Wednesday - Aaron Fisher Lecture & The Castle

Yoga in the morning, swimming in the afternoon, sunshine all day. I called Daniel and Sam to tell them about the lecture at The Magic Apple - Magic Shop, on Ventura, not far from where I live.

Daniel met me at the City Walk and watched me work a bit. We left Universal and drove a short way to the Magic Shop. Aaron Fisher did a great lecture for 30 people. It’s no secret, I respect his work and I’m proud to call him a friend. Dead Head, Spread Head, Aaron has done this lecture many, many, many times capably, confidently and humorously, all over the world. He noodled through the opener (Search & Destroy) testing the audience and seeing where things could go comedically. I liked watching him establish rapport and get into things. I guess this is his home town crew and he seemed to know everyone. Among the action packed line up of material, he covered the Nowhere Pass, his refreshing handling on a classic principle as well as the Gravity Half Pass.

Aaron’s a Card Man through and through, his thinking and approach is fresh, original and his technique flawless. The first set ended at about an hour and a half. During the break I went outside to smoke. David Malek was talking with Howard Hamburg, I chatted with them a bit. I've known Howard since the old days, when I lived here 20 years ago. David, I met at a World Magic Seminar a few years ago. I met the owner of the owner of the store, a fellow named Brent. Out of town guests included Luke Dancy and Tyler Wilson (in town to attend a taping of The Price is Right; before Bob Barker retires next month). I met Luke and jammed with him a bit at the SCAM convention in South Carolina. I would see him again later at the Magic Castle and watch his eyes grow wide as he entered the famed Magic Castle for the first time.

The second set of the lecture got down to the brass tacks of Focus and Design in Card Magic. The half pass was covered in great detail and some practical applications discussed. A nice version of Inversion, Bicycle Thief and other prestidigal nuggets of legerdemain sprinkled the second half. The lecture ended around 10PM or so.

After hanging out a bit more with David Malek and discussing block transfer controls with regard to riffle shuffle work, I packed it up and headed to the Magic Castle. What a night. I didn't get home until after 4AM