By Allan Maki for the Globe and Mail..
As curio shops go, Brent Smith’s Vanishing Rabbit is all things magical. Attached to the ceiling is a series of old billboards advertising the greats through the ages – Houdini, Sorcar, Mandrake and a young Doug Henning as Chou Chou (pronounced Shoe Shoe), the clown who actually sold shoes for a living.
Inside Mr. Smith’s store, a creepy-looking Charlie McCarthy puppet sits above display cases filled with easy-to-perform tricks and novelties, including the ever-popular Fart Extinguisher.
“It’s a big hit with the kids,” Mr. Smith says as he emerges from behind a counter holding a deck of Svengali playing cards. “I sell a lot of cards, too. Magic is really hot right now.”
Magic isn’t just hot: It is a bubbling cauldron of showy illusionists, polished prestidigitators and expert sleight-of-hand artists. Turn on the TV and out pop the master tricksters – Dynamo, known as Magician Impossible; David Blaine, street magician/endurance artist; and Criss Angel Mindfreak, who can lop off the arm of a willing volunteer using hypnosis and a power saw. Viewer discretion is advised.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/magicians-still-casting-spells-across-canada-and-the-world/article24711749/?cmpid=rss1