Weekly Round-Up
by SCOTT WELLS
February 2, 2009

Howdy friends. Another year and history is made: the Steelers are the World "Football" Champs (not soccer); Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) saw his shadow which means we will have six more weeks of winter, and: I am beginning my second year of this weekly blog about the Houston magic scene. This week is full and I mean full. We begin with a meeting, go to a lecture, then to a comedy club, then back to another lecture and make final preparations for the following week and our annual banquet. And in between there are magicians working around town plus a local magician is selling a new "Poltergeist Table" and there is an open opportunity to perform for special needs kids. Also, we have some sad news to report. (Read More...)

Firs of all, our monthly meeting of the H.A.O.M. and the S.A.M. Assembly #19 will be tonight Monday February 2nd. The evening kicks off with a mini-lecture by Jamie Salinas who will talk about Performance Contracts and give several examples of what he has found necessary and successful. As usual, this meeting will be in the IATSE Meeting Hall at 3030 North Freeway (that's Highway 45) just inside the 610 Loop (exit at Cavalcade). We voted on I.B.M. officers at last week's Ring #39 meeting and tonight we will vote on the H.A.O.M. and S.A.M. officers who will be installed at the upcoming Banquet. So please mark your calendar to attend this special meeting.

I have been mentioning John Calvert for the past month and the date is now upon us. He and Tammy will be here tomorrow night, Tuesday February 3rd for a performance and lecture. There has been unprecedented interest in this event as I have been receiving numerous e-mails from many magicians who rarely attend meetings or lectures. His performance/lecture in Dallas brought in over 60 people. They usually have about 30-35 people attend lectures but they knew how important of an event this one would be. Poeple will be coming from all around the area for this one as it promises to be a genuinely wonderful evening. John and Tammy are scheduled to stay at my home for the next couple of days and I hope to post a brief "Short Take" video with John while he is here. Stay tuned.

Chris Korn will be in Houston this week for a trade show and agreed to fit in a lecture for us while he is here. Chris will lecture at H&R Magic Books this Saturday February 7th beginning at 2:00 p.m. The cost for his lecture will be $20.00 paid at the door. If you don't yet know Chris, he is the star of television's Mondo Magic and the best-selling DVDs, Radical Korn and Extreme Korn. Although perhaps best known for his coin work, Chris has a large and commercial repertoire of original effects and travels the world performing for the corporate elite. Among other things, Chris will be teaching two coin vanishes that anyone can learn, a bar trick and a lazy man's card to wallet with a surprise kicker ending. So be sure to bring your cards and coins. Seating is limited so contact Richard Hatch at Richard@magicbookshop.com or call 281-540-7229 to reserve your seat.

Gerald Torregosa was an active magician in our community for a number of years and worked as a demonstrator at Frankel's Costume and Magic Shop here in Houston. He grew up with Daniel Garcia and is a very good magician in his own right. In recent years, he started performing stand up comedy. He will perform this Wednesday night February 4th at the Laff Stop at 526 Waugh, Houston, TX 77019. He doesn't do one magic trick in his set but he promises that it will be a great show. He is asking any and everyone in the local magic scene to make it out to see him! The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and you can get tickets at the door.

By the way, although I don't often post items for sale through this blog, something came to my attention that might be of interest to someone wanting to save a lot of money. Jay Schwausch posted a "Poletergeist Table" for sale. He says it is virtually brand new as he has only used it a few times in rehearsal. He just cannot justify using it in his act and it just doesn't fit in with his show. He is selling it for $350.00 (Current Retail: $625). It comes complete as it did from the factory, with soft carrying case and demo/instructional CD. First Come - First Served Basis. You can reach Jay at: 281-773-0573.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to report on the passing of Tallon, the grandson of Banachek. He was two years old and he has had physical challenges and special needs since his birth. Tallon had been in an out of the hospital for the past two years with multiple operations and complications. We extend our deepest condolences to Banachek and his wife Heidi and of course to their daughter, Kelly who was Tallon's mother.

While on the subject of special needs children, Phil Kampf posted an opportunity for any interested magician in our area. Houston has hosted the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for a long number of years. It is a month long event that starts with a parade that, this year, will be on Saturday February 28th. They are looking for entertainment for the children with special needs on that Saturday before the parade actually begins.  In particular, they are interested in street magicians.  If any magicians are interested, please let me know and I will get you in touch with John. It is a wonderful thing John and his team do with providing a safe place for these children with special needs to enjoy the parade and other entertainment.  The parade passes the special children's area around 10:30 a.m., so the need for magicians would be between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. This would be a wonderful opportunity for community service and spreading the magic.  If anyone is interested, then they should contact Denise Stoneburner at Denise.L.Stoneburner@conocophillips.com for more information.

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 February 5th from 7:00 to 9:00. Chris Alonzo will perform there on Saturday February 7th from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. 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 close this week's offering with the following quote, "Everything you can imagine is real." - Pablo Picasso.