tommEE pickles' blog

This blog has moved

2010-04-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

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Back on the Video Blog today

2010-04-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

* Saturday April 3rd was the 2010 Pillow Fight in Pershing Square
* Car is taken away and in impound
* I lost my Credit Card
* Easter came
* The Last Bar Show at Magicopolis

Blog Video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R75Nd6lw5B8)

Pillow Fight Video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J12acyhQw3c)

Wow, I don't think I will perform on Hollywood Blvd.

2010-03-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is when Nacho Libre got attacked by one of the CD sellers because of location

Busker on Hollywood Blvd.

2010-03-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

I saw this story about a magician on Hollywood Blvd. Someone had an idea about having current ordinances in my pocket at all times. This is a story from a guy named Zak:

Here is the story of my ongoing adventure with the LAPD.

Aproximately one month ago, Officer S__ and his partner (who did not give me a name) approached me while I was performing my magic act on Hollywood Blvd between Highland and Orange. They asked me for my identification. I gave them my drivers license, and they began writing on what appeared to be a ticket pad.

They then asked if I had a permit to perform on the Boulevard. I told them that according to my information, Los Angeles had no permit system, but that I did have a permit for Santa Monica. They asked to see it and I showed it to them. S_'s partner stepped close to me in a menacing manner so that I was nose to chest with him (this is a big guy...with a very big gun.) and said, "This is not a Permit...we both know that this is not a permit."

I repeated that it was a Santa Monica permit and that there were no permits required in the city of Los Angeles.

"This is Hollywood blvd," said Seguin..."This is something different." S__ then explained that street performers were not welcome in Hollywood. I told him that the Supreme court had declared street performing to be constitutionally protected speech, and that the issue had already been before the courts in Hollywood.

"Well, you can take this one to court." he said, as he continued writing on what appeared to be a ticket pad.

"What is your purpose for being out here?" said S__.
"I'm doing a magic show"
"Yes but what is the purpose for doing the show?"
"I'm an artist...it's what I do." At this, the Big Man With the Big Gun snorted loudly.

"What are you charging?" they asked.

"I'm not charging anything, I pass a hat, and ask for donations."

It was apparent at this point that they were trying to get me to admit that I was charging money, and therefore vending and not performing.

S__ snapped his ticket book closed. "All right, Zack, I'm going to allow you to continue," he said "At this point we do not have clear guidelines as to what we can do with you people, but we are talking with the City attorney as what exactly can be done. We do not want Hollywood boulevard to turn into Venice beach."

The absurdity of this statement will not be lost on anyone who has been to Hollywood boulevard:Santa Monica and Venice draw millions of tourists every year. The performers are mentioned in all the guidebooks. Hollywood boulevard is an ugly shadow of its former glory, wallowing in tattoo parlors, head shops, and cheap electronics stores...a tragic waste of what should be a glorious urban center.

S__ informed me again that he was in contact with Julie San Juan, the city attorney. Further he told me that if I charged any fixed price, he would charge me with vending, and that he would cite me if my crowds blocked the sidewalk. He then gave me his card and left.

On February 23rd I was approached by Senior Lead officer Michael S__. Mike was off duty and not in uniform (He was moonlighting as security at the Hollywood and Highland mall). He informed me that he was a cop. He said that he knew that I was not vending, and that for the time being he would not try to stop me from performing, but that:

1. The merchants of Hollywood and Highland (the new mall)were complaining, and because of this, street performers would almost certainly be shut down soon.
2. That I would not be allowed to perform in the month of April because of the Oscar ceremonies.
3. That my amplifier was illegal.

On February 25, I saw S__ again. He approached me angrily and said "Didn't you get told about that amplifier?" I said no.

He than asked if I had a permit for the amplifier. I said I did not and asked him where I could get a permit. "They won't give you one for Hollywood Blvd," he said. He told me that there was an ordinance against amplified sound in Hollywood, and that I did not have the right to be so loud that people complained. "Did someone complain?" I asked?

"I'm complaining," S__said angrily.

"I'm not going to cite you, because I don't have the ordinance with me," he said, but he warned me not to use the amplifier. Later I asked him for the ordinance number, and he said it was in his car.

Seguin at this point told me that he was "In cahoots" with the city attorney to shut down all street performers, because "Venice Beach is a zoo." and that "we" want Hollywood to be the kind of place where parents could take their kids.

I voiced my opinion that if parents were afraid to take their kids to Hollywood, it probably had less to do with the free magic shows and more to do with the tattoo parlours and prostitutes. He said that there was nothing they could do about the prostitutes and that they would always be there. I felt that arguing the point would just make him mad...I didn't want to end up like Rodney King.

Upon checking the municipal code at lacity.org, I discovered that it was perfecftly legal to run an amplifier as long as it was not audible for more than 200 feet.

And that is where it stands.

I'm talking to a lawyer.

EMC 2010 ans online conference of MAGIC

2010-03-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

I heard Luis DeMatos, David Britland and Marco Tempest on a podcast speaking about EMC 2010 (Essential Magic Conference 2010) which will be held online. Many speakers are from the Magic Castle and to mention the convention has 31 speakers. The presenters are unbelievable:

Anton Lopez
Cyril Takayama
De'Vo Vom Schattenreich
Gazzo
Helder Guimarães
Lennart Green
Max Maven
Paul Kieve
Richard Mcdougall
Stuart Macleod
William Kalush
Apollo Robbins
Dani DaOrtiz
Eric Mead
Gene Matsuura
James Freedman
Luis de Matos
Miguel Angel Gea
Paulino Gil
Richard Wiseman
Ton Onosaka
Barry Jones
David Britland
Gaetan Bloom
Guy Hollingworth
Jason England
Marco Tempest
Mike Caveney
Ponta The Smith
Stan Allen
Topas

The online convention runs from July 15-17

More information found at http://www.essentialmagicconference.com

Wow, never thought that this talent would ever be together at the Magic Castle

2010-03-22T14:19:00.001-07:00

Seems like there will be plenty of young people showing up at the Castle with this selection of talent:

CLOSE-UP GALLERY
Early Performer
Johan Stahl
Late Performer
Andrew Mayne

PARLOUR OF PRESTIDIGITATION
Early Performer
Chris Kenner
Late Performer
Brian Brushwood

PALACE OF MYSTERY
Rudy Coby Show
Magic vs. Science

W.C. FIELDS BAR
Bizzaro
Friday and Saturday

HAT & HARE LOUNGE
Theory11
Friday and Saturday

THE PELLER PROJECT
Michael Carbonaro
Frank Olivier

There will be some unbelieveable talent around and some hot things in the industry. I think Bizzaro is great. Andrew Mayne is certinly creative, Michael Carbonaro made me laugh in Vegas. Chris Kenner (how is he getting more time off) is an awesome person and magic legend. Brian Brushwood is the Scam School host and a funny magician. Rudy Coby is an icon in magic. This upcoming week of magic should not be missed, I know I will be there on Friday

The Pendragons Metamorphosis will have to wait

2010-03-11T07:00:00.001-08:00

JONATHAN PENDRAGON TO SPEND ONE YEAR IN JAIL

by Dodd Vickers

The Santa Maria Times has published an article updating the story ofJonathan Pendragon:

Claude Douglas Yarbrough, whose stage name is Jonathan Pendragon, pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon for the July 8 shooting.

The 55-year-old magician will be sentenced to a year in jail April 13.

Yarbrough’s no-contest plea also results in two strikes being added to his record, and he could also face up to five years of probation, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

A no-contest plea is similar to a guilty plea in felony cases, although it is not an admission of guilt.

Yarbrough’s attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu, said he didn’t know exactly why his client chose to change his plea and not proceed with a trial, but he assumed it had something to do with Yarbrough’s feelings for his wife.

She (Charlotte) was present in court Tuesday, when her husband of 33 years apologized to her for any harm he may have caused her.

Funke-Bilu said he has never had a client apologize to the victim at the time of a plea, which he believes shows Yarbrough is remorseful.

“It was something that he wanted to say,” Funke-Bilu said, adding the request by his client caught him off-guard. “It wasn’t something that I told him to say.”

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

Another chance to see tommEE perform magic

2010-03-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

tommEE performs magic at Garage Comedy

Type:

Music/Arts - Performance

Date:	Monday, March 15, 2010
Time:	9:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:	Hyperion Tavern
Street:	1941 Hyperion Avenue
City/Town:	Los Angeles, CA
	View Map

tommEE pickles is being filmed at the Magic Castle

2010-02-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

tommEE pickles is being filmed at the Magic Castle

Type:

Music/Arts - Performance

Date:	Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Time:	8:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	The Magic Castle
Street:	7001 Franklin Avenue Hollywood, CA 90028
City/Town:	Los Angeles, CA
	View Map

Description

tommEE pickles is being taped at the Magic Castle. Anyone is welcome to come. Leave a comment or message tommEE if you need to be on the list.

The taping has been changed to the museum and audience must be seated before 8pm.

Beating a Dead Horse

2010-02-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

I just got notified about a video that was posted after my commentary to his comments. I thought it was funny. I was told by a friend: Your part starts at about 01:01:40 in, right after he smokes a bunch of weed and talks about getting a rimjob from a hooker in a massage parlor. Original comments posted at http://tommee.net/His%20Blog/2010/01/confrontation-squeakquel.html

Best quote: Douchier the name, Douchier the magician.

Ha ha ha

I don't want to throw up for a while

2010-01-30T02:32:00.000-08:00

I got food poisoning Thursday from Pizza Hut. It wasn't on the online menu but they gave it to me anyway. I threw up 12-15 times in a 24 hour period and my gut feels like I was punched by someone large.

Even though I haven't blogged in a while, I have been busy.

The rain put a damper on the beginning of the week but I did get out of the house. Sunday I went to the Project Dynamite house for a surprise party for Alex and David. Erik, Val, Cnelson and Eliot showed up but since the weather was cold there wasn't much juggling or outdoor stuff.

Wednesday, I went to the Magic Castle to catch Dan and Dave Buck doing an interview/demo. Dan tried to show the hacky sack cut that made David Williamson throw down his cards and walk away. They are pretty cool guys and had a Paul Harris type of attitude toward magic. Only performing magic when asked and not really performing for large groups. At the end we got a deck of cards that they are producing based on the Erdnase book and cards used.

Outside the Castle I got to chat with Dave Buck and asked him about Magic Con. Apparently there is only about 300 attendees going to Magic-Con in March which should be awesome. After seeing over 1500 people at Magic Live, it will be nice to see a smaller group of magicians at the bar.

Tomorrow night I am going to go see the Bar Show at Magicopolis. Apparently there is supposed to be a ventriloquist that makes his dummy have sex or something like that. I asked Erik if he saw the act yet and he said no. Plausible deniability.

Sunday I am performing at the Old Town Pub in Pasadena. I don't know the exact schedule yet but as my friends know, if there is a chance of doing magic, I always do some magic. The people who are all participating in this event are all great also. The last time we met, I did magic for the live painters and they responded awesomely.

Next weekend, we are headed to Washington D.C. for Shmoocon. Unfortunately I won't see my friend (I call "One-Ear'ed Rob") Rob. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be able to go to Shmoocon. I will be flying out on Thursday night and arriving Friday Morning.

So it seems like there is stuff on the horizon and I hope to meet up with friends soon, now that the puking has stopped.

Wow, when I think the world gets a little boring I see...

2010-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.

Jason Latimer - February 19th

2010-01-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

Who wants to see him. I heard one of his illusions cost him like $17,000 to build.

The Big Show

2010-01-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

The Big Show

Host:	tommEE pickles
Type:	Music/Arts - Performance
Network:	Global

Start Time:	Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 6:00pm
End Time:	Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:00am
Location:	Old Town Pub
Street:	66 North Fair Oaks Avenue
City/Town:	Pasadena, CA
	View Google Map

Description

* Vaudeville
* Burlesque
* Art
* Music
* BBQ
* Magic
* Ice Cream
* Folksingers

No Cover

Magician tommEE pickles

Source: howdidhedothat.com

a bunch of us went to see the magic of Tommee Pickles.He's rad &nb ...

Posted by You

Tommee Pickles - Magician - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles county, California

Source: www.gigmasters.com

Hire Tommee Pickles of Los Angeles, California for your Wedding, Corporate Event, or Private Party

Posted by You

tommEE pickles wrote at 10:03am yesterday Gina I found out I will be performing on stage in the last group which is around the 11:00pm hour but I will be also performing behind the bar throughout the night I am told.
Delete

tommEE pickles wrote at 5:51pm on January 14th, 2010 Gina, I don't know the time yet but we are meeting on the 17th for the schedule. I will keep everyone informed. It should be a cool variety show anyway.
Delete

Gina Sullivan wrote at 3:10pm on January 14th, 2010 What time will you be performing tommee?
Report - Delete

tommEE pickles wrote at 5:00pm on January 13th, 2010 Yes I will be performing magic
Delete

Grace Komjakraphan (UC Irvine) wrote at 4:57pm on January 13th, 2010 It's my friends bday that weekend, but i will definitely try. are you performing?
Report - Delete

Confrontation, the Squeakquel

2010-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Zach Waldman left a comment yesterday but I didn't keep it up for editorial reasons. After all this is my movie.

Zach's comments with editorial rebuttal:

I've been the house magician for pay at Ye Olde King's Head for over three years.

I work Sundays 2P-4P. The show you saw that one night was something I was workshopping.

Several people told me you were walking around the pub and accepting tips.

This is not correct, I never accepted tips in the King's Head. Everyone I did magic for was a friend. I lived on Ocean Ave, I didn't get there from trolling for tips.

I'm secure about my employment so I didn't really care. My only intention was to tell you how wrong it is to go to another performer's gig and start working for free.

I have no personal beef with Zach, it is why I say hello when I see him. However, saying I can't do magic to one of my friend sitting at the bar because he does his magic there on other days to different people is like saying, you can't date my ex-girlfriend because I dated her. (By the way, this happened once too to someone else).

You were basically giving away something for free that I get paid for.

I hate to say, the friends I was showing effects to, would never see what he did. Not saying Zach isn't good, but my friends see enough magic with me as well as going to every magic show I invite them too. Usually between 2-4pm on a Sunday, we would be at Big Dean's on the beach, and I would be doing magic there.

I imagine if you pulled this on another magician in town, they would've reacted much stronger than I did.

I could imagine it would be different if it was a venue I expected to see magic in, like the promenade or I took over the stage in Magicopolis but it wasn't like that. Pete doesn't like me and my friends and its pretty mutual. I showed effects to my friends. Not doing it to patrons. I wasn't strolling around, I didn't take tips or money.

In the future, get your own gig and try to get paid for once instead of walking around collecting tips like a homeless dude.

I do have my own gigs, I do get paid. I don't do magic for tips. Sometimes I give magic away for free. Like the homeless dude in the subway. Magic is a gift. When you can present it to someone who appreciates it, it makes a beautiful exchange. If I wanted tips, I would wear a hat or carry a shoe box.

Confrontation, the movie

2010-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to a walk through of The Big Show I am performing on the 31st. I hung out with some of the talent and the producers of the event. One interesting person I met was a 21 year old hypnotist haberdasherer. He had a awesome suit and a cell phone that he created, made out of wood, rotary dial and World War II leather strap. He was a character and it will be a fun show. I stayed for a couple of beers with the producers and these artists. I was doing some magic to a guy named Tim and he gave me the best over-the-top responses. I have to get him to be in the audience for my demo tape. At one point, he said to his buddies "This guy is the devil".

After the meeting at Old Town Pub, Nikki and Andres gave me a ride to the North Hollywood subway station and I rode it to the Magic Castle. I saw some of the regular characters and was happy to get out of the rain. I noticed the afro of Zach Waldman so I called him over. When he was within talking distance, he exclaimed "What the hell were you doing, Pete told me you were doing magic in Ye Old King's Head". I told him, I was not performing, I was showing an effect to two friends. Zach said "I perform magic in there, thats my venue". Not challenging him, I told him that I don't live down there anymore, and Pete lost customers that night and I don't enjoy that bar anymore which I am unhappy about because I like the bar staff and security employees. I only went to that bar because I lived behind it. The thing that bothers me. I have never seen Zach Waldman perform magic for the groups of people at Ye Olde Kings Head and I lived behind the bar for over a year and half. When I did see him perform, it was for a small group of magicians to give him criticism about his act he was bring to a college in Utah or something.

I went home on the subway and while I was in the station, a homeless man said "What's wrong with your hair?". I laughed and told him I was a magician. I feel silly when I tell people I am a magician without showing something magical. I put a half dollar in front of him on the subway bench. He watched me. I waved my hands over it, then waved my hands again, then the coin vanished. It was enjoyed.

Ug, emaill critique

2010-01-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

got another email to add to the stupid pile:

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 23:11:34 -0800 (PST) From: mohamed mxxxxxx  To: tommEE@gmail.com  Dear Tomm  , i was wondering , can u help me out in hacking an educational system to change my grades and just pass ?? i dont need A's i just need a pass , i've already been in university for 8 years , am already working , am sure we can settle down for a good bargain between me and u as long as u can do it ...adding to that i live abroad in a country that doesnt yet support any hacking laws so the risk'll be minimal for both u and me aguess ,  please reply to me as soon as possible , am desperate ... thanks

Uh, maybe he is failing because he doesn't know capital letters? He didn't get my capital E's in my name either.

Birthdaycon 2010

2010-01-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is the skinny on my Birthday this year. It's going to be a low key, small birthday but still held in Vegas. Poor planning got me stuck in LA until Saturday. I also didn't expect to be celebrating in Las Vegas, I thought I was going to have a thing in Tahoe but we still will have fun.

I will be arriving into Sin City Saturday and hitting up CES for a quick browse. I have to remember some comfy shoes. Saturday evening, pinball museum and Double Down. I have to get my semi-annual meet and greet with Patrick Norton.

Sunday we are going to dress up in costumes and be in the studio audience for Let's Make a Deal at the Tropicana. I am hoping for a new car or furniture for my birthday from Wayne Brady.

The Ghost of Christmas Passed me

2009-12-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

Oh how I am loving my new apartment and the area I am in. Being that it's the Holiday season it makes this all seem like a vacation. Wednesday night I didn't attend my usual activity of the Santa Monica Hacker Drinkup. Instead I went to a holiday party that my building management was throwing. It was good because I met several of the neighbors from the area and I did some magic through the evening.

Thursday was Christmas Eve and Erik and Val came over to check out my apartment and we headed to Bar 107. We ran into a bunch of comedians we know when we go there. Right away I remember Claire Titleman and Karl Hess. We drank for a bit, did some shots and then we came back to my place for some downtime while watching The Magic Show with Doug Henning.

Christmas Day came and I didn't get any gifts. I am assume its because I moved and I didn't put up a tree. I am giving Santa a pass this time. Later in the evening I met Cnelson and Readiness over at the New Bev Cinema to catch The Muppet Christmas Carol. After the movie, Erik and Val showed up to see Muppets Take Manhattan.

Yesterday I drove to my old place to clean up and remove the stuff that the movers didn't move (I am filing a complaint to the BBB). I spent like three hours cleaning and then I scheduled cleaning people to show up Sunday. I drove over to Cnelson's house but he didn't answer his phone or the door. I drove home with my crap and brought it up to my pad. I went out to Bar 107 in the evening and performed some magic. Erik and Val met me later in the evening.

Today I went to look at parking lots and been casually drinking beer in the apartment. I watched the news and saw the new travel laws for the airlines and it makes me want to boycott the airlines. Since the guy trying to light explosives on the airline, they are now

not permitting anyone getting up in the last hour of the flight to go in overhead bins or bathrooms.
the entertainment systems with GPS will be shut off for the last hour so you cannot see what is near by
bags are now hand checked after the xray

The stupid thing is that this guy was on a watch list, what the f*** is wrong with the admistration of this country where they cannot stop terrorism but they keep taking away our rights.

I received my Reel Magic DVD for December yesterday. There is a cool shell repair column and a cool move called a Monkey Change. The only thing that I noticed that there are far less commercials. Usually I wouldn't mind commercials being removed but the commercials on the DVD usually give me ideas of stuff I want to do or create.

So the rest of the week is paying rent and dyeing hair as well as preparing for New Year Eve at French Gulch Group Campground.

Randy Newman said it first, I love LA

2009-12-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

The move was a nightmare and there is still stuff to do but I love my new apartment and the area that it is in.

I unpacked some of my stuff, cooked myself some food and tried to get a signal on my HDTV tuner. The food didn't end up being what I wanted, the unpacking is hard because I need drawers and such. The TV would only tune in a couple channels. Thank goodness that I have DVDs and I have my EVDO modem.

I went out last night and discovered the goodness of Downtown. I walked to Bar 107 and got a seat on a stool after a half hour of drinking. I just played with my cards and such and drank my Stella. One of the guys in the bar asked if I knew any tricks. I showed him several and told him I was a performing magician. He explained that his friend was turning 21 and would be at the bar shortly. He asked if I could show him some magic. The friend arrived with several others and sooner than I knew, I was performing for a very large group. They bought several of my drinks and it was entertaining. I must have made a pretty good scene because the bouncer asked what did I show them.

I walked home and saw a couple 24 hour places for food and items. It feels like a cross between Hollywood and New York.

I am staying in tonight because I have not found my monthly parking yet. I also have the cable company coming to connect me to the internet. I tried to leach internet but everyone is protecting their networks. I might try cracking keys tonight but I will have fast internet tomorrow.

Busy like a bee, time to pollinate

2009-12-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

The weekend has come and gone but I remember it like it was yesterday. Wait it was yesterday.

Friday, there wasn't much going on. I was going to go to the Magic Castle but I didn't hear from anyone, I stayed local. I went to Magicopolis and hung out with Erik Tait for some of his shift. We went to West 4th/Jane and had a beer. Erik then went home and I decided to go to Ye Olde Kings Head.

When I got to King's Head there was a seat at the bar. Hillary was bartending and I met two guys at the bar who I shared shots and had some conversation. It came out that I was a magician and I shared some illusions with them. The general manager Pete came over, put his hands on my cards and said "No magic in here, I don't want to see you doing magic in here". This came as a small shock. I don't know why he chose to do that but I know that Pete has generally hated me,, I don't know if it is jealousy or something. The two guys I was talking to said "Fuck that guy" and left. I stayed on and talked to the staff and they all said Pete was being a jerk. It's just a shame because everyone on the staff enjoys me being at King's Head and now they will lose my business and friends business because of one guy. I am sure my yelp review will follow also.

Saturday I picked up Will X. in Hollywood to go with me to pick up my Treasure Box (food order for my new place). We headed to my apartment and put the food in my freezer. I showed Will X my pool and hottub with the awesome spot for my new headshots. We then headed back to my old apartment, parked the car in the valet and walked across the street to Big Dean's. We met Eliot there are drink and ate for the rest of the afternoon. At 5pm or so, the First Annual Santa Monica Bar Crawl. Seeing that they had three different routes, this had to be larger than the Santacon we just participated. We met a girl name Constance who enjoyed my magic a lot. We headed home after the crawl left and I then took a nap.

I headed to Magicopolis at around 9:30pm and saw Steve. We talked before the show started and I told him about the King's Head story. Eliot and Will X. showed up later. Matt Champagne was funny and the night was fun. I wanted to go out more but I forgot that I had to be up the next day for planning of a show I am in January 31st in Pasadena. I went home and enjoyed some sleep.

Sunday, I packed for most of the morning and then headed to Pasadena to talk about some casting for this new show. I showed off some small intimate illusions to the four people I was meeting with. They wanted to see more stage like stuff and I showed them a little of my razor blade swallowing but didn't have styrofoam cups, table or a three inch nail. I didn't really have any stage items with me but they enjoyed my drink promoting and comedy. After all that I came home, got some Subway and packed some more. I heard in the evening news that Brittany Murphy died Sunday morning and it saddened me a little, she was younger than me and one of those ladies I liked so much.

Today I am waiting for the movers and a fear the nightmare to be. I know that only one elevator in Pacific Plaza Towers is working and its probably going to affect the speed of my move. I am so glad I am out of here. I just want my bed and TV to be setup in my new place so I can chill. I am not ordering cable for my new apartment, just internet. Cable prices are so crazy expensive. There isn't enough programming that I enjoy. Channels I enjoy are now pay channels and they remove channels I liked like HDNET.

I am sure I will have a blog and pictures about my move. I am excited to be moving Downtown. I will be able to take a subway to the Magic Castle and to Club kM. There are a bunch of bars walking distance, including upscale ones like Crocker Club and the Edison. My apartment is over $1000 cheaper than my Ocean Ave apartment. I will also be closer to Erik so we can workshop magic.

Hanukkah is almost over, Christmas approaches

2009-12-18T00:29:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in my half packed old apartment watching Surveillance, weening myself off of cable. I was going to stop at the bar to grab something to eat but it was full. I went to Subway (not a plug).

I have been trying to catch up with all the packing I have to do but things have been busy. This past Saturday was Santacon. Saturday morning I awoke and threw my Santa Suit in a bag. I walked to Cnelson's place and we got ready to pick up Eliot. We all headed to Hollywood and Highland to park the car and took the subway to Union Station then to Chinatown. When we got to Chinatown, we found the gaggle of Santas.

We waited at the Empress Pavilion for a while and then the gang got on the subway again and we headed East. The train barely held the gang of Santas because it was Saturday service. Luckily I didn't see any Santas left behind. This was weird, heading toward East LA. We got off at Mariachi and everyone hung around at this little sidewalk area where the was two ponies. There was supposed to be some Mariachi band there but they didn't show. We stood around for a while but we were two stops into this journey and we still haven't stopped for a drink anywhere. We were getting antsy and decided to walk for a bit to get beer and food. We heard some of the Santas saying that we should stay but it was getting boring hanging around the ponies. Afterall, we had our pony day a couple weeks ago at Keith Myers' birthday party.

When it was time to go, we headed to Indiana stop, further to the East. When we got off the train, everyone headed to El Tarasco, but unfortunately the place looked like it was only prepared to have the 30 or so people that were occupying the restaurant, not the 400 or so people about to enter. We sat for 20 minutes waiting for a waitress. Keith actually went to bribe one of the waitresses with $100 and she said no. We left and met the rest of our people at La Bufadora. It was nice to have some $3 beers and I got to see a colleague Ted Werth, that I haven't seen in 15 years.

It started raining a bunch now and we heard that the visit to Disney Concert Hall was cancelled. We just heard get on the train and head to Union Station. We headed to Union Station to go to Trax, the tiny bar in the front of Union Station. We were there for a while and then we heard that the Santas were supposed to head to Disney Concert Hall to crash a children's carol concert. We didn't want part of this, we decided to go on to Pershing Square and to the ice skating rink. It was raining so we went on our own to grab drinks and food at Casey's. The staff was incredibly awesome and the food and drinks were the best.

We heard a bunch of the Santas went to the Down and Out bar and we headed there ourselves. When we got to the door, security suddenly started charging a $5 cover. When a Santa approached and questioned that there was no cover before. The security said, the rules just changed. It was sad that the bouncers were receiving profit because of our event. They lost business by not having us in there with the large tabs we would have rang up. Since there seemed to be lack of leadership this early in the evening, we decided to leave and head back to Santa Monica.

Overall, I was disappointed in this years Santacon. I twittered to the lasantacon account saying "we are leaving, wait for the blog". Heather twittered back to me saying @tommee fuck off and die alone. It got more rude after that, she since has deleted it but wow, was I surprised.

So now that the holiday is approaching and my move is taking up my time, I am exhausted. I have the movers coming over on Monday.

New Years is also approaching and unfortunately our plans for Tahoe fell through. We will be camping at a group campsite for 100 person group. So it's pretty busy in the upcoming weeks. I hope to have some video and pictures of Santacon soon. I also hope to have a house warming gathering soon.

Steve Spill on the itricks podcast

2009-12-15T12:49:00.001-08:00

iTricks.com Magic Week In Review: 12.13.06

The Guest:
• Steve Spill

What’s the most meaningful gig you’ve ever worked? How difficult is it to run a magic theater in light of the Steve Wyrick closing? Also, find out the similarity between our guest and Greg Frewin’s special last week.

- New York Magic Projects Four Quarters the newest mis-made bill effect from Magick Balay. Shot in HD.

- Trick Shop Magic Get $10 off The Dracula Book Test 2.0 if you buy now!

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From Magic News Wire: DAN HARLAN RETURNS TO THE STAGE

2009-12-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

DAN HARLAN RETURNS TO THE STAGE

by Dodd Vickers

According to an article from the News Messenger, Dan Harlan is returning to the stage with a performance at the Freemont Community Theater.

"I made my stage debut at the Fremont Community Theatre when I was 2 years old," Harlan said, "so it has always held a special place in my heart. For the past 25 years, I've traveled the world performing my magic, but this is the first opportunity I've had to return to my hometown. I just knew I had to do something special."

Got the keys to my new place today

2009-12-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

With the keys and signing the lease, came new rules. The highlights are below:

Rooftop Rules (under 24 hour surveillance)

1: Rooftop Hours are Sun - Thurs 7 am - 10pm and Fri/Sat 7am - Midnight
2: Tenants are allowed to have 4 guests
5: Proper swimwear
9: No alcohol beverages in the pool area.
11: Do not throw any items over the ledges
17: Parties on the rooftop are not allowed

Apartment Rules:

13: No noise after 10pm in compliance with California Noise Ordinance

More to follow I am sure.