427: Geoff Williams - The Man Behind The Hand

Geoff Williams is a funny guy. Many of the best comedians are "naturally" funny, or so it would seem. Geoff seems to me to have that quality. As to the title of this week's podcast it comes from the many pictures I have seen of Geoff with someone's hand waving in front of his face. But Geoff is the funny man behind the waving hands. He also posts daily puns on his Facebook page which is worth visiting each day just to start your day with a smile.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:48 - Geoff Williams talks about writing his daily puns and how he creates/writes comedy by using "mind mapping", and he tells about his YouTube videos called "Brain Candy" that is worth watching. Along the ways he gives some good tips on creativity.

00:57:57 - Product Review: "Signs" by Manuel Llaser from Vernet Magic. You are able to decode "doodles" on business cards that shows your prediction of selected cards. Recommended.

01:02:09 - Product Review: "Survival Kit" from SansMinds. Five tricks are taught how to make when you are otherwise unprepared to perform in an impromptu situation. Not recommended.

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369: Day Five IBM/SAM Combined Convention 2017

SATURDAY JULY 15 SCHEDULE
8:00 AM - NOON - Pre-Registration Opens for 2018 - Registration Area
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM - I.B.M. Board Meeting- French Room
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM - Dealers Open - Exhibit Hall
10:00 AM - 11:30 PM - Martin Lewis Lecture | Group A Only - Grand Ballroom
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM - Close-Up Gala | Group B Only— Bomhard Theater
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM - Close-Up Gala | Group A Only— Bomhard Theater
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM - Martin Lewis Lecture | Group B Only - Grand Ballroom
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM - Kenji Minemura Lecture - Grand Ballroom
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM - Ted Outerbridge Lecture - Grand Ballroom
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM - Awards Presentation - Whitney Hall
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM - Stars of Magic Finale - Whitney Hall (Ticketed Event)
10:00 PM - 11:30 PM - Presidents Reception | Farewell Party - Fountain Room (Second Floor (Rivue Tower)

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:16 - Michael Close, Editor for the M.U.M. magazine, talks about his past ten years as editor and some of the "overlooked" gems in the issues.

00:08:28 - Dick Bowman, National President of the S.A.M., talks about some of the goals for his year in office. We are interrupted for the show, so this is part one of two chats with Dick.

00:15:29 - Robert Festa, a Friend of The Magic Word,gives us his perspective of the convention and why he traveled all the way from Hawaii to be here.

00:23:00 - Graham Etherington and Peter Rogers tell what made them travel even further to attend this convention. They hail from Australia.

00:36:20 - Joel "Batman" Zaritsky talks about V.1 video channel offered as a benefit of the S.A.M. membership where members can watch live lectures and download then for later viewing, too.

00:43:51 - International President of the I.B.M., Bob Patterson, tells us what is on his agenda for the coming year as the newly inducted top officer of the organization.

00:49:41 - Dick Bowman concludes our discussion on his goals for his Presidency. We also talk about the status of getting a Magic Merit Badge offered by the Boy Scouts of America.

01:01:37 - Tony Chapek talks about his unique interactive act and how he "missed the boat" on not using the iPad.

01:08:11 - Marc DeSouza helps recap the convention.

01:16:58 - Chris Randall is excited that he was nominated to move forward to compete in FISM in South Koriea with his stage act

01:19:59 - Luis Carreon was one of the Professional Close-Up Show performers and he tells us about getting booked and meeting his magic heroes.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

334: A Magical Christmas Carol

Over the past year, I have attended a LOT of magic conventions. During those events, i have tried to update you with what was going on each day with daily updates from the organizers, talent, registrants, and dealers plus sometimes a little "color" background outside of the hotel.

But while I had some of my guests "cornered" for a few minutes, I asked them to do a reading of the classic story, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. As many of you don't know, Dickens was a bit of a conjurer himself having performed during the summer of 1949 in a coastal resort off of the Isle of Wight purveying prestidigitation to those on holiday in the area. He was known as the “Rhia Rhama Rhoos - the Unparalleled Necromancer" and reportedly performed many unusual tricks including making playing cards magically burst into flames, transporting a woman’s watch from inside a wooden box and into the middle of a loaf of bread, and even cooking a steaming hot plum pudding in a gentleman’s top hat.

But prior to his venturing onto the stage to prestidigitate, he had already written many of his well-known novels including one published in 1843 which would become the iconic classic and perennial treatise on the holiday, "A Christmas Carol".

So here I present you this year's audio greeting card with great gratitude to all of my guests who participated in this project and also to all of you who regularly listen to The Magic Word Podcast. Happy Holidays!

As a little added treat for you this holiday season, here is a video I filmed and edited in 1985. Magician Scott Wells is visited by "three foreign" visitors who want to learn magic. In this video, Scott performs close-up, stand-up and stage magic for his guests. He also gives magic lessons to his guests; however, these instructions have been edited out of this public video.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

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