or perhaps someone who diligently cleans up after her animal during dog
walks. 

We were half right.

Scoop does involve a newspaper woman, Scarlett Johanson, but
just barely.

That is apparently the point of the movie.  The stunning Ms. Johanson is a young
journalism student who is often barely clothed. 

But there is magic involved. 

She gets her biggest scoop (like Great Dane-sized)  when she volunteers for a magician's
trick. 

During the effect, she is visited by a gossiping spirit who
tells her the identity of Britian's "Tarot Card Killer." 

She works with the magician played by Mr. Allen on the hunt
for the murderer. 

Well, one thing leads to another, comedy ensues, the bad guy
keeps killing women, more laughs, jealousy is evidenced, some more gags, and
then it ends. 

Not a lot of magic in the film.  It is analogous to the amount of magic one
would find in Magic Markers.  While Magic
Markers' fumes may intoxicate, it is the upper-torso of Ms. Johanson that does
the trick in this film.

Offered one cynical critic, Alex Sandell:  “If you threw together Manhattan Murder
Mystery and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion and gave each film's leading lady
humungous boobs, you'd pretty much have Scoop.”

That's hardly high praise.

We searched the internet(s) for Mr. Sandell's critique of
Magic Markers or that little obsessive-compulsive, ugly-clothes-wearing,
stalking, graffiti-drawing, ambiguously-aged, linear-thinking, freak Harold or
his purple crayon of doom.  So far no
luck.  It could be Mr. Sandell hasn't
found time to review Harold and the Purple Crayon or maybe he too has been
threatened or intimidated by the spooky little deviant. 

You can read a review of the reviews for
Scoop here.

Check out the outstanding official web
site for Scoop here.

Continue reading Magic Movies and Magic Markers