148: Day 2 - East Coast Mind Jam 2014

The second day of the East Coast Mind Jam had the "Mind-Jammers" gathered to see and hear a lot of amazing stuff. The lectures were longer than most time allotted at other conventions. And with the lower number of attendees (about 75 people), everyone had quality time with all the performers and lecturers.

Patrick Redford (George Tait) was up first in the morning following breakfast. Next was Devin Knight, then Jim Sisti (on marketing). Richard Osterlind held court for nearly two hours with an SRO audience. That only left an hour with Ted Karmilovich to give some really wonderful ideas in his lecture.

Scott Wells hosted the evening show with a lot of original introductions that will only be seen once. The bill included Devin Knight, Ted Karmilovich, Joe Atmore (who recreated The Amazing Dunninger's old time radio show) and closing the first half with Patrick Redford (George Tait). The second half was a real treat with Richard Osterlind presenting his one man, hour long corporate show to the audience that included many from the public who came in for the evening show.

The hotel had a private party in the bar, so the festivities closed rather early tonight even though there was a cash bar outside the dealers room until the "late" hour of 11:30.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:00 - Ben Salinas is a card and coin guy with 46 DVDs to his credit. But he is going the way of mentalists and adding more mind reading into his routines. Find out why.

00:09:14 - Joey the See "Mentalist to the Mob" (Joseph Curcillo) talks about how magic and mentalism leak into the courtroom as an attorney.

00:20:30 - Docc Hilford can finally take a breather to relax and chat for a brief moment. He talks about how much he has enjoyed this convention and what makes this one so different from others.

00:25:44 - Ed Russe and Eric Dittelman talk with Joe Atmore about his portrayal of The Amazing Dunninger and the history of this radio great.

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.

141: Marc Salem - Piece of Mind

Star of stage and screen (well, small screen...television), Marc Salem stopped by for an extended chat about mentalism, world travel, building a show and the structure of a show, theatre work, celebrities he has worked with and known, and more. In particular, he shares some stories about his appearance on the TV show, 60 Minutes, stories from the stage perspective, stories about Uri Geller and more. This was an interesting conversation in that we seem to be "all over the board". It was difficult to keep a focus and get direct answers despite redirecting. It was kind of like trying to nail Jell-o to to the wall.

One of the interesting analogies he draws are the three types of spacial displacement: human years, dog years and entertainment years. He also talks about the dangers of making predictions, making meaning of our magic and lives, using psychology, how to get publicity, The 13 (secret mentalism New York group), and so much more.

Marc was low-key in promoting his book to the point of not even mentioning its title in this podcast. For the record, his book is "The Six Keys to Unlock and Empower Your Mind: Spot Liars & Cheats, Negotiate Any Deal to Your Advantage, Win at the Office, Influence Friends, & Much More". Whew! With a long title like that, it's no wonder that he didn't mention it in order to keep the podcast short. :) But for those who are interested, you can find it on Amazon. Just Click Here for more information on Amazon and to see an excerpt from the book.

If you are interested in hearing more from Marc or you have any questions about anything he mentioned during our chat, then please drop him a note via email to masalem@aol.com

Magic (or is it "Mentalism") & Martinis' Thursday

133: Magic Year in Review - Putting the Band Back Together

In this podcast, I am joined by most of the old gang from "This Week in Magic" that was part of The Magic Newswire: Dodd Vickers, David "Silly Billy" Kaye, and Cameron Ramsay. Chase Goforth was "under the weather" and unable to join us on this podcast.

Many have wondered what Dodd Vickers has been doing since his hiatus from The Magic Newswire and his plans for the future of the website. The movie business in Atlanta, Georgia has certainly kept him busy but he has not neglected The Magic Newswire. Some exciting things are in store that include The Conjuring Arts Center. David Kaye has been touring a lecturing abroad throughout Europe and Africa during this past year. David talks at length about the College of Magic and the important work they are doing for the youth in Africa. Be sure to check out their website to see how you can help. Cameron has been performing, attending lectures and working with Andrew Mayne's new television show.

At time stamp 00:40:24 we kick off our discussion of what has happened in the world of magic including magic in the movies, magic on television, live theatrical magic productions, magic conventions, and more. We also mentioned a few names of those magicians who have passed on during this past year.

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). The built-in player above may not work on Apple Operating Systems due to their recent IOS update. Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2013. If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, then it would behoove you to do a little online search of what these people have contributed to our craft. If you have someone you think was overlooked, then please post the name in the comments below on this blog.