Broken Wand
MICHAEL ELLIS 1917-2008
Past International President of the I.B.M.

Mike Ellis was one of the few people in magic whose biography cannot begin: "He was captured by magic when an uncle gave him a magic set for his 8th birthday." He was 60 years old when he happened to note, in a local paper, that Magic was to be taught at the Boynton Beach Adult Education Center for two hours every Wednesday night for ten weeks. He told his wife he thought he'd look into that: it might be fun. (read more...)

MagiCurrents
San Diego Magic Notes
by Don Soul & Jack White

Amazing news for San Diego and Ring 76...We have learned that David Sandy, I.B.M. Site Selection Chairman, has signed a contract with the Town & Country Convention Center in Mission Valley as the location for the 2010 edition of the annual I.B.M. Convention in late June of that year. This will be the fourth time the Town & Country Hotel has hosted an I.B.M. Convention in San Diego. The last I.B.M. Convention in this city was July 2002. Next summer's 2009 convention will be held in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Resort. Stay tuned for more information as we begin the countdown to the I.B.M. Convention 2010! (read more)

Weekly Round-Up
by SCOTT WELLS
September 29, 2008

Howdy friends.  Things are slowly getting back to normal for most of us, but for some, "normal" will never be the same. Power has returned to most of the city except for about 250,000 that still remain in the dark as of today. Most local magicians escaped catastrophic damage during the hurricane though show revenues were down due to cancellations. But people are starting to book entertainment again.  Houston Séance has returned this week as we prepare to enter into the spooky month of October. The immediate future of the Magic Island is uncertain though it will undoubtedly re-open within the next week or two. Other magicians are returning to their regular gigs at the usual places. (Read More...)

David Sandy's
MAGIC CRUISE 2009
By Roger Miller

Producing shows, events and conventions seems to come naturally for David Sandy.  He produced his first magic convention in 1983 at the age of 19. Sheila and I attended and were more than impressed. This farm kid from Missouri hired an unbelievable line-up of talent for this stellar event (a partial listing of performers included Charlie Miller, Dai Vernon, Slydini, Michael Ammar, John Cornelius, Fantasio, Mark Wilson, Shimada, Norm Nielsen, Petrick & Mia, Ross Bertram, Jay Marshall, Roger Klause, Paul Harris, Marvyn & Carol Roy, and the list goes on).  (read more)

Weekly Round-Up
by SCOTT WELLS
September 22, 2008

Howdy friends.  Can you imagine how much fun it must have been in the days when we lived by candle light? We cooked meals over a wood fire or maybe even a gas stove?  The days before electricity when we had to watch television in the dark? Well, I can't say that those were "good old days" because we are living those days and nights here in Houston now and there is nothing fun about it. Over 5 million of us lost power after Hurricane Ike though some got back up within 24 hours.  Most had to wait several days. Others will be waiting weeks before their power comes back on.  And there are those who have permanently lost power along with everything else. This week I will give a brief report on how we are doing on the Road to Recovery. (Read More...)