:: Gmail to Your Cellphone

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Since I offered to send Gmail invitations to any of you who were not satisfied with your current email server, I feel that I should also pass on this little bit of info.. ( PS - I still have a bunch of invites if you want one - email me)

This is the beginning of a recent article in WebProNews:

"Did you know you can have Gmail forward your new mail to your mobile phone? It's very simple, and takes just minutes to set up. Don't want all your email sent? Apply a filter to what you send..."

Go to http://snipurl.com/SendGmail to read the full, but simple, tutorial..

:: Light me up

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There's not much that lights me up like someone trying to tell me what I can, and cannot, do with what is mine. Many of you are probably familiar with what is going on at Magic Rant at the moment. Steve Pellegrino, the publisher, has done a little "editing" to his blogroll. ( A list of links pointing to other blogs).

Some of his readers are upset that he removed the links to a couple of blogs whose publishers were both anonymous on their blogs and when posting to Steve's blog. Now, there was a little exchange of words going on at the time between Steve and one of the anonymous bloggers over the viability of the Dai Vernon Set currently being offered by L&L Publishing.

Without getting into all the details and re-hashing the situation, which has been more than adequately covered by Magic Rant, I am going to briefly offer my opinion of those who have chosen to call Steve names, insult his employer, degrade his powess as a publisher, and challenge his manhood in general..

Chickenshitz...

That's not the word I was looking for.. but it will have to do. I try to keep things civil. I was in tatical law enforcement for many years, and I thought I had seen, and heard, it all:

Crybabies who start trouble and don't have the gonads to finish what they start. Women who cat-fight. Teenagers who commit crimes and hide behind their parents, who defend their 'little darlings'- until you drag the drugs out of their mattresses. Businessmen who rob the elderly (and not so elderly) out of their life's savings. And every kind of drunk, druggie, hooker, pan handler, pious child molester, and crook our minds can imagine...

And then I got involved in Magic..

I just thought I had seen it all. That's part of the reason why I have my little blog on marketing-related issues and sit in my little corner and mind my business. That is until someone starts attacking what is fundamentally correct.

Steve has a right to do, with his blog, whatever he wants. I have the same right. Others who choose to publish anonymously have that right as well. Too many so called 'magicians' are nothing more than babies looking for a teat.. and they cry like one until someone gives them what they want, or think they deserve.

There's a big difference between being a magician and being a man. One relies on foolery, trickery, and mis-direction. The other relies on honesty, fortitude, responsibility, and respect.

Real men step forward when their name is called, because they're proud of who, and what, they are in the concentric world of magic.

Be Somebody... not Something.

:: Magic Special on ETV

I just received word from my friend, John Tudor, that his Magic
Theatre TV special will broadcast on ETV, Sunday, April 3rd. John,
besides being a master magician, is the current South Carolina
Magician of the Year. He also is the founder of SCAM (South
Carolina Assoc. of Magicians), and was the host of this years
convention in Columbia S.C.

Having already viewed the special, taped it, and watched it a
second time, I can confirm that it is everything it appears to be,
and much more. I enjoyed every minute.. and I'm sure you will
too. Be sure to have your vcr loaded and ready..

---------------

Columbia, SC.. ­ John Tudor's Magic Theatre appears in a one hour
TV special on SC ETV, broadcast statewide at 5 PM on Sunday, April
3, 2005. The family friendly show was taped before a live audience
at the Sumter Opera House in Sumter, by the SC Channel, in
September of last year.

The lineup includes: John Tudor of Columbia, SC, with dramatic
story magic; Emcee Comedy Magician Glenn Strange of Spartanburg,
SC; Illusionist Dave Tanner of Myrtle Beach, SC: Classical
Conjuror Tim Sonefelt of Anderson, SC; Magic Storyteller Sarah
Straney of Columbia, SC; and Sleight of Hand Artist Robert
Moreland of Hilton Head, SC. The producer, magician John Tudor
says, ³The TV show brings some of our state's best magical
entertainers together to showcase a theatrical presentation of
magic.²

The show is sponsored by a pair of grants from the SC Arts
Commission (which receives funding from the National Endowment for
the Arts) and the Coastal Community Foundation of SC. The show is
also the subject of a behind the scenes documentary to appear
later this year.

For more information, hi resolution images, and "making of" essay,
contact John Tudor at 803-796-8693 or visit www.tudormagic.com

~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~

FAQ / Interview with John Tudor

:: What is "Magic Theater"?

Magic Theatre is my first TV special, (first broadcast Halloween weekend, 2004, on SC ETVs SC Channel) with some good friends, who are the finest magicians in SC. Its a fun, family friendly show that got a long standing ovation at the taping in September, at the Sumter Opera House in Sumter, SC.

The theatre part comes in with my desire to present a distinct style of theatrical magic, with imaginative stories, all taped before a live audience. All of the forms of magic - grand illusion, sleight of hand, comedy, bird magic, etc. are in this show - with an accent of storytelling.

This magical team from around the state have banded together in revue shows for the past decade, usually for charity. This time we did it for the cameras too!


:: Who is in the show? What do they do?


David Tanner (Myrtle Beach, SC) produces a woman from an empty box, shrinks her to a foot tall and back again.

Tim Sonefelt (Anderson, SC) does ³classical conjuring²: in white tie and tails he makes birds and scarves appear and disappear, etc.

Sleight of hand prodigy Robert Moreland (Hilton Head, SC) performs close up to the audience with playing cards and coins.

The emcee, comedian Glenn Strange (Spartanburg, SC); tells a touching story of a childhood memory as he makes a snowstorm appear from his empty hands.

The only female professional magician in SC, Sarah Straney (Columbia, SC), tells an Asian tale of personal enlightenment, (with magic wands and dragon sticks) to a large group of children.

Tim Sonefelt returns with a magic story about pirates, based upon a library book, that urges young people to read.

Dave Tanner tells the true story of his lifelong magic mentor, and demonstrates his ongoing presence by levitation.

I featured the tale of a spanish swordfighter¹s redemption(disguised as a card trick), and capture the audiences¹ pure imagination in a drinking glass. Recurring nightmares of my own demise are experienced (disguised as another card trick).

Finally, I reveal some life long inspirations as I make a woman disappear in a giant puzzle of a Chagall painting.


:: How does magic work on TV?

The live performance was the easy part, the television aspect was much more difficult and challenging. Magic shows in themselves have always been at kind of a loss on TV, especially today with the incredible special effects that are possible.

The long standing question is: How to present the performance in a way that is exciting and believable to the television audience? The show was shot before a live audience, with no camera tricks or movie special effects.


:: What did you do? How was it created?

I was the producer, co-writer, and lead performer; and the complexity of this project is hard to overstate. As I conferred with each artist on the live show aspects, we also created the video.

Through many meetings, calls, e-mails, and review of videos and DVDs; the show was created. All of the artists involved took this show as sort of mission, to create the best possible performance they could.Fortunately I was able to build on my long association with SC ETV, in particular, with director (and amateur magician) Gary Hipp. The SC Channel crew, Production Coordinator Eleanore Vaughn, and Station Manager Will Anderson, are the ones who made it happen!.

The South Carolina Channel is SC ETV¹s digital cable channel, serving the approximately 400,000 cable subscribers (nearly 40% of the entire state).

Check your local cable listings for details. They¹re based at WRJA in Sumter, and broadcast regular concerts from the Sumter Opera House.


:: What about the documentary?

Simultaneous with the SC Channel shoot was an ³indie² video shoot, to create a ³behind the scenes² look at the hour long TV special. This second unit was composed of three videographers (including international filmmaker Alan Geoghegan) and a still photographer. They were there to document the process, and give a peek into the secret world of magicians.

The documentary shoot was coordinated by Joey Vazquez, who is the leader of a small group of amateur magicians with an interest in digital media and stage performance that I have been mentoring.

Besides the documentary about the show, the final product will be an educational book and DVD for magicians and variety artists to work in television.


:: How did you do it?

That's a secret...........

~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~

For more information contact John Tudor at 803-796-8693, or visit www.tudormagic.com.
.
.

:: Dead Man Eating

Looking for a 'killer' meal? This post has absolutely nothing to do with magic. Just a little something I find interesting...

Dennis Bagwell
Texas
February 17, 2005
a beef steak, medium rare with A1 Sauce, three fried chicken breast, three fried chicken thighs, BBQ ribs, a large order of french fries, a large order of onion rings, a pound of fried bacon, a dozen scrambled eggs with onions, fried tatters with onions, sliced tomatoes, a salad with ranch dressing, two hamburgers with everything, peach pie or cobbler, ketchup, salt and pepper, milk and coffee, ice tea with real sugar.

Because of my past position in life, I was present at the execution of 'Pee Wee' Gaston, a well known mass murderer from South Carolina. This guy was so good at what he did he succeeded in carrying out a 'hit' on death row.

Rigged a portable radio with some plastic explosives ( officials have yet to learn how he got it..) and gave it to the guy in the cell next to his. When the inmate put it to his ear and turned the channel selector.... Well, let's just say he was unable to testify against a guy who had hired him for a hit..

There's something telling about their last meals. I can't put my finger on it.. but I have a certain 'interest' in what's on their mind at this critical juncture of their lifes.. It tells a little something about who, or what, they were.

What would you eat before being strapped in the 'lectric chair?

Me? Oh.. I think maybe barbeque of some sort, a diet Pepsi, and one cup of unpopped popcorn...

Check it out... www.Dead Man Eating

:: Highlight that Code

How often have you, as a web site builder/developer seen a bit of code on another site - like a scrolling marquee for example - that you wanted to view the source code for, but you had to dig through tons of html to get there..

Here are two particularly useful web developers accessories - These two tools help the web developer or those who are just curious about how pages are coded. I use this second one all the time.

First...A DOM tree tool will let you view all the Document Object Model properties in tree form with a simple 'right click' - or - the tools menu.

And for those who are tired of scrolling through hundreds of lines of HTML to find that one section of code that does what you want, here's the tool for you!

Simply highlight the area of Web page that you want to see the source for, right click on it and select 'View Partial Source'.

Download Here

:: eMagic Deluxe Update

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Sorry for the lack of post in the last few days.. but I have been busy getting out a new issue of eMagic Deluxe. I think you will find it interesting. If you are not a subscriber, you can go to www.streetmagic.info and sign up - free, of course.

The latest issue is now available online HERE

Later

:: Unleashing the IdeaVirus

Seth Godin wrote, in 2001, the most successful ebook of all time. Amazon sells it for eleven bucks.. but I would like for you to have it for free...

It's not all about making money, or building websites, or marketing in general. It's a little of everything - a hogepoge of ideas and thoughts you can use to boost your traffic, your sales, and your skill level.

http://www.sethgodin.com

The notion that an idea can become contagious, in precisely the same way that a virus does, is at once common-sensical and deeply counter-intuitive. It is common-sensical because all of us have seen it happen: all of us have had a hit song lodged in our heads, or run out to buy a book, or become infected with a particular idea without really knowing why.

It is counterintuitive, though, because it doesn’t fit with the marketer’s traditional vision of the world. Advertisers spent the better part of the 20th century trying to control and measure and manipulate the spread of information—to count the number of eyes and ears that they could reach with a single message. But this notion says that the most successful ideas are those that spread and grow because of the customer’s relationship to other customers—not the marketer’s to the customer.

For years, this contradiction lay unresolved at the heart of American marketing. No longer. Seth Godin has set out to apply our intuitive understanding of the ontagious power of information—of what he so aptly calls the ideavirus—to the art of successful
communication. “Unleashing the Ideavirus” is a book of powerful and practical advice for businesses.

But more than that, it is a subversive book. It says that the marketer is not—and ought not to be—at the center of successful marketing. The customer should be.

Are you ready for that?

Malcolm Gladwell
Author
The Tipping Point
www.gladwell.com

:: Site Pro News

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One of my personally favorite locations for tools and resources for webmasters is Site Pro News. SPN is published about every other day, and I have established a java link with them which reproduces their newsletter on my website, and makes it possible for you to read it and it's ever-changing content from my site.

All you have to do is visit: www.streetmagic.info/sitepronews.html and bookmark that page..

Check it out..

:: Winter Carnival..

.
Just got back from the Winter Carnival of Magic in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. The event started on Thursday night with the magic and lecture of Jeff McBride. I found this a very good lecture, as Jeff talked about 'magician 24/7', the act of being a magician twenty four hours a day. We spent about three hours total watching Jeff perform and lecture, and it was worth every minute..

Friday's events included a lecture with Michael Finney, one of my favorite performers, on some of the smaller aspects of magic that make a large impression. Friday nights show was a two and a half hour special performance by Terry Evanswood.

Saturday included an inspiring lecture/performance by one of the genius minds of magic.. Stephen Bargatze. Saturday night we saw Scott Hitchcock, Tony Chapek, Michael Finney, and Jeff McBride in a three hour performance of some of their best material.

My favorite part of most conventions is the interaction among attendees. McBride, Finney, and myself all stayed in Ramada, on the same floor, and we had a close-up lounge downstairs that convened each night after all the shows concluded. I really enjoyed sitting around with some of the most amazing performers, talking and trading secrets, until the wee hours.

Steve Beam held court Saturday night with his amazing card work, and even had McBride, Finney, Dan Fleshman, and Bargatze watching in amazement and applauding with ernest..

I had my 'moment' Friday night as I showed a number of the guys how to perform perfect faro shuffles and track a card through the deck, knowing at any moment where the card's located. Something I've worked on for many years...

If you are NOT signed up for my newsletter, eMagic Deluxe Journal of Magic, you can go to http://streetmagic.info and sign up on the homepage. I will have interviews with Michael Finney and Stephen Bargatze in the near future, and hopefully Jeff McBride when he gets back from Europe..

:: eMagic Deluxe

.
Just wanted to remind you that a new issue of eMagic Deluxe Journal of Magic is now online.. http://streetmagic.info/eMagic18.html

For those of you who do not subscribe, what you see online is about 85% of the actual newsletter. I reserve a thing or two for subscribers. If they can't get a benefit from subscribing.. what's the use.. just read it online every two weeks.

Anyway, having a look at this weeks issue MAY persuade you to sign up. It's free, of course. And you can sign up on my homepage at: http://StreetMagic.info

Later..

:: Miracle Play

This site is like having an encyclopedia of card magic online.
Literally dozens and dozens of tricks, counts, forces, flourishes and
more.. Just one problem, I hope you have a pop-up blocker. But
otherwise, there is a wealth of information here..

"Basics- Setups- Forces- Glimpses- Controls & Shuffles- Switches &
Color Changes- Stealing & Loading- False Counts- Reversals- Folds &
Tears- Flourishes- Miscellaneous- Terminology & Index"

I would gladly credit whoever set this site up. But there is not so
much as a contact email on the entire site.. ( If you know.. let me
know )

www.miracleplay.hpg.ig.com.br/index.htm

Bill Switch

:: Brilliant Little Bill Switch ::

You can thank France's Arthur Tivoli for so graciously sharing the
secret to a beautiful Bill Switch. As you will see on the video, the
bill never leaves sight. Yet, when you stop folding after the second
fold and unfold the bill, it's changed to an entirely different bill !

I could tell you how it's done, but I don't have to... Arthur has
put it all up on a website - the video and the pdf file with the full
explaination..

( I've seen similiar, but inferior, switches sold for seven to
fifteen dollars..)

http://arthur.tivoli.free.fr/