I post this only because it contains magic tricks... as someone who was forced to learn the math behind the Laffer Curve in university.
From the history books
Found a fabulous bit of ad copy from the nineteenth century conjurer Ingleby that I'm thinking of stealing:
“…in consequence of his superior excellence in the Art of Deception he has had conferred upon him the title of ‘Emperor of all Conjurers’ by a numerous Assemblage of Gentlemen Amateurs, particularly through the Amazing Trick of Cutting the Fowl’s head off and Restoring it to Life and Animation! For no man knows the real way but himself. He is now, therefore, ad the Head of his Profession, and all Competitors remind him only of the following Fables: The Ass in the LIon’s Skin and The Ox and the Frog.”
Put that on a poster in some Comic Sans and my 2018 will be rockin'.
Special thanks to Sidney Clarke and his Annals of Conjuring.
Life, The Universe and Everything (Scientific)
Physicist Sean Carroll is one of my favourite living humans. He currently teaches at CalTech where he has the desk which belonged to (the legendary) Richard Feynman, one of my favourite dead humans. He gave a talk at The Royal Institution in the UK about his latest book, The Big Picture.
One of the greatest things to happen in the past ten years was YouTube's removal of the 10-minute time limit on videos. Now entire talks like this one are available to view world-wide for free in quality comparable to your television. The amount of learning that's now possible for people who don't want to spend weeks sitting through courses that aren't connected with their jobs is unbelievable.
I think that's important because the progress of science has been so fast. Many things that are now well-established facts were, a generation ago, unanswerable mysteries. So those subjects needed to be treated with polite agnosticism. I love Sean's ability to gently but firmly articulate what we do and don't know about those deep once-mysterious questions. It turns out we do know how our species got here, what happens when we die and whether or not you can bend spoons with your mind or talk to the dead.
Enjoy The BIg Picture:
Q&A
There's also a short Q&A which follows his talk which was posted separately.
And this is not the first time I've shared a talk from The Royal Institution. A pair of free tickets to the first person who can identify the historical significance of that oddly shaped desk Sean is standing behind in the video in the comments.
S'mores... The Cocktail
When you star in a show called Magic & Martini, YouTube puts some strange things in your suggested feed. Heading into a very busy time of year, so it may be a while before I muster up the energy to try this one. But looks very interesting. If you manage to make one, leave your thoughts in the comments.
Photos from Magic & Martini in Toronto
Thank you to everyone who attended last night's Magic & Martini at SpiritHouse in Downtown Toronto. That was our final performance of 2017 in the city. Although we have more shows coming in 2018. Readers can use the discount code olive for a special discount on tickets purchased through our website.
Here are some photos from the event courtesey of Waled Hassanzay.
Happy holidays!
Black Friday & Cyber Monday Magic
It has ben a truly wonderful year for me and for magic. Although we have a busy month ahead filled with holiday parties, Magic & Martini is nearly done for the year, with one sold-out show left before we break for Christmas. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has come out to see the show, and also shared those evenings with family and friends.
We have several dates posted for 2018, so if you would like to get an unbeatable price on tickets this Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, you can use the code BLACKFRIDAY on the website for 60% off tickets for all of the open performances.
We look forward to seeing you in the new year and sharing some magic and fun with you then.
Happy Holidays!
