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Penn & Teller named grand marshals for Hollywood Christmas Parade..

Penn & Teller named grand marshals for Hollywood Christmas Parade..

The grand marshals of the 84th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade have been named: comedy magic duo Penn & Teller.

The pair, known for their Las Vegas act and CW Network show “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” will ride down the Hollywood Boulevard parade route on Nov. 29, starting at 5 p.m.

Co-hosting duties for the parade will be shared by actors and television personalities Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie, Dean Cain and Montel Williams.

The annual Christmas event also will be nationally televised on CW Network channels as a two-hour special airing on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. Pacific and Eastern times. Subsequent airings will begin Dec. 19 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

“We are thrilled to once again be a part of The Hollywood Christmas Parade, one of the greatest holiday traditions of all time, which is enjoyed by millions of families each year,” said Jim Romanovich, president of Associated Television International, which organizes the parade.

http://westsidetoday.com/2015/10/16/penn-teller-named-grand-marshals-for-hollywood-christmas-parade/

A CON MAN REINVENTS HIMSELF…AS A REALITY TV MAGICIAN..

A CON MAN REINVENTS HIMSELF…AS A REALITY TV MAGICIAN..

On a July episode of the primetime competition show America’s Got Talent, a compact, graying man in ripped jeans and a vest and tie took the stage.

Holding up a pack of cards, he announced: “I’m not real proud of this, but about ten years ago I found this pack of cards in a federal prison.”

He was a con man, he explained to the hosts, “all about fast cars and fancy clothes”—but the love of a good woman transformed him. “I met an amazing girl and I had some amazing friends and I walked into the U.S. Marshals’ office and said ‘I retire.’ I turned myself in,” he said. “You can’t look a woman in the eye, say ‘I love you,’ and lie about who you are.” His five-year incarceration, he told the audience, allowed him to reinvent himself as a legal kind of con man: a stage magician. “The day I got there,” he said, “I picked up a deck of cards, and I picked up a book about how to do card tricks, and I taught myself how to perform, and I’ve been doing magic ever since.”

That’s Aiden Sinclair’s shtick, the con man magician. “Aiden Sinclair is America’s preeminent grifter turned professional magician,” boasts his website. “Rather than face a future as a recidivism statistic, Aiden chose to spend his time adapting the skills that served him so well as a confidence artist to a new calling.” TheAmerica’s Got Talent crowd ate it right up. “You turned your life around, and now you’re here to entertain and put smiles on people’s faces rather than taking things away from people,” competition judge Howie Mandel enthused to Sinclair on the show. Read more….

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-con-man-reinvents-himself-as-a-reality-tv-magician

Putting the magic into team building, literally..

Putting the magic into team building, literally..

Magicians are often used in corporate entertainment, but does magic have a role in team building? Neuroscientists even claim magic tricks throw light on sales techniques or business negotiations. Dr Nicola Davies looks at how magic can enhance teamwork, patience, focus, risk-taking, and problem-solving.

Magician Scott Cuthbertson is often invited to corporate events. Some of his clients include BP, BAA, British Airways, De La Rue Currency, GlaxoSmithKline, Jongleurs Comedy Club, Lloyds Pharmacies, Novartis, Shell, Shering, UGC Cinemas and UEFA, amongst many others.

Within Cuthbertson’s repertoire are team building games, workshops, and conference and awards night performances. He not only presents his own magic, but he also teaches employees how to do tricks.

When a magician comes in to a workplace and gets people involved in solving or performing magic tricks, they can teach skills including team work and good communication. It can also facilitate the development of creative approaches to problem-solving, and how to work within a limited time-frame. These skills are important in creating adaptable teams. Read more..

http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/putting-the-magic-into-team-building-literally/

Magic can enhance team building and problem solving. Photo: Shutterstock/Syda Productions ..

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak took a Segway to a magic club in LA

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak took a Segway to a magic club in LA

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak took a Segway to a magic club in LA to meet with Seth Rogen..

Admit it: You wish you had been there.

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, and Seth Rogen, the man who plays Woz in the upcoming film “Steve Jobs,” hung out together at The Magic Castle, a membership club for magicians in Los Angeles.

Danny Boyle, the director of “Steve Jobs,” shared the tidbit during a Q&A with Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the film, following a screening of it in New York City on Monday night. Read more..

http://www.techinsider.io/wozniak-and-rogen-went-to-magic-castle-2015-10