Wayne Houchin lecture 2011

Our local magic club - the Calgary Magic Circle (IBM Ring 66) - had its first lecture of the season a couple of weeks back. Wayne Houchin, best known for being (a) a co-creator of magic-makers Theory 11,(b) the mind behind some pretty weird geek magic, and (c) one of Criss Angel's advisors (on the early shows at least). He knew what we wanted to see and he gave it to us.

Hell, anyone who can do the gypsy thread (torn-and-restored-cotton-thread routine) by breaking up a bit of white thread, sucking the pieces up into his mouth and restoring them into a single thread...by pulling it out of his eye socket...is bound to develop a certain following in the magic community.

What did I walk away with? His torn-and-restored card routine - "Counterfeit Hollingworth". The best I've seen yet - I've been working on three other T&R Card routines over the past year and each has failings of one sort or another; his is what I'll be using in my working repertoire...once I've got it down.

But what will I always remember? His finale - performed but not explained - probably the best, cleanest needle-swallowing routine I've ever seen. So clean, so fair, and done only three feet away from me. Forty needles swallowed, mouth inspected, sleeves rolled up, followed by ten feet of cotton thread swallowed...

and regurgitated....with all forty needles now tied at four-inch intervals along the length of the thread.

Not for the faint of heart but a true classic and so wonderfully performed. I honestly, truly have no friggin idea how he did it.

G.I Snow(don)

The boys - Augustus and Snowdon - are now about 15 months old. A couple of weeks ago we took them to their doting vet for an annual checkup - the vet was delighted to see such healthy rabbits (rather than the usual death's-doorstep-loitering ones that are usually brought to her) and complemented them both on, among other things, their delightful, soft and perfectly-formed bunny bellies.

Snowdon had a tiny ear irritation, however, and we had to return the following week for a follow-up treatment...

which sent him into shock and g.i. stasis. Yup. He stopped eating and, as many of you will know, this required round-the-clock feeding and care for four days until he began eating and pooping again. All is well now, though, and I'm pleased to report that over the past month both rabbits have become slightly...ever so slightly...more sociable with us and willing to tolerate cuddles and attention.

I've been so ridiculously busy for the past four or five months that I haven't been able to make a concerted effort to re-introduce them to each other (following a series of spats and nastiness earlier in the year) but now that the bulk of my busy period has calmed, I'll be doing that in the evenings. I hold out high hopes for the two of them becoming friends again.

Will keep you posted.

Instead of Abracadabra (Part 1/3) 2010 Oscars Live-Action Nominated Shor...

Ok - here we go. All I have to do, it seems, is learn to follow instructions.

Instead of Abracadabra

Wow - just found this via iTricks.com. Short Swedish film - very very funny. Watch all three parts!

For some reason it won't let me embed it. Probably my own incompetence.
Go to this address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDXthIW2Qkc