I Would Have Written Sooner but...

...last  night got kind of late.

Michael Weber did a great show last night. He's confident, smooth and very funny. He was easily the highlight of the day. He opened with a drawing dupe: one spectator is told to simply think of a picture to draw,,,and another spectator is told to read the first spectator's mind. Then they turn back to back and make their drawings. When they turn around...you guessed it: both guys have drawn flowers. I was sitting with Vancouver mentalist Eric Samuels and we both looked at each other and shrugged. The solution, as all good solutions tend to be, was simple and forehead slapping good.

He did a nametag routine where he invited six people to write their nicknames down...mixed up the pile and proceeded to give the right name tags to the right people. (I can see you nodding out there. Yeah...it works like you think it does. But, as Weber pointed out -- it's not about the effect. It's about the interaction. He did it well.)

This was followed by a memorized deck routine and a very nifty way of doing it without any memory work required at all. Clever.

Weber went over his allotted time with the full support of the organizers and the audience.

ParaLabs closed out the official presentations with a lecture on Theory and Presentation. They emphasized the importance co connecting emotionally with your audience.

Then it was off to Jack's Pub...where you usually find Bob Cassidy. On this night, Cassidy wasn't there. He told me he had to catch a very early flight. (If you know Bob...you know he''s not an early flight kinda guy.) He went to bed. But Jack's was hopping. I was there till just after 1:00 and when I left there were still guys chatting and drinking. There was talk among some of them about renting a limo and hitting the Strip. If they did that, I don't expect to see them at the morning sessions...which start in about half an hour.

Paolo Cavalli is a no-show. He''s having some passport issues. But there are a number of other presenters filling the spot. We're going see Patrick Redford and Joe Atmore perform and a "Top Secret Surprise Presenter" as well. (Yup...SECRET. I can't tell you who it is (Bill Abbott) because I am sworn to secrecy.

Ahem.

That's going to be followed by a couple of quickies: Allison Campbell and Paul Vigil will be doing 30 minute sessions.

Bob Cassidy and Jheff lecture at 3:00...I understand this is going to be more of a two person panel discussion. After dinner, we'll see Vegas mentalist Cashetta perform...and all of this is followed by the Bob Cassidy Roast.

This is going to be a wonderful day...which starts in about twenty minutes.