288: F.F.F.F. 2016 Day Two

The second day started off following about four hours sleep as I trudged off to breakfast then returned to the first full day of activities. I will post the schedule soon, but again, it is late, I've been in meetings, chatting with some exciting guests for upcoming podcasts, missed the doughnut room, and didn't get my single malt tasting with some buddies. But it was Magic and Martini's Thursday, so I did have a couple martinis with my garlic ribs at Alex's Restaurant with Geoff Williams, Peter McLanachan, Don Wiberg and others. But now, it's time again for a couple hours sleep...almost literally.

Thursday April 28:
11:00am: Lukas Lecture
12:30pm: Lunch (on your own)
1:30pm: 2nd Close-Up Show - 4F Friends, Old and New (Gary Morton emcee)
3:30pm: 2nd Close-Up Show - British Gala (Daryl Rose emcee)
5:30pm: Dinner (on your own)
8:00pm: Fat Brothers Lecture
11:00pm: Hospitality Suite

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:05 - Dani DaOrtiz in the elevator for a short talk.

00:02:00 - Miguel Angel Gea in another elevator chat.

00:02:36 - Marc DeSouza talks about Lukas, from South Korea, who just lectured on manipulation.

00:07:43 - Will Houston, editor of The Magic Circular, talks about The Magic Circle and recent Circle activities.

00:16:11 - Meir Yedid reviews the afternoon show of "Friends Old and New"

00:18:45 - Mike Stratman tells us about the upcoming I.B.M. convention in July 2016.

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

108: MAGIC Live! 2013 - Day 3

Day three was another fun and exciting day that began with the Opening Session hosted by Justin Flom A highlight of the show was Xavier Mortimer's incredibly innovative routines. He is currently featured in the Cirque du Soliel show here in Vegas, "Michael Jackson One".. But it was Wayne Dobson being interviewed by Jeff McBride which received a standing ovation.

00:00:07 – Tom Vorjahan, Daniel Herron and Eddie Wade give a recap of the Documentary Live 1 show from last night that featured the Long Beach Mystics hosted by Stan Allen and Mike Caveney. It featured David Deeble, Victor and Diamond, Michael Weber, Dana Daniels, Mark Kalin and Jinger, Armando Lucera, Kevin James, and James Hamilton (as Alexander Hamilton).

00:08:33 – I give a short review of the General Session that was hosted by Justin Flom and featured Master Payne, Bill Abbott, Xavier Mortimer, and Wayne Dobson being interviewed by Jeff McBride.

00:13:00 – I chatted with random people dining at the In ‘N Out and how much they enjoy this place. It is one of my regular, mandatory places to dine while in Las Vegas.

00:15:02 – Simon Coronel talks about creativity and how he developed his routine.

00:26:00 – Photo time with Criss Angel

00:26:50 – David Hira talks about this convention and conventions in general and their appeal to different age groups.

00:34:45 – Scott Hunstler was one of the winners on the Sunday night Welcome Party. He talks about what he won. Mark Weidhaas, S.A.M. Past President, and Errol Lipschitz, from Vancouver, talks about their experience of this convention.

00:39:56 – We viewed the documentary about Ricky Jay’s life, Deceptive Practices. Here I get to talk with a few people who know Ricky and have a perspective and opinion on the movie. It isn’t anything like Siskell & Ebert, but I think you will enjoy this discussion by Peter Samelson, Tim Felix and Jon Stetson.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file through FeedBurner or directly by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here.

105: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 4

The final day of the four (plus) day convention draws to a close with even more stuff packed into the day. It started off with the annual Order of Merlin Breakfast. This is for those who have at least 25 consecutive years of membership in the I.B.M. Immediately following the breakfast was the third and final day of the Big Three Events.

In the afternoon, there were six, one hour events going on simultaneous with each other. It was repeated again one half hour later which meant that you could only choose two out of the six. Well, you can't do it all...but I tried. I slipped in and out of a couple events but the one that had everyone fascinated was the "Carney Knowledge" event by Todd Robbins. He taught us how to walk on glass and also how to hammer a nail in you nose ("Human Blockhead"). Wow! I can check that off my bucket list now. After the Six Pack Sessions, Diamond Jim Tyler lectured on close-up.

Before the show began and the general public was let into the theatre, the contest awards were presented and the transition of the Presidential medals was made. Here are the awards that were given out at the Awards presentation.

Recipient of the McBride Magic & Mystery School Scholarship

Tamer Qafiti from San Diego, Ca.

Recipients of the IBM Endowment and Development Scholarships to the Sorcerer's Summer Safari Magic Camp

Salvatori Adler

Jason Knight

IBM Close-Up Competition

Youth Winners

1st place - Drake Stanton- San Antonio. TX

2nd place - Tamer Qafiti- San Diego, CA

Adult Winners

1st place - Alberto Lorenzo- Miami FL

2nd place - Rune Carlsen - Norway

People's Choice Award - Close-Up and winner of the Obie 4F Close-Up Award

Alberto Lorenzo - Miami, FL

IBM Stage Competition

Youth Winners

1st place and winner of the FANTASMA Prize Package - Eli Portala - Toledo, OH

2nd place -"Smart Magic" Thirawat Kongnugul

Adult Winners

1st place- Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

2nd place - Chris Randall - Las Vegas, NV

People's Choice Award

Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

Karrell Fox Comedy Award

"Caramel Machine" Sadaharu Suzuki and Toshiharu Odjima - Japan

The evening show played to a nearly packed theatre with Todd Robbins doing an incomparable job as the Master of Ceremonies. The show began with Luna Shimada followed by Eugene Burger, Peter Samelson, Francis Tabary, Valerie and closing the show was David DaVinci. After the show ended most people retired to the hotel to say their final farewells at the "no host" bar in the ballroom.

This final mega-podcast has it all. With this being the final day, I knew that I had to get around to everyone in fairly short order in between my attending some of the other event. The time stamps for this Podcast are:

00:00:08 - Todd Robbins talks about the evolution of the one man play, "Play Dead" , that we viewed last night on film. He discussed his association with creative consultants like Teller (of Penn and Teller), and where it might go from here. He also chatted about his association with Monday Night Magic, carnival side shows, and much more. He also talked about the success on television that his young son, Fin, has been receiving on soap operas (that is Fin in the picture above with the realistic looking wooden cigar).

00:45:14 - The Associate Dean of McBride's Mystery School, Larry Haas, talks about what the school does, the importance of scripting, finding good words, developing your character, publishing books and more.

01:05:27 - C.W.O. (Chief Wizard Officer) of Fantasma Magic, Roger Dreyer, talks about the development of his company and association with and dedication to the development of youth in out art. Roger tips his hand with some inside information about the future projects that you can only hear here on The Magic Word.

01:17:00 - Francis Tabary, performer, creator and inventor of a novel rope routine talks about how he created the routine.

01:21:31 - Fielding West talks about how he got started in Las Vegas. He gives us a couple of great stories with celebrities that you will find memorable.

01:41:50 - Jade, one of the previous I.B.M. Gold Medal winners, talks about what she's been up to over the past few years. We also hear a bit from Lance Burton and Fielding West in this segment.

01:49:01 - Sammy Patrick Smith, Editor of The Linking Ring (official journal for the I.B.M.) talks about the new app for the I.B.M. with the digital edition of the journal and the new design of the http://magician.org website. which will be released soon.

01:53:14 - Co-Chairman of the convention, Mike Stratman, is breathing easier now that the convention has ended. Here he talks about the numbers and successes and feedback.

01:59:42 - Walter "Zaney" Blaney tells us a funny story from the early 1960's shortly after he developed his Ladder Levitation. This involves David Hoy and a prank he played on Walter.

02:11:15 - I give a quick wrap up as I walk back up to my hotel room and begin to edit this podcast.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file through FeedBurner or directly by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here.