Penn Jillette Talks About John Archer and Ben Earl

Penn, of ITV's Penn & Teller: Fool Us, talks about John Archer and Ben Earl on his video blog Penn Point. John Archer is deservedly praised by Penn.

Penn & Teller: Fool Us

The third episode of Penn & Teller: Fool Us has been aired and so far all three episodes have been enjoyable. Having said that, a very interesting viewpoint on the format of the show has been expressed by magician Rob James. It's a thought provoking piece and here is the link to it:

http://rob-james.com/foolus.html

The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells

The short story The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
read by Roy Trumbull





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Essential Magic Conference 7th, 8th & 9th of July 2011

The Essential Magic Conference is less than two weeks away. I thought that last year's conference was more than worth the fee - especially as the DVD set (free to that year's subscribers) for the 2010 conference now sells at a higher price than the subscription fee.

Last year's conference was thought provoking and full of good debates, strong magical performances and lectures. There's an exciting line up of speakers for 2011 including Rene Lavand, Paul Daniels, David Berglas, David Copperfield, Max Maven and others. There were some extra freebies last year and this year's freebie is volume one of Opus Magazine. The publishers/editors of Opus, JJ and Chris Power, are attending the conference and presenting a talk on the magazine.

The subscription fee for the three day online conference is on par with some one day magic conventions here in the UK and far less than the cost of any three day magic convention here or anywhere else. No travel fees, no hotel fees - just switch on your computer, log in to the site and watch the conference live.

For more information and details on all the speakers visit:

http://essentialmagicconference.com/

The Magician by Ingmar Bergman

Compared to some of his other films The Magician (the original Swedish title is Ansiktet) is not his best in terms of film as art but it is, as many critics have written, one of his most accessible for audiences in terms of plot and meaning. I am unable to give any details of the plot here without ruining the enjoyment of a film which is an act of legerdemain in itself, as it reveals secrets beneath secrets. 
    
What can be said is that some research must have been done in writing the film. The different attitudes of the people towards magicians of the period within which the story takes place is spot on – and central to the plot. The only real factual blunder is a portrayal of one illusion that probably didn't exist at that time.  
    
When someone has seen the film, there is plenty to talk about but to do so with someone who hasn't seen the film is just being a spoil sport; so although I'm itching to discuss certain topics in the film, in fairness I won’t.
   
The above image shows the Tartan DVD (easily found second hand); there are also others, including a new one on Blu-Ray.

Books by Al Smith

I've received a number of inquiries recently about books by Al Smith. It's the same question and so I might as well post the answer here. I've been asked which books by Al do I stock. I only stock one and that is Card Stalking. For all other titles, and inquiries about his magic magazine The LaBaL, you should ask Al directly by contacting him at:

albertesmith@myway.com

 

To purchase a copy of Card Stalking you can find it on places like Ebay or on my website. If you buy it through my website, then postage is free to anywhere in the world. All other sites charge postage and packaging.

A selection of books by Al Smith: 

 

John Archer Interview

In April's issue of Mystery Magazine you will find an interview - by Walt Lees and myself - of one of the winners of Penn and Teller: Fool Us, John Archer.

Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

Derren Brown’s Faith Healers

The recent Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was an interesting dip into the murky world of those who exploit people who have religious faith. Anyone who was interested in the program can follow it up by reading James Randi’s book The Faith Healers, published by Prometheus Books. The book gives a history of the subject and an analytical survey of faith healing in modern America.

Something to watch for in the near future is a Channel 5 program called Impossible hosted by Philip Escoffey. The show will be in a reality TV/game show format apparently. This continues the trend that has been present for some time now. BBC’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, BBC’s The Magicians and ITV’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us have all had a reality TV/rise to the challenge aspect to the them. The Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was just that, pushing Nathan, sometimes unwillingly, through his paces to meet the aim set by Brown. The last Derren Brown series, in which people were trained/mentored to tackle challenges, from escapology to being a quiz whiz, is another example.

I, for one, hope this trend fades. It detracts from the real point of interest which is magic and mentalism. I believe that the choice to do that, unfortunately, lies in the hands of those that hold the purse strings to make any of these programs and not with the performers.

New Publication Dates

These are the new publication dates for these books:

The Art of Iugling by S.R. - 31st May 2011

Hocus Pocus Junior - 1st of July 2011

The Persians by Aeschylus - 1st of August 2011

Pre-orders will be fulfilled first on all titles.

An update on the previous blog entry:
Well, looking into one situation led to discovering other problems elsewhere that have to be dealt with that made the first one look insignificant. But solutions have been provided and it's all being dealt with bit by bit. Phew! A big thank you to Amazon and others for their help. That's all that can be said for now. 

Beware A Book Scam

It was brought to my attention that there is a bookseller selling copies of my Thomas Hill book on Amazon.com and other Amazon sites. The seller claims that they are new copies. I would just like to make it clear that I have never heard of this bookseller before and I have no record of supplying them with any copies of the book. This has been explained to Amazon who is now investigating if the seller is falsely describing second hand copies as new or is selling a pirate edition of the book.
 

Part of the scam is the greatly inflated price of the book. The seller is charging $51.97 when the retail price is actually $16.50.
 

The seller has a website where it is claimed that they sell unusual titles on behalf of publishers; so I’ll just repeat, as a publisher, I’ve never heard of this bookseller before.
 

Until it is discovered who is behind the anonymous website, the books that were to be published this month and in March will now be delayed. It’s along shot that the book is being pirated but until it is confirmed it is not I don’t want to risk two more potentially being treated the same.