Picture of Inside Magic Editor
Uncategorized

Letters to the Editor

Inside Magic EditorFrom time to time and when required by the standards of decency and regulations, we publish letters to the editor.  If you have something on your brain you would like to share, please send us a note at editor@insidemagic.com.  We won’t use your last name so ask anything  – related to magic.

Dear Inside Magic:

A long time ago or maybe last week you said you were going to do podcasts.  When will they start going?

  • Unnamed

Dear Unnamed:

We are going to be doing podcasts and have already had two guests who have volunteered to discuss the history of magic, some of the greats they’ve seen and from whom they learned much.  While we are very talented in the double-lift and second deal, we are still learning how to hook-up the electronics necessary for a podcast.  We have been researching everywhere.  We started reading Popular Electronics magazines from the 1960s – just because we still had them, holding up part of our dining room table, also from the 1960s by coincidence.  The table fell down and scared our 12 cats but we were determined to learn the technique of what the kids call “pod casting.”

Our research showed that the technique did not exist in the 1960s (from 1964 forward), the 1970s (the only “pod” reference dealt with the American space program and did involve microphones and receivers but seemed far too expensive to build), and the 1980s.  We figured we would just break down (not emotionally – that’s what the 12 cats prevent) and go to Radio Shack to get a ready-made kit.  But you know what?  There are no Radio Shacks any more.  They’ve gone the way of Good Humor trucks and regular milk delivery to your front door.

Undeterred, we went to the Internet (capitalized to meet the current style guide here at Inside Magic (pronounced, “IN – side mAGIC” – the .com is silent.  We found many things on the Internet but few things on pod casting until we figured out that we should search for something more specific.  We modified our search in the “search bar” to something other than “pod” OR “casting.”  Each word on its own brings up results that are unhelpful.  The latter brings up many results that are not safe for work but we work from home so all we had to worry about was offending the cats and they don’t do much during the day.

Bottom line: we think we know what we need to do and we will do it, by gollly.  We hope to tape our first one in the next two or three weeks and it should go live within a few days after.  Thank you so much for asking.

 

Dear Editor: 

What is the best way to become a master magician? Is there a course I can take?

  • William

Dear William:

The appellation “Master Magician” is given to only one magician at a time.  Currently Lance Burton holds the title after he was given the status by Lee Grabell.  It is, therefore, a very rare honor and one that many of us will never achieve.

On the other hand, you can try to master magic by practicing before a mirror over and over until you fool yourself, perform for a trick for an audience only once (never do it again no matter what they say), and NEVER reveal a secret.  If you keep these things in mind, you’ll go far.  It is a wonderful art and we admire your apparent desire to learn more about it.

We had written a 15 volume set on “How to Become a Master Magician” but it is no longer in print and was the subject of, in our view, needless litigation.  Sorry we don’t have an old set we can give you but it is holding up the other side of our table.

 

Dear Magic:

Why do some magicians change their names to just one name? Like Cher or Sammy?

  • Elaine

Dear Elaine:

If that is your real name.  (See what we did there?)  Usually a single name (usually the first name although Penn & Teller are an exception) is something one takes on when they reach a level of fame but in the magic world, it helps to get promoted and adds to the mystery.

Would you want to see “Timmy Quinlan” or “The Amazing Q”? We hope it is the second one because we just bought 1,000 business cards saying “The Amazing Q” from Vista Print one night when we saw a commercial about a special offer just for those watching at 3:30 in the morning.

They haven’t arrived yet and we have no idea how we will distribute them – especially because we forgot (we were tired and that cats were doing their nocturnal running the length of the trailer and then running back) to put our phone number on them.

That means, if you pick up one of our Amazing Q cards, you’ll need to come to our residence and knock on our door – thus scaring the cats and causing them to hide but not before bumping into each other like furry pinballs (our first album name, by the way) – or write us a letter by US Mail.  Our landlord will not accept FedEx packages on our behalf because she worries they could be bad things.

We’ve asked what kind of “bad things” could be in a standard envelope with a FedEx logo.  She responds out of the corner of her mouth not holding her cigarette, “you wouldn’t know, would you?”

Great question but the bottom line is folks will have to send letters.

We don’t know why ordinary letters wouldn’t carry the same “bad things” but apparently they don’t.

So when the cards come (by regular mail) we will write our phone number on the bottom of each.  We wish we had chosen Comic Sans as the font so that when we wrote our phone number on the card, it looked like we intentionally were writing poorly.  But you know what they say, “if wishes were dishes, someone would have to take them out of the dishwasher just once in this dang house, how hard could that be?  You can put them in, no problem, but you can’t take them out?”

If you have a question for our editor, you can use the contact link at the top of the page or just send an email to us at editor@insidemagic.com.

Image of a Dove Named Li'l Pete
Magic Stories

Dove Magic

Image of a Dove Named Li'l Pete
Li’l Pete was not a part of the magic act right away. He showed a reluctance to participate at all. He seemed more content in the cage or fluttering around the house. To the 14-year-old magician, this was frustrating and sad.

Li’l Pete was named after a miniature version of Pete Rose the Cincinnati Red’s star. Both the dove and its namesake moved quickly, flew towards objects (bases and plates for big Pete, narrow dowels of wood or homemade roosts, for Li’l Pete) and both seemed undisciplined or said more politely, independent.

Li’l Pete’s owner did not have a magic trick in mind when he purchased the bird for $5.00 from a shopper at the local magic store. He could not wait for the bird’s arrival and imagined it would be well-trained in the art of stealth and production. He was neither and he was not a male pigeon as his new owner learned shortly after building a large cage.

The state magic convention was about nine months from the day of Li’l Pete’s arrival. His owner’s competition act was based on handkerchiefs or streamers – both called “silks” by magicians. He wanted a finale after his last grand production of silks. The routine was beautiful on its own – performed in rhythm with the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour song.

The magician took time to train Li’l Pete on being hidden; then being hidden and suddenly appearing; then being hidden, suddenly appearing, and not flying away. After two months, Li’l Pete graduated from amateur to professional as a magic flying assistant. Li’l Pete did not coo much while being hidden, did not take off for a trip around the room when produced, and welcomed her master’s petting and positioning on the glitter covered roost.

Time moved quickly as the magician prepared for the state magic convention and the stage magic competition. Li’l Pete and her owner were coordinated with the music, the magic and the performance.

A week before leaving town for the big city location of the magic convention, the magician performed a final public show with his pal. The audience were fellow high school students. They were rowdy and occasionally loud. The magician began his production of a beautiful fountain of silks. The silks appeared to emerge in a steady stream from one silk to another and more.

At the end and on the Beatles’ cue, the magician reached into the overflowing festoon to produce Li’l Pete. The dove was a surprise to the audience. For a brief time, the kids were silent. The effect, the act and Li’l Pete worked perfectly.

“Let me see him,” one of the audience members yelled. “That’s not a real bird!”

The magician let Li’l Pete flutter to his shoulder as the girl approached the stage.

She was angry. She moved quickly and hoped to snatch Li’l Pete from the magician’s care. He reached forward to block her grasping hands. She pulled his fingers quickly and they both heard a snap as his middle finger broke. With his other hand, the magician pushed the stunned girl from the stage. She was immediately aware of the damage she caused.

“Sorry,” she murmured as the magician and Li’l Pete walked off stage.

A week later, at the state convention, the magician and his friend walked the dealers’ booths, watched the shows and the magician helped his friend practice for the competition. His friend’s act lacked so much of the grace and practice the magician created and honed. The magician’s finger, now in a cast covering much of his hand, was broken and he felt the same emotionally.

Li’l Pete seemed excited to see her master return home after the convention. She fluttered and landed on his shoulder before moving to his cast-covered finger. She cooed and stared at him with a slight angular move of her head.

In the years that followed, Li’l Pete performed flawlessly for the magician. She produced her own magical offspring with the help of the magician’s second dove. As she aged and cared for her chicks, she spent less time in secret compartments and more time hopping from cage to furniture and back to her nest in the cage.

One Saturday, many years later, long after the magician ended that part of his life where performing magic was the sole focus, Li’l Pete passed away. She was surrounded by her children; her partner having died a year earlier. The former magician cried and tried to catch his breath. He took her to the sunny backyard of the house they shared with the magician’s human family and buried her with a silent prayer and gentle rain of tears.

In keeping with the tradition pertaining to the burial of all magicians, he broke the magic wand that served as her roost for so many years. He set each half on the side of his partner and covered it all with dirt.

He could not stop the tears or hide his smile.

Theatre of Magic Logo
Magic News, Magic of Australia

Magicians from Down-Under on Top

Theatre of Magic LogoWe received a great article promoting Brisbane magicians Christopher Wayne, Josh Norbido and Kerry ‘Nigel’ Domann with the proclamation that “Brisbane is a city that loves magic – whether it on the stage or on the field.”

That threw us just a bit – and we’re trying to diet but, even so, we can’t be thrown for more than a bit in real life.   We figured it out – with using Google – that by “magic on the field” it meant sports; not that the magicians perform in an open field.  We think that’s what it means.

The promotional piece is celebrating the twelfth month of residency for the phenomenal up-close magic show, THEATRE OF MAGIC. Starring Misters Wayne, Norbido and Domann, is #1 on Trip Advisor for theatre events in South East Queensland.

The cool part – in addition to being the number one theatre event on Trip Advisor – is their location within Brisbane.  They have a theatre dedicated to magic called, appropriately, Theatre of Magic.  The location is the brainchild of Mr. Wayne.  He was co-creator of the biggest Australian magic show in history, The Naked Magicians, as well as creator of the family magic spectacular Showmen.

“Christopher is joined on stage by two fellow magic-makers in the acclaimed card-master Josh Norbido, who consults card magic in films including “Oceans 9” and “Poker Face”, and Kerry ‘Nigel’ Domann, an exceptional entertainer who has captivated audiences around the world with his unique blend of magic, comedy, charm and memory (he can remember 40 names off just a handshake).”

The memory talent is remarkable. We can’t even recall our own name if we shake enough hands.

In celebration of their twelve-month anniversary, the show has moved to a new home – The Library Theatre at Rydges Fortitude Valley – with two shows staged every weekend.

“Brisbane has nothing like this.  It has never had anything like this.  We have found a way to bring the world’s best magic to audiences in an intimate setting, and the show just gets better and better. We have welcomed some of the world’s best magicians from across Australia & the world already including Australia’s own Magic Mike from Melbourne.”  The show has earned praise from the incredible award-winning US magician, Michael Ammar.”

By the way, any card sleight you see us perform at the Magic Castle was taught by either Daryl or Mr. Ammar.  The fact that you can see us do the sleight proves, however, that we didn’t learn it well enough to do in a show but that’s our fault, not the teachers.

The new theatre is meant to give Magic Castle vibes.  Mr. Wayne noted, “when Brisbane entertainers get big, they move down south or overseas – we are bringing the best magic in the world to Brisbane’s front door.”

Check out their video here.  

And see their website here.

Best of all, check out the article from which we learned this great news and have read up on some great lists and interviews with the three gentlemen.

Computer using AI to write patter for a magic trick
Magic Stories

AI Patter for Magic Cups and Balls
Computer using AI to write patter for a magic trick
Non-AI Computer

Maybe be have been wrong about AI all along.

Here is Chat GPT’s take on the best patter for the classic Cups and Balls.

We used to demo the Fun Incorporated plastic “Cups and Balls” trick at a magic shop hundreds of times per week. It may not have been as funny but it is burned into our frontal lobe.

Our patter never changed, “Here’s three balls of the same color and three differently colored cups.  We take the first ball and place it on top of the first cup, cover it with the second cup and . . . .”  Unlike Chat GPT’s patter, we had no secret surprise of fruit at the end.  We just said the price ($1.25) and laid out the three different colored cups and three balls and waited for the sale to occur.

In the AI version of the patter, there is no passing of a furry ball through one or two cups.  Chat GPT goes for a more of a classic version of the trick.  It even gives itself a compliment on its AI powers at the end. Chat GPT describes this patter as  “This patter keeps the routine light-hearted and fun, focusing on misdirection and humor to enhance the audience’s experience.”

Our patter was developed by copying exactly what we were taught by the owner of the magic shop and Chat GPT was not was not available to us way back then.  Heck, this was before personal computers and whatnot.  Actually, we had “whatnot” but not a lot of it and it was mostly our older sibling’s whatnot and we got it as a hand-me-down.

Slide Rule Fun from International Slide Rule History Museum
Fun Pre-Computer

The closest we had to a computer was a slide rule.  It got Neil Armstrong to the moon and back so no shade to it.   In fact, next to Magic, it was our chief passion.  We went on to become the president of our high school’s Slide Rule Club.  Oh the fun we had seeing who could calculate figures to the greatest number of

decimals.  We’re sure you can imagine.

Anyway . . .

Our prompt for this to Chat GPT was: “write patter for a magician performing ‘cups and balls'”

Here’s its routine:

This patter keeps the routine light-hearted and fun, focusing on misdirection and humor to enhance the audience’s experience.

Magician:

“Welcome, everyone! Now, what I have here are three cups and three balls. Three very ordinary cups and very extraordinary balls. I know, you’re probably thinking, ‘Those cups look suspicious!’ But I assure you, they’re just as innocent as my search history. Let’s begin, shall we?”

(Magician displays the cups and balls.)

Magician:
“Now, the cups are solid, the balls are solid, and my logic is questionable, but trust me, this is magic. The goal of this trick is simple: keep your eyes on the balls. The first ball goes under the first cup…”

(Magician places a ball under the first cup.)

Magician:
“…The second ball goes under the second cup…”

(Magician places a ball under the second cup.)

Magician:
“…And the third ball goes under…oh wait, it’s in my pocket! Magic already, right?”

(Pulls ball from pocket, jokingly places it back under the third cup.)

Magician:
“Now watch closely, because the balls are sneaky. They don’t like staying where you put them. Just like your car keys or your remote control. I wave my magic wand, give a little tap, and—”

(Magician lifts the cups to reveal the balls have moved.)

Magician:
“Would you look at that! The balls have decided to play musical chairs! But we’re just getting started.”

(Magician continues moving the balls under different cups while distracting the audience with humorous banter.)

Magician:
“Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘He’s just moving the balls around, right?’ And yes, you’re absolutely right…except when you’re wrong! Watch this—one tap, and…”

(Magician lifts all the cups to reveal a large ball or a surprise object, like a lemon.)

Magician:
“See, you thought there were three little balls, but magic has a way of surprising us all! Now, how did that get under there? Maybe it’s lemon juice for my tea!”

(Magician pauses for audience reaction.)

Magician:
“And just like that, folks, you’ve witnessed the mystery of the Cups and Balls—a trick that’s been baffling minds for centuries. I hope you enjoyed it as much as the cups did. Thank you!”

 

iIage of Charles Dickens Magician
Latest Magic News

Magicians and Property Brothers and Click-Bait
iIage of Charles Dickens Magician
Charles Dickens Magician

[Updated to demonstrate we know how to spell despite autocorrect’s assistance].

If you tell us you are a magician we will immediately like you.

We may find reasons to change that initial feeling but, right off the bat, you’re on our Bestie List.  (We don’t actually have a written list — it is just a metaphor.  We tried to do a Bestie List awhile back but we have terrible handwriting and, instead, created a “Beasty List”).

Now, if you say you are a magician and you can reconstruct a house so that it has instant equity, we don’t have a list for that but we give you a check mark on our metaphorical list because of the power tools you probably own.

The Property Brothers, Jonathan and Drew Scott, are famous for fixing up homes and making owners of said houses cry on television.  But it wasn’t always that way.  According to People Magazine (where the word “Bestie” is used freely and without irony), the two almost went bankrupt after building illusions, props, a new trailer and leased a truck in their hope of being “the next David Copperfield.”

While we are a huge Charles Dickens fan, we’re pretty sure they wanted to be like the incredible magician David Copperfield and not the poor but gallant David Copperfield from the eponymous novel who matures with each turn of the page and befriends the allegedly “humble” but really just crooked and “jerkish” Uriah Heep — but not at all like the Uriah Heep of 1970s progressive rock.  If you go to the official website for Uriah Heep, you’ll be treated to details about their upcoming tour titled, “The Magician’s Farewell.”  Coincidence? We think neigh.

Jonathan told People that he was “dead set on making it as a success.”

Unfortunately it wasn’t and like the novel David Copperfield they fell into heavy debt and it looked like their dreams of success were fading.

Thus something needed to be done and it was done.  The twin brothers started their now beloved line of home fixer-up television series.

Here is the weird part.  The People article about the twins was written in 1997.  No lie.  But we found references to it on a click-bait page.  It proclaimed to tell the “tragic details” surrounding the brothers’ life.  We’re not using the click-bait URL, you’ll find that easily enough.

But we do have a link to a story about how much Charles Dickens loved magic and even performed for parties.   Check out the very Charles Dickens-centric website, A Tale of Two Hittys or the book Charles Dickens Magician: Conjuring in Life, Letters and Literature.

Finally, the random facts about so many real and fictional characters spanning more than a century is demonstrable proof that this article is not AI generated or anything close to click-bait.  It is however proof that we love magic and have a special affinity for anyone who has tried to be a magician.

Tyrone Power in Nightmare Alley
Magic in the Movies

Magicians, Spiritualist and Movies
Tyrone Power in Nightmare Alley
Tyrone Power in Nightmare Alley

It is almost time to dig out the Ouija board, candles, bells, trumpets and ectoplasm.  Halloween is just around the corner and up the street.

Perhaps it is just us but Halloween month feels like Christmas for magicians.  More clients looking for shows, more great twists on old-time favorite effects to fit the season.

We love Spiritualism.  Not because we believe it — we don’t — but because others believe it even when they are told it is not real.

Our affection finds roots in the Fox Sisters’ start of the whole shebang of footsteps, knocking and trances for fun and cash.  Maggie Fox’ true love, the dashing and adventurous explorer Elisha Kent Kane, who passed away whilst visiting Cuba and was forever separated from the woman he loved and his family detested.

The stories of Daniel Dunglas Home and his flying out one window and into another before a small crowd. Helen Duncan, the last person jailed under the British Witchcraft Act.

And of course, Houdini’s full-out attack on the spiritualist movement with Congressional hearings, undercover detective work and a fine book A Magician Among the Spirits.

We are decidedly against anyone who would give the pretense of spiritual powers for gain of money, friendship or love.  But we are firmly in support of those who use the tricks of the spiritualist trade to entertain.  Think of the difference between a Psychic Hotline at $5.00 per minute versus Rob Zabrecky’s fantastic seance in The Magic Castle.

It is amazing how some of these spiritualists never used their power to reach their departed loved ones.  For all her sorrow at the loss of her dear Elisha Kane, as far as we can tell, she never sought to reach him once he passed to the other side.  Yet, she continued to perform psychic and spiritualist work, then admitted it was all a fraud, and finally returned to the practice for financial support near the end of her life.

It is a special time of the year with interesting stories, wonderful scenes  and great personalities like Tyrone Power in Nightmare Alley.

Front of Houdini Draft Card
Magician Feature

Houdini’s Draft Card on Display

The National Archives has great stuff generally but specifically when it comes to magic history.

We found the front and back of Houdini (or as he called himself, Harry Handcuff Houdini) from September 12, 1918.  The cards identify Bess (Beatrice) as his his nearest relative and specifies he is “medium” build and height with blue eyes and black hair.  Interestingly, Houdini also stated he was “Native Born” and had a “weak left hand.”

Front of Houdini Draft Card
Houdini Draft Card
Back of Houdini Draft Card
Back of Draft Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find more about our great magical history at the National Archives online here.

Sea Monkey Ad
Uncategorized

InsideMagic Questions for the Editor
Sea Monkey Ad
Sea Monkey Ad

From time to time, InsideMagic.com takes questions from real and made-up readers.  As our readership dips, there are more of the latter than the former.  However, the following are real questions either made-up or stolen from other sites but answered here.

Q: What is the best card force?

A: There are several card forces we previously used but after attending a seminar on a beach in the Los Angeles area, we abandoned the whole concept of forcing someone to do anything against their will.  As the seminar leader, GJERi (pronounced “Gej Erry”) said over our single meal for the full four-day session, “we, us, should respect the force in all of us, always.” He didn’t say that applied to forcing a card on a volunteer from an audience, but we weren’t sure exactly because the one meal we got was made up of naturally sourced Oreo cookies and sea water.

Consequently, we do not use forces in our card magic now.  We use an equivoque, “Do you want to see a card trick or a non-card trick?”  If they say a card trick, we say, “oh, do you want to see a card trick where magic seems to happen or where you just take a card and we all see the card and make comments about your free choice?” If they insist on a magic card trick, we continue the equivoque and say, “Hey, how about a card trick that doesn’t use cards?” Eventually, by our use of the equivoque, we can convince them to see a rope trick like The Professor’s Nightmare.

We asked GJERi about the use of equivoque since that seems to be forcing in some manner but he didn’t answer our email.  We were going to send him another email but realized that would be trying to force him to do something – like not ghosting us even though we spent $1,125 dollars to sit on a beach, get sunburned and experience an incredibly dangerous sugar high by binging on Oreo cookies and drinking saltwater for our only meal.

When or if he replies, we will update our answer.

 

Q: Why did InsideMagic.Com stop selling Sea Monkeys?

A:  You likely were reading some of our really old versions of InsideMagic.  As loyal readers know, Inside Magic began long-ago, before the internet but after the commercial moveable type printing machine.  The older, printed versions of this essential magic news source had advertisements on the back two pages and a full back cover with ads.

We offered:

  • X-Ray Glasses
  • Whoopie Cushions (four sizes)
  • Squirting Flowers
  • Ant Farms, Ant Industrial Buildings, and Ant Unemployment Offices
  • Submarines powered by baking soda and vinegar
  • Glass balls to put in your nostril and appear to have a snot bubble
  • Defanged Rattlesnakes
  • Fanged Rattlesnakes (appropriately marked with warnings because of the lawsuit)
  • Questionable Jello Molds

And, of course, Sea Monkeys.

In 1978 there was a worldwide shortage of Sea Monkeys due to the illegal collusion of Sea Monkey producers keeping the monkeys off the market for higher prices.

The only Sea Monkeys you could source were either pieces of carrot shaped like a Sea Monkey or dead Sea Monkeys.  Neither were selling even with our sales pitch that “You could eat both in tough times.”

In 1982, the Global Sea Monkey Monopoly was broken up by the United Nations and a strong decision from the world court at the Hague.  Unfortunately, the ruling meant that the market was now flooded with Sea Monkeys.  Some were aged and infirm.  These GrandPa Sea Monkeys wouldn’t move quickly in buyers’ aquariums but would just sit on rocks and watch the fish.  Worse than the GrandPa Sea Monkeys were the unruly Teen Sea Monkeys who played pranks on the GrandPa Sea Monkeys – some went so far as to use our smallest sized Whoopie Cushion.  The Whoopie Cushion startled the oldsters something terrible.

Then came the internet and we decided to move away from selling Sea Monkeys into investing in a Sea Monkey Dating App – Monkey Sea / Monkey Do.  This was popular for a year or two until most of the users turned out to be GrandPa Sea Monkeys looking for Teen Sea Monkeys and it was shut down by several governmental agencies.

Q: Can magicians really read mimes?

A:  Yes, magicians have developed skills in observation and reading of body language.  No mime stands a chance with a good magician.  Whether they are miming being trapped in a glass booth or walking against the wind, a magician can tell exactly what they are trying to convey.  We assume that is the question you were asking unless “mimes” was a typo.

Continue reading “InsideMagic Questions for the Editor” →

David Blaine
Latest Magic News

Magician David Blaine Inspired by Iron Mike Tyson
David Blaine
David Blaine

Encouragement from the heavy weight boxing champion of the world.

David Blaine had a chance to perform some magic card tricks for Mike Tyson in the back of the champion’s limo.  He told Mr. Tyson that he hoped to be a magician one day.  The Champ gave him inspiring words that he still remembers.

“I wasn’t meant to be the heavyweight champion of the world; he said, I’m not tall enough,” But that was okay. He still achieved the goal because he had nothing to lose by trying.  “I’m not tall enough. I didn’t have a big enough reach but I have nothing to lose. When you have nothing to lose you have everything to gain.”

Apparently David Blaine took the words to heart.

A short, nice snippet of how our words can inspire others.

Read the full article on Boxing News and Views here.

Image of Siegfried Tieber
Magician Feature

Magician Siegfried Tieber’s Newsletter
Image of Siegfried Tieber
Siegfried Tieber

We first met Siegfried Tieber what seems like almost a decade ago — perhaps because it was.

He is a regular fixture at The Magic Castle and a great magician and person.  How do we know he is a great person? We were performing in one of the basement rooms and ran over on time because the performer before us ran over on time and that person likely ran over on time because of someone early in the evening who didn’t have a watch.

Siegfried came up to us as we were packing away our messy props and was kind, considerate and patient.  He calmly pointed out that we had run overtime and that would likely affect his ability to build a crowd for his act — it was late in the evening.  We felt horrible.

He could have yelled or even cursed but he did neither.  He acted as a gentleman would.  We got the point, felt badly, apologized and he accepted our apology.  And that was that.

There are cases where a performer runs long and the act after gets annoyed or offers some snarky comment to their audience about the event. We can’t even blame those performers.  It is frustrating when you have the desire to perform and have no time to do it.  It’s an itch you just gotta scratch.

All this is to say, we liked Siegfried when we first met him and we still do — perhaps even more.

He is innovative, endearing and charismatic.  He is what a magician should be on-stage or off.  A class act.  He has performed one-man shows and his renown is becoming more renown-ed.

His “Newsletter of Sorts” is a must read here in our single-wide in far eastern Los Angeles County.  We look forward to its quirky but always entertaining news and discoveries.  We should have written this long ago but we hope you will check out his newsletter by signing up here.

If you haven’t seen Siegfried perform, do yourself a favor on your next visit to The Castle or wherever he may appear.  He has wit, skills and charms.  Plus he truly a nice guy, even off-stage.  This week’s newsletter is a deep dive down the rabbit hole of Rubik’s Cubes.  Great reading.