Random Photos from 2013 F.F.F.F.

A wink is as good as a force to a horse, of course, of course. Geoff Williams finds a willing (?) volunteer who would stand still long enough to pick a card.

Anson from Taiwan blew us away with his manipulation skills. producing colorful cards both small and large.​

Ines from Spain delighted the audience with her masterful skills of sleight-of-hand and misdirection as part of the Saturday afternoon kickoff show.

094: 2013 F.F.F.F. Day Two

Well, if you enjoyed yesterday's offering then you should love today's podcast. We start with an in-depth chat with organizer Obie O'Brien, better known as the Chief Forker (named after the Forks Hotel where the F.F.F.F. all began 43 years ago). Then later in the day we returned to Alex's Restaurant for more ribs and some delightful conversation with Geoff Williams, from Florida, and Peter McLanachan, from Glasgow, Scotland.

I was a little late getting this one posted because of the late lecture by Guest of Honor,, Stephen Bargatze then a chance to chat with some of our international neighbors and attendees. I hope to have some more interesting interviews tomorrow plus additional pictures. This convention is such a blast. 

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The first official show kicked off on Thursday afternoon with Ed Ripley as the opening act. He presented a three part act with cups and balls: one in the classic style, the second as a hip-hop rapper, and the third as Forest Gump. 

Guest of Honor, Stephen Bargatze, is a frequent foil who is often asked to assist with many of the performers. Here he is assisting Harvey Berg (unseen in this photo) with an original card trick.​

083: Still "Zaney" After All These Years - A Chat with Walter "Zaney" Blaney

Here's a New Year's "Blast from the Past." On January 12, 2010, Geoff Williams was in Houston on a lecture tour. Several local magicians got together for a lunch with Geoff that included Richard Hatch, John Star, Bill Palmer and others as well as Tim Drake (from Canada) who was in town to visit Walter Blaney.

I took advantage of the situation and sat down with Walter after lunch for a short chat about some highlights of his life in magic including his efforts to thwart magic exposure and the eventual development of the World Alliance of Magicians (W.A.M.), some funny stories of things that have happened during his performances with his Ladder Suspention and the fascinating people he has performed for such as NASA astronauts from the Apollo and Mercury missions.

Walter is working on an autobiography that will be a "must have" for all magicians when it finally comes out. But the effort, like Walter's long and multi-faceted life, is time consuming that has been years in the making and may be several years more before it is completed. Perhaps you could drop him a note to tell him how much you enoyed this podcast and to encourage him to hurry up and get his memoires published. You can reach him at: Walter@WalterBlaney.com

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