252: Day Two - T.A.O.M. Convention 2015

The first full day of the TAOM was chock full of activities, some of which required you to choose what to see and what to miss. For example, the Bob Fitch lecture was opposite of the close-up competition. The day kicked off with Ken Scott talking about working Library shows while in another room, Mica Calfee taught how to make a home made "Card Fountain". Keeping with the kid show theme started by Ken Scott, Oscar Munoz performed then taught some ideas for a "School Show".

Next up was Bob Fitch who gave us some practical advice on how to improve our acts. After lunch was a special tribute to our veterans complete with live music and a color guard. Five magicians gave abbreviated lectures including Doug Gorman, Oscar Munoz, Scott Wells, John Cornelius and Diamond Jim Tyler all capably compered by David Hira. The professional close-up show followed with Suzanne the Magician, Peter Samelson, John Carney, Jay Scott Berry, and Robert Baxt.

The evening gala was an all "women" show hosted by Ali Shelley and featured Margaret Steele, Amanda Eve, Rachael Dunn, Jesse Pattersson (a hula hoop expert who drew the first sustained ovation that turned into a standing ovation), Tiny Bubbles, and closing the show was Jade.

Late night activities started with Robert Baxt talking about comedy followed by another lecture named "Two Extra-Ordinary Women" lectures by Randi Rain as "Vamp-IRA" and Steve Daly aka "Tiny Bubbles". This lecture competed with the traditional "Roger Klause Midnight Madness" show hosted by Jamie Salinas. This show always featured some of Roger's friends performing their one pet effect. Jamie continues this tradition by hand picking his friends to do just one thing.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:12 - David Hira and Suzanne the Magician talk a bit about their thoughts on the previous days magic activities

00:10:19 - Diamond JIm Tyler tells about his relationship with Brian Brushwood's "Scam School" and how he became the most frequent guest.

00:17:39 - Past President of the T.A.O.M., cover boy for Genii and and former Guest of Honor for the T.A.O.M., Ramon Galindo, talks a bit about his illustrious career as a tailor and parakeet magician and how Siegfried changed his life.

00:25:12 - From Las Vegas, Nevada, Steve Daly, tells us about his Abra-CORN-dabra convention in Iowa and what it's like to work a popular, sold-out show in Las Vegas.

00:33:59 - Multi international award winner and creator, John Cornelius, tells what he's been up to the past sever years and tells us about working with Doug Henning and Roger Klause.

00:45:32 - Ray Anderson has some surprises in store for the attendees tomorrow night at Esther's Follies and he might have tipped a little of it between the lines in our chat.

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240: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Three

Day three of the 87th annual convention continued with the second day of the "Big Three" events (see yesterday's blog). The afternoon event was four hours of close-up contests with 14 or so contestants. After the contest, David Kaplan lectured before the evening banquet. The diners were entertained by Bill Abbott and Soma before they let out and everyone hustled over to the theater for the evening show, hosted by Dave Cox. The show was the top six finalists (listed in yesterday's blog) who were competing for the Gold Cups. The winners of all the contests will be announced on the Saturday night show. The late night lecture was by Chad Long.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:29 - Multiple award winning magician, Michael Dardant, talks about entering contests and his FISM experience of being entered and competing in both stage and close-up in Italy.

00:16:47 - I.B.M. President Elect and Contest Committee Chairman, Oscar Munoz

00:28:57 - Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle) Close-Up Magician of the Year, Suzanne, talks about restaurant magic. She is joined late in the discussion my Oscar Munoz who also talks about school shows.

#195 - The Bullet Catch - The Second Eli Marks Mystery Novel

If David Copperfield and Sherlock Holmes had a love child, then it would be Eli Marks.

I am excited that John Gaspard has published this second book in the Eli Marks mystery series. Although magicians will undoubtedly find this book of interest, it's market is really for the masses of mystery book aficionados. I spoke with John on The Magic Word earlier this year about his first book, The Ambitious Card, which sold well enough for his publisher, Henery Press, to request another which officially makes this a "series". According to the brief description on Amazon;

Newly-single magician Eli Marks reluctantly attends his high school reunion against his better judgment, only to become entangled in two deadly encounters with his former classmates. The first is the fatal mugging of an old crush’s husband, followed by the suspicious deaths of the victim’s business associates.

At the same time, Eli also comes to the aid of a classmate-turned-movie-star who fears that attempting The Bullet Catch in an upcoming movie may be his last performance. As the bodies begin to pile up, Eli comes to the realization that juggling these murderous situations -- while saving his own neck -- may be the greatest trick he’s ever performed.

You can pre-order the book now from Amazon or wait until after its release on November 4, 2014 when it will also be available from Barnes & Noble. The Bullet Catch will have its official launch on Wednesday November 5, 2014 at Once Upon a Crime bookstore, 604 West 26th Street, Minneapolis, MN beginning at 7:00 p.m. Also appearing will be Suzanne the Magician, (winner Academy of Magical Arts Close-Up Magician of the Year) who will perform close-up in the book store.

John said that book tours aren't what they used to be. No longer do authors travel the country from book store to book store signing books. In this age of e-commerce, they usually have book signings closer to their homes but responding to the masses through blogs, tweets, Reddit events and podcasts. But some of the reviews are in from those who have had a sneak peak.

“The Bullet Catch is a wonderfully engaging, delightfully tricky bit of mystery. Fans of magic will delight in John Gaspard’s artful use of the world of magicians, onstage and offstage. It’s a great story and great fun!” – Jim Steinmeyer, Author of Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear

“Gaspard's latest Eli Marks mystery, The Bullet Catch, has as many tricks up its sleeve as its likeable magician-hero. As the body count rises, so does the reading pleasure.” – Dennis Palumbo, Author of the Daniel Rinaldi Mystery Series and Co-Writer of My Favorite Year

“The Bullet Catch is a real winner of magical proportions. Filled with snappy, delightful dialogue and plenty of sleight-of-hand humor, Gaspard's latest mystery in the Eli Marks series does not disappoint. Head to the bookstore and get yourself a copy now!” – Jessie Chandler, Author of the Award-Winning Shay O’Hanlon Series

“The author does a fantastic job juggling the separate plots and keeping readers’ minds thoroughly engaged…The relationships between Eli and his remarried ex are interesting, to say the least, and the pure entertainment of the industry will leave all readers hoping that there will be a ‘number three’ very soon.” – Suspense Magazine

“The Bullet Catch has a quick pace and dialogue that engages the reader from the first page…Gaspard has written a great character into an original storyline…I will definitely be seeing/reading more of Eli as Gaspard expands this promising mystery series.” – Examiner.com

“Readers, get ready for your mind to expand as Eli Marks returns and uses his powers of prestidigitation, intuition and deduction to solve another mystery. If David Copperfield and Sherlock Holmes had a child, it would be Eli Marks.” – Scott Wells, The Magic Word Podcast

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.