Tag Archives: magic

9th Annual Shalom Blog Magic Contest WINNERS

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Well, it was a tremendous turnout, the largest ever since I started these contests.

Who knew that random numbers could be so exciting?

The 10 prize winners, in order, are:

1. Ken Muller

2. Dustin White

3. David Koenig

4. Chris Wilcox

5. Aubrey Torres

6. Steve Cobb

7. Jeff Shriver

8. Frank Yuen

9. Abe Carnow

10. Jay Jennings

Prizes will go out as soon as hear back from everyone on the above list. (If you haven’t responded to me yet, please check your email and get back to me.)

Thanks to all who entered, congrats to all the winners, and y’all can try your luck again next year.

Ninth Annual Shalom Blog Magic Contest

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Well, it’s that time of year again, and I thought last year’s idea worked fairly well, so let’s try it again.

In the never-ending battle for shelf place, I’m giving away some very nice magic books. One of them can be yours. Here’s what to do:

Please follow all the bolded directions, or I cannot accept your entry. I have generated a list of 10 random whole numbers between 1 and 10,000. Email me, at jshalom@worldshare.net one whole number between 1 and 10,000 that you think might be on the list. Put the word “Contest” in the subject line. Make sure to include your full name (not a company name!) and a shipping address. One entry only please. Do this before 9 days from now. Deadline is Saturday, December 2, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. That’s it. (Sorry, but due to shipping costs, this is only open to folks who live in the Continental US.) Please follow all the bolded directions, or I cannot accept your entry.

Whoever is closest to the first number on my random list gets first prize; whoever is closest to the second number gets second prize, and so on. There will be 10 prizes given out.

First prize is first choice from the terrific grab bag of magic books I’ve put together; second prize is second choice from the grab bag; and third prize, in a parallel, numerically pleasing manner, is third choice from the grab bag, and so on, down to 10th prize gets 10th choice. The items in the grab bag are all commercial magic books at least one of which, I guarantee, you will be very happy to have.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

The Invisible Pass Routine

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The irrepressible Harry Lorayne doing what he does best–talking fast and making cards do magic. I don’t think you can catch what he’s doing even if you play this at slow motion.

More at HarryLorayneOnVideo

Metamorphosis

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I’ve been looking for this clip for a long time for three reasons!

One: It’s one of my favorite magic illusions. It just looks great to an audience.

Two: When I was in college, I played the role of Houdini in a musical about his life–and I got to perform this illusion.

Three: And finally, the woman in the clip above, performing with Doug Henning, is actress Didi Conn. I was in the play Carousel with her when I was in junior high school–she was a grade ahead of me–and I thought then that she was the best dancer I had ever seen. Later she became famous for her role in the film Grease as “Frenchie.”

The Mind Reading Dolphin

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This may not be the most magical act, but magician Jo De Rijck has got to have one of the most amusing routines to ever appear on Penn & Teller’s Fool US.

More at Jo De Rijck

Eighth Annual Shalom Blog Magic Contest WINNERS!

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Well, we got a whole slew of entries this time, and you all picked some excellent random numbers. But some numbers are more random than others, and were winners. Interestingly, there was one digit that was definitely less favored as an initial digit in the guesses.

Our ten winners are:

1. Steven Go

2. John Hostler

3. Ted McManus

4. Tony Miller

5. Geoffery Pfeiffer

6. Aubrey Torres

7. Gordon Meyer

8. MAG Productions

9. Jim Short

10. Michael Breggar

What did I learn from this new way of doing the giveaway? I think I prefer it, because it gives people who may not have writing ability a chance to win. Now don’t get the wrong idea; I greatly appreciated the entries and thoughts and ideas that people submitted in previous contests, but it became apparent to me in the last year or two that I had to pull teeth to get people to submit an entry. Not so this year, so there was lots less wear and tear all around.

Anyway, as soon as we hear from all the winners, packages will go out. (If you’re a winner and haven’t replied to my email yet, please do–or contact me at the same email address to which you sent the entry.) Thanks to everyone who entered and if you didn’t win this time, maybe next year.

The Eighth Annual Shalom Blog Magic Contest: Holiday Giveaway

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Well, we’re kind of late this year, but we’re trying something completely different: A holiday giveaway.

Look, frankly, the contest each year is mainly an excuse for me to giveaway some magic books from my bed in order to make some room so that I can sleep. So I thought this time I’d just cut out the middleman, skip the contest, and just give them away.

Well there is one hitch. These are very good books, believe me. It’s just that at this point something has to give. So here’s what I’ll do. I have generated a list of random whole numbers between 1 and 10,000. Email me a whole number between 1 and 10,000 at jshalom@worldshare.net Put the word “Contest” in the subject line. Make sure to include your shipping address. Do this before a week from now. Deadline is Saturday, December 3, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. That’s it. (Sorry, but due to shipping costs, this is only open to folks who live in the Continental US, but everyone else is welcome.) Please follow all the bolded directions, or I cannot accept your entry. Whoever is closest to the first number on my random list gets first prize; whoever is closest to the second number gets second prize, and so on. There will be 10 prizes given out.

First prize is first choice from the terrific grab bag of magic books I’ve put together; second prize is second choice from the grab bag; and third prize, in a parallel, numerically pleasing manner, is third choice from the grab bag, and so on, down to 10th prize gets 10th choice. The items in the grab bag are all commercial books at least one of which, I guarantee, you will be very happy to have.

Looking forward to hearing from you!