Piff the Magic Dragon received a glowing review on the usually snarky Chortle, a British Comedy Hub. How snarky? Check out the last lines from a recent review of a Fringe Festival comic and his jokes about London:
“If, as a comic, you are relying on anecdotes with no real peril or no punchline you’re clearly in for a rough ride. … Rarely have I been so turned off by such a blatant bout of town or city bashing. He can add awareness of this to the various notes-to-self he ought to make.”
Ouch. That’s Snark to the E, as the kids say these days.
Given Chortle’s willingness to pull no punches (along with an occasional head-butt and knee to the groinal regions), we were impressed by their take on Piff the Magic Dragon.
The reviewer notes that Piff the Magic Dragon’s flat affect is rare in magic.
Deadpan isn’t much used in magic. David Blaine might be a miserable sod, but generally conjurers want to sprinkle some showbiz razzmatazz over everything they do. Not so much Piff, who’s depressed and lonely, bitter that his wife and assistant has left him, and grumpy about the amount he’s had to spend on every prop.It’s an appealing persona, even if he hasn’t quite nailed it yet.
Regarding (Cornflake the Clown) Justin Lane and his magic clone Magic Matt for making false and misleading claims on awards for publicity purposes.
The New Zealand Commerce Commission has concluded its investigation into this matter and has issued Cornflakes Magic World (Justin Lane) with a Compliance Advice Letter.
A Compliance Advice Letter informs the trader that the New Zealand Commerce Commission has received complaints, outlines the details of the complaint and informs the trader that the Commission is of
the opinion that they are at risk of breaching the Fair Trading Act 1986.
Justin has now complied with the Commerce Commissions requests and removed from all his websites, social media and promotional material items that were of concern and he also has apologised.
If you have similar problems with dishonest and misleading advertising by performers in your area or country then it is worthwhile looking at what legal channels you can pursue to have these false or misleading advertising claims removed.
We are not sure whether she will go by the last name Copperfield or Gosselin or some combination of the two surnames. We have a team working on that issue and should be able to post the answer shortly. Mother and father live in Mr. Copperfield’s private island.
Our editors believe there is sufficient indicia of credibility to permit publication of this great news here on the hallowed pages of the oldest magic news site with a domain name consisting of a preposition and the word “magic.”
Inside Magic congratulates Mr. Copperfield and Ms. Gosselin on their blessed event.
On the other hand, The Post drives us nutty.
Because they lack creativity or they are lazy, the New York Post’s coverage led with the blasé.
Abraca-baby . . . Illusionist David Copperfield has become a dad after his French girlfriend, Chloe Gosselin, gave birth to a beautiful girl, Sky, Page Six can exclusively reveal.
Magician Criss Angel’s Magic Broadcasting Network (“MBN”) is on the pad, into its final countdown and making final safety checks before its launch into the interweb net.
In keeping with the astronaut theme, we note Angel’s launch party will come with major star-power.
The site takes flight at Monday evening at 9:00 p.m. (midnight EDT) when Robin Leach introduces Angel; who in turn welcomes Siegfried Fischbacher, Lance Burton, Jeff McBride, David Hasselhoff and Flavor Flav.
We understand the television studio is located right on the strip and is fully “tricked out” with the latest 3D animation, video technology, and soundstages for the 14 shows on the initial schedule.
(See what we did there? “Tricked out” and Criss Angel is a magician who is launching a magic-oriented television and web portal? Our wit is so sharp we can shave just by bumping up against it in the morning).
The Guardian newspaper of London recently ran a piece on the popularity of magic, magicians and the traditional magic show. In asking whether magic was again becoming “fashionable,” the anonymous writer referenced “the old journalistic adage, “Two’s a coincidence, three’s a trend.”
“Penn and Teller, who sprang to fame in the 1980s by appearing to reveal the secrets behind tricks, thereby breaking the magical code of omerta, are the old guard in this pairing. Fool Usis, at heart, no different from the Paul Daniels magic shows of decades past, merely spiced with the addition of some X Factor dynamics.”
They may have been the “Bad Boys of Magic” but Fool Us is not a challenge to the proud history of an art form that continues to entertain because and in spite of remarkable developments in science. ”Penn & Teller are historians of magic and their respect for those who are operating within such traditions is palpable, even when they are not fooled by the acts.”
Piff the Magic Dragon received a glowing review on the usually snarky Chortle, a British Comedy Hub. How snarky? Check out the last lines from a recent review of a Fringe Festival comic and his jokes about London:
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