Magic Magazine February

You probably already got this issue but I did talk to Stan recently and he said that they have been getting printing discounts by printing the magazine before the 15th or so.

From The Editor Our cover this month might be the most shocking cover we've ever run. But then, I can't recall a more shocking story than the unprovoked attack on Wayne Houchin. When the early reports were getting out that an American magician had been set on fire in the Dominican Republic, I remember thinking that it didn't sound possible. Even after watching the video clip, I still found it hard to believe. If ever there was a WTF moment, this has to be it. The good news is that Wayne's doing great. But you do not go through something like this without a few scars, physically and emotionally. He talks openly about all of that. It's our exclusive interview in the February 2013 issue, which is now out in print, as well as on both the iPad and the Kindle Fire. If you haven't already received your copy, here's a look at what's "between the covers." Stan Allen Stories in MAGIC this month: COVER: Wayne Houchin After the Fire By Alan Howard Toward the end of November, Wayne Houchin was appearing with Curiosidades, a group of magicians who get together annually for a series of performances in the Dominican Republic. On November 26, the thirty-year-old Houchin suffered first-degree burns during the taping of a television program in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The burns came at the hands of the host of the show, Franklin Barazarte, who had a "spirit water" known as Aqua de Florida poured into his hands then set ablaze; Barazarte then dumped the flaming liquid onto Houchin's head. The incident made news worldwide, but many questions remain unanswered. To fill in as many details as possible, Wayne Houchin talked toMAGIC Magazine from his home in Chico, California, on December 20, 2012, just three and a half weeks after the incident. Daniel Madison of the Lions Den By Jamie D. Grant Barnsley, England: 1998. There was no way Daniel Madison could have known that within two hours he'd be lying in a deserted parking lot, unconscious, with three broken ribs, a broken kneecap, and two broken bones in his right hand — the hand that was, at this moment, shuffling three Kings to the bottom of a deck of cards while in a game of five-card draw. In addition to being a real-world card cheat, Daniel went on to become a magician and a teacher of card techniques to conjurors and hustlers both. A shady past evolved into a shadowy present, all based on his skills with a pack of cards. La Maga Lupe: A Backstage Life in the Spotlight By Alan Howard >When Guadalupe Maria Ah Chu was twelve or thirteen years old, she spent Saturday mornings watching a children's television program that was broadcast from her hometown of Panama City, Panama. After telling her mother that she intended to be on that program, young Lupe took a bus to the television station and asked where she could find the producer of the show. A secretary said he was out to lunch at the moment, but told Lupe the name of the restaurant. "I just went there and saw him," Lupe recalls, "and said, 'I want to be on your TV show.'" When he asked the girl what she would do on the show, she answered, "Magic." Throughout the years since then, Lupe Nielsen's fascination with conjuring — along with a history of excelling at tasks no one else wanted to take on — have gained her unique experience in staging, performing, and building magic. Peter Matz on the Music of Doug Henning By John Armato Some time capsules are accidents. A micro-cassette of a phone interview recorded by a young writer in the mid-1980s lay untouched in forgotten files. Two cross-country moves and a quarter of a century went by before it was rediscovered. The tape preserved comments by Peter Matz, one of the entertainment industry's most prolific composers, arrangers, and conductors, about creating music for Doug Henning, one of the most important magicians of the 20th century. Henning left us in 2000; Matz was gone just two years later. But through this accidental time capsule, we have one more piece of history to add to the archives of magic, a glimpse into the collaborative process of a world-class magician and a world-class musician that is as relevant to performers today as it was when the interview was first recorded. Magic Fever in Germany By Wittus Witt The biggest surprise in Germany last year was the successful tour of two young magicians who were totally unknown to the public: the Ehrlich Brothers. The tour began on December 3 in Berlin, then traveled to 29 more cities, playing 2,000- to 5,000-seat venues. Amazing. Besides this large-scale tour, there were two additional magic shows running in well-known German variety theaters from November to January and into February. Seen, But Not Heard, 'Round the World On Saturday, December 22, 2012, a deaf audience in Beijing, China, gathered at a local club for their annual holiday party. Beginning at 2:30 in the afternoon, American magician Simon J. Carmel performed a ten-minute act for the eighty Chinese attendees. Carmel was later told that the audience was "deeply astonished and excitedly screamed aloud when I demonstrated the color changes of the fanning cards, and four other colorful and stunning tricks." Simon had to be told of the reaction he received, not only because he, too, is deaf, but because he was on the other side of the world, in his home in West Palm Beach, Florida. A Castle Turns Fifty By Joan Lawton The Magic Castle, the clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts, originally opened its doors at 5 p.m. on January 2, 1963. Irene soon-to-be-Larsen was still cleaning things with Windex; Nancy Keener was sweeping out the lobby; and Snag Werris was racing in with the first delivery of booze that was held up waiting for approval of the liquor license. On January 2, 2013, fifty years later, things were a lot different! Plus… MAGIC Magazine's listing of "Conventions at a Glance," and remembrances of Bill Miesel, Harry E. Colestock, Bob Steiner, Scotty York, and Bill Chaudet. In the Marketplace this month: Eighteen products are reviewed this month by Michael Claxton, Peter Duffie, Jason England, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti, Arthur Trace: Lessons in Card Mastery by Darwin Ortiz  Kartis Bill Change 2.0 by Tango Magic Lubor's Lens from Paul Harris Presents INDEX-terity by George Parker with Lawrence Hass Sucker Peep by Mark Wong The Thought Reader Craze: Victorian Science     at the Enchanted Boundary by Barry H. Wiley Project by Shiro Ishida Rapping Hand Vanishing Coin in Glass Wild Surprise by Ron Timmer  The Nine of Diamonds     edited by Mark Beecham & Neil Stirton Depicting Thoughts Set European Coin Magic Symposium Vol.3 X-Act by Mike Kirby Ei8ht by Mark Wong LemoNegg! by Jeremy Pei Al Schneider Cups & Balls with Al Schneider Spheres by Manuel Llaser Tricks and advice in MAGIC this month: Talk About Tricks: A Late Holiday Present By Joshua Jay Professional magician Will Fern tips three of his workhorse pieces for us this month, including two routines that are totally different in effect but rely on the same principle. Jeff Prace offers an effect with chewing gum, and Harapan Ong surprises us — and our spectators — by offering a way to suck up a playing card through a drinking straw. Loving Mentalism: Clairvoyaint By Ian Rowland A very direct and inexplicable piece of "hands-off" psychic divination is on offer in "Loving Mentalism" this month. Several spectators, genuinely chosen at random (by someone else, not you), write personal information on pieces of paper. These are folded, gathered, and mixed (by someone else) and one of them, selected at random, is sealed in an opaque envelope (by someone else). Impossible as it may seem, without going anywhere near this envelope, you identify exactly what is written on the sealed billet and who wrote it. No stooges, no forces or glimpses, and nothing involved except normal pen, paper, and envelopes you could obtain anywhere! Bent on Deception: There's a Signpost Up Ahead. Your Next Stop, The Comfort Zone By Mike Bent Being able to do your sleights and secret magic stuff with confidence so that they don't require a lot of your attention is great, because it frees you up to think about other things, such as — oh, say, entertaining people. But your act? From my experience, people who flaunt the "do it in my sleep" attitude like it's a badge of honor have earned that badge. I've seen their acts, and that's exactly what it looks like: they're sleepwalking onstage, just going through the motions. Not only are they not there, they're a million miles away. They look bored. 50 Years at the Castle: Fifty Years of Fine Food, Fun, and Failures By Milt Larsen From the day we opened the door of the Magic Castle fifty years ago, we envisioned a grand club offering a new meeting place for magicians and magic aficionados. Part of that vision was to offer fine food and beverage service. We had our liquor license, and I built a faux turn-of-the-century bar. We hired a bartender. That was easy. It never occurred to us that taking an old house with a residential kitchen and turning it into a restaurant might be a tad more challenging. It was! Real-World Methods… The Power of the Press Release By Richard Hatch Chances are, if you saw a story about a celebrity in a newspaper, magazine, on television, or online, that story probably started as a press agent's press release. Press releases can be an extremely cost-effective form of advertising, raising your profile in a given market by generating media coverage. You don't need to escape from a straitjacket while hanging upside down or do a blindfold drive to get media coverage (though such publicity stunts can get great results when properly promoted with press releases). This article will show you how to act as your own press agent by creating press releases and getting them into the media pipeline for your market. For What It's Worth By Mark Kornhauser Russ Merlin is one of Las Vegas' most reliable killers. He performed his comedy mask act approximately a thousand times in one year and in almost every one of those sets, he killed. His act packs into a small satchel and as soon as there are four chairs onstage and the mic is turned on, he is ready to go. Fourteen minutes later, he's done. Kills. Over and over and over again. He craves the monotony. He is a killing machine. Until one day — they seemed to laugh a little less. And it happened again the next day. And for the next two weeks he was a good act, but not a great act. The Big Red Flag went up. Viewpoint: A Trick So Dangerous By Jared Sherlock "Before I go, I would like to share with you a trick so dangerous that the late Harry Houdini himself would not even perform it — stopping the bullets!" Last year I closed 109 performances with those exact words. I estimate that I have performed this trick over 300 times. The carefully scripted words are in a constant state of readiness, primed for delivery. One hour before a corporate show in Fremont, Nebraska, on Saturday, December 15, 2012, with the gun and paintballs neatly arranged onstage, I made the decision to cut it, as 36 hours earlier, tragedy surprised our country again when Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, experienced one of the most horrific school shootings in history. Paynefully Obvious: We're All TV Magicians Now By Payne Hollywood is rife with big name stars who were also magicians. Yet none of them became famous for performing magic. Instead, they achieved their fame as actors, writers, singers, dancers, and musicians — but most of all, comedians. Peruse the list of well-known celebrities who were also magicians and you'll find a large percentage of comedians, which suggests to me that the branch of magic they probably were most attracted to was that of the comedy magician. The curious thing is, if we take the word "comedian" out of the phrase "comedy magician," we're left with the very interesting question "y magic?" Why do we apparently have to give up magic on the way to stardom? #LaxOnline: We're All TV Magicians Now By Rick Lax Put a good-looking trick on the market and all the old guard magicians will ask you the same question: "Is it a worker or just a TV trick?" A TV trick looks good on video, but isn't practical to perform in the real world, whether due to lengthy setup or extreme angle restrictions. Ten years ago, TV tricks were useful only to — well, to magicians who actually appeared on TV. That was before Facebook and YouTube.

January 2013 Magic Magazine

From The Editor The January 2013 issue of MAGIC Magazine is now out, available both in print and on the iPad. If you haven't already received your copy, here's a look at what's "between the covers." But before you jump into the January issue, I want to mention that in my "From the Editor" column last month, I wrote about how impressed I was with Alan Shaxon [1933-2012], both onstage and off. In particular, I cited his Hydrostatic Glass routine, and how simple and effective it was. As the December issue was going to press, I was reminded that Alan gave us permission to print this routine as part of our March 2004 cover story on him. With the permission of the original publishers at Davenports, we have added the instructions, illustrations, and routine to MAGIC Plus for December. So, grab your December copy of the magazine, log into Plus, and learn what I consider to be possibly the best ending to a talking magic act I've ever seen. Then jump to the January MAGIC Plus and see the complete collection of Danny Cole's Internet videos, including a behind-the-scenes reveal of his most recent installment — only available to MAGIC Magazine readers! And that's just the beginning of another exciting year of MAGIC. Stan Allen Stories in MAGIC this month: COVER: Danny Cole — He Gets It! By Tod Gerard He started gaining attention as a teenage magician from Southern California, but today, Danny Cole performs all over the world. And he has turned his talents toward creating unique magic effects for Internet viewers. To date, he's released ten of these short videos — and we've got 'em all on MAGIC Plus. Danny has also given us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at his most recent head-scratcher! An Evening with Harry By Joe Givan & Carol Massie-Givan Magic. Mayhem. Mystery. Murder? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing's for sure: somebody's dead, and the art of magic may have something to do with it. The scene is the Trocadero Vaudevilles theater at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. has hired Harry Robenstein to perform his magic in a variety show, alongside a number of other acts. Things get hairy for Harry when another magician barges onstage and cuts the wire Harry uses to raise his Hindu Rope in the air. The interloper is the young Erik Weisz. He exposes Harry's method, claiming that he, Erik, will be the greatest magician in the world. Robenstein is enraged that this young man not only exposes his magic, but that Erik wants his spot in the show! And he gets it, replacing Harry with his own magic and escape act. What follows is an interesting and hilarious battle of two magicians trying to make it in the world of showbiz. Alana: The Girl Just Wants to Have Fun By Jaq Greenspon It's a magician's nightmare. You're set to go onstage at FISM for your competition slot. Standing in the wings with your act loaded, you psych yourself up to go out there and wow the crowd. You see your name on the screen, you hear the microphone turn on, and you take a deep breath. This is it. And then the announcer says that there will be a half hour intermission, and before you can even register your shock and surprise, the house is half empty and you're left with thirty minutes in which to psych yourself back up again. That's exactly what happened to Alana Moehlmann, one of the German participants at last year's FISM in Blackpool, England. And yet, a half hour later, she took the stage and wowed the crowd. Taking Another Look at Houdini's Movies By Chris Philpott Houdini's movies are a fascinating but neglected part of his legacy. The conventional wisdom about these movies is that the stories were just excuses for his escapes and that he was a very weak actor. Story-wise, why is it a problem that the films are excuses for escapes? We don't complain that action movies are just excuses for action scenes. The question is, are they a good excuse? A film like The Dark Knight is. Unfortunately, most of Houdini's movies are not. As for Houdini's acting, yes, it's awful in spots, but most of it is fairly good and there are moments of emotional honesty, power, and charisma that hint that maybe, if things had gone a little differently, Houdini might have become a real movie star. I Hereby Resolve… January is traditionally a time to look forward while at the same time looking back. This month, MAGIC Magazine does the same, with more than two dozen noted magicians — Kevin James, Eugene Burger, Cyril, Michael Weber, Topas, Mac King, John Bannon, Armando Lucero, Derek Hughes, and more — sharing their resolutions for 2013. Magician Burned on TV Show Wayne Houchin suffered first-degree burns on his scalp, face, and right arm while taping a television program in the Dominican Republic on Monday, November 26. The injuries came at the hands of the host of the show, who doused Houchin with a flaming liquid. Criminal Kid Shows? In February 2000, Robert E. Markwood was found guilty of the second-degree felony of indecency with a child, stemming from an incident with a boy in January 1999. He was released from prison last February, having served the full twelve-year sentence. Bob Markwood, now 67, showed up in the media recently, when the Inside Edition television show did a segment on registered sex offenders who are still working as children's entertainers. Plus… Steve Truglia's The Card Shark Show debuts at the Mayfair Theatre in London, over 50 invited magicians from 22 countries took part in the first International Magic Carnival in Beijing, Wittus Witt realizes his dream of presenting public exhibitions of his private collection, and Fantasma Toys opens its Houdini Museum of New York. From the Marketplace this month Twenty products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Jason England, Gabe Fajuri, Alan Howard, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti, Arthur Trace: Exchange by Wayne Dobson  Essence with Miguel Angel Gea The Trapdoor Vol. 3 edited by Steve Beam Mac King's Magic in a Minute Mysteries by Mac King and R.G. Wyatt The Card Puzzle by Woody Aragón The Inception by Chris Randall One by Matthew Underhill Let's Go Dutch by Fritz Alkemade Counts Cuts Moves and Subtlety by Jerry Mentzer An Evening with Charlie Miller by Robert Parrish  Fantasio's Color Changing Lighter  Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks      by BigBlindMedia Magic with a Christmas Theme by Marc Dibowski Spectrum by Wayne Dobson Devious by Brandon David and Chris Turchi Growing Ring by Dan Hauss The Cardwarp Tour by Jeff Pierce Filter by Rick Lax Card Shark's AlphaWave Deck  BOOM! by Mick Valenti Tricks and advice in MAGIC this month: Talk About Tricks: New Tricks for a New Year By Joshua Jay An all-card issue, with two impossible locations: Pete McCabe's The Watchman is an impossible location that requires a special "something extra," while Trapper Keeper achieves a similar result with a regular pack. Josh Janousky gives us One Card Monte, an interesting take on a card change, and Ernesto Melero and Christian Grenier share pet moves to add to your toolkit. Loving Mentalism: Singer Zinger By Ian Rowland A seemingly impossible piece of direct mindreading is featured in this month's "Loving Mentalism." Under test conditions, a spectator concentrates on one photograph chosen from eight possibilities. You then tell him exactly which image he is thinking of. You can do this from across the stage, without even looking in the spectator's direction and with none of the usual methods in play — no force, no ambiguity, no electronics, and no preshow. The powerfully deceptive principle is extremely subtle and highly versatile. Directions: #12. Take a Bow! By Joanie Spina The closing of your act or show should be clean and well structured. The show should be riding a steadily increasing momentum that builds to a crescendo and leaves the audience wildly excited and enthusiastic about you. But the show is not over until you exit the stage. The same care that is given to planning your act should go into crafting your bow, as well. Bent on Deception: Wooly Bully, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Accept the Clown By Mike Bent Do you remember Play-Doh, Etch-a-Sketch, X-ray Specs, Sea Monkeys, and the game Clue? These are more than toys; they are art, as important as the simple Campbell's soup can that Andy Warhol immortalized. When an audience sees one of these objets d'art, which have never been out of production since they were created, there's an instant emotional hook, a bonding with the performer. #LaxOnline By Rick Lax Type "magic trick" into YouTube's search bar and see what comes up on the first page. You'll find videos of Paul Annett performing a packet trick called This'n'That (17,913,555 views) and Oren Sashalom performing an interactive Princess Card trick (18,098,117 views). Which brings up an important question: Who the hell are Paul Annett and Oren Shalom? 50 Years at the Castle: And We're Off! By Milt Larsen When Stan Allen and I first talked about my writing a twelve-part series celebrating the golden anniversary of the Magic Castle, we agreed it shouldn't be a chronological account of events, but rather a collection of stories about the movers, do-ers, and finger-flippers who somehow worked together to make the Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts a unique success in the world of magic. So let's turn back the clock to the morning of January 2, 1963. We had announced that the Magic Castle would open its doors to members and guests at 6 p.m. Were we ready? Hell no! Real-World Methods… Protecting Your Assets By Cory Haines Theft is a horrible thing. I remember an instance from my childhood, when my brand new bicycle was stolen by one of the "big kids." At the time, that bicycle was my most treasured possession. I felt victimized, helpless, and angry. For most of the magicians I know, the magic routines they have created are among their most treasured possessions, so the theft of these routines by other performers can leave them with similar feelings of helplessness, anger, and mistrust. The good news is that the law can provide some protection for our creations. For What It's Worth: On the Road Again By Mark Kornhauser In order to gain a greater appreciation of magicians who don't live in Los Angeles or Las Vegas (I'm told there are many), I piled my two dogs — Zsa Zsa and Goulash — into the car and headed out on an 8,000-mile road trip. I'm no stranger to the road. I pride myself on expert packing, but the first night, I couldn't find my cell phone charger and tore apart everything in my SUV looking for it. And so it begins. The first rule of travel: there will be problems. Paynefully Obvious: The Myth of Mentoring By Payne A couple of years ago, a documentary was released that IMDb.com describes as "a coming of age journey set in the quirky subculture of magic." Make Believefollowed six young magicians who competed in the Teen World Championships, held in conjunction with the 2009 World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. It is an excellent film that shows what it takes to make it in the dog-eat-dog — or perhaps rabbit-eat-rabbit — world of high-level magic competitions. It is also a film that encapsulates some of the problems I see in the world of magic today.

David Copperfield is in the next issue of Reel Magic

Guy, We're thrilled to bring you this historic interview with David Copperfield, shot LIVE at the SAM National convention in Vegas. Stan Allen and Copperfield talk about David's life in magic. This is very special. Take a look!   http://youtu.be/sBdQ0pDjtuo Check out Doc Eason's new column, "Behind the Bar". We're really excited to have Doc in Reel Magic. Oh and by the way, did you guys see what Curtis Kam said about Kainoa Harbottle's new column "Coin U"? "Professor Harbottle's Coin U is the smartest stuff anyone is saying about coin magic anywhere. Finally there's someone willing and able to go beyond the usual  "basic understanding"of coin magic. And yes, this will all be on the final exam"      If you're not a current subscriber click the link below.  www.reelmagicmagazine.com

Magic on TV

A couple bits of upcoming magic on television... 

Fox and Friends Weekend 
Sunday, November 25, 6am ET, Fox News 
Roger Dreyer and his Houdini Museum in New York City will appear on the Fox News morning broadcast. We understand that the segment is slated near the end of the four-hour show, at approximately 9:50am. 

Pawn Stars 
Monday, November 26, 10pm ET/PT, History Channel 
Murray Sawchuck returns to Pawn Starsin an episode called "The Offer." He'll be the magic expert on a Thurston item. 

Magic Magazine December 2012 preview

From The Editor While 2013 is still over a month away, this issue officially turns the final page on another year of MAGIC Magazine. And it's been quite the year. Cover stories alone featured Pit Hartling, John Bannon, Fielding West, Steve Cohen, Marco Tempest, Jay Sankey, Mike Bent, Neil Patrick Harris, Derek Hughes, David Copperfield, and Korean FISM Winners. And now Milt Larsen and the Magic Castle, which begins celebrating its 50th Anniversary in January. How do we cover such a milestone? By going straight to the founder and twisting his arm to write about the "magic house" he built. Okay, it really didn't take too much arm twisting, as Milt is still a writer at heart. This month, he tells how the club and the clubhouse came to be. And while this starts us at the very beginning, the following twelve installments, like Milt himself, will be jumping all over the place. And like the Castle itself, this should be a fun ride. One of the big additions to the MAGIC family this year is MAGIC Plus. It's the bridge between print and digital, and it's available free to everyone holding a print copy of this magazine, whether you subscribe or pick it up in a magic shop. This month, MAGIC Plus features bonus videos from "Talk About Tricks," "Directions," "Bent on Deception," and "The Almighty Dollar." We also have two bonus Pluses this month. Our feature story on Jason England and Paul Wilson's "Road Trip!" is divided into eight parts. Each part has a video available, so you view the clips as you read the story. The other bonus this month is a holiday gift from Joshua Jay. Spoiler Alert: it's a video download called The Bluff Shift Bundle — and it's free! So, if you have not visited MAGIC Plus yet, sit down with your print copy, go to our website, and enjoy. It's all in the December 2012 issue of MAGIC Magazine. If you haven't already received your copy, here's a look at what else is "between the covers." Stan Allen P.S. MAGIC Magazine is also available for your iPad in the App Store. The cost is only $3.99 per issue, and it arrives within a few minutes. Best of all, you only buy it once, then you own it forever and can enjoy it wherever you want. Stories in MAGIC this month: COVER: Open Sesame? By Milt Larsen The Magic Castle in Hollywood is an iconic landmark, known the world over as the clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts. Milt Larsen, one of the founders fifty years ago, reminisces with tales of how the venue came to be, kicking off a series of articles celebrating the Castle's golden anniversary. In this first installment, Milt takes us from first concept up until January 2, 1963, when he found himself waiting for the last of the paint to dry and trying to figure out why his invisible pianist didn't work. Meanwhile, designer John Shrum was out buying flowers to put in the men's room urinals $mdash; but that's another story! Marcel: Prince of Nightmares By Jaq Greenspon Nine years ago, Marcel Kalisvaart, at the time a twenty-year-old upstart illusionist with only five years of experience, had the hubris to compete in the Stage Illusionist category at the 2003 FISM competition in his home country of Holland. It wasn't far from home and he'd already been getting some attention locally $mdash; like winning the grand prix at the 2002 Dutch championships $mdash; so why not? Why not, indeed? Marcel walked off with the top prize in illusions, and did even better in FISM 2012. Road Trip! By Jason England In "a quest for great magic, great food, and a flawless false shuffle," Paul Wilson and Jason England recently took a 7,000-mile trip across the US $mdash; a journey that began in Las Vegas, covered 13 states, and ended up in Los Angeles. They spent over three weeks on the road, visiting magicians and pool hustlers, collectors and casino security experts. They interviewed some of the most recognized magicians in the world, gained entry into some of the most wonderful collections one could ever hope to see, and met some really interesting characters. Along the way, they managed to gather enough stories to fill a small book. Twelve Magical Months By Alan Howard The end-of-year holidays are sometimes portrayed as a time for over-the-top gift giving $mdash; and over-the-top gift getting! But there is no reason why you have to limit your extravagance to a single season. There's almost always an excuse to celebrate, so you can spread your presents out over the whole year! Here is a month-by-month guide to gifts that any magic fan would be thrilled to receive. Buy them for your magic friends and family, buy them for yourself, or just keep hinting to everyone within earshot just how much you wish someone would give these presents to you in the upcoming months. Magic Circle Awards The Magic Circle Awards took on a new format this year, jettisoning the usual banquet, cabaret, and "gong show" at a nondescript hotel and moving the new event to the Circle's very own Headquarters in Central London. Members of the public were also encouraged to attend with a promise of top-quality magic and entertainment. A Moment With… James McKinlay NBC's America's Got Talent is reaching out to the magic community in an effort to get more magicians to audition for the show. When contacted in late October, Stan Allen raised a number of questions regarding the way magicians had been treated on the show in the past. Co-Executive Producer James McKinlay, with twenty years in the field, the last six of which with AGT, agreed to field those questions. Plus… While magicians tried to get Houdini to show up in a séance in Texas, he did return to the silver screen in Hollywood; conjurors gathered in Chile in "the driest place on Earth;" the life and magic of Alan Shaxon is remembered; and much more. From the Marketplace: Twelve products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti, and Arthur Trace: The Definitive Sankey by Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay  Unreal by Bruce Bernstein The Bumblebees with Woody Aragón In the Frame by Mark Elsdon  The Essential Sol Stone by Stephen Hobbs TKO 2.0 by Jeff Kaylor The Complete Walton Vols. 1 & 2 by Roy Walton Lincoln's Best Boon by Lincoln Kamm Carey On by John Carey The Money Card by Shaun Robison Stitched by Alexander Kölle Chill by Tom Wright Tricks and advice in MAGIC this month: Talk About Tricks: Best of 2012 By Joshua Jay This month, Walt Lees brings us a lovely match effect with a — forgive the pun — strikingly unorthodox method. Justin Higham delivers a high-caliber card effect, and Chris Piercy shows you how to take one of Sankey's cleverest effects to new heights. Harapan Ong and Waseem Mohammed round out the issue with two clever card ideas. The Almighty Dollar: Taken For Granted By Gregory Wilson With only a $50 bill and a $1 bill, the classic Slow Motion Bill Transposition is demonstrated as a two-phase shortchange swindle. One of the bills is in your hand and the other is placed in your pocket. The bills secretly change places, apparently based on clever and confusing "crosstalk." This is immediately repeated, but this time in the spectator's hand. Directions: #11. Music, Maestro By Joanie Spina People watch a performance to be moved in some manner, to laugh, to cry, to be amazed, etc. Music can greatly enhance a presentation and further help you fulfill those expectations of the audience. Music sets mood and energy, and when chosen wisely can kick up the impact of a routine. If you don't presently use music in your act, you should consider it. Bent on Deception: The Overly Complicated Simplex Bill in Lemon By Mike Bent When Mike Bent is working with a classic effect, he searches for super-easy methods, with maybe just a little James Bond gadgetry thrown in. Here's his take on the Bill in Lemon. "This miracle, created by Emil Jarrow, is a classic for a reason: it's a stunner. For audience appeal, you just can't beat it. No matter what else you do in your show, you know the audience will be talking on the way home about how the bill got in that damn lemon." Loving Mentalism: Navigate To Icy By Ian Rowland Ingenious word play and some slightly eerie surprises feature in this month's helping of "Loving Mentalism." It's a story routine based around a famous historical tragedy. Are there really strange forces at work, reaching from the past to the present, to bring about a diabolical series of coincidences? Maybe not, but that's what it looks like to the audience! What's more, the routine is easy to do and only requires simple props that you can make in an evening. For What It's Worth: Coca-Cola and the Fourth Dimension By Mark Kornhauser Sound, lights, sets, music, video, costumes, script, staging, direction, pyro, props — all are as much a part of an illusion as bubbles are to "The Real Thing." When performers give appropriate importance to these other "dimensions," it provides valuable perspective. It's not just Coke that goes flat. When your audience is farther than eighteen feet away, you go flat. Stereoscopic vision flattens out. People who are more than eighteen feet away will have a diminished sense of your three-dimensionality. You begin to lose one of the few advantages of a live show: the all-important third dimension. You need every dimension you can get! Paynefully Obvious By Payne "Where can I find a trick that will fool magicians?" This question is usually asked by novices in the craft of magic, individuals who are under the mistaken impression that instant fame and respect can be garnered if they can fool the socks off of other magi. I suppose they believe it is the magical equivalent of counting coup. Their quest is doomed on multiple levels.