507: Day One - 2019 MAGIC Live! Convention

2019 Convention Schedule - Sunday August 4, 2019

24 hours Back Room Lounge (Dauphine A)

10:00 a.m. Registration (Bienville G) until 10:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. Photo Badges (Dauphine F) until 10:00 p.m.

Live Tonight!

7:30 until 11:00 p.m. - Welcome “Trick or Treat” Party (Esplanade)

7:30 until 11:00 p.m. - The Magic Shop (Mardi Gras)

11:00 p.m. - Grand Prize Giveaway (Mardi Gras)

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - Scott Wells prepares for take-off from Houston

00:04:53 - John McLenahan talks about the acquisition of Denny & Lee’s Magic Shop and its conversion to the Magic Hat and Wand Magic Shoppe

00:19:30 - James Dimmare at the Martinis and Magic show at the Thunderbird

00:29:04 - Stephen Sokulski (son of Stan Allen and sound director for James Dimmare’s show) talks about some of the plans for the convention

00:38:13 - Fred and Bobbi Becker talk about why they attend this convention

00:48:00 - Joey Cranford, co-proprietor of the Chicago Magic Lounge

00:57:45 - “Stance Burton” aka Stan Allen chats briefly about the evening’s actiities

00:58:00 - Craig Mitchell from South Africa talks about some of the other shows on the Strip he has visited

01:04:52 - Andy Pierson (Friend of The Magic Word) and Russ Jackson (listener from the U.K.) talk about what they like about the podcast. This is Russ’s first MAGIC Live! convention.

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506: Lance Pierce - Standing on Their Shoulders

Over the years, Lance Pierce has befriended some pretty incredible legends in our industry including Roger Klause, John Cornelius and Michael Skinner. In fact, he is the author of “Roger Klause in Concert” and “The Award Winning Magic of John Cornelius” and the webmaster of The Magic Pebble online forum and the host and organizer of Pebblepalooza, an annual close-up convention in Dallas, Texas He recognizes that the work we are doing today is only because of what we building on, which is the work of the early masters in our art.

This week, Lance talks about first meeting and becoming friends with Roger Klause, John Cornelius and Michael Skinner. He also discusses the development of The Magic Pebble and the close-up convention that became an outgrowth of that forum. Lanced has much advice to share that he freely offers in this podcast.

505: Ray Hyman - Skeptical Observer

Nonagenarian Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon, Ray Hyman, is one of the founders (along with James Randi and Martin Gardner) of the skeptical movement. He consulted for Alice Cooper and the federal government during his colorful career. And he still teaches workshops on “character reading” (see: cold reading) to skeptics.

In this workshop from The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012, Ray Hyman instructs participants on how to do "psychic" or character readings. They also perform readings on each other. The goal is not to increase the number of cold readers, but to show how easily a cold reading can convince people they have experienced the supernatural.

This is a TV interview of the truth. Jerry Andrus

In this podcast, Ray talks about meeting Dai Vernon, Dr. Stanley Jaks and Persi Diaconis and his close relationship with Jerry Andrus and James Randi. At one point in his life, James Randi asked Ray to come in to help consult with rock legend, Alice Cooper. He also talks about working with the government to dispel psychic phenomena and the development of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI),