December 2008 and the Holiday are upon us. With the economy in the dumper it will truly fall on each of us to jump start the spirit of the season in those that touch our lives. As usual, there are several stories that have come across my desk and I pass them along to you. Involving half of the Dynamic Duo from the Rio Suites in Las Vegas, Richard Abowitz has penned a good read on Teller that is worth the price of admission to this edition of the Buzz ...have a look...(read more)

Christmas Magic
© by Leslie M. Thompson

[Editor's Note: Every year 'round our Holiday Table... I read a short poem to those who assemble.  It sets a  pace and the tone for this night... After years of "performance" it's become quite a sight. A yearly act seen by those who attend,  is usually followed by hoots of Amen!  I haven't selected this year's reading, the following is in the running.]

Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the flat
not a creature was stirring except for the cats

They ran and they played and they jumped 'round with glee
They played with the ornaments 'til they came off the tree

All bright and shiny the ornaments were,
now all the ornaments were just one big blur.

Then all of the sudden came a crash, bang and boom.
Yes... it was Santa and not a moment too soon

So with a wink of his eye and a twitch of his nose...
he magically fixed my poor tree; I suppose.

Now all bright and shiny a Christmas tree fix
thanks to the magic of Good Ol' St. Nick.

The kitties were bad but oh well I say -
Geez after all... it is Christmas day.

A Man, a Ball, a Hoop, a Bench
(and an alleged thread)… TELLER!
[How a small but beautiful trick illuminates
the mind of a master magician]
by RICHARD ABOWITZ
Las Vegas Weekly

It is impossible that this story be about anything other than a 3 1/2-minute trick in the Penn & Teller Show. It is a very beautiful trick that can’t be fully conveyed with words because it looks so simple: Teller makes a ball come to life. It isn’t a very exciting trick in that no knives, fire or risk are involved. A lot of their tricks have those. And, to make matters worse, the trick I have the (partial) lowdown on, Penn doesn’t particularly like, or at least not until after he tells the audience how it is done — with a thread—before he walks off stage. And, therefore, yes, that’s right: This is going to be a story about a ball and a string—and Teller...Read more of this this fasinating story by Clicking Here... So what's up with Jillette?

Neil Gaiman Is Into Magic
by KATEY RICH
cinemablend.com

Neil Gaiman and Vegas: not exactly a match-up many of would have expected. But apparently that's what's happening for Gaiman's next project; he and Penn Jillette, the speaking half of the magic duo Penn & Teller, will be adapting the novel The Road to Endor, which is more like The Great Escape with magic than anything to do with Star Wars.

MTV's Splash Page article is frustratingly vague-- we don't know when the novel was written, what Jillette will actually be doing on the film, or what kind of movie they're making out of it. But the details on the book itself are kinda cool; "it’s a true story of two World War I prisoners of war, one of whom was an amateur magician, who trick their guards into believing that they are in touch with the spirit world to plot their escape from a Turkish prison camp. Using Ouija boards, séances, mentalist scams, poltergeist effects, and fake suicides, they convince even the Camp Commander."

Like I said, The Great Escape with magic. I like that Gaiman is branching out beyond his own work, and what seems to be even beyond the realm of fantasy. If he can come up with a good reason to get Penn Jillette involved, I may even find myself looking forward to this loony project.

Unconventional therapy is apparently no trick
by KRISTINA DORSEY
TheDay - New London, CT, (USA)

Unconventional therapy is apparently no trick... Kevin Spencer's 'Healing' program seems to work its magic with patients 
     
Magician Kevin Spencer teaches a magic rope trick to two staff members at the Beechwood Rehab & Nursing Center in New London during a visit on Thursday. Spencer uses magic as a healing tool for the physically challenged through a program known as the 'Healing of Magic.' 
 
A half-dozen physical and occupational therapists gathered around a table Thursday morning to work magic - actual, abracadabra magic. They were learning simple tricks - making a knot appear in a rope, helping a magic wand float in the air - from nationally known magician Kevin Spencer, who had come to Beechwood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center to talk about his “Healing of Magic” program that emphasizes the therapeutic uses of magic in physical rehabilitation.

The notion behind it all is simple: Having patients learn magic tricks can help in their recovery. It's not quite as easy as - shazam! - making symptoms disappear, but magic can also be more than a mere sleight-of-hand illusion when it comes to physical rehabilitation. Consider, for instance, the motor skills required to create small tricks - helpful for, say, stroke patients. Or the cognitive challenges they pose for people with brain injuries. (read more) (read more 2)

Magician trying to find audience
Staunton News Leader - Staunton,VA,USA
by Nicole Barbano

The air was too cold for Steve Pittella to demonstrate his nail-in-the-nasal-cavity trick on Wednesday, but the gray November day made for perfect fire-eating weather.

"Ahh," he sighed, moving his lighter to the tip of a metal wand wrapped in cloth and soaked in lighter fluid. A warm, orange flame grew from the wand in seconds. And then Pittella touched the torch to his tongue.

"Feels good," he said, smiling.

It shouldn't hurt too much — Pittella learned to eat fire at the age of 13, a young boy growing up in New York City among some of the great magicians of the era. Although he's been doing magic for decades, Pittella might be facing his toughest trick yet this year as he seeks to find a niche and a new audience in the Shenandoah Shenandoah Valley after a lifetime spent working in the Big Apple.

"We both decided that the kids were older, we didn't need a big house anymore," Pittella said of the decision he and his wife, Jane, made earlier this summer. "I could focus on the sideshow and the kids show. We thought it would be a nice way to ease into the retirement." (read more)

Origins of Abracadabra
From StraightDope.com
by Cecil Adams

Where did the words "abracadabra," "hocus-pocus," and "presto" come from? How did they become associated with magic?

Age-old process. Years ago, when trying to invoke the mysterious forces of the universe, you said, "Abracadabra." Today you say, "Hello, tech support?"

Hocus-pocus has been around since the early 17th century. The Oxford English Dictionary tells of a conjurer called Hocus-Pocus who used the phrase as part of a faux-Latin incantation during his act: "Hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo." It's been plausibly suggested that hocus-pocus is a corruption of the genuine Latin words hoc est enim corpus meum, "for this is my body," spoken during the consecration of the Roman Catholic Mass when the wine and wafer are said to be transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Some experts, presumably non-Catholic, think hocus-pocus itself was then corrupted into the word hoax.(read more) (read more 2)

Inspiring a new breed of magicians
GlenOak Grad Releases Third Magic Book
Canton Repository - Canton,OH,USA
by DAN KANE

Joshua Jay's career path was forged when he learned his first magic trick at age 8. Now 27, the 1999 GlenOak High School grad has a career resume almost as amazing as his sleight-of-hand. Jay has just published his third book, a comprehensive, contemporary and invitingly user-friendly volume titled "Magic: The Complete Course," which is accompanied by a 132-minute how-to DVD. He is on a cross-country book tour that includes book signings and TV and radio appearances... As for his new book (Workman Publishing, $19.95), "I hope it inspires a whole new breed of magicians," he says. Confident, professional, funny and brimming with youthful enthusiasm and energy, Jay seems like the right guy to do just that. (read more) ... [here is another piece on Joshua by Cris Glaser in the Cleveland Free Press]

Magical Family Show
by Times Online
Auckland,New Zealand

Christmas is always magical but this year’s seasonal charm casts its spell a little further than usual. International Stars of Magic is a spell-binding, post-Christmas family show featuring top international performers from Las Vegas, cruise ships and television. There will be two public shows only at Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre on Sunday, December 28, 5pm and 8pm. Tickets are just $20 for adults and $10 for children making them an affordable Christmas gift for the whole family.This fascinating show has been made possible because of the large number of international artists gathering in Auckland for the 29th New Zealand Magicians’ Convention hosted by Ring 160 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. (read more)

 Bill Weldon Easily Outperformed
Competitors In Sales, Magic - A Life Story
His skill opened clients' doors; his storytelling set him apart
by Alana Baranick
Plain Dealer Cleveland, OH

Lakewood - Bill Weldon magically turned a dollar bill into $5 to illustrate the benefits of advertising in the Cleveland Press.

"Look what you'll get for each advertising dollar," he would say while trying to sell ad space in the Press to business executives.

The Lakewood resident, who died Oct. 7 at age 88, opened clients' doors with card tricks, sleight of hand and pulling endless scarves out of his fist. "He did a lot of pulling things out of nowhere," said Bill Tanner, former Press managing editor. "It gave him an edge the other salesmen didn't have."

Just as magic made Weldon a different kind of salesman, his ability to weave stories into his routines made him a different kind of magician.

"It was unusual for the time," said fellow magician Jim Kleefeld. "Most magic was silent and very theatrical." (read more)

Magic and the Brain:
How Magicians "Trick" the Mind
Scientific American Magazine
By Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen L. Macknik

Magicians have been testing and exploiting the limits of cognition and attention for hundreds of years. Neuroscientists are just beginning to catch up.  Here is a facinating article that is a good read and will kick your mind into gear... have a look

The spotlight shines on the magician’s assistant. The woman in the tiny white dress is a luminous beacon of beauty radiating from the stage to the audience. The Great Tomsoni announces he will change her dress from white to red. On the edge of their seats, the spectators strain to focus on the woman, burning her image deep into their retinas. Tomsoni claps his hands, and the spotlight dims ever so briefly before reflaring in a blaze of red. The woman is awash in a flood of redness.

Whoa, just a moment there! Switching color with the spotlight is not exactly what the audience had in mind. The magician stands at the side of the stage, looking pleased at his little joke. Yes, he admits, it was a cheap trick; his favorite kind, he explains devilishly. But you have to agree, he did turn her dress red—along with the rest of her. Please, indulge him and direct your attention once more to his beautiful assistant as he switches the lights back on for the next trick. He claps his hands, and the lights dim again; then the stage explodes in a supernova of whiteness. But wait! Her dress really has turned red. The Great Tomsoni has done it again! (read more)

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