Jeff McBlog

Dear Magical Friends:

The Magic & Mystery School staff has had quite a ride this past month! While Jeff and Eugene are currently at the World Magic Seminar (please drop in on them there in the special ‘McBride’ room if you’re attending the convention), they’ve each been making their own kinds of news these past few weeks.

A Magical Vision, the film Michael Caplan created about Eugene Burger had its international premiere in October 2009 in Indore, India at the Global Film Festival, which was very exciting. Now, A Magical Vision is available for a limited time to watch on line as part of the Spirit Enlightened Film Festival — it is among the most viewed film currently, with 3800 views last time we checked. So, if you haven’t seen this, do it now, and then spread the word and the link:

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/2422/A-Magical-Vision

A DVD release of the movie will be coming soon, as soon as the Spirit Enlightened Film Festival ends at the end of March.

Jeff McBride, of course, has just returned from a whirlwind tour in the Netherlands (Magic GONGA), and Italy (Turin, Venice & Milan). He was hosted by Ferdinando Buscema, one of Italy’s leading corporate magicians. Along-time student of Jeff and Eugene, he has now become Jeff’s Italian Tour Manager, and we’re delighted to have him on the team!

This week Ferdinando will be performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Our congratulations for such a success! If you’ll be in L.A., make sure and drop in to see him. You’re in for a treat!

Ferdinando is our guest columnist this month, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy his description of the fantastic Ballo del Dogeand Jeff’s other adventures in Italy. Enjoy!

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From Ferdinando:

Greetings to you all!

We have just awakened after 7 days and 1171 miles on the road with Jeff and my partner Anna: an unbelievable experience!

This Italian tour (de force) has been a huge success: Jeff performed, lectured, held a Master Class and received outstanding reactions from all the friends in both Torino and Milano!

The highlight of Jeff’s tour has of course been his performance at the Ballo del Doge in Venice, the hottest party of the Venetian Carnival. According to Vanity Fair, it is “The most exclusive, sophisticated and sumptuous ball in the world.” Having been there, we can only wholeheartedly agree! What a magical experience!

The creator of the event — Mrs. Antonia Sautter — is a most refined costume designer, having created the masks and costumes for Stanley Kubrik’s final masterpiece “Eyes Wide Shut”.

Jeff was the headliner of the show, and his masks’ act was highly acclaimed by the 400 masqueraders attending the party! A greatest hit!!

After Jeff’s departure back to Las Vegas, it took Anna and me a few days of “recovery”, after a breathless immersion in Jeff’s energy and enthusiasm. Jeff is a volcano of ideas, information, books, movies, music, stories, laughter and… magic of course!! We got an overwhelming dose of inspiration!

Having had the great fortune of spending a lot of time with Jeff, Eugene and all the Magic and Mystery Tribe, the one lesson that I always get is: Be brave and dare to dream bigger dreams! Jeff sets his own bar very high, and through his own example, gives the other permission to do the same.

Learning from the Masters means learning to dream bigger dreams!

Greetings from all the Italian friends, who look forward for having Jeff here again soon!!

Ferdinando

PS: a small piece of secret knowledge I discovered about Jeff: he looooves to drink Sambuca and Limoncello!

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That’s all for this Museletter. Thanks for continuing to read our news and ideas. If you know a friend who might enjoy keeping up with our musings, please send them a copy and invite them to sign up themselves!

Greetings magical friends,

Abbi found this quote from Jeff Hoke that takes a look at the difference between humor, science and art:

“Humor says: ‘Ha Ha!’
Science says: ‘Aha!’
Art says: ‘ahhhhhh!’”

We were wondering what you, our readers thought that Magic might say….??

February 18th, 2010, is the next WONDERGROUND with an entirely new show line-up. Jordan Wright, our company manager, has updated our website:http://www.vegaswonderground.com with the new information.

Just a tip to you, our Museletter readers, plan to arrive at WONDERGROUND **EARLY** to get a good seat. We sold out last month. If you can’t be with us in Las Vegas, you can watch us, at http://www.streetofcards.tv streaming live on the internet anytime after 9pm (Pacific time) on Thursday night.

My last piece of wisdom to leave you with this month is something a New York City taxi driver told me as he looked through the rearview mirror: “Man, you gotta work with the tools you got.” It was also said by Rousent, many years ago, in a different, not-so-street-savvy way: “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”

Yours in the art of wonder-making,
Jeff & Abbi

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FROM TOBIAS:

Greetings, friends. Jeff has just returned from his trip to Holland and Italy. I thought you might enjoy seeing this photo of him, along with his host Ferdinando Buscema and Ferdinando’s wife Anna, all taken at the Ballo del Doge in Venice just a couple of nights ago. Enjoy!

A special thanks to all of you who responded to my recent writings regarding both “what it takes to be a real wizard,” and, more importantly, your wishes and thought for things we might offer at the Magic & Mystery School to satisfy your wildest dreams. I’m still sorting and compiling the latter set in order to pass it on to Jeff and Eugene…but some of your ideas are really fantastic, and we’re truly grateful that you’ve offered them.

Also for those of you who may be attending the World Magic Seminar, know that Jeff and Eugene Burger will be in their usual room just as you enter the convention area. Be sure and drop in to visit and discover all the latest from these two modern masters.

Finally: We have a few spots left for the March master class which follows the World Magic Seminar by just a few days. Sign up now to reserve your space – classes later in the year generally fill up much earlier, so this may be one of your last chances this year to make a last minute decision to attend.
http://www.magicalwisdom.com

Best wishes.
Tobias Beckwith

Il Ballo del Doge

Greetings friends,

I’m off to Europe to do the show of my dreams. I will be the star performer at Il Ballo del Doge, in Venice, Italy. It is the grandest of all the masquerade balls to lead off Carnevale in Venice.

Imagine being among the world’s greatest masqueraders in the mask capital of the world! We’ll be sharing our own photos and stories from that event soon, right here – but for now, here is a photo from last year’s event! (Click the photo for a link to many more…)

Il Ballo del Doge 2009

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

The following inspirational passage was sent to us by a friend and fan of the Museletter. Thanks to Jeff Fisher.

WORDS FOR A NEW YEAR

Inspire – Me to be great
Perspire – I will and work hard I shall
Aspire – to be even greater than my teacher
Retire – I will and pass my knowledge on
Expire – My work done, my legacy lives on to Inspire once again.

ARE YOU CURIOUS?

Dorothy Parker once said, “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

I am naturally curious, and my magical adventures fill me with the experiences that I share with our students here at the Magic & Mystery School…. I guess I am a magical messenger, in some strange way.

I’ll return from my adventures in Holland and Italy toward the middle of this month. At that time, I will be preparing for a number of interesting magic experiences here in Las Vegas, including the World Magic Seminar Teen Weekend. Immediately following that event, Abbi and I will be hosting a three-day Master Class here in Las Vegas. We will be joined by our friend and legendary close-up wizard, Eugene Burger.

In his book “The Art of Worldly Wisdom,” the wise sage Balthasar Gracian said:

“Make your friends your teachers, and mingle the pleasures of conversation with the advantages of instruction.”

That is one of the reasons we created the Magic and Mystery School, to share high quality time with some of the brightest thinkers in magic. Many of the teachers here at the school are my dear friends… they will be yours too!

Will you join us?

Your friend in the art of magic,

Jeff

Greetings Magical Friends,

Abbi here, watching the rain coming down in Las Vegas, while Jeff is in Florida doing a corporate gig. I decided to stay home for this one so I could prepare for our upcoming Mysterium event. If you’re going to be in the Las Vegas area, I hope you’ll stop in! Learn more about it:vegasvortex.com.

I thought I would take a few moments to check in with all of you and say hello! This Winter, I’ve been reflecting on the balance of holding on and letting go, balancing the opposites, and staying in the flow. I’ve been going through drawers in the kitchen, shelves in the closet, cabinets, bookcases and cupboards… and moving things out, opening space for the new to come in. I’ve been giving away stuff in great heaps and piles, and have made many trips to the local Goodwill. Out with the old, in with the new.

I find this theme recurring outside in the garden. All the dead plants from last season have been pulled out, and indoors, there are lots of tiny little seedlings sprouting… new dreams and visions manifesting, even as I write. The fruit trees I bought a couple of years ago are now big and strong enough to get transplanted from their pots into the ground, so the orchard at the House of Mystery is underway. From the smallest seedling to the largest lemon tree, everything grows, with the help of the sun, the rich earth, and the sweet water.

In the meantime, I’m excited to tell you that I’ve created a new handling for Gordon Bean’s “Jinks” effect, and I’ve been working on the script. Ask me, and I’ll show it to you when you come to the Magic and Mystery School. I will look forward to seeing you!

Your friend in magic,
Abbi McBride

“A grateful mind is a great mind that eventually attracts to it great things.”
– Plato

Dear Friends:

There’s a popular restaurant group here in the Bay Area called “Café Gratitude.” Their mantra is “I am Grateful.” Their menu is a delightful listing of things you can be grateful for: “I am Creative,” “I am Committed” and “I am Worthy,” are just a few. I love going there — the food is delicious, the service great and I always leave feeling better than when I entered… and always feeling grateful. As I sit down to write this, I find myself asking what I’m grateful for this year, and one of the biggest things I’m feeling gratitude for is the incredible community of magicians I am fortunate to be a part of.

At the Magic & Mystery School, we’re always grateful for the wonderful, talented students who come to spend time with us. We’re grateful for all our special guests, starting with Eugene (who is really more family than guest, of course). Our friends Bob Neale, Ross Johnson, Larry Hass, Randy Wolf and so many more that help us with the school always inspire us and make us feel lucky to be associated with them.

And so we thought we’d send this one last Muse Letter of 2009 to tell you, our readers, how grateful we are for you. This past year has seen readership of the Museletter grow beyond the 10,000 mark. That leaves us both grateful and a bit humbled. To think there are 10,000 of you out there who want to read what we have to tell you — well, we’ll continue to do our best to be worthy.

This brings me to a question for all of you. This is something we often ask the students in our classes — but obviously not all of you reading this have been to one of our classes yet. The question is this: “If we could provide one thing, through our classes and events, just for you, what would that thing be?” Let your imagination run wild for a moment. Imagine a million dollar budget, six months to prepare — and all the resources of our magic school and events completely at your disposal. What would you ask for? And please let us know (tobias@yourmagic.com)! I’m sure we’ll get a lot of ideas we can’t do — but you may be surprised at the things we CAN.

Take The Wonderground, for example. Jeff and an amazing crew of artists, magicians, dancers and more revived The Wonderground this past week, putting on an incredible evening of theater, party, dance and fun for an SRO crowd. The evening was described by one attendee as “The best show I’ve ever seen in Las Vegas!” And it was done on a budget of about $500! The photos in this Museletter were all shot last Thursday night at the Wonderground, in case you were wondering. We’ll be doing it again every month on the third Thursday. You can learn more at www.vegaswonderground.com.

That’s just one of the “impossible” things we’ve been able to achieve with the incredible help from our amazing friends. So tell us YOUR dreams, and let’s see if we can make them come true.

Before I wind up, let me leave you with a “New Year’s” thought. Have you made your resolutions? The coming year promises to be an exciting one. The economy is just now beginning to turn. Lots of new green initiatives in the business and technology words are poised to start coming on line. It’s a time for new beginnings. Time to look at your life and ask “Who do I really want to be? What adventures to I want to have? As a magician, what are my highest goals?” We’re all about helping you reach those goals. We love seeing our students make quantum leaps in developing their own creativity, performing skills and businesses. We love seeing you take big chances, unafraid of falling flat on your faces a few times before you soar to the big successes you deserve.

We have a few spots still available for our extended class in January. Perhaps now is the time for YOU to say, “I am committed,” and sign up. Then next year at this time, you can have one more thing to be grateful for — and we’ll have another friend to be grateful for, too!

If that’s not enough incentive, consider this: You’ll be here for the next Wonderground event — which will feature our new friends ArcheDream for Humankind. Click the link (http://www.vimeo.com/7239361) to see them on video — and come to Vegas in January to see them live!

Jeff, Abbi, Bryce, Eugene… we all send you our best wishes for a magical New Year!

Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life what is it but a dream?
— epilogue to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll

Greetings friends,

OK, it’s official, I can now share my magic with you on TWITTER. My twitter name is McBrideMagic. I promise to keep my tweets inspirational, motivational, magical and interesting. One of the lessons I’ve learned on Twitter is how to distill wisdom and compress it into the pure essence…. That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Bapuji:

“Consider, before you speak, whether it is an improvement upon silence.”

(A thoughtful moment of introspection for you….)

Well, now it’s time to break the silence…. Ring the bells and bang the drum!

The WONDERGROUND rises once again this Thursday, December 17th, at 8pm at The Olive in Las Vegas.

Overheard at The Wonderground:

“This is what I had hoped to find when I came to Vegas!”

“It’s like the Magic Castle without walls!”

“This is so $#@^%*! cool!”

Here is the official press release from Tobias. Feel free to share this with your online communities and friends.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com
(702) 697-7002

MCBRIDE’S MAGIC WONDERGROUND RETURNS!

Master magician Jeff McBride and his company of conjurors, artists and performance artists will bring the special magical nightclub experience, Jeff McBride’s Magic Wonderground, to the new club at The Olive (3850 E. Sunset) beginning on December 17th, starting at 8pm. Promising an evening of non-stop magic featuring strolling entertainers, close-up magic, live art, techno-tribal belly dance, lighting F/X installations, a psychic sideshow with tarot and palm reading, and a 10pm ‘All Star Stage Show,’ the event is hosted by Jeff McBride and features guest stars of magic from around the world.

Master magician Jeff McBride will be joined at each Wonderground by DJ Master Diaz, the Mojo A Go-Go Girls, the Mystery School Magi, Jordan Wright, Scott Hitchcock, painters Areeya, Suzanne and Minnie, and psychic entertainers Danita and Morganne. The Wonderground will happen only once each month, on every ‘Third Thursday,’ for the coming year. New talent will be featured each month.

Jeff McBride is best known for his dynamic fusion of masks, magic, Kabuki theatre and grand illusion. He has been seen in many Las Vegas venues, including Caesars Palace, LV Hilton, Golden Nugget, and most recently in his own show Magic at the Edge.

Jeff McBride holds three Guinness World Records for magic. He is a popular television guest, with featured performances on shows ranging from The World Magic Awards, Masters of Illusion, Mindfreak and The World’s Greatest Magic toStar Trek, Deep Space Nine. He runs the McBride Magic & Mystery School, which is widely known as the world’s top magic school.

The Olive is known to its patrons as Las Vegas’ new stylish Mediterranean restaurant and hookah lounge. It has only recently completed its new addition, an amazing nightclub space adjoining the hookah lounge.

During its previous incarnation, McBride’s Wonderground received glowing notices from both the press (Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times and many others), and also through a unique “as it happens” online video channel at http://streetofcards.tv. The evening was streamed live, with online viewers able to conduct a running conversation with each other, as well as with performers and club goers. The online link is slated to be an integral part of The Wonderground experience at The Olive, as well. Magic fans who can’t make it to Las Vegas can tune in from anywhere in the world between 8pm and midnight (PST), and attend virtually.

The Las Vegas Sun wrote of The Wonderground, “Walking into Wonderground is like stepping into a parallel universe where mysticism is the currency and magicians reign supreme. Green lasers dart across the dark room and a pair of curvaceous belly dancers perform onstage while a fortuneteller reads Hindu tarot cards and magicians from around the world work the room.”

For further information on Jeff McBride’s Wonderground, now at The Olive, go tohttp://www.vegaswonderground.com, or call the McBride hotline at (702) 450-0021. All events will be broadcast live on www.streetofcards.tv.

Robin Leach interviewing Jeff at WONDERGROUND. Robin was the very first reporter to mention the WONDERGROUND in his column.

We look forward to seeing you at The Wonderground this week!

Best wishes for a magical holiday season!

Jeff McBride & all the crew at the Magic & Mystery School

“Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.”
— Charles Dickens

Abbi and I are just home from tour. Ah, it’s good to be home by the fire.

A PERFECT SHORT MOVIE FOR YOU:
Here’s a little holiday gift I think you’ll enjoy… take the time to look at this. It reminded me what “real magic” is all about. It takes about 10 minutes, so make the time; you’ll be better for it!
http://vimeo.com/2604280

Photo of Jeff and his young fan, Eli, at a recent “JEFF MCBRIDE EXPERIENCE” event near Boston, MA

WIZARDS!
Last month’s Museletter by Tobias generated a huge amount of positive feedback from you, dear readers. Thank you for your comments and contributions to Tobias’ new book.

POP QUIZ
My question to you this month is: What do you feel the “perfect holiday gift” for your friends might be?

HOLIDAY RANT
I am not giving people “stuff” this year! I will get my friends delicious food and enriching EXPERIENCES instead.

Shopping for THINGS? Yuck!

Why give a store bought gift, that will sit and collect dust on the shelf? Give the person you love the gift of magic…not a trick but a REAL magic experience! Each of our Master Classes are handcrafted and tailored to your individual needs. Just imagine the joy you will feel when you go downstairs one winter morning and see Eugene Burger, aka “Magic Santa” sitting under your tree! The perfect gift!

EUGENE BURGER IS THE REAL SECRET SANTA!

We have 2 spots left for the January Master Class
Extended Master Class – Las Vegas
January 18 – 24, 2010

THE BEST IDEA YET!
Magic Lovers around the world agree…McBride’s Master class is the holiday gift of choice! Did I mention we have gift certificates? You can get one for a magic loving friend or get one for yourself!
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/payments/gift

WHAT IS THE BIG SECRET?
There really is a secret to better magic, and it’s different for everyone. The real magic secrets are not to be found in books or videos. They are passed from mentor to student. Our programs cater to your individual performing style and abilities. You get personal attention from many of the world’s top magicians as you enjoy the wonders of the magic capital of the world!

JOIN ME IN SALT LAKE CITY
The next JEFF MCBRIDE EXPERIENCE will be happening in Utah! Make the trip and join the fun!
http://www.mcbridemagic.com/pages/jeff-mcbride—salt-lake.php
Michael Fraughton: (801) 604-2160

WONDERGROUND RISES!
Dec 17th, 8PM until???

The WONDERGROUND premiered a little over a year ago. We’ve taken a few months and found a new home, and a great new home it is! If you can’t make it out for the live show on December 17th, catch us on www.streetofcards.tv. Read all about it and get the inside scoop here:
http://www.vegaswonderground.com

We look forward to seeing you at the Wonderground, or one of our upcoming classes. Til then, have a magical holiday!

Yours in creating the world’s most progressive magic events,

Jeff

The most good you can do for the world is to become a wizard.
– Deepak Chopra

Dear friends (from Tobias):

As I write, Jeff and the Mystery School Magicians are off to The Magic Castle for our second “Magic & Mystery School Week,” bringing their own special brand of magical mysteries to that iconic home for magic. If you can be in L.A. between November 30 and December 6, be sure and let us know — and drop by to join the festivities!

We’ve just wrapped up our busy fall season of classes and conferences which kicked off with Magic & Meaning, followed by Magic for Medical Professionals, and finally, theMaster Class for Mentalists. These are always three of our favorite events, and this year proved no exception. We had at one point considered making some of these classes every other year events, but both growing attendance and the overall excitement generated have encouraged us, and all three events will be offered again next fall. As a Muse Letter subscriber, you get to see announcements of our newly added classes before they appear to the general magic community in our magazine advertising — so please feel free to go to http://www.magicalwisdom.com and register early for next year’s events. If attendance continues to grow as it has this year, they’re likely to be sold out well in advance!

As many of you may be aware, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time thinking about my new book, “Wizards Ways.” It’s about the methods, mind-set and secrets of “real” wizards. The book will combine a series of short teaching stories with advice on wizard techniques readers can use in their own lives — and even a few original tricks that can be used to help the readers created real magic!

Since we who perform magic often present ourselves playing the role of a real wizard, I thought you might find a brief overview of some of the book’s premises to be of interest. First, the question of what it is that makes a wizard a wizard. That is, what is it that sets him or her apart from the rest of the population. Here’s my initial list:

1. Wizards do extraordinary things.
2. Wizards love secrets and secret knowledge.
3. Wizards take responsibility.
4. Wizards love role-playing & disguises.
5. Wizards know they can change the world by changing themselves.
6. Wizards love to work the web, or, in the parlance of the Indian mystics, ‘Indra’s Net.’
7. Wizards are fascinated by underlying patterns.
8. Wizards are willing to pay extraordinary prices for their powers & knowledge.
9. Wizards find hidden connections and exploit them.
10. Wizards know that perception creates reality, and learn to manipulate perceptions.
11. Wizards seek visions.
12. Wizards collect extraordinary experiences the way other folks collect stamps! (This last was added by Jeff).

And so, my question to you: What else can you think of that really sets wizards apart from the rest of us? What can you or I, or anyone who wishes to become a real wizard, do that will help them become ‘the real thing?’ Feel free to e-mail me with answers: tobias@yourmagic.com.

With the gift-giving (and getting) season fast upon us, I suppose I should tell you just a bit about some of our more recent offerings at our online shop:

First and foremost, we have the most recent creation/ collaboration between Jeff & Alan Wong: “Butterfly Blizzard.” Jeff has been performing his own special version of the Butterflies for many years — but only now tips his personal secrets for the routine – expanded here to make use of Alan’s beautiful butterfly blizzard effect. The package includes everything you need to get started with your own version of the effect: Beautiful Chinese Fan, DVD instructions, special thread required for the effect, and a dozen butterfly snowstorms. You can view the video for this effect by clicking here (http://www.yourmagic.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=214).

We also have two new books by one of our favorite authors, Robert E. Neale: “Magic Matters,” and the recently expanded and re-released “Magic & Meaning,” by Bob and Eugene Burger. In addition, I’m pleased to announce I’ve just upgraded and updated my “Get Your Career in Gear” 12 week course teaching you how to manage and promote your own business as a magician. Of course, we continue to carry the full McBride / Burger / Johnny Thompson line of incredible books, DVD’s and magic effects.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
— Winston Churchill

NEWS FROM JEFF:

Wonderground cast photo by Beckett Studios, Las Vegas

The Return of Jeff McBride’s WONDERGROUND!

When: THURSDAY, Dec. 17th, Doors open at 8pm
Where: THE OLIVE: 3850 E SUNSET RD. Las Vegas, NV — 702-451-8850

We’ve made arrangements to revive Jeff McBride’s magical club experience ‘The Wonderground’ on a once monthly basis for the coming year. Every Third Thursday, magic lovers will converge on the Olive – our favorite Las Vegas Mediterranean restaurant & hookah bar, for a continuous magical experience from 8pm til 1pm – or maybe later.

As always, the Wonderground experience will include magic, variety, performance art, DJ Master Diaz – and even The Mojo A Go-Go Girls. Close up & Street magic will be provided by The Mystery School Magi. There will be art films by Jordan Wright, live painting by Areeya and Minnie, and a psychic sideshow & tarot readings by Danita and Morganne. One of the highlights of the evening will be our All Star Stage Show at 10pm, hosted by our own master of masks & magic, Jeff McBride, with different special guest artists from around the world each month.

Best of all: Admission is FREE with a 2 drink minimum (Adults only, 21+). For more info go to http://www.vegaswonderground.com. If you can’t make it in person, you can participate “live on the web.” The Wonderground will be broadcast live each month on www.streetofcards.tv.

TV News: Extreme travel

We thought you’d enjoy this clip from the Travel Channel’s recent “Extreme Conventions.”

http://www.mcbridemagic.com/video/extremeconventions_med_conv.html

We’re very happy with this coverage, and that the Travel Channel considered the Magic and Mystery School to be the most popular event at the recent World Magic Seminar. Eugene and I will be at the WMS again this year, March 1, 2, and 3rd at the ORLEAN’S HOTEL here in Las Vegas. It’s a great convention, and we highly recommend it. You can register online:
http://www.theworldmagicseminar.com

A note from Abbi…

The voting is in for the 2009 New Magic Order Houdini Awards for Excellence in Magic and Variety Arts, and Jeff received the 2009 Houdini Lifetime Achievement Award from MagicTalk.com!

It is interesting to note that there are many Mystery School alumni among this year’s winners:

Cabaret magic — Peter Pitchford: Jeff helped Peter design his award-winning act that won top prizes at this year’s SAM and IBM competitions.

Mentalism — Paul Draper: Paul not only attended many classes here at the Magic and Mystery School, but is also a guest teacher at many of our events, and appears frequently at THE WONDERGROUND magic nightclub.

Rising Star — Rick Star: Rick is a private student who works with Jeff via the internet.

Dream Builder Award — The Dymonds: Erin and Christian Doleshall are both building strong individual careers, and sharpening their skills in the magical arts with Jeff’s help.

It’s amazing to watch Jeff and Eugene work with the students here at the McBride House of Mystery. Our doors are open to you when you feel you need to re-energize or re-inspire your magic. Here is a photo of Jeff filling up on the magic of life at a recent regional Burning Man event. The two photos above were taken by his brother Clay.

“Everyone has a talent; what is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark places where it leads.”
— Erica Jong

Greetings Friends…

We are in the season of dark places. Today, only the most courageous and talented will avoid the grim reaper of pop culture, and become immortalized in the book of ages. My question to you is how much are you pushing your edges? For, you see, there are a few daring young ones among us, who are pushing far beyond what we ever thought possible, or even acceptable!

CUTTING EDGE MAGIC
Shock & Awe, Blood & Gore
Sometimes it takes a lot of high weirdness to get people’s attention these days. With the amazing amount of information coming at us, often people think they need to screeeeeeeeam or draw BLOOD to get attention. It is rare that performers take an artful approach to this sort of “geek magic.” However, I know two magicians that are very good at doing just that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZg7_aTLqq0

COULD THEY BE THE HIPPEST MAGICIANS IN THE WORLD?
Here is a photo of Barry, Stuart and me, halfway through our recent all day magic brainstorming session.

Thanks to Youtube, we can see many of their television specials, which air in the United Kingdom. My favorite series of theirs is MAGICK. Eugene Burger and I have the great honor of being consultants for their show. This week, Barry & Stuart came to Las Vegas for the very first time, and we got to spend the day together, working on some of their TOP SECRET new mind-exploding concepts. DJ Master Diaz and I hosted them around town, and took in a few shows. We even kidnapped them and took them over to the Darwin Society Magic Club, where we forced them, at wandpoint, to do an interview for streetofcards.tv. I never really thought, when I started magic, that I would be involved in some of the most interesting “think-tanks” in the world of magic. I’ve worked with Lance, Criss, and, oh yes, here is a clip of me working on a recent Hans Klok extravaganza. My piece starts at 1:18. It’s a sneak peek of a casual private session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tikQQexKalk&feature=related

Nowadays, I find time to work with many of my students via Skype. This is a great new way for you and I to work together, and to upgrade your magic skills, even if you can’t get to Las Vegas. Just send me an email (Jeff@mcbridemagic.com) and let me know you’re interested, and we’ll take it from there!

CHINA: IT’S THE NEW LAS VEGAS!
Abbi and I are just back from two weeks in China, my second trip there in two months! Magic is HUGE in China, and I am sure Tobias will be arranging more tours for us in 2010. So, to all of our new Chinese magic fans and students, you’ll be seeing more of us soon! Here is a photo and a video clip from our time there:

http://www.mcbridemagic.net/video/

See you at one of our Skype sessions, or on the road soon!

Jeff, Abbi and all of the Magic and Mystery School Faculty

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From Tobias:

Fall has become a time filled with fascinating activities for so many of us. Following fast on the heels of Magic & Meaning will be the Magic & Medicine and Magic for Mentalists master classes – both filling fast but with a few slots still available.

It seems the end of October now kicks off the holiday season, so some of you may want to know about our new McBride Magic & Mystery School Gift Certificate, good towards tuition for whatever class you might choose. Something to place on your own wish list, or to buy for your favorite magician! Just go to magicalwisdom.comand you’ll see the link for it!

I’ll write more about the holidays and some upcoming adventures Jeff has planned in our next note. In the meantime, enjoy what’s left of “national magic month!”

Best wishes.
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com