Showing posts with label holiday gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday gifts. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2019

Houdini Cutting Board by Wolf Magic


I can't help myself, THIS IS COOL. It's a cutting board, made of mahogany, walnut and maple. It's just amazingly cool. It is a little pricey, but, come on, IT's COOL!!!! Honestly, this is no joke. These are being produced by Wolfs Magic, and here is the link to order one....
https://wolfsmagic.com/wolf-boards/houdini-board/

A great holiday gift....may be a bit too big for stocking stuffer, unless its a very BIG stocking!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Still More Holiday Gifts for the Magician in Your Life

I always like to give a wide variety of out of the norm kind of gift suggestions each year. Here are a few more that you all might find of interest. Even though these are suggestions for folks to buy for their magician friends/relatives, there is nothing wrong with buying one of these for yourself! :)

Mike Caveney Books


My suggestion is to pick up the new book Wonders & The Conference Illusions by Mike Caveney. This is a fantastic book filled with history, magic, magic history and more magic! It's a two volume set and it's just wow. But if you are feeling adventurous, there a lot of other titles under MCMagicWords.com to choose from and most of those are magic history as well. You can't go wrong with a Caveney published book for the holidays!

Rabbit and Top Hat Tree Ornament

Ok, this is just cool. A Christmas Tree Ornament with a magic theme. Found this on ebay, so get them while they last.

Rabbit and Hat Wall Stickers

I thought these were just plain cool. I'm not sure I'd put them up, but a great idea for a kid magician!
They can also be found on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SET-OF-3-RABBITS-WITH-HATS-BOWLER-TOP-MAGIC-MAGICIAN-WALL-STICKER-DECAL-GRAPHIC-/161135137629

Taschen MAGIC

The newest edition, which is also the smaller edition, which is also not really so small, but it's smaller than the first edition! And from Barnes and Noble it's cheaper! So go here http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2689779204888

Hofzinser Books by Magic Christian

I saved the best for last. This is for the hardcore magician. If you don't know who Hofzinser is, you need to find out. If you don't care who Hofzinser is, then get out of magic (and I'm not kidding). Buy these from Conjuring Arts and you can make payments rather than pay the full amount up front!

I don't like to put trick suggestions up in case you're wondering. The main reason is, I believe, as performers we should be selective in our material. If everyone is doing the SAME tricks what is so special about us? Now that certainly flies in the face of helping magic trick creators, but I'm looking at it strictly from a performers stand point. GO TO YOUR LOCAL DEALER, or favorite magic dealer and ask them if you really want advice on tricks. There are many cool effects that come out every year. But as a rule, if you buy a good book on tricks, like one of the Tarbell books, or the Card College books, you'll have so much more material to chose from and usually about the same price as a singe trick. Good luck shopping. Please support your local brick and mortar magic shop!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 
from The Magic Detective!~

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Holiday Gifts for Magicians - Organizations & Periodicals

I'm going to give you some real practical suggestions for gifts. A subscription to any of the following magazines and organizations will pay for itself over and over again. First up we have the GrandDaddy of all magazines, GENII. Along with the subscription, you also get access to the digital version and the entire archives of every Genii ever printed.

Next we have MAGIC Magazine. Always well done, always great articles. And they featured my artwork on two of their magazine covers! They offer a monthly subscription or a yearly. They also have a digital version of the magazine which I think is a separate subscription.

If you are into the history of magic, and you should be if you are reading my blog, then you'll want to get a subscription to MAGICOL, the Magazine of Magic History and Collectibles. I love this magazine!

The Society of American Magicians is the oldest continuing magic association in the world. They publish a great magazine monthly MUM, and hold a wonderful magic convention each year. In addition they have assemblies all over the globe that meet monthly to share magic and learn magic.
Any magic group is only as good as the effort put forth by it's members. It is a great learning ground for the beginner and a wonderful place to hang out with fellow magicians.

The International Brotherhood of Magicians is the second oldest magic association in the U.S. and was founded in 1922. Like the SAM, they put out a monthly magazine called The Linking Ring, and have local 'rings' that meet monthly across the globe. You can't go wrong with a membership to the IBM!

KIDABRA International is the Association of Kidshow and Family Entertainers. They also have chapters that meet in various cities in the U.S. and abroad. They publish an online only magazine called The Kidabra Journal bi-monthly. And they run an annual convention in Pigeon Forge TN called......The Kidabra Conference. If you are a family entertainer, this is the group to be associated with.

The Magic Castle and home of the Academy of Magical Arts. This is for the more hardcore magician and magic enthusiast. One visit to the Magic Castle will make you want to be a member. But you can't just walk into the Castle. You have to be a member or be the guest of a member...thus membership isn't such a bad idea.

Finally, if you are in the U.K. you should consider applying for membership with The Magic Circle. This is the oldest continuing magic organization in the U.K.. Unlike the SAM, IBM and Kidabra, the Magic Circle has their own Headquarters, with it's own meeting room, museum and theatre.

Holiday Gifts for Magicians-Videos

It's that time of year again and time for another list of great gifts to get that magician in your family or a friend who is into magic. Even though the sales of DVD's are down, I would submit that a magic related DVD is an ideal gift. There were many movies this year which dealt with the subject of matter.

Ricky Jay Movie
This is a must for any fan of magic. Filled with stories and rare footage of many of magic's greatest close-up stars including Ricky Jay himself. The Ricky Jay movie is also available on iTunes. I've given you the link for both itunes and Amazon, however, for any of the magic related DVD's, if you can purchase them from your local magic shop, please do that. It might cost a couple dollars more, but you'll be supporting the shops which need all the help we can give.

Desperate Acts of Magic Movie
Here is another magic related movie. I have not watched it yet, but after being contacted by the producers of the movie, I do intend to watch it. It features a lot of magicians as well, so you can't go wrong here.

Now You See Me Movie
This one I have seen several times. There is even an extended cut version. It's not about specific historical magicians, though it does use magic as it's theme. David Copperfield was a consultant on this movie.

Burt Wonderstone Movie
Here is a movie that had a lot of promise, but fell short. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if lay people liked the movie or even understood it. A lot of inside jokes with this movie. David Copperfield makes a brief cameo in this movie.

The Great Buck Howard Movie
This didn't do well at the box office and apparently didn't make very much money. But I think it's because it was terribly promoted. It's a really cool movie that is basically about the life of Kreskin.
I really enjoyed it and Kreskin is featured in the Bonus Footage.

The Prestige
One of the most awesome magic related movies ever made. It's a must see with Wolverine and Batman, I mean, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.

The Illusionist Movie
This is one of my favorite magic movies. Edward Norton does an incredible job in the title role. This came out around the same time as The Prestige and both are great flicks!

The Illusionist Animated Movie
I have not seen this movie but I understand it's quite good. From what I hear it's also sad. But take a look for yourself. More than likely most of the movies here are available on itunes as well, so if you'd prefer to rent them, you can do that.

HOUDINI Movie
The original with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in the starring roles. This is the Hollywood version of Houdini's life so it's highly fictionalized, but it's also the movie that got many of us interested in magic to start with.

Houdini The Movie Star
A collection of most of the real Houdini's silent movies.

American Experience: HOUDINI
A fine documentary by PBS on the life of Harry Houdini.

David Copperfield-ILLUSION
This is a special compilation video from many of David Copperfield's specials. There is some fantastic footage on here. If you are a younger magician and didn't grow up with David, I encourage you to get this video.

David Blaine: Decade of Magic
Cool footage from David Blaine's various specials. He is the guy who really changed the face of magic.