Weekly Round-Up
by SCOTT WELLS
October 27, 2008
Howdy friends. Quite a week building up to All Hallows Eve. I hope you are planning something big this week for National Magic Week. Don't forget to invoke Harry Houdini's name when you perform to keep his spirit alive and remind the next generation who he was and what he meant to our magical heritage. This week I have an update on the Magic Island, a belated review of the recent Kostya Kimlat lecture and workshop, James Swain was in town for a book signing this past week, I.B.M. Ring meeting tonight, Halloween Happenings, a T.A.O.M. 2009 update, and more. (Read More...)
Early reports on the repair and rebuilding of the Magic Island proved optimistic. Management was 
hoping to have it remodeled by November 1. At the time, it appeared that January 1 would be more realistic. In mid-October they moved back their grand opening date to mid-November. With nothing happening aside from tearing out the carpeting and the wall coverings, nothing looked like it was being done to make that date either. It is now being officially reported that it will be "Closed for Remodeling" until January 1. Not a good omen for restaurants in general because the sign that usually follows is "For Lease." But for now, it appears that the Island will be taking a siesta while the tile floors and walls are installed to give it that authentic "Mexican restaurant feel" that it was missing. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this is not the beginning of the end.
James Swain was in Houston this past week for a book signing. He was at the book store "Murder 
By The Book" for a signing of his newest thriller, "Night Stalker". Be sure to check out his website to see when he might be visiting your city. He's a great guy and willing to talk magic with the local magi.
I mentioned that Kostya Kimlat recently lectured and gave a workshop in Houston. Braeden Clark Tarpley filed the following report: "Kostya's lecture was fantastic. He had us fill out a form weeks beforehand so he could address our particular interests; and even went to the trouble of printing out the forms and making notes and suggestions on them for us. He answered questions and took requests throughout the lecture and performed and explained everything from self workers to non-card attention getters to Lennart Green level knuckle busters.
"His routines are amazing in that everything is motivated and purposeful; and he often manages to give his effects metaphorical frames while keeping them direct and to the point.Afterward he went to eat with anyone interested and spent three hours sessioning with us.
"The workshop was even better, I've had the ‘Roadrunner Cull' DVD for months and it's been one of the best magic DVDs I've bought, but I was never comfortable enough with my cull to do full deck separations in front of people. I picked up three important tips I had missed on the DVD and in the three days since the workshop I've actually been able to perform one of the full deck separation triumph effects taught on it several times.
"If all our lectures were this good, I'd have won FISM by now."
Ed Cotham goes on to say, "Kostya's lecture was excellent. It is obvious from the start that this is a person who cares very much about magic and how it should be performed. He is an extremely nice person and this carries through into his instructional method. Kostya's style is more like a magic coach than a magic professor. Very detailed and well thought out effects. His Roadrunner Cull is a thing of great beauty and utility. I would definitely invite him back and look forward to seeing him teach and perform."
Wow, high praise indeed. We have wonderful lecturers come through here all the time, but I am really sorry to have missed this one.
The I.B.M. Ring 39 meeting is scheduled for tonight, Monday October 27th. Last month's meeting was cancelled due to the hurricane and even though our meeting place sustained a little damage, I understand all is back and working well again. They had a little management change, but we are still welcome to use the facilities of this retirement community center. For any I.B.M. member wishing to join us, please do come. Directions, time and location are all listed on our website through www.HoustonMagic.com
This Wednesday will be the last of the annual séances hosted by Scott Wells and Jamie Salinas. As we near Halloween, the audiences have been getting larger though 26 is pretty much the maximum seating capacity for the intimate setting. Check out their website at www.HoustonSeance.com for more info and interesting videos on haunted appearances that have been reported there. Scott Wells will be performing at Circle S Vineyards in Sugar Land, TX on Halloween. Robert Berry will be entertaining on Halloween at Lazy Brook Baptist Church.Our local enigma and mysterious recluse, Steven Wallach, will be performing at the Houston Museum of Natural History this Friday night at the annual "Spirits and Skeletons" mixer. This event brought in 1,700 people last year.
In an effort to encourage and maximize registration at the T.A.O.M. 2009 convention, Scott Hollingsworth and Judy Donaldson intend to visit every magic club in Texas between now and next Labor Day weekend when Houston hosts the annual event. Scott is President of the T.A.O.M. and began his trek by recently visiting the Austin S.A.M. Assembly #206. Scott reported that his, "presentation on Strolling Magic to the 38 magicians of S.A.M. 206 was very well received. In addition to the free mini-lecture, I gave them access to several special reports at "Austin Special" on www.magicianscoach.com, which, if you are interested, will be up only until November 31, 2008.
"In the second half of the program, Judy and I promoted early registration for the Houston convention and were pleased with the results. Seven magicians registered for the convention, plus two partners and one new dealer.
"I believe the trip was very worthwhile. Austin's Ring 60 has asked us to come in January, Fort Worth is scheduled for March 5, and Dallas invited us to come in April or June. I hope to visit every member-club of the TAOM and a few other clubs that are not yet members." If you have a time you would like to host Scott at your club, then please drop him a line at scott@taom2009.com I know he would like to hear from you and he will welcome the opportunity to visit and lecture for your club.
Don't forget that S.A.M. Assembly #19 and the H.A.O.M. will hold their Annual Auction to be held on Sunday November 9th at 1:00 p.m. This is always a big event with 60-80 magicians from far and wide who attend. Doors open for the auction at 1:00 p.m. Admission $5.00 - Free for S.A.M. #19 and H.A.O.M. members.
Shane Wilson will perform magic "on the grill" this week at Tokyohana's Grill and Sushi Bar at 3239 Southwest Freeway (I-45) on Thursday night on October 30th from 7:00 to 9:00 then again on Saturday November 1st from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. Braeden Clark-Tarpley is the resident magician at Zake Sushi Restaurant where you can watch him this and every Saturday night from 8:00 to 11:00.
Eric Falconer continues as the house magician two nights a week at Sakekawa, a sushi restaurant in the Woodlands, a northern suburb of Houston. Eric will be performing tableside and "grill" side each Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 then again on Saturdays from 6:30 to 8:30. You can call Sakekawa for reservations at 281-419-5988.
I will leave you with pensive prose to contemplate until next week, "The mind does not create what it perceives any more than the eye creates the rose." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
