Fans of magic and Jamie Raven are in for a treat. Raven has made it to the live shows on this season of “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Within one month, Raven’s Britain’s Got Talent audition has been viewed by over nine million fans on YouTube, proving that he is a true force to be reckoned with in this season’s reality competition. Particularly impressive about Raven is that these statistics and numbers keep on climbing exponentially every day. Read more…
Did you ever wish you’d asked one more question of somebody you once knew, who is no longer around to chat with?
The great unasked question most on my mind in recent times is this: was prolific American man of numbers and letters Martin Gardner (1914-2010, of Mathematics, Magic and Mystery fame) familiar with any of the works of the Irish novelist and satirist who variously went by Myles na gCopaleen, Flann O’Brien, George Knowall, Brother Barnabas and other monikers, real name Brian O’Nolan (1911-1966)?
Martin died five years ago today, and I’m still kicking myself for never asking him about Myles. If that comes across as a ludicrous “out of nowhere” musing, please read what follows before passing judgement.
I’ll readily admit that these men, seemingly from different planets, are among my literary heroes. Coincidentally, I discovered them totally independently of each other in Dublin bookshops in the 1970s. Yet, in the intervening decades, these disparate talents have stimulated and sustained increasingly convergent parts of my brain. My timely stumbling on a used copy of Myles Away from Dublin – a collection of half-century old George Knowall columns – at the War On Want shop in Belfast last week, only cements this tenuous association. Read more..
Based at Charing Cross, London, they are the world’s oldest continually-owned magic shop on the planet and, as you can imagine, the current owner, Bill Davenport, is rather proud of that fact.
It’s almost like pulling a rabbit from a hat, how this place has gone from strength to strength since 1898, but magic never ceases to enthral each new generation.
“It’s been in my family since it opened, and I’ve been involved since the year dot,” says Bill.
“Even as a kid, I used to come into the shop and help out.
“My great-grandfather, Lewis Davenport, started it.
“He was a performer in music halls at the time and when he was 16, he started up the business.”
Just to give you an idea of how long ago that first little spark was, the great Harry Houdini was still doing his amazing tricks, and it hadn’t been long since magicians had been viewed the same way as evil witches. Read more:
Troy Street Magic, the newest magic-based television series, will make its debut tonight on SYFY. The unscripted TV series will feature popular magician Troy Von Scheibner, a 26-year-old black man from South London known as Von Majik. His bio indicates that he is half Jamaican, and has German and Jewish roots. Studying magic since he was a child, Troy Von Scheibner has perfected his craft and has been impressing stunned onlookers for years. The awe-inspiring magician takes his talent seriously, and most likely uses a bit of psychology to know how to please his audience. Here’s one big tip: Troy Von Scheibner believes it is important to look clean and smell clean when you get very close to a person while performing magic tricks, or they could become turned off rather quickly. Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/2097755/troy-street-magic-troy-von-scheibner-majik-uk-british-london-tv-show-syfy/#O2wddFpVkSSxooPr.99
