It's the Boss-Man!

I did a little photo-shoot with Phil this morning, so we'd have some pictures for the Media Kit and other miscellaneous purposes. This is probably one of my favourites.

I'm going crazy....

...waiting for a new podcast from Go Magic Go.
:(

In the meantime, I've found an online radio station that's all about Magic. It's called Magic Broadcast. I love it... it will never have the place in my heart that GMG has, but I am nonetheless pleased with it.

Planning a Magical Birthday

One of my articles has been posted to Canadian Parents. It's called "Planning a Magical Birthday". Check it out!

Magicians the help Children

(Via Newindpress.com)

I found this article via a South India news site, and I'm quite pleased- it's about a magician named Gopinath Muthukad who speaks to children and teaches them about confidence, by way of relating his experiences as a magician. In fact, it's for summer classes for the State Child Welfare Council.

It's nothing short of magical when magicians use their craft to enrich the lives of children. Something as simple as putting on a magic show can change a child's life.

The Sun is Shining

Finally, I can go out wearing only a sweater and some summer shoes....hopefully it will last!

I look forward to a sunny weekend.

Some Magicians may have their Balloon Burst

(Via The TooWoomba Chronicle)

Here's a nasty thought- you build your livelihood on making kids happy with what you consider to be traditional, heart-warming child entertainment, and in the instant it takes for one toddler to bite a balloon animal and freak out from the loud noise, you suddenly have doubt cast on your artistry and possibly even inflated insurance rates.

Believe it or not, in the US there have been a series of successful lawsuits from parents against Balloon artists for "traumatizing" their children with the bang of a popping balloon.

One concerned Magician/Clown, Lynton Borland, has made a policy of not handing the balloon animals directly to the children.

It's a weird situation, but these days, those are the sorts of things that performers need to consider, especially when their audience is children.

What I'd like to know though, is how they successfully proved that a popping balloon could traumatize a child, long-term?

Magical Medium with a Message

(Via Carroll County Times)

Time and again we see examples of how magic can be turned into something beneficial, and a voice for expressing personal values. For instance, corporate illusionist/magician Wayne Alan has been voicing his concerns about the dangers of long-term smoking, by integrating his talents. Alan tours regularly with his show called "Make Smoking Disappear", which involves magic and detailed descriptions about the long-term effects of tobacco. Rather than appealing to his typical corporate audience, he now appeals to the younger generation at schools and libraries. He does about 100 magic shows a year on the subject.

This is a fascinating form of magic that I see a lot of here at Philip and Henry, and it never ceases to amaze me. Shows like this speak volumes about the unique and individual character of each magician.

The article

Sickness in Springtime

I was sick yesterday and Sunday- there seems to be something going around! Feels like lately everyone is getting sick. But oddly enough, the human spirit prevails: people show up to work as long as they are able to do so.

Easter was a blast, as usual, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things.

Today in Magic

• There's a new podcast out at Go Magic Go - check it out!

• Easter is on the way- chocolate, pious thoughts of the Saviour's resurrection, and cute l'il bunnies everywhere...I would say spring, but it's snowing outside!

• And last but not least, I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear the results of the 39th Annual Academy of Magical Arts Awards Show being hosted at the Beverly Hilton in LA- will it perhaps be anyone we know?

Fate is a strange Magician

You may (or may not) have noticed my absence from the blog yesterday- well, it wasn't without good reason!

Yesterday I was down at the CTV studios witnessing some history in the making- master of memory, David Farrow set a new Guinness World Record for memory recall by memorizing 59 decks of cards which had been shuffled together and repackaged, and successfully remembered them in order, over approximately a nine hour period.

David Farrow, with the help of Scott Dietrich (one of the Magicians that works with us) recalled over 3000 cards consecutively, and with only one minor mistake. It took David about four days to memorize the cards, despite the fact that he has both ADD and dyslexia. He's living proof that we can overcome even the most difficult of learning disabilities.

I'll probably post more about it later.

Press Release Time!

Philip and Henry show Emily Yeung How to Conjure Up a New Way to Wow Viewers

Toronto, Canada - Fans are still talking about the recent appearance of Philip Murad, renowned professional magician and ventriloquist, on the This Is Emily Yeung Show on Treehouse TV. Philip and his partner in magical comedy, Henry, showed off their skills to six-year-old host Emily Yeung. What makes their act even more unique is the fact that Henry is not only the other namesake for their company- Philip and Henry Productions- but he’s also made of wood. (And ‘Wood’ is, coincidentally, his name)

Henry is Philip’s ventriloquist puppet, and they’ve been together a long time- over 20 years in fact- and are still making appearances. Philip and Henry amazed Emily and viewers with a combination of skilled magic and illusion, as well as hilarious comedy, which is a standard practice in their shows. Emily’s show was the perfect for place for the pair to appear. “Emily Yeung was a brilliant host who allowed us to demonstrate what magic is all about,” said Philip, “I would not hesitate to do something like this again in the future!”

Ironically, Philip could even be doing other such appearances in the future, judging by the overall response to the TV spot. Many loyal fans as well as new clients, both young and old, tuned into the show and loved what they saw. “I did not expect so many people to respond in such a positive way, especially when we heard from so many adults!” exclaimed Philip. The company has also benefited- from an increase in business since the show aired.

He has also taken the skills and love of magic he has built over the years, and started his own business, Philip and Henry Productions. Which provides a variety of magic shows for all types of people, all across North America. “We have a huge ring of Magicians all over North America, ready and willing to perform the best possible magic shows they can for us,” said Philip.

Philip Murad and his team of magicians at Philip and Henry Productions have been putting smiles on people’s faces for over 20 years. The company offers a wide variety of magic shows, for all age groups all across North America. Philip and Henry Productions ensures quality performances, and highly trained magicians, who are passionate, and motivated in their field of work. For more information please visit http://www.philipandhenry.com.

The This Is Emily Yeung show, features six-year-old curious host Emily Yeung, and airs on Treehouse TV and Playhouse Disney. Viewers join Emily as she journeys with a variety of guests such as fireworks experts, farmers, and now, even puppets.

EDIT: You can actually check out a preview of the episode here on the Emily Yeung website.

Magical Power Outage Adventure Time

So yesterday around lunch time, the power suddenly went out- at first we just sort of sat there, hoping it would come back on, but after about an hour we started to wonder.

Phil had us do some general maintenance around the office while we waited to find out the problem. We had one flashlight- Vince's- which we promptly traded back and forth so we could use the bathrooms (which have no windows).

Phil held a meeting about the status of the company, and gave a compelling impromptu speech about how proud he was of the way things were going. Our co-op student, Etti, wanted to see a magic show, so he ad libbed a little for her benefit.

Eventually we figured out that it was a blown transformer, so we all went home to wait it out.

Flashback Moment

Of all the videos on the website, I think this one is currently my favourite:

http://www.philipandhenry.com/video_cmm.htm

Check it out!

The Magician in the video is Philip Murad, by the way- our intrepid leader, and namesake.