Saturday, February 10, 2007
Loser
If I had a gun for every ace I have drawn,
I could arm a town the size of Abilene
Don't you push me baby, beause I'm holdin' low
And you know I'm only in it for the gold
All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars
And I could pay you back with one good hand
You can look around about the wide world over
And you'll never find another honest man.
Last fair deal in the country,Sweet Suzie,
Last fair deal in the town
Put your gold money where your love is baby,
Before you let my deal go down
Don't you push me baby, cause I'm holdin' low
And I know a little something you won't ever know
Don't you touch hard liquor, just a cup of cold coffee
Gotta get up in the morning and go
Everybody's breakin' and drinkin' that wine
I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines
Come to daddy on the inside straight,
Well I got no chance of losin' this time
Last fair deal in the country,
Last fair deal in the town
Put your gold money where your love is baby,
Before you let my deal go down
Everybody's breakin' and drinkin' that wine
I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines
Come to daddy on the inside straight,
Well I got no chance of losin' this time.
Friday, February 09, 2007
As the week turns. . .
Wednesday, Vaclav and I returned to Dean Dill's Barber Shop in Glendale for an afternoon session. Again it was a great time. Pete Biro was there, as well as one of the Castle Managers, I think his name was Todd, a fellow named Jesse and of course Dean Dill.
I did the linking rings for the guys and they seemed to like it. Vaclav did a couple of tricks and Dean showed us an interesting prediction. He also showed us a trick called WOW!
The atmosphere is friendly and the quality of the advice great. I had a really good time and learned a few things.
Last night I had a good hour or two at the City Walk. Made some cash before the midweek evening traffic dried up. I sure will be glad when we start getting into the real street season. It's been a tough month. Chillier weather, rain and the Jan./Feb. doldrums have all posed their own challenges. But, I'll get over it and come out on top. . . . I always do.
This afternoon Aaron Fisher, Billy Goodwin and I are driving down to San Diego to see Rat Dog, Bob Weir's (From the Grateful Dead) Band play at the House of Blues. Road trip magic session with the concert tonight. I'm getting VERY excited. Should be fun.
On a less exciting note, I found out yesterday that I will not be working the Magic Castle. It's a shame that I allowed myself to let self defeating behavior of yesteryears figure into the mix. Tough pills, I've swallowed more than my share. But I keep a smile on my face, love in my heart and keep following my dream.
It's a good life and I'm gonna have fun tonight at the concert.
Peace Out
I did the linking rings for the guys and they seemed to like it. Vaclav did a couple of tricks and Dean showed us an interesting prediction. He also showed us a trick called WOW!
The atmosphere is friendly and the quality of the advice great. I had a really good time and learned a few things.
Last night I had a good hour or two at the City Walk. Made some cash before the midweek evening traffic dried up. I sure will be glad when we start getting into the real street season. It's been a tough month. Chillier weather, rain and the Jan./Feb. doldrums have all posed their own challenges. But, I'll get over it and come out on top. . . . I always do.
This afternoon Aaron Fisher, Billy Goodwin and I are driving down to San Diego to see Rat Dog, Bob Weir's (From the Grateful Dead) Band play at the House of Blues. Road trip magic session with the concert tonight. I'm getting VERY excited. Should be fun. On a less exciting note, I found out yesterday that I will not be working the Magic Castle. It's a shame that I allowed myself to let self defeating behavior of yesteryears figure into the mix. Tough pills, I've swallowed more than my share. But I keep a smile on my face, love in my heart and keep following my dream.
It's a good life and I'm gonna have fun tonight at the concert.
Peace Out
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Fog
The fog rolled in as I drove towards Santa Monica. When I left North Hollywood, it was all blue skies, sunny and hot. I was dressed in shorts, sandals, and a Hawaiian shirt. I parked in the garage and was glad that I brought a change of clothes. This wasn't the first or the last time that I will change clothes in a public parking garage. Sometimes you just got to do what you got to do. Now in sweat pants, shoes, socks, a long sleeve shirt and a knit cap; I head out into the increasing fog. The shit is just rolling in. Can't say that I ever been in this sort of thing before. Getting thicker by the minute, visibility drops from 100 to 50 yards. From Ocean Blvd. you couldn't see the pier or the surf.
With a lit cigar in my hand and my iPod in my ears I walked down to the water. I love walking. . . and I love cigars. Walking along the crashing waves has always been like a reset button for my psyche. It's a good life.
In my "In Box"
The next time you find yourself on a plane, sitting next to someone who cannot resist chattering to you endlessly, I urge you to quietly pull your laptop out of your bag, carefully open the screen (ensuring the irritating person next to you can see it), and hit this link.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
hmmmmm
Flat spots on the bottom of a pair of old shoes
Looking in the mirror and wondering. . .
What the fuck am I doing
Another beautiful day in paradise
Don't have to ask me twice
Guess we'll see
with the roll of the dice
whose been naughty
. . . and whose been nice
dunno
don't know
hell, I don't even care
just doing my thing
Looking in the mirror and wondering. . .
What the fuck am I doing
Another beautiful day in paradise
Don't have to ask me twice
Guess we'll see
with the roll of the dice
whose been naughty
. . . and whose been nice
dunno
don't know
hell, I don't even care
just doing my thing
Monday, February 05, 2007
Whacky Super Bowl Weekend
Friday afternoon, after getting an oil change and filling up my gas tank, I got on the road to Las Vegas, where I would be meeting the Waxler and Weinstein clan for a high roller Super Bowl Weekend. 70 miles into the trip, it was not to be, so I turned around and headed back to Los Angeles.
I worked the City Walk on Friday night as well as Saturday afternoon. While doing my thing at the City Walk, I was honored to see Rick Merrill, Gene Anderson and Steven Bargatze in my audience. It was nice to see these guys again, and Gene was nice enough to give me a little constructive criticism. I had a pretty good day Saturday, and it just got better.
Earlier that morning, I remembered that the Copperfield Show was playing at the Kodak Theater Friday and Saturday, so I put in a last minute email to my old friend Chris Kenner (now Executive Producer of the show) saturday morning, asking if there was any way to hook a brother up for the 8PM show. He said, he would see what he could do. He said that I might have to watch from the sound board, but 10 minutes before show time he set me up with a front row seat. Chris came out to the box office personally to greet me. I gave him hug and told him how much I appreciated his time. As Chris is always busy, especially right before show time, he handed me off to one of his guys who walked me quickly through the back corridors of the Kodak Theater. I was told to wait minute. While I was waiting I felt an old familiar presence. I turned around, it was Homer Liwag. Having know both Chris and Homer for 25 years, it's been exciting to watch them rise to the pinnacles of show biz. I'm so very proud of them both. Even at an early age their talent and drive was undeniable.
I've always been a Copperfield fan and feel like a little kid each time I see the show. Before the show Homer commented that he had done all the editing for a pre-show and mid-show video presentation. It was a great show and I scored it high on freshness. That's probably one of the most important things I rate a show on. Did it look like the Copperfield was engaged with the audience? Did it look like he was having a good time? A big yes to both of those. This was the 5th show in 2 days here in LA at the Kodak Theater (Where the Oscars will be broadcast from).
I was struck by the beauty of this state of the art theater. Homer told me a bit about the architect and then the show was about to begin.
Afterwards, I would have loved to hang out with the guys but they looked tired after the 3rd show of the day, still having to load out and get on the road for Vegas; so we said goodbye and I left. . . . my heart all warm and squishy.
I had a great time!! Thanks Chris and Homer for the memories.
This pic was taken at last years World Magic Seminar.
I worked the City Walk on Friday night as well as Saturday afternoon. While doing my thing at the City Walk, I was honored to see Rick Merrill, Gene Anderson and Steven Bargatze in my audience. It was nice to see these guys again, and Gene was nice enough to give me a little constructive criticism. I had a pretty good day Saturday, and it just got better.
Earlier that morning, I remembered that the Copperfield Show was playing at the Kodak Theater Friday and Saturday, so I put in a last minute email to my old friend Chris Kenner (now Executive Producer of the show) saturday morning, asking if there was any way to hook a brother up for the 8PM show. He said, he would see what he could do. He said that I might have to watch from the sound board, but 10 minutes before show time he set me up with a front row seat. Chris came out to the box office personally to greet me. I gave him hug and told him how much I appreciated his time. As Chris is always busy, especially right before show time, he handed me off to one of his guys who walked me quickly through the back corridors of the Kodak Theater. I was told to wait minute. While I was waiting I felt an old familiar presence. I turned around, it was Homer Liwag. Having know both Chris and Homer for 25 years, it's been exciting to watch them rise to the pinnacles of show biz. I'm so very proud of them both. Even at an early age their talent and drive was undeniable.
I've always been a Copperfield fan and feel like a little kid each time I see the show. Before the show Homer commented that he had done all the editing for a pre-show and mid-show video presentation. It was a great show and I scored it high on freshness. That's probably one of the most important things I rate a show on. Did it look like the Copperfield was engaged with the audience? Did it look like he was having a good time? A big yes to both of those. This was the 5th show in 2 days here in LA at the Kodak Theater (Where the Oscars will be broadcast from).
I was struck by the beauty of this state of the art theater. Homer told me a bit about the architect and then the show was about to begin.
Afterwards, I would have loved to hang out with the guys but they looked tired after the 3rd show of the day, still having to load out and get on the road for Vegas; so we said goodbye and I left. . . . my heart all warm and squishy.
I had a great time!! Thanks Chris and Homer for the memories.
This pic was taken at last years World Magic Seminar.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
David Copperfield • An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion
An affecting, life-changing event that reaches into the audiences' minds and hearts and takes them on a feast of wish fulfillment. True to its title, "Grand Illusion" is the logical and incredible evolution of this conjurer's art. Copperfield's goal is to take one's dreams (and maybe a few nightmares) and make them become reality using his state of the art wizardry. Displaying his off-the-cuff brand of humor, Copperfield breaks new ground and takes his art to a grand yet intimate, personal yet universal dimension for an evening of wonders that will never be forgotten.
$75/$55/$40
Friday, February 2 at 6:00 & 9:00 PM
Saturday, February 3 at 5:00 & 8:00 PM
Just Added! Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2:00 PM
Friday, February 02, 2007
Quote du Jour
To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.
- Jacques Derrida
- Jacques Derrida
Thursday, February 01, 2007
An afternoon at Dean Dill's
I got a call from Vaclav last week. He had moved down here from Seattle around the time I did, but we haven't seen that much of each other. We made plans to go participate in one of the famed Dean Dill Wednesday afternoon Barber Shop Magic Sessions. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. It turned out to be a freaking who's who of the magic world. A bunch of the guys working the Castle were there. There was a young fellow named Rick Merrill, I had never heard of him, but it seems that he's been causing quite a stir since winning the FISM Grand Prix, last year. I'm always the last one to find these things out. 
Bob Sheets, Gene Anderson and Steven Bargatze were all in attendance and also working the Magic Castle this week. After finding this out Vaclav and I made plans to see the guys perform that evening. Great group of guys and and things gelling into a pretty decent session. Some guys from San Diego showed up as a bunch of us went around the corner to get a bite to eat. When we got back Dean performed a newly unveiled item of his. A very cool version of coins through table. I like Dean's thinking and his work.
Next in was another interesting character. This young whipper snapper finger fling'en card man happens to be the center for the Philadelphia Eagles. Performing for us with two broken fingers, he did a nice job and scored bonus points for grace under pressure.
Bob Sheets has a special place in my heart. I'm not sure why, but we've known each other for at least a couple of decades. Can't say that I really know him, but when we see each other; it feels like no time has past. The last time I saw him was his Seattle Lecture in 2005. Here he is performing his version of Patrick Pages 3 Card Monte Routine. He just cracks me up. Not only is he a funny guy, but a wonderful magician and great entertainer. Bob Sheets brings a lot to the table when he performs. A unique, funny and well developed character, great chops and an overall understanding of what he's doing. He's got his own thing going on.
More magicians arrived including Jon Lovick, Pete Biro and a cast of thousands. Steven Bargatze entertained with a card routine but it wasn't till seeing his performance in the Palace of Mystery later that night that I realized what a freak this guy is. Fun stuff and a well balanced show with Gene Anderson as a co-headliner. Lots of different styles, lots of different approaches. We had been at the Barber Shop for three hours but if felt like we just got there,
Dean performed his famous "Dean's Box". I remember learning this trick and thinking how happy I was to add it to my repertoire. At my shop in Cincinnati I sold 9 of these boxes. I love the trick, simple, easy to do, and a real fooler. Dean should be commended for his excellent work in community building here in LA. Scene's like this are disappearing. The magic session is an endangered species and Dean deserves the respect and appreciation of the community that he fosters in his establishment. 
What other barber shop in the world has a cup collection like this? The welcoming atmosphere, ever changing cast of bizarre characters and good magic is enough to keep me coming back! It's a good life. Although things can get strange and the whirlwind of weirdness that is my life can be overwhelming, It always seems to come down to magic and making people happy.
When hanging out with other magicians, There is a sense of family. Were all in this together. We're all trying to do the same thing in our own way. Make the world a better place, one smile at a time. It was a great afternoon of friendship and magic. Of seeing old friends and making new ones. Thanks to Dean Dill for being the great guy that he is. Vaclav and I both agreed that we might just have to make this a regular Wednesday afternoon thing.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Dad, Fulke & Me at LAX
My father and step mother were in LA very briefly on Sunday. They live in Atlanta and keep a very busy schedule traveling all over the world. They had taken a small cruise ship (650 passengers) through the Caribbean and then on through the Panama Canal. Sounds like they had a good time.
Their ship let them off in San Pedro, where they were bussed to LAX for their flight back to Atlanta. Polly and I met them at the airport and spent an hour or so catching up. Nice afternoon.
Monday, January 29, 2007
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