509: Day Three - 2019 MAGIC Live! Convention

2019 Convention Schedule - Tuesday August 6, 2019

9:00 a.m. Registration (Kiosk) until 6:30 p.m.

10:00 a.m. General Session for WHITE lanyards (Showroom) until 12:15 p.m.

10:00 a.m. Focus Sessions for BLUE lanyards until 11:00 p.m.

Eugene Burger: From Beyond (Dauphine B)

Making the Magic More You (Bienville G)

You Are All Terrible! (Esplanade L)

11:00 a.m. The Magic Shop (Mardi Gras) until 6:00 p.m.

11:15 a.m. Focus Sessions for BLUE lanyards until 12:15 p.m. (see Focus Session, 10:00 a.m.)

2:15 p.m. General Session for BLUE lanyards (Showroom) until 4:30 p.m.

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions for WHITE lanyards until 3:15 p.m. (see Focus Session, 10:00 a.m.)

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions for WHITE lanyards until 4:30 p.m. (see Focus Session, 10:00a)

Live Tonight!

5:00 until 11:00 p.m. - Exhibit: Ambiguous Objects (Dauphine F)

6:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 p.m. - Guess That Gimmick!, 60 min (Dauphine B)

6:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 p.m. - Close-up Experience, 75 min. (Bienville H)

6:00, 7:45, 9:30 p.m. - Little Big Show, 60 min. (Esplanade M)

One of the videos of objects presented by Kokichi Sugihara at the MAGIC Live! convention. Title: Ambiguous Cylinder Illusion Author: Kokichi Sugihara Institution: Meiji University, Japan

Dick Koornwinder demonstrating his Koornwinder Car

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - Jade talks about recently attending the Tom Stone workshop on creativity in Sweden

00:05:34 - Peter Samelson talks about some of the days activities plus observations on creativity and today’s audiences

00:17:28 - Joe Turner gives his perspective of some of the convention activities

00:29:58 - Curtis Kam tells us some of his favorite sessions so far

00:40:43 - David “Silly Billy” Kaye

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365: Day One - IBM/SAM Combined Convention 2017

This is the first of a five day series of podcasts from Louisville featuring conversations with convention talent, organizers, dealers and registrants. The intent is to bring you the sounds (and sights through the embedded videos and attached photos) of what's happening almost in "real time" so you have the next best experience of actually being there. .

This is not the "official" first day of the convention, but nonetheless, there were several "pre-convention" activities that happened and are worth recording for this episode which I will call "Day One".

IBM-SAM 2017 COMBINED CONVENTION SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, JULY 11
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Lance Burton Teen Magic Seminar - Jones
Ed Thomas Memorial Jr Magic Workshop - Beckham
2:00 PM - S.A.M. Endowment Fund Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - S.A.M. Magic Center Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Registration Opens - Registration Area
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM - S.A.M. Caucus Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Registration Opens - Registration Area
6:00 PM - Red Carpet Event - Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
7:00 PM - Louisville Premere: Billy Topit - Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
9:30 PM - Midnight - Dealers Grand Opening / Autograph Session - Exhibit Hall

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:04:20 - David Salwak and Fielding West talk about the talent at this convention, both on the shows and the competition.

00:12:09 - Michael Perovich, from Los Angeles and a member of the Magic Castle, tells why he comes to the combined convention which allows him to see acts that aren't seen at the Magic Castle.

00:25:46 - Oscar Munoz, International President of the I.B.M. tells us about what he has accomplished over the past year as President and some of his highlights of what he has seen and done.

00:28:19 - Dal Sanders, past National President of the S.A.M., tells us what's going on with the S.A.M. Council.

00:33:08 - Richard Turner calls in to remind us of his debut on Penn & Teller Fool Us on July 13, 2017

00:34:57 - Q&A Panel discussion following the debut showing of "Billy Topit"

00:52:03 - Jeff Sikola, National President of the S.A.M., talks about what he feels were the highlights of the past year.

00:57:55 - Jason Andrews talks about the competitions that brought him to where he is today as well as his cruise ship work.

00:02:31 - Tommy Ellison (a Friend of The Magic Word) shares a story as an update from the podcast posted Feb. 27, 2014 and available by Clicking Here.

Click on the banner above to visit the website where you can now purchase the DVD.

354: Robin Leach - Lifestyles of Magicians

Robin Leach has long been associated with his catch phrase "Champagne Dreams and Caviar Wishes" as he hosted the long running television show, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic details. But Robin is also a "magic fan" who clearly loves and has a deep respect for magic and he is friends with many of the local magicians. Believe it or not, he is an honorary member of The Magic Circle. He also has a rather impressive collection of magic books in his library.

I saw Robin Leach at last year's MAGIC Live! who was trying to be inconspicuous as he chatted with Stan Allen. I later asked Stan about Robin's association with magic which led to this podcast. As a long time resident of Las Vegas and immersed in the lifestyles of local celebrities, Robin has a unique perspective on the history and evolution of the magic scene. I felt that he would make a perfect guest for the podcast to hear an "outsiders" perspective of magic, magicians, and the role they have played in making Las Vegas what it is today. I was not disappointed.

Today at age 75 his life hasn't slowed down. I was lucky to get an hour and a half of his time during the week I was in Las Vegas because of his tremendously busy schedule including his weekly vlog (video log) on You Tube, LuxeVegas.

Our discussion opens with Robin talking about making and enjoying a "proper" cup of tea. He then talks about his passion for magic and how he believes it needs to have a much higher ranking among the performing arts. He then chats about having been a guest of Bob Harbin and becoming an honorary member of The Magic Circle. He then goes on to talk about his favorite magician, Bill Malone. He also enjoyed watching Ricky Jay live in his Broadway performance, "Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants".

He then talks about the evolution of magic on the Las Vegas "Strip" including from Norm Neilsen, Channing Pollock, Siegfried and Roy, Lance Burton, David Copperfield to Penn & Teller, Criss Angel and Amazing Jonathan to the newest show on the Strip, Jarrett & Raja. Although he sings the praises of many magicians, he is not a fan of hypnotists, and he also has advice for Mac King and Xavier Mortimer. Ultimately, he believes there are too many magicians in Las Vegas today though the art of magic still survives. He then shifts to talking about how hard it is to work in New York City but Monday Night Magic has proved to be the exception.

He concludes by giving us his three "D's" of show business: Dedication, Discipline and Diligence.

For more information on this and the other Nick Trost books in this series, please visit Steve Bryant's Little Egypt Magic, March 2017 edition.