Face2Face - Again

A few weeks ago, I sat down with David Peck, the host of the Face2Face Podcast and ridiculously tall Canadian magician Brian Roberts to discuss their upcoming lecture "Spare Change for Social Change."

Both David and Brian have appeared several times as guests on Magic Tonight. I've been a guest on David's podcast twice already (see here and here) and but this time I was able to steal the microphone and serve as interviewer and host. We met in the mysterious back room of the Browser's Den of Magic, who will be hosting the lecture later this month. 

We talked about the process of sharing and uncovering secrets and the value that different magicians place on different branches of the craft of magic. Eventually, David's inner philosopher reared its ugly head and we discussed the role of the modern performing magician in today's society. It was a very interesting conversation to be part of. 

You can download the podcast here (episode no. 263) or subscribe in iTunes. Tickets are available for the lecture on Saturday, February 26 at 6:00 PM, $20 when you reserve online. 

*The unhealthy obsession with "introductions" in the podcast is a dig at a previous appearance of mine on the "Discourse in Magic" podcast... long story.

A Lecture on Magic

Next Wednesday, I've been invited to give a lecture for the KW Hat & Wand Club in Kitchener, Ontario. (Having been the president of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club for three years, I can confirm that it is legally required that these clubs have goofy names held over from ages past.)

Years ago, Kitchener was home to a biannual magic convention where I had some of my earliest opportunities to meet world renowned magicians, so I have lots of fond memories. I'm also in the neighbourhood performing at private engagements fairly often.

I don't do this type of presentation often, since I have been performing magic professionally for a short amount of time compared to some. At some of these magic gatherings, I can single-handedly drop the average age in the room by five to ten years. 

I'll be sharing some of the material from my show and the thinking behind it. For those interested in seeing how the magic sausage is made, guests welcome.

The lecture is at 7PM on Wednesday, February 15 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (54 Queen Street North, Kitchener - map)

Magic & Martini Returns to Oakville

After a break for the busy holiday season, my eccentric one-man magic show for grownups, Magic & Martini is back at O'Finn's Irish Temper last night for an evening of food, adult beverages and mystery. Even though it was cold and windy, we had a packed house. Thank you to everyone who attended.

Special thanks to the young gentleman who features somewhat prominently in these photos. He discovered that the fastest way to get on stage in a magic show is to come to be before the performance and say, "It's my girlfriend's birthday today. She's really shy. You should pick her." #PoeticJustice

Photos by Tyler Williams

Tickets are now available for upcoming performances of Magic & Martini in Toronto, Oakville and Hillsburgh. Readers of this blog can use the code secrets for a discount on the price of tickets when reserving online. 

Magic & Martini @ SpiritHouse

Here is a sampling of photos from last night's sold-out Magic & Martini at SpiritHouse. Thank you to everyone who attended. Our next Toronto show is already sold out, but you can grab tickets to shows in late February, through the end of May. Readers of this blog can use the code secrets for a discount on the price of tickets when purchasing online.

Photos by Tyler Williams.  

A little Spanish magic

Dani DaOrtiz, whom we hosted for a series of special events in 2013 (and again in 2016) is a true wizard. And he has a very special way of making your brain hurt. He does this sort of thing*

* Shared for no other reason than to add a bit of magic to your Wednesday. 

How to beat the house (or at least win at Monopoly)

“We live in an unpredictable world. What are the chances?”

No matter how old we get, we never quite seem to get used to the idea of not being sure what's going to happen next. Recently on an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage the risible hosts and panel discuss how to deal with chance events, the gambler's fallacy and (possibly most important of all) winning strategies for Monopoly!

Listen to the Infinite Monkey Cage on BBC Radio 4 online. 

Learning how to cope with uncertainty and understanding how to deal with probabilistic events is one of the most important skills we can have. Our instinct is to ignore the problem, trying to pretend that we can predict the future instead of taking the more humble approach and asking, "What is the responsible way to make decisions given my limited knowledge of the world?"

Games offer an useful sandbox to explore these ideas without real-world consequences (of course, I'm not referring to gambling with real money here). In the same way as I've described magic tricks as a safe way for people to explore the limits of their own reason — playing with being deceived by harmless tricksters where the worst possible outcome is someone fails to find the card you picked.

The Infinite Monkey Cage is always a funny and educational resources if you don't mind the British accents. You can subscribe to the podcast just about anywhere.