APRIL 2014
CHRISTOPHER
CARTER
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
Society of American Magicians,
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APRIL 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 11
THIS MONTH’S FEATURES
24 Illusions of Grandeur • by David Seebach
26 I Left My Cards at Home • by Steve Marshall
28 The Dotted Line • by Don Theo III
32 Hit the Road • by Scott Alexander
34 For Your Consideration • by George Parker
36 COVER STORY • by Christian Painter
40 From The Carter Repertoire • by Christopher Carter
42 Nielsen Gallery • by Tom Ewing
44 Messing With Your Mind • by Christopher Carter
46 Not Just Kid Stuff • by Jim Kleefeld
49 Tech Tricks • by Bruce Kalver
50 The High Road • by Mick Ayres
52 Mysteries of the Houdini Grave • by Dean Carnegie
54 Ebook Nook: The Award-Winning Magic of John Cornelius
58 Cheats and Deceptions • by 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 • by Alan Wassilak
70 The Dean’s Diary • by George Schindler
MAGAZINE
M-U-M
coverstory
page 36
S.A.M. NEWS
6 From the Editor’s Desk
8 From the President’s Desk
11 M-U-M Assembly News
22 Good Cheer List
23 Broken Wands
31 Newsworthy
69 Our Advertisers
42
52
49
26
Editor’s Desk
Last month I told you that Christian Painter was ending his mentalism column, Mental Breakdown, but will continue to con-tribute to the magazine with a different column that will begin in May. I am very happy to announce that Christopher Carter, the gentleman lighting up the front cover, will be taking over the mentalism column, and he is eminently qualified to do so.
If you don’t know who Christopher Carter is, don’t feel bad. Chris doesn’t spend a lot time at magic conventions or writing for magic publications; he’s too busy working as one of the up-per-echelon performers on the college circuit. Christian Painter suggested Chris to take over the mentalism column, and he also wrote this month’s cover story. In addition, Chris contributed three tricks; two can be found following the cover story, and the third is in his first column.
I am delighted that Christopher Carter has joined the M-U-M team, and I know you will find his column to be useful and in-formative.
Speaking of tricks (yes, I am the Prince of Segues), consider this scenario. You are invited to a small party at a friend’s house. The conversation turns to psychic phenomena. You offer to demonstrate a few interesting experiments. Using a borrowed deck of cards, a borrowed handkerchief, some borrowed writing materials, and a borrowed cat, you are able to perform a thirty-minute show that includes design duplication, the psychic sorting of cards from a genuinely shuffled deck, a manifestation of a ghost under a handkerchief, and a spooky rising card effect in which the selected cards rise from a glass. Everything you need to accomplish these effects can be carried in your pockets: a small stack of business cards, a peek wallet (if you want to do the trick with the cat), and two very small gaffs.
Here’s my question to you: Considering that all these effects can be done with a minimum of sleight-of-hand ability, how much would this set of effects be worth to you? Twenty-five dollars? Fifty dollars? With the way magic is marketed these days (and the plethora of one-trick DVDs that sell for thirty bucks), you’d pay a hundred bucks or so for this information.
Here’s the good news: You’ll find all these routines in this issue of M-U-M. Where are these effects in the magazine? I’m not going to tell you. Read and you’ll find them. I urge you to carefully read through each issue of M-U-M. In addition to practical advice that will make you a better magician and interesting discussions on magic theory, you’ll also find some great tricks.
And speaking of magic theory (the Prince strikes again), take a look at George Parker’s For Your Consideration column this month. The suggestion George offers may be a little difficult to wrap your head around, but I think I understand what he’s getting at. Stop for a moment, turn to George’s column (page 34), read through it once or twice, and then come back. I’ll wait.
I had to go through George’s column a couple of times before I began to understand what he is going for, and I think he’s on to something. His point is that when you want to bring something into existence (a magic show, a vacation, a book, or whatever) the
fact that you tend to visualize the entire thing can overwhelm you and render you incapable of action. You see the big picture and the goal seems unattainable. I have experienced this.
Instead of seeing the big picture, ask yourself what are the essential components of your desired goal. Then figure out a way to achieve a smaller version of that, a creation that still encom-passes the essential components you desire. In doing this you give yourself a feeling of accomplishment and this good feeling energizes you to continue the process.
For example, suppose you watch Mac King’s act (which Lisa, Ava, and I did last weekend). You see this seamless construction, with all the great magic and the myriad of jokes and callbacks, and you think, “I’d like to construct an act like that, but how in the world would I go about doing that?” The answer is, you can’t write an act like in one shot, and neither did Mac. It was the slow accrual of little bits and finesses and refinements over many years that got the act to that point. If you tried to write it all in one shot, you’d get frustrated and overwhelmed, and you’d give up.
You’d be better served by asking what components of a Mac-like act you’d like to include and then designing just one routine – a routine that contains those elements. This is doable, and if you can accomplish that, you will gain satisfaction and it will energize you to continue.
That’s my take on George’s article. I look forward to seeing how he applies this technique to a magic trick in his column next month.
RVP Eric DeCamps is doing a terrific job with his North Atlantic Region Newsletter. The Spring 2014 edition was eighteen pages long and contained articles on holiday events and Margaret Steele’s shows in China, a review of Nothing to Hide, and a trick from Steve Cohen. The articles on the Houdini grave site on M-U-M this month on page 52 came from this issue of the newsletter.
Compeer Dave Eisler emailed me with the suggestion that assembly secretaries include information on upcoming special events in their assembly reports. In this way, a compeer traveling in the neighborhood of an assembly could make plans to attend those events. I agree that this is a fine idea. However, don’t plug events that will happen within thirty days of submitting your report. The information will be outdated by the time the magazine reaches our members.
Michael with Mac King and his newest fan Ava Close
Michael Close
Dal Sanders
President’s Desk
This month I am writing this article in a hotel in Tucson, Arizona. We have just finished the Spring National Council Meeting and I am happy to report that great progress was made in planning the future of The Society of American Magicians. There are many exciting things in the works, but before I mention any of them I would like to thank Tucson Assembly 136 for being such fantastic hosts.
I have a long history with Assembly 136. Twenty-five years ago I brought my illusion show to the Gaslight Theater in Tucson for a two-week run. The owners of the theater had just converted the old Jerry Lewis movie house into a theater, and we were to be the inaugural act. We arrived in Tucson a week early to hang curtains and lights. I did not reach out to local magicians before arriving and no one except the theater owners knew we were coming in early. Before the engine of our truck cooled, members of Assembly 136 were there to welcome us to town, to help us unload, and to take us to lunch. The theater extended our run for eight weeks and my cast and I took advantage of that time to build lifelong friendships with the Tucson magicians.
When I was asked where I would hold our Spring National Council Meeting I did not hesitate to suggest Tucson. Assembly President John Redmon volunteered to set up transportation for National Council Members between the airport and the hotel and everyone received gift bags when we checked into the hotel. They also treated the line officers to a wonderful dinner and I loved the way they split up and put different members among all of the thirty National Council Members so that we all got to know various assembly members. Thank you to all the members of Assembly 136 for making our visit fantastic.
I have often said that the Tucson Assembly is one of the friend-liest groups in the S.A.M. and they proved me right; but that’s not all they do right. The Tucson Assembly also mentors young magicians. They have an annual public show that they produce, but just because you are a member does not mean that you will get the chance perform on stage. The more experienced members work with the newer magicians to help them develop their act. Many young members are asked to work backstage or as ushers while they are developing. This spirit of mentoring and appren-ticeship is a wonderful way to grow as a magician.
We were also thrilled to be invited to Roland Sarlot and Susan Eyed’s wonderful show, Carnival of Illusion. This top-rated attraction is revitalizing magic by blending their international travel theme with all the charms of a vaudeville-inspired road show. Carnival of Illusion is a night of magic, mystery and well, oooh la la!
Magic is very popular in Tucson; we also got to visit with another magic club. The University of Arizona sponsors an in-dependent student magic club. The membership is diverse with a wide variety of skill sets. There are card people, coin people, stage magicians, and mentalists, and their abilities range from beginner to those with years of experience. You shouldn’t be surprised that they all work together and encourage each other to grow and improve their skills. There are over fifty members
the weekly meetings…yes you read that right, this university- sponsored magic club meets weekly.
I am happy to report that President-Elect Ice McDonald, S.A.M. Assembly 136 officers Michael DeSchalit and John Redmon, and I got to visit with this club to promote The Society of American Magicians. Thanks to Emory Williams for setting this visit up for us. Moving forward, Assembly 136 is going to “adopt” the University of Arizona Magic Club. It was refresh-ing to see this group of young people who were so excited about magic.
John Apperson is stepping down as Convention Chairman. He has a lot on his plate and he needs to take care of other issues in his life. John has literally turned our conventions around. It is no secret that the national S.A.M. conventions had been losing money before he took over. Under his leadership all of our conventions have been profitable. We are very sad to lose John as chairman but the good news is that John has been training his replacement. I appointed Mark Weidhaas as the new Convention Chairman and I am happy to report that the National Council ratified my appoint-ment. We feel confident that Mark is the one S.A.M. member with the experience and energy to fill John’s rather large shoes. I’m sure that all of you join me in thanking John for a job well done and congratulating Mark on his new position.
Many other important things happened at the National Council Meeting. First of all, we are developing a mutually beneficial re-lationship with a new television network that will make our film and tape library available to S.A.M. members over a variety of platforms. This same network will also make other magic-relat-ed broadcasts available to S.A.M. members. There will be much more information about this in the coming months.
In other National Council news, we are developing training modules and opportunities for officers of local assemblies. We hope to work with some of the biggest names in magic to accom-plish this. We are also moving ahead with our Mining for Gems video project and several other new benefits for S.A.M. members. This is a great time to be a member of the world’s oldest and most prestigious magic organization.
I was also happy to represent the S.A.M. in England at the Blackpool Magician’s Convention. This is an amazing event with a reported 3,800 registered magicians and over 150 dealers. This convention is amazing. When I was in England I had the great privilege of visiting the Magic Circle in London. I was proud to recognize a UK compeer and to award her
with a Presidential Citation. Mandy Davis certainly deserves rec-ognition. She is the S.A.M. International Deputy for the United Kingdom, Liaison to the Magic Circle, and a National Council Member. She has also helped out the S.Y.M. by working with the kids on W.O.W. (Weekend of Wonder). I was able to take the stage at the Magic Circle to present this recognition before their weekly meeting. Please join with me and thank Mandy for all of the great work she does and congratulate her for receiving the Presidential Citation…the highest award offered by the S.A.M.
Mandy Davis receiving presidential citation
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
ASSEMBLY NEWS
Society of American Magicians Monthly News
APRIL 2014 Volume 103, Number 11
GO TO:
WWW.MUM-MAGAZINE.COM
and use the easy submission form to file your report
1
BEN ZABIN RECEIVES PA 1 DAVID OLIVER SYM AWARD NEW YORK,NY— The SAM PA 1 Magic Table meets at the Edison Café on 47th Street in Times Square. We start around 12:30 sharing magic. Many others gather at Café Rustico on 35th Street off Fifth Avenue for lunch and magic on Saturdays.
Our monthly meeting was on February 7th. First up was the presentation of the PA 1 SYM David Oliver Award to magician Ben Zabin by President David Adamovich. Ben got a great round of applause and later performed for the assembly. Also receiving presidential awards were Rene Clement and Paul Hsiao for their wonderful work on Magic Week, performing in a large show in Chinatown. Producer of this year’s annual show, PP Ken Ferst, told us about this year’s Salute to Magic. The show will be on May 17th at the Queens Theatre at the site of the old World’s Fairs. That history will be part of the six-person show as well as the wonderful Jay Scott Berry as the emcee and the closer, Jeff McBride.
Then it was time for the after-meeting event, which was a great lecture by Greg Wilson. His wit and smart effects were a delight. His pickpocket routine using PP Ken Schwabe as a “victim” was only topped by his chip on the shoulder workings with Richard Bossong for its fast pace, high energy, and sheer
entertain-ment. A great end to our monthly meeting.
On Friday evening February 21st Doug Edwards presented the Workshop at the Gemini Dinner. We bring old effect to show Doug to stump him but it never happens. Doug did An Aldo Colombini effect as a tribute to his old friend, performing a wonderful rope effect Knotty Knot. He did a Dr. Jak’s routine and some amazing effects using “loops.” He performed these effects and then taught us all. His workshops are terrific.
On Saturday, February 22, a memorial for Georges Weill was held at the UN Chapel here in NYC. President Throwdini conducted the PA 1 Broken Wand Ceremony after asking all magicians from the S.A.M. and I.B.M. to stand. It was well attended. Past President Ken Schwabe did the actual breaking of the wand, saying a few words about his old friend. Behind them on the altar were George’s fifty-year certificate for member-ship in the Parent Assembly and the playing cards he last used. We will all miss him at our meetings and especially our workshops —Tom Klem
Parent Assembly 1 meets the first Friday of the month at Mount Sinai Hospital 1425 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Contact Tom Klem [email protected] (212) 725 5258 www.sampa1.com for more details.
2
BAR-IMPROMPTU MAGIC SAN FRANCISCO, CA— The theme of the night was bar or impromptu magic. Corky LaVallee began the performances with a teach-in of Charlie Frye’s ESPionage, a trick released by Card Shark. Corky asked Stu Bacon “first” to put down one card from a shuffled pile of ESP cards. Corky proceeded to match up each card that Stu turned over from Corky’s set of ESP cards. We all could have predicted how things were likely to end up, but Corky’s presentation wowed us throughout to make it less predict-able and very enjoypredict-able. Tamaka presented three brass cylinders. We saw and “heard” a pellet
placed inside of one cylinder. Then Tamaka shuffled the cylinders (ala NY street hustle style) and asked someone to guess where the cylinder with the pellet had landed. Low and behold, we could never guess correctly. Each time they were picked up and shaken, we heard silence. Tamaka even-tually opened up all the cylinders and “shazam” (as Rob Shapiro cried out), each cylinder had a pellet inside.
Walt Johnson first demon-strated the way corks pinched between fingers and thumbs of both hands could pass through each other – great combination of bar/impromptu magic. Then Walt showed how to print business cards from blank cards using his “palm” printer. Walt’s finale revealed how to use a rubber band to pass between Terrie Cardoza’s clenched tight fingers with ease. Rich Seguine displayed the way three cups and some rolled up toilet paper could be utilized to perform Cup and Balls. His encore employed bottle caps shifting from one pile to another. Rob Shapiro confirmed dice had many magical uses. He had Terrie place three dice in a glass and then covered it with a napkin. Terrie added up the total of the dice displayed on the bottom of the glass and it matched Rob’s prediction each time Terrie opted to “roll the dice” into the glass.
Hippo Lau preceded his magic dollar levitation trick with a funny joke that really made us “believe” his trick. He left us laughing and amazed at the use of fairy dust. Stu’s first trick centered on a paper clock he drew that enabled him
to predict a card every time no matter where the clock started. Then Stu continued by showing us how a pair of Aces was able to find its mates. Corky concluded the evening with another variation of Stu’s mate finding card routine. —Rob Shapiro
Golden Gate Assembly 2 meets first Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Community Room of Taraval Police Station, 2345 24th Avenue, San Francisco. Contact Tamaka [email protected] (415) 531-9332 https://www.facebook. com/groups/249018441875771/ for more details.
3
MAGIC FROM M-U-M CHICAGO, IL— After our January meeting was canceled due to severe weather, Assembly 3 roared back in February with “Magic from M-U-M” night. The evening started with a FaceTime call from our RVP, Shaun Rivera. Compeer Rivera shared with us several gems he found among the pages of M-U-M from the likes of Bob Farmer and Chris Mayhew, prompting several members to resolve to read through their back catalog of magazines.
The evening’s topic was inspired by and in tribute to Most Illustri-ous President Neil Tobin on the occasion of his appearance on the February 2014 cover of M-U-M. Neil himself presented an original routine based on a Milbourne Christopher effect he called Money Spell or Love Spell.
Other presenters included Dave Lyons and his Bank Night routine, Nathan Colwell and his Linking Rings, Gordon Gluff’s tribute
Ben Zabin receiving the PA#1 David Oliver Award from President Throwdini
Hippo Lau levitates a dollar
FaceTime with our RVP Shaun Rivera, teaching effects from
to Larry Jennings, and John Sturk’s 31-Day Coin Vanish (to be continued next meeting).
We were excited to have two new members sign up to join the assembly this meeting. We are fired up and energized, and looking forward to a big year for Assembly 3! —John Sturk
Assembly 3 meets the fourth Monday of each month at 7:30pm at the Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL. Contact John Sturk [email protected] (773) 6339219 www.magicalchicago. com for more details.
4
ANNUAL AUCTION AND TWO EXCELLENT
MINI-LECTURES
PHILADELPHIA, PA—
Our February meeting featured our annual auction in addition to two superb mini-lectures on close-up magic and silk magic. Prior to beginning the festivi-ties, Assembly 4 President Brian Hurlburt conducted a brief business meeting during which he announced the sad news of the recent passing of our friend Aldo Colombini who was beloved by so many. This wonderful man and his special magic will be deeply missed by all. Our hearts go out to Rachel; both she and Aldo will remain in our prayers.
Following the business meeting, our members were treated to two excellent mini-lectures. The first mini-lecture on silk magic was presented by George Hample and PNP Dick Gustafson. George taught everyone his handling of the Dye Tube as well as several fine effects using colored silks and a rolled up tube of paper. Dick then demonstrated such classics as Silk Through Wand, The Cords of Phantasia, and The Sympathetic Silks. The lecture was a whirlwind overview of silk magic presented by two of the finest practitioners of that genre of magic. The second mini-lecture was a spirited presen-tation on close-up magic presented by Eric Johnson and Jeff Carson.
Eric deftly executed an amazing Four Ace routine as well as a fine coin routine, both of which he taught to the membership. Jeff then did his own variation on Twisted Sister and demonstrated just how much fun one can get out of Mark Young’s Amazing Jumping Arrow. Both mini-lectures were full of practical, sure-fire material.
After the mini-lectures, we had our annual auction for which S.A.M. National Historian Tom Ewing ably served as the auction-eer. Tom, who recently started his own magic auction online with David Halverstadt, was the perfect man for the job. He not only provided detailed spot-on information for each lot, but also infused the entire process with his own unique sense of humor. Over the course of the evening, many great bargains were to be had including an original unused Joe Carson Zombie that flew away for only $12.00. A vintage U.F. Grant Passe Passe Champagne Bottle effect that was in mint condition was literally stolen for $10.00. Also, a solid gold set of unused walnut shells for the Shell Game valued at over $100.00 went for only $30.00. The bargains to be had were amazing and almost everyone walked away with something very special. —Peter Cuddihy
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. for more details.
6
FRIGID WEATHER, HOT MAGIC
BALTIMORE, MD— We had a large turnout with many guests for our February meeting, wedged in between the bouts of winter storms. Joe Harsanyi led off our performances with Fourtitude from Harry Lorayne’s Close-up
Card Magic. We welcomed back
guest Les Albert, who demon-strated his face-up classic force (to find the one red-backer in a blue deck) followed by a two-card match and a tricky Ace routine. Craig Feinstein showed us how to double your money with a paddle (“no tricky paddle moves; it uses mirrors”). He followed with a “close enough” card find. Jay Silverman performed a four-card match he learned from George Woo. Jeff Eline performed a stunning and mystifying rising card from within a silk. We welcomed Dennis French as a full member and he showed us a fine Chop Cup routine that he did
while in the Navy. Guest Jefferson Rose did one of the card routines he performs in a Springfield, VA, restaurant. Guest Jared Raitzyk demonstrated Chris Kenner’s Rising Card App on an iPhone. Prez Andy London (“sorry I’m late, just came from an animal rights bull roast”) used his lucky number (13) to find all four Aces, after which all the other cards turned blank.
Three guests from the Johns Hopkins University Magic Club (Mike Bledsoe, Trevor Plumer, and Ronann Carrero) showed us some fine card magic. Mike taught a nice fan flourish shuffle, Trevor did the Biddle Trick, and Ronann a nice card reveal. Howard Katz, who generously provides his Magic Warehouse as our venue, performed a “just learned” mental card reveal. Ralph Fowler performed his Haunted Matchbox-es (which he hand crafts). Dean Joe Bruno treated us to his second ever showing of an effect he’s been working on for six months in which four pocketed Kings turn one-by-one into the four Aces. He followed with his excellent improved version of A Royal Exchange (originally by Edward Victor, 1937). Mentalist Oneil Banks performed a two-deck card prediction in which one spectator predicted the card chosen by the other. Our closing act was Peter Wood, moving around a punched hole in a signed card. Huh? How’d he do that?
As usual, there was a substan-tial amount of card magic in the front room before the meeting started and still more magic in little groups after the meeting ended. If you’re in the area on first Thursdays come join the fun! —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] or www. baltimoresam.com for more details.
8
GREAT MENTALIST AT THE GATEWAY
SAINT LOUIS, MO— On February 3, 2014, Nathan Kranzo gave us a great lecture. Nathan performed his stand-up coin magic, Mene Tekel effects, Tru-Test, and many more! We really enjoyed Nathan’s comedy magic and mind reading lecture and you will too.
Just ten days later on the 13th (lucky for us), Morgan Strebler came to visit our assembly. We were treated to a performance
by Morgan covering: Spectator Failure, Sympathetic Reaction, Thought Reading, Thought Transmission, Predictions, and Hypnotism! Jill Schmitt(Silly Jilly), Larry Lucy, Adam Putman, Columbus Smith, Greg Lewis, and Sandy Weis were willing partici-pants on stage.
Morgan followed this up with a rare lecture including a variety of his own effects: Liquid Metal, Molten, The Closer, and Super Comic Comic, to name a few. You too can see what it was like at Assembly8.com and when you visit St. Louis next, come on by and visit us too. We always welcome fellow magicians.
See you all at the combined IBM/ SAM/FISM convention here in July! —Dan Todd
Assembly 8 meets at Mount Tabor United Church of Christ, which is located at 6520 Arsenal in Saint Louis, Missouri 63139. Contact Dick Blowers rmblowers@ aol.com (213) 846-8468 http:// Assembly8.com for more details.
13
FOCUS ON YOUNG MAGICIANS CLUBS DALLAS, TX— Vice President Frank Seltzer was out of town, so Mark Jensen took the role of acting vice president. The only visitor of the night was Kris Slocum, who was attending for the first time.
Mark Jensen started the night by showing a rare Jinx subscription renewal postcard. The story was that the customer would rub the back of the black cat on the card three times and send it in, without any message, and somehow the subscription would be renewed. Mark discussed the rarity of the cards, the history behind them, and some of the theories of how they worked.
The club then watched a docu-mentary directed by Shelley Jenkins on the Long Beach Mystics (thanks go out to Shelley for giving us permission to screen the film). The Mystics were perhaps one of the most success-ful young magician clubs in magic history. Many of the members of the Mystics went on to become some of the most influential per-formers in magic today. The magicians and jugglers inter-viewed thought that their time in the club was invaluable. Despite the unparalleled success of the Mystics, many of the members felt that it is highly unlikely in today’s environment that a similar club would ever be successful.
But that didn’t stop the DMC from having a discussion on how we as a club could get the Young Magician’s Club both revitalized
The Incomparable George Hample (left) and PNP Dick Gustafson (right)
Assembly News
and flourishing. Brainstorming included branding, electronic media including YouTube and Skype, and encouraging the kids by setting discrete performance goals (such as a yearly show).
After the discussion and a break, Derrell Allen stepped up to perform. Derrel was assisted by audience member Geneva, who was asked to provide her date of birth. Derrel then produced a small fortune teller calendar book, and turned to her birthday. The book described her personality and also gave the name of a playing card, the King of Clubs. Interestingly, when Geneva was asked to cut a deck of cards, she randomly cut to – you guessed it – the King of Clubs.
Next up was Mike Williams. Mike has been working on his pickpocketing skills, and wanted to demonstrate on visitor Kris. He asked Kris to place a deck of cards in his pocket, and then had the audience randomly select a card. Mike managed to secretly remove the deck, reverse the selected card, and replace it in Kris’s pocket without anyone observing.
The Dallas Magic Club, Assembly 13, meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at Theatre 166, Crosspointe Community Center in Carrollton, Texas. Contact Reade Quinton reade.quinton@ gmail.com (972) 4000195 www. dallasmagic.org for more details.
16
DAL SANDERS LECTURE WORCESTER, MA— It has been a cold and snowy winter in Massachusetts. Pipes broke in the Magic Barn, causing Assembly 16 to move its meeting to Peter’s Raceway, a magical place of slot car racetracks and on the night of our January/February meetings a wonderful place to meet.
During the January/February meeting we had three terrific lectures. The first lecture was in conjunction with a visit from visit from President Dal Sanders. Dal showed us many wonderful chil-dren’s effects suitable for holiday school performances as well adult
functions. Dal was great.
Our next lecturer was a very pleasant surprise. Gregory Wilson dropped in on a snowy Sunday evening. The word was passed to the magic community, but the threat of snow kept many away. Those of us who braved the elements were rewarded with great conversation and terrific magic. The session lasted till midnight followed by a long snowy drive. Well worth it.
The following evening was the long awaited lecture by Kainoa Harbottle – this lecture had been cancelled because of snow. Unfor-tunately Kainoa did not get to visit the barn because the plumbing was not repaired. Kainoa has a very engaging personality and extraordinary skill. He showed us his Pendulum Hanging Coins, Flying Wombat, Deja Flew, Daley’s Conformed Twins, Trifecta, and Like Mike. A fast paced high octane entertaining lecture. Fantastic!!
Well the snow still falls and one more winter lecture to look forward to. For those in the area, come visit Assembly 16. —Joe Berman
Assembly 16 meets on the first Monday of the month at the Magic Barn in Ashland, MA at 7:00 PM Contact Dennis Pimenta, [email protected] (508) 883-3575 sam16.com for more details.
17
WINTER MAGIC GATHERINGS
SPRINGFIED, MA— S.A.M. National President Dal Sanders arrived from sunny Dallas, TX, to snowy Florence, MA, to present P.J. Pinsonnault with a well deserved Presidential Citation. Congrats PJ! We appreciate all you do. Afterwards, Dal installed our new officers: President, Rich Gilbert; V. President, Len Nadeau; Secretary, Karen Gibson; Treasure, P.J. Pinsonnault; and Sergeant at Arms, Ed Kazar. Special guests, Past National President Rich Dooley, MI, Dan Sclare of Assembly 21, and Jonas Cain of Assembly 104 helped us celebrate. Peter Lenis did some walk-around magic, while Rich Gilbert got the food set up. Thanks guys. You did a fantastic job, as well as all the members who brought their favorite dishes.
Next up was a silent auction and raffle. Just about everyone went home with some new magic. Dean Tom Gentile emceed the event and introduced Dave Dimock, who dressed up as a professor giving us a lesson in number magic. Jonas Cain did an impromptu comical card routine, while a new student
of magic, Dylan Lasanti, wowed us with his comical version of the Professor’s Nightmare. Our own Jeff Pyzocha and his lovely assistant Lucy Godet closed the evening with a beautiful version of Snow Storm in China.
Our monthly meeting had Bob Caroll making us check our restau-rant bill totals. Somehow he had the right amount $39.12. PJ did his version of a Dave Copperfield Ace production. Ed Kazar used color-changing silks in three bags for a prediction. Tom Gentile fixed his wife’s Valentine necklace using Scott Corel’s Whimsical Wonder Bag. Latest member Jonathan Mauterer showed us his card skills as well as Joe Bedar working with a rainbow deck. Dylan also did his spin on the Cups and Balls. Late night lots of fun as always. —Karen Gibson
Dr. I.R. Calkins Assembly 17 meets the first Friday of every month at 7 pm at Rich Pinsonault’s RP Magic Shop: 69 East Street; Ludlow, MA Contact Rich Gilbert [email protected] (413) for more details.
19
HOUSTON’S HOT FEBRUARY MAGIC HOUSTON, TX— Houston’s February meeting was filled with magic and fun. Our “teach-in” session was on packet tricks, but this month, we didn’t teach them, we performed them. A contest was held for the top three packet trick performances. Bob Smith was first, and had guest Kim Lampkin and Marti Stein help out as Michael Close’s Clones was performed. This “culture media” shock performance was a wild ride with Bob at the helm, and a good one.
Randy Stulken had Scott Wells select a city from a series of cards and was able to discern which city Scott had chosen. Dick Olson showed us how “easy” it was to read marked cards, as the backs and then faces of a series of playing cards changed in front of our eyes. Jamie Salinas held a Tarot card reading session with guest Kim Lampkin that had an unexpected ending that became the talk of the evening. Scott Wells involved a miniature Mona Lisa painting to reveal a card randomly chosen by a spectator.
Dustin Grey was able to properly discern the two cards removed from packets held by Shane Wilson and Scott Wells. Shane Wilson’s very nice Oil and Water routine was as smooth as ever. The winner was Bob Smith and his crazy pre-sentation. Scott Wells and Shane Wilson took second and third. The
donated prizes were great as well as the magic.
Scott Wells began our perfor-mances as Miles Root read a card prediction written on a card box flap. After Miles’s selection was seen not to match, the written pre-diction did, miraculously. Jamie Salinas correctly discerned guest Adrian’s car color, which he had not even driven to the meeting. JoHan McElroy had Marti Stein freely select a card from a pack. After much interaction, John pulled out a silk with the card printed in its center. David Hinken penetrated the pips of a card through a card America held in her hands.
Jeff Lanes had a literal blockbust-er start, a mystical card predic-tion middle, and a literal smoking finish to his nice presentation. Caesar Trujillo’s attempt to find guest Kim Lampkin’s chosen card resorted to magic as he changed the mistaken card for Kim’s chosen card, instantaneously and in full view of everyone. Bob Smith showed that Miles Root’s favorite miniature card cereal box selection was the only choice that had a blue back, all others being red backed. —Miles Root
Assembly 19 meets the first Monday of every month at the International 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] (281) 3347508 houstonmagic.com for more details.
21
ROPES, STRINGS, AND CORDS.
HARTFORD, CT— A short month – a short meeting. The theme was to do a trick or routine using a string, rope, or cord. Jason Abate started off with a good ring-on-string routine. As a bonus he treated us to a card trick: A blue-backed deck came out of a red card box. A selected card changed to a red back, and then the entire deck changed to red backs.
Jason Abate starts his routine Mike Williams proves his
Soll Levine bought a lot of flower magic recently and he showed us some of his acquisitions. One of his articulating flowers found a selected card. He demonstrated a blooming flower, and a drooping one, and one that could change color under a hanky. Lastly, he produced a bouquet from a temple screen. Jon Cap used a velvet cord and a borrowed wedding ring to do a ring/string routine, but an entirely different one from Jason’s. It was Ring Leader by Greg Wilson. —Dana T. Ring
Assembly 21 meets at 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 for more details.
22
ANNUAL CLOSE-UP CONTEST
LOS ANGELES, CA— Attendees of the February 17th meeting of Assembly 22 were saddened to learn of the very recent and sudden passing of Aldo Colombini, a one-time Southern California resident and a periodic lecturer for our assembly. A short business meeting included the second reading and election into membership of Brian Regalbuto. Congratulations, Brian. The program for the evening was the annual close-up contest to vie for a coveted trophy won in years past by such as Dai Vernon and Albert Goshman. Producing the program were last year’s dual winners, Tom Meseroll and Henry Springer. Fourteen members participated in the show and contest.
Opening the show was Michael Mezmer with a unique and original storytelling presentation. Michael typically sets a mood and performs effects with a hint of the supernatural. Jim Militello next presented a nice set of card effects. Howard Hamburg, a Los Angeles magician with a preeminent repu-tation as a card worker around the Magic Castle, performed next. Howard did not disappoint. Act four was Bob Altman doing some four Ace card effects and a six quarter Coins Across routine. Bill Perron was next up using his magic ray gun to vanish a deck of cards while leaving a selected and signed card that had been buried in the deck. Our sixth performer was Matt Savin, who made a valiant attempt to find a selected card from a deck placed in a Telsa Energy Bag. Our final act before intermission was Mike Perovich. Mike performed a selection of unique magic, as always, that included a coin box described by
Professor Hoffmann. The beauti-fully made prop was constructed by Mike in his woodshop.
John Engman opened the second half of the show with Sympa-thetic Match Boxes, a Chop Cup routine and John Fedko’s Ultimate Ace Routine. Harrison Lampert was next with several nice card effects. Our next performer was Bob Bolivar, a frequent Magic Castle performer, who presented several nice card effects and a coin manipulation routine. New member Brian Regalbuto did a nice job performing a set of card effects. Hugo Avila followed, also doing some very nice card effects in preparation for his Magic Castle audition. The thirteenth performer was David Yee doing an impres-sive act with sponge balls, the Gypsy Thread, and an Ambitious Card routine. Closing the show was Bill Yamane who amazed everyone with his featured effect, Hitchcock, a Joshua Jay card trick with some real surprises. —Steven L. Jennings
Southern California Assembly 22 meets the third Monday each month at 8:00 PM, St. Thomas More Parish Hall, 2510 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, California Contact Ed Thomas [email protected] (213) 382-8504 for more details.
31
MAGIC WINTER SPECTACULAR INDIANAPOLIS, IN— This month the regularly scheduled meeting was replaced by our annual S.A.M./I.B.M. Magic
Winter Spectacular. Producer
compeer Barry Rice once again put together an outstanding show. Jamahl Keyes performed a so-phisticated stage magic set timed perfectly to music. Taylor Martin performed several of his fan favorite pieces as his 18th century alter ego, Rodney the Younger. Finally, the show was capped off by Ryan Siebert, performing some of his wonderful sleight-of-hand magical miracles. Those of us who braved the cold wintery elements had a wonderful time enjoying the warmth of some hot magic. —Steven A. Spence
Assembly 31 meets the first Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 Audubon Rd., on the east side of the City unless otherwise announced. If the first Monday conflicts with a holiday weekend, we postpone the meeting one week. Contact Taylor Martin [email protected] (317) 432-1320 sam31.com for more details.
32
MAGIC FUN FOR FEBRUARY
Lynchburg, VA— There was a good turnout at our Assembly’s February meeting; very good for the small Assembly that we are. President Patrick Hubble called the meeting to order and Associate Member Carl Hoegerl, visiting for the first time, was introduced to members. There was a discus-sion about an assembly objective of performing public shows in the coming year. Then it was on to the magic.
There wasn’t the usual monthly theme this time, but an open forum during which members shared their own choice of magic. Bob Wallin, in remembrance of Aldo Colombini, performed Never Say Dice, an effect with three cards changing according to three dice and a kicker ending by producing a royal flush. Bob also demonstrat-ed Out of There, an effect by Gary Plants.
John Jennings shared Mental Rescue a Vosburgh Lyons card effect from the book My Best by J. G. Thompson. Glen Rae, our assembly’s resident mentalist ex-traordinaire, determined the name of a “thought-of” movie from numerous titles listed on cards set out before a spectator.
Mike Kinnaird performed with a borrowed rubber band and demonstrated an invisible force by showing a ring moving up the band in defiance of gravity. Our young member, Trevor Albright, performed next and was able to determine three selected cards through one quick dealing-down of the deck. The entertainment for the evening finished as Bob Staton presented a cleverly done coin trick with a quarter and a penny.
As a final note, thanks Carl for finding us and we look forward to seeing you again at future meetings. This is a reminder that Assembly 32 welcomes all persons interested in magical entertain-ment and encourages compeers to contact us if there are questions or if directions are needed. —John Jennings
Assembly 32 meets most months on the third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Tharp Funeral Home, 220 Breezewood Drive, Lynchburg, VA. Contact John Jennings [email protected] (434) 851-6240 for more details.
35
A SERIOUS DISCOURSE ON SILLY
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY— Our evening began with a jolly bit of good news (sorry, I just finished
watching an episode of The
Avengers.) One of our members
will be appearing at the Magic Castle in the coming weeks. We are certainly all waiting to hear what that was like, and any other magical news that he may have for us.
Our speaker tonight was Mr. David Kaye, otherwise known as Silly Billy. For those who may think that entertaining children can be just an afterthought, we learned that quite a bit of thought actually goes into enthralling the wee ones.
He lectured on the different types of routines there are for children, then went on to explain what that all entails. With video of him with an actual pint-sized audience, we could see just how this information can play out for real. A running gag, that for adults can be repetitious, becomes even funnier for children.
He explained that action should occur quite frequently to hold their attention. He broke down the number of different elements that can go into a routine, which are a lot more than you think. Knowledge is power, and with that reasoning, empowering the kids, whether they are actual as-sistants on stage, or just sitting in the audience, can make a world of difference in how they enjoy the show. They turn from being merely spectators to participants.
Mr. Kaye went on to explain a few different tricks, noting that kid’s magic can sometimes be a bit “proppy.” One effect, titled Sneaker Juice, would most likely be scoffed at by the Downton
Abbey crowd, but it was funny
nonetheless. Sometimes you just gotta slip on the prover-bial banana peel! Thank you Mr. Kaye for a definitely fun evening. —Darryl Bielski
Assembly 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 www.sam35. com for more details.
37
PLASTIC NIGHT HITS THE MILE HIGH CITY
DENVER, CO— The Mile High Magicians Society decided to do something new for the month of February this year. President Matt Brandt decided on Plastic Night, because most magicians start out with these inexpensive magic tricks. So to celebrate these humble beginnings, all club members were asked to bring along their favorite piece of plastic
Assembly News
magic to perform. It gave a great chance for enthusiasts to try their hand at performing in front of the group.
Treasurer Dave Elstun said it reminded him of his favorite trick from years past that was tied into the television program from the 1960’s, My Favorite Martian. Uncle Martin’s spaceship would float magically up and down on a string and then stop on your command. An act that was mes-merizing and memorable for a child no doubt. Professional Mark Strivings had no trouble in mes-merizing young child Preston Housely with his favorite plastic magic, the Snapper, that bullet-shaped piece of plastic with the rubber bands that every beginner tends to avoid. It was actually sen-sational when performed well.
The mesmerizing continued as Gene Gordon took the lad’s hard earned quarter and made it disappear, only to have it reappear in a box tied up with rubber bands and string in a bag set to the side of the room. His own father, Rodney Housely, had the boy rolling in the isles with a comedy rendition of Pen through Frame. Between the three of them they had young Preston delighted and giggling all for $2.99. It had been many years for club member Glenn Prouix to try out his Shang-hi tube and he had a couple technical difficulties with it. But when it was up and running it was a plastic miracle to say the least.
Professional comedy magician and speaker Brad Montgomery provided a little coin and plastic combination while club members Marty Jewell, John Luong, and Dale Clyncke had a wonderful evening of laughter not to mention supplying their own plastic along the way. We saw Cups and Balls done with little plastic flower pots and pom-poms, not to mention a killer routine of one snazzy Hot Rod. The evening was best summed up by television science magic guru Steve Spangler who said as he pulled a bowl of plastic thumbs from an apparent paper bag, “I feel like this is a bad Zeezo’s dream.” —Connie Elstun
Assembly meets the second
Thursday of the Month at Riverpointe Senior Center in Littleton Colorado. Contact Secretary Connie Elstun connie@ comedymagicbunny.com (303) 9334118 www.milehighmagicians. com for more details.
47
WHAT’S IN THAT JUNK DRAWER?
ROCHESTER, NY— (The members of Assembly 47 would like to give their sincere condo-lences to Rachel Colombini for the sudden loss of Aldo. We made a club donation and hope other clubs follow suit.)
After a brief discussion of upcoming lectures and our close-up contest at the April meeting, we moved on to magic! The theme was to pull something out of your junk drawer and do it. What a cross section of magic! Jeff Blood performed a fine trick using a 52-on-1 card as a prediction and the vanishing deck, so popular several years ago. Why was that in the junk drawer? Professor Rem used what appeared to be gummy bear planes to show how one and then several became lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Joel Greenwich, our newest member, had a card selected and put back in a topsy-turvy shuffled deck. A picture was taken of a spectator holding it (with members in the shot, too) and it was found that only the selection was right side up. A triumphantly cheeky trick with a camera phone!
Don Aman had several members shuffle a deck and placed a pre-diction on top of it. The last member who shuffled opened the prediction and it matched the top card of the deck. Vern Massey, soon to be our newest member, performed the Crazy Cube from S.S. Adams fame. President JP Lacey performed Tenyo’s What’s Next with a very interesting patter theme, never really mentioning the dice aspect of it. Sante DiCarlo did a tribute to Aldo Colombini using jumbo cards with Aldo’s famous Pick Me, Pick Me Not. Check this out on the Internet! Finally, Mike Ihrig performed a Japanese Tenyo trick, Tenyo Mahono (Magic) Scratch Card. I forgot how to do it and was lucky to finish it! Hope the weather favors your magic. Spring will be here soon! —Mike Ihrig
Assembly 47 meets the third Tuesday September thru May at 7:00 PM in the St Joseph’s School, 39 Gebhardt Rd, Penfield, NY 14526. Contact Mike Ihrig [email protected] (585) 377-1566 www.sam47.com for more details.
49
ANY TRICK NIGHT FORT LAUDERDALE,FL— On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, Assembly 49 held its monthly meeting. The theme was Any Trick. After a moment of silence for the passing of Aldo Colombini, the meeting continued.
Selected cards were selected on a couple of occasions and, sur-prisingly, they were found. Henry Epstein found his spectator’s card by firing a gun at the pack being held by the spectator and the chosen card had a “bullet” hole in it. Sid Marcus found a chosen card in a picture frame previously shown with nothing in it.
Al Callus did a card effect wherein ten cards counted out by a spectator somehow wound up as nine; some of the cards were then tossed aside and there were still nine cards when the remainder was counted. Billy Byron told a story using cards. He called it The Jack Brothers. Four Jacks vanish from a “jail” cell which looked suspiciously like a plastic card box and reappeared one in each of four piles of cards, which also turn out to be not only the four suits but they were in numerical order.
Marvin Freed performed a Three Card Monte effect that started out as two red Aces and one black Ace and ended up vice-versa.
Marvin Putterman predicted six numbers written on previ-ously selected cards only using one or two numbers that were on the reverse side of the cards. Mark Horowitz demonstrated the Coloring Book effect, which was offered as a prize in our raffle. Kevin Chen tore a borrowed bill up and then restored it. Phil Labush turned five one-dollar bills into different denominations using real bills. Vinnie Rosenblu-th performed Rosenblu-the classic Miser’s Dream and Coins Across. —Billy Byron
Assembly 49 meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the Northwest Focal Point Senior Center, 6009 NW 10th. Street, Margate, FL. 33061 Contact Billy Byron billybyron@ comcast.net (954) 522-1466 www. fortlauderdalemagicsociety.con for more details.
52
CAST A SHADOW OR VALENTINE’S DAY SAN ANTONIO, TX— February 6, 2014, Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 held its monthly meeting at LaMad-eleine Restaurant. President Don Moravits welcomed everyone and
also thanked everyone for braving the elements and coming out on such a cold night. In spite of the weather, we had fifteen in atten-dance, including members and wives.
Tonight’s theme was Cast a Shadow or Valentine’s Day. Starting off the performances was Don Moravits, who performed a card effect by Baskin Jones called Unbelievable. Ray Adams, with the help from his wife, Barbara, did a Scotch and Soda routine. Joe Libby had James Dusek assist him with a book test, and San Manfredo performed a nice Coin Penetration through a Brass Slug. Dwayne Stanton performed Pocket Change, and Michael Tallon fooled us with the ubiqui-tous Four King Trick. Ed Solomon told us a story about Cyrus Single-tree, and Doug Gorman closed with Triumph.
Paul Mims delighted us all with a marvelous fifteen-minute close-up show. He began with the passage of silver, a Coins Across routine employing the infamous Cross of India. He then produced four Aces ala John Scarne, and then used those Aces in his rendition of Hofzinser’s Aces. Next was a smooth and very deceptive per-formance of David Williamson’s Ring and Rope Routine. He closed with a wonderful Cups and Balls routine, strongly influenced by the work of Dai Vernon. Thanks, Paul, for a truly professional and very entertaining show.
Door Prize winners were Ray Adams, Joe Libby, and Dwayne Stanton. Ray won Aldo Colom-bini’s CD Rope In, Joe won a delicious box of Pecan Caramel Clusters, and Dwayne won Throw Streamers.
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
TEACH-A-TRIK (OR TWO) PORTLAND, OR— February’s meeting of Assembly 59 featured Bob (“Paddlemove”) Eaton, The Man With Over 7,000 Perfor-mances, displaying his collection of hand-crafted paddles and crafty hand paddle moves. Jay Freder-icks next taught a mentalism effect based on the dual-reality principle. Following the teach-in a brief (very brief) business meeting took place. As composed and organized as ever, VP Brian Adams stood in for President Mel Anderson who
Mark Strivings mesmerizing young Preston Housely
was recuperating from shoulder surgery.
Showtime featured Randy Stumman doing a coin effect, Glen Bledsoe doing a mind-read-ing effect, and Tom Waldrop per-forming an effect using magical silkworms.
We had five visitors, who I believe we thoroughly entertained if not completely baffled. In all other ways a splendid and relaxing time was had by all. A good way to spend a rainy February evening. —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 Glen L. Bledsoe glenbledsoe@mac. com (503) 967-9151 http://www. sam59portland.org/ for more details.
76
AN EVENING WITH MIO NORTH MIAMI, FL— Twenty three members and guests attended our February meeting. After the business portion was concluded Pres. Roy Allen Fischer and Past Pres. Rick Del Vecchio presented the I.B.M. Ring 45 Magician of the Year award to Mio Rodriguez for his outstanding magical career. Emcee Ronsted brought Mio back to the stage to open the evening’s entertainment. Mio invited Daisi Hernandez to think of a card and then proceeded to pluck it from his pocket. He followed with a breathtaking rendition of ambitious signed card. Mio continued with Coins Across, Matrix, and concluded by finding Daisi’s signed card (10H) inside a bowl of candy.
Our ring mentor Fantasio had guest Alex pick a card (AH) and lose back into the deck. He produced a card (8H) from thin air and asked Alex to identify it. When that failed Fantasio snapped the card and the pips fell off revealing it to be the original card (AH). Mentalist Richard Mark had two volunteers, Oswaldo and Rubin, each take an unknown quantity of word/symbol cards and shuffle them. When asked to secretly withdraw one card Richard was able to predict the word “love” and the circle symbol. Richard repeated the effect with different cards chosen and concluded by divining the number of cards each volunteer held.
Our newest junior member Daniel Espinosa delighted us by having guest Alex pick a card (3S) and return it to the deck. Daniel held a flame under a blank piece of paper upon which the name of the card slowly appeared. Another
card (7C) was picked and lost in the deck. Daniel dropped the deck into a paper bag and thrust a knife through the bag capturing the chosen card on the blade. He concluded by placing a dime and a penny into Alex’s hand. When the hand reopened only the penny remained and the dime was found inside Mio Rodriguez’s pocket.
Mio Rodriguez returned for an encore by having Dick Tansey cut the deck several times and covering the resulting top card with his hand. Mio was able to divine that Dick had selected the (6D). Mio then finished with an outstanding book test with the help of Daniel Espinosa. The show was closed by Billy Byron with his hilarious rendition of lady’s nite out and finishing with three cups of plastic beads that mixed together and then magically separated. —Ron Olmsted
Assembly 76 meets the first Thursday each month 7:30 PM at the South Miami Elk’s Lodge, 6304 SW 78th Str., South Miami, FL Contact Ron Olmsted [email protected] (305) 235-2272 for more details.
77
STEELE: THE SHOW (AND LECTURE) MASSAPEQUA, NY—
Despite the cold weather and the snow, the meeting went on this month with a great turnout for our lecture by Margaret Steele. Our esteemed member and RVP Eric DeCamps bestowed to Ms. Steele an Award of Excellence for her contributions she has given in the field of magic for the S.A.M. (pictured)
Let me start this by saying we were very pleased to have this wondrous visit from Margaret Steele with her discussion on the impact that the late, great Adelaide Herrmann and her life, which had a great and positive impact on future magicians both male and female. After many lecturers throughout the years, it was re-freshing to have Ms. Steele give an amazing lecture filled with insights, rare photos, and later
some of her work on video that, on a whole, was right up there with the level of a university seminar! One of the little known facts about Ms. Herrmann: she even knew the Houdinis. Of course Margaret finished her time with two of her favorite pieces: Her Linking Rings Act and her tribute to Tony Slydini: The Paper Balls and Box. For more information on Adelaide Herrmann (if you don’t own a time machine), is to have Margaret herself lecture for your club or order her wonderful book on the late Adelaide Herrmann’s life.
Before closing, The Long Island Mystics are very saddened by the loss of one of our S.A.M. brothers, Aldo Colombini. We had him and Rachael Wild Colombini here to give their “Second Farewell” lecture a few short months ago and we had an amazing time. One moment out of that happy time was when Aldo said, “Everyone is so sad about John Calvert passing away. My God, he was a 102! He lived a very full life.” We all laughed at his insight on what it was to live and to have a good life. Although much shorter than any of us wanted, Aldo did live an amazing and happy life. RIP, Aldo. —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 [email protected] (516) 978-7735 www.limystics.org for more details.
88
ROPE MAGIC ANN ARBOR/YPSILANTI,MI— Our topic this month was Rope Magic! Marvin Mathena started us off with a gospel rope trick. Marvin showed us four ropes, yellow, red, black, and white, ex-plaining with the song: “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world; Red, yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight.” Then he went on to add that sometimes people may think that one color may be more loved than the other, which would not be true, Marvin then tied all of the ropes together, explaining God made them all the same, as he wrapped the ropes around his hand and unwrapped them to show them all as one!Bill Brang performed Patriotic Ropes, with red, white, and blue ropes joining together as one. Then Bill did the Linking Ropes, three ropes tied each in a circle, linking them together and taking them apart! Next up was Jim Placido with his great rope routine; I never get tired of this one! Jim
has one long rope, asking how many ends are on it, then shows it’s one circular rope with no ends, pulls out a short rope, to make a long rope with two ends, then three ends, then four. Showing two ropes of equal length, Jim pulls one end to make it back into a single long rope!
Tony Saputo had a rope with four knots on it, wrapped it around his hand, when he unwrapped it the knots were gone! We had a guest with us, Don, didn’t catch his last name, who also brought a Ring on a Rope trick, where he had a tied rope and put a solid metal ring on, then untied the rope, having a short rope, to show the ring on a continuous rope. Then Bill and Karl Rabe with a comedy rope act of a cut and restored rope trick. Jim Folkl did another cut and restored, showing a little different way, where he pulls the middle of the rope up with his scissors. Jim Ruth finished up with a Professors Nightmare, ending with one long rope! This was a very productive meeting; I’ll just tie it up here! —Randy A. Smith
Hank Moorehouse Assembly 88 meets second Wednesday at 7PM, Faith Lutheran Church, 1255 East Forest Ave, Ypsilanti, Michigan. Contact Randy A. Smith randy. [email protected] (313) 562-3875 www.aamagic.org for more details.
89
OFFICER INDUCTION DINNER MEETINGHONOLULU, HI— The Jimmy Yoshida Aloha Assembly 89 held its annual officer induction dinner meeting on January 8. Offi-ciating the ceremonial changeover and installation of officers was Fred “Professor Fun” Ball, who has been doing that job for more years than anyone can remember. Outgoing President Glen Bailey welcomed new President Michael “Kekoa” Erickson. Other officers remained in their positions: V.P. Harvey Ouchi, Treasurer James Lee, Secretary Mike Lynch, and Sgt-at Arms Robert “Bob’s Pizza” Festa. Mahalo, Glen, for your dedicated service as President to the assembly and magic
Margaret Steele and Eric DeCamps (photo credit Mike Maione)
Bill Brang performing Linking Ropes
