From The Editor
Here’s the latest MAGIC
Preview, offering a
peek at what’s coming in
MAGIC Magazine for
January.
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Stan Allen
Stories in MAGIC
this month:
This is Not a Pen
By Adam Rubin
Mark Setteducati is lying
on the rug of his
Manhattan apartment and
he's covered from head to
toe with pens — well, not
completely. I pull the lid
off a large plastic tub
labeled "frogs" and pour
amphibious-shaped writing
implements onto his face.
The shoot's photographer
says we need more pens —
there are still sixty
boxes stacked up in the
kitchen — so, on go the
"hot dogs," the "hearts,"
and the "tigers."
Eventually, all that's
visible are Mark's
aquiline nose and his
designer eyeglasses. While
the camera snaps away,
Mark shoots me a glance.
Even underneath the
mountain of plastic, I can
tell he's smiling. For a
guy who invents novelties
and games for a living,
Mark Setteducati is often
remarkably deadpan. He has
a deep, dry voice and an
intently focused demeanor.
A New Yorker through and
through, he has strong
opinions; he has no
patience for "crap," and
is a man of discriminating
taste. It's kind of hard
to imagine him playing
with toys, even as a
child.
Criss Angel BeLIEve: Two
Years Later
By Rory Johnston
Two years ago on
Halloween, I attended
BeLIEve starring Criss
Angel and subsequently
wrote up my impressions of
the show for the December
2008 issue of this
magazine. I said that I
would like to return month
by month to see how it
evolved. I did not. I
waited two years, until it
was announced that Criss
was now in charge of the
show and that major
changes had been made to
the production, reflecting
that it was under new
management. "It's my
vision now," said the new
director/writer/magic
designer — Angel himself.
So the end of October 2010
seemed like a good time
for me to revisit
BeLIEve and take a
look.
Close-up Magic from Far
Away
By Alan Howard
It's more than a
television in your living
room. It's far from being
a telephone. And it's a
giant leap beyond the
videophones that past
generations envisioned
we'd all be using by now.
It is being marketed as a
"telepresence," bringing
friends and family into
your home, as you appear
in theirs. This is the new
ūmi, properly written with
a straight line over a
lowercase U, and
pronounced "you-me"
— a connection between you
and me. The Cisco company
hopes ?mi is the wave of
the future and is
currently introducing the
product to shoppers in
malls across the US by
allowing them to interact
with performers in a
studio in Southern
California. Cisco hired
actors to help demonstrate
their product, but a new
twist was added to the
marketing plans when a
member of the ?mi team saw
a performance by Los
Angeles magician David
Minkin.
Ken Scott: Lessons in
Library Legerdemain
By Mark Nelson
Any child would consider
him or herself fortunate
to celebrate more than one
birthday per year.
Atlanta's Ken Scott, who
wrote the book on birthday
party magic (and
naturally, an accompanying
DVD), has celebrated up to
350 birthdays a year for
more than twenty years.
Ken's thriving business in
birthday parties has
solidified his reputation
as one of the premier
children's party
entertainers in the
southeastern United
States. Notwithstanding
his success, for most of
the past decade he has
been broadening his
performance art into an
equally lucrative area,
for which the only price
of admission is a library
card.
South for the Winter
By Rory Johnston
After a short delay,
The Magic of Sterling,
starring nineteen-year-old
Sterling Dietz, officially
opened at the historic
Teatro de la Cuidad in the
tourist town of San Jose
del Cabo, Mexico. Sterling
says it took over two
years to secure
authorization for the use
of the government-owned
theater. The soft opening,
originally scheduled for
mid-September, actually
took place on October 16 —
an invitation-only event
for the "destination
management companies,"
event planners, and
concierges of local
tourist hotels. The
response was positive,
with a standing ovation,
and word went out about
something new in town.
Dead in the Water
One hundred and
fifty-eight registrants
for David Sandy's third
Magic Cruise boarded the
Carnival Splendor on
Sunday, November 7, to
enjoy a seven-day cruise
and conference on the
Mexican Riviera — Puerto
Vallarta, Mazatlan, and
Cabo San Lucas, plus fine
dining and luxurious
accommodations, along with
magic shows, magic
lectures, and magic
camaraderie. Well, for the
most part, the shows and
lectures happened, and for
sure there was plenty of
time for camaraderie, but
the rest of the party
didn't quite materialize.
A Family Gathering
The late William Larsen,
Geri Larsen Jaffe, and
Bill Larsen Jr. joined in
spirit as "Brother" Milt
and "Princess" Irene
accepted accolades on
behalf of the entire
magical Larsen family on
December 6 in Las Vegas.
Over 200 "family friends"
gathered at the Orleans
Hotel as the Fantasma IBM
Ring honored the family
that brought the world
Genii, It's Magic,
The Academy of Magical
Arts, and The Magic
Castle.
A Magic Castle
Summoned to the scene of
the crime, detectives
encounter a dead body
hanging upside-down in a
Water Torture Cell. Did
the magician die trying to
emulate Houdini's feat, or
was it murder? That's the
opening scene of "Poof!
You're Dead," the latest
episode of ABC's comedic
mystery-drama Castle.
MacMillan's International
Magic
The 39th Annual
International Magic
Convention was held at the
Mermaid Conference and
Events Centre in London,
England. Even though the
event is now held over the
course of three days — in
this case, November 26-28,
2010 — the gathering is
still affectionately known
as "Ron's Day," in honor
of the late Ron MacMillan,
who created and ran the
convention for many years.
A Moment With... Simon
Lovell
Simon Lovell just
celebrated the seventh
anniversary of his weekly
show, Strange & Unusual
Hobbies, in New York.
MAGIC Magazine sat
down with Simon to learn
about that milestone of
consistency and some
recent changes in his
life.
The Rebirth of the
Hofzinser Commemoration
Ring
In 1933, German magician
Robert Farchmin endowed a
finger ring dedicated to
Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser
(1806–1875). Crafted by
Austrian designer Anton
Stursa, the Hofzinser Ring
is considered one of the
most important awards in
German magic.
More products reviewed
this month:
Eighteen products are
reviewed this month by
Michael Claxton, Peter
Duffie, Jason England,
Gabe Fajuri, Brad
Henderson, Will Houston,
and John Lovick:
The Last Greatest
Magician in the World:
Howard Thurston versus
Houdini
and the Battles of
the American Wizards
by Jim Steinmeyer
Loki by Ramanos
and Magic Tao
Memento by David
Regal
Magic Marvels #5:
Richard Osterlind's Any
Card at Any Number
by Andy Milsusnic
and WebGames 3d
Red Streamlined
Convertible by David
Regal
Fully Loaded by
Gareth Shoulder
Mash Pack by
Garrett Thomas
Classic
Correspondence by
Mike Caveney
Spotlight on the Card
Sharp by Lawrence
Scaife
Learned Pigs &
Fireproof Women by
Ricky Jay
Dupes by Gary
Jones and Chris
Congreave
Alice's Revenge
by Bob Farmer
The Magic DataBase
by HEH Software
Subsequent
Impuzzibilities by
Jim Steinmeyer
Torn 2 Pieces by
Shawn Farquhar
The Revolution
featuring Helter Skelter
with Aaron Fisher
Magic Shows: 30 Years
of Programmes from
Daniels to Derren
by Ian Keable
More tricks and advice
this month:
Joshua Jay's "Talk
About Tricks" features
great new magic from
Harapan Ong, Yoann Fontyn,
Matthew Featherstone, J.K.
Hartman, Bobby Hasbun, and
Dominic St-Jacques.
Gregory Wilson & David
Gripenwaldt's "Coffeehouse
Conjuring" will bring
one innovative coffee
trick per month to the
pages of MAGIC —
until your cups runneth
over.
Joanie Spina's
"Directions" focuses
on what makes Christopher
Hart's act so successful.
Mike Caveney's "Classic
Correspondence" offers
analysis of a letter that
is a snapshot depicting
America's Great Depression
and how it ravaged every
sector of society,
including our insular
world of magic.
Barry Mitchell's "Teach
By Magic" demonstrates
how a simple impromptu
trick can be used in a
wide variety of teaching
situations.
Doug & Heidi Scheer, in
"Real-World Methods,"
opens our eyes to the
incredible opportunity for
family magicians to bring
special needs children
into their shows.
Thomas Solomon's
"Viewpoint" reminds us
of the real purpose of
what we do as magicians.
Click here to see the
entire list of what's
coming in the January
issue of MAGIC Magazine.
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