Dr. Vincent Sacco of Queen’s University’s Department of Sociology is the go-to guy when it comes to criminology, the deviant mind, the suspicious motives and what sociologists would call “other.”
So of course, the first words out of his mouth upon meeting a reporter for Kingston EMC would be “Want to see a magic trick?”
The esteemed professor believes there is a similarity of method — if not motive — between magicians and their evil counterparts in the non-magic world, politicians and advertising executives.
“The basic principles of how a magician fools you are the same ones that the advertiser and the politician use to fool you,” said Dr. Sacco.
Canadian Magician Anthony Lindan and his friends, Shaun Fergus, Alex Kazam and Bill Abbott perform next Monday to benefit Autism Ontario’s efforts on behalf of Autism’s victims.
Niagra This Week features Mr. Lindan’s story and personal involvement in the cause.
Mr. Lindan and fellow magicians intend to entertain guests of Ridgeway’s restaurant from 6 to 9 p.m. with close-up effects.
He told reporters the style will be like The Magic Castle.
The magicians will accept no tips and they are not being paid for the work. They will encourage their table-side audience to contribute to Autism Ontario.
“They gave us donation boxes,” Lindan said. “We’re what is called a third-party fundraiser. We do all they work and the autism people get all the money.”
There’s two things that are close to magician Anthony Lindan’s heart – magic and the fight to find a cure for Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD.Lindan, along with three of his magician friends will be at Ridgeway’s Restaurant in Ridgeway next Monday to help raise money research to help unlock the mysterious condition, a complex neurobiological disorder that impacts normal brain development.
The magician’s 12-year-old son, Harvey, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as well as Tourette syndrome, both part of the autism spectrum.“So yes, we went through the flapping, kicking stages,” Lindan said. “He’s at the very high functioning end of the spectrum.”
We told you about his plan to survive two days below ground. Locked in a coffin, buried under tons of dirt, and, to make it harder, a committee would bind his arms and legs with shackles before placing him in the aforementioned coffin in the ground.
He hoped to escape where many have failed. Even Houdini believed the escape was too dangerous.
Well, he made it out alive and convinced he does not want to be buried when the time comes for the divine recycling.
“I know one thing for sure, when my soul is done with my body I don’t ever want to be buried again,” Dean Gunnarson said. “I’m going to see Pete (Kilcollins) to cremate me and they can sprinkle my ashes on some flowers.”
Pete Kilcollins brought Dean to the Buried Alive stunt site in a hearse used in the Kilcollins’ cremation business.
Dean wanted to erupt from the freshly packed soil at precisely 1:26 p.m. on October 31st to link his emergence from the grave with Harry Houdini’s passing from this life in 1926.
According to The Sun, after Dean dug through the topsoil to daylight, he collapsed momentarily.
His estimation of the stunt matched Houdini’s: “It was pure hell digging my way up,” a dirt-covered Gunnarson said. “The weight was crushing and I couldn’t breathe. It was tough.”
The meeting, also known as CAMaraderie, received great coverage in the Canadian press. Typical of the positive perspective is an article in The Globe and Mail.
We read on the constantly updated MagicConvention feed from Twitter that CAM announced this year’s award winners.
By the way, if you don’t subscribe to the MagicConvention tweets, you need to. At first, we thought it would bring just scheduling details for this summer’s conventions but we were wrong.
Andrew Webb serves as Editor and works with incredibly talented and prolific writers to bring a stream of breaking news throughout the day. If you are not ready for Twitter, at least visit the Magic Convention Guide web site to see what you are missing.
The big news was the selection of the very talented David Acer as Magician of the Year. Joan Caesar received a very well-deserved Lifetime Achievement award.
Dr. Vincent Sacco of Queen’s University’s Department of Sociology is the go-to guy when it comes to criminology, the deviant mind, the suspicious motives and what sociologists would call “other.”
The Canadian Association of Magicians
Recent Comments