Look for this to be Criss Angel's breakout year. The second season of his A&E Mindfreak series premieres on May 31 with 20 new episodes that were filmed in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and even Iraq. The first two episodes will be "Building Float" where he will float across two buildings and "Vanish" where he will vanish a spectator while surrounded by thousands of people. This time around A&E is promoting the show with billboards and commercials on the major networks which should increase the viewership from the already very successful first season. On Jun. 27 the soundtrack from Criss Angel's series will be released by KOCH Records. The CD will include music from both seasons by Angel and guest contributors Sully Erna, Jonathan Davis, Nuno Bettencourt, Andy Johns, Klayton, and Micky James. A music video will also be released. Also scheduled for a Sep. 1 release is a 304-page magic book titled "Criss Angel Mindfreak: Secret Revelations" that will be published by Harper Entertainment.(5/15)
--To read the May 11 A&E press release click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the KOCH Records release titled "KOCH Records To Release 'Criss Angel: Mindfreak,' The Official Soundtrack With Songs From The Hit A&E Television Series" click: HERE.(5/15)

Magic Christian and the Magic Club of Vienna will hold a special event to celebrate the 200th birthday of Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806-1875) on Jun. 18. The event will include a brunch, a show and two lectures. For more information e-mail: magicchristian@chello.at.(5/15)

Cesareo Pelaez who is known worldwide as the creator and star of "Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company" has returned to the show six months after suffering a stroke. An Eagle-Tribune article reported that "After the show, Pelaez said his left side, which was initially paralyzed by the stroke, was still weak. But he is gaining weight and regaining his balance, he said. He plans to perform in the Wednesday matinees for five more weeks, then return to the Sunday shows at the Cabot Theatre." To read the Apr. 26 article by Paul Leighton titled "Magician pulls reappearing act" click: HERE.(5/15)

Gerry McCambridge who has appeared at the Rampart Casino for the last 47 weeks will be moving on Jun. 2 to the Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas,(5/15)

Tom Mullica will present highlights from his Red Skelton Tribute show on Jun. 10 in conjunction with the grand opening of the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at the Vincennes University in Indiana. The show also features the Smothers Brothers. For tickets and information click: HERE.(5/15)

Bob White will present one of his very rare seminars on Jun. 3 in New York City. The seminar will cover his system of managing sleights and techniques in a natural manner and performances and explanations to some of his standout magic. The six-hour seminar will take place at The City University of New York Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue) from 10am to 4pm. For more information or reservations e-mail: Eric DeCamps at: jonramsay@aol.com.(5/15)

The "Christian Fechner Collection Of American & English Magic, Part II" auction will take place at Swann Galleries in New York City on Thursday Oct. 26. The featured item will be the autograph collection of Adolphe Blind which is estimated to sell for US $40,000/60,000. A large format catalog will be available later in the year.(5/15)

Prior to "The Illusionist" opening on Aug. 18 it continues to be screened at film festivals. The Magic consultants for the movie were Ricky Jay, Michael Weber and James Freedman. It's next appearance will be at the Seattle International Film Festival which runs on May 25-Jun. 18. To read a Jan. 24 Variety review by Todd McCarthy titled "The Illusionist" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read a Dec. 29 2005 Hollywood Reporter review by James Greenberg titled "The Illusionist" click: HERE.(5/15)

Jason Latimer is featured in The Acorn in conjunction with the launching of his new stage show. The article reported, "Latimer's stage show will feature several never-beforeseen illusions, including the appearance of a Lamborghini on stage, a real-life version of the movie 'The Matrix,' a laser that bends in half, and nearly a dozen other new illusions." To read the May 3 article by Sylvie Belmond titled "Magician's success no illusion" click: HERE.(5/15)

An article about collecting magic appeared in Forbes where they speak to Martinka & Co. owner Ted Bogusta. Bogusta explained, "When I first started, almost all of my collectors were above 50 years old… Now [David] Copperfield, Criss Angel, David Blaine and Harry Potter are giving magic an essence of cool, and younger people are collecting." Also mentioned in the article were the Conjuring Arts Research Center, Swann Galleries and Galerie de Chartres. To read the May 4 article by Finn-Olaf Jones titled "Presto: Your Own Collection" click: HERE.(5/15)

Chuck King "The King Of Hypnosis" will present a special one night only Hypnosis show on May 19 in New York City. The Event is being produced by The Conjuring Arts Research Center. On May 20 King will present a Question & Answer session where he will "explain the complexities and possibilities of stage hypnosis. Is hypnosis real? How does it work?" and much more. The May 20 event is free to all members of The Conjuring Arts Research Center. Tickets for the May 19 performance are only $20 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets click: HERE.(5/15)

Persi Diaconis is featured in a Minnesota Daily story about his recent lecture at the University of Minnesota. The article quotes him, "When somebody says they’re going to do a math-magic trick, it sounds as if they’re going to deal cards in piles, and you’ll all fall asleep… I try to develop tricks that are good tricks that don’t look like math, but that have real math hidden in them." Comparing his career as a mathematician and magic he pointed out, "I don’t find it so different, inventing magic tricks and proving theorems… There’s just something wonderful about finding the right solution to a hard problem. It’s intriguing to me." To read the Apr. 20 article by Elena Rozwadowski and Marni Ginther titled "Mathmagician performs tricks to teach, entertain" click: HERE.(5/15)

More news about the Houdini movie that is scheduled to begin shooting this summer. An RTE News article reported that "Catherine Zeta-Jones is in negotiations to star opposite Guy Pearce in 'Death Defying Acts', a biopic of the magician Harry Houdini. …Zeta-Jones would play a psychic whom Houdini has an affair with." To read the May 4 article titled "Zeta-Jones now eyeing Houdini film" click: HERE.(5/15)

Barry Wood's one-man show "Wonders Never Cease" which runs through Jun. 4 at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown, Washington DC is discussed in a Diamondback Online article that reported, "A professional magician and mentalist (fancy for “mind-reader”) since his days at the university, Wood displays his character’s superpowers using a few tricks of his own, pulling audience members into the act just as he would in a magic show. He uses the X-ray specs to see the contents of a random person’s pocket, hypnotizes the audience with the spiraled hypno-disc and manipulates a realistic raccoon as a sidekick." A Loudoun Connection article described the show as "…a semi-autobiographical play about Wood’s childhood, growing up as a magician, in his parent’s basement. Wood plays his mother, father and himself as a child." To read the May 8 Diamondback Online article by Alia Malik titled "Multi-personality with order" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 11 Loudoun Connection article by Kim Centazzo titled "As Seen on TV" click: HERE.(5/15)

Mike Applegate is profiled in a Stars and Stripes story which quotes him, "Preparing for magic shows involves a lot of preparation to ensure foolproof, split-second timing of your tricks. Teaching also involves lots of preparation." As to future goals Applegate offered, "In the long term, do magic shows for kids on U.S. military bases around the world." To read the May 1 article titled "Mike Applegate, a teacher with something up his sleeve" click: HERE.(5/15)

Fantasma Magic's new magic shop in New York City officially opened on May 11. At a time when many brick and mortar magic shops are closing around the world, New York now has two major stores that are a walking distance from each other. Perhaps the most interesting attraction (and there are many) in the store is famed David Roth as a regular demonstrator. The store is located on the second floor of 421 7th Avenue at 33rd Street. They will be launching a lecture series later this month featuring David Roth (5/31), Jeff McBride (6/10), and Darwin Ortiz (6/21). For more information phone: 212-924-8345.(5/15)

David Blaine's Drowned Alive television special and stunt are now over after receiving a massive amount of press on television, print and all over the radio. The overnight ratings were positive, giving ABC close to a 10% increase over the previous week's viewership for that time slot. Even though he almost killed himself, he did not accomplish his goal of holding his breath for nine minutes. He did however stay inside water longer than anyone and his impressive feat of holding his breath for seven minutes and eight seconds is an unbelievable accomplishment. Additional benefits from the stunt were expressed by his trainer Kirk Krack in a Saskatchewan News article, "We got a lot of good data and science out of it. We drew just about daily blood samples. We were able to log his adaptation in the water." In a New York Times op-ed piece Kenneth Silverman observed, "If nothing else, his feat of endurance brought a diverse crowd of thousands of New Yorkers together, renewing for a while the city's waning spirit of democratic community."(5/15)
--To read the May 13 New York Times article by Kenneth Silverman titled "When the City Was Magical" click: HERE.(5/15-Subscription)
--To read the May 13 Saskatchewan News article by Lana Haight titled "Key role for P.A. diver" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 10 Contra Costa Times article titled "Magician's water stunt leaves him out of breath" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 9 Associated Press article by Pat Milton titled "Magician David Blaine Leaves Hospital" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 9 Associated Press story titled "Trainer: Blaine Was Unconscious, Had Convulsions After Stunt" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 9 BBC News article titled "Blaine fails in water record bid" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 9 Digital Journal article titled "Magician David Blaine Chokes on Underwater Record Attempt as Thousands Turn Out to Cheer" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 7 New York Times article by Edward Wyatt titled "It's a spectacle, but is it art? Street magician wowing N.Y." click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 2 Earth Times article by Alan Cross titled "Escape artist to ape a fish for a week, Houdini later" click: HERE.(5/15)
--To read the May 1 Associated Press article by Pat Milton titled "Magician Spending Week in Water Bubble" click: HERE.(5/15)