| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,141 / Monday – February 12, 2001 |
 Penn & Teller’s appearance in Boston on Feb. 13-25 has them featured in a Boston Herald article which has Teller describing how they came up with their new flag burning routine, “We saw what’s it like to live in those places [Egypt, India and China]. In Egypt there are military police officers on street corners with machine guns. In India, our friends were not allowed in our hotel because they weren’t of the right caste. And in China, there’s no longer any street magic permitted because, according to the government, it shows too much individual initiative.” To read the Feb. 11 story by Robin Vaughan titled “Penn & Teller on the road again with unique brand of magic” click: HERE.(2/12)David Copperfield flies into Boston for a private show at the Wang Theatre for a multi-millionaire’s 60th Birthday Party. According to a Boston Herald article Elton John and Stevie Wonder also performed for the 550 guests which included the king and queen of Sweden. To read the Feb. 11 story by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa titled “$5 mil buys starry b’day bash” click: HERE.(2/12) The Penn & Teller appearance in Boston is covered in the Telegram & Gazette where Pen Jillette is quoted, “We’ve been touring 25 years and we’re always writing new stuff. We’re always pulling up old stuff we haven’t done for a while that all of a sudden feels important to us.” To read the Feb. 8 story by Frank Magiera titled “Penn & Teller specialize in dark magic” click: HERE.(2/12) Shimada, Steve Valentine, David Groves, Brian Gillis, Mystina, Henry Evans, and Dan Jordan appearing at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, on Feb. 12-18. Henry Evans lectures on Sunday Feb. 18.(2/12) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,142 / Tuesday – February 13, 2001 |
 Marvin’s Magic, manufacturers and marketers of a well known line of packaged conjuring tricks have opened a U.S. division and showroom at the International Toy Center in New York City. MagicTimes recently spoke with Marvin Berglas, creator of Marvin’s Magic and Roger Dreyer, new CEO of the stateside unit. …Go to full story.(2/13)Paul Daniels makes a very astute observation about his very long television career in The Guardian by explaining, “I was always well aware that television is a very passing phase… You look at Ally McBeal or Friends and you see absolutely brilliant comedy writing, then it’s gone. This stuff is as clever as anything Shakespeare wrote, but it’s gone and it will never be seen again.” To read the Feb. 12 article by Libby Brooks titled “The same old magic” click: HERE.(2/13) P. M. Mithra is featured in The Hindu where he is quoted, “This is a field where it is important to keep the interest of your audience alive and give them the feeling that they are watching new items every time. So, we have to be innovative.” To read the Feb. 12 article by L. Subramani titled “Mystery of magic” click: HERE.(2/13) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,143 / Wednesday – February 14, 2001 |
 Marc Salem’s Mind Games begins previews on Feb. 14 with a scheduled opening date of Feb. 21. The show is scheduled to run through July 29 at the Century Theatre in Detroit. The show is previewed in a Detroit Free Press article which describes Salem as, “…an academician turned entertainer, a scholar in the field of nonverbal communication who says, ‘Up to 80 percent of communication is not what is said.'” The article tries to explain Salem’s affinity toward mentalism, “‘As a kid, I was sensitive to other people’s thoughts. My dad was that way, too.’ His father, a rabbi in Philadelphia, died at 41. Salem believes that his father empathized with his congregation to a dangerous extent, ‘which is why I do no counseling,’ despite his advanced degrees in psychology.” A couple of the routines are also described. To read the Feb. 12 article by Martin F. Kohn titled “Mental stealth: Psychologist-entertainer Marc Salem brings his ‘Mind Games’ to the Century Theatre” click: HERE.–For more information about the show click: HERE. –For theater and show information click: HERE.(2/14) Marc Salem’s Mind Games appears at the The Performing Arts Center in Purchase, NY on Friday Feb. 16 at 8pm. Tickets are $25-$30 per person and are available by phoning: 914-251-6200. For more information click: HERE.(2/14) Lance Burton has two of the three TV specials produced by his “Lance Burton Productions” scheduled to air next month. A Las Vegas Review-Journal article reported that, “March 17 is the airdate for Lance Burton’s Young Magicians Showcase,” and “March 31 brings Lance Burton: Master Magician on the Road,” to the FOX Family channel. No air date has been set for “Hocus Pocus — It’s Fielding West.” To read the Feb. 13 article by Mike Weatherford titled “‘Folies Bergere’ showgirl learns what it’s like to work as librarian” click: HERE.(2/14) Indian magician Pearl Bhumgara who won last year’s IBM junior contest is featured in the Times of India. Her father explained, “We gave Pearl as much exposure to the world of magic as we could by taking her to magic conventions, shows etc. Her first stage performance was at her own fifth birthday party. Since then, she has been participating in several contests.” To read the Feb. 14 story titled “Conjuring up joy for the needy” click: HERE.(2/14) CALIFORNIA: Larry Becker & Lee Earle’s 2001 Mentalism Master Class will be sponsored by the Misdirections Magic Shop on Saturday Feb. 17 at 8am-5pm at the Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf (1250 Columbus Avenue) in San Francisco. For more information phone: 415-566-2180.(2/14) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,144 / Thursday – February 15, 2001 |
 Teller’s book, “When I’m Dead All This Will Be Yours!,” about his parents Joe and Irene Teller continues to get positive press. An Associated Press story described the book as, “The 142-page volume is a whimsical collection of Joe Teller’s escapades as a teen-age hobo,” and commented about their life, “His [Teller] relationship with his mother and father was unique. Most children don’t have parents who give their macabre, magic-obsessed 12-year-old a human skull on his birthday. And most parents don’t have a son who writes a book to stand as a public paean to his parents’ private lives.” To read the Feb. 14 story by Maryclaire Dale titled “Teller Salutes Artist Parents” click: HERE.(2/15)— Buy the book from Amazon for $19.96 by clicking: HERE Cellini who is considered one of the best street performers and Slydini students will perform on Thursday Feb 15 at 6:30pm at Tara’s Ultimate Cafe (3636 St. Charles Ave) in New Orleans, LA. Also scheduled to appear are Elliot Gorton, Nick Urso and Tony Illusiario. There is a $5 cover charge and reservations can be made by phoning: 504-897-3636. The show will also be webcast for free — to view it live on the web click: HERE.(2/15) Austin Brooks and The Miss Direction Girls will be performing at the Paladinos Lounge (6101 Reseda Blvd) in Tarzana, CA on Thursday Feb. 15. Doors open at 8pm with a $7 cover charge. For more information and a reservation phone: 818-820-7670.(2/15) NEVADA: Petrick & Mia present their show and lecture on Sunday Feb. 18 at 4pm at the New Boomtown Casino/Resort in Reno. For more information click: HERE.(2/15) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,145 / Friday – February 16, 2001 |
 “Fi-Sci with Penn Jillette: The Fiction-Science Show” is a series of four one-hour TV specials which will begin shooting this month and will air later this year on the Sci-Fi channel. The shows will be a “…a tongue-in-cheek look at the science behind the fiction of several classic SF television shows and movies.” The first special will revolve around the computer in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and the others will deal with cloning, volcano and asteroid disasters, and the possibility of evolution causing “a real-life Planet of the Apes.” To read the Feb. 15 Sci-Fi Wire story titled “Jillette To Look At FI SCI” click: HERE.(2/16)Penn Jillette’s upcoming Sci-Fi TV specials are discussed in The Jambar, a college newspaper, whose professor has been asked to appear on the show. To read the Feb. 15 story by Robert D. Frank titled “Youngstown State U. professor to appear on SCI-FI special” click: HERE.(2/16) David Blaine will be profiled in a 20/20 segment by Chris Cuomo on Friday Feb. 16 at 10-11pm on ABC-TV in the US.(2/16) Teller has his book, “When I’m Dead All This Will Be Yours,” featured in a Philadelphia Daily News article which summarizes much of the book and quotes the publisher, “We’re all used to dysfunctional family stories. But this is a family that’s kind of amazing in its functionality… It really works. So I just looked at it as, wow, how refreshing.” The book has already sold close to 10,000 copies. To read the Feb. 15 story by Francesca Chapman titled “Teller tells all – about his folks” click: HERE.(2/16) A sidebar on Teller in the Philadelphia Daily News lists his vital statistics: Age 53, Born: Philadelphia, School: Central High and Amherst, First career: Teacher, etc… To read the Feb. 15 article by Francesca Chapman titled “Teller, aka the kid” click: HERE.(2/16) John Macgregor, a member of the Magic Circle, and former Tory Transport Minister performs magic at a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Relief. To read the Feb. 1 Ananova article titled “Naughtie but nice – with a vengeance” click: HERE.(2/16) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,146 / Saturday – February 17, 2001 |
 David Blaine discusses what could be his next big stunt. A New York Post article reported that “…this time, he wants to be tied up and shoved off the roof of a Midtown building.” From his 20/20 appearance he is quoted, “I love that place where you blur what’s dangerous, what’s not, what’s life, what’s death… I love to live in those places, because that’s when you’re the most alive.” Explaining the details of the stunt he said, “I’m going to have five New York City police officers cuff me up behind my back, and I’m going to have firemen rope me up all the way up my body…. [Then they’ll] push me off the edge so I’m dangling upside down by my feet, hanging over New York City.” He will then escape and climb the rope back to the roof. To read the Feb. 16 story by Bill Hoffmann titled “Magician’s Next Act A Huge Leap Of Faith” click: HERE.(2/17)If you missed David Blaine’s 20/20 segment where they profiled his life, career and future projects ABC News created several web pages which discuss the story and offer video clips from the segment. They also include a Reporters Notebook where Chris Cuomo gives his views on Blaine. On Monday at noon ABC News will also conduct a chat with Blaine. –To read the main story with the video clips click: HERE. –To read the Reporters Notebook click: HERE. –To visit the David Blaine chat click: HERE.(2/17) David Blaine, who was named one of People magazine’s 25 most intriguing people in the world, is scheduled for a live web chat on Monday Feb. 19 at noon. To read the Feb. 16 press release from ABC news titled “ADVISORY/Magician, David Blaine to Chat Live On ABCNEWS.com Monday, February 19, 12:OO p.m. ET, http://abcnews.go.com/onair” click: HERE.(2/17) The Amazing Jonathan featured in a Las Vegas Review-Journal in conjunction with his appearance at the Golden Nugget this weekend. Mentioned in the article is a scheduled taping of a new special on Mar. 14 in NYC. To read the Feb. 16 article by Mike Weatherford titled “Laughing Matters” click: HERE.(2/17) The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion appears on Feb. 23 at 8pm at the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center in Tennessee and they are featured in a Commercial Appeal article. Kevin Spencer is quoted, “We provide two hours of entertainment with a grand illusion that always leaves people wondering how we do it… People love it when we do something that seems impossible.” To read the Feb. 15 story by Cindy Wolff titled “Theatre Of Illusion Coming Feb. 23 To Bartlett” supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(2/17) CALIFORNIA: Max maven lectures on Monday Feb. 19 at 7pm at Mind Over Magic (2214 Burbank Blvd.) in Burbank. Admission is $35 per person. For more information phone: 818-562-1921.(2/17) |
| VOLUME: 38 / ISSUE: 1,147 / Sunday – February 18, 2001 |
 James Randi and his adventures are featured in a New York Times story where he is described as “Mr. Randi, often billed as the Amazing Randi, has succeeded where scientists have not in exposing those claiming supernatural powers. A magician by training, he knows the trick of making the hands of a watch move without touching it, of divining information in a sealed envelope, of causing a statue of the Virgin Mary to weep. ‘I’m a liar, a cheat and a charlatan,’ declares Mr. Randi, an impish man with a bushy, white beard, but ‘at least I know it.'” Also described is how he opened a recent lecture by swallowing 32 sleeping pills and, “He then went on to lecture for two hours without so much as a yawn. It was not as spectacular a stunt as, say, the time he extricated himself from a straitjacket while hanging upside down over Niagra Falls, but it made his point: namely that homeopathic remedies are quackery.” To read the Feb. 17 article by Patricia Cohen titled “Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug” click: HERE. (You need to become a member to read this).(2/18)David Blaine’s 20/20 appearance is summarized in an Associated Press article which quotes him about why Houdini added danger to his escape stunts, “…if you’re doing it in the biggest city in the world and you’re dangling from a rooftop of about 100-plus feet above the city, everybody will come to see it.” To read the Feb. 17 story titled “Magician Blaine To Hang Off Building” click: HERE.(2/18) Zap2it’s take on David Blaine’s plans for his next stunt is, “David Blaine’s brain is still a little numb from encasing himself in a block of ice. The 27-year-old modern-day Houdini announced on Friday’s “20/20″ that he wants to dangle in the air over Times Square.” To read the Feb. 17 story titled “David Blaine Goes to Great Heights for Stunt” click: HERE.(2/18) The Independent ran long essay which touched on David Blaine’s ice stunt that is described by the author as, “In the heart of Times Square, a magician/publicity hound named David Blaine was entombed in a giant block of transparent ice.” To read the Feb. 17 article titled “The Essay” supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(2/18) Will Shaw, Jorge Blass, Jeff Moche, Jamy Ian Swiss, Presto, Michael Chaut, and Frank Brents appear at Monday Night Magic on Feb. 19 at 8pm in NYC. For tickets call Ticketmaster at: 212-307-4100.(2/18) |
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