DAN & DAVE

“We live in a time where we expect to see amazing things before our eyes, like space ships streaking between stars. Dinosaurs returning to life. Whole planets blossoming with beautiful blue people. So how do you expect to impress people just by sawing someone in half or picking the ace of spades out of a deck of cards? Host Scott Simon visits the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York to talk with director and magician William Kalush.” – Scott Simon, NPR

In this 9 minute interview Bill Kalush walks you through the Conjuring Arts Library and into the “rare book room” where  he talks about magic’s earliest feats dating back 5,000 years ago up until modern times where a discussion takes place on how technology has transformed magic.

Download the podcast here, or listen to it now via the player below.

Since the first issue came off the press in 2005 we have been avid subscribers to Gibecière, a biannual journal on the history and preservation of magic published by The Conjuring Arts Research Center and edited by Stephen Minch (author and publisher of some of magic’s most prolific books).

We are pleased to be the only other source to offer this journal to those who find joy in reading about the history of magic. With contributions from Bill Kalush, Ricky Jay, Mike Caveney, Martin Gardner, and Juan Tamariz to name a few, we don’t recommend passing this opportunity up.

Back issues are now available in our Store. You can also subscribe to Ask Alexander which includes the Gibecière journal, mailed to your door twice a year.

As a young magician just starting out I remember buying Mathematics, Magic and Mystery from the local bookstore only to quickly learn every trick within days. The effects and puzzles within are extremely easy yet impossibly effective. Apart from this book, I know very little about Martin Gardner, other than what’s on Wikipedia.

Several years ago a good friend loaned Dave and I his copy of The Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic, another book by Martin Gardner which is now long out of print. For nearly 12 hours we went through every page – all 600 – thoroughly marking it up with yellow sticky notes. We look forward to the refined edition of this book with commentaries by Michael Weber to arrive later this year.

The video above is titled “The Nature of things” and gives a nice profile of Martin Gardner with long time friend and magician/mathematician, Persi Diaconis.

We are very pleased to announce we have been selected as this years Special Guests for Ontario, Canada’s Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp. We are so excited about this and honored to have been invited. It’s the one event we’re most looking forward to this year.

We’ve heard so many wonderful things about camp from our friend Lee Asher and are absolutely thrilled to be apart of it. Simply put, we can’t wait!

We’re mostly looking forward to all the sessioning. We love teaching magic and jamming out new ideas and what better place than with a group of enthusiastic young magicians. Last year, everyone received a special gift from Dan and I, well, this year expect no less – although this time we deliver in person.

Camp will take place August 31st – September 5th at beautiful Camp White Pine (same camp used for the movie Meatballs). For more information and to register, visit www.sorcererssafari.ca.

It’s Close-Up Magic Week on Letterman! What does this mean? Well, every night this week on the Late Show with David Letterman will feature a different close-up magician. Beginning Monday, you will see Jason Randal, Tuesday is John Carney, Wednesday is Johnny Ace Palmer, Thursday is Steve Cohen and Friday is Michael Ammar. Congratulations to all these magicians. We can’t wait to see their performances.

Sugar pills, injections of nothing — studies show that, more often than you’d expect, placebos really work. At TEDMED, magician Eric Mead* does a trick to prove that, even when you know something’s not real, you can still react as powerfully as if it is. (Warning: This talk is not suitable for viewers who are disturbed by needles or blood.)

*Residing in Colorado, Eric Mead has been at the forefront of magic for the past 20 years. His insight on performing effective magic, in any situation, will not only leave an impression on you, but also on your audiences.

See Eric Mead LIVE at Magic-Con 2010, March 19-21
Similar Post: David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min

Back in August we wrapped filming on The Daniel Garcia Projects vol. 4-6. Low and behold we have finally finished production on this massive 3 DVD set by Daniel Garcia. At this very moment both Daniel Garica and Paul Harris (producer) are reviewing the DVDs for final approval before heading to press. A teaser will be posted shortly.

If you haven’t already, check out The Daniel Garcia Project volume 1-3, they are fantastic.

In 1997 David Blaine took the art of magic to new heights with his debut television special, Street Magic. He presented a genre of magic that was organically fed by pop culture’s own dynamic surroundings. It was live, on the street, in your face and uncensored. People actually believed in his abilities. He was a “magic man” capable of anything.

“It was David Blaine’s first TV Special that inspired us to see magic as a visual art. Our style and even magic as it’s perceived today is owed to his influence.”

As organizers of Magic-Con, we are honored and privileged to announce that David Blaine will be joining us for our breakthrough 2010 conference. We have arranged a very special interview with Blaine and we’d like to include all of you.

For details, visit www.magic-con.org

Magic-Con is an interactive conference for those serious about the art of magic, where those in attendance can share ideas, insight, and a common experience while working together towards the advancement of an artform.

It is our adamant belief that imagination is the most important aspect of advancement and with magic, anything is possible.

The goal of Magic-Con is to advance the art. It will provide a platform for magic’s smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries, and top performers and introduce an intellectual mentality behind the art, science and technology of magic.

Magic-Con is not a traditional magic convention. It is a conference for those serious about the art. It is a full three day weekend of lectures, discussions, interviews, performances, presentations and interactive activities.

In addition to lectures, there will be talks and presentations by non-magic professionals on topics such as: entertainment, business, science, and technology. These are just a few examples of fields we strongly feel our art can benefit from.

Unlike most magic conventions, Magic-Con will require the participation of everyone in attendance. We have several activities planned that will be insightful, engaging, inclusive, and rewarding. And most of all – fun.

Visit the official Magic-Con website.

Though their methods are enshrouded in secrecy, magicians combine the art of performance with a variety of scientific disciplines, including math, physics and psychology, to create their dazzling effects and fascinating illusions.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to present Magic: The Science of Wonder, a new exhibition exploring the history of this secret art with fascinating artifacts and mesmerizing live performances.

In this captivating video, get a sneak peek into the magical mysteries and scintillating science in store!

Learn more about the exhibition at The Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Principles of Magic

In this captivating video (click the image), discover The Principles of Magic with Guest Curator Scott Cervine – and then visit the exhibition to learn more about “the scientists of show business.”