MARCH 2014
BILLY SCADLOCK
Page 36
MAGIC - UNITY - MIGHT
Editor
Michael Close
Editor Emeritus
David Goodsell
Associate Editor
W.S. Duncan
Proofreader & Copy Editor
Lindsay Smith
Art Director
Lisa Close
Publisher
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MARCH 2014
M-U-M (ISSN 00475300 USPS 323580) is published monthly for $40 per year by The Society of American Magicians, 6838 N. Alpine Dr., Parker, CO 80134 . Periodical postage paid at Parker, CO and additional mailing offices.
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Volume 103 • Number 10
THIS MONTH’S FEATURES
24 Stage 101 Practicum • by Levent
29 Tech Tricks • Bruce Kalver
30 Hit the Road • by Scott Alexander
32 Not Just Kid Stuff • Jim Kleefeld
34 For Your Consideration • by George Parker
36 COVER STORY • by Steve Marshall
44 Nielsen Gallery • by Tom Ewing
46 Mental Breakdown • by Christian Painter
50 The High Road • by Mick Ayres
50 El Roberto Enigmatico • by R.D. Michaels
54 Ebook Nook: Impossibilia
57 Paranormal Happenings • Charles Siebert, MD
58 Cheats and Deceptions • Antonio M. Cabral
60 Informed Opinion • New Product Reviews
68 Salon de Magie • by Ken Klosterman
69 Inside Straight • by Norman Beck
70 Basil the Baffling • Alan Wassilak
70 The Dean’s Diary • by George Schindler
MAGAZINE
M-U-M
2014
coverstory
page 36
Cover Photo by Andy Eubanks
Photo by Andy Eubanks
S.A.M. NEWS
6 From the Editor’s Desk
8 From the President’s Desk
11 M-U-M Assembly News
22 Broken Wands
23 New Members & Reinstatements
23 Good Cheer List
69 Our Advertisers
44
68
50
Editor’s Desk
If you attended the S.A.M. convention in Washington, D.C., last year, it is likely that you saw Billy Scadlock, for he was there in many guises: as a stilt-walking Uncle Sam, as The Great Scadini (in an act with Steve Marshall), and as the character he has portrayed around the world, Charlie Chaplin’s “The Little Tramp.” Billy has had a full and varied career in the variety arts, from magician to circus clown to mime to celebrity impersonator. Steve Marshall wrote the cover story on Billy, which you’ll find on page 36.
Many readers, myself included, lamented the ending of Levent’s Stage 101 column in December of 2013. Levent has an extremely busy performing schedule (as anyone who is his Facebook friend will attest), and his constant traveling made it increasingly difficult to maintain a monthly column. However, I’m happy to report that Levent has not left M-U-M permanently. He will be offering a quarterly column titled Stage 101 Practicum, which will focus on the specifics of a particular stage effect. This month Levent discusses the venerable Vanishing Cane. You will learn a lot; I know I did.
This month is the final installment of Christian Painter’s Mental Breakdown column. Christian’s columns contained valuable information, not just for mentalists, but for all performing magicians. I’m sorry to see his column come to an end, but the good news is that Christian will be back in alternate months with a different column; a new contributor will take over the mentalism column responsibilities. Stay tuned.
Don Theo III submitted a long, very interesting column for this month, but with the addition of Levent’s column it turned out that space was tight this issue. Rather than break up Don’s column into two parts, I’m saving the whole thing for next month.
At the end of January, Lisa, Ava, and I braved the weather and headed down to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Magi-Fest convention. The line-up of booked talent was remarkable; even more remarkable were the attendees. If you had a question about any contemporary (and perhaps not so contemporary) book, DVD, or trick, the odds were pretty good that the creator was there. The hot action was late at night when Juan Tamariz held court in the lobby, but I am the old father of a seven-year-old, so I missed all that. There was great magic to be seen and purchased and everyone had a fine time. Congratulations to Joshua Jay, Andi Gladwin, and Tim Moore.
Interested in placing an ad in the 2014 Combined Convention Souvenir Program? Contact Becki Wells at Publicity@ ibmsam.com to request the Ad Rate and Specification Sheet. The souvenir program is an opportunity for you to advertise your magic business, show, convention or service, promote your assembly, drive traffic to your dealer booth, and send greetings of praise or congratulations. Your ad or message will reach 1,400 people! Previous convention programs, like the 2008 combined convention program from Louisville, are now collector items and this year’s program will be no different. Be a part of magic history and place your ad now.
The Society of American Magicians Magic Endowment Fund is offering a full tuition scholarship to attend the Jeff McBride Extended Magic Class being held from August 17-23, 2014. The scholarship is offered to any magician, regardless of age; you do not have to be a member of any magic organization. The McBride Mystery School has been recognized as one of the premier magic educational experiences.
In addition, the Magic Endowment Fund is providing scholarships to youngsters between the ages of twelve to eighteen to attend magic camp. Applications are now being accepted for the 2014 summer season for full tuition scholarships plus travel expenses to attend the magic camp at either Tannen’s Magic Camp at their location in Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, for the week of July 12-19, 2014, or the Sorcerers Safari located in Haliburton, Ontario, Canada, for the week of August 15-20, 2014. Both camps are wonderful places for youngsters to learn new skills, improve their performance abilities, and make new friends with similar interests. The campers study under some of the leading professionals, receive helpful critiques of their performance ability, and attend classes.
All candidates must demonstrate existing talent and dedication to achieve improved magical performances and skills. Applications may be obtained by either writing to Trudy Monti, S.A.M. Magic Endowment Fund, 803 Sherwick Terrace, Manchester, MO 63021, or by email (stating your mailing address) to [email protected]. A copy of the application and instructions may also be downloaded from the S.A.M. website (www.magicsam.com).
This has been a long, tough winter for most of North America, and the days were made a little colder by the news that my old friend, and longtime M-U-M contributor, Aldo Colombini had died from complications of a stroke on February 12, 2014. This event was unexpected and was hard to accept. Aldo and I had been friends for thirty years. I dedicated a chapter to him in my book That Reminds Me. I led off that chapter with the following: “Aldo is from Bologna, Italy, and came to the United States in 1993. In a short time, he has managed to accomplish something very difficult – he has learned to be funny in a second language. Comedy is not just about words; it is also about the rhythm of a language, the speed of delivery, the cultural references and sensibilities, and the pacing of a punch line. This varies from country to country. Aldo has not only improved his vocabulary skills to the point where he can deliver (and understand) American jokes, he has also absorbed the rhythm of American humor. He favors short, direct jokes, and he gets big, genuine laughs from his audiences.”
Laughter was important to Aldo; he loved to laugh and he loved to make people laugh. Over the years, we spent many happy occasions together laughing. Aldo was a prolific creator of close-up magic, and he loved performing and lecturing for magicians. He and his wife and partner, Rachel Wild Colombini, traveled the world, sharing magic and laughter with magicians.
I’m sure I express the sentiments of thousands of magicians when I say that I am going to miss him very much. Addio, Aldo. And thanks for the laughs.
Michael Close
Photo by fivebyphotography
Dal Sanders
President’s Desk
I don’t know about you, but I am ready for winter to be over! I’ll admit, I’m a little wimpy, but give me a break! I grew up in Miami Beach, the furthest north I’ve ever lived was Atlanta, Georgia, and now I live in Dallas, Texas. I’m not used to cold weather, and so far this year, I’ve seen plenty. It’s not that this is the coldest winter we’ve had in Texas in many years (it is), but I’ve been traveling, visiting assemblies and conventions in places that are always cold this time of year. Of course, this has given our compeers something to laugh about.In New England I got to perform my magic lecture for Assembly 21 and Assembly 16 and install the officers of Assembly 17. While there I also got to visit Ray and Ann Goulet and tour their Magic Art Studio and the New England Mini Museum of Magic. This was certainly a thrill; it is something that any lover of magic should add to their bucket list. I also got a short tour of The Magic Barn, but because of extensive water damage, I only got to experience a few of the treasures there.
Upon leaving New England, I went home for one day, washed my clothes, and headed to Columbus, Ohio, for more cold weather, snow, and the Eighty-seventh Annual Magi-Fest. Joshua Jay, Andi Gladwin, and Tim Moore did an amazing job with this convention. There were about 850 people there; 100 of them were juniors. The talent was top notch too, with Juan Tamariz, Michael Weber, Eric Mead, David Williamson, and Roberto Giobbi. I really appreciate Josh, Andi, and Tim’s efforts to keep this magic tradition alive. In fact, I appreciate them so much that I presented them with Presidential Citations.
I have really enjoyed the discussions that I have been having with magicians recently, especially those magicians who are not currently part of the S.A.M. I keep hearing the same questions from non-members; “Why do I need to be a member of The Society of American Magicians? What are the benefits?”
We can start with the magazine you are reading right now. I can’t begin to tell you how many people who read the other magic magazines have complimented what Michael Close and his band
of columnists have been doing. M-U-M is more than just a collec-tion of tricks or fanzine articles. M-U-M is one of the ways that the local assemblies communicate with each other. The reports join us together and are part of our ethos. The magazine is also full of information on being a better magician. If you travel at all, you will want to read Scott Alexander’s Hit The Road column. We all need to support the M-U-M by supporting the advertisers. If you are online, it’s easy; all ads have links to the advertisers’ websites. Always let them know that you saw their ad in M-U-M.
Of course, our website is also a huge benefit of membership. I’ll admit that there have been issues over the past couple of years, but the fact remains that the magicsam.com website is miles ahead of others. It’s full of news, articles, information, and even videos.
Speaking of videos, the S.A.M. Media Library is a vast library that features magicians through the years performing, lecturing, and having fun. The video and audio clips are available to all S.A.M. members, and we’ve made it easier to view them, because the entire library is being added to a special area in the Members Home section of our website.
The Society of American Magicians is also active in various social networks. SAMtalk is an email newsgroup that allows members to ask questions, share ideas, and get magic-related information. Of course the S.A.M. also has social presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus.
Members also help to preserve the art of magic by support-ing the S.A.M. Hall of Fame and Magic Museum Inc. and the Magic Center Foundation Inc. Both work towards preserving and promoting the art of magic and the history of The Society of American Magicians.
Finally, through the Magic Endowment Fund, The Society of American Magicians offers various scholarships and funds to help promote the art of magic. Magicians who have fallen ill or have been injured may be helped through the Houdini Fund, an integral part of the S.A.M. Magic Endowment Foundation. The Fund will assist any magician or allied artist who is in financial need with extra expenses normally not covered by insurance, such as nurses, oxygen, wheelchairs, and other similar medical requirements. Funds are granted for comfort assistance, outpa-tient aides, and additional drug assistance. The Fund has paid for transportation to and from medical facilities. These are grants and not loans. Payments are kept confidential. There are many other benefits of being a member of the S.A.M. There are also other grants available to magicians and allied artists who have suffered loss through natural disasters.
ALDO COLOMBINI
I had this article wrapped up but then I got the sad news that Aldo Colombini had passed away. I felt I must say something about this great magician and friend. Aldo was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He was charming, funny, and incredibly talented. Aldo was a F.I.S.M.-winning magician with a huge following, and yet he always made time for
Joshua Jay, Tim Moore, Dal Sanders, and Andi Gladwin at Magi-Fest
S.A.M. National Officers
Dean: George Schindler, 1735 East 26th St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11229, (718) 336-0605, Fax (718) 627-1397, [email protected]
President: Dal Sanders, 3316 Northaven Rd,
Dallas, TX 75229 (214) 902-9200, [email protected]
President Elect: Kenrick “ICE” McDonald, P.O.
Box 341034, Los Angeles, CA 90034, (310) 559-8968, [email protected]
First Vice President: David Bowers,
(717) 414-7574, [email protected]
Second Vice President: Jeffrey Sikora, (402)
339-6726 [email protected]
Secretary: Marlene Clark, 274 Church Street,
#6B, Guilford, CT 06437, (203) 689-5730, Skype: marlene.clark, [email protected]
Treasurer: Eric Lampert, (215) 939-5555,
Regional Vice Presidents
New England: CT MA RI NH ME VT Joseph Caulfield (603) 654-6022, [email protected] North Atlantic: NY NJ Eric DeCamps, (718) 896-5861, [email protected]
Mid Atlantic: PA DE MD VAWV DC
Phil Milstead, (703) 481-5271, [email protected] South Atlantic: FL AL GA MS NC SC Debbie Leifer (404) 630-1120 [email protected] Central Plains: KY TN OH IN MI Steven A. Spence, (317) 722-0429 [email protected] Midwest: IL MN WI MO ND NE KS SD IA Shaun Rivera, (618) 781-8621 [email protected]
South Central States: TX AR OK NM LA
Michael Tallon, (210) 341-6959 [email protected] Southwest: CA AZ NV HI Ron Ishimaru, (808) 428-6019, [email protected] Northwest: WA OR UT ID CO AK WY MT James Russell, (360) 682-6648 [email protected]
Canada: Rod Chow (604) 669-7777
Society of Young Magicians Director:
Jann Wherry Goodsell, 329 West 1750 North, Orem, Utah 84057 (801) 376-0353. [email protected]
Living Past National Presidents
Bradley M. Jacobs, Richard L. Gustafson, Roy A. Snyder, Bruce W. Fletcher, James E. Zachary, David R. Goodsell, Fr. Cyprian Murray, Michael D. Douglass, George Schindler, Dan Rodriguez, Dan Garrett, Donald F. Oltz Jr., Craig Dickson, Loren C. Lind, Gary D. Hughes, Harry Monti, Jann Wherry Goodsell, Warren J. Kaps, Ed Thomas, Jay Gorham, John Apperson, Richard M. Dooley, Andy Dallas, Maria Ibáñez, Bruce Kalver, Mike Miller, Mark Weidhaas, Vinny Grosso, J. Christopher Bontjes
his friends.
When Cinde threw me a surprise fiftieth birthday party, he was one of out-of town guests who came to help me celebrate. I will miss his magic and I will miss his jokes, but most of all I will miss that booming, gentle voice saying hello just before being engulfed in a bear hug. I am confident that he has merely gone ahead to preset the room and get things ready for our arrival to whatever is next. Aloha Aldo.
ASSEMBLY NEWS
Society of American Magicians Monthly News
MARCH 2014 Volume 103, Number 10
GO TO:
WWW.MUM-MAGAZINE.COM
and use the easy submission form to file your report
1
CAMARADERIE
REIGNS AT PA 1
NEW YORK,NY— The Magic Table was a little slow this month; holidays and weather in NYC were a factor. On different Fridays, regulars Richard Bossong, Scott Mero, Rene Clement, and Lee and Jerry Oppenheimer joined me. We meet for lunch and to share magic at The Edison Café in the Hotel Edison. It’s on 47th Street off 7th Avenue in Times Square. We meet after 12:30 on Fridays. On Saturdays the magicians gather at the “Pizza Place,” which has lots of action.
Our monthly meeting of the Parent Assembly was on Thursday January 9, 2014. President Throwdini could not run the meeting because he was per-forming at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for several weeks in January. So at the normal 7:15 start time we only had eighteen members in attendance, two short of a quorum for the PA. At 8:45 we called the meeting; general an-nouncements were given. One was of the “Danny Reilly Roast” by our brother organization the IBM on January 31st at the Musician’s Meeting Hall. Like me, many magicians in the city are members of both. Then we went to the af-ter-meeting event at which others joined us.
In January for the past few years the Parent Assembly has had an auction. We had lots of donated materials, including a sword chest for the head. Second VP Richie Magic provided this and it went to the SYM. We had a great time, and camaraderie reigned this night at the PA 1. Sal Perrotta and I purchase material we donated to the SYM. Kamaar had a lot of great stuff he donated.
Doug Edward, Steve Horn, and Lenny Greenfader’s daughter got some wonderful buys. Many remarked it was the best monthly gathering of the PA 1 this year. Some of the money went to the assembly’s programs and the rest went for new efforts by the SAM PA 1 Gravesite Restoration Com-mittees.
Our workshop was on January 17th at the Gemini Diner. We had sixteen people and Doug Edwards was in rare form. He has a new book coming out. He did Rolling off a Log by Charles Jordan, some self-working tricks, and some Marlo and Derrick Dingle material. He patiently taught all those attending how to do the effects and performed many flawless routines. We had a blast. —Tom Klem
The Parent Assembly meets on the first Friday of the month at Mount Sinai Hospital on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Meetings start at 7:15 PM Contact Tom Klem [email protected] (212) 7255258 www.sampa1.com for more details.
4
WILL FERN LECTURES
PHILADELPHIA, PA— Our January meeting featured an excellent Lecture by Will Fern. Prior to the lecture, we mourned the loss of our good friend and Past President, Jim Straub, who passed away at the age of sixty-one on January 10, 2014, after a cou-rageous six-month battle with brain cancer. Jim, whose laugh and smile were infectious, was a superb coin and card manipulator who was beloved by our member-ship. President Brian Hurlburt and Secretary Arlen Solomon presided over the Broken Wand Ceremony, which Jim’s widow Pat attended. Jim’s full length obituary will appear in the Obituary section of the magazine.
Following the Broken Wand Ceremony, we were treated to a superb whirlwind lecture by Will Fern, who is nothing short of a human dynamo. Will, who is a full time “general practitioner,” has been a fixture in Northern New Jersey and New York City for over twenty years. Having performed walk-around magic over three-thousand nights in various res-taurants in addition to private and corporate affairs, trade shows, cruise ships, nursing homes, and children’s shows, Will came equipped with a vast knowledge of real-world experience which he was eager to share with our members.
Will’s lecture included a wide mix of close-up magic with several routines geared specifi-cally toward children. His very funny six-phase sponge bunny routine, which included a lot of audience interaction, was one of the highlights of the evening. He also delighted everyone with his I.B.M.-winning memorized deck routine during which he dem-onstrated several lightening fast card location effects. Another highlight of the evening, which astounded everyone, was Will’s exceptionally clean Any Card at Any Number. Will taught so many excellent effects during his two-and-a-half-hour lecture that many members commented afterward that his lecture was one of the best they had seen in years. Although Will did not have enough time to cover several stage pieces that were featured in his lecture notes, he was more than happy to stick around after the lecture to discuss his methods for those effects, including a very practical Ring in Nest of Boxes routine utilizing un-gimmicked boxes. All in all, Will’s lecture was one of the best we have ever had. Any assembly looking for an excellent lecture need look no further than Will Fern. It was a fantastic night of magic for all. —Peter Cuddihy
The James Wobensmith Assembly 4 meets third Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Bustleton Memorial Post, 810 (American Legion) 9151 Old Newtown Road. Contact Information: www.sam4.org/ for more details.
6
HOT MAGIC ON A FRIGID NIGHT
BALTIMORE, MD— Our scheduled meeting having been snowed out, we skipped a week only to face super-frigid tempera-tures. But the turnout was large and included six guests. Prez Andy London announced the sad news of the passing of member Dr. Richard Schindler on December 28th. After the usual raffle of used magi, Dean Joe Bruno (74 yrs in magic) led off with an intrigu-ing face up/face down reversal of a fan of cards, which he then tipped. He followed with Long-fellow the Magician’s Take Ten, handing out mini decks of cards and instructions so we could all follow along. Mentalist Oneil Banks found a selected card under a coin moved by a spectator. Guest Jason Leh performed a nice
8-Card Brainwave followed by two versions of card-back color change. Craig Feinstein’s fascina-tion with coin magic continues: he did a copper-silver effect using his Boston Box, David Roth’s Coins through Table, and a fine coin assembly.
Guest Trevor Plumer found a selected card when it appeared on a stick of gum (!) from a randomly selected sealed package. Guest Ronann Carrero performed a Four 2014
Will Fern Lectures
Eric Hoffman performing Dr. Schindler’s vintage production
box as a memorial to this fine gentleman and magician
Assembly News
Robbers effect with Jacks followed by Aces; he’s polishing the patter. Both guests are students at Johns Hopkins. Eric Hoffman brought the late Dr. Schindler’s vintage production box and performed it as a memorial to this fine gentleman and magician. Guest Dennis Hasson did a smooth version of the ever-popular Professor’s Nightmare. Guest Jefferson Rose had matches burnt, torn, restored, and moving back and forth in mys-terious ways.
Guest Jared Raitzyk performed two card tricks, including a card-in-shoe. First time we’ve ever heard the line, “Pick a shoe!” Howard Katz had a spectator fairly select from four envelopes, each containing money. The spectator ended up with an envelope con-taining a $1 million bill and a wry note. Jay Silverman had a spectator cut the pack randomly into thirds, and then dealt to four Kings and four Aces. Announcing “I want to do a [card] prediction in the fairest possible manner,” Andy London proceeded to do so, leaving most of us stumped. Our other cardician, Jeff Eline, said “the regulars will be amazed” to see him do something without cards and then performed a fine Cups and Balls with four limes as the final loads. Of course he had to follow with a card trick, a “group trick” that had us all tearing packets of cards in half only to find that they mysteriously matched. —Eric Hoffman
The Kellar/Thurston Assembly 6 meets every first Thursday at 8:00 pm at the Magic Warehouse, 11419 Cronridge Drive suite #10 in Owings Mills, Maryland. 410-561-0777. Contact Andy London [email protected] www. baltimoresam.com for more details.
7
THE WIZARD STRIKES AGAIN
OMAHA, NE— This year’s Wizard’s banquet promised to be a real treat! We were honored by the presence of National S.A.M. President Dal Sanders, National 2nd V.P. Jeff Sikora, and Midwest Regional V.P. Shaun Rivera. And one of the past presidents of Assembly 7, Bob Schmill, reac-quainted himself after an extended absence. To start it should be noted that one of our performers “took a knee,” relinquishing his time slot to the rest of the group.
Prior to the wizardry, Most Il-lustrious Dal Sanders presented a Presidential Citation to Jerry Golmanavich for his efforts with Assembly 7, and then Assembly President Tom Zepf presented Larry Brodahl the first ever Top
Hat Award for his contributions in making the assembly successful.
Then the fun began with Bob Schmill putting on his Scottisch regalia and “kilting” the audience, followed by Travis Newcombe with his bag (or guitar case) of tricks. Midwest Regional Vice President Shaun Rivera brought out the Linking Rings and brought volunteers up onto the stage, and Dal Sanders provided the grand finale comprising a bouquet of effects to keep the audience’s attention. Dean Walter Graham did a great job as emcee, doing double duty as the Humorous Trickster between acts.
The weather was record-setting and the audience of almost one hundred seemed captivated by the festivities. Of course, the meal was a highlight and the package was well prepared by the banquet committee that included Chairman Jeff Quinn, Larry Brodahl, Bob Gehringer, Donna Roth, Denny Rourke, Walter Graham, Ann Rourke, Ron Gerard, and Jeff Sikora.
For 2014 the Officers of the Omaha Magical Society are: President, Professor Emeritus Tom Zepf; Vice President, Jerry Golmanavich; Secretary, Scott Klinger; Treasurer & Dean, Walter Graham; and Sergeant-at-Arms, Bob Gehringer. We have high hopes for another banner year with the help of all of the board members and continued growth of the assembly. —Jerry Golmanavich
The Omaha Magical Society meets generally on the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Southwest Church of Christ near 124th St. and West Center Road, right across from where Hooters used to be. Contact jerry golmanavich [email protected] (402) 390-9834 omahamagicalsociety.com for more details.
8
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS, MO— December 12th was our last meeting in 2013and it was a magical evening. After a brief meeting, Columbus Smith performed Liquid Metal, to help support Morgan Strebler’s lecture, which will be here in February. Greg Green performed the classic Cups and Balls. It was not exactly a party, but refreshments for all and for all a good night!
Jan 23rd was a lecture by Karl Hein. Karl packed the hall will magicians eager to learn from a professional. Included in the lecture were Go with the Flow, Heinstein’s Dream, and Heinsight. We all enjoyed Hein’s Catch Up. All in all, it was a great night for everyone! Thanks Karl.
Our assembly has been blessed with some great magicians. Many
of them have been written up over the years in M-U-M. Lots of our compeers turned professional and we have a couple of past national presidents among us now.
Here’s to a Happy New Year – 2014! We are off to a great start with PNP Harry Monty in the January issue of MAGIC magazine, but that’s not all. July brings the IBM/SAM convention here too! Come meet us all when you get here.
May great magic continue to thrive, right here in St. Louis. —Dan Todd
Assembly 8 meets at Mount Tabor United Church of Christ located at 6520 Arsenal in Saint Louis, MO 63139. Contact Dick Blowers [email protected] (213) 846-8468 http://Assembly8.com for more details.
13
ERIC EVANS LECTURE
DALLAS, TX— Welcome to 2014! President Derrel Allen welcomed the members of the Dallas Magic Clubs to the first meeting of the year. Guests for the night included Mike Kanlet and Ernie Werbiski. After a brief introduction, Derrel handed the meeting off to VP Frank Seltzer who had a few brief announce-ments. After announcements, Frank introduced the guest lecturer
for the evening, Eric Evans. Eric is a very talented street performer who trained under a number of excellent mentors, including Cellini. Eric’s most recent publi-cation is 53 Friends: Card Tricks
for Everywhere. Eric’s lecture
covered many topics, including cards, coins, Slydini silks, rope, and wand moves.
There were no performances from members this meeting, allowing Eric as much time as possible. Additional activities in January included a lecture by Karl Hein on January 26, 2014.
The Dallas Magic Clubs meet the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at Theatre 166, Crosspointe Community Center (see www. dallasmagic.org for directions). Contact Reade Quinton reade. [email protected] (972) 400-0195 www.dallasmagic.org for more details.
17
COLD EVENING – WARM FRIENDS
SPRINGFIELD ,MA— It was a dark and stormy night. Windy. Zero degrees! Many inches of snow had fallen and some had thought that the idea of a meeting on such a night had fallen also, but the members braved the New England weather to come out for the January meeting and the theme, “What is in your case?” One may feature an effect that is in the case that may be used whenever.
Business meeting was kept short. The 50/50 raffle prize was won by Jeff Pzyocha and generously donated to the treasury for our After the Holiday Get Together dinner to be visited by Most Illus-trious Dal Sanders and scheduled to install our new officers.
Dean, Tom Gentile presented some foldable creations and related them to Springfield’s City of Homes and another to the upcoming possible gambling casino to be built in Springfield
Sergeant-at-Arms, Ed Kazar performed his rendition of Pre-dictalopes using 3 envelopes with cards with numbers and properly predicted a number and card. Francis“Butch” Papianou brought out his version of Max Maven’s Pick-a-lope using three volun-teers with numbers and cards with “Mine” and “Yours” and after a few random selections ended up with his, er, “MINE.” Magic Dealer and shop owner Rich Pin-sonnault quickly got our attention with a Four-D Printing effect with another set of magic cards. He then exhibited a new Tenyo effect and exhibited his expertise of placing an item behind a steel plate and totally unseen matched
Larry Brodahl wins the 2014 Top Hat Award
Assembly News
what was showed.
Then Rich produced a card selected later to be between two Jokers in a deck. Jeff Pzychoa brought some warmth to the evening with his HotWire, a cool effect of a heated wire held between his hands. Next he showed us his HoverCard with a card that seemingly floated and spun free of any “strings, wires, or cables” between his outstretched hands. Then he brought us on a tour of his case with many compartments and capabilities of packing and his reasons for picking the style case he uses.
Last, newest member Kyle Barbacki showed his case and explained some history behind the items within.
We all hope that when you are in the area the first Friday of the month you will come by and “visit for a spell!” —Tom Gentile
We meet at the Moto-X and Magic Shop, 69 East Street, Ludlow Massachusetts Contact Rich Gilbert-President [email protected] (413) 210-5725 www.assembly17.org for more details.
19
A NEW YEAR OF MAGIC STARTS IN HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TX— Our January meeting started off the New Year on the magical side. Our teach-in session was on clowns and clown magic. Don Billings and David Hinken, both veteran profes-sional performers, presented a fine overview of clowns and their magic. Don has extensive service with the Shriner’s and has received many awards for his face and costume designs. David’s Ronald McDonald work is extensive as well. Both Don and David presented magic routines
that would be appropriate for clowns. It was just great!
Jamie Salinas performed a very nice Coins Across routine using only his hands and four Morgan silver dollars. This was all done in Jamie’s very professional style. Jaden Rhodes had Shane Wilson select a card, which was then lost into a shuffled deck. After several flourish cuts, the card was found in a most delightful manner. David Hinken had guest Michael do the magic by finding audience selected cards from a shuffled deck. Michael did not reveal his secret.
Mark Melchor shared his card skills with a series of nice manip-ulations in which various selected cards were lost and then found again. Very nice work by Mark! Scott Wells had Charlie Dodson select a card and return it to the deck, which was then shuffled thoroughly. Scott then named the position in the deck that Charlie’s card would be found, and he was right on!
Jeff Soderstrom used cards and audience-selected numbers to locate a card from a thoroughly shuffled deck. A very impressive routine! Angus performed a very nice routine using three coin boxes and both silver and gold coins. A chosen coin was caused to transfer from one to the other. Nice work! Frank Price showed us all again that he is master of the cards as he beat us all in a craftily played game of poker.
Roger Johnson used the story of Houdini and his torture cell to tell the most intricately created tale revolving around two rubber bands that I have ever seen. Thanks to all who performed at our January meeting. —Miles Root
Assembly 19 meets the first Monday of every month at the IATSE Internationl Alliance of Theatrical State Employees) Local 51 Meeting Hall, 3030 North Freeway, Houston, TX. A teaching lecture begins at 7:30 pm with the meeting beginning at 8:00 pm. Contact Miles Root [email protected] (832) 607-6678 houstonmagic.com for more details.
21
BIRTHDAY MAGIC HARTFORD, CT— Our theme captain for the night was Jon Cap, and since our meeting night coincided with his birthday, he called for Birthday Magic. He started things off by showing us a beer bottle that he placed into a paper bag. He then crushed up the bag, proving that the bottle had vanished. He then explained that itwas, of course, a collapsible bottle. He also assured us that he uses a ketchup bottle when he does the trick at kid shows.
Kevin Aust performed Inferno, in which imaginary matches burn
an imaginary deck. One card was chosen to be saved from the “flames.” That card, although singed, appeared in the very real matchbox. Dan Sclare showed Jon several birthday cards, explaining that he could not choose among them which card to give to him. Thus, he said, he would give him all of them. So saying, he flipped over the pile of cards and they became one large card with all of the small ones on it.
Norm St. Laurent had four cards selected while lecturing on the value of “connections.” It turned out, surprisingly, that the denomi-nations of the chosen cards formed Jon’s birth year. Finally, Jason Abate got Jon a birthday card and a “CD” that “played” when Jason ran a laser pointer over the CD. By the way, Jon snorts when he laughs. —Dana T. Ring
Angelo’s on Main, 289 South Main Street West Hartford Connecticut meets on second Mondays except December Contact Dana T. Ring [email protected] (860) 523-9888 www.ctmagic.org for more details.
22
EUGENE BURGER IN LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES,CA— It was a warm and pleasant evening in Los Angeles for a large group of assembly members and magician guests. The assemblage came for a much-anticipated lecture by Eugene Burger. The premise: doing a non-paying show for family or friends; a one-trick show or a three-trick show. Eugene also discussed the psychology of the show with the intent to maintain audience interest. This involved the proper selection of openers, closers, and middle-of-the-act tricks.
The first trick demonstrated and
fully explained was Destiny Has a Name, a card effect based on Max Maven’s Viva Las Vegas. He uses this as his one-trick show and sometimes as a middle trick in a three-trick show. With spectator involvement, it has several stages and can stand alone. As an opener for a longer set, Burger, for many years, used a sponge ball routine and still likes the trick. He now opens with The Pack That Cuts Itself. Invented by Al Baker, it is in Baker’s Pet Secrets. The trick is also published in Eugene Burger’s
The Performance of Close-Up Magic (1987). For a closing effect,
Burger performed a selected and signed card effect, The Corner in the Glass. His handling of this startling effect is published in his
The Experience of Magic (1989)
and Mastering the Art of Magic (2000). While discussing closing effects, Burger talked frequently about Matt Schulien and recom-mended the Phil Willmarth’s The
Magic of Matt Schulien.
Also performed were a Brain Wave/Ultra-Mental Deck effect called The Devil’s Deck and a favorite coin trick called Fading Coin, which was published in the May 2000 issue of Genii magazine. A very unusual card trick, a story-telling effect, was next performed and explained. It is published in his books as A Bizarre Ritual and as The Burned Card.
Eugene Burger closed his lecture with what is probably his signature performance piece, The Gypsy Thread. He has been performing this for thirty years, and he does this effect to perfection. He has published this in The Experience
of Magic as Cosmic Thread and
his full routine in Spirit Theatre (1986) as The Thread of Life and Death.
As good and entertaining as his magic was, the stories and remi-niscences about magic legends he knew in Chicago were equally entertaining and interesting. This was also a lecture full of tips and performance advice, much ap-preciated by all in attendance. —Steven L. Jennings
Southern California Assembly meets the third Monday each month at 8:00 PM, St. Thomas Moore Parish Hall, 2510 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, California Contact Ed Thomas [email protected] for more details.
26
HAPPY NEW YEAR
PROVIDENCE, RI— ‘Twas the night before Christmas
We were happy. The reason?
Summer Sizzler performers Dennis and
Assembly News
All the fun times we had this past magic season
Tom Holmes taught great magic and some was hair-raising The club members shouted Baldini’s Amazing! Simon Lovell stopped by and he lectured with humor His tricks were all great and that isn’t just rumor Garrett Thomas’s approach was a bit more reserved. His tricks were so baffling some folks were unnerved The Flea Market/Auction was quite the success I spent many dollars I have to confess The magic year ended with a buffet and show We packed it all in before the impending snow Twenty-fourteen
is upon us, I hear So wishing you all a Happy New Year —Chris Natale
Assembly 26 meets the first Tuesday each month from September to June at 7 pm. American Legion Auburn Post 20, 7 Legion Way, Cranston, RI.
32
NEW YEAR – NEW MAGIC
LYNCHBURG, VA— The magic of the New Year started off by the assembly meeting being postponed from Tuesday to Thursday due to snow. Rumor has it that one of our compeers was practicing his Snowstorm in China routine and got carried away. This was never confirmed but let me say, “Hey, dude, it’s called Snowstorm in China, not south central Virginia – please follow the script.”
The theme for the January meeting of Assembly 32 was New Year, New Magic, which meant magic that was new to the user. The first new magic discovered happening was someone must have waved their wand and made nearly all the degrees on the ther-mometer disappear, because this was one cold evening. But we had a warm place to meet and got the magic in this part of Virginia started for 2014.
Bob Staton presented his own modified version of Cardiographic that had great audience appeal. Bob continues to show excellent “behind the effect” thinking. Bill Harris followed with two Tenyo effects that he had worked on and was able to demonstrate
pro-ficiently. First was the Invisible Zone, one of the finest bits of walk-around magic there is available. Bill must have been in a “zone” as he followed that up with Zone Infinity, a very cleaver penetration of a coin by a key.
John Jennings shared ideas that he had been working on with a hook coin. Our newest young member, Trevor Albright, performed a nicely done card effect in which a dozen cards are laid out as if marking the numbers of a clock, a time is chosen, and it was found when the cards were turned over that all faces were black except the chosen hour which was a red card. We are all looking forward to another magical year. —John Jennings
The Hersy Basham Assembly 32 meets (usually) the third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Tharp Funeral Home, 220 Breezewood Dr., Lynchburg, VA. Contact John Jennings [email protected] (434) 851-6240 for more details.
35
HISTORY COMES ALIVE
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY— The night began on a subdued note with a broken wand ceremony for member Larry Slezak. For the rest of the evening’s activities we were treated to a presentation different from our usual lectures. Our guest tonight was Margaret Steele, who gave us a talk on the life and times of Adelaide Herrmann. With the aid of slides, we were given a glimpse into the life of Ms. Herrmann, a name that for many people, other than magic histori-ans, would not usually warrant a second thought.
Adelaide was the wife of Alexander Herrmann. Born in London in 1853, Ms. Herrmann would be quite a remarkable woman for any period in time, but especially for the time in which she lived. After some early interests in other forms of enter-tainment, it really wasn’t until she married Mr. Herrmann, that she really came into her own. She stated that she was the first female assistant to do illusions. She viewed herself and her husband as equal partners, and as such, they designed their shows together.
They enjoyed their life together, and made a good deal of money. They also enjoyed spending their money, having among other things a mansion, a yacht, and their own private railcar. After the death of her husband, when other
women may have thought that their life was over, she instead forged ahead and began her own career as a solo performer. She stated that she was the first to do silent magic to music. Foretelling current media, she would change her stage persona every few years.
It had long been rumored that she had written her memoirs, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that they finally surfaced, and were published by Ms. Steele. Towards the end of the evening, Ms. Steele, accompanied by different selections from “The Nutcracker Suite,” performed several effects as they might have also been performed by Adelaide Herrmann.
All in all it was an entertaining evening to learn about someone whose memory could have been lost to the sands of time. I guess she had one more trick up her sleeve, and we are all the better for it. Bravo, Adelaide Herrmann! —Darryl Bielski
The S.A.M. 35 meetings are held at the Milanese Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY. Typically, meetings are held every 2nd Tuesday of each month. Contact Joel Zaritsky jizdds@optonline. net (845) 546-1559 sam35.com for more details.
37
PAST PRESIDENT’S
NIGHT 2014
DENVER, CO— Past Presi-dent’s night came a little late this year due to venue complications, but it was an outstanding evening nonetheless. Past Mile High Magicians Society President and Past National S.A.M. President Dan Rodriquez swore in the new board members with the help of the most recent Past President, Chad Darnell. President Matt Brandt, Vice President Andrew Bates, and Sergeant-at-Arms Gene Gordon were there to accept. Past President and new again Secretary Connie Elstun arrived late and Past four-time President and new again Treasurer Dave Elstun along with Editor Jess Ward were absent.
First up in the festivities for the night was Gene Gordon. He incor-porated the help of young member A.J. Perea, who used magic string to tie Gene up. Glenn Prouilx then helped him with a lucky buck trick straight out of Tarbell by using a John Carney switch. Past President and Past first lady Bruce and Kitty Spangler also had young member A.J. help them out with a fishbowl dice trick that ended with a prize York Peppermint Patty for the young lad. Gregg Tobo then tried the same and one a Hershey’s treat as did member Lewis Peacock and last but not least Lynn Keir and his lovely bride Helen took a shot at candy or $1.27. They too won the candy and proved to the audience it was a real sweet trick. The Spanglers then brought out an antique Abbott’s Rabbit Hypnotize-r that was once owned by Orville Meyer and deceased Past President Doc Pendergast. Bruce had a great story about how he came to own this unique apparatus.
Chad Darnell then took the stage with his rendition of changing rings or Frisbee’s. Then Matt and Andrew helped him out, with a mental trick using a literal half of the deck of cards. Past Co-Presidents Karen and Jeff Wake prepared a wonderful spread of food for snack time.
After the break New President Brandt presented and performed a Color Vision Box so he could advertise the next plastic trick meeting. P.P and P.N.P. Dan Rodriquez came up and with the help of the very busy A.J. Perea did a fantastic New Year’s trick where A.J. picked both sides of an apple cut in half. Everyone had a grand evening. —Connie Elstun
Assembly 37 meets the 2nd Thursday of the month at River-pointe Senior Center in Littleton Colorado Contact Connie Elstun connie@comedymagicbunny. com (303)933-4118 www. milehighmagicians.com for more details.
47
COLD WEATHER – HOT JANUARY MAGIC!
ROCHESTER, NY— The weather changed to frigid cold and snow, but twelve intrepid magicians came out to meet! We talked about the close-up contest this April plus three lecturers! Next up was the flea market. Members brought in items for sale or trade. Magic came next! Mark Toker displayed and talked about some of the books he had received. He then performed a fine feat of cognitive reasoning by having a member think of a picture with colors that Mark had mentioned. A
Assembly 37's new officers Brant, Andrews and Gordon are sworn in by Past National President Dan Rodriguez
Assembly News
scene was described and a predic-tion opened and there was a picture very closely resembling the spec-tator’s thought! Brian Nadworny, always ready to perform, took the flames from a Bic lighter and pinched it between his fingers. He then literally pulled the flame away from the lighter and then placed it back. Hot magic!
Joel Gallegos Greenwich performed a three-phase mentalism effect with the last phase utterly under the control of the spectator. Cards were counted and each time a previous selection was found. Amazing! Professor Rem took pieces of a puzzle and put it together. It was a poem that he recited. He then turned the poem over and when he put the pieces together, one was missing. It was found in an envelope. Rem is a master at making puzzles and other things unique. John Guerin performed a classic of magic. He borrowed a bill, folded it in half, and placed it into a folded piece of paper. He pushed a pencil through both the bill and the paper. With a mighty tear, the paper ripped, but the bill was untouched! I performed a Hello Kitty card trick put out exclusively by Toys R Us. A card was selected and placed back into the deck. The deck was then spread across the table and a Hello Kitty windup toy was placed at one end of the deck. It walked and finally stopped at one card… the previously picked selection! I then gave out a printout of an effect based on a principle by Jerry Andrus. A T-Rex dinosaur is seen to move its head as if following you around the room! I then brought out a really cool toy, the Magic Jinn by Hasbro. But leave it to Professor Rem to stump the Jinn not once; but twice! I then let prospective member Laurie Guerin try it and the Jinn read her mind with just a few questions. Stay warm and practice magic! —Mike Ihrig
Assembly 47 meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month (September thru May) at St. Joseph’s School, 39 Gebhardt Road, Penfield, NY 14526 Contact Mike Ihrig [email protected] (585) 377-1566 www.sam47.com for more details.
50
BABY IT IS COLD OUTSIDE,
NASHVILLE, TN— This meeting started with all of the members standing outside in the cold waiting for our building to open. There was a mix up with the guy that opens the building so we all had to jump into each other cars and wait for the guy. The guy did show up and it was well worth the wait.
For the third time, we had a welcome-to-the-club meeting for a new youth member. We have our club member each bring a trick that they bought that they no longer use or want, that has instructions, and we give it to our newbie. This time it was Albert. It was an early Christmas for Albert. Not only did he get plenty of stuff, he got great stuff. We had all the givers to perform the trick that they brought for Albert; Kevin King liked his trick so much he took it back and promised to bring something else he did not like to the next meeting. Good for Albert and good for us, seeing some great magic. Thanks to all that brought stuff. —Stephen Bargatze
Assembly 50 meets the third Tuesday at 7PM at Harvest Hands, Nashville, TN. Contact Mike Pile [email protected] (615-) 477-6639 for more details.
52
ONE OF YOUR FIRSTS IN MAGIC
SAN ANTONIO, TX — January 2, 2014, Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 held its monthly meeting at LaMad-eleine Restaurant. President Don Moravits welcomed members, wives, and guests. Welcome to Jim Cook and also welcome to Ray Adams’s daughter and her family.
Tonight’s theme was One of Your Firsts in Magic. Starting off the performances was Don Moravits, who shared with us his Magic by Moravits box of goodies that he never performs anymore, but is still important to him, including several effects given to him by the late George Blackburn. He also performed a ring and string routine by Bob King. Ray Adams, with assistance from his grandson, entertained with the Chop Cup. Claude Crowe amazed us all with the Wellington Switchboard, and Ed Solomon performed Spot-itis and Spirit of the Mirror. Michael Tallon performed the Vanishing Coke Bottle, and Doug Gorman closed the open performances with a Tri-Colored Chop Cup Routine .
Many thanks to Joe Libby for his mini lecture. He gave a
very informative lecture on the Himber Wallet. In addition to describing the wallet and its basic function, Joe gave us several ideas for creative uses of the wallet. Thanks, Joe, for a very enjoyable mini lecture.
Door prize winners were Doug Gorman, Claude Crowe, and Michael Tallon. Doug won Table
Magic book by Martin Gardner,
Claude won Duane Laflin’s Knots Off Silk, and Michael won Houndidi Deck by Tom Craven.
Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at La Madeleine Restaurant, located at 722 N.W. Loop 410. The restaurant is inside Loop 410 on the access road between Blanco Rd. and San Pedro. For more information, contact [email protected].
59
AND SO BEGINS SIXTY YEARS OF MAGIC!
PORTLAND, OR— Assembly 59’s first gathering of the year took place January 19, 2014, at our annual banquet. The event was held at the Beaverton Elks and a splendid time was had by all. Performers for the evening were Randy Stumman, Jay Fredericks, Tom Waldrop, Danny Schreiber, and Mel Anderson. Bob Eaton was the emcee.
Larry Seymore was awarded the Jack Sorrels Award for Service. Glen Bledsoe was awarded the Duane Duvall Award for Notable Works in Magic. Randy Stumman was awarded Performer of the Year. Jay Fredericks was awarded Most Improved Performer.
The 2014 Board was introduced: Mel Anderson, President; Brian Adams, Vice President; Randy Stumman, Treasurer; John Edsall, Sergeant-at-Arms; Tom Cramer, At Large; Michael Jaffe, At Large. Assembly 59 is currently without a Secretary; Glen Bledsoe is tem-porarily filling in for some of those functions until a replacement for this post can be found.
Our first club meeting of the month took place on January 28. The lecture that evening was “Creating a Buzzkill-free Magic Experience, or What Hypnosis and Hypnotism Have to Teach Magicians.” The presenter was Glen Bledsoe. Showtime per-formers were Mel Anderson, Tom Waldrop, and Randy Stumman. —Glen L. Bledsoe
Assembly 59 meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month except Jul/Aug/Dec at The Beaverton Elks, 3500 SW 104th, Beaverton, OR 97005. Contact Brian Adams [email protected] (503)
646-8097 htwww.sam59portland. org/ for more details.
77
WHAT DOES THE BOX SAY?!
MASSAPEQUA, NY— Yes, we had more members than could fit in a bread box. That’s because our theme this month was boxes, boxes, and more boxes. Several members came up to display and perform their wares.
First was our business meeting, which came after our “Early Bird Lesson” hosted by yours truly. Early Bird Lessons are gaining popularity as the number of our members is gathering to under-stand the concepts of magic and its timing and sleights. But let’s open this box and find out what the meeting has said to all of us.
President Phil Levy started off with displaying four boxes of different sizes, The Flip-over Mikame Encyclopedia of Magic (shown), a homemade Billet Candy Box, a Mikame card/billet change box, and a small rattle box for a ring or coin vanish. Steve Rodman pulled out a “Magic Box” from his loaded shelves that caused a card to rise out of the box. “Look Ma, one hand.” Pat Darienzo showed a devious box designed for x-ray vision or getting a secret look inside. It was a fooler.
Carol Klein showed off her homemade box she learned to build from our past lecture by Jeff Hobson. Linda Robbins performed a charming Ring Flite from a Ring Box to her shoelace. Gary Levenson brought in a vintage die box using a pack of cigarettes. That’s to show us how old it is. Dave Rosenberg fried us with Jon Allan’s Destination Box, after which John Lepre brought out one of his many boxes; from within, he produced an oldie but goodie, Max Maven’s Black Moon or Kurtosuke. Dr. Mitch Goodkin presented the Box of Mystery to us and had plenty of laughs with every plug of his...well it’s an inside joke.
Phil Levy with the box Professor Rem Stumps
Assembly News
Ben Cohen turned the tables and left us scratching our heads with his routine using Dean’s Box. Mike Maione took out the props he needed out of a box and allowed the thought of a chosen word to teleport through the air from one can to another. Nice punch which made us all laugh!
Next month is a wondrous visit from Margaret Steele and her dis-cussion on the impact that the late, great Adelaide Herrmann had on future magicians, both male and female. Other questions regarding the biography of Ms. Herrmann will be answered too. See you at the diner. —Lou Johnson
Long Island Mystics Assembly 77 meets at 7:30PM on the second Monday of the month at The Community United Methodist Church Contact Lou Johnson loucircus@aol. com (516) 978-7735 www. limystics.org for more details.
95
GREEK HERITAGE NIGHT
VANCOUVER, CANADA— At the January 2014 meeting, members of Assembly 95 were treated to delicious gourmet Greek food prepared by meeting host Chef Tony Chris. You would not find better dishes in a Greek fine dining restaurant, as evidenced by the menu of Tony’s creations: Greek Spicy Stew, Lemon Potatoes, Athenian Salad, Spartan Meatballs, Kalamata Tzatziki, Mediterranean punch, and Thesali Stuffed Tomatoes. Everything was exceptionally tasty and had everyone coming back for seconds and thirds. Thanks go out to Tony’s wife Penney for serving the dishes while Tony was out doing a filming.
Members had an opportunity to purchase items from the vast Eric Lenz collection of magic; Eric, who was a past member of Assembly 95, is in a nursing home,
and his wife, Donna, provided Assembly 95 with the honor of helping to sell Eric’s magic.
Starting the evening of Heritage magic was Lon, who performed Clearly Mental, an effect from the Eric Lenz collection. A surprise was that at the end all the cards really matched! Glen LaBarre showed a die with a slot and a ring. Glen then went on to penetrate the ring through a pin in the die. Anthony Young showed a vanishing handkerchief knot, a disappearing knot, a safety pin through handkerchief, linking and unlinking safety pins, and finished with a flame through a handker-chief. Dennis Hewson suspended a brass vase on a rope. Rod Chow did an electronic insurance policy trick with a unique policy from his family’s heritage narrowest building in the world, home of their family’s Jack Chow Insurance brokerage. Henry Tom performed a two-ring Linking Rings routine that Henry said was part of his Chinese heritage. —Rod Chow
The Carl Hemeon Assembly No. 95 meets the first Tuesday of each month at members’ homes. Contact Rod Chow rod@rodchow. com (604) 669-7777 www.sam95. com for more details.
104
CASH FROM THE EXCHANGE OF TRASH AND TREASURES
IN SALEM
WITCH CITY, SALEM, MA— The Wednesday, January 1, 2014, meeting of Assembly 104 was moved by the obvious necessity: it fell on New Year’s Day (not that this wouldn’t have proven to be a highly festive occasion for the two people who may have shown up). Consequently, the January meeting was held on the more rational Wednesday: January 8. This date proved to be eventful in its own strange ways. A water main problem had flooded out our usual basement digs at the Church. “J” Hubbard, our Ser-geant-at-Arms and problem solver extraordinaire, worked tirelessly, all day, to clear out the problem. When things still weren’t usable, he prepared our former upstairs quarters in time for the meeting to be held. “J” certainly was the hero of the evening.
And then the evening continued along on an unusual path. Len Lazar’s unfortunate absence meant there was no School of Magic class. Among other missing folks, President Bill Jensen had been TKO’d by a fall on the ice. In fact, attendance was unusually light for an annual auction meeting as well. Members did slowly trickle in on this cold winter night
and Vice President Eddie Gardner got us down to business and planning for next month’s dinner party, now scheduled for the Prince Pizzeria in Saugus. With hot dogs sizzling at the side of the room, compeers fell into the routine and began auctioning off their unloved gaffs and props. Visiting Marcus Steelgrave offered a couple of magic kits, a sponge cake, a baseball change cap, several flash items, a cool stuffed wizard owl in need of a home, and many other items. He had several takers.
Vince DeAngelis brought Stitch by Paul Harris, Triple Intuition, Tossed Out Deck by Gazo, Mind
Bender DVD, Gumble Glim
by Kranzo, and more. Tucker Goodman stepped forth with a mystery bag. He said it was filled with complete DVDs and gimmicks that included a killer vanishing bill effect. Tucker got no further. Marcus bought the entire mystery bag for $50, the biggest sale of the night. Eddie Gardner wrapped up the action with a volley of joke shop items and magic DVDs. They ranged from an old lady puppet and a wig to false teeth and “Soft Skin” (don’t ask). The DVDs included Top Secret and Wolverine Formula. Money changed hands, a good time was had by all, and yours truly exited with a wizard owl under his arm. —Bob Forrest
Assembly 104 meets the first Wednesday of each month, September-June, 7 p.m., at the First Baptist Church of Salem, 292 Lafayette Street, Salem Massachusetts. Contact Bob Forrest captainalbrightsq1@ comcast.net (339) 227-0797 www. sam104.com for more details.
110
HOLIDAY PARTY AND AUCTION
NEW CUMBERLAND, PA— December and January just flew by this year. December was the time of our holiday party; we almost filled our meeting room. President Mike Snyder presented the various trophies for 2012 as
well as 2013. Frank Bianco was the big winner of the night.
There were eight people who vol-unteered to “do a little something” for the assembled members and guests. Tom Narin did a “Las Vegas” thing and Almar did something with Tom’s card. John Sergott did a mental effect with a list of things in your pockets. Lou Abbotiello entertained us with miniature cups and balls while Joe Noll gave us a Technicolor Pre-diction. Rod Ries brought along a “Baby Magic” doll to show us how the baby could do some magic and Frank Bianco provided a four Ace effect and an Eddie Clever effect. Mike Snyder closed the entertain-ment with the production of pep-permint candies from a coffee vase.
In January we had an auction. There was, as usual, a broad range of values presented. One item was so unusual that that the purchaser reported to me days later that he could not even locate another on eBay to see what kind of bargain he had obtained. We were happy to have a few visitors at the auction and very pleased to see Tess and Sam Sandler. The father and daughter team had just completed a 130-show, fifteen-state tour with their DEAFinitley Magic show. This was the first part of a fourty-five-state tour. Sam is America’s only full-time deaf illusionist.
There are some great lectures up-coming in the area. We will be sponsoring Paul Draper and Joshua Jay, while the Lancaster club is having Mike Caveney and Tina Lenert. I know that by the time you see this they will be gone; however, this illustrates yet another reason you should be joining your local organization. It’s where it’s happening.
Joe Homecheck Assembly 110 meets on the second Thursday at 7:00pm, at John’s Diner, 146 Sheraton Drive, New Cumberland, PA 17070. Email: Secretary@ SAM110.com
112
KID STUFF
PLEASANT HILL,CA— Pres-ident-elect Larry “Zappo” Wright stood in for President Kovacich for our December meeting. Zappo reminded everyone where and when the assembly will be holding its annual installation banquet in 2014.
Theme for the evening was Kids Shows/Holiday Magic. First, though, was a presentation of the Trick of the Month by Fred Nelson. Fred demonstrated a neat coffee shop trick by pulling a wooden coffee stirrer right through the side of a paper cup sleeve without
Eddie Gardner puts inventory on the chopping block
Penney Kazoleas puts the finishing touches on husband Tony Chris Kazoleas’ master-fully prepared Greek meal
