It's Monday and you know what that means... Monday Mail Call!
Typically, I would start this type of post off with a call out that I'm featuring packages, purchases, and emails I've received over the past week or so... however, I've been away for several months and a lot of things have sprung up during that time. Today's post is a combination of a Mail Call and Random Musings. You've likely heard of one or two of these (or all), but hopefully something's new!
HACKER Gets an Update
When it was released, I quickly shelled out the cash to grab HACKER because, I mean come on, the effect looks awesome:
A spectator selects a card, a completely free choice -- they can even name their favorite card or anything. You then hold out your phone and before their eyes, your phone starts glitching and all of the wifi networks are replaced with the name of their card. But wait, there's more! They pull out their phone and sure enough, all of the wifi networks available to them are also their card!
Unfortunately, it was a dud on arrival thanks to an update on iOS...
But wait, there's more! =P
HACKER received an update that patched whatever needed to be patched and now the thing works as advertised! Since it's an effect that literally fits into my day job, I'm more than happy with it (^_^).
Alex Pandrea Retired from Playing Cards
Pandrea sent an email out on October 4th to subscribers, most likely he posted on Instagram too, but it kicked off with:
BIG NEWS INCOMING...I'm retiring from the playing card industry and I'm starting a new business.
His personal goals and life interests have shifted and his new business is entirely unrelated to playing cards and magic, it's going to be named "Lazy Money Club" and focus on investing topics.
Personally, I saw this one coming since he's been a bit more removed from the scene over the last few years. I know that he had semi-recently renewed "House of Playing Cards", his online store, but yeah. I'll be the first to admit, having kids has a huge ability to change your current life-focus, and I hope that for him, his path forward is awesome!
Magifest is Shaking Things Up
There are two big changes that I've seen the folks over at Vanishing Inc do this year for Magifest, and they're deviating from tradition in the process!
The first is that they're announcing the guest speakers early! Normally they announce them really close to the event itself. Last year, for example, I didn't know the full lineup until a week or two before the conference -- which is a bit crazy since I purchased my tickets several months before it. Or, maybe I was crazy to purchase that far in advance without knowing who was going to be there?
Either way, I think that this move is perfect! First, those of us who are going even if we didn't know who was there will really appreciate knowing that we're getting our money's worth. Second, from a business standpoint, more tickets would be sold -- or not -- if folks knew ahead of time who's there!
The next big shakeup is for the Gala show, which is always the "8pm Saturday" show that has a few performers back-to-back. Last year, we were entertained by Andi Gladwin as the host-turned-comic, and I have to admit, I still remember his unexpectedly good comedy! Well, this year, there won't be a list of performers. There will be only 1!
Justin Willman will be the featured performer!
This one-night-only event is unlike anything else in the nearly 100-year history of Magifest. Instead of a typical gala show format featuring different magicians performing short segments, you'll get to see his incredible full 90-minute show from start to finish.
I guess it's a bad time to mention that I'm skipping the conference this year... 😢
Genii Magazine's New Staff & Website
Genii Magazine has been a monthly delivery in my mailbox for years now and, other than a short stint with Dustin Stinett temporarily filling in as editor, that role has been exclusively served by Richard Kaufman. Well, no longer! Kaufman is passing the torch over to Jim Steinmeyer. Oh, and they also have a new Executive Director, Julie Eng!
Back in September, they also announced that their website was getting a nice refresh.
Behind the scenes, we're planning more upgrades. We're working to add new areas like magic news, handy magic listings to let you know who's performing where, convention dates ... the list goes on!
The website is geniimagazine.com, and though I haven't been a big user of their website since it's always just been a stopping-place to renew my subscription for the magazine, I've checked in on it every week or two to see these "updates" and haven't really noticed anything yet. Maybe they're not released all the way, or I'm just not looking in the right place 🤔
Alrighty folks, that's about it for today. This is a lot of news, mostly from my email and I haven't even really talked about the books and tricks I've bought recently!
Stay tuned for the next iteration of Monday Mail Call, there's a lot more to come!
Oh also, if you'd like to offer suggestions for books, tricks, decks or if you have questions about magic (performing, routines, sleights, etc.), just reach out here.