I Think You Ought To Know...

.:Kel Fabie: From Khan To 10:.

Allow me to spare you so many words. I will be performing on my 10th anniversary as a mentalist this coming October 22, and I hope to see you there.

All the info you need is right there in the poster, and if you wanted to see a trailer for the show, knock yerselves out by clicking here!

ee y'all this October 22! Tickets are available at Ticket World by next week, at the latest!

Comedy: Serious Business

.:The Serious World Of Comedy:.

First, let me get the shameless self-promotion out of the way: this coming Monday, I'm headlining at Barley Gastropub in Sct. Bayoran corner Sgt. Esguerra, in Quezon City. I would really appreciate if you guys could catch me perform there around 9-ish, because it's the first time I'm headlining a comedy show, and I'm both nervous and stoked about it at the same time.

I never thought about it until recently, but I've actually already spent half a decade as a standup comedian. While magic and mentalism is really my primary competency, I have to admit that I really am glad to be doing what I do in standup, and the opportunities I've been given over the years.

Don't call it a comeback. We never left.

Nonetheless, the Philippine standup comedy scene is definitely a growing scene, and the Herculean task of establishing the scene set up by the Alan Manalo's and Tim Tayag's and Mike Unson's of the country has paved the way for many comics to really thrive. Whether it's Alex Calleja or GB Labrador of Comedy Manila, or the newly-crowned Komikazee winner Chip Balbuena of the Comedy Cartel, there's room for everyone to be better and to grow, and healthy competition certainly makes for better comedians.

They're not marching to Malacanang.

And while all this is happening, growing with it side by side has been improv comedy. From Bacolod's Kinenkoy to SPIT and now Switch Improv, there's something to be said about how much the improv scene continues to thrive as well, despite the apparent lack of marketing drive it has in contrast to the standup comedy scene. Why is that, though?

Loud noises!

I don't want to speculate, but I think the answer is that improv answers a completely different demand from standup, even if both of them usually end up in comedy, one way or another. Standup comedy is an entirely different skillset from improv, and it's hard to succeed in one or the other while carrying exactly the same attitude towards both crafts.

I've only been actively doing improv since 2012, which is three years after I started with standup. I've always had a healthy fear of improv, because while I could memorize jokes, there was something about being challenged to be funny at the drop of a hat in improv that frightened me.

Except the more I looked into improv, the more I realized it's not about trying to be funny that makes it funny. And the reason it's funny to people is also the reason it gets raised eyebrows from pure standup comics: the laughter comes from the truth, not from the punchline. We always say “it's funny because it's true,” but it's never been truer anywhere else than it is in improv. People laugh their heads off and give applause breaks for improv performances that did not contain a single punchline because reasons, and that's the magic of it all.

Yet, to say that it's better or inferior to standup comedy, to even compare the two on that level, is to do an injustice to both art forms. True, both have the same goal: to entertain people. However, the way they take it can be ridiculously different from each other, more often than not. Standup has a rhythm and method all its own that makes it work for what it is. Improv has a rhythm and method all its own that makes it work for what it is. And as vague as it may seem, those two are as different as can be when you pick up on all the nuances and small things they choose differently. For starters, one is a showcase of an individual's humor and point of view. The other is a group effort of people who build on the concept of “yes, and” with fanatical devotion. If you tried coming into an improv scene with a bunch of pre-planned jokes, you might be thrown for a looop when your partner decides to do something else.

Which one you prefer may very well be a matter of taste. But to say which one is better is ultimately a fool's errand. And to the practitioners of these art forms, there's absolutely no doubt that comedy is serious business.

So yeah. See you Monday, y'all!

Back In The Swing Of Things...

.:About Damned Time:.

I've pretty much sidetracked myself for long enough, and if last Tuesday's show was any indication, I do believe I need that aside from improv, I ought to go back and focus on magic and mentalism more, especially since hypnosis is now also a part of my repertoire.

The show in Route 196 was a blast. Wish you guys were there, but every Friday, we still do improv shows in The Fort, around 8PM or so in the Jamba Juice area. Do drop by us, and if things work out, you just might hear about another show featuring Switch Improv, Mike Unson, Ony Carcamo, and yours truly coming up again one of these days.

Project 52 2014 (7/52): Closing Time

.:Project 52 2014 (7/52): Closing Time:.

Closing time, open all the doors and let you out into the world...

A few years ago, Tomato Kick opened its doors to standup comedy. I had a small part in helping it get started, indeed, but it was really GB Labrador who was the one who really made that scene grow, with Lui's blessings. It was amazing, really: I couldn't have felt more happy that there was a place for comedians to hone their craft and get better as performers. There's a reason why GB is one of the most respected comedians around, and his undeniable passion for the craft is arguably that reason.

We built this city on laughs. We made it happen, because nothing but good things can come out from a collection of people who just want to entertain.

                                                  from Comedy Manila    

As you can see, we are legion.

It was amazing. We managed to make something of ourselves through all of that, as time went on and on. Standup comedy in the Philippines grew and grew, presenting itself as more than an adequate alternative to the Vice Gandas of the industry, albeit nowhere nearly as popular. And that was fine. That wasn't a problem. We just wanted to do our own thing, and for better or worse, Tomato Kick was a witness to a whole lot of that.

That night in particular, I went with a classic set punctuated by a few new flourishes I've been working on for weeks. I wanted to cap things off on a high note, though, so I went ahead and did my psychokinesis routine, because that's always a crowd-pleaser.

Little did I know I was going to do more than just entertain that night, when I got this from the fine lady who stepped up onstage with me...

Dala daw ako ng foods.

Closing time, turn off all the lights on every boy and every girl...

It was funny, really. I may have missed that fateful night when some comics got arrested for whatever reason last year or so. I may have also missed that night where a fight pretty much broke out in the bar. But I always knew that I was surrounded by a crazy bunch, and boy, did I appreciate them for that. It was crazy, but you can't go wrong hanging around people who look at the absurdity of life and laugh in the face of it for a living. These were people you simply cannot ever forget about.

I had countless experiences and memories in Tomato Kick, from their awesome nachos to their incomparable Alfredo Marinara, but overall, the thing that made TK Katipunan rock for me was that it was a bastion for comedy at a point where we felt that we were completely irrelevant and even invisible. I realize that comedy has been cyclical and that we have had pioneers long before already ply their trade here, but it's hard to deny that as more performers came along, the audience grew along with it.

It's a small world, and it's serious business. Egos. Feuds. Battle scars. These things definitely are a part of the comedy world, but I've learned to accept them as a matter of course and realize that they are part of the craft, no matter how uncomfortable they can sometimes get. In the end, though, when the comedians come together to deliver the goods, then egos be damned, that's what they end up doing, and Tomato Kick was one of the biggest reasons that remains possible to this very day.

Clearly, that's the reason, because it sure isn't our excellent photography.

Three years of memory really do come by quickly when you're having fun. Wednesday night was definitely a wonderful culmination of everything we comics have done, from Comedy Cartel to Comedy Manila to Comedy Mayhem to all the independent open mic guys who went and plied their trade because being a comedian is more important than having to worry about who's aligned with what.

Closing time, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here...

I definitely loved Tomato Kick. It didn't matter what the case was, I made it a point to be there as often as I could, whether to perform or even just to watch and support other comics. I've probably spent over half a hundred hours onstage and gotten my beak wet in comedy far longer than anywhere else, and let's face it: my first ever 20-minute set happened in Tomato Kick, and I never even thought I was capable of that before I tried it. I can't help but reiterate my thanks to GB for that: he gave me that opportunity, and I ran with it.

Yeah, he's taller than me.

It's kind of weird thinking that next week, TK will no longer be around, but the people who were part of it, from the comics to Lui to even Jerome, our favorite server, will always have an unbreakable bond forged by the fires of standup comedy. For better or worse, there's no escaping the legacy of TK.

So thank you, Tomato Kick. Thanks for the memories, and thanks for being an amazing part of Philippine standup comedy. Some say this is the end of an era, with you closing down, and with us comics needing to find a new stronghold for our craft, but I simply say that this is far from the end. There is a lot more to come, and what you have instilled in all of us will shine on through wherever we go next.

Closing time, every new beginning comes 

from some other beginning's end...

When The Demolition Job Happens To You

.:When The Demolition Job Happens To You:.

It's no secret that I've been a professional magician and mentalist since 2006. It's been a very amazing experience, and yes, I'm still in the thick of all that and can be booked easily enough, if you wanted to see top-notch quality entertainment. Lately, though, I've been asked several times about a certain TV show called "Demolition Job," as it went out there and exposed the secrets of mentalism on television just last Monday night.

Like religion, you mean? Oh, right.

I find it amusing and sad at the same time that they had to target mentalism on this show. Amusing, because it's not like this is the first time mentalism has been exposed: Studio 23 has had a series of magic exposure shows in the past, and a particular episode dealt with mentalism already. I took a bunch of psychology classes to get the hang of using mentalism in a performance setting once I managed to repackage what were originally academic pursuits, so even in a purely academic setting, mentalism is right there for the taking for anyone who wants to get into it.

But I find it sad, because you know what? People make a living doing this stuff, and killing the fairy doesn't really do them any favors. While defenders of this kind of programming would say that exposure is a challenge for these performers to step up, has anyone bothered asking why only magicians or mentalists are forced to step up like that? Do you tell Coke to step it up by revealing their secret formula? Do you challenge KFC to pick up the pace after divulging their 11 secret herbs and spices? Of course not. So why kill the magician's livelihood? I may not be as adversely affected as other performers will be, but I can almost hear random people talking to me about seeing this episode for at least the next six months.

Pictured: real magic.

Ultimately, what is the point of a show like "Demolition Job?" I gather that it's supposed to be like Penn and Teller's "Bullsh!t," which is mostly about debunking false beliefs and the like. Since it's a demolition job, then you might even say it's a deconstruction of myths and lies we hold true. Let's face it, though: if that was your objective in mentalism, the first thing you should have been debunking would be the seance, not psychokinesis. Out of every single part of the mentalist's arsenal, it will always be the paranormalist quackery that always, always annoys me to no end, and I'll get to why in a bit. Psychokinesis? That's entertainment fluff and a crowd-pleaser, but by no means problematic. How many people even know about psychokinesis as a phenomenon, let alone actually believe in it?

You see, when a magician or a mentalist (And I will use them almost interchangeably here.) performs, there is an implicit expectation that some deception is involved. This is a contract of sorts: everyone is in on the fact that not everything happening is as it seems, and that's a contract that should be upheld, since hey, you're entertaining people; not starting a religion.

However, things are very different when you pretend you can talk to the dead, and the person you are speaking to is hanging onto your every word. These are people who want to believe you and want to communicate to someone they love. You prey on their vulnerability for some measure of gain, and the contract of deception is completely ignored.

So why does it seem the seance went untouched? I could only hope they will end up doing an episode on the Tony Perezes and Jaime Licaucos, right? Or at least call out Nomer the Mindmaster when he pretends he can talk to Miko Sotto for Ali Sotto's benefit?

To me, I'm merely after fair play: yes, magicians and mentalists are valid targets for your so-called demolition jobs. It's just like how people go out of their way to remind people that pro wrestling is fake every chance they get. Annoying? Yes. But they're entitled to do that. Would I be happier if nobody bothered exposing magic and mentalism in this way? I'm not particularly swayed in either direction since I actually like how Penn and Teller do their exposure, but I can see more people benefit from and less people are harmed by keeping these secrets, well, secrets.

So in the interest of fair play, where are the episodes exposing Mother Teresa? The Catholic Church? How about other religions, and some of their decidedly baseless, even harmful practices? How about the preferential treatment enshrined in law (Under a constitution that supposedly separates church from state, no less!) for Muslims that allowed Freddie Aguilar to marry a minor? Failing even that, let's start with something simple: how about the mania surrounding the Black Nazarene, and the countless injuries it causes year in and year out? Any takers on that?

Okay. Religion's a bit too touchy? Let's talk governance then. How about political dynasties? Corruption and scams? Got anything to say about that? What? You're afraid of death threats, and won't do that, either?

How about dietary supplements that promise you the moon and the stars, yet always end with "No Approved Therapeutic Claims?" Remember April Boy Regino claiming he was cancer-free thanks to Sante Pure Barley, and suddenly retiring late last year from performing, due to still having cancer? You mean to tell me he willingly staked his life on that supplement, only to find out he's still actually sick? That's horrible! Expose that sh!t!

Seems legit.

Oh, what? They're your sponsors, and you can't do that to them? Fine, then.

So remind me: of all the other logical targets to go after, why were mentalists one of the first? Why did you go after them, when they have yet to cause any harm to the country, to begin with? Could it be because you can pick on them and they won't fight back? That's really it, isn't it? Why tackle the lies of a religious institution, or the government, or a paying sponsor, when you can pick apart an easy target instead? 

And this is why I just rolled my eyes when I heard that the fine art of magic was targeted. Again. Of course they'd do that. They're not going to pick on a target that could actually hurt them if it fought back. The most magicians and mentalists could do would be to say some mean things to Paolo Bediones, maybe toss a homophobic slur or two his way at worst, then after a while, they're gonna move on because they have better things to do, like try to earn a livelihood, even if "Demolition Job" made sure that was going to be just a little harder to do.

We magicians and mentalists get targeted because, believe it or not, we're too nice. And the sad part is, at no point does it occur to anyone doing "Demolition Job" that maybe, just maybe, they are killing other people's livelihood just because they can, and not because they are serving any public good. I'm not mad, but can you blame any other magicians if they do get angry because it suddenly got harder to feed their families because of this episode?

Again, we are entertainers. We are artists. We aren't trying to start a religion here. We're not out to make anyone believe we have these super-special powers only we are in possession of. We're just trying to entertain you, because that's our job. Walang basagan ng trip, pwede?

But I guess that's too much to ask for, right?

The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2007

.:The 10th Anniversary Retrospective: 2007:.

Not pictured: blatant product placement in a soap opera.

2007. Wow. What a year, really. This was the year when I ended up being a teacher in Reedley International School, so needless to say, it was quite a wateshed of a year for me, because it was when I got back into the thick of teaching and the academe.

Yeah, I still had my pipe dreams of being a PhD or something. So sue me. Heh.

This was the year when love was in full bloom and I thought it would never end! Oh, how giddy I must have felt when this happened, and I thought that everything was just perfect. Then I wrote this, and all I could think was wow, she really is my once in a lifetime! 

And I guess she always will be. And it felt so right, because she couldn't help but say how much she loved me, too!

But I guess it's easy to say you love someone so much when you actually can't compare it just yet to the point where you truly, honestly did, eh? But that's a story for another day. Maybe in 2012, or when I do a retrospective in 2022.

The year was pretty amazing because this was when blog events started happening. We had a Blog Parteeh in 2007, and from there onwards, we never looked back, to the point that events left and right saturate the blogosphere nowadays. And I mean saturate: it brought out the best and the worst of the blogosphere, but whaddaheck, it was a natural progression of things, really. After meeting Sam Oh in 2006 and getting inspired to become a magician, I ended up hanging out with The Story Circle, who really became a huge part of my life for several years hence.

2007 was also the point where I was super crazy about Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson, so "Sana Maulit Muli" was my favorite TV show of all time. It was pretty funny, and My Beloved just went along with it, no matter how much she rolled her eyes over the fact that I'm just super crazy over the Kimerald tandem. Yes, that's the actual tandem, and not just Kim Chiu. I was seriously a fan of the loveteam. It was also the time when I was a majorly active user in the Comic Book Resources forums, which I moved to when the Ragnarok craze killed the activity in the Otaku Boards.

Because of the fact that I hosted TOEI in 2006, though, I started becoming a presence in conventions because I tried to do my magic out there. Having said that, this was the point I met and became friends with Alodia, Ashley, Crissey, and Tricia. I would end up friends with Domz in the year after that. I don't know about you, but that was a pretty interesting time, because slowly, I was transitioning into really being a regular fixture in cons as a host.

You know what my favorite entry was, though? I think it's the one where I did the math. I still grin from ear to ear when I look at that entry. It felt even smarter than all those crazy Philosophy papers I wrote for Mr. Calasanz and everyone else.

That being said, huge things happened this year, such as being a speaker during iBlog 3. It was my first time speaking during iBlog, and it was definitely given rave reviews by everyone who watched, as it set the tone for my magic career for quite a while. That being said, not only was it a success, My Beloved was actually there.

On top of all that, I resigned from WAVE in 2007. Yeah. It was a huge leap for me to make, as I was in radio for a good three years. Still, moving to teach in Reedley was one of the best things I ever did in my life, and to this day, I still cherish that schoolyear I had with my kids from Reedley. The mere fact I'm still friends with several of my colleagues and students from Reedley, as opposed to me mostly remaining friends only with Camilo in Ateneo should demonstrate the contrast, really.

This was an awesome year for me. I was so happy. I was so in love. And I was so fearless, as I came to grow as a performer by leaps and bounds. 2008 was simply a continuation of all the blessings I've managed to accrue in 2007. It also showed with how I blogged, as the academic bug clearly bit me again, and I had ridiculously detailed posts without being so transcript heavy. It was a subtle evolution of my writing style that I think stands to this very day.

This Blog Is Approaching 10 Years...

And yeah, I know this is Buwan Ng Wika. Doesn't mean I plan to blog in Filipino all throughout August, though.

.:Who Would've Thought?:.

I haven't really made any concrete plans yet for my blog's 10th anniversary this October, but I'm definitely excited about it.

It feels like yesterday when I started writing in this blog, and you just know that I will probably have a massive retrospective when I get around to it. Still, this blog has been standing, has had its share of recognition, but ultimately, I've grown so much as a person in the past decade, and this blog has been no small part of it. From every mundane and elaborate transcript, to every promo I cut, to the eventual writing style I've been using since Cracked got a hold of my mind, well, there's just so much to be said about where my life would be if I weren't a blogger.

I doubt, for example, that I'd have spent three years in Nuffnang if I weren't a blogger. I also don't think I'd be working in digital right now as well, since my initial forays were in radio and the academe.

I doubt I'd have made friends with a lot of people if I weren't a blogger, either. I think it's pretty awe-inspiring to just think about the fact that people like Aileen Apolo or Filmphiler wouldn't be in my life at all if I didn't keep a blog. My life is much richer with people like them in it, so yeah, I'm pretty glad I do keep a blog.

Twitter and Facebook may be the dominant online hub for people nowadays, but blogs will always hold a place in my heart, much in the way that radio continues to do so for me. After over 3,000 blog entries from the past ten years of my life, who's to say where my blog will take me in the next ten?

.:Saltimbanco Ruled:.

Watched it last night. Loved it. Turns out, a friend of mine watched it the same night, but I never ran into her.

That being said, it was cool talking to her online and seeing how inspired she is to do something similar in the future...

.:So, I Still Got The Mentalism Touch...:.

Performed at a party today, and I'm pretty proud of my handiwork, if I do say so myself. Did a number prediction and a legit levitation, so that was great.

.:I Love The Part Where...:.

... you hurt me, but you're the one who cut me off. Yeah, I'm still pissed. But I have every right to feel that way.

.:Random Observation:.

So. I'm still steamed over Anna Banana, but I will not continue my running gag in this post. After all, you have to be a total dick to do that, and me? I'm not a dick. However...

What. A. Dick.

Well, I couldn't resist. I promise I will talk about her soon. I just wanna clarify that I'm hating on the Anna Banana character, but certainly not whoever the actress is.

That being said, while eating at Chic-Boy, I noticed their poster promoting their spaghetti. Is it just me, or was the kid on the left just pretending to like the spaghetti so they'd stop beating him up? He's bleeding something fierce. LOL.

It only hurts when he laughs.

Just Another Magic Monday (Okay, Fine, Wednesday): A Dark Cloud Over The World Of Magic...

.:Just Another Magic Monday (Okay, Fine, Wednesday): A Dark Cloud Over The World Of Magic...:.

For the sake of prudence, I won't use a single photograph in this post. I think it would be for the best.

It's really not a good time to be a magician in the Philippines right now. Not only has there been a saturation in the market with dime-a-dozen magicians crawling out of the woodwork and giving stiff competition to more established magicians solely based on their price point, but the PR beating magic has taken has been insurmountable as of late.

Sure, among magicians, Bearwin Meily's exposure of magic secrets on TV 5 has been quite a big deal, what with even Ellusionist denouncing any connection with the apparent exposure. That affected magicians, but the average person couldn't care less.

There was also a bit of cheapening for magic and mentalism that happened during the whole Mind Master brouhaha where mentalism ended up being put in the same league as the Madame Auring's and the Jojo Acuin's of our society, and overall turning an art form into outright exploitation of the willingness of people to believe in something otherwordly instead of their own capacities.

All of this has yielded a marked difficulty in taking magic seriously, and ironically, utilizing my Laughs And Gasps approach, mixing magic and comedy in a way that makes no attempt to insult the intelligence of the audience, has managed to keep me afloat, personally. Other magicians of sterner stuff than the average have similarly found their own ways to move past exposure and bastardization and still continue to be forces to reckon with in the entertainment world. Hades, Erik Mana is opening for Rex Navarette and Mike Unson tomorrow for Rex's comedy show, so that definitely says a lot about Erik's longevity as a performer.

No, these aren't why I'm saying it's tough to be a magician right now.

I'm saying it's tough to be a magician right now because of what happened last April 3.

I was one of the last people to find out about this. In fact, I found out only last Sunday, from my friend and mentor, Tito Bing Lim-It. To this very moment, I'm still in shock, because I remember having shared the stage with Alakim just sometime last year, and even finding my picture in the newspapers along with his, when Ms. Giselle Sanchez wrote about us for her column in Manila Bulletin. I spoke very highly of Alakim as a professional, then, and I even met his wife during that one time we shared the stage for Ms. Giselle's party.

Later that year, I even met him again as he judged TSC's closeup magic competition, where I was asked to be a host. I have never had a single unpleasant experience with Alakim, and though I cannot speak to how he sees me, I always considered him a friend in the industry.

I guess that's precisely why I still can't believe what happened, and why I simply don't know what to make of this. I will not even try to play an armchair CSI agent and assume Alakim's guilt, because I personally believe in the presumption of innocence until he is proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I withhold any judgment on the man, simply because I feel it is unnecessary and uncalled for at this point. I am not an expert, nor would I pretend to be, and the last thing a potentially innocent man needs is yet another person accusing him of killing his wife, when he actually didn't.

Despite that, it is a very dark day for the magic community when a tragedy like this happens. Maricar was prominent enough for most of the magicians who made acquaintance with Alakim to know her, as well. Aside from that, it's difficult to see one of our luminaries have his career snuffed out like that. Guilty or innocent, this will affect Alakim in ways I cannot even begin to predict, much in the way that Ted Failon, despite being exonerated of any suspicions of killing his wife, still has people insisting that he was guilty, as if they were there when his wife died.

If innocent, Alakim is ruined. He is not quite like Ted Failon on the totem pole, after all. If guilty, Alakim ruined himself. Either way, magicians in the Philippines are affected by this, and the biggest parallel I can draw isn't even to the case of Ted Failon, but to a grislier one: Chris Benoit's double-murder and suicide case, which has affected and shaped the pro wrestling industry in ways nobody thought possible. To this day, Chris Benoit never so much as gets mentioned on WWE programming, and all his accolades as a pro wrestler are forever overshadowed by what he has done to his wife and son.

Alakim's actions, or even his circumstances, in no way reflects the actions or circumstances of any other magician in the Philippines. Yet with this case, all magicians, regardless of Alakim's guilt or innocence, will now possibly be viewed more warily purely by association. It's uncomfortable and it's terrible, but nowhere nearly as terrible as having a life snuffed out so needlessly last April 3.

I don't want to end on a note that makes it seem I'm more concerned about the reputation of Philippine magic than about the family that Maricar de Paz left behind. This day is a dark day for the Philippine magic brotherhood far less because of how the average person would look at magicians from this day on (And for all I know, maybe they wouldn't even know about it.), but more so because on that day, we lost two people: Maricar, and Alakim. No matter what happened on that fateful day of April 3, two people who were near and dear to a lot of us are taken away from us, and we end up asking ourselves what happened and why this had to be.

Rest in peace, Maricar. We ever met only once, but I won't ever forget you and the zest for life you had during that one time. May the truth come out and may it lay your soul to rest, and then and only then would I choose to speak about Alakim. They both at least deserve that much.

Just Another Magic Monday: Mentalismo!

.:Just Another Magic Monday: Mentalismo!:.

I'll edit this to include pictures by tomorrow, but I had the honor and privilege of catching The Mental Assassin, Mr. Justin Pinon do his first ever solo major show, Mentalismo. Considering an encore performance tomorrow is forthcoming, I think you should try and catch it, yourself!

I've always wanted to see someone try and do a full-length stage mentalism show here in the Philippines. There have been some attempts here and there, but most of the time, there has always been a need to hybrid-ize mentalism with something else, which kind of makes sense, since I'm one of those people who tried to bring the art form to the stage, and you know I will always lace my shows with more than just a bit of comedy, as I am wont to do.

But see, Justin doesn't play that way. He's a mentalist through and through, and he did a night of twists and tributes to the people who, directly or indirectly, helped get him known as one of the new generation of mentalists of note in this country. His style, a straight-talking performer who just seems mildly amused at the fact that he's achieving unbelievable feats with minimal effort, is quite an interesting take on the mentalist stage persona.

Is it a perfect show? Well, not really. I'm not at liberty to tell what routines he performed that night, for fear of accidentally divulging any routines he might plan to do again on the second night, but the venue was not the best when it came to production values. I guess that can't be helped, but instead of just handwaving it and telling you it's all good, I'd actually rather emphasize that Justin is a very strong performer, so don't let the production values get in the way of a very good show.

I know that the February 12 show went pretty well, even if it wasn't without some hitches, but let's face it: February 14's show will probably even be better, so come on down and catch the show tomorrow, if you can! Tickets are available at the gate, Scenema Concepts Theater, Semicon Building, along Marcos Highway. I believe it's worth every penny for anyone who has never seen what mentalism is all about.

And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, yours truly can finally produce another full-scale show again after two years of scaling down my annual shows. I've had some brilliant ideas over the past couple of years that no doubt, need execution. Now.

Congratulations, Justin, and I hope you break many more legs for tomorrow's show!

Just Another Magic Monday: Priorities, Priorities...

.:Priorities, Priorities...:.

... so.

There was a cosplay event over the weekend, and it coincided with Sachika's trip to CamSur. Thankfully, she'll be coming back this February, so I can prepare better, since she kinda informed me about her trip to CamSur a bit too late.

I ended up choosing the Otaku Con instead, since I wanted to meet up with one of my favorite cosplayer friends, Kristell. It was pretty funny when I was looking for her, because all Erving Go, cosplay photographer extraordinaire, gave me for advice, was to "follow the legion of fanboys tailing her." Lo and behold, this was a very accurate picture of what ended up happening anyways.

I also got introduced to her cousin, who was a pretty cool guy, all the same. I think there'd be some pictures of the whole thing later on, but for now, I'm in no rush to do any of that. I'm taking things easy at the moment, what with all the hurly-burly at work at the moment. I can't even do my essays properly at this point, but whatever, it's all good.

Anyways, I had a show for an old client recently, and it was one of the most amazing times I've ever had. You see, about four years ago, this client booked me and I just went nuts and tried a whole bunch of material as I was still at that point in my career where I was trying things left and right to see what worked for me.

Thing is, shortly after the show I did for that client, I did end up figuring out where to take my magic, comedy, and mentalism career, and I haven't looked back since. I managed to come up with a very good combination of routines for children and adults alike, but when I went to perform for this old client of mine, she told me she hoped for more mentalism, really.

At some point after the children's party, it occurred to her to invite me to their house and have a special show for the adults, which ended up being quite an experience for me, as I went there without my standard mentalism stuff. That's not really a problem, tbough, if you know how mentalists are, since we just ended up taking random stuff from the house that I proceeded to use for my act. Psychokinesis was fun, but you had, on top of that, remote viewing, classic card routines, standup comedy, and even a Q and A session. The Oracle act has got to flat-out be one of the best bits I've ever done in my mentalism career, least of all because it was the first time I ended a show with it.

After that performance, we just enjoyed our time with dinner and conversation and whatnot. It was quite an experience, to say the least, and I'm glad I managed to prove myself adequate to the task.

Pretty great long weekend I had, really. One of the best.

2011: An Autobiographical Retrospective

.:2011 In Retrospect From My POV:.

Well, wow. This was quite a year. For the past how many years, I've always done a top 5 or top 10 people I'm most grateful to, but I think that with everything that's been going on, there's just way too many people for me to thank. Let's just put it this way... if you're mentioned in this MASSIVE post I'm writing right now, then yeah, I'm thanking you for being a notable enough part of my year for me to actually make mention of you. If I manage to, maybe I'd even itemize that list after the post to thank you all. Whatever, really. It's my blog, so I'll write it as I see fit.

I wanted to recap how 2011 went through my eyes. This is, after all, a rather autobiographical blog. Always has been, it's just been masked by the fact that I do a lot of navel-gazing and projection when I go through with it, and it ends up being of relevance to other people in general. It's just a case of good fortune, I guess. I'm kinda tired of actively trying to be profound, so I'd happily settle for profundity in the midst of banality.

January: Not on the right foot...

Except this foot, I guess.

It was a pretty unpredictable start to 2011, as it appeared that love was on the horizon, especially given the first post I made for 2011: the wedding proposal for no one. Alack and alas, things weren't meant to be, and I started off the year with quite a downer of an opening, despite the fact that I went to CamSur and even attended two separate weddings. At this point, I lost one of my best friends. And at the rate things are still going to this day, I think I lost that person for good. The sad part? I actually feel better this way, than when I pretended we could still patch things up.

The only thing that gave me a semblance of sanity was my Project 52 2011, where I covered music videos that caught my fancy during the week in question. It was a pretty good idea, even if I sometimes couldn't write as much about the music video as I really wished I could. Nonetheless, that project took on a life of its own, and really brought to life the old adage: every song tells a story. And oh, what stories they told!

January also opened with the sad news that both Bamboo and Sugarfree, two of the best bands in the past decade, were disbanding.

Indeed, January didn't quite start off on such an auspicious note, but hey, maybe February was going to turn out better, right? Right?

February: My life was complete...

Yes. Yes, it was.

Well, yes, admittedly, my Single Awareness Day was far from perfect, but not only did I have my first date with Jazminne, but for the first time ever, I met the one and only Kim Chiu. I think that would pretty much be one of the highlights of my year, if not the highlight.

February was pretty depressing, but Kim Chiu more than saved it, to say the least.

March: Rocking my world...

This was the night the music died.

March was marked by the earthquake that hit Japan, more than anything else. Sure, there was talk about the National Blogger's Association, as well as the whole brouhaha over Manny Pacquiao and Willie Revillame. Things were definitely coming to a head, and the Jan-Jan issue just exploded from this point on, really.

Things were definitely cooking, and the craziness that ensued from the whole Willie Revillame drama still reverberate to this very day. What wasn't cooking, though, was rice. For me, at least. I gave up rice from my diet during Holy Week.

Sugarfree's farewell show brought tears to my eyes that month.

April: We were all April Fools...

I am a Patriotic Filipino®!

April was the month of iBlog 7. I wrote about day 2 since that was the only day I attended, but there were laughs to be had about the stuff that went on during day 1, to say the least. It was pretty hilarious to hear cries of "cyber bullying" from the very same people who used their blogs to attack and malign the reputations of people because it's "their blog, their rules." Ah, yes. The maverickness of it all never ceases to be a source of amusement.

Nonetheless, iBlog 7 was indeed interesting, but so was Willie Revillame's tirade. He dissed everyone from Aiza Segeurra to Lea Salonga to Jim Paredes, and it was just... wow. Unfortunately, his disappearance from the airwaves didn't last too long. MVP has invested too much into this guy to just allow him to disappear from his network for keeps.

Of course, in celebration of the logical fallacies that littered the landscape, I made a series of posts to address these logical fallacies. Needless to say, it was a pretty amusing time, and it didn't take long before a lot of people started responding to the discussions I directly or indirectly instigated. On top of this, I even went to Nagsasa for a nice weekend of peace and quiet, which was my only respite from the hurly-burly of the year, come to think of it. Quite a crazy month, really. It was only going to get crazier.

May: The geek Is fighting...

On this month, Randy Savage stopped the end of the world. 

Maybe on October 21, then?

I started going to Geekfight in May. It was quite an experience, and certainly changed my life, as far as making new friends would be concerned. Of course, it was really fun to be doing standup comedy on a regular basis again, as we started off in Tomato Kick, and I managed to meet some new open mic people. Couple this with a few performances that happened in Merck's as well, which definitely made the comedy scene get really hype.

On top of that, the RH Bill started getting a lot of mileage at this point. People were debating about it left and right, and needless to say, I found myself firmly on the side of the pro-RH. It was pretty awesome as I slowly worked those little bits and pieces of my personality into my standup comedy, all the same.

I also got myself an iPad 2 on this month. Any time I felt like playing on the go, my PSP had to settle for being my second choice at this point.

I got into OGM around this time. Best decision I ever made.

May also marked the month that Bearwin Meily betrayed the magic community. Also, this was when Mindmaster was in full swing, and of course, I ended up writing for The Filipino Freethinkers the minute he started doing seances. It was really an embarrassing time to be a magician, what with all the infighting and the outright charlatanism that was being peddled as legitimate on national television.

June: For the lulz...

That's my... girl?

By this time, I had a sylvans rival sandwich, and it was heavenly. Nuffnang had its family day, along with a few other events, all the same.

This month was when my addiction to Cracked went into full swing. I am an avid reader of their articles, and over time, my writing style was inevitably influenced by them somewhat, especially when it comes to making stupid captions on pictures. It was highlighted by stuff like Abante plagiarizing a satire article, as well as some hilarity involving Gerald Anderson and Supot.ph. I also continued to write for The POC, and made sure to discuss homophobia with a very contemptuous tone.

Of course, I hosted Toycon as well, which was quite a highlight for me, especially since Jazminne actually won. Pretty amusing how that turned out.

And, oh. I started doing Just Another Magic Monday in June, because I kinda missed writing about magic, which also means my Project 52 in 2012 will definitely not be about magic, since I can just keep doing that as is, anyways.

Truth be told, June was a pretty happening month. With all the comedy shows I was taking part in, who knew I was going to end up doing even more soon enough?

July: The laughs keep on rolling...

No captions needed.

July was the month of Fabio, as he challenged the Old Old Spice Guy, Isaiah Mustafa, to a mad libs duel on YouTube. Needless to say, it was a total riot. I was on the losing team, though, since the Old Old Spice Guy ended up getting the nod. I was hoping to see the Old Spice Girls, though. This month saw me do the most blogging in 2011.

I started opening for Mike Unson in Capone's in June, but the succeeding months, I just ended up doing more and more of them. It was quite an experience, to say the least, and I'm glad that Mike went ahead and took me under his wing. I couldn't thank him enough for it, to be honest. Considering that I opened for him and the Itchyworms in the same venue on successive nights, I really felt honored that these people have been asking me to open for them. I've been a huge fan of Mike and the Itchyworms for years, after all.

Of course, Harry Potter 7.2 came out this month, too, and I wrote one of my best posts about the franchise when I wrote about Snape and his unique way of showing his love. In Snape, I felt a kindred soul.

July also marked the month that the Morning Rush would celebrate its 15th year. I went to the celebration, of course. It was really one of the most awesome times, ever, seeing so many old faces that day.

And, oh. Sara Duterte and Vicki Belo grabbed some headlines at this point, too.

August: The Explorers, triumphant...

Because you can't go wrong with a hidden goatse.

Geekfighting was extra fun in August, since my team, the Explorers of Uranus, hosted our own Geekfight. I even came up with the questions for one category, the Fighting Games category, which was, admittedly, a pretty easy one. My friends from the Comedy Cartel actually participated in that one, which amused me to no end.

Also, in August, the Freethinkers won in the Globe Tatt awards, and I was very happy to have been a part of that success, no matter how minute.

A minor controversy about language cropped up this month as well. I wrote a retort, which, unfortunately, remained unaddressed by James Soriano, which was a crying shame, really. Nonetheless, I was pretty proud of how I did that article, because I think it provided a very succinct and civilized counterpoint to James's haphazard attempt at being contrarian. There was a bigger hubbub over Mideo Cruz around this time, but I didn't feel the need to throw my hat into the discussion as much, despite having met the man in person. I was far from offended by his artwork, but I simply wasn't impressed. I've seen it before, and I've seen it done better. At this point, though, the National Artist F. Sionil Jose had something to say against Mideo's work that made me begin to take stock in the man's blowhard attempts to posit himself as a still-relevant authority on anything. This was going to come to a head in later months.

Of course, on the lighter side of controversies, Christopher Lao happened. Sorry, but I'm backing the dude. He didn't deserve the flak he received. At all.

August was the first time I ever met Rex Navarette. This was really awesome, and became the opportunity that allowed me to host his second show in the NBC Tent later on during the year. I still am not over that. It was, in my book, the milestone of my year.

So I broke my one picture per month rule. So what?

I also discovered why having a stalker sucks at this point. But let's not dwell on that.

Oh, by the way, the world-famous magician, Shoot Ogawa, went to the Philippines in August! He wouldn't be the only big shot magician coming to the country this year, though.

September: Wake me up when September ends...

We still miss you, AJ.

I normally am very pessimistic about September, being my birthday month and all. But who knew it would suck so much, really? If one month could be struck out of 2011 in the vain hopes that it never happened, I wish it was 2011. Seriously.

It started off okay enough, when I met Roderick Paulate during the Zombadings premiere. Things were even more awesome when I first met Marybeth, one of my favorite co-hosts of all time now, and hosted Best Of Anime with her, which led to me getting "married" to Jazminne. It was all fun, but I think the bad still outweighed the good, even if the Disenchanted Kingdom also celebrated its second year of existence this month. Yes, even if Michael Ammar went to Manila.

First of all, F. Sionil Jose happened. This was quite a frustrating thing, because I ended up losing a so-called friend who apparently valued some person she doesn't know more than someone she's been friends with for almost half a decade. That was disheartening, to say the least, but y'know what? She can go dunk her head in the water for all I care, at this point. She's dead to me, at this point.

So yeah, that was pretty lousy, and so was the whole thing about bloggers getting a worse and worse rep in general. But you know the worst thing about September? This was the month where the blogosphere became a far less fabulous place. We lost AJ Matela, and his loss came with a heavy price, both emotional and financial.

The blogosphere came together in a way that could only be called phenomenal, but if we could undo all of that to have AJ back, I'd have happily made the trade. I'm sure a lot of us would have wanted the same, as well.

We still miss you, AJ. A lot.

October: The less said about this...

I still say the show title had a lot of unfortunate implications, though.

Well, first, the awesomeness: I hosted Alodia's Fantasy. It was a great honor, and it's good to know that Alodia has a lot of faith in my ability to host, as she entrusted me with the hosting duties for one of the biggest nights of her career thus far.

Of course, this month also marked one of the least well-contemplated big decisions in my life. I think a lot of it owed to the wedding I attended on this month, and the surrounding circumstances, but now, looking at how things are today, I must say that it was a monumental waste of time.

I think I've had more good memories with my X-Box Kinect (Which I bought in October.) than that other thing.

See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya. Who knew this post would turn out to both be relevant and prophetic to me in the months to come?

November: Right place, right time...

Not pictured: the pepper spray cops.

I met Hillary Clinton, then on the same day, I hosted Rex Reloaded. What more could I have asked for? It was, to put it simply, just a great career month for me. Aside from that, I even performed with the Itchyworms on their fifteenth anniversary. It was, without a doubt, an awesome time to be a performer.

I think I can bask in these two paragraphs at this point and call it a month, because I couldn't have asked for anything more from November. Instead, things were, on hindsight, even better, because I undid something stupid from October. Thank heavens.

I also met a new friend this month, during the TOEI show, which was, to me, a homecoming of sorts, since it was my first ever hosting gig for cosplay, five years ago. Kristell Lim is one of the most awesome new people I have met in 2011, no questions asked. I have a soft spot in my heart for TOEI.

So overall? It was actually a good month.

December: Lost in the reverie...

Did you know Kurt Angle inspired my blog's title?

So aside from Piolo and Mo Twister, December was pretty quiet for me. I was surprised to see myself nominated this month. It was for the Personal and the Society categories of the Philippine Blog Awards. Lo and behold, I won for the latter. I was pretty shocked because I was doing voice over duties during the event, so winning was the farthest thing from my mind.

Nonetheless, with all the reverie of the year, I was very delinquent with my blogging, to say the least. It was fine, though. I still managed to do my Christmas shopping properly, and I even squeezed in a bit of hosting during the Christmas ToyCon for one stretch of the program, where I conducted the auctions.

I also saw something happen to me in record time. Let's just say that I found it funny because it just exposed all the lip service for what it was: lip service and nothing more.

Thought it didn't directly affect me, the Sendong typhoon really sucked, though.

I think the weird thing about this year was it was bookended by the very same person who started my year off on the wrong foot. I don't harbor any ill feelings towards her at this point, but I won't let myself be used again any longer.

All in all...

... It was your average year, although the new Sales Manager in Nuffnang certainly is quite a game-changer, work-wise. I'm guessing it would be for the better, though. Some weird firsts happened in my life, including the first time I ever got a sermon from my own mom about my lovelife, but overall, I can't really say this year was significantly better than last year, save for the fact that the one-two betrayal punch I received in 2010 from a certain someone probably won't be outdone by anyone else for a long time. That shadow hovers over me to this day.

2012 is a year for hope, regardless of those stupid end-of-the-world predictions. Despite that, I'm rather cynical now, so I don't put much stock in this hope any longer.

Pardon me while I burst into flames. At least, 2012, if I'm going down, I'm going down in a blaze of glory. If not, then I can be your firework.

Just Another Magic Monday (Sorta): Homecoming

.:Just Another Magic Monday (Sorta): Homecoming:.

One guess why there were no bondage jokes that night.

I had a show Monday night as well, but inasmuch as that was fun, there was still nothing quite like performing in Don Bosco Sta. Mesa once again after approximately eighteen years since I last performed there.

You see, years ago, one of the first people who ever taught me magic was a lovely human being named Sister Angie, FMA (That's Figle Maria Ausilatrice, not Full Metal Alchemist, or Fixed Martial Arts.). It was the most unlikely mentor ever, but Sister Angie really got things started for me, and as you can see to this very day, it never really stopped, did it?

So when I performed last Sunday night in Don Bosco, that was as real a homecoming as can be for my magical career. It was just amazing, and the people were, in a word, entertained, which is the whole point of getting into magic the first place.

It was quite a moment, really, even if I had to be extra careful about my words and my jokes, since I was surrounded by nuns throughout the night, and I knew my liberal ways (LOL) were not going to go over very well there.

On a tangent, by the way, I'm still amused the last time someone referred to me as a liberal, considering how I actually am in practice. Not to mention that said person is apparently one of the least gracious people I have ever met, considering how said person has the temerity to still grouse and whine after being apologized to.

Stay classy, yo.

Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah. The show. I think Apol and Iza had the idea to get me that night, and when I obliged them, I was overjoyed to see that it went over just fine, considering I had to follow a TV celebrity, which just intimidated me to no end. In any case, it was all good, really. This was a great return to my roots, although the next time I talk about doing a "back to basics," it had better be a post about me finally meeting Sister Angie after all these years. She was, unfortunately, not at the celebration that night.

Much thanks to Kcat for this picture, by the way!

Just Another Magic Monday: The 1thcyworm5!

.:Just Another Magic Monday: The 1thcyworm5!:.

Yes! Yes! This pleases me greatly.

I decided to write and do my JAMM's whenever I feel like it, but yeah, don't expect a religious weekly update from yours truly for now.

Anyways, last Friday, the Itchyworms celebrated their 15th anniversary, and I was invited to be a part of it. To say I was honored would be the understatement of the year.

I've been a huge fan of the Itchyworms ever since their first album came out. Whether it was "Happy Birthday" or "Antipara", I was immediately captivated by their music, seeing as they were a great alternative to the kupaw rockers of their era.

The scene of the crime was in Metro Bar. Jampacked to the rafters with fans, friends, and everyone in between, the Itchyworms went in to play fifteen of their songs, and everyone was just hype the whole night! Special guests abounded, including...

... Marcus Adoro, alumnus of the Eraserheads.

And even...

... the man you least expect standing beside the Straight Edge Comedy Magician, Mr. Pepe Smith himself!

I also ran into Ebe Dancel, Ronnie Dizon, Francis Brew, and Chris of "Ako Si Chris" fame. It was star-studded, and every single person out there definitely raised the sheer energy for the night. Conspicuously missing was Lourd De Veyra, though. We were hoping we'd find him doing the spoken word part of "Freak Out Baby" for old time's sake.

Lemme share my moment onstage, though, as they asked me to perform during their rendition of "Antipara"...

I'm blind! Blind as a bat! How blind is a bat?

The challenge was simple: I was going to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded, but the time limit was the song. If I couldn't solve the cube by the time the song ended, I was going to have to get hit upside the head with one of their guitars, and that put a spring in my step, or fingers, if you will.

It was hilarious, because thanks to my sheer terror, I actually finished the cube a full minute before the song ended. I was so nervous that I was solving the cube significantly faster than I expected to, and I misheard the cue for the song, as I mistook the bridge for the ending, which made me finish well before the final chorus of the song actually played.

Nonetheless, I managed to pull it off just fine, and finally, I got to enjoy the rest of the show. It was, without a doubt, one of the best nights to be a Philippine magician with friends in the music industry. You just never know what crazy stuff you could end up collaborating on.

In this picture: two Kels!

It was a great night, and capping it off with some Mr. Kebab immediately afterwards was just icing on the cake, albeit I was very annoyed they didn't have Ox Brain again.

Here's hoping to find myself performing with the bad boys of Pogi rock again in the near future! Congratulations, Jugs, Jazz, Kelvin, and Chino! You guys are just the best!

Just Another Magic Monday: As Seen On Manila Bulletin!

.:Just Another Magic Monday: As Seen On Manila Bulletin!:.

Thank you, Ms. Giselle Sanchez!

I've seen myself in newspapers several times in the past before, but it never gets old. I find it arguably more exciting to be in the papers than to be on TV or radio, even if I don't really know why, but as a magician in the Philippines just trying to establish himself some in the industry, this is definitely something I'm happy about, what with yours truly being in a feature with Alakim himself, a contemporary I have a lot of respect for.

Having said that, I've had quite a whole slew of shows the past couple of weeks, and that's the kind of problem I'm happy to have.

Here's a bigger view of my bit in the article, by the way...

Ahh, this picture. So 30 pounds ago.

While I still maintain that media exposure shouldn't be an end in and by itself for a professional performer, there is absolutely no question that it is a means to the end of being well-booked and well-known by potential clients. It's only a hindrance if you allow being seen on TV, heard on radio, or read in print as a stopping point for yourself, much in the same way some people have. Considering how magic and mentalism in the Philippines is still largely a carnie affair, that may make you famous, but certainly not rich.

Just some food for thought to any aspiring magicians who think that getting on TV means you've made it big already. That's only the first step, really. The next logical step is to capitalize on it. Or at least, save it for your portfolio.

Just Another Magic Monday: Alodia's Fantasy And Then Some

.:Just Another Magic Monday: An Enchanting Weekend:.

This weekend was marked by three straight gigs to my name, which, of course, I have no complaints about whatsoever.

No complaints, whatsoever. Photo from source as indicated by logo.

So yeah, it was pretty enjoyable, to say the least. Tack on the fact that on each gig, I managed to perform a bit of magic doesn't hurt my chances of writing about it and passing it all off for Just Another Magic Monday. So sue me, this year hasn't had nearly as much magic as 2010, obviously, so I'm less inclined to flat out do reviews of magic videos and the like, but that's all right.

In any case, opening for Mike Unson is one thing, and performing in Wack Wack Country Club is another, but ultimately, being a part of history, being the host of the first ever interactive cosplay show, Alodia's Fantasy, is just on a whole different level. Yup, that's the title, and no, I have no idea what else it could possibly mean.

A lot of preparation went into the show, truth be told. Weeks upon weeks of rehearsals, pre-screenings, and pre-production meetings. On the day itself, rehearsals were being rigorously conducted just to make sure that everything was in proper order. To say that all the cosplayers and performers really pulled out all the stops would be the understatement of the year, although I guess Alodia would be more capable of discussing all the work that went into the show than I personally would.

Technical glitches aside, there was one glaring sore spot throughout the night, but the less said about it, the more likely we'd forget about these unremarkable and unsavorable factors. Someday. Maybe. One can dream, after all.

That being said, once we went live on Flippish, we were greeted by hundreds of people all online at the same time, just wanting to catch a piece of history, as the show fired on all cylinders, with everyone just putting on the best show that they can. If you wanted details about the results, you could check out Fritz's Photo Recap, but all I can say is that the rehearsals before the show was hilarious because all the side comments I promised myself to put a lid on, I brought out in full force while the cameras were off.

It was pretty interesting as well that I managed to bring up people like Kring and Mike Abundo with his lady companion Itel (Of Best Of Anime fame.) for impromptu interviews that night. They did have some awesome stuff to share, not to mention the fact that there were a whole bunch of people in the audience that made me feel right at home. The chatbox for the event was burning up, though, because there was no reading a full sentence before it would end up scrolling out of the screen. I had to ad lib my way through the entire thing.

Seeing as this wasn't the first time I co-hosted an event with Alodia, we had our banter just down to pat already. I pretty much knew when to toss her softballs and when to toss her curveballs, and I was impressed at her ability to keep up with me. Looks like her stint in L.O.L. has really given her the chance to step up as a host, and I, for one, am proud.

As usual, I paid tribute to Zack Ryder during my closing spiel. Woo woo woo, you know it.

Ashley's performances were splendid, as always, and it was pretty cool to finally meet Eric Salamat. I joked that I stopped watching ADMU games because ADMU seemed to lose everytime I did. I also mentioned I stopped watching ADMU games for the past four years, so maybe there's something to that theory.

Seeing Ranulf at the event also gave me a nice surge of confidence, but it still paled in comparison to my true highlight of the night...

Cookie and Pancakes 2011!

Backstage, Alodia was poking fun at me when a different picture had the three of us together. She told me that she pretty much photo-bombed a couple pic and I'd probably crop her out the first chance I got. She might be on to something. Heh.

The after-party was fun, too. I met Karen, Joy Bordador's sister, for the second time ever, as Chris Tan proudly introduced her to us. At some point in the night, I ended up doing my signature psychokinesis act. So yeah, despite not doing a single routine onscreen throughout the night, enough people still remembered that I am a mentalist.

In any case, it was an awesome event, and I cannot thank the people of Flippish, the Gosiengfiao's, the cosplayers, the performers, the bloggers, Pancakes, and everyone else who made that event possible, and for asking me to be a part of it. It was one of my proudest moments to see a very good friend, someone who's practically family to me, Alodia, do so well and flourish in something she passionately believes in.

I Know I've Been So Quiet Lately...

.:I Know I've Been So Quiet Lately...:.

... but I guess that comes with the territory of being busy, busy, busy.

Last night, I had a last-minute magic show for an aunt of the awesome Andrada sisters. I was just as surprised as the people I performed for that I was there, but we made something pretty memorable out of it.

Tonight, I'm hosting and performing for Mike Unson's "Comedy Mayhem" in Capone's. It's absolutely free, and absolutely awesome. Mike will also be performing in Conspiracy Garden, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, on Saturday night.

On Saturday, I am doing hosting duties for Alodia's Fantasy, which should be a pretty highly anticipated event. People who wanna catch it can go to that hyperlink and watch the show for themselves at the very comfort of their own homes, from 8 to 10 PM.

It's been quite a blur with Pancakes as of late, but I couldn't think of any reason I'd ever want to trade all of this in for the world. Guess I'm a lucky man, after all.

Next week, there's even more insanity lined up for me, since I'm going to be performing on October 29 in Subic Lighthouse Marina, then Nickelodeon's Halloween show on October 31 in Mall Of Asia. All I can say is, wow. The hits do keep on coming, so after over two years of bad hits, I'm happy to note that the good hits are now on a roll.

But for now, I'm officially putting into the backburner my intentions of writing a satire about satire, and I'm in no rush to write about the Batangas sign by Vilma Santos for Taal Volcano. It's pretty memetic, though, and I was amused to have been part of the initial volume of people to notice it. Nonetheless, for the POC, I did write an article about that silly dragons article.

Universe, please keep this up.

Just Another Magic Monday: Three Tips On Doing Magic In (Non-Magic) Conventions

.:Just Another Magic Monday: Magic In (Non-Magic) Conventions:.

After a successful stint of doing magic and even impromptu hosting at this year's Cosmania in SMX, I realized that I have ended up in a very strange niche that I don't see most of my other contemporary Philippine magicians doing at the moment, and that's being a (geek) convention magician. Or mentalist. Or escapologist. Whichever works, really.

I think it's a very different challenge altogether for a magician, particularly when they're not too cognizant of the fact that they're far from the reason people went to the convention in the first place. You are not the main attraction, and as such, you might find the audience significantly less on your side than they normally are when you are considered one of the main attractions.

The thing is, it's often a humbling experience when that happens. One of my first experiences as a performer was the mortifying tepidness I was received with when I did my bit four years ago in Toycon. Here was an unknown doing mentalism immediately after the cosplay event, and, needless to say, the audience didn't care at all. I mean, the main event was the cosplay. Everything else is secondary compared to that, and it would've been a soul-crushing moment for any other performer to have to face such a huge audience giving you nothing but blank stares and infrequent smatterings of polite applause.

Sure, over time, with the right combination of hosting, street magic tours, and onstage performances, I no longer have that problem connecting with audiences in your average cosplay convention, but what if, let's say, I found myself in the trade convention circles, knowing what I know now, what can I do to assure myself of a better experience as a performer than the first time I hit the stage? Well, I have a few ideas, really.

1. Make it clear what you're about to do the minute they see you.

This goes hand in hand with the kind of routines you choose, your performance style, your scripting, and even your introduction. The minute you are there for the public to see, do not assume they already know who you are, much less exactly what it is that you do. Even in the standup comedy circles, I've seen plenty of good comedians bomb solely because people didn't realize the guy onstage was telling jokes. It's good to let the people know what to expect.

2. Don't be a snob: connect with your audience!

This actually should be common sense to the magicians by now, yet I see so many novice performers just going through the motions of their tricks without establishing any rapport with their audience. Precisely because you're not the main event, you can't expect to be disconnected from your audiences and still establish your cred as a performer. It just won't work. You need to connect with them more, whether by chatting them up, or by working in more spectators into your act. The more people who could tell other people about your awesome performance, the more likely your name recognition would grow.

3. You can do intricately drawn-out, engaging, and memorable magic. Pick two of the three then move on.

Let's face it: even if you're an exceptional performer, people didn't come to see you in an anime convention. They came for the cosplayers. With that in mind, yes, you can do an intricate and drawn-out performance, but it will come at the cost of being engaging because of the alienation these performances tend to create with the audience. But that can be memorable, at least.

It's the same with engaging magic: because you engage your audience so much, you will be memorable, too. But don't expect to put on a sleight of hand clinic while trying to build a lasting connection with your audience. Focus on routines that are as sleight-free as possible, or have scripts that are so easy for the audience to understand that you can focus on the patter or presentation more than the actual mechanics of the routines.

I'm certain there are more tips, but hey, these ideas have worked for me over the years. I'd be happy to share any more if they come to mind, but at this point, it's best for you to simply understand the difference between being booked as a magician at a party, and being booked as one in a non-magic convention. It's rather commonsensical to everyone else out there, I'm sure, but in the Philippines, considering how rare it is, I guess I'm in a position to help out with my range of experience.

Just Another Magic Monday: Stick To Your Strengths

.:Just Another Magic Monday: Stick To Your Strengths:.

This past weekend, I had an epic hosting gig that I'd write more about, but I was only supposed to do half the weekend initially. At the last minute, I ended up doing the whole thing, because I had to beg off a particular booking that from the get-go, I figured was just too good to be true.

It was a show I was going to do for a debut, except the organizer insisted that I do a levitation illusion involving the debutante. I quietly suggested other magicians who were actually illusionists, but he was persistent and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. I had no idea why, but he really wanted me to be the performer for that debut, and I managed to strike a compromise with him that would allow me to pull off what he wanted.

A contemporary of mine, JB Dela Cruz, also a skilled illusionist, offered to help me out with doing an illusion that fit their requirements, and we were all set to pull it off. We knew what we wanted to do and had everything lined up, but I never heard from the client again.

Looking back, I'm glad the show didn't push through, but I was more glad that I approached JB Dela Cruz to collaborate with him rather than allow myself to be in over my head if that show came to pass.

Most magicians have their specialties, and assuming they're worth hiring, they do these particular things very well. It takes a rare breed of magician to be capable of doing everything, but there are some luminaries in our industry like Lou Hilario who come pretty close.

As a performer, I've done several things over the years, and I've found what works for me and stuck to it. I'm known for comedy mentalism, with a touch of magic and escapology. Considering that my signature acts are metal bending, the Shanghai Shackles, and Lady and the Rope, I'm really the last person you would expect to do live animal acts, or full-scale illusions. That's actually the very reason why I don't do illusions anymore, since it clashes with my onstage persona, and worse, makes me look bush-league, because whatever illusion I have, any magician with deeper pockets would have a better version of. This gap in material doesn't exist when it's all about scripting, improvisation, and performance, which is more the purview of a comedy mentalist than a stage illusionist.

As such, while I probably can't saw a woman in half, I'm pretty confident I can hypnotize a theater with 500 people in it. It's the fact that I know where my strengths lie that I can market myself in a way that assures my client they are getting their money's worth. That I can handle myself well whether in a street or stage setting only proves that versatility comes with the performer's skillset more than it comes with his arsenal of magic items.

It's the best advice I can give an aspiring magician who wishes to make a pro career, honestly: choose your battles wisely, and don't get in over your head. I know it's tempting to take a gig that would pay you well for an hour's work, but if you can't deliver, that one-time windfall of cash would hurt you more in the long run because you can be sure it won't be happening again anytime soon.

Knowing what I know now, I'm just glad I found my niche sooner than later. The first show I ever had will forever remind me exactly how difficult it is to turn pro when you don't know what you are doing. I had a lucky break then, but if I ignored the signs from that first show, I know I would very well have never improved as a performer, which is really what every magician worth their salt should aspire for, right?

As a magician in the Philippines, what with the stiff competition all around us, the least you could do to rise beyond the rank and file contemporaries you have is to love your craft enough to stick to your strengths when everyone's watching, and to work on your weaknesses when nobody is.