133: Magic Year in Review - Putting the Band Back Together

In this podcast, I am joined by most of the old gang from "This Week in Magic" that was part of The Magic Newswire: Dodd Vickers, David "Silly Billy" Kaye, and Cameron Ramsay. Chase Goforth was "under the weather" and unable to join us on this podcast.

Many have wondered what Dodd Vickers has been doing since his hiatus from The Magic Newswire and his plans for the future of the website. The movie business in Atlanta, Georgia has certainly kept him busy but he has not neglected The Magic Newswire. Some exciting things are in store that include The Conjuring Arts Center. David Kaye has been touring a lecturing abroad throughout Europe and Africa during this past year. David talks at length about the College of Magic and the important work they are doing for the youth in Africa. Be sure to check out their website to see how you can help. Cameron has been performing, attending lectures and working with Andrew Mayne's new television show.

At time stamp 00:40:24 we kick off our discussion of what has happened in the world of magic including magic in the movies, magic on television, live theatrical magic productions, magic conventions, and more. We also mentioned a few names of those magicians who have passed on during this past year.

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Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2013. If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, then it would behoove you to do a little online search of what these people have contributed to our craft. If you have someone you think was overlooked, then please post the name in the comments below on this blog.

Magicians' Valhalla

Scott B. “Scotty” York, Jr. (DOD – December 28, 2012)

Imam Hossain (DOD – December 2012)

Kees Schoonenberg

Louis W. Chaudet

Robert “Bob” Steiner

William P. “Bill” Miesel

Harold F. Puff

Alexander Adrion

Maurine B. Christopher

Jerry C. Schnepp, Sr.

David Ball

Deyip J. Louie

Hans Moretti

Peter J. Reveen

Dr. Robert A. “Bob” Escher, Jr.

Johnny Lonn (Bjorn Lonnqvist)

Dennis R. Loomis

Vinicio Raimondi

Gene “Phantini” Grant

Amos Levkovitch

David L. Bendix

Richard A. “Dick” Staub

Richard W. “Rick” Walker

Albert Ching

Bart Whaley

Jon LeClair

Burton S. Sperber

Madren Elbern “John” Calvert

Gladys Simoneaux Christenberry

Gertrude Smith

C. Parker Swan, III

Monica Roucau

Roland Hill

Karl Norman

Roderick William "Rod the Hop" Dee

Last vestiges of Christmas cookies to be eaten as we ring in the New Year. Cheers!

The Night Before Christmas graphic 2.jpeg

132: The Night Before Christmas

During this year's MINDvention in Las Vegas, several of the attendees agreed to read the Clement Clarke Moore classic poem, "The Night Before Christmas". It was a fun project that includes voices that many magicians will instantly recognize and others you may have to play back a second or third time to believe who it is. This is a short podcast but offered with good wishes for you to enjoy the best of the holiday season.

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. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Magic & Martinis Thursday

On Stan, on Docc, on Kerry and Banachek. On Jeff, on Chad, on Lupe, Bob and Paul(s). Cheers, one and all and to all a good night!

Simon Lovell in "Strange and Unusual Hobbies"

131: Simon Lovell - A Ferret's Broken Femur

In early November, Simon Lovell took a fall that landed him in the hospital with a severely broken leg (femur broken in three places). Many have wondered about his status, how it happened and how he is doing. Here you can hear it from the ferret's mouth himself. And beyond just a health update, Simon talks about creativity in magic, the importance of hard cover books versus e-books, his latest book projects, his work on the USA Network's popular TV show, "White Collar" plus other projects where he will have acting roles, his work with Kozmo and "Reel Magic", and so, so much more.

You can hear more of Simon on Reel Magic by subscribing to Kozmo's bi-monthly video magazine. Visit the website at http://www.reelmagicmagazine.com/

There are so many topics and side trips we take on this podcast that it's difficult to give you time stamps for all the fascinating areas we covered; however, if you are most interested in hearing about Simon's recent injury, then you can skip to 00:37:47.

Simon would appreciate hearing from you with your good wishes for his speedy recovery. He has returned home from the hospital but your email will help bring him some cheer during his long rehabilitation period. You can drop him an email at Simon@SimonLovell.com

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 (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.