Jeff's Journal

Hi There!

Well, it is certainly high time that I wrote another journal entry.

I hope that all of you and your loved ones are doing well. These are certainly still strained economic times for many. But with the warmer weather upon us and spring coming soon I hope that better times are just around the corner. And we should be grateful for what we have as there are others in Canada and most certainly at different parts of the world who do with a lot less of life’s rewards and comforts.

Still much happening in the magic scene these days in and around Toronto. Four weeks ago we had United States trade show magician Chad Long at the shop to give a lecture.

We had a very nice turnout for the lecture. And all in attendance were treated to some excellent close-up magic with cards and coins. I especially enjoyed his coin magic. Mr. Longs’ ideas with flash paper and coins were great. I was also surprised and pleased to see a routine with the Okito Box; a prop that is rarely seen used in professional situations.

In between Mr. Longs pieces were some just wonderful bits of magic. That is, fun quick tricks. One that really hit a home run with those in attendance was his version of the ‘Swallowing the Needles Trick’. Instead of needles Chad took a stick of spaghetti. He broke up the stick into several small pieces. He chewed and swallowed the pieces. And then to our amazement he slowly removed from his mouth the piece of spaghetti back to its original state and put it back into the spaghetti box! Just fantastic! The method was just terrific and insanely easy and original with him.
I would love to share it with you but I am afraid that would not be fair to Chad Long nor to those who paid to learn how the feat was accomplished.

The Tenyo Day we had at the shop was also a success and a lot of fun. Much thanks to Jason and Peter of Tenyo Elite for coming and demonstrating their two first effects, ‘Moonspinner’ and ‘Fortune Sticks’. Other big thanks to wonderful customers Patrick Lee and Eric S. They have been coming to the shop for many years. Both Patrick and Eric brought part of their large Tenyo collection to the shop to share with others.

We were all so happy to see our great friend John Cardella visit the shop on Tenyo Day. John has always been a big fan of the Tenyo tricks. John loved demonstrating and he sold many Tenyo tricks during his six year stay at the shop.

During this time we had another get-together of the ‘Erdnase Group’. Its leader and excellent cardician Ben Train has done a splendid job going slowly through the book with those in attendance. The next meeting is Saturday, March 27 at the shop; full details on the homepage of our site.

Our new website will be launched very shortly. Gerry our webmaster has worked long and hard to make the new site better in so many ways. I cannot thank him enough for his dedication to our business. I do not know what I would do without him.

About 80% of Canadian households watched the men’s hockey team win gold at the Olympics this past Sunday. Eighty percent is a staggering high number. It really proves that hockey is Canada’s number one sport…by far!! Eh?
Watching the Olympics I think most of us who love magic and want to improve are reminded that in order to become good at anything requires very hard work and dedication. In order to become really good requires all types of sacrifice. Nevertheless watching the Olympics should inspire us all to become better at whatever is our passion; hopefully ‘magic’!!

I must say that even during these tough economic times it is a privilege to be in the magic business. Yes we brick and mortar shops are being challenged from all sides. Overhead such as rent and a host of other expense keep rising in Toronto just as it does in other major cities. It does not matter to landlords if you are selling something that has such a small market. And in particular we are challenged by the internet with suppliers, manufacturers and creators selling direct to the end user; you the customer.

This trend that will undoubtedly continue and most certainly grow! All retail industry is affected but especially tough on brick and mortar magic shops. After all the market for magic is already tiny. So for many shops to lose 10% or 20% or more to the internet will result in their shutting down. It just may not be worth it for them to try and earn a living in the magic business.

Just recently there is a set of DVD’s on a popular book that is hitting the market. We tried to get them for the shop and discovered that they will not be available for the retail shops until one year from now! Of course the creator and supplier give their reasons; in this case great expense in producing them. But the bottom line is they all seem to have a reason or another. What does get to me is that when they are interviewed or write something the ‘names in magic’ almost always tell people to support their local brick and mortar magic shops. But when it affects their own pocket…Well, then they have a reason why they need to sell direct.
By the way, these are wonderful magicians many of whom we have organized lectures and not taken a single dime from.

Don’t get me wrong though…Even though I am expressing myself with this little journal that I write once in awhile, complaining about things accomplish very little except perhaps some short term gains. No, the brick and mortar shops will just have to do business other ways or they will go out of business. With the power of the internet business relationships I believe will unfortunately mean less and less. Why will value be put on relationships when a new relationship can begin by pressing a button called ‘Send’.

And with all challenges come opportunity. Those that accept and welcome change are usually the winners.
The world has seen many fantastic creations/inventions that really shifted people’s ways of life quickly and in great ways. In the past 100 years the harnessing of electricity is for me the most important in terms of changing the ways humans interact in commerce and in personal terms; from the light bulb to the internet.
I doubt very much that I will live long enough to see another creation such as the internet that will affect everyone’s way of life. There will be more paradigm shifting inventions though as the old saying is true that the only constant in life is change.

In closing please do not hesitate to give us your feedback when our new site is launched.

Yours Very Truly,
Jeff Pinsky

It was last week that we celebrated the 34^th anniversary of the ‘Browser’s Den of Magic’.

And what a wonderful turnout we had. It really was one of the best attended anniversary parties. So nice to see so many regular faces. And nice to see many new faces.

The auction in the morning was a lot of fun and stuff sold well. People got great value for their hard earned money.

And after the auction Jeff, Mark Chan and I had a lot of fun demonstrating tricks for you. Shawna did a super job at the cash register. Each party Shawna takes care of the cash register. And she does an excellent job not making mistakes punching into the till the transactions; not easy considering the noise and volume.

Of course we had extra help that day behind the counter. Our good friend Ben Train helped out. He focused on making suggestions to our customers who were interested in buying a book on magic.

And we had a special guest behind the counter demonstrating and answering questions in Magic Mike Segal. Many customers know Mike well as he is the founder of the ‘Summer Sorcerer’s Safari’. He and Jen his wife, have been operating their very successful magic camp for the past twelve years or so.

Plus I cannot forget to mention that a great friend to the shop John Michalson helped out. He is a big help during the auction and then afterwards answering questions about magic products. John also is a tremendous assistance when we attend the Canadian Association of Magicians Conventions.

I was pleased too to have some past presidents of the ‘Sid Lorraine Toronto Hat & Rabbit Club’ in attendance. Two of the past presidents were at the shop for the auction in the morning, Gary Wiseman and Ron Guttman. Also at the auction is their club treasurer Sig Kusatz. All three are wonderful gentleman and big supporters of all things magical.

Later in the day I was so pleased to see also past president and a very good personal friend of mine Gordon Precious drop by the shop.

And I was much honored that past International IBM President Joan Caesar dropped by the shop for the party. It is quite unbelievable and wonderful Joan’s achievement. To reach the highest position possible at the IBM last year is just great. Joan pretty much just by herself put Canada back on the world magic radar map.

Of course in the afternoon the Len Cooper Memorial Award was given out. This year’s worthy recipient was CHRIS WESTFALL. He received a framed certificate and a complete set of the Tarbell Course in Magic. Bernice Cooper presented the award to Chris after she made a short speech. Truly wonderful that Bernice came to the party. We are reminded each year of Bernice’s never-ending love for Len.

I would also like to mention that for the past few years one of our customers has wanted to pay for one of the Tarbell books for the Len Cooper Memorial Award. His name is Mike Fisher. He really does not want me to publicize that he does that every year. But it is very kind of him and I do want to extend my sincere thanks for his sincerity and his support. Thanks Mike!! Or should I say Captain!!

Past winners of the Len Cooper Memorial Award have been: Jeff Hinchliffe, Nik Vucicievich, Shane Cobalt, Luke Murray, Neil Crosswell and Ben Train.

Every year we choose a young magician who we feel takes magic seriously and shows potential. And believe me each year it is terribly difficult to choose just one person. Shawna, Jeff and I make the decision together. There really are so many of you who have a passion for magic and deserve the award. So we hope that you all understand that it really is a very difficult call to make each year.

This year at the party we added an additional award. Once in a while we like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication to the magic arts of a customer who does not fit the Len Cooper Award requirements. Usually they do not meet the requirements due to being older than 25.

We were very pleased to award JAMES HARISSON a special achievement award for 2009. James is a professional entertainer concentrating on magic and a pickpocket act. James has worked very hard for the past ten years or so at pretty much all the different branches of magic. He first started to get recognized amongst his peers for his fine coin work. And from then he continued to study magic very hard through reading books, watching DVD’s and then going out and performing magic for real people.

So a big congratulations to James Harisson! He really deserverd the recognition.

The party ended with trivia questions and birthday cake! Thanks to Lester for providing us with some of the trivia questions!

And one more thanks is needed to Charlie’s mom, Pat. For many years now Pat drives her son Charlie to the shop. And for the past few years Pat has helped out a lot at our special events. In particular she took it upon herself to help us out at the little food table we have. She serves the food, keeps the table neat and tidy and even cleans up!

Of course my dear father Manny used to take care of the food table. And so with his passing in 2007, Pat’s assistance is even more appreciated. Thanks Pat. You are too kind!

All in all it was a nice day and again, a big thanks to all of you who attended and a very big thanks for your business on that day and all throughout the year!

My goodness what a treat it was to host the first meeting of the Erdnase Group this past Saturday. And what a wonderful and varied group of magicians came to this first (free) meeting.
The meeting was led by our own Ben Train. I have literally seen Ben Train grow up in front of my eyes. How was I to know that this young kid back in 1995 who came in to buy a joke item would grow up to lead some 14 years later a meeting on arguably the most important book on card magic in history!
Ben received the ‘Len Cooper Memorial Award’ in 2008 and is currently studying at York University.

The ages of those who attended ranged from 17 to the 70’s. And the adults came from such varied backgrounds. We had a PHD in philosophy (Dr. Sammy); a PHD candidate (Joe Culpepper) a retired professor of engineering (Dr. Ransom); magician and respected author Ariel Frailich, and a world renowned magician Lee Asher!
But what was so wonderful was that everybody participated in the discussion.

And believe it or not we had 94 year old Martin Gardner take part in the meeting!! Now let me explain…You see I had what I thought was a little idea...That idea being the Free Erdnase Study Group. I mention it to Ben Train and then BANG! Lee Asher and Ben Train begin to work on making this Erdnase get-together MUCH MORE than I had ever dreamed of.
I mean they started a Facebook Group devoted to it (see below); they have something with/on twitter. And made posts on different websites about the meeting. I was and am humbled by their response for both supporting an event at our shop and so actively bringing upon themselves to really make the event fun and interesting.
So…Getting back to Martin Gardner…Lee Asher contacted Martin Gardner and told him about the meeting. Martin Gardner some of you may know is a famous fellow amongst magicians. He has penned several wonderful magic books including ‘Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic’ and ‘Martin Gardner Presents’. He is also extremely well known amongst the scientific community.
The direct connection with Erdnase (Expert at the Card Table) is that Martin Gardner has done extensive work and research on the origin of the author S.W. Erdnase; quite a controversial topic.
At the meeting Ben and Lee telephoned Mr. Gardner. All of us were able to here an interview with Mr. Gardner. The interview was about fifteen minutes in length and was a real treat and very interesting.
Just before that Professor Tom Ransom was talking. We were so fortunate that here too Ben and Lee invited Professor Ransom to attend the meeting. The professor brought to show at the meeting some of his very rare copy’s of different editions of the ‘Expert at the Card Table’. He also gave us a brief history of each edition. Here too, what a wonderful time and privilege to have Professor Ransom attend.

I cannot thank Lee Asher and Ben Train enough for their hard work and ingenuity in bringing the group together and taking the idea well beyond what I had envisioned.
I hope that more of you are able to attend the next meetings. Here is a link provided by Ben Train from the meeting for you to take a look at… Subject: For those that were unable to attend the first meeting...

... here is a quick break down of what happened:

http://www.facebook.com/edittopic.php?uid=129138807529&action=8#/topic.php?uid=129138807529&topic=11172

And just to end this note on the meeting. What was super cool, and again not my idea but Lee Asher’s was that a very new customer of ours, Sheryl, made a cake for the event!! Not only did she bake a cake but cupcakes too! And not only that…But it was an ERDNASE CAKE!!
A GIANT thank you to Sheryl..

Until Next Time,
Jeff Pinsky

I know, I know…Where did the summer go? So many people felt as if there was no summer. For me too the summers go by faster and faster each year as I get older. However, if there is no snow then that is all that counts in my book!

This past summer was no different than the past few years. That is, lots and lots of magic lectures and workshops. We worked hard to promote lectures by John Carney, Norman Beck and Daniel Garcia. All were well attended.

A special thanks to Lee Asher for his hard work in promoting the Daniel Garcia lecture. The Daniel Garcia lecture was one of the best attended that we have sold tickets for. And the attendees had a great time. I had never seen Garcia lecture. And it was a real treat. Literally within minutes everyone in attendance seemed to be either smiling or applauding. Garcia has what few lectures have…He really seems to be happy to be giving the lecture! I know that may sound funny. But it’s true. He is a real pro. And Garcia is in such command of his material that he can relax and seize moments. He never missed an opportunity to get a laugh or punctuate the magic.

So, if in the future you get an opportunity to see Garcia make sure to attend. By the way, the main reason Daniel Garcia was in Toronto was because he was the Big Guest Star at Magic Mike Segal’s Sorcerer’s Summer Safari Magic Camp.

Mike had an excellent turnout for his camp. Which is really wonderful considering the state of the economy. Goes to show you that if you are doing something good you will survive and perhaps even thrive even during tough times. So congratulations to Mike’s team for another successful magic camp!

For more information on the camp you can find a link on the left side of our homepage.

The Browser’s Den 34^th Anniversary Party is coming up on November 8. Every year to honor the memory of our founder we give away a full set of the Tarbell Course books to a young magicians (25 or under) who shows promise and takes magic seriously.

To be honest each year it is very difficult to choose just one person. I mean there really are so many young customers of ours who do take magic seriously. But this year was particularly a tough decision. But Shawna, Jeff and I agreed and finally made a decision.

The winner will be announced on the day of the party. Len Cooper’s wife, Bernice plans on attending the party and giving away the course.

I took over Browser’s Den back in November 1995. A lot has happened over the years. A lot changes for sure. We have had many customers get very serious about magic and then they sort of drop out. That’s normal though. People grow and change over time. But we are also very fortunate to have so many customers who have been coming to the shop since we first opened (1975) or pretty darn close to 1975.

In fact if you have been coming to the shop since the 1970’s or early 1980’s I would love to hear from you (Jeff@Browsersden.com). I am thinking of doing a special event just for you!

Hi There,

Beautiful weather the past few days.

Last weekend I went as a dealer to the 2009 CAM Convention in Montreal. It was really very good. And a good time was had by all. I am sorry that so very few Ontario magicians attended. I do not think that more than 20 or 30 of the attendees were from Ontario. I did see Dan MacLean Jr, Tristan O’Malley, Scotty Clitsome, Peter Mennie, Stephen Kirkegaard, Susan and Jon Gartner, Luke Murray, Neil Croswell, Peter Cork, David Kirkland, Derrik Finn, Dick Joiner, Al Grose, Chris Westfall, Ben Train, Morgan Bondett, Nick Sacco, Sandy Hobson. There are a few more that I may have missed or do not remember.

Of course Joan Caesar was there too and Magic Mike & Jen Segal. And our good friend John Michalson was there. He was helping as he always does behind the counter at our booth. John is really good guy. He helps us out at pretty much all of our special events. Both he and I filled our individual cars with magic to bring to the dealer’s room. And this year we could not have brought so much magic if it had not been for Dan MacLean Jr. Dan took a bunch of boxes back and forth. I am really humbled by the generosity of his time effort and energy!!!!

There was a really nice vibe the whole time at the convention. Even though it was obvious that most of the magicians spoke French as their first language I sense that the language difference/barrier really disappeared.

At the banquet it was great to see Joan Caesar being honoured for all of her hard work. Without Joan Caesar there would be no CAM. Without Joan none of the magicians would have these wonderful memories being created. Without Joan our world would be less magical.

It was also wonderful to see David Acer being recognized for his contribution to magic. And I was especially pleased to see my good friend and fellow magic dealer, Mr. Phil Matlin receive the ‘Sid Lorainne Achievement Award’. Phil has owned and operated ‘Perfect Magic’ in Montreal since I believe the late 1970’s. And he is a great guy. Next time you visit Montreal please make sure to visit his magic shop.

And of course I would be remiss to mention that the organizers of the convention did a super job. So a big thanks and congratulations to Marc Trudel, Sophie-Anne Vachon, Derrick Chung and Grant McSorley. A special thanks to Grant for all of his help. I am sure that they made Joan Caesar very proud.

The next Canadian Association of Magicians Convention will be held in Kitchener next year. It will take place earlier than usual. It will take place from April 29 to May 1 in 2010. Mark your calendars!

Take care,
Jeff.

One of the best lecture/demonstrations I have ever attended was last Saturday night. Through our good friends at ‘Magicana’, David Ben/Julie Eng/James Alan we co-hosted the workshop and lecture of Mr. Richard Turner.

For those of you who did not attend I am really sorry. He was...FANTASTIC! I mean it. His technique was second to none. Plus he was so darn entertaining and likeable. He told stories; good stories. And he had so much time for everyone. He really seemed to enjoy meeting all of the magicians and signing autographs.

If you ever have another chance of seeing a Richard Turner Lecture do not walk...run!

A couple of weeks ago we hosted the Magic Mike Camp Open House. It was very well attended. It’s nice to see so many campers returning summer after summer after summer. Over the past ten/eleven years that the camp has been in existence I have seen many of the campers literally grow-up in front of my eyes. Magic Mike & Jen Segal do a lot of good for the magic community.

On a more personal note last week I visited the home of one of our customers. His name is Gordon Precious. Some of you may know of him. About five years ago we had a special evening to celebrate his 80^th birthday. He performed a show that night and told us a little bit about him. Before I forget I should mention that today, May 26 is his birthday. Happy birthday Gordon. I visited Gordon’s home with another customer of ours, John Talbot. John is a big time enthusiastic lifetime magic hobbyist. He recently moved from Nova Scotia to Toronto with his family.

It was real treat to see Gordon’s collection. Actually, as John pointed out we would need about three or four days to really see all of his magic. Before seeing the collection Gordon, John and I talked a little in Gordon’s lovely living room. All three of us started ‘magic’ at the same age; between 7 and 8.

After a few hours in Gordon’s home Gordon along with his lovely wife, Jeanne took us out for lunch at the Granite Club. Funny... John and I were welcomed to Gordon’s home and then he took us out for lunch! The Granite Club is magnificent in every way. Gordon gave us a quick tour of the place. You have to see it with your own eyes to really appreciate the facility and grounds. Thanks Gordon for a most splendid day! And thanks too for being such a gentleman.

On another note...It’s so nice to see some new customers coming to our Magic Club. Our club meets the first Saturday of each month in the afternoon. Anyone 13 years of age and older may attend; so long as you are serious about improving your magic skills/knowledge. The club is free. I know that with the internet people are communicating in different ways; which is great! But it is still nice to talk magic and show each a move or trick in person.

We, I should say webmaster Gerry are working on our new site. It should be launched over the month or two. Please let us know at that time what you think.

Of course I cannot not mention with less than one month away that the Canadian Association of Magicians Magic Convention is taking place. We really hope that many of you will decide last minute to attend. You will have the magic blast of a lifetime. For full details about the magic lectures, magic shows, magic prized, magic competitions, etc. etc. please take a moment to visit www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com

Also, before closing I would like to publicly thank so many of you who have joined our Facebook Browser’s Den of Magic Group. It’s another way for us in the magic community to get to know each other a little and to exchange ideas.

It’s been a couple of months since my last entry. Today is March 1^st. It’s cold outside but at least the winter is not too far away from ending; thank goodness. Here in Toronto there was quite a bit of snow. But the amount of snow was less this year than last.

We have had a lot of fun free events here at the shop over the past couple of months. So much fun was had by all.

Mark Lewis a well known magician and hypnotist in and around Toronto performed a wonderful children’s show here at the shop. There must have been about forty people in attendance. Thankfully, there were enough really young ones to make the show work. That is, Mark was hoping that there would be some children from four years old and up. Not only were the children amused and bemused by Mark’s show, but so too were the adults! In fact I was watching the adult’s faces and they had big smiles from ear to ear during the show. I suppose there is the kid in all of us.

And I would like to publicly thank Mr. Lewis for doing the show. He was not paid for his time. He simply did it as a favour to me and the shop. Mark has been a customer of Browser’s Den long before I took over. In fact before Mark Lewis immigrated to Canada he visited Toronto many times. He also visited the Arcade Magic & Novelty Shop. That shop was owned and operated by Harry and Sophie Smith. The shop had been in business for about fifty years. And closed its doors around 1980. Harry had passed away and Sophie who demonstrated magic found the shop too much work as she entered her old age years. And their son was not interested in continuing to run the shop.

Mark Lewis show was recorded. But Mark is not releasing it to the public. He just wanted a permanent record of it. Who knows, maybe one day Mark will make it available. One could learn a lot by studying Mark’s technique.

Another good friend of our shop, Mr. Bill Abbott also performed a free show here at the shop. And wow...We were blown away by how many of you came. I would say there must have been about fifty or sixty people. So many in fact that some people had to stand behind the counter to see the show.

Although different in style than Mark Lewis, Bill Abbott is a consummate professional. And show was filled with wonderful effects; some of which he markets. And what was a real treat for those in attendance was that Bill decided to perform his Chico the Puppet Routine. This may sound silly but Bill’s puppet act with the Chico puppet is a closer. I would not want to follow that in a show.

So a giant thanks to Bill Abbott for taking the time in his busy schedule to give a free performance at our shop. For those in attendance it was a real lesson to watch a pro like Bill hold an audience. I know that it is a cliché but Bill’s magic is commercial! Just like Mark Lewis Bill has been a customer of Browser’s Den long before I took over. The original owners of Browser’s Den ran the shop from 1975 until I took over back in 1995. Hmmm...I am getting close to their twenty year mark.

And if that was not enough we also had Mr. Brian Roberts give a free performance of his magic at our shop. His performance took place on the same day as our monthly club (1^st Saturday of Each Month at Our Shop in the Afternoon.). Unfortunately I was not able to be at the shop on that day. I had a terrible cold. The first bad cold in a few years. And we had a mini auction planned for the next day. So, as much as I really wanted to see Brian perform I needed to rest up my energy and voice for the auction the following day.

But I can honestly tell you that we had countless wonderful comments about Brian’s magic. And here too many people showed up to watch Brian. Brian is one of the true gentlemen who frequent the shop. I find his magic mature beyond his years. His coin work is terrific to behold. It looks like magic! All the years of dedication to mastering the sleights from books have paid off. With Brian it’s as if for a few brief moments he shares his magic with us. So a BIG THANKS Brian for coming to the shop and performing. Oh I almost forgot...After Brian performed he then sat down with members of our club and took questions. And he explained how and why he came up with the routines that he showed everyone.

Another event that Browser’s Den has become quite well known for doing is auctions. In February we had an auction. The auction was a little shorter than usual; from 11:30am until 3:00pm. Everything in the auction sold! And even with these strained economic times we had a nice turnout; perhaps a little smaller than normal. Usually we do a full day auction in April. I think that we will do something else in April or May; similar to an auction but not necessarily.

This journal entry would not be complete without me mentioning something a little sad. My co-worker for the past six years, John Cardella ceased working here in mid-February. I have met some wonderful people in my life. In fact many of these wonderful people are customers of the shop. Having said that, nobody is as kind and gentle a person as John Cardella. He possesses DNA of which I am not familiar. John gave it his all each and every day over the six years. He is the consummate professional salesperson. With John the customer is number one; for him it is not just a cliché. And John provided such a high level of service after his long drive from Oakville day in and day out. During the winter John’s drive could be up to two hours each way!

So here too I would like to publicly thank John for his dedication to the shop. And all the years of hard work. John, you really are a one of a kind! Good luck in your in new adventures.

He told me in a letter that he will drop by the shop from time to time. Don’t forget that he too has been a customer of the shop since the mid 1970’s.

On a more cheerful note, the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM) now has a Facebook Group. I hope that you will take the time to join the group. You do not have to be a member of CAM to join the group, although that would be most appreciated. It is only $18.00 per year to join CAM and support the only (Made in Canada) national organization.

Also, the CAM Magic Convention is only a few months away. The convention is taking place this year in Montreal during the middle of June. Please take a moment to visit their site, www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com to find out more about this sure to be wonderful event.

Oh and by the way, my cats Len & Herb Pinsky have joined the CAM Facebook Group. On behalf of my cats Len & Herb I would to thank Shawna for who work in getting the CAM Facebook Group online.

I visited my uncle for a day this past week. He lives in Montreal. I drove in to attend a funeral. Funerals are never really happy events. However, the woman who passed away was 92 years old. She had a full life and two very loving daughters with whom she lived with for many years.

I got up to go to the funeral Thursday morning at 3am...Got out of my condo at 4am and was at my uncle’s condo at 9:30am. And then I returned back to Toronto early Friday afternoon; one day after. It was nice to see my uncle.

I would like to pause a moment and thank you...Our dedicated customers for your patronage. Yes, these are very strained economic times. And we face a ton of competition on the internet. The business has changed. So a big thank you to those of you who still visit us and spend your hard earned money. I honestly hope that you have a lot of fun with the magic. I still love magic even though I have been doing it since I was seven or eight years old. That’s about 35 years. And I still love magic books. You buy one and can derive pleasure from it for years and years. I have some books in my collection for more than twenty-five years. And I still sit down with it from time to time and find something that I had either forgot about or never really learned properly.

My interests when I was young were in no particular order: magic, chess, tennis and table tennis/ping pong. I stopped playing tennis about ten years. I really should start again though I am not sure my back can take it. And I amazed at how many of our customers are into chess. I was on the high school chess, tennis and table tennis teams. Most of my success was on the chess team though. I really miss playing ping pong. By the way Herb Morrissey and Len Cooper were also big fans of ping pong. Neither though played tennis or chess.

For the past couple of months when the shop is quiet during the weekday and I really have nothing pressing that I want to do I have sat down and played chess with Jeff Hinchliffe, Chris Westfall, John Inglis, James Harrison. We do have another customer who is most likely the best chess player amongst our customers. His name is Hannibal; no relation (thank goodness) to the fictional movie character.

And believe it or not a little over a month ago Ben Train sat down to play chess with Hannibal. But get this...Hannibal played the entire chess game against Ben with his (Hannibal’s) back to the board! He played the entire game in his head! And he beat Ben!

Chess is a wonderful game. And it teaches you a lot. I used to play until I entered university. It teaches you about patience. It teaches you about planning and thinking long term yet taking advantage of opportunities should they arrive.

I think that part of the problem in society these days is that people, merchants, business people think far too often only about the short run.

In closing and behalf of all of us here at the shop I wish you much success. And I hope that during these economic times you still fit in a little fun into your life.

Dear Magic Friends,

I hope that all of you are doing well.

Those of us who live in Canada were reminded this past week as to how cold it gets during the winter.   But with this early start to winter we are reminded that the holiday season is upon us.

We had a couple of weeks ago our 33rd Anniversary Party celebration at the shop.

So many of you showed up! Shawna, Jeff, John and I are so blessed that so many came and stayed for the whole day! During these uncertain economic times it is so kind of all of you to keep coming to our shop rather than making all of your purchases on the internet.
Remember, if there is something that you see on the internet, please contact us preferably by email (browsersden@sympatico.ca) and we will try our best to get it in for you.

Back to the party...The day started off with a mini auction. And there were great deals acquired by so many of you.   Then we had party sandwiches and coffee and snacks and candy for you to make vanish by your favourite method.   Discount cards were given out.
We were so glad too that Len Cooper’s wife and partner, Bernice Cooper came to the shop to give away the Len Cooper Memorial Award. The award is a full set of Tarbell Course in Magic. This year’s recipient was Ben Train. And he really deserved it! It is not easy for us to make a decision as to who should receive the award. There really are many young magicians (under 25) that deserve it.

It was nice too that Ben Train’s family was present for the award.

Bernice Cooper sent us a very nice account of her visit to the shop that day. It really touched me. And I have included it with her permission at the bottom of this Jeff Journal entry.

And I must give a big thanks to the many helpers we had on that day. And they are in no particular order...JOHN MICHALSON, JAMES ALAN, MARK CHAN, DANTE, BERNIE THE MAGIC MAN, MAGIC MIKE SEGAL.   I hope that I have not forgotten anyone.

Lee Asher dropped by the party too! Which was very nice of him.

At the end of the day we had a mini trivia quiz and cake! And man, I better come up with some tougher questions for next year. About 80% of the questions were answered so fast!?

Oh...Before I forget... I want to put a small commercial message into this journal entry. I love magic books as do many of you. Sure DVD’s are great too. But there is still something about a book for me. Plus books have way more tricks in them than the most DVD’s.

Sometimes I have been asked if I were able to take only one magic book on an island what would it be? There are a couple of candidates. But my answer would be ‘Stars of Magic’ book. For three years we have not had it for sale because it was out of print. And now it has been reprinted with brand new photos. There is a full write-up in the New Section of our website. But it is just such a fantastic book. If you do not have it you should really consider it. It is filled with material from all the greats of that time; Dai Vernon, Slydini, Francis Carlyle, Ross Bertram, Jacob Daley, John Scarne, M. Bey, Bert Allerton, etc.
And the magic that it contains is at all levels. There are a few easy effects; many intermediate ones and several terrific but tougher ones. The book is filled with super photos! You don’t need video the description and photos are so good. Okay enough said.

On another note we had a lot of fun with two terrific performers the past few weeks.

Many of you came to see the free shows by Mark Lewis and James Biss.

Mark performed his children’s magic show. We were glad that some of you brought some really young children to see his show. What a fun show. Mark had it filmed but will not be releasing it.   Not only were the kids laughing but so too were the adults.

It was a real lesson in the right way to perform a children’s magic show. Thanks Mark!!

And on a separate Saturday James Biss came and did a 40 minute free mentalism show. It was excellent too! James is charming performer who really connects with his audience. And he fools them! Well, isn’t that what it really is all about? That is, the audience likes you and yet you still fool them and they still like you! Well that’s how I feel about James Biss show.

Afterwards many of his new book/dvd set sold ‘Mind Blowing’. And it is still selling well in the shop. James had many people want him to sign the book to him. There is a full description of this new popular book in the New Section of our website. And though it is not an inexpensive book please note that due to James’ kindness we are able to offer you his book/dvd set at same price as it is in U.S. dollars.

Well, that’s about it for now.

I do want to take the opportunity to thank all of you. And we hope that you will be able to visit sometime during the holiday season.
THERE IS LOTS OF NEW MAGIC THAT WE WILL BE GETTING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS!

AND HERE IS THE NOTE FROM BERNICE...
WONDERFUL MEMORIES
By
Bernice Cooper

Today I reconnected with my old life. It was the 33rd anniversary of the opening of the Magic business my husband and I started in November 1975. It was a gala event. I was dusted off to present the Len Cooper Memorial Award, an annual award and gift presented to a young promising magician in memory of my late husband.

For a few hours I was transformed back into the world of magic, a world I had left thirteen years ago; the hustle and bustle of young people enthusiastically performing magic for and learning from each other. The store was so packed with people the windows were steamed up.

I gingerly made my way through the mob of people so as not to distract the demonstrators, not particularly drawing attention to myself. As I passed through I was treated with hugs by old and new friends who recognized me.

“How well you look! I love your hairstyle! You look wonderful” The compliments overwhelmed me as I pushed my way through.” How have you been? How’s your health? You haven’t changed a bit. I recognized your voice”

I felt like a queen making a grand entrance. I was deluged with compliments, which boosted my ego and made me feel so good.

The shop, in which I had spent twenty years of my life helping and assisting my husband hadn’t really changed too much. It was a little larger as Jeff, the present owner, had expanded the business.

Here were the latest books and videos, coins and cards, close- up and stage effects, everyone milling about not wanting to miss anything. Inside the door were neatly displayed magic kits for beginners and gift giving. Behind the cash register were framed photos of well-known magicians among which was my husband. This was where I had usually stayed ringing up sales, making suggestions, answering questions from parents who wanted to get their kids off to a good start in learning the art of magic. Shawna has taken over my old job and is doing remarkably well.

Next to the register a long glass showcase with all kinds of interesting small close-up tricks ready to be demonstrated on the velvet pads. On the back wall the shelves are lined with books; on the opposite wall juggling equipment and other interesting things.

Jeff, the head demonstrator and present owner along with four other professionals were showing and demonstrating all kinds of wonderful effects.

I am not at liberty to describe the workings of any items, as I am still a member of the magicians union and sworn to secrecy.

I was introduced to Ben, this year’s award winner and we had a nice chat. He has quite a sense of humour. Many people still remember Len and had nothing but praise for him.

It was time to make the presentation. I introduced myself. Many people were not around in the early years and did not know me. I gave a description and spoke about Len. I wished the recipient well and hoped he would derive much pleasure from the eight-volume set of the magic encyclopedia.

It was a wonderful day for me I felt rejuvenated and majestic from all the warm greetings. My photo was taken by several people and I felt like Royalty.

Before I left the young recipient, who was 22, invited me to go clubbing and dancing with him and his young friends.

What a wonderful day as I bid adieu and hoped to return next year for the 34th.

The lectures and workshops were all very well attended. Personally, I especially enjoyed the Michael Ammar lecture and the Roberto Giobbi Talk on Dai Vernon.

I, as have many of customers seen Michael Ammar on his many excellent teaching videos. For me at least, I enjoyed watching his lecture more than watching him on video.

Ammar’s lecture was filled with all types of magic. He started off the lecture by producing a full bottle of champagne from a silk! He did card in balloon and of course he ended with the cups and balls.

A lot of great magic was performed and taught in between those tricks. And of course Mr. Ammar taught them all so well.

Joan Caesar attended the Michael Ammar lecture. Joan is not only the president and founder of the Canadian Association of Magicians but she was recently appointed the International President of the IBM (International Brotherhood of Magicians).

At the beginning of the lecture Joan presented Michael Ammar with a Presidential Citation; he received a standing ovation.

I would like to publicly thank Lee Asher and Magic Mike Segal for making the Ammar Lecture and Workshop possible.

The Roberto Giobbi talk on Dai Vernon was one of the most enjoyable magic evenings that I have spent in a long time.

The talk was held at David Ben and Julie Eng’s ‘Magicana’. And I would like to thank them too for making the Giobbi talk possible. Mr. Giobbi and other famous magicians were spending time here in Toronto with David Ben.

The talk by Giobbi was limited to 28 people as space was limited. And we sold all of the 28 spots. At $75.00 each we were very pleased that the magic community supported this event.

Not only did Giobbi shed light on Dai Vernon but he also performed some magic. And we were all treated to some video footage of Vernon, Fred Kaps and John Scarne.

I cannot wait until the second volume of David Ben’s bio book on Dai Vernon is finished. David has told us that it will probably be a couple of years from now.

Our good friend Bernie attended the Giobbi talk and loved it. Bernie has been selling magic at fairs in and around Ontario for many years.

I recently visited Bernie at a fair. It was fun to see him demonstrate. It was fun too watch some of the other salesman at the fair. It’s a different life; a difficult life. But I suppose one meets lots of people.

Well, now I will take a small break from the world of ‘magic’. After all I am supposed to write a little bit about my personal life.

Oh wait a minute…I want to let you all know that we (read: Our web genius Gerry) will be launching a brand new web site some time later this year or early next year. On the new site you will find blogs from not only I but also Shawna, John and Jeff H. They have a life too! And probably, I hope, a lot more exciting than mine.

Having said that, this past summer I decided to accept an invitation to go canoeing with a few friends.

The canoeing trip was about an hour an a half away from Toronto. I incorrectly thought that we (2 people per canoe) would be on the water for two or three hours. I had never gone canoeing and only one of the three of us had any experience in a canoe; and not much at that.

Are you ready for this…We were in the canoe and on the water for ten hours!!! I thought I was going to die!

Needles to say it was very tough work. And it was especially difficult to sit down in the canoe without moving. Too much movement in a canoe and you can tip it over.

We stopped a couple of times to eat. And we stopped to portage (Carry the bloody canoe!) to the next body of water. So all in total, I would say we were on the water for 9 hours of the 10 plus hours!

Anyway, it was an experience that’s for sure! But if I ever agree to go canoeing again I will make certain to agree to a couple of hours only.

I also drove to Montreal a couple of times to spend time with my uncle; my father’s older brother. He is in fantastic shape for someone who is 75 years old. He is an optometrist. And still works full-time.

Back to magic for a moment…The ‘Browser’s Den of Magic’s ‘ 33rd Anniversary Party is only three weeks away.

It will be held on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9. All the details can be found on the homepage of our website.

Oh yes…This past summer I also went to a cherry farm and picked fresh cherries off of the trees. Of course how many cherries can a single guy eat? Not even my cats eat cherries. Mind you they are ready to eat almost anything else.

The CAM 2009 Magic Convention is being held in June 2009 in Quebec. You can find out all of the details by visiting www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com

On one of my visits to my uncle I decided to take a look at the hotel at which the CAM convention will be held. The hotel is only two or three years old. So everything looks clean and fresh.

What was really cool about the hotel was that the theatre is part of the hotel! What a convenience that will be for all of the attendees!

It is not too early to register for the convention. So, please check out the site listed above and register now before it is sold out. The convention is being limited to 250 spots only this time.

All of us here at the ‘Browser’s Den’ hope that you are all well and enjoying the nice weather. It has not exactly been as warm as usual these first couple weeks of May but at least all of the awful snow has finally disappeared.

We have had quite a lot of special events and fun here at the shop since my last journal entry.

The April Auction was a success. We had a very nice turnout and bidding was strong. Thank you to all who attended.

The deals were really fantastic at the auction. I mean we had several lots of 15 to 20 DVD’s that the reserve bid was only $40.00! And for the most part these were DVD’s that regularly sell between $30.00 and $40.00. Of the 98 lots, 95 sold!

In April we also had an absolutely wonderful double-lecture here at the shop. The lecturers were Giacomo Bertini and Vanni Bossi. It was a smaller crowd than normal for a lecture. I suppose because their names are not as well known.

Well, I can honestly tell you for those who did not attend that if you are given another chance in the future to see either one of these gentlemen…Take it!

I those who attended were treated to a wonderful array of magic. Mr. Bertini did some coin magic that made my eyes water. My goodness what skill! And what was nice is that he hid his skill. His lecture started at 2pm and ended at around 3:30pm.

The second half started at 4pm. For the next two hours Mr. Bossi blew us away with all types of close-up magic. And except for effect everything could be mastered without a tremendous amount of practice.

One of my favorites was his borrowed ring in light bulb. Yes, you heard me right. A borrowed ring is seen penetrating a clear light bulb. By the way, James Alan a customer of ours was the one who went out and purchased the clear light bulb just about 15 minutes before the lectures started.

Mr. Bossi walked around the shop showing the ring in the light bulb. And then this just blew us away…He gently shook the light bulb and the ring apparently melted through out of the light bulb!

Mr. Bossi showed a ton of offbeat practical stuff including a truly borrowed bill and non-gaffed pencil through bill.

Anyway like I wrote above too bad not more of our customers attended. A big thanks again to Joan Caesar (President of the Canadian Association of Magicians) for making this double-lecture possible.

That reminds me…Please do not forget that the next (June 2009) Canadian Association of Magicians Convention will take place in Montreal. Many of you have already registered.

For those of you who would like more information about the convention and the beautiful city that it is taking place please visit www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com .

Changing subjects…Our website is about eight years old. And Shawna and Jeff Hinchliffe and quite a few of our customers have been strongly suggesting that our site is in need of a major facelift.

So after thinking about it and discussing with our webmaster, Gerry the decision was made to build a new website. The site will look very different but we hope that you will find it an improvement. A big thank you goes to Gerry for all the work and time and energy he will be using to build it.

I would also like to publicly thank Shawna for her hard work in fixing some major problems with our current website. About 2 months ago we lost about 1,400 items from our site.

And over the past two months Shawna has done a very good job in adding all of these items back. Thank you Shawna.

One of our customers has been working on a website devoted to the legendary Johnny Giordimaine. For those of you under 45 years old you may have never heard of him.

But he was not only one of the most popular professional magicians in Toronto for some 40 years but he was also very influential in getting a lot of people young and old interested in magic.

For many years Johnny Giordimaine operated a magic counter at the Eaton’s department store. And in those days other than the ‘Arcade Magic Shop’, Johnny’s counter was the only place to buy magic in Toronto.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but our magic world has lost two important people over the past few weeks, Herb Zarrow and Tony Eng.

Herb Zarrow is most famous for inventing what is widely agreed upon as the best full deck false shuffle. Mr. Zarrow was 83 years old.

Canada’s own David Ben has just finished writing a giant book on Herb Zarrow, which will be released shortly.

We were so sorry to learn of Tony Eng’s passing. Tony is Julie Eng’s father. Many of you may know Julie; she works with David Ben.

Tony owned and operated ‘Tony’s Trick Shop’ in Victoria, B.C. for more than 20 years. He was only 61 years old and fell victim to leukemia.

I only met Tony briefly a couple of times. But I had heard many, many times about how wonderful he was a magician. And how truly fantastic and funny and good sleight of hand was he. People would travel great distances to his magic shop to get a ‘Tony Eng Magic Fix’.

He had just recently sold his magic shop to Murray Hatfield. And Tony and his wife were enjoying their retirement, which unfortunately ended far, far too soon.

Julie Eng is the director at ‘Magicana’ a not-for-profit organization. David Ben is the chairman of ‘Magicana’. And Julie has created a foundation at ‘Magicana’ in her honor of her father. If you would like to make a donation in honor of Tony Eng visit www.magicana.com ; or phone 416-913-9034.

And I would also like to thank Ben Train for arranging to have Simon Lovell visit our shop. Mr. Lovell sat down at our small magic table at back of shop and talked magic with many of our customers. Thank you Mr. Lovell.

ADULT MAGIC CLUB: Ages 13 and up. We meet here at the shop on the first Saturday of each month from 2:30pm until 4:30pm. There is no cost to attend. All that we ask is that you are serious about improving your skills and are interested in talking magic with like-minded magicians.

If you wish to attend please just show-up with a pack of playing cards and some coins.

CHILDREN’S MAGIC CLUB: Ages 8 to 12. We meet here at the shop on the first Saturday of each month from 11:30am until 1:30pm. There is no cost to attend. All that we ask is that you are serious about improving your skills. Any children that do not behave in a polite, respectful manner to other members will no longer be welcome.

If you wish to attend please just show-up with a pack of playing cards and some coins.

If you would like to be reminded by email of future magic club meetings and other special events please take a moment to visit our website, www.browsersden.com and join our eflyer. The join eflyer button is on the left side of the homepage.

What a wonderful evening we had on Saturday, February 23 here at the shop. On that night Mr. Gordon Precious came and performed and explained some of his ‘Anverdi’ magic collection.

Gordon began with a non-Anverdi effect. It was the classic ‘Vanishing Bird Cage’. Gordon performs the trick magnificently! And for those of you who have never attempted the trick let me tell you…It requires a lot of work to master!

And for the next hour or so we were all treated to a wonderful array of magic goodies from Gordon’s collection. One particular effect was superlative; a floating lamp; right it in the middle of our shop.

We had a very nice turnout for the special event. I would say about 38 or 39 people came to the shop.

Those who know Gordon Precious admire his character and love for life. And I personally received another fine example of Gordon’s character. Let me tell you why…

Two days before Gordon’s appearance at the shop Gordon telephoned me. Gordon had an awful eye accident playing tennis. So bad in fact that he had zero vision through his left eye. He saw a couple of ophthalmologists and was told he needed an operation.

I offered to postpone the event. After all, he could not see properly and he is not a kid at 83 years old. Plus he was doing this for free. Doing it as a favor to the shop and me. But he is undoubtedly a kid at heart. And he is a man of his word. He insisted on ‘Going on with the show.’ I honestly do not think we see the likes of people like Gordon very much these days.

So on behalf of all of us who attended the evening…Thank you very much Mr. Precious for your time and performance. We all hope that you get back 100% of the vision you loss.

And I hope that we are able to try this again in the future. As you have so many more magic goodies in your collection.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not write in this journal entry about Jeff Hinchliffe on the night of Gordon’s performance.

What happened is that Gordon was running a little late. He was not feeling up to par because of his eye. And he need to begin at 6:30 rather than the scheduled 6pm.

As a result I put some unexpected pressure on Jeff to perform some magic until Gordon was ready.

Now, I have seen Jeff Hinchliffe do magic tons and tons of times. But from 6pm until 6:30pm Jeff really entertained those in attendance. He just had a wonderful balance of excellent card effects performed with confidence and fun! Jeff has impressed us many times before. But this was at least for me his most impressive performance. The spectators really had fun! They were badly fooled! All with only a pack of cards.

And Jeff is only 24. I can’t imagine how much better he will get as he gains experience in life and in performing over the years to follow.

We have had quite a few events these past few months. Fun and clever lectures by Tyler Wilson and Brian Roberts. Plus Bill Abbott gave us a superlative lecture a few weeks ago that was well attended.

Presently we are working on a new website. I still like our present website. However, I know that in this age of speed and change that it is time for a new site. We hope to have it up and running sometime in 2008.

I expect that by the time I write my next ‘Jeff’ Journal’ the dreaded snow will be disappearing from our lives. Of course most of the little kiddies will be waiting anxiously for next year when the snow returns. We ‘old’ adults want less snow. But most little kids want lots and lots and lots of snow. The world is in balance.

Needless to say this has not been a very pleasant winter. Of course that is presuming one is not a skier. I do not ski. I cannot remember when was the last time so much snow fell upon Toronto.

It reminds me of when I was a kid in the 1970’s. I still have fond memories of playing road hockey after school. We would stop only when there was no sunlight left. Ninety-five percent of the time I played goalie. Ken Dryden was the number one goalie during those days. I used to pretend I was Dryden in net. When there was a break in play I would lean on my goalie stick just as Dryden did in now his famous pose.

We had a lot of fun here at the shop the last couple of months. We have had a store visit from card sleight of hand master Lee Asher. We are very grateful that Lee gave so freely of his time. He gave away a lot of free stuff during his visit.

We have also had fun lectures by Tyler Wilson and Brian Roberts. And yesterday we had a wonderful lecture by Bill Abbott. It was well attended. And people got their money’s worth. The lecture was filled with good magic; good explanations. And super advice on performing corporate walk-around magic.

One of our customers, James Alan has really impressed all of us here at the shop. He has only been doing magic for about 2 years. And he has learned some very demanding routines quite well. Hopefully his drive to learn will continue.

Mr. David Ben is finishing up his book on Herb Zarrow. David told us that it will be a giant tome.

Herb Zarrow of course invented the famous full deck false shuffle…Known as the ‘Zarrow Shuffle’. But he has a lot more contributions to magic for David to document than just the Zarrow work.

It appears as if sometime in the spring or summer we will have a book signing session with both David Ben and Herb Zarrow here at the shop!

This month’s Genii magazine has a fantastic article by David Ben on the technique of the Zarrow Shuffle and it’s history. Along with the description is a ton of coloured photos of David’s hands doing the moves taken by Julie Eng.

Presently David Ben is working on about four different books. His biography on Dai Vernon was one of our best sellers here at the shop. I think he told me that the second half on Dai Vernon should be ready in about 1 or 2 years.

My co-workers Shawna, John and Jeff are all doing well. Shawna recently came back from a trip with her husband Marvin to the Dominican Republic. And John just came back from vacuuming at his house. (Let’s see if John notices this silly joke.)

I asked my two cats if they would like to go to the Dominican but they just blinked their eyes at me. They are Siamese cats; brothers and are a pain in neck. But I find them funny and I love them. I have had cats pretty much my whole life. And cats are very curious. But these two are a real handful. They are certainly not for everyone. But like I wrote above, I find them funny.

I particularly find it funny when once or twice a month they scare each other. That is, both of them get their hairs standing on end complete with arched backs. If they understood English I would tell them…Whom do you think that is? Are you both surprised to see another cat here? You guys are with each other 24/7 each and every day of the year. What’s the surprise that another cat is here?

Probably it is because they were both trying to sneak up upon each other at the exact same time. And caught each other in the act.

WE HAVE SET THE DATE FOR OUR MAJOR FULL DAY MAGIC AUCTION. This is the day when you our customers bring in magic you no longer want. Magic that is in good condition; preferably with directions. We will email you the full details as we get closer to the date. And no magic will be accepted until one week before the auction.

And the date for the auction is SUNDAY, APRIL 13 from 10am until 5pm. Admission is $5.00. It will be a day filled with BIG BARGAINS and lots of fun. Going…Going…Gone!

Last week was our 32^nd Anniversary Party. And I want to take this opportunity to thank you. So many of you came to the shop for the party. So many of you that is from so far away.

John, Shawna, Jeff and I really appreciate your visit and your patronage. You made our 32^nd party successful!!!

The auction at the party went very well. And we all appreciated Len Coopers’ wife, Bernice coming to the shop to present LUKE MURRAY with the ‘Len Cooper Memorial Award. Luke deserved the award. There are many other young magicians who probably deserve the award. But we can only pick one each year.

Previous award winners are JEFF HINCHLIFFE, NIK VUCIEVICH, SHANE COBALT AND NEIL CROSWELL.

And the mini Trivia Quiz was a lot of fun too. We gave out some super prizes and many of you impressed us with your knowledge of our great love, ‘magic’.

At the party we were pleasantly surprised to have a visit by LEE ASHER. We all know him as a great card magician. But he spent most of his time working on making the cake vanish. How does he do it? Just joking of course.

On a personal note my father was sorely missed from the party. My dad always helped out at the shop during our special events. This was the first anniversary party since he passed away. I received a couple of emails from people who missed him. What can I say? Words cannot describe how much I miss him each and every day.

Jeff Hinchliffe’s once a month Monday Night ‘Talks’ have been a hit. Once a month Jeff Hinchliffe does a talk on a Monday night after we close for only $5.00. The topics vary. Most have to do with cards. But the degree of difficulty does vary. To find out about these evenings please make sure to join our eflyer.

I do not generally write about any magic products here in the ‘Jeff’s Journal’. However, I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the ‘Don Alan Magic Ranch’ DVD Set. You may find out all the details in the New Section of our website.

Don Alan was young then. And he was just fantastic. Plus you get to see performances from many greats such as Al Cohen, Richard Himber, Neil Foster, Jay Marshall, Jack Gywnne, Johnny Platt, ‘Senator’ Crandall. There are 13 episodes in all. Including commercials from that era/1961.

Well…We are approaching the holiday season. So I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful and happy holiday!!!

Well, the last time I wrote you I mentioned that the Roberto Giobbi lecture was about to take place. To make it short…It was a superb lecture. I mean absolutely wonderful.

After seeing Juan Tamariz lecture at the CAM 2007 lecture I did not think I would enjoy another lecturer for a long time; Tamariz was that good…Or should I say UNBELIEVABLE!

Giobbi performed and thoroughly explained about 9 effects. I would say that 7 of them were closers. I am grateful that many of you attended.

Briefly here was one of the effects: Mr. Giobbi brought up a spectator. Then Mr. Giobbi appeared to be doing a standard Invisible Deck presentation. However, he was puffing on a cigarette. The spectator then named the invisible card. Giobbi removed the cigarette from his mouth. He tore it open and inside was the FREELY named card!!! A bloody miracle.

I know who wants to do a cigarette trick these days. Well, even if you will not perform a trick with a cigarette…It was really a lesson to learn how Giobbi came up with his handling of the effect.

Mr. Giobbi is a super magician. He fools you and makes you enjoy the ‘ride’. Not an easy task. What a wonderful potpourri of magic he showed all in attendance.

What was cool too was that we had some big name magicians in the audience including: Lee Asher, John Carney, Jamy Ian Swiss, Eric Mead, Dr. Gene Matsura, Herb Zarrow, and some others that my tired memory forgets.

Also it was a treat to have both Julie Eng and David Ben in attendance. David Ben introduced Giobbi. And it was because of David and Julie that we were able to offer this lecture. Thanks again, David and Julie.

Just a heads-up that we have set the date for our ANNIVERSARY PARTY. Our 32nd Anniversary Party will take place here at the shop on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 from 10am until 5pm.

This is the day that starts off with a mini-auction. Then the rest of the day consists of discounts for everyone, food, coffee, snacks, Len Cooper Memorial Award, Trivia Quiz for 10 good prizes and finally…CAKE!!! Len Coopers wife Bernice will be present to make the announcement of this year’s recipient. The winner will receive the entire ‘Tarbell Course in Magic’ an eight volume set which contains the backbone of our wonderful art.

We hope that you can all make it down to the shop; at least for part of the day.

And again, I speak on behalf of Shawna, John and young Jeff that we truly thank all of you for making the ‘Browser’s Den’ a success. This past year will be our best ever. We could not have done it without you.

And let me (old) Jeff take this opportunity to thank my co-workers Shawna, John and Jeff for all of their work. I am a lucky fellow.

I especially want to thank Gerry, our webmaster. Gerry, does so much work and films my silly demos; basically out of the goodness of his heart. Thanks Gerry! And thanks to Gerry’s daughters Natalie and Victoria who are my assistants on our website demos. They make the whole process a lot more fun for me.

Personally, I recently moved. I lived in a condo at Allen and Sheppard. For sentimental reasons I decided to sell my condo and move into my father’s. My cats and I moved about 5 weeks ago. Hopefully, it will not be too difficult to sell my place.

I must say that my father’s condo is in a much, much nicer building than mine. However, I wish my dad was still around and I would still be living at my old place. It’s really terribly hard to believe that he passed away. I find it unbelievable. But I know it is true.

Next week I will drive to Montreal to visit my uncle for a couple of days. It will be nice to see him. He is my dad’s older brother; a very ‘young’ 74 years old. He is an optometrist and still works full-time.

It was another successful event. For those who attended the convention they know how wonderful it was.

Although she does not like her name mentioned too much I feel it is necessary to publicly thank JOAN CAESAR for putting together and operating the convention is such fine fashion. It really is a tough job and quite often thankless.

So many wonderful magic moments took place over the three days in Kitchener. The Gala Magic Show on Saturday was just super. The performances were all excellent and memorable from: Arden James, Oscar Munoz, Tony Chapek, Ryan Joyce, James Dimmaire and M.C. Aldo Colombini.

And for the Close-Up Magic lovers there were super performances and lectures by Boris Wild, Steve Beam, Aldo Colombini, David Ben, Doc Eason and more.

But without a doubt the big buzz around the convention was easily about TAMARIZ. His one-man close up show was just super. I had seen him on video…But you’ve got to see him in person. Maybe I am old school already when it comes to close-up magic, but Tamariz makes you laugh (a lot!) and fools the heck out of you! I mean really fool. And for me, that’s close-up magic at it’s finest…Funny with knock your socks off magic.

Tamariz gave a lecture on the Friday night that ended at 1am. Almost all attendees stayed for the entire lecture including me. It was probably the most memorable and important lecture that I have seen in many years. It is easily in the top 3 that I have ever seen.

Also, some of our customers won awards including: Neil Morril, Luke Murray, Eric Leclerc and Al Grose.

Joan made a big announcement at the convention. Joan has always had the vision that the Canadian Association of Magicians should be a national organization. And she announced that the 2009 convention would take place in Quebec.

I must tell you that as much fun and memorable as many of the planned events were at the convention what make the event so special is what goes on amongst the attendees around the planned events. That is, many of the stars of the convention stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking magic with one another and with the attendees. Imagine having stars of magic such as Tamariz, Steve Beam, David Ben, Aldo Colombini, Doc Eason, Julie Eng, Boris Wild and more talking magic until 4am or 5am?

Here at the shop Jeff Hinchliffe has been doing an excellent job. All of the details about the Magic Classes that we offer can be found on our homepage.

My two Siamese cat friends are doing well. They are enjoying the warm weather and like to watch all the little creatures moving around outside.

I live on the second floor of a condo building. In the past being close to the ground level resulted in the occasional bug getting into my place.

I mentioned to my father a while back that it is funny that bugs no longer seem to come into my place. And my dad said ‘Oh they still come in. But with your two new little friends (cats) they don’t get out.’

We are very excited that one of our two big Summer Lecturers this year will be Roberto Giobbi! Yes, the author of the fantastically popular Card College Books will be giving a 3-hour lecture/seminar here in Toronto. We do not have any more details right now other than the date. And the date of the lecture will be Sunday, August 12th; probably at 2pm.

So, please make sure to keep that Sunday open. You will not want to miss this one, we promise!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our wonderful customers. Our shop is truly blessed with many dedicated customers.

December is not yet over however I am pleased that our November and December sales have been strong. Who says that the brick and mortar shops are going to go out of business because of the Internet Magic Stores?

On a personal note I must say that I am truly blessed. That is, I have been able to make a living from what was really just a hobby for me. Sure, I did some kid shows when I was young but that’s about it.

I am blessed by having two super co-workers in Shawna and John. I am blessed by having Gerry do our website. I am blessed too by having my father, Manny do many of the financial record preparation for the store.

I am not a religious person at all. However I do believe in the meaning behind the following statement by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and I quote ‘God is the silent partner in all great enterprises.’

That is, I have been given these past 11 years since I purchased ‘Browser’s Den’ the good health to work 6 days a week. And the good fortune to have many wonderful customers and the people that I mentioned above (Shawna, John, Gerry, Manny).

I am very excited that Jeff Hinchliffe will be joining our team here at the shop. He will be working here one day each week on Thursdays from noon until closing. I have known Jeff Hinchliffe for pretty much all of the 11 years since I took over the shop. Jeff was the first young teenager to hang out at our shop during my time here. He is also the first recipient of the Len Cooper Memorial Award back in 2003.

Going back 5 or 6 years ago, Jeff Hinchliffe could be found sitting in the shop at the card table with a pack of playing cards 3 to 4 days each week when he was young. Jeff is excellent with playing cards.

And starting in the New Year you can book a two-hour block of time with Jeff Hinchliffe for private, one-on-one lessons on card magic. The time available for the lesson is from 12 noon until 2pm and the cost is $50 total for the two-hour block. If you would like more information or to book a Thursday with Jeff please give us a call at 416-783-7022.

In several months from now the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM) MAGIC CONVENTION will be taking place. It is truly a fantastic convention! The convention will take place over three days and it is truly amazing the line-up and fun that takes place.

Some of the performers already booked to lecture and/or perform are: JUAN TAMARIZ, STEVE BEAM, TONY CHAPEK, ALDO COLOMBINI, JAMES DIMMARE, DAVID GINN, HIAWATHA, ARDEN JAMES, LON MANDRAKE, DAVID MERRY, OSCAR MUNOZ, MIKE SEGAL, BILL SPOONER, BORIS WILD. And there will be plenty more who will be booked as the convention gets closer.

Plus there will be Magic Competitions in both Close-Up and Stage. There is also a GALA MAGIC SHOW at no extra charge.

There will also be a room filled with Magic Dealers and all their goodies (All Tax-Free!) including: Browser's Den of Magic, Aldo Colombini, Elmwood Magic, David Ginn, Morrissey Magic, Hank & Jackie Moorehouse, Oscar Munoz, Boris Wild.

We have attended all 3 previous conventions and each time they get better. The atmosphere is just wonderful!

So why am I emailing so many months in advance? Good question. The reason is that putting together a convention of this quality is very expensive. And the sooner you send in your registration fees the easier it is for the organization and the more flexibility they have to add some special bonuses to the convention to make it even more fun and special!

Our business has no stake in the convention. However, we want it to be a success and to grow. And we need your help in order to make this happen.

SO HERE IS OUR SPECIAL OFFER TO YOU: IF YOU REGISTER TO ATTEND THE CONVENTION BEFORE THE END OF FEBRUARY 2007 WE WILL PUT YOUR NAME IN A LOTTERY AND ONE LUCKY PERSON WILL BE DRAWN AND WILL RECEIVE A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO USE AT OUR MAGIC BOOTH AT THE CONVENTION!

How do you register for the convention? All you have to do is visit the web site www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com and all the information is there. Of if you prefer you can pick-up the registration forms here at our shop.

At the end of February who is the person behind this wonderful convention, will send me a list of all those people across Canada and the U.S. who have registered.

So please, before you get busy with the holiday rush take 15 minutes from your schedule and register. You will not regret it. The cost of the convention if you register before March 15, 2007 for non-members of CAM is only $145.00 FOR ALL 3 DAYS!!!! It's a bargain!!!

On a final note I have also decided to do something that I have been thinking about for quite some time. I, like many others, love animals. I have two Siamese cat brothers who are like children to me. At the CAM Convention I have decided that between 5% and 10% of our net profits will be donated to the 'Toronto Humane Society'.

It’s the last day of the CNE. The kids go back to school tomorrow. The summer is for all practical purposes over.

We sure had a lot of magic happenings this summer. There was the wonderfully entertaining and thought provoking mentalism show of Max Maven. Then there were super lectures by John Mendoza, Eugene Burger and Joe Givan.

And we had the book release of Canadian born magic icon Dai Vernon written by Canada’s own David Ben. Magic Mike had another successful Magic Camp week.

And this fall starting September 5th Canada’s very own Jay Sankey will be doing magic on a new television series called ‘SPELLZ’ on TV Ontario.

Our Anniversary Party to celebrate our 31st year in business will take place on Sunday, November 19th. There will be a Mini-Auction at 10:00am. And during the rest of the day there will be discounts, surprises, food, cake, pop, coffee and the announcement of the Len Cooper Memorial Award to a young magician. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL ALL BE ABLE TO JOIN IN ON THE FUN.

Nothing new personally to tell you about. My cats are doing well. They will be 1 year old in October and I will take them to their vet to make sure that all is well. Recently I have found that these two Siamese brothers enjoy eating Pineapple, Tomato Juice, Mustard and their favorite…Plastic Bags. Of course I do not let them eat any of this.

Wow, it has been about ten and a half years since I purchased ‘Browser’s Den Of Magic’ from the original owners Len and Bernice Cooper. Yes, it was November 1995 when I took over. A lot has taken place over these past 10 and a half years. And yet at the same time much of ‘Browser’s Den’ has remained the same.

I have met so many nice customers. Far far, too many to mention. A couple of whom who even ended up working here part-time such as Andrew Graham and Matthew Fenton. Both of whom worked here on Saturdays. They helped out in other ways too. Matthew worked here for about 5 years on Saturdays. He became a very strong demonstrator. Matt has gone onto bigger things since his time here. He has been very successful at University. And is presently working in the area of Finance in downtown Toronto.

And the business has been blessed with two full-time employees. Shawna has been working here now for more than 4 years. And John for more than 3 years. Both Shawna and John try hard each and every day to keep this little business going in the right direction.

My father, Manny also helps out in so many ways. He does all of our financial statements and some other boring but much needed accounting stuff.

And what can I say about Gerry our web master? Not only does he keep the site working well but he also shoots my silly demos. And he helps us out here at the shop when we mess up the computer. That’s right…We mess up the computer and Gerry fixes it. And for what? He is very successful in his field at Rogers the cable people. And as successful and busy as he is, he still has time for us.

During these past ten years we also hit the 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS plateau! In 2005 the shop turned thirty years old. Many customers have come and gone over these past 30 years. Yet we are blessed with so many that are still coming to the shop since the first year in 1975. And now some of them bring in their own children or their grandchildren.

Some unpleasant things have happened too. Some of our customers have passed away. And the two key people for so many years in the magic business also passed away. Our founder Len Cooper and our friendly competitor Herb Morrissey both passed away over the past three years. Both were so influential in helping people with their magic; both professionals and hobbyists.

About 3 years after I took over we moved into a larger store. We have been located in the same plaza for 22 years. And in 1998 we moved to our present, larger location. With the added space we have been able to grow to parts of our product line, the books and dvd’s.

When I first took over the shop both Len Cooper and Herb Morrissey told me that books do not sell. Well, I know that we have many customers who only buy dvd’s. But we are blessed with many customers who love to buy the books. We are very proud to have the largest selection of magic books in Canada. It took us ten and a half years to accomplish this and we thank YOU for making it possible. DVD’s are super but books are great too. And they allow you to ‘put’ some of yourself into the trick if you know what I mean. I still maintain that if there was a magician alive who could do 10% of the magic effects in the Tarbell Course In Magic, they would be the most knowledgeable magician alive.

Also during these past 10 years Mike Segal started his overnight magic camp. It has been a lot of work for him; but it has also been a success. He and his team have had many kids grow to teenagers and young adults over the past 10 years. Last year at the Canadian Association of Magicians Convention Mike Segal received a lifetime achievement award for promoting magic.

And that reminds me that I should mention that there has been three super Magic Conventions for Canadians since 2003. Every two years a magic convention in Kitchener (Just 55 minutes from Toronto.) takes place. And let me tell you that it is as good or better than almost any magic convention in the world; I mean that.

The person who is the heart and soul and brain of the convention is Joan Caesar. Joan works tirelessly to make the convention a success. She gets acts and lecturers from all over the world.

Several years ago Joan Caesar started the Canadian Association of Magicians. It is the only Canada-wide magic association for Canadians in existence. The association has grown a lot over the past few years. But I really wish more of our wonderful customers would step up to the plate and join the club. I think that it is only $15.00/year to join? Fifteen bucks! And every 3 months you receive at no extra charge a very nice magic magazine named, ‘Northern Peaks’. And every two years in June you get the opportunity to attend a magic convention. The convention is two and a half days long; and you will get the magic blast of your life!

On another we have been able to offer fantastic lectures over these past 10 years including: John Carney, Johnny Thompson, Bill Abbott, Lee Asher, Max Maven, David Ben, Johnny Ace Palmer, Nate Kranzo, Al Grose, Aaron Fisher, Gregory Wilson, Jamy Ian Swiss, Mike Close, Charlie McBurney, Bob King, Garret Thomas, Mike Ross, Dan Harlan, Jay Sankey, Derek Finn, Paul Wildbaum, Joshua Jay and some others that this middle-aged shopkeeper forgets.

Over these past ten years the Internet and email has become an important part of our lives. Most if not all of us have email addresses. And we spend time not only on the Internet but time sending and responding to emails. It has been a communications revolution.

Tools have always been an extension of our bodies. The ladder is an extension of our legs. The shovel is an extension of our hands. There is a ton of examples. Of course the written word has been a way of extending our minds. But now with the Internet we can extend our minds and thoughts at lightening speed. In a sense, the Internet and email is an extension of our brain/spinal cord.

Anyway, even after 10 and a half years and all together 16 years of selling magic I still think that magic is one of the best hobbies that exist. It makes you think. It makes you think about yourself. It makes you think about the people you are showing the magic to and their reactions. It makes you read. It helps you to learn to have patience. And you can even make a little bit of money once in a while from your hobby; though I strongly believe that should not be your goal.

And thank you for coming along for the ride on the ‘Browser’s Den Of Magic’ journey.

I do hope that all is well. Things here at the shop are A-Okay. And I do hope that many of you will be able to attend our upcoming Store Auction on Sunday, April 2nd. You will have some fun and be able to get super low prices. You can find out all of the details about the auction on the homepage of our web site.

In my last journal entry I wrote about my cat Sparky who passed away. I, like many people, find it VERY tough when a pet passes away.

One of our many good customers of the shop is Bobby Motta. Bobby tends to visit us about once per week. So, he is very much a regular.

When Bobby read my journal entry about Sparky he told me that he was very much affected by it. He made his wife, Alana read the entry too. Alana is a very kind girl too. The two of them make a nice couple. Anyway, Bobby came into the shop and said that he wanted to get me a new cat. At first I said no because I just had lost Sparky. And I am a little funny in that I do not like replacing things. It seems as if everything is replaceable including living things. And I do not like that. I suppose it is a survival mechanism inside of us that kicks-in during sad times and allows most of to ‘move on’. I don’t like that concept very much. But I suppose that is the healthy way to live our lives.

If you remember in my other entry when my first cat (Rocky) died in 1999 who I had from 1979 to 1999 I did not in fact get a new cat for the reasons I mention above. Sparky was a cat that I was supposed to only take care of for a few weeks and then the owner did not want back.

But I told Bobby I would think about it. And over a few days I thought a little differently about Sparky than my first cat Rocky. And that is, Sparky taught me that I should provide a good home for a pet. Sparky gave me so much affection that perhaps I thought that by getting another cat I would in fact honor Sparky rather than replacing her. Honor her life by providing a good home to another cat because Sparky taught me that I do know how to take care of a pet. Sparky was not taken care of by her previous owner; and that still hurts me. So, by taking good care of a new pet I would keep Sparky’s memory alive in my mind.

So, I told Bobby that yes I will get another cat. In fact I told Bobby that I wished to get two new kittens Siamese. Sparky was Siamese. I wanted two because the fact is I live by myself and even a cat needs some company too rather than just a few hours at night when I get back from the shop.

Bobby and his wife worked hard to find a breeder of Siamese cats. What drove me nuts is that Bobby insisted in buying one of the cats for me. I told him that the work that he and Alana did in finding the breeder was more than enough. In fact I called up Alana to discuss the matter but she told me that it would make Bobby feel good if I would allow him to buy me one of the cats.

So, on Boxing Day Bobby and I went to the breeder. There must have been about 9 kittens to choose from. They were all cute! Finally, I decided to get two brothers (Five weeks old.). Bobby named the cats; I will keep that a secret for now.

I took my two little friends to the vet and they got a clean bill of health. In the past 4 months that I have had them they have had their shots and are doing fine. I had forgot how much more energy kittens have compared to adult cats.

And what is great is that their nature is very similar to Sparky. At night the two of them sleep in my arms or practically on my head.

I really want to publicly thank Bobby Motta for buying me one of the cats and for generally pushing me in the right direction. I am forever grateful for his thoughtfulness.

The weather has certainly taken a turn for the worse. Mind you the snow sure is pretty when it first falls. But I, like most of you do not find it much fun driving in it or walking through it.

On November 6th we celebrated our 30th year in business at our annual anniversary party. Shawna, John & I were blown away by the amount of people who attended. It was the biggest turnout that I can remember in about 5 years. Thank you to all who attended. ‘Browser’s Den’ is sure lucky to have so many regular customers.

Card expert Lee Asher visited our magic club on December 3. Usually we get between 15 and 25 people attending the club. However, last night with Lee Asher visiting we had between 80 and 100! John and I were again blown away. A big thank you to Mr.Asher and Magic Mike Segal for making this happen. Lee was just great. He spent time walking around and meeting our customers and then later on showed some of his wonderful card work.

On another note I just cannot get over how many of our newer (Less than five years.) customers have progressed with their magic knowledge and skills. Forgive me if I forget some names but they include people such as: James Harrisson, Shane Cobalt, Bobby Motta, Ben Train, Nik V., Ray Chance, James Fulford, Adam Cook, Peter Kitchen, Neal Croswell. Sure we all have more to learn and perfect but it is still very impressive.

Again, I am reminded by our webmaster, Gerry that this journal is not really for me to write about magic. And so if I am to follow his direction I will share with you my week that just ended. Before I go on I want to publicly thank once again Gerry for his hard work and advice with our web site and other business topics. THANKS GERRY!!!

If you do not want to get depressed you may want to pass on reading the rest of this journal. But here it goes…

I lost a very dear friend this week. Not a human being. And I know this may sound silly, but rather a cat. I only had her for two years. She was not a young cat. Two years ago I was asked to do someone a favor and hold onto two cats for a couple of weeks. Well, I try my best to trust people but sure enough the two weeks became three and then four and eventually she told she did not want them back. In the mean time of course I got attached to one of them. I had had a cat from 1979 to 1999…twenty years! And when he passed away I really did not want to get another cat because it is so hard to say goodbye.

The cat who passed away this week was Siamese. I don’t know what type. All I can tell you is that she had to me what I call a classical look with tan coloured fur dark coloured legs and face. Such as in the Disney films. Anyway, she was for me like a dog than a cat.

I would come home and as soon as I would sit on the couch she would jump into my arms, turn upside down and close her eyes. If I would sit on the couch for 3 hours straight, she would sleep in my arms for 3 hours straight. She did not jump if the phone rang like most other cats.

If I went to the washroom she would follow me like a dog and wait right outside the door. When I took my morning shower she would sit waiting for me on the bathtub towel.

When I would lye down on the couch to watch television she would sleep/rest on my neck! Any closer and she would have been sitting on my head!

And unlike most other cats she never ever tried to give me a little bit of a bite.

She was not well from the time I got her. The previous owner had neglected her health. I would be surprised if the two cats had ever been taken to a vet. I should tell you the name of the cat, Sparky. More of a dog’s name but maybe that made sense the way she acted. She had gingivitis and ultimately after ten zillion visits (and tons of money) to the vet I reluctantly had her teeth removed.

When her teeth were removed she was kept at the vet for 1 week. I visited her every day after work. They allowed me to hold her. As upset as she was from the operation and being in an unfamiliar location she stayed in my arms purring until I put her back in the cage.

She also caught somehow a bacteria. I guess her immune system was weakened from the gingivitis.

Well, for about 9 months everything seemed good. Her health seemed fine. And then I took her and the other cat for a general check-up and whammo! Her x-ray showed lung cancer. And there was nothing the vet told me that we could do; it was too advanced. I was told that Sparky had 3 to 4 months. Instead it was a lousy 7 weeks.

On this past Wednesday Sparky died. And I really do miss her. I really do want to thank her for all of the affection she gave me.

Sparky was not a large cat. She weighed about 7.4 pounds. And I would say that if one measured the love in her soul that 6 of the 7.4 pounds must have been from the size of her heart.

I cannot believe that it is September 5th! It really seems to be true that as we get older our perception of time changes. Time just seems to speed-up. Of course it does not but it really feels as if it does.

My good friend Bernie has once again returned to the Canadian National Exhibition to operate his magic booth. Bernie has been selling magic at the CNE for 14 seasons; quite an accomplishment. His magic booth is located in the ‘Hobbies Building’. I have visited the CNE for about 3 years straight now but will not go back this year. I must admit that I find the ‘SuperDogs’ show amusing. But I am not into rides or games and there really is so little to see compared to years ago. Now, it is mostly vendors. Most of which are not selling anything particularly interesting. Oh well…Times change.

Here at the shop my right-hand magic demonstrator John has just returned from a well-deserved two-week vacation. During the two weeks, John his wife and their daughter visited Florida and Disney and spent a few days at a cottage north of Toronto. They had a wonderful time and have lots of photos to show Shawna & I.

Shawna was an unbelievable help over these past two weeks. She must have answered the phone hundreds of times and did her best fielding magic questions. She is not a demonstrator but has learned a lot about what the tricks do and if they are difficult or not to perform. THANKS SHAWNA! Without your help the two weeks would have been very tough. Thankfully, the past two weeks were very busy with lots of kids and adults visiting the shop.

Over these past two weeks we have also hosted two outstanding lectures. Both the Max Maven and Gregory Wilson lecture were very well attended. Thanks to those who came out and supported the lectures. And a very special thanks to two people who are really responsible for bringing these people into Canada. Thanks to Mr. David Ben for bringing Max Maven to Canada. And thanks to Mr. Mike Segal for bringing in Gregory Wilson. ‘Browsers’ Den’ is very lucky to have Mr. Ben and Mr. Segal as friends.

At the Max Maven lecture we were pleasantly surprised that legend of magic, Billy McComb showed-up!!! Accompanying Mr. McComb were Mr. Charles Reynolds; a noted magic historian who was a consultant for Doug Henning in the 1970’s. And famed magic publisher Mr. Stephen Minch! These gentlemen were in Toronto visiting with David Ben. It made the lecture even more special.

We also had Mr. Lee Asher drop by the shop. Mr. Asher came to Canada to spend a week as he usually does at Mike Segals Magic Camp, Sorcerer’s Safari. A few of the young magicians who hang around the shop were shocked when Lee walked in. Lee was kind enough to show them a bit of stuff too. Of course he blew them away.

So, all in all we had a busy summer at the shop. The lectures and of course the CAM Convention in June made the summer really fly by.

I cannot believe that come this November it will have been 10 years since I took over ‘Browser’s Den’. I took over the shop when I was 29 years old in November 1995. The business has changed a lot over the past 10 years. The Internet has just exploded creating competition but also opportunities. We have tried our best to bring you new product and yet keep the same down to earth friendly feeling for those who visit our shop in Toronto.

A BIG thanks to my father, Manny for all of his love and support over these past 10 years. My dad also helps out by doing all of our financial statements besides his visits at our special store events.

Once again the web master genius Gerry, reminds me that I am supposed to write some personal information in the Journal. Well, if I am to be honest…I am a little tired. I have worked basically 6 days a week for the past 10 years; 12 hours each of those 6 days.

I still love magic. But perhaps all of those hours have taken a toll on me. There are so many of our customers who buy books and/or dvd’s that are technically demanding. And they practice like crazy. So, many can do much more difficult magic than I. However, there are many, many others young and old who are not willing to go home and sit down with the directions and read it for themselves. We try our best by helping the customers. After all that is one of the differences between a brick and mortar store and an Internet-Only based store. Having said that though, it makes giving proper service to everyone all the more difficult when we have to teach every trick to the person who is buying them.

So many are not willing to go home and sit down in a quiet part of their house and read the directions. The directions are so much better written now than when I was a kid; really! It has to do I suppose with the speed of life these days. Well, no point in really complaining about it. It doubt that it will change in my lifetime; probably only get worse. So, I will just have to learn to accept it. But, it does take away from the enjoyment of running the shop.

Thanks to those of you who joined the Canadian Association of Magicians. It feels good to support the only Canadian Magic Association. The annual membership dues are only $15.00 and you get a nice magazine about 4 times each year. For those who are still thinking about it…Stop thinking about it and give us a call at the shop to join. We will take care of everything for you. All the money goes to the Canadian Association of Magicians. And every two years you get to attend a magic convention. To find out more about the association why not take 10 minutes and visit their web site www.CanadianAssociationOfMagicians.com

Last week, Shawna and I were at the magic convention in Kitchener. What a great time we had. It was nice to see so many familiar faces. As most of you know every two years the Canadian Association of Magicians holds a three day magic convention in Kitchener; just 1 hour outside of Toronto. We, as well as about 7 other dealers set-up magic booths in the dealer’s room where attendee’s can make purchases.

We brought a lot of stuff and thankfully sales were strong. John Cardella kept the shop open here in Toronto; thanks John! We met many magicians. And the attendee’s were treated to a very strong line-up of talent. There were lectures and performances by Jason Latimer, Martin Nash, Murray Hatfield, Shoot Ogawa, Rocco, Romaine, Jay Sankey, Owen Anderson, Obie O’Brian, Hank Moorehouse and more.

Rocco’s lecture on sleeving was one of the highlights for me. And meeting Rocco was a real treat. He is one heck of a character. Meeting Martin Nash was also a treat. When I was a young child in the 1970’s there was a magic show on television almost every Saturday morning for about 3 years. It was called something like the ‘Dale Harney Magic Show’. It originated from Calgary, Alberta. On the show there were the greats and the not-so greats. And Martin Nash was on very often because not only was he one of the greats but he also happened to live out in western Canada. On the show there were performances by Albert Goshman, Daryl, Max Maven, Pete Biro, Ron Wilson, Charlie Miller, Harry Blackstone Jr., George Johnston, Don Allan, and so many more that I cannot remember.

So…getting back to the convention…It really was a great time had by all. The Gala Show is a stage show and performances this year included: Jason Latimer, Nels Cremean (a fantastically funny juggler), Rocco, Jorgos Katsaros, Murry Hatfield and Teresa. Hank Moorehouse was the M.C. There was also terrific buzz after the close-up show.

It was nice to see many of our customers. And it was particularly nice to see some of our customers who live outside Toronto. And I met for the first time two young magicians. Their names are Ben Proudfoot and Kevin Donelle. They are two wonderful young men; so polite. And it is such a breath of fresh air to see such a love for magic with some young fellows. Ben Proudfoot competed and won in the close-up competition!! Congratulations Ben!!!!

Before I forget I want to thank Mr. John Michalson for helping us out at the convention. John was at our booth selling magic and really was a tremendous help. Thanks John!!

One of the nice moments at the convention was when (Magic) Mike Segal and his wife Jennifer won an award for their contribution to magic in Canada. As you know Mike started the magic camp, Sorcerer’s Safari. And he has put in endless hours promoting the camp and keeping it running. It was a very emotional for Mike. In fact he was only one of three award winners whom received a standing ovation; the others were Martin Nash and Murray Hatfield. ( For more information about the camp see the link to his web site on our homepage.)

And I want to especially thank Joan Caesar for putting on the convention. Without her GIANT efforts there would be no convention. It was the largest turnout for the convention yet. Though, I do wish too that more of you would have come out and joined in the fun. Well, you have two years until the next one.

Everything about the convention was great and though it was a lot of work I am looking forward to 2007. A special thanks too to Nick Sacco for his guidance and encouragement.

I hope that all is well with you. The weather has finally warmed-up. Well, it is not that warm I suppose but at least the dreaded snow has disappeared for now.

Thanks to those who attended our in-shop auction a couple of weeks ago. I think that it was our biggest auction ever! So many items; so many huge bargains for you our customers. There were 97 lots. And 92 of the 97 sold; so mission accomplished. And for those who bought some of the auctioned items…Thank you very much! The auction started at about 10:15am and ended at 5:15pm with a couple of short breaks during the day.

My uncle from Montreal visited with my dad and I last weekend. He stayed for three days. It was very nice to see him. He is a 71-year-old optometrist who lives in Montreal; that’s where I was born. He is a dynamo for his age. He does about 300 sit-ups Sunday mornings and about 200 push-ups!

My dad bought tickets for the three of us to attend the ‘Ain’t Misbehaving’ musical that is playing in Toronto. I really enjoyed it! The performers were given a standing ovation at the end of the show. The musical is playing until the end of June; so if you are able you should really go and see it. What a treat it was to see and hear real talent.

We took Uncle Jerry to see the new Bass Pro Shop at the relatively new Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre near Canada’s Wonderland. What a retail store. It is like something one would experience only in a Disney or Vegas type shopping experience. For me though the shop does not have stuff I need. In fact the only people who will really find something to buy are those who are hunters. If you like to kill animals of all types and sizes then this shop is for you. Me, I eat meat but I really do not have the heart to take an animal’s life away from them.

I cannot believe that we are only about 6 weeks away from the Magic Convention in Kitchener! I really hope you decide to attend even if just for one day. To find out more about the convention visit www.canadianassociationofmagicians.com

My cats are doing fine. I am taking them in May for their semi-annual check-up. Hopefully, all will be well for them and my wallet.

I cannot believe it has been since December 25 since I added a new journal entry. Man…time does just go by so quickly. I do hope that all is well with you. All is good here at the shop. We are excited about the upcoming in shop magic auction on Sunday, April 10 (10am until 4pm). Lots of bargains to be grabbed by you our fun-loving customers.

But again…This journal is supposed to be personal. Well…let’s see now…what is new in my life? Nothing! Same old same old! I hope you guys are not living vicariously through me. My pussycats are doing fine thank you for asking. Business has been steady thank you. My health has been steady thank you.

Too bad that the hockey season has been cancelled. I cannot say that I care as much about hockey as I did when I was a kid…in the 1970’s. But I still do enjoy a good game. You have to remember that I was born in Montreal and my favorite hockey team was/is the Montreal Canadiens. And when I was a kid the Montreal Canadiens won 5 or 6 Stanley Cups in the 1970’s!! Can you imagine these are some of the players that made up their team: Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Ken Dryden, Steve Shutt, Yvan Courneyer, Mario Trembaly, Pierre Mondu, Bob Gainey, Jacques Lemaire, Guy Lapointe and others that slip my memory. I mean most of the time the puck was in the opponents end. But if they were lucky once in a while the other team would have the puck and then had to get by the defense of Robinson/Lapointe/Savard? And then if they got through those guys they had to put the puck behind Ken Dryden? And of course behind the bench of the Canadiens was Scotty Bowman!! It’s a miracle they lost any games at all. In fact I believe one season they won or tied 72 of the 80 game season!!! These days you usually just have two good guys on a team.

I watched the Academy Awards this year for the first time in many years. I suppose I really do not see many movies any more so for me it was quite boring. And if memory serves me right they used to have so many more actors come out and give out the awards. Most of the time this year, they just had some of the actors who were nominated that night go up and give out some other award. For the last Oscar they had Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. They need to have more actors like that come out and give out an award; I think it would make the night more glamorous. This is going to sound like I am crazy…and maybe I am…but the favorite part of the Academy Awards ceremony for me has always been the 10 minutes or so that they show clips of people who passed away over the course of the previous year. I did like the fact they showed a few moments of Johnny Carson. Most of you know that Johnny Carson was an amateur magician most of his life. Both of the major magazines that we sell did a piece on Johnny Carson right after he passed away. And he was a good amateur magician.

My uncle from Montreal is flying into Toronto next weekend to visit my dad and I. Actually it is my birthday in March so he thought it would be a good time to visit. I cannot believe how many of our regular customers have birthdays in March. I wonder if there is anything to it? I won’t mention names but there are so many of our customers and a few quite prominent Toronto magicians who celebrate their birthdays in this month.

I had dinner with Bernie the Magic Man last week. Bernie has been selling magic at his magic booth at the CNE for 12 or so years. He is a good demonstrator and a very nice fellow. We went for dinner to Mr.Greek; I thought it was good and very fairly priced.

Well, that’s about all in this ‘exciting’ life right now. I hope to see you soon.

It is Christmas Day today. And I and John and Shawna really do wish you a wonderful holiday season. And in particular a happy and healthy new year! It is the time of year when we really all need to say thanks for what we have rather than what we have not.

I am thankful that many of you stocked up on Christmas and Hanukkah magic gifts for yourselves or loved ones.

On a sad note one of our customers and dear magic friend of ‘Browser’s Den’ passed away last week. Joel Machtinger passed away at the tender age of 62. Joel was diagnosed with Leukemia six months ago and lost his battle. Joel was a master of sleight of hand magic. He would come to the shop usually on Saturday mornings and sometimes would show us some of his wonderful sleight of hand with cards or coins. Many of our customers may not know that Joel won second place at FISM (The Olympics of Magic in Europe) some 20 years ago in the close up magic category; that is some accomplishment! Joel performed throughout the world in many classy places. He leaves us far too soon.

On a much brighter note I went to see the ‘Tricks’ magic show starring Mr. David Ben. I went to the show with Shawna, John and his family, and my father. Wow…That is all I can really say. I mean it…wow! David Ben put on an excellent show. He is a true living master of magic. The show was 90 minutes in length with no breaks. And David performed all types of magic in VERY entertaining manner. There was magic for anyone’s tastebuds; cards, cups & balls, linking rings, psychic feats, floating effects, mentalism, finger rings,needle swallowing, effects with smoke, etc. And I must say that the magician in me really loved his Cups & Balls routine. Talk about hiding your skill? I mean David Ben performed a very difficult version of the cups and nobody unless you were a magician would be able to tell how difficult the sleights were that he was executing. And as a result…It looked like real magic! Dai Vernon and Ross Bertram I think would be proud because they always said that the good magicians hide their skill.

Anyway, I hope that many of you went to see David. He is worth seeing. And we as part of the magic community should support other magicians efforts especially when they are of such a high level of quality!

A couple of weeks ago we hosted a lecture by Jamy Ian Swiss. And again…Wow did I really enjoy myself! I had never seen his lecture. Jamy did cards but in particular his lecture was about the theory behind his magic. It was all so very interesting. Jamy is passionate about magic. And it deeply upsets him when others do not try and perform their effects properly. I highly recommend you seeing him lecture next time you have an opportunity.

This journal is also supposed to be about my personal life. Not much new to tell you about. My cats are doing well. And the one who was sick with gum disease seems to be doing very well now. And my wallet is slowly healing too. She is such a loving cat and I am happy to help her.

We had our 30th Anniversary Party last week at the shop. Thanks to so many of you who attended. The day started off at 10am with a mini-magic auction. And then we had party sandwiches, popcorn machine and lots of other stuff too. At 4pm Bernice Cooper presented the ‘Len Cooper Memorial Award’ to Nik Vucicievich. Nik was given a full set of the ‘Tarbell Course in Magic’ books.

I must say that we are truly blessed here at ‘Browser’s’ with some wonderful customers. Here is an example: About two weeks before our anniversary party one of our customers in St.Thomas, Ontario called us up and told us that he wanted to pay for one of the books of the Tarbell Course that is to be given away at the party. I tried to convince him that it was not necessary and that there was a joint fund between our shop and the Len Cooper family to cover the expense of the books. But he would not accept that and he told me that he thought it was great that we were keeping Len Cooper’s spirit alive.

So, on behalf of our shop and the Len Cooper family I would like to publicly than Mr. Mike Fisher of his contribution! THANKS MIKE!

Another fun event that Shawna, John and I attended was the November meeting of the IBM Ring 49 in Hamilton, Ontario. We were invited by club president Mr.Nick Sacco to do a dealer show; that is, we essentially bring lots of the supplies from the shop and do demonstrations for the club members. It was a nice turn out; about 35 people and sales were good. It was a good experience for all of us. Shawna kept us in business by actually completing the sales with the members. The Hamilton club is filled with wonderful people and if any of you live not too far from Hamilton you may want to consider joining the club. Feel free to email us if you want more information about joining the Doug Henning IBM Ring 49 Magic Club.

I cannot believe how good some of our customers are at sleight of hand. I really have to improve my skills to keep up with them. Operating the shop though requires a lot more hours than some people may realize. But I must try and learn some new stuff.

Hey guys…Do not forget that in June 2005 the next magic convention is taking place in Kitchener on June 16, 17 and 18. Really should try to attend. I mean we have nothing financially to gain by telling you but if you do not attend you are really missing out on something special! We will send out an eflyer with all of the details sometime early in the New Year. But for now please try and set aside those days for the convention.

As you guys know this journal is supposed to contain some of my personal thoughts; not an easy thing for me to do. So I suppose I have filled up enough of this entry with the business events/happenings.

Not much new to tell you personally anyway. My father is well and still does our accounting statements and helps us out at most of our special events.

I had to make a very difficult decision with one of my cats. I had to have her teeth removed; all of them! It was about 6 months before I finally decided to give the green light to the vet; we had spent a lot of time and money trying to save them but to no avail. She is just such a loving cat. She is an older cat (I will not tell you how old; girls don’t like that.). I have only owned her for one year. In fact I was supposed to just be temporarily taking care of two cats. But the owner did not want them back. And the worst part is that the owner did not take proper care of their teeth.

I had a cat for 20 years and it was so difficult to say goodbye I did not want any more. However, I could not give away such older cats. And of course I got very attached to them; especially the one with the bad gums.

So she had the surgery almost a week ago. She is doing fine. She is still at the ‘Cat Hospital’ and I hope to be able to bring her home Monday or Tuesday. I have been visiting her every night for the past few days. Probably sounds silly to you that I do that but that’s just me. Sometimes I think I show my feelings more easily towards animals than towards people.

As a final note…Thanks again for keeping us in business. I have met so many wonderful people since I took over the shop. In fact this is the beginning of my 10th year since I took over the shop from Len & Bernice Cooper. I had sold magic for 6 summers at Canada’s Wonderland and in November 1995 bought the shop.

I hope that all is well. The summer has come to an end. I know that it is not officially the end of the summer; however, when the CNE closes and the kids go back to school…the summer is over. Too bad the sun disappeared for pretty much the entire season. Who knows, perhaps it is a sign that the winter will be mild.

Here at Browser’s we had a couple of excellent lectures. During August we had on two separate days, Jay Sankey and Johnny Thompson. Jay had the largest turnout ever in the history of Browser’s Den. There were about 125 magicians who attended! Jay’s lecture was excellent. That’s no surprise…after all, Jay is not only an excellent magician but he is entertaining too! I was happy too that Jay made a lot of sales of goods afterwards. I have nothing to gain by his sales but I am happy whenever the magicians support the lecturers.

And the Johnny Thompson was how shall I put it? Hmmm….how about WONDERFUL!!! It really was wonderful. The lecture was well attended and there must have been 40 people waiting in a line after the lecture for Thompson’s signature. Johnny performed many of the classics of magic. I especially enjoyed the ‘Balls in the Net’ routine. He also had a wonderful touch on the old ‘Glass Through Table’ effect. Thompson also spent about 45 minutes just telling us about his life, words of advice and Dai Vernon stories.

Magic Mike and his wife Jennifer completed another successful season of overnight magic camp. Mike also had many big names attending the camps including: Lee Asher, Nathan Kranzo, Oscar Munoz.

We have another lecture coming up in October. Joshua Jay from the United States will be giving a lecture on close up magic here at the shop. The lecture will be at 2PM on Sunday, October 3. Ticket prices will be $15.00 and you may pay at the door. We had Joshua give a lecture here at the shop 5 years ago and it was excellent. I am certain that 5 years later it will be even better.

I also had an opportunity to visit a good friend of ‘Browser’s Den’ at the CNE. My dad and I went to the CNE and visited Bernie at his magic booth. Bernie’s booth is located within the ‘Arts & Hobbies’ building on the CNE grounds. Bernie has had his magic booth there for 12 seasons in a row; quite an accomplishment! Bernie is a very good demonstrator and a nice guy. Perhaps on your next visit to the CNE you will pay Bernie a visit. Bernie tells me that we will be also selling magic at ‘Screamers’ this Halloween season.

Other than visiting Bernie my dad and I did not find much for us of interest at the CNE. The ‘Better Living’ Centre used to display all the latest gadgets big and small for households. Now it has become one giant Flea Market; selling socks, shirts, belts. In fact much of the CNE is just retail; very little in the way of interesting displays. But I suppose it is still fun especially if you want to go on rides and play games.

Many of our customers tell me that they wish there were more people that they could ‘talk magic’ with. Sure ‘Browser’s Den’ has an informal group of magicians who meet at the shop most Saturday afternoons to talk magic. But what about the rest of the week? And what about those of you who are far away from the store?

Why not start your own magic club at your school? Ask your teachers/guidance counselors if they can help you organize a magic club. Or, just start asking your friends if they are interested in starting a magic club. You could once per week during the lunch hour or after school at somebody’s house. I am biased of course but I think magic is the best hobby. You never really grow out of it. And, nobody knows everything about magic.

If you need any help starting or want suggestions just give me a call, 416-783-7022 or email Jeff@browsersden.com.

John Cardella took a well-deserved one-week vacation at the end of August. He had not had a real break in over a year and a half. John does a wonderful job and is an excellent demonstrator. Thanks John for your dedication to the business.

Thanks too to Shawna for her continued good work in keeping the web site up to date and answering the phone so much and all the little things that help keep this small ‘magic boat’ running.

I hope that all is well. A lot has taken place since I wrote my last Jeff’s Journal.

Shawna one of the three musketeers here at the shop got married to Marvin York on Sunday, May 30, 2004. It was a lovely affair. John Cardella, another musketeer here at the shop, along with his lovely wife Corrine attended the wedding too. Yours truly was sitting at the magic table. At my table were John and Corrine, Bill and Rebecca Abbott, and some other customers of the Browser’s Den. Shawna looked beautiful and Marvin looked very handsome. All was perfect; the food, music and people.

I attended the IBM Magic Convention in Cleveland. My father and uncle went along with me. I saw many customers of Browser’s Den including: Nick Sacco, Sandy Hobson, Joan Caesar, Heather and Aidan Gawronski, Gordon Precious, Marc Linett, Dr. Paul O’Connel, Gary Wiseman and others that I cannot remember right now. I enjoyed the convention. In fact it was just nice to get away from Toronto for 4 days. It was nice too to spend some time with my dad and uncle. My uncle was not very interested in the magic but that’s how it goes sometimes.

The highlights for me of the convention were: #1 Alan Shaxon Lecture. If you ever get to see Alan Shaxon give a lecture make sure you go!! He performed and taught 6 parlor effects…each a closer!! I also very much enjoyed the lecture of Ali Bongo. Another highlight was of course the second evening show where Jeff McBride performed for the full evening. How can one ever get tired of seeing one of the best magicians in the world? Eugene Burger had a small but effective role to play in the McBride show. Aldo Colombini was very funny during his performance and Michael Close was excellent (read funny) as M.C.

While in Cleveland my dad, uncle and I took a tour of the Cleveland Baseball Field; it was very interesting. We also went to the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame Museum, which I did not find particularly interesting; I am not that interested in the history of rock and roll.

Changing subjects…We had quite a scare here in Toronto a few weeks ago. Magic Mike Segal who is a very well known professional magician here in Toronto and who runs the Summer Magic Camp, ‘Sorcerer’s Safari’ almost died! That’s right…died. His intestine perforated and the poisons and toxins escaped. Thank goodness he made it through. So far, the doctors are quite pleased with his progress but he is not out of the woods yet. Please say a prayer for Mike. Mike does a lot to promote magic here in Toronto.

David Ben dropped by the shop yesterday. He sat down at our folding table for a couple of hours and really performed some eye-popping sleight of hand with cards and coins. Man…it was as close to real looking magic that I have seen in a long time! And that brings me to another small commercial message. David Ben, through his organisation named ‘Magicana’ has arranged for us to offer you a very special lecture by Johnny Thompson. In fact we have two lectures in August 2004.

First Lecture, SUNDAY, AUGUST 15 AT 2 PM…MR. JAY SANKEY!! That’s right! One of the best close up magicians in the world will be giving a two hour lecture of all brand new material at the ‘Inn on the Park’ hotel in Toronto. The lecture will take place at 2PM. Doors will open at about 1:30 PM. The ticket prices are only $15.00 each and you may pay at the door. (We are not preselling tickets. It is first come first chance at a good seat.). The ‘Inn on Park Hotel’ is very easy to get to. It is located at Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue East. The hotel is located on the Northeast corner of Leslie Street and Eglinton Ave. East…you cannot miss it. The lecture will take place at ‘The Leaside Room’. Just ask at the desk of the hotel and they will tell you where the Leaside room is located. We only accept $15.00 cash for the lecture no credit cards please.

Jay will be giving a performance and teaching. If you have never seen Jay give a lecture you are missing out on what will be a fun filled afternoon with all brand new lecture material! Jay will also be bringing some his own product to sell.

And…on SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 AT 2PM…MR. JOHNNY THOMPSON!! I could not believe it when David Ben told me that he had arranged to have Johnny Thompson come to Toronto. Mr. Thompson will be giving a two hour lecture on close up and parlor magic. Johnny has known them all…Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller…and knows them all…Lance Burton, Norm Nielsen, Jeff McBride and the list goes on. The lecture fee is $25.00; pay at the door with cash. It too will take place at ‘The Leaside Room’ at ‘The Inn on Park’ hotel.

Here is what Lance Burton had to say about Johnny Thompson when Johnny put out his Classic Showpieces videos a couple of years ago.

"I have learned more from John Thompson than from any other source in the world. Now you, too, can learn from the master!" -Lance Burton

You may never have another opportunity to see Johnny Thompson give a lecture again…don’t miss it!!

I hope that all is well. Things are good here at Browser’s. The weather has finally become warm. My two new older cats are now a part of my life. I took booth cats in to the Veterinarian for some dental surgery. They are doing fine now. The older cat, which is the one I prefer, was in quite bad shape. I had to take her twice a day for 10 days before and 10 days after her dental surgery for Penicillin Shots. I was hoping that the Animal Hospital would accept my Health Card but there was no luck (small joke).

Jeff Hinchliffe has been doing a wonderful job here at the shop with his Card Clinics. He was doing the clinics Tuesdays & Fridays. However, he just got a new walk around restaurant job on those days. So from today on he will be doing the clinics on Thursdays from 5:15 to 6:30. And remember…no appointment is necessary and his services are free. So drop by and ask him a question about a card move/sleight/technique that you may be experiencing difficulties.

Some of our customers have really been blowing me away with their skill. I mean they have come a long way in a very short period of time. Here are some of the magicians who have really mastered a lot over the past two years: James Harrison, James Fulford, David Mitchell, Brian Hircock, Nik Vuchecivik, Elton, and Mark Lewis. Oops…sorry that Mark Lewis name was a typo.

Shawna is just one week away from getting married to Marvin York. I will be attending the wedding along with John Cardella and his wife Corrine.

On a serious note I want to thank all of you for your continued patronage. I know that there are more and more web sites offering discounts. And I am sure that it is quite tempting to buy from them. These discounters really hurt the ‘Mom & Pop’ Magic Shops. We too do mail order. However we like to treat all of our customers the same. We are not going to offer discounts to our mail order customers yet charge customers who come in to the shop a higher price.

The magic business is a very small one. Most magic shops depend on a small, loyal group of hobbyists and professionals to keep them in business. Magic shops who sell on the Internet and who are essentially mail order stores only, do not have the type of overhead that shops such as Browser’s have. They do not rent a store in a major city, and the many, many related expenses that are associated with having a true storefront. There is a serious danger of many if not most magic shops closing up over the next 5 to 10 years. In fact one of the major wholesalers in the United States told me that if their 'figures' are accurate only two magic shops in Canada will survive over the next 5 to 10 years! And it is through your support that we will continue to be here for you. The magic business is different than many other retail businesses in that it is very small. One day you may want to take a child or teenager for their first time to a real magic shop. And if these discounters have their way that will not happen. Instead you will be sitting with them in front of a screen telling them how when you were a kid there was a magic shop that you used to go to. You will tell them that there were all types of old fashioned display cases filled with mysterious stuff and hopefully that there was an amusing Magic Demonstrator who helped you buy the right props and books/videos.

I know that as time goes by our prices are going to appear to be as if we are overcharging. But we are not…it is the discounters who are undercharging and trying to take over the entire magic business. We on the other hand are not trying to put them out of business we just want them to charge regular retail prices and compete fairly. Of course they cannot really compete properly because all they have to offer are: discounts.

Well, I hope I have not bored you but this ‘Jeff’s Journal’ is supposed to express my thoughts and feelings.

I am not suggesting to you that it is your duty to support your ‘local’ magic shop. However, I am suggesting that if your local magic shop is doing a fairly good job at providing you with friendly and helpful service then you should think twice about buying from these discounters.

I recently had an opportunity to have lunch with David Ben. He took me out to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Toronto just a couple of blocks away from where he lives. I was also privileged to have him show me his magic book library. My mouth dropped open when I saw how many magic books are in his collection. It is unbelievable! And David was also kind enough to show me part of his Dai Vernon collection. Again…unbelievable! He has Dai’s Rings from Dai’s Harlequin Act! He has silhouettes that Dai himself cut. Plus so much more! What was so nice about spending time with David was how obvious it was to me about how much he loves magic! David Ben will be offering a brand new version of his close up version of the Conjurer called the Conjurer’s Suite. He will be performing the new show during the entire month of December 2004 here at a Toronto venue.

We will be having about 3 lectures during August. So, please check the home page of our web site from time to time to keep upto date with the happenings here at Browser’s.

I hope that all is well with you and your loved ones. All is fine here at ‘The Den’. Finally I decided to make the snow disappear by using my King Size Vernet ThumbTip.

I have two women in my life now. Well, they are not exactly humans but they are nice to come home to. Let me explain…Around Christmas 2003, a friend asked me to take care of her two cats. And to make a long story short she could not really take them back and I decided to keep them. They are older cats; one is 11 and the other is 17. They are originally from Germany the cats. One is a Siamese and the other is part Persian. I had a cat for 20 years who passed away 5 years ago. I must admit that I was used to my place without cat hairs but I do enjoy cats.

It is time for another MAGIC AUCTION here at ‘The Den’. This is when you our customers bring in TRICKS, BOOKS, AND VIDEOS that you no longer want and we auction them off to the highest bidder. We have been doing these auctions twice a year for 29 years! For those of you who have never attended one of our auctions you are missing out on a lot of BARGAINS and a lot of fun! Admission to the auction is only $5.00.

For those of you who will be attending please remember that it is CASH ONLY at the auction and that there is no tax. As well, if you win a bid you must pay for the item you win at the time you win it (Not at the end of the auction.). And for those of you who will be bringing in items to be auctioned please bring them ONLY between the days of Monday, April 26 and Friday April 30. Please note that at this auction we cannot accept more than 3 lots (a lot may consist of more than one item) per person. When bringing in your magic please include a neatly printed list of all the items you are bringing along with your name and phone number; please too label all the items in your lot with your name. The Browser’s Den takes a 25% commission on any items sold during the auction.

Most of the items that are auctioned off sell for about half their true value and quite often there are props and books that are very difficult to get. So, we hope that you will all join and take home some bargains!!

I have something important to discuss with you. My apologies for those who belong to our eflyer list who do not live in Canada as this letter is directed to our Canadian customers.

Here at the Browser’s Den we get asked many times over the course of the year questions that more or less go like this….

‘Is there anywhere I can go and take a friend or spouse to see some good quality close up or parlor magic in Toronto ?’

These are questions asked by you our customers. And up until three years ago there was no magic convention and up until the past couple of months there has not been a place to go and see good quality magic besides a restaurant. Don’t get me wrong I know that there are a lot of magicians who are entertaining frequently at restaurants. But many of our customers (hobbyists) want to see an actual show not only a walk around magician.

So I am going to tell you about two opportunities that you have right now to support your fellow professional magicians. And also to support a Canadian Magic Convention.

Firstly, Mr. Bill Abbott is performing every Thursday night here in Toronto at the Torch Lounge. The Lounge opens at 8:00 PM and his performance begins at 9:00 PM. There is also a restaurant downstairs. You can find out a lot more information about his performance at Bill’s web site, www.billabbott.ca. Bill is a truly wonderful performer. The show will fool those who have been doing magic for many years but the show is really for laymen. So, go to his web site and check it and most importantly show your support by buying a ticket to his show.

And to make it easier for you to show your support to Bill and all the other professional magicians we have arranged will Bill Abbott that for the months of February and March you can buy your ticket from us here at the Browser’s Den for $20.00 and get a second ticket for free! You can use the ticket on any Thursday night but Bill prefers that you call him at 416-755-2980 and reserve a seat. $20.00 and you get two tickets…that is only $10.00 per ticket; which is less than to go and buy a ticket to most movies.

Bill was kind enough to come to our magic club here at the shop and perform a couple of pieces of mind reading from his show. Needless to say he blew us away; imagine his effect on a friend that you bring along to his show who does not know about magic/mentalism principles.

In June of 2003 and 2001 there was a magic convention in Kitchener, Ontario; Kitchener is only 55 minutes from Toronto. The convention was just wonderful! Some of the biggest names in magic were at the convention. Here at our shop we tried our best to get people to go and some of you did and we thank you. We do not have a stake in the financial success of the magic convention. However, I am sure that you can appreciate how much work is involved in putting together such a large convention and I feel we should show our support by attending the convention. The next convention will be in 2005 however you can still show your support by joining a Canadian Magic Association now. The ‘Canadian Association of Magicians’ is run by Joan Caesar with the help of some key people. This association (read Joan Caesar) is also in charge of putting together the magic convention in Kitchener.

To join the Canadian Associaton of Magicians (CAM) it costs only $15.00 per year! By joining for only $15.00 per year not only will you show your support to a Canadian Association but you will also get a discount should you attend the CAM Convention; you will receive for free 10 Electronic CAM magazines letting you know more about the world of magic and Canadian magicians, and 3 very nice CAM magazines called ‘Northern Peaks’.

I don’t think $15.00 per year is a lot to support the only Canadian Association of Magicians. If you would like to find out more about CAM you should visit their web site at www.CanadianAssociationofMagicians.com

I know that this letter may read strong. However, sometimes in life we need to show our support to our team members (pros like Bill Abbott and people like Joan Caesar and CAM) by walking up to the plate and taking a swing. In this case by buying a ticket or two or three to your friends and family and buying joining CAM.

I hope that you are all well. Things are good here at the Browser’s Den. We have finally launched the new catalogue section of our web site; we hope you like it. The weather has just been brutal this winter. Not as much snow as last year, however, still brutal.

The magic world lost a big name this month, Derek Dingle. When Derek’s first hardbound book came out in the early 1980’s (‘Complete Works of Derek Dingle’) it took the magic world by storm. The material was fresh and new to many in the magic world. Not only was the material new but the magic community had never had a large book devoted to magic with such flowing illustrations done by the publisher Richard Kaufman. It would be the first of many books that Richard Kaufman would put on the market. Kaufman (and Greenberg) would publish a new giant tome of magic about once every 4 or 5 months. And we all eagerly awaited their arrival. Some of the books Kaufman published are now long out of print and are very desirable for those who want to study or collect.

This journal is supposed to contain thoughts and events that happen in my personal life. On a sad note, my grandmother passed away in December. She was 92 years old and had a nice life. Forty years or so in Florida during the winter. And other than perhaps the last two years she had good mobility. Believe it or not she never took any medication in her life! My grandmother always said that I should open a magic shop in Florida and get out this rotten cold weather; I think she was right…rest in peace. On another sad note, it is now 1 year since our founder Len Cooper passed away. Though I may not show it, I miss Len.

Matthew Fenton and Andrew Graham dropped by the shop to visit me during the Christmas holidays. Both Matthew and Andrew worked here and at our Wonderland booth. They have both grown up great (thanks to their parents) and are doing wonderful at University. Hopefully, as the years pass they will look back at their time here at the magic shop fondly. Imagine the fun they will have to tell their grandchildren one day that they do magic and even worked in a magic shop!

I have been re-reading the book, Royal Road to Card Magic. I have forgotten so many wonderful tricks from that book. In the hardbound copy of Royal Road there is a trick called ‘Meeting of the Minds’ in the key card section. I have been doing that trick for many years and killing magicians with it. Go read and do it and I am certain that you will have the same success that I have.

For the past month or so I have been taking care of a couple of cats for a friend of mine. I had a cat for 20 years until he died 4 years ago. I forgot how much fun it is to have a cat. Mind you, I also forgot how much they vomit and how long it takes to clean off your clothes and furniture from their hairs. I like dogs but there has always been something about cats and their quirkiness that I enjoy; plus I do not have to walk a cat in the winter.

We celebrated the beginning of our 29th year in business by having a store birthday party on November 16. So many customers came to participate in the days events which included: Mini Store Auction, Party Sandwiches, Candies, Pop, Coffee, Cake, Magic Show, and more.

The highlight for many people was near the end of the day (but before the cake) when Bernice Cooper and I presented Jeff Hinchliffe with the ‘Leonard Cooper Most Promising Magician’ Award. As most of you know, Len and Bernice are the original owners of the shop. And unfortunately Len passed away in January of 2003. On the day of the party Bernice came from the hospital to help present the award; that is how much it meant to her. Bernice sat in a chair and told everyone in attendance a little bit about the history of the shop and a little bit about Len. After her speech she got a standing ovation; how nice.

I have met so many wonderful customers over these past nine years. And as I mentioned at the party some of the customers almost become sort of a ‘family’ in a sense. I suppose a Browser Den Family.

I have been invited as the guest of honour to this year’s annual dinner of the Past Presidents of the Hat & Rabbit Club. Gary Wiseman was kind enough to invite me.

We have our next magic club meeting here at ‘The Den’ on Saturday, December 7 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. Anyone may attend however you must be 16 years of age or older. Our first meeting in November was quite a success and John and I look forward to the next one.

Which brings me to John….wow, what a great guy. I cannot possibly begin to tell you how hard he works here at the shop. And he drives in every day from Oakville to cast his magic spell. I do not know what I would do without him.

I hope that all is well with you and your loved ones. All is good here at ‘The Den’. John, Shawna and I are looking forward to the celebration of our 29th year in business. We are having a Shop Birthday Party on Sunday, November 16 from 10 AM to 5 PM and you are all invited to come.

Last night we had our first Magic Club Meeting. John and I were very happy to see the nice turn out. We plan to have the meeting on the first Saturday evening of each month. You must be 16 years or older to attend. It was interesting to see people showing each other card and coins tricks. We had James Fulford at one end of the shop showing people card routines for probably close to an hour. James, has really improved his skills over the past couple of years. Of course James Harrison was here to blowing away people with some of his coin work (not easy stuff that’s for sure). James Harrison showed me an excellent little bit with a card selection and the production of an 8 Ball Billiard Ball. He really caught me off guard with that production! Our own John Cardella was helping out some people and showing them some of his favourite card routines. And it was good to see Mark Lewis show up too. Mark is as some of you know quite a character. However, what ever your feelings are about him we must all acknowledge he does very good magic.

Today is the Shawna’s engagement party. Shawna has set her date to get married on her birthday May 30th; which is also the date she met her husband to be, Marvin. When the couple are together they seem so happy; it is very nice to see.

We have tentatively set a date for David Ben to give a lecture at our shop on Sunday, November 30 at 2PM. Space is limited so please make sure you call before showing up.

My uncle went on a cruise to the Caribbean with his girlfriend. It is nice to see him enjoying himself a little. He is a workaholic optometrist. It is nice to see him taking some time off at this time in his life.

We just completed our fiscal year for 2002/2003. I must say that this year was a bit of a challenge. After all, Toronto had Sars and a horrific winter and a power shortage.. Along with a war in Iraq and a slowing of the U.S. economy. But our shop did well all things considered and we look forward to the new fiscal year.

I hope that all is well with you and your loved ones. The biggest news here at the shop has nothing to do with magic. It has everything to do with the ‘magic’ of life. Shawna Ross who has been working here for almost two years has become engaged to Mr. Marvin York. Shawna is just full of excitement about the engagement; and why shouldn’t she?

Marvin bought her a beautiful diamond ring. It looks like the happy couple will be getting married sometime in June or July of 2004. We are all happy for her! I have met Marvin and he is truly a wonderful guy. Marvin is the Vice-President of Farco Entertainment. Farco is in the business of Party Rental Equipment and Entertainers and is the home of the President, Shane Farberman aka Doo Doo the Clown.

Shawna and Marvin met the following way: Shane walked into our shop last year on Shawna’s birthday and the two of them started talking. Next thing you know, Shane is on his cell phone number and says something like ‘ Hey Marvin, there’s a nice girl here who works at the magic shop talk to her.’ And with that hands Shawna the telephone; as simple as that. I bet you that is the best birthday present Shawna ever received.

We all wish them happiness and success and good health as both Shawna and Marvin begin a new chapter in their lives.

For the month of October we have a special promotion in all 25 of the Licks Homeburger Restaurants. We will be giving away 25 Magic Sets with 80 Tricks explained. If you know of any younger wanna be magicians let them know. They have to fill out a form at the restaurant. I would like to thank Mr. David Grosfield for his hard work in making this possible.

On a personal note, my father and I drove to Montreal to visit my dad’s older brother. I was born in Montreal and moved to Toronto in 1972. My uncle in Montreal is an optometrist and a workaholic. He still practices optometry. He and his partner sold their three stores about 10 years ago to Lenscrafters and now my uncle is an optometrist at the Lenscrafters at Fairview Mall in Montreal. I had not visited Montreal for about 11 years. In fact that is only the second time in 20 years that I have visited Montreal. It was nice to see my uncle and meet a couple of cousins. There is something about Montreal that I like.

I hope that all is well. Where has the summer gone? I guess dad was right about one thing. That is, as one gets older our perception of time really speeds up.

We have had a very active summer here at the shop. Today Mr. Aaron Fisher gave a magic lecture at our shop. The lecture was superb. Mr. Fisher is not only a great sleight of hand magician but he is extremely engaging. He not only fooled us he made us laugh and enjoy both being fooled. What also made Aaron’s lecture special was that there were other big name magicians attending his lecture here at the shop including: Dan Harlan, Lee Asher and others. In fact I must thank Mike Segal for making the Aaron Fisher lecture possible. Mike Segal runs the summer magic camp and Aaron as well as the other magicians that I mentioned came up to the camp. So, thanks Mike!

And last week we had another magic lecture. It was the most wonderful magic lecture I have ever seen. Mr. John Carney gave a 3-hour lecture for about 67 people. Afterwards another 10 people paid to have a more private workshop with Mr. Carney. Mr. Carney’s lecture was inspiring! When I got home the night of the lecture I took out some magic books and worked on some stuff until about 1AM. To be honest with you I have not done something like that in years.

John Carney combines flawless technique with perfect misdirection and super acting abilities. In short, he will blow you away! He is pretty much the last student of the great Dai Vernon. And I am sure that if Dai Vernon is watching from the Card Table in the sky that he is happy that he did not waste his time working with John Carney. If you ever have an opportunity to take in a John Carney lecture please make sure you attend and let me know; I’ll come with you!

In other news…we will be having another in store giant magic auction on Sunday, September 21 at 12PM! That is when you our customers can pick up magic at low, low prices.

As most of you know by now Herb Morrissey passed away. Herb Morrissey is the founder of Morrissey Magic; our friendly competitor. I was close to Herb and I miss him. Now with both Len and Herb gone things are very different for me.

John Cardella my right hand man is just doing such a wonderful job here at the shop. John now has his own following of customers who prefer dealing with him. That is good as it takes some of the pressure off of me to be always demonstrating. Thanks John for doing such a great job and doing other little things that nobody sees. Thanks too to Shawna for her hard work and dedication to the shop.

I took over the ‘Browser’s Den of Magic’ back in November of 1995. The shop was founded in 1975 by Len and Bernice Cooper. So, at the end of this October we will be celebrating the beginning of our 28th year in business. There are not that many businesses that survive that length of time so I would like to say thanks to all of you for your continued patronage and keeping us in business. We are a small business but with some wonderful dedicated customers.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but my friend Herb Morrissey passed away yesterday, August 13. As most of you will know Herb Morrissey was the owner and founder of Morrissey Magic a world renown magic manufacturer.

For the past 25 years or so Morrissey Magic and our shop Browser’s Den, have been friendly competitors. Some of you may not realise however that I personally had a very strong relationship with Herb. Herb has been sick the past 3 years and over these past 3 years we spoke to each other at least once per week. And we met for lunch at times too.

As a kid, teenager and adult I learned a lot about being a demonstrator from both Len Cooper our founder, and Herb Morrissey. When he wanted to Herb Morrissey was probably the best demonstrator in the world. Herb’s knowledge of magic both close up and stage was very broad. And nobody told stories about ‘the old days’ better than Herb. Herb was a very complicated fellow but I will always have a place in my heart for him.

This is definitely an end to an era with both Herb and Len both now gone. I miss Len a lot. And though Herb is gone just one day I miss him a lot!! Just as with Len, I have vivid memories of Herb and here are some of the titles to the memories that only we who spent time Herb can fill in: The Stories, The Chop Cup, The Zombie Ball, The Cups and Balls, Copper/Brass/Silver, Fire Magic, His Cigarettes, His Cokes, His Sports Jacket.

June 22, 2003

Hi Magic Friends,

It is has been a little too long since I last wrote a journal entry. I hope that you and your loved ones are well. Summer is finally here and I do hope that you are enjoying the beautiful weather. And when it gets really hot and uncomfortable just remember the brutal winter that we just went through.

I got back last week from having a wonderful time at the magic convention in Kitchener. It was three days of fun, fun, fun and super magic. I am sorry that not all of you could attend. I do hope however that in 2005 you are able to come and enjoy the convention and the pleasant city of Kitchener. It is difficult to pick the highlights of the convention. However, I suppose the common highlight amongst all who attended was the thrill of meeting Jeff McBride; one of the true superstars of the magic world. And when I say ‘meet’ I mean it! He was so accessible to everyone! Jeff McBride was talking with anyone and everyone who wanted to talk or spend time with him. Not only did he spend time talking with people but he also stayed up overnight and sessioned with other magicians on card moves. McBride also performed his wonderful stage act during one of the two stage shows at the convention. Naturally, his stage act was fantastic; he got two standing ovations. But for many others and me it was his wonderful, warm personality that was the highlight of the convention. Let’s face it some magicians or celebrities might hide in their hotel rooms over the three days…but not McBride.

Of course there was a lot more that happened at the convention. Jamy Ian Swiss was also holding court at the convention. Jamy performed and also gave lecture on cards and the theory of performing until about 2:30 AM! I must admit that I did not attend; I was sleeping in my bed during the lecture. After all, I went to the convention as a dealer selling magic in the dealers’ room with the other ‘shopkeepers’; so I had to get up early in the morning and be fresh to demonstrate magic. And besides, I am not a night owl.

The other magic dealers besides us selling magic in the dealers room were: Ted Harding of Magic Corner, Roy Kueppers (who makes all the Canadian coin tricks), Paul Richards of Elmwood Magic, Dan and Phoebe Morrissey of Morrissey Magic, Charles Gauci (performer/dealer from Australia), and Guy Camirand of Camirand Magic of Montreal.

There was so much going on at the convention I cannot remember it all. There was a ton of lectures by magicians such as Gene Anderson (inventor of the Newspaper Tear), Chris Capehart, Paul Wildbaum, Jeff McBride, Shawn Farquhar, Jamy Ian Swiss and I am sure that I am forgetting some.

I could go on and on but I suppose the best part of the convention is just watching all the smiles of those attending. I do hope that you are able to attend in 2005 and experiencing it for yourselves. Joan Caesar and her right hand man Nick Sacco put a tremendous amount of energy and thought to offer the convention and they should both be applauded for their Herculean efforts.

There was also a special event on the first night of the lecture to honor Canada’ own Randi. Randi actually came into our shop the Wednesday before the first day of the lecture. I had never met Randi and what a dynamo he is ! He has a razor sharp sense of humor and brain.

I did not go alone to the convention. I was lucky to have the wonderful assistance of Shawna and John Michalson. They both put a lot of effort into making the convention a success for the Browser’s Den-Thanks John and Shawna. And of course John Cardella was so ably running the shop here in Toronto while I was gone.

On a personal note, my father Manny, who some of you may have met at the shop turned 65 on June 20. I love my dad very much. I have no idea what I will do one day when he is gone. But I want to enjoy our time together now. In fact I am taking him and my uncle (my dad’s older brother who turned 70 last month) to Niagara Falls for a couple of days.

Be well-Jeff.

I hope that all is well with you and your loved ones. All is good here at ‘The Den’. We just had another successful auction this past Sunday at the shop; lots of people getting lots of bargains.

I had been practicing a spectacular magic trick for the past few months. I was working on the illusion of making all the snow disappear. And I finally did it!! Wow…I did not realize that I was so good! And you need not ask me how I accomplished this grand trick. Some of you may think I made the snow vanish with mirrors….I am not telling. All that I will tell you is …there’s a trick to it. Anyway, thank goodness the snow is finally gone and we can enjoy the warmer weather.

As far as happenings at the shop, Bill Abbott will be giving a second, that’s right second, lecture on Sunday, April 27 at 2PM. Bill gave a lecture in the shop this past January and I had so many people asking me if I would arrange to have Bill return for ‘part two’ that I decided to go ahead an arrange it. The lecture will be about 3 hours in length and will cover stand up material from Bill’s professional repertoire. Bill will also be lecturing on the theory of performing strong magic for real audiences under real conditions. The ticket price is only $10 and they are sold on a first come first serve basis. You can reserve your ticket by calling us at 416-783-7022.

Hey you guys…..aren’t you going to the MAGIC CONVENTION! I have been helping promote the convention for the past 3 months and though we have sold tickets I would expected that many more of you would be dying to go to a magic convention. I mean, I have nothing to gain financially from the selling of the tickets. However, I am surprised that not more of you want to go. After all, the convention is only held every two years. The convention is only 45 minutes outside of Toronto in Kitchener. A lot of people are staying over in the hotel but many are driving back into Toronto each day. The convention is 3 days of magic, magic and more magic! And it only costs $125.00! I think that is quite a reasonable price to pay for 3 days at a magic convention. There will be tons of professional magicians including ….JEFF MCBRIDE! You will get to see Jeff McBride perform and teach! There will be close up shows, stage shows, competitions to watch, lectures and a dealer’s room with about 10 different magic dealers, including yours truly. If you would like more information just give me a call.

And also, please remember that for those of you who are 16 and up we are offering magic lessons at the shop starting the week of April 21st. For more details give us a call and ask for John or Jeff.

I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you for your continued business and support; it is appreciated.

This winter just does not end! I was born in Montreal and we moved here when I was young. However, this winter reminds me of Montreal; that is….cold, and snow, snow and more snow. I must say that it has been depressing with all this cold weather. But just when I like a lot of people were getting real tired of all this snow I had a nice experience. In the morning one day last week as I was walking to get my coffee I saw a father pulling his little girl on a little slay. The little girl could not have been more than 3. And she was of course having a great time being pulled by dad through the snow. Bounce, bounce went the little slay. She was having a grand time. To her the snow was great fun and at her age maybe a bit of a new experience. I got to thinking too that when I was younger, not 3 mind you, but perhaps 10 to 16, I used to play road hockey after school during the winter. It was the highlight of my day.

As you have seen on our web site Len Cooper, our founder passed away on January 24, 2003. I miss him a lot. It is difficult to believe that none of us will ever see him. We have an in store AUCTION this March 30, 2003 at the shop from 12 PM to about 4PM. Len used to be the auctioneer. I suppose I have to be grateful that I got to know Len and if there is a heaven I am sure he is putting a smile on some faces up there.

After 14 years I have shut down our magic booth at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland. It was a very difficult decision. For the past 6 years though I did have a lot of aggravation keeping the magic booth open. So many young magicians sort of begged me for the job and then they would not show up on time, not try to sell, not handle the cash properly, etc. etc. We have a lot of customers now here at ‘the den’ that found out about us because of the Wonderland booth. But perhaps it is for the best and I do have very many fond memories of the park. In fact I worked for the park for 6 years before I opened up the magic shop there. I was first hired as a magic demonstrator when the park had its own magic booth back in 1984. The next season in 1985 I left the magic booth (they shut in down in 1986) and was promoted to head cashier, then assistant manager, manager and finally area manager in 1989 or 1990. I did not enjoy being area manager so I decided to ask Wonderland upper management if I could open up my own magic shop concession…and the rest is small history! In any event I thank Wonderland for giving me the opportunity to be a part of their organization for all those years.

The biggest single event happening here at then den right now is that as of April 1, Mr. John Cardella will be working here full time! John will be responsible for sales and will take on other responsibilities as time goes on. I know that as the months go by John will have the time to learn and practice more and more of the magic tricks and will be a good demonstrator and valuable part of the future of this business. John has been a customer for more than 20 years. And I know that you will like him because it is just impossible not to like him. He is just such a good person. Beginning the third week of April we will be giving magic lessons for those 16 years of age and up on beginner sleight of hand with cards and coins. John will be teaching 8 of the 10 lessons; and I the other two. The lessons will be once per week for ten weeks in a row and you can choose to come on a Tuesday night ( 7PM to 8:15PM) or Thursday night (7PM to 8:15PM). The ten lessons cost $250.00. For more information just give us a call or email.

Also at the end of March, actually at our in store auction on March 30, it will be Matthew Fenton’s last day working behind the counter at the shop. Matthew has been working here regularly on Saturdays as a demonstrator for 5 years! Matt is only 17 years old now. So if you think about it for a moment that he was only about 12 or 13 when he started here! Matthew learned very quickly how to become a good demonstrator and I must say that over the past 5 years that I have never shared the magic counter with any other person as competent a demonstrator as he. Matthew will be going off to University next year and is busy with many other projects and with life in general.

Matthew has a bright future. He does very well at school. In fact, some of you may notice that I like to tell the customers how fantastic his grades are ( 90% and up! ). He’s not my son (lucky for him) however, in my old convoluted mind I am very happy and proud of his academic accomplishments; I am sure his family is very proud of him.

I hope that years from now that Matt will look back upon the 5 years he spent at the den with fond memories; I know that I certainly will.

THANK YOU MATT FOR 5 YEARS OF HARD WORK AND FOR ALL THE LITTLE THINGS YOU DID FOR ME THAT NOBODY EVER SAW.

Happy Noodle...sorry I mean, NEW YEAR!! I hope that all your magical wishes come true in 2003!!

IMPORTANT- The lecture on January 26 at 2PM on close up magic by Bill Abbott is selling out fast so please call me to reserve a seat; the ticket price is only $10.00. Also unfortunately our previously planned lecture on January 19 by Michael Ross is CANCELLED! I am very sorry but Michael has decided last minute to move out west and cannot come on that day.

The Conjuror magic show by magician David Ben has been getting fantastic reviews. I enjoyed the show tremendously! What a wonderful family magic show. It is playing at the Isabel Bader theatre until January 4, 2003. Hopefully David can be persuaded to bring it back to Toronto sometime soon! Toronto needs more quality magic shows like that.

We are almost finished transferring our current web site into a more modern site. Shawna has been working hard on this giant job. Once she is finished (by the end of January) then we will be able to start updating our New Section with magic items. We are always getting in new items so if there is something you are looking for that you cannot find on our site please give us a TOLL FREE CALL AT 1-888-469-3616.

I am going to see the new James Bond film this Sunday with Shawna. I have not seen a James Bond film in a theatre for many years. My favourite James Bond was played by Sean Connery. And some of the earlier films starring Roger Moore were good; then I feel they got too silly. Even if the new film is not so hot I am sure that seeing Haley Barrey (sp?) will satisfy me; hopefully I will not drop my popcorn!

Well, I cannot believe it but Matthew the young man who demonstrates with me at the shop on Saturdays for the past 4 years is finally taller than me!! That's right...Matthew is about 6 feet 2 inches! I remember Matthew about 7 years ago when he started coming in to the shop with his younger brothers. He was always more interested in magic than them. His youngest brother, Jeffrey, did show some interest in magic but Jordan was normal...I mean not into magic. Anyway, Matthew will be heading off to University next year; he has GROWN up into a nice young good looking man. Matthew gets very high marks in school and I am sure that his parents and family are very proud of him now and will continue as the years go by.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Gerry the gentleman who spends so much of his 'free' time working on our web site...THANKS GERRY!

Our 27th Anniversary Party was a lot of fun. Except that a very important person was missing from the celebration.....Len Cooper. Unfortunately Len was in the hospital and could not make it. He is feeling a little better and will hopefully start getting a little stronger. On a very sad note one of our customers, Mr. Alfred Burns passed away on Friday, November 15th. Al fought a brave battle against cancer for 5 years. I went to the funeral parlor and was amazed to find that Al's coffin had his magic vest draped over it and that there was a photo of him performing a magic show. Sometimes I forget how important magic as a hobby and a profession is to some of our customers. Now at least Al can rest in peace and not live in such terrible pain.

On a much brighter note all is well here at the shop. We have been getting in some new items to keep our customers happy. We are anxiously waiting for the Tenyo tricks to arrive. I had hoped they would have been here already. I have been promised early December....we'll see. Tenyo always comes out with clever, relatively easy to do tricks. They have four new tricks again this year. In fact there are many magicians who now collect Tenyo tricks.

David Ben is performing a full size stage show this holiday season at the Isabel Bader Theatre located at 93 Charles St. West; just south of Bloor, opposite the ROM. If you have never seen Mr. Ben perform you are missing out. The show was co-written by Mr. Patrick Watson a customer of ours. Mr. Watson is a distinguished journalist and former chairman of the CBC and the recipient of the Order of Canada! Call 416-872-1111 for tickets. The show runs from early December to early January only. David Ben will bring you back in time when magic was a little more mystical and charming.

Also, Magic Mike who runs the Summer Magic Camp, Sorcerers Safari, is holding a special March Break Magic Camp. Join Mike and other professional magicians for a five day and four night camp with workshops and shows. The March Break Camp takes place on March 10 through 14, 2003 one hour north of Toronto. Ages are 8 to 18 from beginners to experts. I do not know what the camp costs and for more details call Mike at 416-322-1442. If the March break camp is half as good as the summer camp then you will love it!!

I hope that all is well with you and your families. Our family here at the Browser's Den could be better because the original owner of the shop Len Cooper is still not feeling well. Len is back in the hospital; he is going to try and make it for our Anniversary Party on November 10th. Hopefully he will have the strength to get to the shop on that day.

On a brighter note I have arranged to have TWO lectures at our shop in January, 2003!! On Sunday, January 19th at 2PM Mr. Michael Ross will be giving a lecture. And on Sunday, January 26 at 2PM Mr. Bill Abbott will be giving a lecture. Both lectures will take place at our shop. If you are interested in attending you should buy your tickets in advance. Each lecture is only $10.00 and will run between 2 and 3 hours long.

You may be wondering who are these gentlemen who are giving lectures. Well, I admit they are not household names like Jay Sankey, Johnny Ace Palmer, David Acer and many others who have given lectures at our shop. However, I know you will walk away with more good magic information and tricks than perhaps at any other lectures you have attended at the Browser's Den!!

MICHAEL ROSS, LECTURE 2pm BROWSER'S DEN: SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 Tickets, $10.00 each: Michael Ross has been performing magic around the world professionally for more than 30 years! Michael will be concentrating on theory and parlor magic. Some of Michael's topics will include: TOPIT, FIRE, MANIPULATION, PATTER, CLASSIC MAGIC, IMPROMPTU STAGE MAGIC FOR EMERGENCIES.

BILL ABBOTT, LECTURE 2pm BROWSER'S DEN: SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2003,Tickets $10.00 each: Bill Abbott has been performing magic professionally for more than 15 years! Bill will be concentrating on CLOSE UP MAGIC. Bill will be discussing a lot of theory on performing close up PLUS for the first time ever Bill will be explaining some of his pet close up routines that he has been using professionally for years! Bill will also cover many important topics on performing in Restaurants. Bill may not be a household name but he has traveled the world performing close up and parlor magic. If you like close up and want to learn from a working pro do not miss this lecture.

Also in the News, David Ben is performing a full size stage show this Christmas season at the Isabel Bader Theatre, a wondreful new theatre located at 93 Charles St. West (Right across from the Royal Ontario Museum). David's Show is called the Conjuror. David performed a stage show at the Shaw Festival several years back however this show will 50% new magic effects! The show runs from December 5 to January 5. For tickets call 416-872-1111.

ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH WE WILL BE CELEBRATING OUR 27TH YEAR IN BUSINESS! AND WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

We will be having lots of surprises including: Mini Store Auction, Discount Playing Card :EVERYONE WILL GET TO CHOOSE A PLAYING CARD FROM A DECK OF CARDS AND WRITTEN ON THE CARD WILL BE A PERCENTAGE DISCOUNT ANYWHERE FROM 10% TO 30% OFF ANY PURCHASES YOU MAKE DURING THE DAY. YOU CAN USE THE CARDS AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE BUT YOU CANNOT GIVE IT TO ANYONE ELSE.);

Also, we have hired an artist, Tanya, to come to the shop to cut silhouettes. As you may or may not know, Dai Vernon cut silhouettes at Coney Island for years to earn some extra money. In fact, Dai Vernon cut a silhouette of President Franklin Roosevelt that was hung for some time in the White House!

AND OF COURSE WHAT WOULD BE A PARTY WITHOUT BIRTHDAY CAKE, REFRESHMENTS, SNACKS AND MORE!

Thank you for making 2002 our best year ever! We will continue to try our best to offer you a good selection of magic and to help you with any questions.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank some special people who are a big help here at the shop. Thank you: Shawna, Dad(Manny), Matthew, John, Lee and Len Cooper.

FISM GOLD Cups Winner Oscar Monoz was at the shop in August doing a lecture. You can see by the photos (coming soon) how many people showed up. And did Oscar wow us with his magic!! He showed us some moves with the Chinese Linking Rings and the Multiplying Balls that were just incredible. One of the moves with the Linking Rings he credited to Dai Vernon! It is amazing how much magic Dai Vernon improved upon.

We were able to get Oscar because he came up to spend the week at the Summer Sorcerer's Safari. If you do not know much about it then check it out; we have a link to it on our home page.

I am happy that hockey is starting up again! I still enjoy watching a good hockey game. Summer sports like baseball or football I find boring to watch on television. Now, Dr.Phil-that's excitement.....NOT!

Our CD Demo that we have offered you has received a wonderful reception. Thank you!

Our web master who works so hard to make me look good came in last Friday night to 'shoot' some more videos. So, we should have some new videos for you to watch over the next week.

Don't forget that though I do not do a magic club there is an informal group of magicians that tend to meet at the shop on Saturday afternoons. Their ages are from 17 up to old guys like me. Anyway, like I said it is informal but generally they meet Saturday afternoons at the shop and show each other tricks; usually card tricks.

I just want to take a moment and thank all of you who continue to give us business. We do really appreciate your patronage. I know that there are times in the shop when it may be busy and we cannot spend as much time as we would wish with you. I hope you realize that the magic business is a little different than other retail stores. Here, we demonstrate the tricks, help you if you have any questions with the trick. I think we sometimes spend more time with our customers over a $10.00 purchase than some car dealers who sell cars for $25,000 and up! Anyway, though it is hectic in the shop I do enjoy it.

Len Cooper, the original owner is still in the hospital; but he is feeling a little better. I will be switching to Mondays off. Our shop will be open as usual and John Cardella will be taking care of the shop on Mondays. Over months to follow I am confident that John will become a strong demonstrator and be able to help you.

I cannot believe how good some of our customers are at close up magic. I find that the customers/hobbyists who become good at close up magic are the one who buy videos and books; especially books.

Mike Segal's Magic Camp was another big hit this past August. Mike had about 125 campers; a new record. For more information about Magic Camp see the link to his web site on our web site.

Here is a photo of me giving away a free Tarbell Course in Magic to a teenager named Matt. He won the set of 8 books at the Summer Sorcerers Safari, and we being the sponsor of the Camp gave him the set. On the left is Magic Mike, Camp Director and on the right is Jeff The Nervous Wreck!

Well, I have to go learn about 7 new tricks to put on the video section of our web site so I better go.

I hope that all is well with you and those that are near to you. As some of you may know from my previous notes the original owner of the shop Len Cooper is still ill and in hospital. Feel free to send notes or emails to the shop of good wishes to him and I will make certain that they are passed on to him.

On the brighter side..... we have Oscar Munoz coming to the shop to give a lecture on Sunday, August 18th at 3PM. Tickets are only $10.00 each and you will not be disappointed!! Oscar is a GOLD CUPS winner at the IBM!!

Also, our new CD Demo has been very popular. Now that we have a CD should I get hit by a car and go to the next world the shop should be able to stay in business for quite a while. Joking aside if you have not got your copy let give us a call and ask for your free copy. Our phone number is 416-783-7022. Or, for you out of towners you can call toll free at 1-888-469-3616.

I am in love with a new book that we got into the shop. The book is called 'The Magic of Jack Channin'. Jack Channin died a few years ago. He was a magic dealer from Philadelphia. He was one of the best magic demonstrators and without a doubt one of the most colorful dealers/performer in magic history. The book is not for everyone because there are large sections on things like cigar manipulation (mind you, you could adapt the moves to other objects like crayons). But what I love about the book is that it is filled with history and stories of this man. Channin could perform the cups and balls with WASTE PAPER BASKETS as cups and TOILET PAPER ROLLS as balls!!!

Saturdays at the shop are still busy, though they are busier in the winter. And it is nice to see so many of our younger/teenage customers coming to the shop on Saturdays and sitting down at our folding table and talking magic with others their own age. It is much like an informal club and adds a nice atmosphere to the shop.

We are currently working on a new web site. So, we have not had time to update the current catalogue. Hopefully you will be patient with us. If there is something new that has come up we may very well have it so just email or call me.

The Pope was in Toronto this weekend. I think that it was wonderful to see so many people coming together out of the goodness of their hearts with peace in their minds. And the desire to try in their own way to make the world a better place. (YOU SEE JEFF IS SOMETIMES A SERIOUS GUY.)

I hope that you are all enjoying the summer weather!! I used to dislike the hot weather, but as I have got older my feeling is.....ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN SNOW AND COLD!!

We have had some terrible email problems the past 4 weeks!! And then we had the computer crash!! I have never been a computer person; but even I have felt somewhat peculiar and frustrated without the use of the computer.

We are having all of the current (about 185) video demonstrations from our web site put on a CD. We will be able to send you the CD at no charge and you can watch the videos without having to go on our web site. The CD's should be ready in the next two weeks! We had to take a lot of them off because the traffic on our web site was becoming far too costly.

Changing subjects drastically, so many of our customers were talking about the World Soccer tournament that just ended. All I can say is... I wish the game had never been invented! I suppose I just could not get into it. I am mostly interested in hockey and golf. I used to find tennis interesting to follow; but the game has changed so much that I find it difficult to watch. The men's tennis matches are not fun for me because the points are over in two seconds; women's tennis is more watchable because the points take longer-And if that Anna player is in the match all the better.

I would like to mention on a more serious note that the original owner of the shop Mr. Len Cooper is not feeling well these days. Len and his wife Bernice opened this business back in 1975; I was a customer back then-all of nine years old. Over the past 7 years Len has been coming once per week to give me a day off. I hope that Len makes a speedy recovery!!

Yesterday, June 2nd we had a young magician, 22 years old give a wonderful magic lecture on card and coin sleight of hand. His name is Serge and he was dynamite; especially when you consider his young age. We had a nice turnout too with about 37 people showing up. I must say that I really do appreciate the support from our customers. Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day outside and it is nice to see customers come to our little shop rather than enjoy the nice day outside.

We should be having more lectures in the middle part of August. In the mean time....take care.

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho.......It's off to work I go. Actually I am at work. I know, I know. You think that all I do is fun and games. Well, it is true that I suppose I have an interesting 'job'. But there are many other things that I have to do to keep this business going besides demonstrating magic tricks.

Such as: Check invoices; Pay Bills; Do Bookkeeping; Cleaning; Place Orders; Try and Learn Some New Tricks; Answer Questions from Web site; Send out mail orders. Etc.Etc and of course keep our Wonderland operation going. Having said all that I do enjoy what I do; most of the time. I wish though I had more time to read magic books; I like videos but I still prefer sitting down somewhere quiet and reading a magic book and practicing.

Good to see that the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing well; especially Curtis Joseph! When I was a kid ( in the 70's) I got spoiled. I was born in Montreal. And in the late 70's the Montreal Canadiens were the kings of hockey. Boston Bruins had an excellent team but they were not as good as Montreal. So I got spoiled watching a team that was filled with all star players such as: Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy LaPointe, Jacques Lemaire, Mario Tremblay, Pierre Mondou, Yvon Cornyuer plus others AND SCOTTY BOWMAN was their coach!! Once season, they won 68 games and tied 4 and lost only 8!!! These days if a team had two or three of those types of players they would be considered a good team.

I hope all is well. And oh yes, please remember that on Sunday, June 2 at 1PM Serge is doing a teaching lecture/seminar on coins and cards. Tickets are only $10 each and the session should be about two hours long.

The auction is over and it was a success. We had a good turn out and lots, and lots of people got big bargains. The next in shop auction will be sometime in September or early October.

It was good to see the Maple Leafs win the other night. Hopefully they will win the series, but I have my doubts.

We got in a really cute new card effect by Joshua Jay called Side Show. I will try to put it on the site sooner rather than later. Sorry for the delay with the new demonstrations. The web master will be putting them on fairly soon.

This Sunday is Mother's Day. Mother's are real magic. Don't forget to get your mom a gift and a kiss because you have made her watch so many of your tricks. How many times have you asked your mom to ' Take a Card.'

Len and Bernice Cooper, the original owners of the shop went to Casino Niagara to gamble. They are not big gamblers but do enjoy the Casinos. I on the other hand, have no interest in gambling. Len and Bernice Cooper opened the Browser's Den back in 1975 when I was 9 years old. I remember the first time I walked into the shop I was enthralled with the shop. And this may sound strange but I liked the SMELL of the magic shop. In fact, I used to get a 'high' by the smell of the packaging. Weird eh? Anyway take care-Jeff.

Tomorrow is our semi-annual magic auction. I have to do tons of work to get the auction ready for Sunday. But it is fun too. I hope tonight that the Toronto Maple Leafs do net get embarrassed again and win a hockey game. My father helped me out by driving James up to Canada's Wonderland. James runs our magic booth up at Wonderland and is doing one fine job.

I will be talking with Jay Sankey next week to set up a fall lecture at the shop; so stay tuned!

On a separate note, our shop is so interesting sometimes. That is, we have people coming in to the shop from all different walks of life. We have broadcasters, doctors, actors, street performers, TTC drivers, etc. etc. And they all like magic!! Magic has a universal interest for most people. Not many people are interested in the taking the time to master the art of magic but they do enjoy watching it (if it is performed properly).

Our magic booth at Canada's Wonderland opened this past weekend. Though the weather was just awful we did fairly well. A big thanks goes to James Rowson who operated the booth. Most of you have probably met James at the shop or have seen him a little on our web site demonstrations.

The web master will be coming to the shop this Thursday to 'shoot' more demos for the web site....so STAY TUNED! I went with my dad, girlfriend, Len and Bernice Cooper and Nick Sacco to see comedian JACKIE MASON at the New Yorker Theatre. Jackie Mason was very, very funny!! It was an afternoon show and the theatre was 95% full! Jackie Mason must be about 70 years old and if you ever have the opportunity to go and see him do not hesitate!

My father moved into a new condominium yesterday. He is in a great new building at Bathurst and Lawrence. His unit is small but the building is magnificent. It seems these days that condo builders think more about the lobby than about the units. Anyway, I am sure that he will enjoy his new place.

Please remember that on Sunday, June 2 Serge will be giving a lecture on coins and cards at the shop. Tickets are only $10.00. Though Serge is not a well known magic name I guarantee you that you will get VALUE from his lecture. The material is not self working but you will learn some stuff and be very motivated to improve your skills.

Well, it is 7:30 AM and I have a couple of mail orders to be filled so I better say goodbye for now!

It is 10:45 PM on a Saturday night. And I am thinking about all you magic people out there- I must be nuts. Anyway, I was glad to see that the Toronto Maple Leafs won their hockey game this afternoon. I was one year old the last time they won the Stanley Cup!! I hope the Leafs will win again before I am 101 years old.

We got in a new series of videos by Fun Inc. There are 6 videos all together. And with each video you get Dan Harlan performing and teaching two card tricks. But get this....you get all the necessary gaffed cards to do the tricks! And the cost is only $21.50. Anyway we only got samples right now. Hopefully I will be able to get some for the shop in about 10 days!

Today at the shop Jay Sankey dropped by at about 11 AM. Jay is a terrific guy and looks as if he will be giving another lecture at our shop some time in October, 2002. I think Jay invents a new trick every time somebody brushes their teeth! And flosses of course.

Matthew was at the shop this Saturday behind the magic counter demonstrating magic. He has grown up into a fine young man. Too bad, he 'borrows' so many of my bad/ corny jokes.

Tomorrow morning, Sunday, I am meeting James at 8AM at the shop and we are driving up to Canada's Wonderland to set up our magic booth; nothing like a day off. There are rumours that the park is selling the land and 'moving' in two to four years. We will have to wait and see.

1. The tickets for the Serge lecture are selling quick. Serge will be giving a lecture on Sunday, June 2 on advanced and intermediate card and coin sleight of hand. Tickets are only $10.00 each and the lecture will run from 1PM to about 3PM. Please call us at 416-783-7022 for tickets.

2. Yesterday we got in the shop the most beautiful hand made from Rosewood Magic Wands. I know I have been asked hundreds of times for nice quality wands. Well, supplies are very limited so you may want to consider getting one now. They are long and slim. And they come in two styles: Style A-With Metal Tips $30.00 Style B- No Tips $15.00.

Hopefully we will have some time next week to put some photos of them on our web site.

I hope that you all have a nice weekend. Oh yes I almost forgot to remind you that our next in store MAGIC AUCTION is just around the corner! Bargains, Bargains, No Tax (on auction items) and LOTS OF FUN!! The admission is only $5.00. The auction is on Sunday, May 5th from 12PM to about 3:30PM.
I hope that you can make it.

Hello it is Jeff Browser here (okay Browser is not my real last name). It is my day off but we got in some new stuff that I felt you would like to know about.

DARYL'S FULL MONTE VIDEO, $46.00. I have been watching it this afternoon and it is FANTASTIC! So thorough! And Daryl is SOOOOO GOOOOOD!! The topics Daryl covers include: Working Surfaces, Cards to Use, Preparing the Cards (very interesting!), Turnover Moves,
Miscellaneous Moves( you will love this section!), Vernon's Optical Move, Other Routines, Hooks and Come-Ons, Special Sets. The Video is Two and Half Hours Long!

We also got in, but I have not watched them yet, VERY BEST OF JAY SANKEY, there are three volumes-we got them all. And they sell for $46.00

Other new items include a very funny giant sized version of the old 'PRIDE AND JOY ' GAG.

For those who love Invisible Thread we got back in stock the 'KEVLAR INVISIBLE THREAD KIT, $69.00 that we have been selling so well of. Kevlar invisible thread is much, much stronger than the other thread reels that we have sold in the past.

Also, new is the FLYING ELEPHANT TRICK, you have to supply your own baby elephant. Just joking (small, very small joke).

Anyway I am at home writing you this note so I am sure that I am forgetting some stuff but I think I need to purchase the services of a barber and get a haircut.

	This journal is supposed to be used for me to express my thoughts inside and outside the magic world. I do not want to dwell in this forum too much on my recent personal loss. My father, Manny was my best friend. He and I had dinner about four times each and every week. Sundays was breakfast and Mondays were most of the time lunch at Mandarin. We spoke EVERY day at 7am. As many of you know my dad passed away Friday, April 27; he was only 68 years old. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer in January 2007. He had been going for a colonoscopy every year for the past 9 years! And everything just spiraled out of control and downwards. He suffered a lot. Theses past few months have just been a nightmare. My dad’s father lived to be 86 and mother to 92. So for my dad to get sick and pass away at 68 was not foreseen to say the least. I want to thank so many of you who sent me cards. It's all very hard to believe. As the old saying goes ‘Man makes plans. And God laughs.’ Jeff.
Jeff, Uncle Jerry, & Manny

Manny, Jeff, & Uncle Jerry at the IBM Convention