New Circus act .....if we can train him

Well,I think that every circus should have an animal act (my apologies to Cirque de Soleil) and we might just have one..in a few months. We now welcome Otto the mini long haired Dachshund to the family. He's cute and currently very much a lap dog. The training has begun to make him the best dog act since Lassie! It should take a few months for us to train him or a few weeks for him to train us....we'll see what happens.

More as the tricks develop!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!

SNOW everywhere...the entire place is covered in at least 2 feet of snow. Alot of NYC  is basically shut down due to the weather. What's a clown to do? Rehearse...Rehearse....Rehearse.
Just 2 months away to the Clown Jamboree and we have started to work on our group skit and each of our single skits and acts. At this point besides the family group skit it has been decided that this year Phineas is going to do a single skit and enter the magic competition, and he and Pupperdoodle are each doing an act in the talent "star search" competition. The props are coming together and the scripts are being honed........now its practice, practice, practice.

What do Jewish Clowns do on Christmas?

Well every year we go do clown rounds with the team! Happily this year they managed to discharge most of the kids in time for the holiday. So there were only a few kids there. But of course their parents were with them opening up presents and playing. So there we were, singing and playing...and we even got a nurse to do the hoky poky with us. Lots of fun.....Happy Holidays to all and a happy and HEALTHY new year!

Happy Thanksgiving

At this time of year we all need to take personal inventory and be thankfull for all the things we have in our lives...Our health, loved ones, and friends. Make every experience, every day, a learning experience to improve ourselves.
Happy Thanksgiving!

A Time to Clown.....not what I planned

My usual schedule is to treat my scheduled patients in the operating room in the morning and when we are done with all of the cases,  and everyone is cleared in recovery, I go to the pediatric floor to do clown rounds. I leave my bag of stuff and costume bag in the surgeon's lounge and go to work. Friday's cases was a bit different. We had a case of a Down's Syndrome adult who was going to have all of her dental care while she was under general anesthesia because she couldn't handle the care in a routine setting. But the OR was delayed. Let me set the scene....no anesthesiologist yet (they were with another patient in the next room)...only the dental residents preparing the instruments and equiptment, the circulating nurse, scrub nurse (unscrubbed) and the patient and her mother. The patient was very anxious to say the least. She started to act out and wouldn't let anyone come near her. The scrub nurse started to make instant stickers with smiley faces using adhesive tape...this helped, but only for a short time. I took out my cell phone and pulled up my kid's music selections. Seasame Street Platinum is my favorite so I played the Seasame Street Theme Song....this changed the room! Now the nurses and I were dancing with the patient, she was singing, and clapping...other staff came by the room to see what the noise was and the smiles and laughs were contagious.
By the time the anesthesiologist came in,  the place was really hopping. The patient was danced over to the table and she willingly layed down so we could start her IV and start the case.
The entire case ran perfectly and the attitude of the room the rest of the morning was very upbeat. This gave me a real sense of the mission of hospital clowning to "change to mood in the room"
After all the cases I went and got to do the normal clown rounds but the experience of the morning helped make it even more fun and I felt I was more playful with my audiences....
Keep 'em clean!

ANOTHER GREAT HEALTH FAIR

Well after many years St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in NYC had a health fair! From 11-4 on Saturday October 2nd out on 114th street the tables were set up, the DJ played, and we clowned, all day.....we had a great time and the community got educated, screened, got samples of food and drinks and in between they danced with us, watched magic,  watched juggling and hula hooping and got balloon animals.....what a great day for all!
We are working on getting some videos to put up on youtube, so watch our channel at drmolarmagic for them.
Congratulations to all the staff who worked so hard to get this very successful health fair off the ground and I can't wait until next year so we can do it all again......

Deno's Wonder wheel turns 90!

We were out at Coney Isalnd again...this time Phineas was perfroming at the 90th Birthday party for the famous Deno's Wonder Wheel. This Brooklyn landmark Ferris Wheel is still going strong and they had a birthday party. The show was great, there was bluegrass folk music, the Minsky Sisters tap dancing act, the great Miss Saturn with her hula hoop act and of course Phineas who juggled eggs and a chainsaw, then did his comdey knife juggling routine. The audience loved it....but then again they were excited to see him back after his first place win in the Coney Island Talent Show.
Lots of fun ...but then again its always fun to spent a day at Coney Island and the great Deno's Wonder Wheel!

A musical day...

After many months of practice we brought our ukeleles to our clown rounds. Phineas and I were on the ukes and Pupperdoodle was on the kazoo. We performed kids classics for the patients and even got some dancing in the hallway. We had a lot of fun and got alot of smiles and laughs.
Sometimes its hard to decide what we are going to perform because we have so much fun stuff and enjoy doing it all. Now we have more music to add to the list. It was a great time.

? bruary for the Clown City Jamboree show.

? er hula hooping to new levels. Now the "Little Hula" has some mad hooping moves and skill! She's working on a new routine which should be ready around Fe

? Pupperdoodle goes to Hoop class...
Thanks to Stefan who runs "Groovehoops" and has drop in classes at the 14th street Y in NYC. Pupperdoodle is taking h

He did it....1st place

Phineas the Clown placed first in the first annual Coney Island Talent Show with his comedy knife juggling routine. He was a hit and out of a group of 5 acts including singers, dancers, and musicians his variety arts act took the lead and won First place.
Look for his performance on YouTube......search "drmolarmagic's channel" or search for "Phineas Juggles and Coney Island"

A day by the sea......
Phineas is competing in the First Annual Coney Island Talent Show. We are out in the boardwalk getting ready for his knife jugglin

g extravaganza...check it out tomorrow on YouTube.

Kids can be tough critics....

So I came up to the door of the room and knocked and asked the young boy of 7 years if I could come in a see him....his reply "oh man its the same clown a s last year.." With that I knew I was in for some fun. It seems this young man was in for his latest round of chemotherapy and he clearly remembered me from almost a year ago when our paths last crossed.
I was overjoyed that he remebered me and promised if I could come in I have all new stuff to show him and it would be even more fun than last time! He agreed and we spent the next 20 minutes hanging together, juggling, coloring, and showing him some of my new magic effects. I spent a few minutes speaking with his grandmother who was in with him. We also spoke about the chemo he was going for in the next few minutes after my visit. He replied, "I'm kinda used to it, it will be over soon" I complimented him on his maturity and saluted him with a whoopee cushion finale. Off he went to the infusion suite and off I went to the next room.

If your visiting from Circuspace...Thanks

Hi...I placed a shout out on the wall at CIRCUSPACE to help bring folks here to read my rantings about our Foundation's Circus Bicuspid activities and Clown Dr. Rounds. I try to post interesting reports after each event and hope they are of interest to all comers.
Thanks for stopping by and hoep to see you again!

What a Great Day!

Saturday June 19th we took the ToothZone Carnival Games to the annual Brookdale University Hospital Community Health Fair. Attendance was high which is always great and the kids had a blast. We answered lots of questions by kids about their teeth and spent some time speaking with the parents about access to dental care for their children. Then near the end of the fair I heard my name called to the bandstand. The CEO of the Hospital and the staff who organize the fair presented me with an award of appreciation for my (and my family's) continued participation and support of the annual health fair. It was a BIG surprise and it felt great to be recognized for doing something we love.
On another note, the Clearwater Florida tooth adventure pictures are posted on the healthy teeth page of drmolarmagic.com.....check them out

Looking for Teeth in Clearwater Florida

The team is in Clearwater Florida this week and we are finding a few "teeth" related sights. We got a real treat when we went to the Clearwater Aquarium to see Winter. A dolphin with an incredibly inspiring story. Your need to go to http://www.seewinter.com/ and check this out. Check out the Healthy Teeth Page of  http://www.drmolarmagic.com/ in about a week to see pictures of Winter and all the other Tooth adventures we came up with.

A Great Health Fair

It was a fun day! I took the Dr. Molar Magic's Museum of Curiosity and Humbugs to PS/IS 207 to teach the students all about thier teeth and the teeth of various animals. Its a fun exhibit which includes model skulls of different animals, a tribute to PT Barnum's Feejee Mermaid, and lots of information about how to take care of your teeth properly. Every class came by in order and I did my shtick.....then we took questions, that's where the fun began.
I think the best question of the day was from a kindergartener who asked me," when do my teeth turn gold like my grandpa's?"
What do you say to that?! I explained to the young man that he should take good care of his teeth, and ask his Grandpa how old he was when he got his gold teeth....
All in a day's work....
We have lots of great gig coming up, the Annual Autism Speaks walk, an Assembly at MS 216, and as always a bunch of Clown Rounds dates at Brookdale Hospital.

Keep reading and we'll keep blogging.

The patients are not always interested .......

Another day in Peds, a short one however, the census included a lot of sleeping teenagers. Now I know its a lot of fun waking up teenagers....but not today. We just let them sleep and get their energy back to heal. I did get to sing a verse of "Silvery Moon" with one of the nurses. All in a days work......

Clown Rounds May 14th, 2010

Another great day in Pediatrics.....we had  a lot of laughs today, but the funniest moment was when the snake flashlight (that's just a spring snake that comes out of a flashlight) actually took a Dad by surprise which sent his son into rolling hysterical laughter for a good 10 minutes.. Mom and I got a good laugh and Dad laughed as well, as soon as he caught his breath. Lots of fun......

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!

Clown Rounds Friday April 15th

A good day's work on the Ped's unit. First stop I competed with the video game cart....not easy, but once they saw me drop the juggling clubs, well the rest was cake!
Actually I had a great experience today, I had just finished all the room to room work and was getting ready to leave when the attending of the day came to me and asked me to visit a child in the treatment room. Now this room is on the other side of the unit and rarely used, so I never go there. But I was lucky enough to be there today and spent about 20 minutes speaking with and performing for a 9year old while the Docs prepared to do a spinal tap.
One of those days when being there made that extra difference......

Day 2 at JUGGLE THIS at Pratt University in Brooklyn. We came in yesterday after work and stayed throughout the afternoon juggling, taking workshops, hanging with folks we knew... And today we're back a bit tired and I'm sore but ready to go. We are also manning a vendor table for MITZVAH MANIPULATIVES, Matthew's Bar Mitvah charity project. We have a bunch of sets of juggling balls to sell to raise money for. RED NOSE RESPONSE, and plenty of juggling (and for me dropping ) to do today!

Two weeks until JUGGLE THIS the annual juggling festival at Pratt University....and we are ready to go! This year Phineas will have a table to sell sets of juggling balls for his Mitzvah Manipulatives project to raise money for Red Nose Response. The rest of the team will be there juggling away....see you there!

Diabetes Research Foundation Carnival For A Cure

Sunday March 7th, Phineas and I spent the day clowning at the Carnival For A Cure at the Puck Building in NYC. this annual event helps raise funds for the Diabetes Research Foundation. Every year the DMMF donates our performance to this exciting carnival. This year we were supposed to do our usual clowning, Juggling, and balloon sculpture. When we got there, there were two other balloon twisters who blew us away (good pun there...) so we stuck to clowning and juggling. By the middle of the event it was way crowded. No room for club juggling, so we limited mostly to plate spinning with the kids. By the last hour it was so crowded we just spent the time clowning with people. the walk around gags held up very well and got all the laughs we needed. There was even a kid who dragged their parents across the floor to come see me standing dancing to my own tune. I used the foam rock with headphones wired to it and told them I was listening to rock music....cute gag and it played well in this venue. A great day spent clowning for a great organization!

HAPPY PURIM!
The small clowns and I were the opening act for the Megillah reading at HHJC. What a hoot! Phineas Juggled I did magic and all three of us performed a great song by the Bravo Brothers called "Nothing Like A Bad Joke"
We had a blast and I thing the audience liked it... they were laughing out loud and didn't throw rotten fruit....

Clowning between cases

Treating patients in the operating room can be serious work but between cases, when the room is being turned over it a good time for fun.....sometimes it take a LONG time to turn over the rooms.
Yesterday was no exception. I took it upon myself to start a running gag in the morning and see how long I could keep it going throughout the day.
I "tripped" in front of the main office just outside their window in the hallway. Then looked back to see what I tripped on, shrugged my shoulders and walked on. Every time I walked past that window, and there were people in the office, I "tripped" (Thank you Slap Stick DOJO for teaching me this!). The first time I did it, a nurse came out and looked at the ground to see what I tripped over. The second time nothing happended, but the third time she came out again and looked around with more effort. After the fourth time, I came back around the hall and saw they had called a housekeeper who was mopping the floor where I tripped because there must be something there! I asked what was up and he said that people keep tripping here so they are cleaning the floor!.....my job was done for the day.....

NY Goofs Winter Intensive

WOW what a weekend! The teaching was split between Dick Monday and Avner The Eccentric. I have spent many hours learning from Dick Monday the former Director of Ringling Brother's Clown College and have to come to enjoy the classes. The improv games and lessons really helped me hone my performing and improve it. Since my graduation from the NY Goofs Ultimate Clown School three years ago, I have taken every chance I could to get back and learn more from them.
Now about Avner.....what a different take on things! His teaching and guidance helped me see my performances at a whole other level. All things I can take back to the Dr. Magic Show and clown Dr. rounds and improve my interaction with my audiences.
It was a great weekend, and I learned a lot of new stuff. And best of all I spent time with some clown friends that I hadn't seen for some time, its always great to reconnect.
Overall an incredible weekend!
I highly recommend all these teachers.
www.nygoofs.com
www.avnertheeccentric.com

HERE WE GO!!! Getting ready to start the NY GOOFS WINTER INTENSIVE. an entire weekend of clowning and clown character development class. More later.....

I am testing my new mobile phone link to the blog so we can blog on the go!

Convention Results

Wow what a weekend (the week after was really bad but I'm sure it will get better over time)
We came home with lots of awards from the Clown City Jamboree.
Jessica (Pupperdoodle) came out with a 3rd place for single skit (against 6 Adults!) 3rd place in the junior makeup competition and 3rd place in the Talent Contest with a routine with Matthew (Phineas).
Matthew (Phineas) came in 1st for his Juggling Routine in the Talent Contest, 2nd place in Junior makeup, and 2nd place in the Magic competition.
I took 1st place in Magic with a great new Giant cups and Balls routine, and the family took home a 3rd place medal in the group skit competition.
Aside from that it was great to see all the clowns we meet at this convention each year. We reconnected with some old friends and made a bunch of new ones. And the best news of all....although the folks from Clown City have closed the store and are no longer running this convention, it has been taken over by Steve Kissell with a 5 year contract with the hotel! Doug and Sue from Clown City will be there to help keep things running.

Circus Bicuspid heads back to Brookdale this Monday for clown rounds....more later

And we're off!

Here we are at the Clown City January Jamboree (in February !?) Last night Phineas performed his newest Juggling routine for the crowd.....score! The crowd loved it!
Later in the show Phineas and Pupperdoodle performed their new routine "Seeing Double" and again, another score!
Both Kids have been rehearsing for these debuts and it paid off.
Today we head to lectures on Hospital Clowning,

Clown City Here we Come...

Its that time again.....the annual Clown City January Jamboree (Held in February for the last 2 years) Anyway this is sadly the last year of the convention. We have been going to this convention for 8 years in a row! Phineas and Pupperdoodle have grown up around these folks and gotten a lot of their clown skills from the many lectures and events at this small family oriented convention.
This year is going to be great, Our family group skit is ready, Jessica's single skit is ready and Matthew's newest juggling routine is all set to go.
We'll post the videos on youtube and link them here as soon as we get them.....
Off to clown city we go........

The Kids Loved it....

Another slam dunk at Clown Rounds on Martin Luther King Day! A full pediatric unit (that's not good too many sick kids) -but the ICU was empty. We broke out a new bag for this trip- a fully modified gold bag that holds so much more stuff and is more portable than our janitor's cart. We juggled and magished for everyone.
The pediatric resident covering for the day didn't expect us and was happily surprised to see us. She followed us to a few rooms to watch us entertain.
We arrived just before lunch so the bad hospital food jokes were flying
"whats the difference between hospital meatloaf and a brick.....nothing"
Hey, we even got a teenager to stop texting to watch some magic..now that was impressive.
We came across one young girl who was from another country and her father didn't know what to make of us and asked us in broken English to please go away, we complied with a smile.
Overall the patients and staff had a good time.

Reality Sets in....

Its been a rough week......it seems Hospital Administrators do not like sarcasm.
Not verbal, not written, even sarcastic thoughts don't seem to fly.
The further away they get from direct patient contact the more "unknowing" they get.
But we march on.
Can the smile and laugh win over the protocol and policy?
Time will tell