Shazam Blog
Stories, Tips, and Trivia from Peter
Damascus Community Fair performance
Tonight I had the pleasure of performing for the Damascus Community Fair board and their families, as they recapped this summer’s successful Fair and make plans for the future. Since I travel all over the state, as well as Virginia and into DC, it’s a welcome change to have a show four miles away 
The audience was great, and performing on a raised stage is always fun since everyone can see well. Unbeknownst to them (hopefully), the show featured a few firsts for me:
- The first time doing the brass ring and rope routine on stage
- The first time using my wireless iPod controller in a show
- New introductory patter with the padlock routine
Many thanks to everyone who made it a successful evening … it’s always fun to perform for an appreciative, responsive audience.
~ Peter
Posted October 17, 2008
It has been far too long …
It has been far too long since I last did one of these blog things. The entire month of August flew past without a posting! Shocking.
The Howard County Fair was a blast, and Matt & I enjoyed another year, despite the traditional heat. Took a few weeks to get ready for it, and then a week to recover thereafter, which explains where August went.
Just got started workin’ at Barry’s Magic Shop in Rockville. As the last magic shop in the DC area, it’s a mecca for magicians and magic enthusiasts from all over. Just in the first two weeks I’ve bumped into many fellow magicians, learned plenty of magic, and truly enjoy swapping stories and secrets with fellow prestidigitators. And coming soon, I’ll be teaching magic classes in their lecture/performance space. Good times
Posted September 1, 2007
Crop Circles
So I just finished watching a show about crop circles on the Travel Channel. And being a cynic and magician, I found a lot of their stuff difficult to stomach. Sadly the program freely intermixed legitimate sources with complete nutcases, and a few in the middle ground, which made it difficult to buy what these people were saying.
They spoke about how, in a crop circle, there often is a good deal of electrical equipment failure and issues. This was said with complete seriousness, despite the fact that it was raining, and everyone was sporting panchos and umbrellas. Perhaps it’s water that causes your problems? And even on a dry day, it is possible to attribute these problems to operator error or battery loss.
Another complete crock that they used as proof is dowsing rods. Magicians use these from time to time, and there’s no need for earth energy or ghosts to move them for you. Modern ones are held in the closed fist, and with a tiny rotation of the wrist they will sway to the left or right.
As with most supernatural-looking phenomenon, it attracts people who want to believe. And as such, through the power of suggestion and forgone conclusions, they experience things that aren’t really there. Going with an open mind is one thing, but going expectantly is not very credible.
And here’s a big hint that I got from the show: crop circles have been getting more advanced over the years! In the 1800’s, they didn’t have crop circles as complex as we do today. Do any of the theories about aliens, earth energy, or ancient gods consider this fact?
So how are these other-worldly designs made? Simple. By humans.
A brief Google excursion tells me exactly how, and even shows some of the artists who do it. This is the most amazing thing of all to me: that there is a logical, proven, explainable answer for the circles, yet people still persist that the circles are superhuman in nature.
At least there’s no more mystery surrounding where lightning comes from: we all know that Zeus makes it
Posted July 20, 2007
Your Vote Can Make Me “The Great Blendini”
Rita’s Italian Ice is having a contest to find a magician worthy of the title “The Great Blendini,” to promote their new frozen creation, the Blendini.
If you’d be so kind as to take a second to vote for my video, I’d very much appreciate it. Even better, send the link to a few friends! Help make me the Great Blendini!
Go to http://ritasice.feedroom.com/ and find “Make a Blendini … Magically!” [currently it's the default video, so it plays automatically]
To the right of the video, click on the fifth star under “My Rating,” proclaiming that I am the Great Blendini.
Right now there are only 28 ENTRIES, which for a big contest like this is quite small. If you and a few friends all cast your vote, it’ll make a huge difference!
Contest ends JULY 31st … vote early and often! Thanks in advance,
~ Peter
Posted July 16, 2007
An Appreciation For Technology
So, I wanted to recount the cool technology I’ve utilized in the past two hours.
At 4:00 p.m., I finished teaching my summer magic class in Potomac. Needing to kill some time before hitting up the gym with my friend, I used my newly-aquired Magellan to find the nearest McDonald’s. GPS technology will always be magic to me, and it amazes me that it works as well as it does
After a healthy Asian Chicken salad, I parked the truck under a shady tree and got online. The “online” was courtesy of an unsecured WiFi network in an apartment complex across the road, and was able to squeeze about 40 min. of battery life out of my laptop.
Next I Magellan-ed over to Panera Bread, and I was able to find one near the workout spot. En route I charged the lappy up with the power inverter I built into the truck, but thankfully Panera’s got that under control with copious amounts of free power outlets. I got a cup of coffee, plugged in the dying lappy, and hopped online.
Then my workout buddy called needing a ride. No problem … with Panera’s free WiFi I looked up the address, and will be able to plug that into Magellan and get there easy peasy. Which brings me to now, 6:20, and I have a great appreciation for technology today
Posted July 2, 2007
The Landlord – A fine piece of cinema
If they made a full-length motion picture with this girl, I’d watch it.
Posted June 24, 2007
Shazam @ Church – The Saint Paul 50th Anniversary Picnic
Matt and I just got back from our church, and we’re exhausted. But it was a fun evening!
Matt brought his awesome grill, Bad Angus, and helped cook burgers and hot dogs for the hungry peoples. We also brought our lighting rig, so as the evening entertainments continued everyone could see.
We had a timeslot near the end of the night, and I was grateful that so many people (especially families with small kids) stuck around for our magic show. Matt and I performed our Burned Sock Routine (with some new apparatus), as well as the Invisible Deck Revealed, always an audience favorite.
Posted June 9, 2007
Magic on the water
Just got back from a really fun wedding party on the Odyssey cruise out of the D.C. Marina. It was the first time I’ve been a magician on the water! The crowd was fun, and enjoyed the magic. There were about 200 people, but I was there for four hours, so everyone got a good dose of magic.
I took a dinner break to enjoy some tortellini at a fancy table all by myself. As the Odyssey looped out and back through D.C., we saw the Kennedy Center, Watergate Hotel, Washington and Lincoln Memorials, and plenty of low bridges that only the Odyssey could scoot under.
My feet hurt, I’m quite tired, but it was a memorable show
Posted June 6, 2007
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