243: Tea TIme with Paul Daniels hosted by Luis de Matos

FISM is more than just days of contests and shows. There are also schedule lectures and "talks". One such "talk" that was a regular feature on several days of the congress was "Tea Time With..." hosted by Luis de Matos. Each day Luis spent an hour interviewing legendary magicians including Paul Daniels, Silvan, Lu Chin and Cyril. When it came to chatting with Paul, all Luis had to do was ask one question and Paul filled in the rest with amazing stories. This man has lead a charmed life and his future looks bright, too!

I chatted with Paul earlier during the first day of the congress and posted our brief conversation. My regular listeners will remember the two part podcast that was broadcast earlier this year (#206 and #207). I asked if I could record the lecture in the hall for broadcast and Paul said, "I don't know that many other people will want to hear all of this from me again." I disagreed because I knew he would relate new and different stories than those he related in the aforementioned podcasts. So, he relented and graciously agreed to allow me to record and share this podcast with you. So, if you were at FISM but missed this event, or if you heard it but would like to hear it again, or if you missed FISM entirely, then here is your chance to sit beside me and listen to a master story teller and magician weave some magic.

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242: A Few Words With FL!P

Part of the fun, wonder and beauty of FISM is getting to see, talk and spend time with friends whom you don't regularly see. I recently saw a posting on Facebook saying, "Why is it that all the people I want to spend time with live so far away from me?"

Well, while I was in RImini, Italy for FISM this year, I had a chance to sit down and chat with an old friend of mine from Holland, Flip Hallema. We first got to know each other many years ago (I think it was 2001) when he was part of the talent line-up at a Texas Association of Magicians (T.A.O.M.) convention. He was my house guest for several days and during that time, we became good friends and established a bond. I learned so much from Flip during that time, and not just about magic. We went to museums where he brought everything to life with his incredible knowledge and background in graphic art design and art history.

Well, when we got together in Rimini, I turned on the microphone as we talked about so many things. And although I had heard the story about how he invented his now famous "Flip Stick" move, I asked him about it so it would be archived for you to know. This move is mentioned in the Tarbell Course, Volume 7. Flip has won many international awards but none less prestigious that the Performing Fellowship Award he received from the Academy of Magical Arts in 2006.

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237: FISM Italy - Day Six

We finally made it through all the competitions and the final night gala show. Max Maven competed the evening contest show. These are the first place winners who competed tonight for the Gran Prix:
Kim Young-Min from Korea - general magic
Shin Lim from Canada - cards
Horret Wu from Taiwan - cards
Thommy Ten & Amélie van Tass from Germany - mentalism
Pierric from Switzerland - parlor
Hector Mancha from Spain - manipulation

Gran Prix winner close-up - Pierric
Gran Prix winner stage - Hector Mancha

Special winners
Creativity and artistic achievement - Derren Brown
History, research and scholarship - Magic Christian
Theory and Philosophy - Roberto Giobi

And the 2018 FISM will be held in South Korea.