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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.

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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!

126: MINDvention 2013 - Day Two

What an amazing, full day of more activities and fun. The scheduled lecturer was canceled because of some passport problems, but was replaced with three outstanding performers: Chad Long, Patrick Redfern and Bill Abbott. After lunch we had a 30 minute lecture by Allison Campbell who talked about being a trade show mentalist followed by another mini-lecture by Paul Vigil who shared an excellent performance piece that he rarely presented but received the most response from his audiences. The brevity of their lectures was because of the extra time that was given to Jheff and Bob Cassidy for an another excellent lecture.

After a dinner break we were treated to a hilarious, R-rated show by Cashetta, a drag queen psychic, who held back nothing. In less than 60 seconds I knew we weren't in Kansas anymore. The fun continued into the evening after his/her show with the Bob Cassidy Roast featuring his good friends telling off-color jokes and stories from Bob's past. Jon Stetson was the host of the roast and included funny/rude stories by Lew Wymisner, Ken Weber, Cashetta, Michael Weber, Jheff, Ross Johnson, and Docc Hilford.

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:11 - Chris Carter talks about working the college campus shows and his creation of the "Anniversary Waltz" card trick

00:11:28 - Eric Citron talks about his upcoming mentalism convention called the East Coast Mind Jam next March 28-30, 2014. This will be an honor for his lifetime of magic and as the owner of Tannen's Magic in New York. More information on this convention can be found at: http://eastcoastmindjam.com/

00:16:36 - Stan Allen gives us a little recap of his MAGIC Live! convention from this past summer and some feedback from the attendees plus maybe a look ahead at what he plans for the next one.

00:20:22 - Chad Long talks about the creation of his character and development of how his stage persona came into being.

00:33:03 - Docc Hilford advises us why and how we as entertainers should tip (provide gratuities) to others and the importance of doing it. He also tells us what he is up to for the next few months. you can order Docc's products by visiting http://DoccHilfordProducts.com

00:52:52 - Paul Draper carries on with the discussion begun in yesterday's panel regarding Magic and Mentalism and whether it can be mixed in the same program. Paul will be traveling on a lecture tour of northeastern U.S. He will be represented by Megan Tholen who will coordinate his trip. If you are interested in hosting his lecture, then please contact Megan at PaulDraperManagement@gmail.com

01:01:32 - In the Dealers' Room, Losander tells why he is a dealer at the MINDvention. When you think about it, the efects that he sells not only look like magic, but they can be presented as mental feats of power to bend physical nature. For more information on his prodcucts, visit http://www.Losander.com

01:04:15 - Lupe Nielsen just returned from the Los Angeles Conference of Magic History and she gives us an update of what happened there at that very exclusive event.

01:11:32 - Pete Poskiparta is a radio host in Finland where he performs mind reading over the radio. He also does voice overs for films in his country.

01:28:20 - Eric Dittelman gives us a follow-up of our conversation last year about America's Got Talent and what happened during the interim in his life including an appearance on the TV show, "Ellen" last April. You can follow Eric on Twitter at @EDittelman and on Facebook Fan Page at http://www.Facebook.com/EDittelman

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125: MINDvention 2013 - Day One

I know what you're thinking. The answer is yes...sometimes.

The tenth annual MINDvention in Las Vegas is underway. Co-sponsored by Danny Archer and Robert Allen, this event is always intimate (around 100 attendees) and always chock full of information shared among the top mindreaders in the world. This year was no exception with attendees from a dozen countries with the largest out-of-the-U.S. contingency from Israel with about a dozen people.

The opening event was the Attendee Show that kind of turned into a dealer show, but there were some nice effects in there. The afternoon lecture by Thomas Heine & Rainer Mees (from Germany) had a few technical problems but it didn't prohibit them from giving some great advice on some solid routines. They came back later in the evening for a lecture on Theory and Presentation, both very important in mentalism.

Paul Draper hosted a panel discussion on "Magic in Mentallism" with Joe Atmore and Paul Vigil. It was a lively discussion with some interesting, if not somewhat heated exchanges, during the Q&A portion with the audience. Apparently not everyone agrees with everything and/or everyone's opinion. Michael Weber packed the house including some local magicians who came to learn some incredible and creative presentations.

The time stamps for this podcast are as follows:

00:00:00 - Excitement builds as I depart Houston for Las Vegas.

00:01:55 - I ran into Bob Cassidy (Guest of Honor at this year's MINDvention) at the airport so we chatted about a lot of stuff. Bob went off into many nooks and crannies on mentalism including his new book which is being premiered today. I'm glad I had my recorder on to catch all of this one.

00:17:23 - Danny Archer and Robert Allen talk about some of the people who are attending this year's convention and some of the surprises in store for this year.

00:24:15 - Bill Gladwell is headlining his own show called "Headcase" at the Iris Theater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and bringing in big crowds. TripAdvisor.com lists his show as tops in the area. Be sure to see his show if your travel plans include Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. More information at: http://www.iristheater.com/bill-gladwell.html

00:29:24 - Banachek talks about shooting their last episode of this season's Criss Angel's TV show on Spike TV. He also talks about Criss's upcoming surgery and those who will be filling in for him for a few weeks. He also talks about some of the upcoming traveling shows he is involved with in addition to a possible second season for Criss on Spike TV. We talked about his passionate dislike for "magicians" who are exposing magic. We chatted about Banachek's Magicians' Pledge which is posted below. Many clubs should post this on their websites and require all members swear to uphold the pledge.