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MARCH 2012

Simon aronson
Page 36

M-U-M

MARCH 2012

Magazine

Volume 101 Number 10

S.A.M. NEWS

ON THE COVER
PAGE 36

6 From the Editors Desk


7 Hero & Patriot Award Form
8 From the Presidents Desk
10 Newsworthy
11 M-U-M Assembly News
24 Good Cheer List
25 New Members & Reinstatements
63 Our Advertisers

THIS MONTHS FEATURES


28
30
34
36
44
46
52
54
68
69

52

Ellipsis by Michael Perovich


A Magician Prepares by Dennis Loomis
Salon de Magie by Ken Klosterman
COVER STORY by Michael Close
Living with Simon by Ginny Aronson
Triple Play by Simon Aronson
Nielsen Gallery: Dante by Tom Ewing
Informed Opinion New Product Reviews
Basil the Baffling by Alan Wassilak
Bruce Chadwicks Magic Wisdom

32

COLUMNISTS

34

26
32
35
50
63
64
66
67
68
70

Stage 101 by Levent


I Left My Cards at Home by Steve Marshall
Tech Tricks by Bruce Kalver
Unlimited Possibilities Roger Blakiston (AKA Jolly Roger)
Inside Straight by Norman Beck
Mental Breakdown by Christian Painter
Theory & Art of Magic by Larry Hass
Anytime, Anyplace Any Deck by Aldo Colombini
The Deans Diary by George Schindler
Confessions of a Paid Amateur by Rod Danilewicz
Cover Photo by Scott DuJardin

M-U-M (ISSN 00475300 USPS 323580) is published monthly for $40 per year by The Society of American Magicians,
11086 S. Dartmoor Place, Parker, CO 80138 . Periodical postage paid at Parker, CO and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to M-U-M, c/o Manon Rodriguez, P.O. Box 505, Parker, CO 80134.
4 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

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,


11086 S. Dartmoor Place
Parker, CO 80138
Copyright 2012
Subscription is through membership
in the Society and annual dues of $65, of
which $40 is for 12 issues of M-U-M.
All inquiries concerning membership, change
of address, and missing or replacement issues
should be addressed to:
Manon Rodriguez, National Administrator
P.O. Box 505, Parker, CO 80134
manon@magic.bz
Skype: manonadmin
Phone: 303-362-0575
Fax: 303-362-0424
Send assembly reports to:
assemblyreports@gmail.com
For advertising information,
reservations, and placement contact:
Mona S. Morrison,
M-U-M Advertising Manager
645 Darien Court, Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
Email: mona@monamorrison.com
Telephone/fax: (847) 519-9201
Editorial contributions and correspondence
concerning all content and advertising
should be addressed to the editor:
Michael Close - Email: mumeditor@gmail.com
Phone: 317-456-7234 Fax: 866-591-7392

Submissions for the magazine will only be


accepted by email or fax.
VISIT THE S.A.M. WEB SITE
www.magicsam.com
To access Members Only pages:
Enter your Name and Membership number
exactly as it appears on your membership card.
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 5

tion is our cover story this month. The full conversation ran to
11,000+ words, and it pained me to have to cut it down, because
it was all very interesting. I decided to do what Jon Stewart of
The Daily Show does when an interview goes long: post the full
interview on the Web. Youll find it at www.MagicSAM.com.
Simon also contributed a card trick to this issue, and I urge
you to give it a try. It is well within the abilities of the average
Michael Close card worker, and the trick is representative of Simons approach
to card magic.
George Schindler passed along the following two announceWay back in the early 70s, I subscribed to Hierophant
ments:
and Kabbala, two magazines published by Jon Racherbaumer.
The Parent Assembly 1 of The Society of American
Through those magazines, I learned of Simon Aronson, who was
Magicians in New York City has set up a Grave Site Restorapart of Ed Marlos exclusive coterie. In 1978 I bought a copy of
tion Committee to help preserve and/or restore the grave sites
Simons first book, The Card Ideas of Simon Aronson; the book
of some of the greatest magicians of all time, whose graves are
was full of great card magic, including some terrific memorized
in the tri-state area. Several fundraising shows are planned to
deck effects, but the trick that caught my eye was a gem called
support this effort. For more information, contact the chairman at
Red See Passover. I went to some trouble and expense to have the
Richie@RichieMagic.net.
necessary gaffed cards made (this was way before the USPCC
The Society of Young Magicians will present the Weekend
began printing gaffed cards), and I dropped this atom bomb of
of Wonder(WOW) on August 10-12, 2012, at the Crown Plaza
a trick on any unsuspecting magician I could find. (At that time
Hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island. This highly successful, totalI had two magician-slayers in my repertoire: Simons trick and
immersion weekend event, previously presented in 2008 and
my own Wild Underground Transposition. I had the advantage of
2010, is being repeated and will bring young magicians from
anonymity; no one knew who I was or what I knew. I saved those
around the country under one roof for a weekend of magic studies.
two tricks for very late night sessions at magic conventions, inIn addition to the training, friendships are made and social
troducing them with the meek statement, Heres something that,
activities, gifts, and special attention are offered by experts
maybe, you havent seen. I unleashed one or the other of those
in all fields of magic. For details see the brochure at
tricks and immediately retired for the night, assured that, when
www.magicsym.com/wow.asp.
I returned the next morning, the other magicians would still be
With the passing of Tony Giorgio, magic has lost another of
there, thinking about what they had seen.)
its great, unique characters. He had a great presence, and he
If asked about Red See Passover (and many magicians did ask),
certainly knew his craft. Heres more from Michael Perovich:
I did the honorable thing and said it could be found in The Card
Actor/magician
Tony
Ideas of Simon Aronson. Simon
Giorgio died on February 1,
sold a few books because of
2012, in Southern Califorthis. When Simon and I finally
nia after a long illness. He
met a few years later, it felt like
was reported to be eightywe were already old friends.
eight years of age at the time
I admire Simons effects,
of his passing. Giorgios
which are designed to fool
swarthy good looks made him
the most intelligent and
ideal for small parts playing
observant spectator. In 1990,
hoodlums in such movies
when I decided that I would
finally break down and learn
as The Godfather, Magnum
a memorized deck stack,
Force, and The Sting II. He
Simons stack was the one
had a nice part as a detective
I learned. And I have never
in the James Coburn vehicle,
regretted it.
Harry in Your Pocket, for
A great benefit of knowing
which he was also technical
Simon was getting to know his
advisor. A performer at the
wife Ginny, who is an intelliMagic Castle since the 1960s,
gent, charming, and gracious
his act included an extended
The Chicago Session John Bannon, David Solomon, and
lady. Ginny is an active parThree
Card Monte routine
Simon Aronson
ticipant in Simons magic life,
and his own card to matchbox
editing his books and articles,
effect. He made good use of
attending magic conventions with him, serving as the receiver
assistants, naming one Ruby, and engaging her in an amusing
in their astonishing two-person mindreading act, and surrenderclose-up magical playlet. In later years Tony became embroiled
ing her kitchen for the Saturday meetings of the Chicago Session,
with the Castle over legal issues that were a burden for all
which has been gathering at the Aronson home for more than
concerned. Giorgio had a working knowledge of the methods of
twenty years.
advantage play; his DVD The Ultimate Work is highly regarded
I had the opportunity to chat with Simon and Ginny about
for its inside information on gambling methods. His friend Dai
their personal stories, their interests outside of magic, and the
Vernon uniformly praised him, particularly for his knowledge
development of the mindreading act. A portion of this conversaand skill with dice. So long, Tony.

Editors Desk

6 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

HEROISM AND PATRIOT AWARD


Dedicated to Magician John Eichler
NOMINATION FORM

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PERSON SUBMITTING NOMINATION FORM:


Name:
SAM Membership Number:
Address:
City, State, Zip Code:
Phone:
Email:
Relationship to Nominee:
NOMINEE INFORMATION:
Name:
Title/Rank:
Member of Society of American Magicians ( ) Yes ( ) No
Home Address:
City, State, Zip Code:
Home Phone:
Signature
Qualifications/Distinguishable Action:
1. Please give a brief history of the nominee.
2. Describe the event or circumstance for which you feel the nominee displayed unparalleled heroism or patriotic
duty and is deserving of the Heroism and Patriot Award.
3. Describe in detail why you feel the nominee went above and beyond the call of duty during this event.
Important Details:
Answers to questions 1-3 should be typed on separate 8 x 11 pages and attached to the nomination form.
The incident/meritorious act described in this nomination form must have occurred after September 11, 2001.
Awards will be issued for each calendar year.
The award is open to all magicians.
The recipient of the award may be living or deceased.
The recipient will receive a medal and a certificate award.
The award will be presented at the Society of American Magicians Annual Convention
Nomination forms will be published in M-U-M magazine and on the Society of American Magicians website.
Incomplete nomination forms will not be considered.
Forms must be received by May 31, 2012 for consideration of the Heroism and Patriot Award for the previous
calendar year.
In remembrance of John Eichler and all of the heroes in the magic community, please consider making a taxdeductible contribution to the Magic Endowment Fund.

Please send nomination forms to:


The Society of American Magicians
National Administrator: Manon Rodriguez
Attn: Heroism and Patriot Committee
PO Box 505
Parker, Colorado 80134

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 7

Presidents Desk
Vinny Grosso
Boston S.Y.M. Celebrates
25th Anniversary
What a great event! The Boston S.Y.M. celebrated its silver
anniversary at their holiday banquet this past January. I had
the privilege of attending and meeting so many great kids and
alumni of the Boston S.Y.M. Please understand, it was a challenge
for me to even make the trip. While it is only a two-and-a-half
hour drive, I have only been to Boston two other times in my
life. My aversion to Boston sports teams runs deep, especially
being a huge New York Jets and New York Yankees fan. When I
was invited to the banquet, I told myself, Its for the kids, and
begrudgingly stepped foot in Massachusetts.
I am so glad I did. The banquet was attended by over a hundred
people, including Ray and Ann Goulet. Boston S.Y.M. president
Matt Leskanic did a wonderful job running the program; a show
followed with Joe Howard, Ben Nemzer & Cassandra, and me.
Many of you know the mentor for the Boston group is David
Oliver. His contributions to the
magic community
are
nothing
short of incredible. Over the past
twenty-five years
David has missed
only six meetings
and most of those
were within the
past five years for
medical reasons
(hes been dealing
with less than
forty
percent
Vinny Grosso and David Oliver
lung capacity). It
was an honor to
present him with a Presidential Citation for all the hard work he
has done.

Where Have Some of the


Pages Gone?
You may have noticed there were fewer pages in last months
M-U-M. Whats going on here? you might ask. Well, none of
the magic content of the magazine has changed; all of the regular
articles and features were there in their entirety. The reduced
page count was the result of fewer advertisements. It is no secret
that print advertising is down. Not just for the S.A.M., but just
about any magazine out there.
Our annual budget relies on a significant amount of income
from advertisement. When that income is down we have to make
it up by either spending less or generating income in other ways.
We have been fortunate to have kept our expenses down the past
few years. We have also had an increase in membership this year.
Income from membership dues is not the answer, though. All
8 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

the money generated from your annual dues would not cover the
cost of producing the magazine. We need revenue from advertisers. Unfortunately, some of our regular advertisers are not seeing
a high enough return on the money they invest in advertising
in M-U-M. In conversations with them, they feel the content of
our magazine is great, and our circulation is fine, too. We need a
better response from our members in order to be a more valuable
advertising source. Advertisers would also benefit from multiple
ways to reach our members to reinforce their advertisements.
While I am not proud to admit it (and I know I am not alone), I
used to read magic publications almost solely for their advertisements. I know now I missed out on many magic gems hidden
in the articles I skipped over. I couldnt help it; I was mesmerized
by all the new and exciting effects available. The first magazine
I subscribed to was Magic Manuscript (let me remind you that
I am only thirty-six years old). I think I had a mini-depression
when they stopped publishing it. Luckily, I discovered MAGIC
and Genii and then became a member of the I.B.M. and S.A.M.,
so the Linking Ring and M-U-M followed. Each magazine
offered great content, but I still cannot deny it, I was drawn to the
advertising. I was exactly what the advertiser wanted; a captive
and active audience.

So What Can We Do?


We the members and the S.A.M. as an organization can
do a few things. As a member, the best thing you could do is
support our advertisers. The obvious way is to make purchases
from them, but you need to let them know you saw their ad in
M-U-M and that their advertisement played a part in you making
a purchase. Lets show our advertisers that we appreciate their
support of the S.A.M. When you make a purchase over the phone,
tell them. When you place an order online, send a message in the
notes. They need to hear from us.
Also, when talking with fellow compeers, talk about what you
have seen advertised in M-U-M. Encourage them, if they make a
purchase, to let the advertiser know their ads are working.
The S.A.M. is also committed to help from the organization level. We have been providing links on our digital version
of the magazine to make it easier for readers to get to online
content from our advertisers. We will continue to look into ways
of improving and enhancing our digital content. We are also
developing other methods for advertisers to reach not only our
members, but the entire magic community.
We all have our part to do; lets do it together.

The Naples Winter Wine Festival


The Naples Winter Wine Festival is the largest, most
successful wine auction in the world. It is put on annually by the
Naples Children & Education Foundation. Over the past twelve
years they have raised over $100 million for childrens charities.
That is not a typo; this year alone they raised over $12 million. It
is truly magical what they do for the children in Collier County,
Florida, and this year it was even more magical than usual. The
Festival takes on a theme each year and this years was Believe
in the Magic. As a part of that, festival co-chair Joan Clifford
reached out to the S.A.M. to teach magic to some of the children
in the charities who expressed an interest in learning. There
was a lot that went into this and the results were amazing. Next
month, youll read more on how Chris Bontjes, Dal Sanders,
and I worked with them. In the meantime, check our website,
Facebook group page, or Google Naples Winter Wine Festival
to see some of the press it has received.

S.A.M. National Officers


Dean: George Schindler, 1735 East 26th St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11229, (718) 336-0605, Fax (718)
627-1397, showbiz10@aol.com
President: Vinny Grosso, 270 Mansion St.,
Coxsackie, NY 12051 (518) 756-1891
vinny@vinnygrosso.com
President Elect: J. Christopher Bontjes, 2313
Atwood Ct., Danville, IL 61834 (217)431-4791
christopher@magicalentertainer.net
First Vice President: Dal Sanders, 3316
Northaven Rd, Dallas, TX 75229 (214) 902-9200,
DalSanders@StagemMagic.com
Second Vice President: Kenrick ICE
McDonald, P.O. Box 341034, Los Angeles, CA
90034, (310) 559-8968
kenrickicemcdonald@yahoo.com
Secretary: Marlene Clark, 274 Church Street, #6B
Guilford, CT 06437, (203) 689-5730,
Skype: marlene.clark, afuntime@comcast.net
Treasurer: Mary Ann Blowers, 3 Christopher
Bluffs Court, St. Louis, MO 63129 (314) 846-8468
maryblowers@aol.com Skype: maryan.blowers

Regional Vice Presidents


New England: CT MA RI NH ME VT
Joseph Caulfield (603) 654-6022,
josephcaulfield@joesephcaulfield.com
North Atlantic: NY NJ
Pat Colby, samrvppat@gmail.com
Mid Atlantic: PA DE MD VAWV DC
David W. Bowers, 169 Tobin Dr., Chambersburg,
PA 17201(717) 414-7574,
amagicalexperience@live.com
South Atlantic: FL AL GA MS NC SC
Debbie Leifer (404) 630-1120
debbie@debbieleifer.com
Central Plains: KY TN OH IN MI
Jania Taylor, (231)242-8242, magicjat@bright.net
Midwest: IL MN WI MO ND NE KS SD IA
Jeff Sikora, 13023 Crown Point Ave., Omaha, NE
68164 (402)-339-6726, jqmagic@cox.net
South Cental States: TX AR OK NM LA
Jeff Lanes, (713)850-1770, jeffie@texasfilm.net
Southwest: CA AZ NV HI
John Shryock III (520) 885-7999
shryockmagic@gmail.com
Northwest: WA OR UT ID CO AK WY MT
Michael Roth, (503)493-8316,
msr@nwresources.com
Canada
Rod Chow (604) 669-7777
rod@jackchow.com
Society of Young Magicians Director
Jann Wherry Goodsell, 329 West 1750 North,
Orem, Utah 84057 (801) 376-0353.
bravesjann@comcast.net

Living Past National Presidents

TRY THE

IMPOSSIBLE
www.SimonAronson.com

Bradley M. Jacobs, Richard L. Gustafson, Roy A.


Snyder, Bruce W. Fletcher, James E.
Zachary, Frank W. Dailey, Cesareo Pelaez, David
R. Goodsell, Robert A. Steiner, 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 Ibez, Bruce Kalver,
Mike Miller, Mark Weidhaas.

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 9

Newsworthy
Magic at the Super Bowl Village
The Indy Fringe Festival was approached by the Super Bowl
host committee in Indianapolis in December to see if they could
provide entertainment for the Super Bowl Village the during the
ten days before and the day of Super Bowl XLVI. At first, they
wanted volunteers; Pauline Moffat, Executive Director of Indy
Fringe, said that her professional entertainers would have to be
paid. The committee said okay, and Ms. Moffat approached Taylor
Martin about organizing some of the magicians from Indy Magic
Monthly to perform. Taylor sent out a general call and got eight
names, including Ryan Siebert and Allan Head, who eventually
worked with him in the Village. Then, the committee changed
their mind and said they couldnt pay the performers. They
wanted volunteers, and those volunteers would not be allowed to
solicit tips. Pauline said no thank you.
About nine days before the Village opened, the committee
came back and said theyd pay the street entertainers, including
five other companies from Indy Fringe. This information was
given to Taylor two days before The Second Indy Fringe Winter
Magic Festival (which Taylor organizes) and also his opening
night for a Magic Dinner Theatre at a local catering facility, The
Propylaeum. Taylor called Ryan and Allan; they cleared their
schedules and the three went to work, presenting forty hours of
magic to nearly 400,000 people.
Taylor had three major events on his calendar at one time.
In the end, everything went well; there were over one million
visitors to the Super Bowl Village, there was a sold-out house for
the Dinner Theatre, and really great attendance for the second
magic festival for the
public. And, everyone
got paid.
In
another
highlight for Taylor,
on January 21, 2012,
at the Indy Fringe
Winter
Magic
Festival, RVP Jania
Taylor
presented
him with a Presidential Citation from
President
Vinny
Grosso. It read, For
keeping magic alive
Ryan Siebert, Taylor Martin as Rodney the
in the eye of the
Younger, Allan Head
public in Indianapolis
Photo by Deborah Martin
through his creation
of
Indy
Magic
Monthly and participation in the Indianapolis Fringe Festival.
Taylor Martin had this to say about the honor: A long way has
come in the twenty-six years since I joined the S.A.M. I never
knew Id get this sort of respect for my efforts; it really means a
lot to me and my wife, as well as to the people who were in the
audience that night. To have this presented to me in front of a
paying public crowd, and not just within the confines of our ranks,
shows me how important an award like this is. It is so important
that we do things like this in the public eye.
Congratulations to Taylor and the other performers who did a
fine job representing Indianapolis to the world.

Shawn Farquhar Named Dean of


Assembly 95
At the Annual S.A.M. Assembly 95 awards banquet held in
Vancouver, Canada, Shawn Farquhar, assembly founder (chartered
in 1988), first assembly president, and former RVP Canada, was
10 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Updates From Our


S.A.M. Members

inducted by Assembly President Lon Mandrake as the very first


Dean of Assembly 95 The Carl Hemeon Assembly. In front of
two hundred guests, Farquhar proudly accepted a beautiful plaque
from President Mandrake on behalf of the assembly to mark this
auspicious occasion.

Shawn Farquhar, Lon Mandrake, and Rod Chow

As part of this historic event, Rod Chow, Regional Vice-President of Canada, on behalf of Most Illustrious Vinny Grosso, had the
privilege of presenting a Presidential Citation to Shawn Farquhar:
For his contributions to the Society of American Magicians on a
national level and locally with the Carl Hemeon Assembly 95 in
Vancouver, Canada. For his election by his compeers as the first
Dean of Assembly 95, the highest honor an assembly can bestow.
He is a great source of pride to all who know him as he epitomizes
our motto Magic Unity Might.
New Dean Farquhar was sincerely surprised, appreciative, and
humbled to accept the honor of Dean, and to receive the citation.
Farquhar becomes the first magician to have ever been presented
a Presidential Citation in Canada.
RVP Chow also presented Dean Farquhar with a commemorative binder containing written letters of congratulations from
National Dean George Schindler, RVP Northwestern States
Michael Roth, and others.
Assembly 95 is proud to state that their new Dean Shawn
Farquhar not only has achieved an unprecedented resume of international championship awards, accolades, media exposure, and
respect in the world of magic, including S.A.M. national contest
awards and the coveted FISM Grand Prix World Champion of
Magic (China 2009), he has also truly been the inspiration, the
lifeblood, and an outspoken ambassador for Assembly 95. Rod
Chow

Steve Cohen Presented with


Presidential Citation
On
January
14,
2012, Steve Cohen was
presented with a Presidential Citation by Most
Illustrious Vinny Grosso
in New York City. In part,
the citation read, For his
contributions to the art
of magic, preserving its
rich history while modernizing classic routines
and effects with unparalleled class; for his show
Photo by David Linsell
Chamber Magic, which
for over ten years has given audiences a glimpse into romanticized
magic presentations of yesteryears. Congratulations, Steve.

ASSEMBLY NEWS

Society of American Magicians Monthly News


MARCH 2012

January by Warren Kaps, added to the


Auction Night valuable books and items sold.
One of the treasures was a Lloyds
New York, NY January 6, production bird cage that created
2012. Once the pre-meeting pizza some competitive bidding. The
at the back of the room ran out, Parent Assembly benefited with a
MI Jim Kelly called the meeting small percentage of the proceeds.
to order. New member Alvin Oh It was a most successful event.
was sworn in and welcomed to George Schindler
the assembly. Richie Magic was Parent Assembly 1 meets at
nominated to run for RVP of the Mt Sinai Medical Center,
North Atlantic Region, a position 1425 Madison (at 98th street)
currently held by Pat Colby. Richie NY, NY in the Goldwurm
also announced the proposed date Auditorium 7:30 PM Jordan Linker
of May 22 for this years Salute to jordanml@juno.com
(646)
Magic show.
670-7235. www. sampa1.com

Pat Colby auctioneer

After a few committee reports,


David Adamovich, who is the
U.S. President of Record Holders
Republic, the Registry of Official
World Records, presented an
award to Kamarr, who now holds
the record of the magician who has
appeared on the David Letterman
Late Show forty times. Kamarr
accepted, and performed his Torn
and Restored Newspaper for us.
George Schindler and Vinny
Grosso gave us updates on the
Las Vegas convention before the
meeting adjourned and the after
meeting auction got under way.
Pat Colby, assisted by Richie, did
a great job as auctioneer, keeping
the proceedings going smoothly
and adding humor. There was
lots of interaction from the more
than forty members in attendance. A few choice items, such
as a suitcase full of magic donated

of playing cards; yet after each


imaging he proved the cards were
blank. Utilizing a random process
involving two assistants, Nathan
Ng correctly predicted a chosen
card.

BLENDING THE OLD


AND NEW

SAN FRANCISCO, CA Celebrating the birth of 2012, members and


guests blended the old and new.
Tamaka showed a TV clip of Jay
Marshall for our enjoyment. For
his main routines Jay performed
the linking rings and introduced
his partner Lefty, who sang a
song. It was a learning experience
and provided an alternate teach-in.
Jays patter and presence were
first rate. Over the coming year
a series of film clips of old-time
magicians will be shown at our
monthly meetings. Tonights
theme centered on the presentation of something new: a routine,
prop, or even a magical gesture.
Walt Johnson offered a double
feature titled Magic and Miracles.
First he challenged members to
stack thirteen nails on the head
of one nail. We were each given
a bag with nails. Three mages,
who already knew the secret,
solved the nail stacking puzzle.
Then Walt (with Michael Baker
and Ed Arce assisting) displayed
his ability to cut a straw in half
without cutting the string running
through it. Employing psychic
power, Bob Kuhn (with a little
help from four assistants) transported three selected cards from
one packet to another. Hippo Lau
demonstrated the phenomenon
of mass hysteria. With a deck of
cards blank on both sides, Hippo
produced in our minds the faces

Nathan Ng performs card


prediction.

Corky LaVallee asked his


three assistants each to supply
an object. Bob offered a coin,
Lois Terrell her watch, and Rich
Seguine his wallet. Each assistant
cut the deck, and the cut card designated the specific item: coin,
watch, and wallet. Ed performed
the compressed deck routine. Four
cards of different values were
deftly transformed into four Aces.
Rob Shapiro placed an enchanted
balloon behind his back and
pulled it through his body, leaving
both intact no bursting of either
balloon or body. Stu Bacon asked
his assistant Ed to apply his
birthday date in choosing a card.
Stus predicted card was the same
as Eds choice. With Corkys help,
John Caris revealed the miracle of
Howard Adamss ESP routine Celebrithree. By a random procedure
a pair of identical cards occurred
three times. Rich opened his box
of magical goodies and, after
showing an effect, gave it away.
Cynthia Yee enjoyed the evenings
wonderment and the cookies.
John Caris
Golden Gate Assembly 2 meets
first *Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
at Community Room of Taraval

Volume 101, Number 10

Police Station, 2345 24th Ave.,


San Francisco. July meeting
will be held on Thursday July 5.
Tamaka Tamaka3715@aol.com
(415) 531-9332.

Keith Cobb Lecture


Fun for ALL

Oak Park, IL Our last meeting


was a Keith Cobb lecture,
Effective Magic for Children.
Keith began with an interactive change bag, followed by
the Pom-Pom Sticks and an Egg
Bag routine with Keiths 6year-old daughter. Since this is a
zippered bag, there was a lot of
byplay. The Bongo Hat (personality hat) started out as a small
triangle, getting larger with each
unfold until the funny ending.
Keiths handling of the Acrobatic
Silks (magic jumping scarves)
used eighteen-inch silks. After
watching the routine, Nathan
Colwell had to check out the stick
that held the scarves. Keith feels
this is an underused trick that kids
all enjoy; Nathan had fun trying
to figure it out. Rope in Vase was
another fun routine.
Next was an invisible zombie
doing his tightrope walking on
a stiff rope. Puppets are always
popular with kids and Keiths
bunny in a hat was no exception.
The bunny kept handing Keith
gifts like a broken egg and
a balloon to hold. (Bunny kept
letting go when the balloon was
stretched out so it would snap
back at Keith!) Keith featured
lots of byplay with puppets that
kids love. The member audience
reaction was great! Keith had
Nathan up again to help with his
linking rings. Keith was able to
make them link and unlink, but
Nathan could not seem to do that.
Keith used Gordon Gluff for
his Misers Dream routine and
Chuck Gekas for his ring on scarf
trick. Keith pointed out his vest,
which had forty pockets to hold
sponge balls, chicken nuggets,
pierced navel (orange), squeaky
rubber bands, eyeballs, cards,
and large coins. Keith showed
a color-changing feather plume

Go to:

www.mum-magazine.com

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MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 11

Assembly News
Any Card at Any Number,
which required very little
sleight of hand and which
truly allowed the spectator
to call out any card at any
location in the deck.
The Teach a Trick
segment was followed
by the strolling magic
portion of the evening,
during which four performers rotated between
Chuck Gekas and Keith Cobb with
the four corners of the
RIng on scarf
room where club members
trick and a gag bag that changed were stationed. In one corner,
colors and designs as he pulled Eric Johnson blew everyone
items out of it. He even has away with a number of excellent
juggling stuff in his large case, card effects culminating with
including chain saws. Members a fabulous coin routine known
were thrilled with his lecture, as Troy Hoosiers Charming
and enjoyed being able to try Chinese Challenge, utilizing
some of his equipment for them- a handling by Lance Pierce.
selves. Nathan and Frankini In another corner, Jeff Carson
Glab had to try the large ring on demonstrated how such simple
rope while Bob Syrup and Tim effects as the Hindu Beads and
Casady looked on, and juggler Twisted Sister could be turned
Mary Ziemba wrote out the list into minor miracles with the
of items Keith had available to aid of very original patter. In a
juggle, Every member in atten- third corner, Jim Straub deftly
dance took home some valuable executed a very funny sponge
information on doing kids rabbit routine that had the crowd
shows. Darlene Bull
Assembly 3 meets at Pilgrim
Congregational
Church,
460 Lake Street, Oak Park,
ILLINOIS 0n the 4th Monday
gather 7pm, meeting 7:30.
President Neil Tobin Neiltobin@
hotmail.com (708) 308-1280.

STROLLING
MAGIC NIGHT

PHILADELPHIA, PA
The
theme of our January meeting
was strolling magic, better
known as walk-around magic.
The meeting featured four
magicians performing a variety
of effects that could be done surrounded, up close, and without
the aid of a tabletop. After the
presentations, the performers
fielded numerous questions from
the audience about the ins and
outs of performing this type of
magic; this yielded some very
practical information about how
to be a successful walk-around
performer.
The evening began with two
wonderful Teach a Trick
segments. First, Bill McElvenney performed and demonstrated a marvelous rope through
silk penetration effect called
Houdinis Impossible Rope
Escape with the assistance of
Bill Brown and Fred Siegel.
Following Bill, our newest
member, Ed Cohen, wowed
everyone by demonstrating his
own very impressive version of

Ed Cohen demonstrating his


own version of Any Card at Any
Number

in stitches. Finally, in the fourth


corner, Sam Sandler reminded
everyone of just how much
mileage can be gained from
straightforward effects involving
rubber bands, such as the torn
and restored rubber band and the
climbing or rising ring. All four
performers then partook in a
panel discussion about strolling
magic which, left many who
participated yearning to take
up this most interactive branch
of magic. It was truly a most
informative and fun evening
of magic for all in attendance.
Peter Cuddihy
James Wobensmith Assembly 4
meets the Third Thursday at 7:00
p.m. at the Bustleton Memorial
Post, 810 (American Legion)
9151 Old Newtown Road.
Information: www.sam4.org/

12 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Magic
for 2012

Baltimore, MD Our first


meeting of the new year 2012
was very well attended. All of
our members from last year
were there ready for a new year
of wonderful magic and fellowship. Kudos to our president,
Jeff Eline for making 2011 fun
and exciting and keeping our
membership strong. Some of
our members have been sick, but
they continue to attend just for
the joy of each others company.
We had a visitor, Paul Hoener
Starting out with magic
was Tony Anastasi, doing a
wonderful Three Card Monte
routine. Next up was Ralph
Fowler. Using a Readers Digest
book, he had a volunteer remove a
page and tear in into little pieces.
Ralph had predicted which
word the volunteer had chosen.
Our own Joe Bruno cut a deck
of cards into four piles. They
were all shuffled into face-up
and face-down positions. Joe
was able to produce to selected
card. Oniel Banks did a selected
card routine that ended with his
prediction matching the select
card. Howie Schwartzman did
a very humorous large dice box
trick. Joe Harsanyi also did a
wonderful card routine.
Charles Covington magically
moved two rings, two ropes,
and a silk. Eric Hoffman did
a card routine in which the
selected card ended up having
a different colored back. Paul
Hoener smoothly controlled the
cards in poker game routine.
Andy London did the Card of
Destiny routine. The Amazing
Jay Silverman had cards cut into
four piles. After several moves,
the selected card was able to be
found by using three different
cards to indentify it. Jeff Eline
did a matching routine using
four volunteers and four torn
cards. Rudy Jackson
Assembly 6 meets every first
Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Held
at The Magic Warehouse 11419 Cronridge Drive site #10
in Owings Mills, Maryland
21117.
(410-567-0777)
Jeff
Eline
jeline@mac.com
w w w. b a l t i m o r e s a m . c o m

The Wizards
Banquet

Omaha, NE It was a dark


night, and the Omaha Magical
Society convened for its annual
event The Wizards Banquet.
Dean Walter Graham was

emcee and everyone was appropriately decked out. After


Denny Rourke, Bob Gehringer
(our new President), and The
Amazing Lindy got our guests
into the spirit with some baffling
close-up work, Walter introduce
the opening stage act, awardwinner Jeff Sikora. He started
with a comedy prediction, a
version of the 20th Century Silks
with a young volunteer from
the audience, and closed with
a snake basket effect using a
chosen card. (The snake did the
work.) Jeff was honored this year
with the Omaha Magical Society
(OMS) David P. Abbott award
(see photo). In order to win, a
nominee must have satisfied a
long list of accomplishments.
Second on the bill was Bruce
Jacoby with Colorful Magic. Accompanied by electric-techno
music, he performed a series
of sponge ball manipulations,
productions, color changes,
and even a growing sponge. He
followed this with a card trick
hed learned in a lecture by
Roger Reese (of the OMS) using
a volunteer, a paper bag, and
several cute gags. He finished
with a near poetic presentation
of the tea kettle.

President Bob Gehringer(R)


presents the David P. Abbott
award to Jeff Sikora (L).

Following Bruce was a


welcome visitor, Tom Burgoon,
who presented a riotous act of
jokes, gags, stunts, and tricks,
involving everything from
Swiss warblers to invisible
mosquitoes to spoons, forks,
Silly Putty, and of course the
famous Timmy Toilet paper.
Next up was Dr. Strange, who
presented an odd collection of
material, including everything
from a mock hypnosis session to
a vanishing and appearing salt
trick, and closing with a feather
that stood up.
Chris Bontjes, S.A.M. pres-

Assembly News
ident-elect, was up next, and
presented the W-hole card trick,
as well as a smooth handling
of the Gene Anderson torn and
restored paper. We hope Chris
enjoyed his visit as much as we
enjoyed him.
Finally, Jared Schaugaard
appeared in one of the strangest
acts. He came out wearing rock
star hair and performed some
slick manipulations with cards,
including fans, fancy multicuts, and the production of cards
from a flattened and opened card
box. He then got four volunteers
onstage to assist with a four
Ace routine, which is not your
standard stage effect.
The food was excellent, and
Donna Roth did her usual fine job
decorating the place. Congrats to
the Banquet Committee. See you
next year? Larry Brodahl
Assembly 7 usually meets on
the third Monday, at Southwest
Church of Christ, located at
West Center Road and 125th
St.- right across from Hooters.
Jerry Golmanavich golubki@
cox.net
(401)
390-9834
www.omahamagicalsociety.com

Jim Buffaloe Coin


Man

St. Louis, MO I am saddened


to announce the passing of our
compeer, James G. Buffaloe.
Jim passed away on Friday,
December 30, 2011. He leaves his
beloved wife Lillie M. Buffaloe,
daughter Judy Buffaloe, and the
late Terry Buffaloe.
There was a Broken Wand
ceremony Thursday, January 5,
2012, read by PNP Harry Monti.
It was well attended. Recent
photos of Jim performing are
on Assembly8.com. Jim will be
missed, but his coin work will
live on.

James G. Buffaloe

We cancelled our first meeting


of the year due to snow and
ice, but we are looking forward
to Midwest Regional VP Jim

Sikoras visit and lecture January


26th. Dan Todd
Mount Tabor United Church of
Christ, 6520 Arsenal. Dan Todd
magic@thegreattodd.com (314)
409-7066 www.Assembly8.com

11

December
Meeting

affordable outdoor facility.


President Leland Pennington
transformed a soap bubble into a
beautiful clear plastic stone with
advice on how to make it into a
memorable effect for a performance for children. The winner
of the competition was Professor
William Pryor. In second
place was Dr. Randall Wolf.
John Martini
Queen City Mystics, SAM
Assembly 11 generally meets on
the second Friday of the month
at Haines House of Cards in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Cincinnati, OH Presidentelect Leland Pennington opened


the meeting and discussed the
upcoming year. Leland thanked
Rick Gaffney, Joe Papania, and
Bill Pryor for entertaining the
patients at Childrens Hospital
in November. And then the
First Meeting
holiday party began with a gift
of 2012
exchange. The random selection
led to great fun and banter. The Dallas, TX President Mike
gifts ran the gambit holiday Smith welcomed the members
silks, a really neat yot, DVDs, to the first meeting of 2012. Anbooks, and other fun effects. Re- nouncements included a recap of
freshments were served followed a very special event that members
by the magician of the month of Dallas S.Y.M. 73 took part in:
competition.
a lecture at the AT&T PerformDr. Randall Wolf presented a ing Arts Center featuring David
clever two-deck card effect in Blaine. Three of our local young
which a card was chosen from magicians (Aaron Maynard,
one deck, which was placed in a Matthew Jensen, and Chet
wood box. The selected card was Monday) performed for visitors
then found in the second deck in the lobby prior to the show.
and the two decks mysteriously The crowds were amazed and
disappeared. Don Hinton showed delighted, and the kids got to
us a packet trick in
which the chosen card
was the red card and the
remaining cards turned
into blanks. Professor
William Pryor demonstrated an ESP card
effect. He went through
three iterations and it
became more baffling
as
he
proceeded.
Denny Metz performed
a three-coin effect
with Walking Liberty
dollars; the three half
Aaron Maynard, David Blaine,
dollars vanished after
and Matthew Jensen
he had produced them.
Larry
Payne
(photo by Steve Foxall Photography)
performed his only
real card trick. A card was meet David after the show.
selected (Two of Diamonds) and
There were three performthen he tried to shoot it with a ers for the night: Frank Seltzer,
bow and a flaming arrow. Mys- Mallari Kulkarni, and Ted
teriously, a Two of Diamonds Gillum. Frank started off with a
silk appeared in the hat and card effect, asking Mark Jensen
the deck of cards had a Two of for assistance. Frank selected a
Diamonds with a burned hole in prediction from a deck of cards
it. Patrick Thermes performed the Nine of Clubs. He then
an effect he had learned from pulled out a second deck, asking
a magic kit when he was ten Mark to select a card. However,
years old the ball and vase. Bii the audience could see that the
Winzig presented a Sid Lorraine entire deck was made of the
effect; a picture of a house for same card the Nine of Clubs.
sale that the potential buyer When Frank boldly asked Mark
could not afford was shown. to show his selected card, Mark
The picture was carefully folded showed a different card, the
several times to a more modest King of Hearts. However, when
abode until it represented an Frank displayed his prediction, it

13

had magically changed to match


Marks card, the King of Hearts.
Next, Mallari Kulkarni stepped
up to perform a card effect, but
he said his assistant was caught
in traffic. Mallari had a card
selected, and then stalled for time
by reading the headlines from a
newspaper he brought. Since it
appeared that his assistant would
not make it, Mallari decided
to create some impromptu assistants on the fly, cutting the
newspaper into a string of
paper dancers. When they were
displayed, the dancers clearly
held seven hearts between them,
matching the selected card.
Finally, Ted Gillum performed
a mentalism effect using a
borrowed dollar and five disposable cups. Ted asked young Ms.
Henley to crumple up the bill and
place it under one of the cups.
He then asked her to change
the order of the cups while he
looked away. Ted slowly felt for
the residual aura emanating
from each cup, eliminating one
at a time until finally the only
cup left was the one containing
the bill.
The final part of the meeting
was the magical swap meet.
Numerous magicians brought
their slightly worn magical
items they were willing to part
with, and just about everyone
walked away with either new
magic or a little extra cash.
Dallas Magic Club meets the
third Tuesday of the month at
7:00 PM, Crosspointe Church
and Community Center. www.
dallasmagic.org for directions.
Check out the Dallas Magic Club
on Facebook.

17

All
Decked Out

Springfield, MA This was


our first meeting of the new
year in a new location thanks to
member Rich Pinnsonault, and it
started off with a bang, the house
was full! After having a random
card chosen from a deck, a
corner was torn off the card and
handed back to the spectator.
Jeff Pyzocha banded the deck,
and then threw it at a window.
The torn card was found stuck
to the outside of the window.
Dave Dimock used the radial
artery pulse of a couple of spectators to help him find the cards
they had chosen and replaced in
each others deck. Rich Gilbert
performed a Chinese Matrix
enhanced by a small speaker
attached to his iPod. A sheer
hanky simulated a fog cover

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 13

Assembly News
over the four coins as each mysteriously disappeared and reappeared under a playing card.
P.J. Pinsonnault placed four
silver dollars in a spectators
hand and reduced them down
one by one to a lone coin that
then changed into a worthless
washer. Rick Mayer had a
person put a deck of red cards
behind his back, turn one card
over, and then spread them on
the table. There was only one
face-up card, but the color of its
back had changed to blue. Mike
Wald pulled out the old fortyfour-cent deck he had purchased
at a tag sale. He had someone
choose a card, put it back in,
and he shuffled the deck. He
then counted down to the fortyfourth card to reveal the chosen
card. Joe Bednar ended the
night with an excellent rendition
of Restless Colors. Four bluebacked cards turned green, then
red, then yellow, ending up to be
all different backs of the same
card at the end. We are looking
forward to our after-holiday
party. Karen Gibson
Dr. I.R. Caulkins Assembly
17 meets the first Friday of
every month at 7 pm at Pinsonnault
Moto-X-Equipment,
69 East Street, Ludlow, MA
www.assembly17.org
Rich
Gilbert
rgilbettmagic@
yahoo.com
(413)
247-7659.
www.assembly17.org

21

No Cards,
Please

West Hartford, CT We
had our second reading for Jon
Cap, and after he performed he
was duly accepted and welcomed
into the club. Our club VP Jim
Bentley announced his resignation and imminent move to
Phoenix, Arizona. Dave Garrity
announced that he will be back
doing magic at Six Flags New
England this summer.
The theme for the night was,
Please! Not another card
trick, hosted by Dave Edwards.
Our new member Jon started us
off with a manipulation routine
with a ballpoint pen and its cap.
Jim Bentley did Oil and Water,
but he used Tarot cards. Dana
Ring did a quick coin through
handkerchief. Rick St. Pierre
borrowed a dollar bill, to be
placed in one of several matchboxes. Several random eliminations later, one box remained;
it contained the bill. Rick then
wrote down some seemingly
random numbers that turned out
to match the serial number of the

bill. Lastly, he took a page from a


calendar and demonstrated some
clever mathematical tricks you
can do.

Soll Levine with his locket

Our host, Dave, attempted


a trick with three balls. Dan
Sclare gave Marlene Clark a
snowball (a white sponge ball).
He then invisibly threw another
one that joined the one in her
hand. Finally, his snowballs
became a tiny snowman. Roger
Cisowski got Norm St. Laurent
to sign a quarter which, covered
by a bottle cap, penetrated the
tabletop. Jason Abate folded
up a blank piece of paper and
it turned into a $20 bill, which
he used to pay his club dues to
Soll. Chris Mansfield decided
to break the rules and do a
card trick; he borrowed a deck
of cards and had one selected.
By reading the group he was
able to identify the card. Soll
Levine placed a penny in a
strange locket. When the locket
was opened, the penny had
vanished, replaced by a receipt
for Jasons dues payment. To
close the evening, Jim returned
to do an honest non-card effect,
a nice ring-on-rope routine.
Dana Ring
Assembly 21 meets the second
Monday at 289 South Main
Street, West Hartford, Connecticut 06107 Dana Ring d.ring222@
att.net (860) 532-9888

22

More
than Magic

Los Angeles, CA It was a


very chilly and wintry evening
for the January 16, 2012,
meeting of the Southern California Assembly 22. Assembly
president Jim Callen presided
over the short routine business
portion of the meeting that
included announcements of
interest to the membership. It
was the sad duty of our secretary,
PNP Ed Thomas, to present a
Broken Wand Ceremony for

14 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

member Triny Peller, who had


been in ill health for a number of
years.
The program for the evening,
a new one for the assembly,
was the performance of acts
frequently referred to as allied
arts to magic. Producing the
program and acting as emcee
was Kim Hallinger. Kim also
presented a lot of magic between
acts. The opening act, James
Holguin, aka Jimmy H, gave
a humorous presentation of
balloon animal magic with an
audience member up to assist.
Assembly president Jim Callen
was next doing some dangerous
magic using a finger chopper and
a large menacing animal trap.
The very skeptical Toni Perrine,
who assisted, escaped without
injury. Our third act was Suds.
Ted Suds Sudbreck is always
entertaining and tonight did so
with a very humorous Troublewit routine.

Suds performing Troublewit.

Frequent M-U-M columnist


Michael
Perovich
always
presents the unique and the
obscure during his many performances for the assembly.
Mike gave a very humorous
performance as he demonstrated various styles of juggling a
variety of objects. Matt Savin
then used a purple beaked
stuffed toy bird as a ventriloquial dummy to present a dialogue
routine. Hobo Jim Jones next
played a game with a spectator
guessing which of three switches
turned on an elusive light bulb.
To the surprise of everyone, a
small wood outhouse exploded
when the door was opened to
look for the light.
Closing the show as a ventriloquist was Ed Thomas, who
conducted a humorous conversation with a hand puppet
you couldnt even see Eds
lips move. Ed concluded with
a juggling demonstration using
three colorful silks. It was a very
diverse and interesting show for

members and guests attending.


With the show concluded, it was
time to enjoy the always-plentiful array of foods and treats
provided by Corrine Murphy.
Many lingered late into the
evening to enjoy the fellowship
that is always Assembly 22.
Steven L. Jennings
Southern California Assembly
22 meets the third Monday each
month at 8:00 PM, St. Thomas
Moore Parish Hall, 2510 South
Fremont Avenue, Alhambra,
California
Ed
Thomas
magicmred@earthlink.net (213)
382-8054

24

First Meeting
of the Year

Latham, NY The first


meeting of the year started on
a good note. Fourteen magi
attended. President Joe Goode
welcomed everyone. Those of
us who had been able to attend
the memorial service for Ruth
Fonda Pitts described the sad
event, includingthe Broken
Wand Ceremony, which was
organized by Cliff Bruce and
read by SAM National President
Vinny Grosso, Harry Keefe,
Helen Patti, and Cliff. Ruth was
remembered as an excellent
magician and entertainer, and
the first female member of The
Society of American Magicians
and Assembly 24!
Joe then conducted the election
of officers. The roster will be the
same as last year: President Joe
Goode, Vice President David
MacDonald, Secretary Cory
Haines, and Treasurer Robert
Connors. Joe asked that we pay
our dues, and many of us did
so righton the spot! Joe also
reminded us of the generosity of
Gunther Pagal in donating the
income from the sale and auction
of his magic paraphernalia last
April,for which he gave him
the Martinka award. He then
presented a certificate of appreciation to Chuck Tryon, who
has been so helpful in offering
the club the use of the superb
close-up table he built for special
occasions, including the national
conference!
After a break for refreshments we drew for the DVD on
coin magic. Roger Borgen won.
Then theentertainment started.
Zak Middleton performed an
excellent prediction, Silent
Treatment. Roger followed with
Travelling Coins, a nice transposition from one hand to the
other with the use of two seethrough bags. Joe had three

Assembly News
Tony Gerbio produced a
silver dollar from a dollar
bill, and made it vanish
and reappear in the bill.
John Henderson demonstrated various levels
of psychic ability, using
a John Bannon effect,
wherein three people
selected cards. They then
counted off cards three
different times using a
The Amazing Karabini has trouble exfreely selected number.
tracting a sword from Roger
Their specific cards ended
Borgens neck.
on top of each of their
piles. Next John did Time
people pick cards for a predic- After Time by Swedish magician
tion. After writing his answer Tomas Bloomberg, in which a
on a board and discovering selected card found its way into
that it was wrong, he erased it, a packet of four Queens.
only to find that correct answer
Sean Burke produced candles
had appeared. Amazing! Bill from a color-changing scarf and
Karabin picked Roger to assist did some nice Flip moves with a
him with Sword Thru Neck. magic wand. Sean invited some
Mark Brennen performed a card suggestions from his fellow
effect, Fastest Card Trick. Dave members and got lots of good
McClements was up next with a tips for motivated movements
skillfully handled Cards Across. and natural motions. Next, Max
Peter Beeble then took the stage Droge asked for brainstormwith an appearing dollar bill, a ing ideas for a new illusion
brass tube to silk and paper, and hes working on: the flash apsome good jokes. Chuck Tryon pearance of the magician. Max
concluded the program with his stormed a lot of brains. Chris
Key-Rect Prediction, which he Smith performed dual mindhad crafted himself. Very nice. reading with Sean Burke using
Altogether it was an enjoyable Paul Cummingss Tapalac. It
evening. Helen Patti
was an unusual effect involving
Jay Gorham, Assembly 24 meets clocking the cards to determine
2nd Tuesday at the SW Pitts which card Sean was merely
Hose Company, Latham, NY at thinking of, and to determine
7:30pm, www.sam24.org. Joe which card Sean believed Chris
Goode Joe@magicmelvin.com
had mentally selected. Last up

was Eric DeCamps, who showed


Your Latest an antique metal box that held
Acquisition three silver dollars that jumped
around a lot. He then did an
Elmwood Park, NJ Our effect with three Chinese coins
first meeting of the year proved and a piece of string, in which
to be full of good ideas and the coins jumped off the string
suggestions for members. We to appear in Phil Germains
learned that the S.A.M. has a hand, and then reappeared on
new Facebook page, a great way the string.
to see whats going on.
The evening was a perfect demThe theme was to perform one onstration of how the members
of your latest tricks. First up was help each other out by sharing
your scribe, Del Dixon. I did my ideas. Del Dixon
version of Out of This World The Rouclere-Zarrow Assembly
with help from Cathy Burke, meets every thirds Friday of the
who demonstrated her womans month at 8:00pm at the VFW
intuition by separating red cards Hall, Veterans Place, Elmwood
from black cards. (She missed on Park, New Jersey. Bill Schmeelk
only one card, as predicted.)
bill@wellingtonent.com (201)
Richard Bangs performed The 497-8179 www.livemagicguide.
Trick that Cannot be Explained. com/sam25
Cathy Burke assisted. The deck
was divided up into separate
Top Dog
packets by use of a counting
Winner
and adding procedure. When
all packets except one were Altanta, GA Our meeting
discarded, the remaining number this month found us hosting
of cards in Cathys hand matched Most Illustrious Vinny Grosso.
the top card of the remaining Vinny gave us all the latest inpile.
formation about the upcoming

25

30

convention in Las Vegas and the


new look on the website. Vinny
and Assembly 295 officers Mark
Hall and Jay Shanerman served
as judges for our Top Dog Cups
and Balls contest.
Dan Garrett provided an
interlude before the contest
with some nostalgia. He told
us about the fabulous Dunes
Casino in Las Vegas, which
stood where the Bellagio now
exists. Souvenirs of the Dunes
are quite valuable and Dan had
some chips from the casino of
various dollar amounts that he
had procured. He had someone
choose one of the chips, and then
predicted which one he would

Picture of Top Dog Cups and


Balls winner Rick Hinze accepting
trophy from SAM National
President Vinny Grosso

choose. The prediction ended up


etched into the wallet that held
the chips. Dan also gave a little
performance on coin bending.
The entries in the Top Dog
Cups and Balls contest were
Mark Hatfield, Merritt Ambrose,
Rick Hinze, and Gene Hendrix.
Each presented the Cups and
Balls in a unique and entertaining fashion. After much deliberation, Rick Hinze was declared
the winner. An impressive
wiener dog trophy was awarded
to Rick. Congratulations to all
for a wonderful evening of entertainment. Carol Garrett
Assembly 30 meets the second
Tuesday of the month at Picadilly
Cafeteria, I-85/North Druid
Hills Road, Atlanta, Georgia.

31

Jim Croop started us off with


a bit of mathematical wizardry.
He performed Summing It Up
by Marc Oberon, which is a
variation of Jack Londons The
Almost Real Prediction. The
sum of numbers randomly sorted
by the audience was 1,812 as
predicted on a card inside a Fed
Ex box. At that exact time his
cell phone began to play the
1812 Overture. Even more
impressive was that the date of
our show was January 8, 2012,
1-8-12!
Professional magician Marcus
Lehmann was awesome. He
performed six different, fascinating effects. One was the
Uncanny Hanks. He found the
trick in Tarbell thirty-five years
ago, his wife made it for him,
and he has been doing it ever
since. Three different colored
silks were tied to a strip of cloth.
By merely concentrating on one
of the colors, that particular silk
falls to the floor. Particularly
entertaining was the Fred Kaps
adaptation of the Eleven Card
Trick, Fred Kaps Currency. This
was performed with eleven dollar
bills; no matter how carefully
they were counted by audience
members, the total never came
out to be eleven.
Barry Rice, who also served
as our master of ceremonies,
proceeded to do, among others,
two effects that we are likely
never to forget. First, he climbed
inside a huge balloon that he had
blown up and then did a card trick
from inside the balloon. Next,
he took off his shoes and socks
and walked on the fragmented
remains of fifty shattered wine
bottles. He called a physician up
on stage to stand by.
Master magician and entertainer Don Miller did his own
creative version of the linking
rings, followed by a hilarious
parody of Barry Rices version
of walking on glass. The finale
had everyone in stitches. He
announced
that
audience

January
Winter Magic
Celebration

Indianapolis, IN Seventyfive excited spectators showed


up for our annual Winter Magic
Celebration. After a lunch
together at the Old Country
Buffet, we proceeded to the
Carmel Community Playhouse
for the show.

Don Miller with the rings.

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 15

Assembly News
member Christina Merrill would
be the magician and he would
be the assistant. The zings that
flew back and forth between
the two, along with the multiple
miscommunications,
had
everyone laughing. Ultimately,
the missing card was discovered
under Chris!
In addition to the magic we
were entertained by a musical
version of some astounding
creative balloon artistry by Balloongenuity. Dale Benson
Assembly 31 meets the first
Monday of the month at 7:00
pm. If the first Monday conflicts
with a holiday weekend, we
postpone the meeting one week.
Unless otherwise announced,
the meeting location is the
Irvington United Methodist
Church, 30 Audubon Road
on the east side of the city.
Steve
Spence
sspence@
mediationalternative.
com
(317)
507-4534.
www.sam31.com

35

Magnificent
Magazine
Magic

Poughkeepsie, NY About
a dozen members attended our
January meeting. Members were
asked to perform any trick they
wanted to provided they found
it in the pages of a magazine.
Terry Morgan was about to
kick off the evening performing
2-4-2 until he learned I planned
to perform it as well. With all the
thousands of effects to be found
in magazines, what are the odds?
Thankfully Terry has forgotten
more magic than I will never
know, so he was able to pull
another trick out of his hat. Terry
performed a vintage M-U-M
spelling card trick. After Terry
finished, I performed 2-4-2 from
the pages of MAGIC. My performance was described as more
than adequate. I cant ask for
much more than that! Derrin
Berger performed an effect
from the pages of MAGIC with
the assistance of Mike Bochar.
We enjoyed a great effect using
a stacked deck by John Olson.
Terry Morgan performed a
wonderful Dai Vernon trick
using Paul Currys swindle cut.
We got to see a great effect from
the pages of Genii thanks to Joel
Zaritsky. John Olsen performed
another tremendous trick using a
new deck of cards. We finished
up the evening with some
great discussions on magic.
Thanks to every member who

shared an effect with members.


Craig Kunaschk
Al Baker Assembly No. 35
(usually) meets at 7:30 p.m. on the
second Tuesday of the month at
the Milanese Italian Restaurant,
115 Main Street, Poughkeepsie,
NY. Check out our website at
c o m p u m a g i c.c o m /
sam35
to
confirm
time
and
meeting
location.
www.compumagic.com/sam35

52

New Year,
New Magic

SAN ANTONIO, TX January


5, 2012, Brother John Hamman
Assembly 52 held its monthly
meeting at LaMadeleine Restaurant. President Joe Libby called
the meeting to order. We had a
full house, including members,
wives, SYM Assembly 114
members, and guests. Welcome
toguests Jim Cox, Rich Mendez,
and Arlene DeFries. Congratulations to Napoleon Savoy, who is
now a member of Assembly 52.
Scott Hollingsworth, Chairman
of the SAM Veterans Entertainment Program, sent certificates
of appreciation and lapel pins to
Michael Tallon, Paul Amerson,
Joe Libby,John Dahlinger, and
Mark Travis for donating their
time and talents to the Warrior
Family Support Center at Fort
Sam Houston during Magic
Week.
The theme for this meeting
was New Year, New Magic, and
starting off the performances
was Joe Libby, who performed
the Six Card Repeat with jumbo
Ccards, and a Torn and Restored
Balloon effect. Ray Adams, with
help from a young magician,
Cooper Scott, entertained with
Scotch and Soda, and Don
Moravits performed a perplexing rubber band effect. George
Castillo amazed us with a Cell
Phone in Bottle trick, and Doug

Gorman performed a card effect


called Annihilation and also a
two-cup cups and balls routine.
Jim Cox entertained with a
three-way prediction and John
Dahlinger, with the help from
an audience member, performed
a prediction card effect. Claude
Crowe performed a Coin Tray
and Coin Wand Coins Across
Routine, and Michael Tallon
did a card prediction effect
using New Years resolutions.
Hector Marquez Jr. performed
an iPhone app card effect, and
Drake Stanton had us scratching our heads after he performed
Math Magic. Dylan Pfeiffer
amazed us with Nail through
Coin and Paul Amerson entertained with Martin Lewiss
Tricolor Prediction. Closing the
performances was Rich Mendez,
who did a beautiful color-changing silk routine.
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 douggorman@
att.net.

59

New
Digs!

Portland,
OR
Danny
Schreiber has had numerous
challenges in his opening weeks
as president. Our annual banquet
arrangements collapsed, and we
found ourselves in need of a new
meeting location. To top it off, he
was out of town on business in
many of the days leading up to
and including our first meeting
of the year, but he guided the
club with an expert hand, nevertheless.
The decision was made by the
board to reschedule the banquet
till later in the year. Arrangements to relocate
to Robinwood Station,
a community center
in West Linn, Oregon,
developed slowly, but
all was in order by the
night of January 25. The
final official approval
for SAM 59s use of
Robinwood was given
on January 27.
Founding SAM 59
From Left: Paul Amerson, Michael Tallon, member Duane Duvall
Joe Libby and John Dahlinger displaying
opened with a Q&A
session revealing his
their certificates of appreciation from
personal history as a
Scott Hollingsworth. Not pictured,
performer, tips on magic,
Mark Travis.

16 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

and advice about the business of


magic. He has been generous in
his help to dozens of magicians
during his career and his words
of wisdom were much appreciated.
VP Kaleta read announcements, we voted in new member
Andy Turner to our ranks, and
annual awards were presented.
The Entertainer of the Year
Award went to Art Manning.
The Most Improved Performer
was awarded to John Edsall. The
Sorrells Service Award went to
Glen Bledsoe.
Our meeting agenda has been
simplified and reorganized.
The business meeting has been
eliminated. Starlight Magic and
Snack have been combined into
Session Time. This is an opportunity to grab something to
eat and informally work with
another magician or a small
group to improve our magic.
Pizza was a nice change from
cookies and punch.
The final segment of the
evening was Showtime. The
theme was Get Any Good
Tricks for Christmas? and the
performers were Mel Anderson,
Neen Fitzwalter (aka Houneeni),
Tom Cramer, Tom Waldrop, and
guest Bob Sokolski.
Our first meeting in our new
location gathered about thirty
members and guests. We saw
quite a few new faces.
NB: I neglected to add Tom
Waldrop to the list of performers for our Holiday Hocus Pocus
in December, although I had
his name in my notes. Tom has
performed at every club function
that I can recall. He believes
the magic is a performing art
and practices what he preaches.
Glen L. Bledsoe
SAM 59 meets on the fourth
Wednesday of each month except
Jul/Aug/Dec at Robinwood
Station 3706 Cedaroak Drive
West Linn, OR 97068. Details
at
www.sam59portland.org
Glen L. Bledsoe glenbledsoe@
mac.com (503) 581-2795

77

Oh the Tricks
That We Learned!

Long Island, NY The Long


Island Mystics started off the
New Year right with a better
room and a recap of the things
that many of us have learned
(and use often in our shows).
After the brief business meeting
regarding the reconstruction
of our old room, I took over to
host this meeting of the minds to

Assembly News
discover many of our meetings
really do make a positive difference in our shows. Gary Dudash
started things off with a twisted
(thats our Gary) presentation
of Six Card Repeat revolving
around his uncle, who had too
many beers. The black trash bag
that Gary tucked into his waist to
represent his uncles belly, made
for a clean place for the cards
to go into and a funny photo
op. Pat Darienzo performed
Topsy-Turvy Bottles with a
finish that he learned from John
Ferrentino and Joe Silkie. Bill
Gleason offered up a Locking
Coins followed by a stunner
with a Houdini theme. Joe Lebue
stunned us with Daryls Three
Fly. Our president, John Lepre,

Gary Dudash performs.

performed a sponge ball routine


from inspiration by SAM Dean
George Schindler. As emcee, I
brought out Joshua Jays Jumbo
Overlap to introduce joker
Phil Levy to perform with Jeff
Hobsons Egg Bag.
Then the Millers went head to
head to show us their stuff; first
Dan and then Jeff (no relation).
Dan performed a spelling card
trick while Jeff Miller took home
the laugh of the night award
after Jeff presented Brian Platts
Sugar Rush that he saw demoed
by member at a past meeting.
Jeff then threw candies to
everyone and then shouted out,
Wait, which one of you has the
gaff? Linda Robbins popped in
with Dan Harlans Popcorn. Full
time pro and past president Steve
Rodman showed off his new
favorite close-up trick from Steve
Marshall called Diamond Twist.
Wayne Haarhaus performed a
classic Card to Wallet. I used
a Jerry OConnell No Palm
Wallet. Craig Dickson demoed
them at his lecture. Its my
current favorite method for Card
to Wallet. The routine evolved
as I played with the prop, but
I learned the basics at The

Mystics. With the extra time,


Linda came back to perform
Shawn Farquars Torn 2 Pieces
and Pat Darienzo ended the
night with of all things: The Six
Card Repeat (non-gimmicked
by Christian of Vienna from
a lecture back in 1975).Next
meeting is mentalism and
bizarre magic. See you at the
diner. Lou Johnson
L.I. Mystics Assembly 77 meets
at 7:30PM on the second Monday
of the month at The Community
United
Methodist
Church.
For more information, check
www.limystics.org.

88

AAMC January
Meeting/Clown
Magic

Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, MI
The January theme for our club
meeting was Clown Magic, a
great way to start out the new
year with a funny way to do
magic! The Ann Arbor Magic
Club has its share of clowns,
actually
three
professional
clowns, Bob Waite (as Patches),
Ray Wojciechowski (who goes
by many names), and Dan Jones
(as Tippy the clown). Many of
our members do a variety of
twists with balloons and comedy
magic. Tony Big T Saputo
drew a picture of a clown on a
blank board that seems to come
alive, with its eyes moving from
side to side and then its mouth
opening and closing. George
Honer did a comedy card trick,
in which he had a card chosen,
threw the cards into a bag, and
pulled out the wrong card. He
asked, Should it be bigger?
After a couple more times and
asking again if it should be
bigger, he pulled out a jumbo
card of the selection.

Dan Jones showing his balloon


work.

Dan Jones brought a nice


comedy routine. A card was
chosen by Pam Smith; Dan

handed her an eggbeater to


point and spin towards me, and
then asked me if I can see the
card. Since I couldnt, he handed
me a small plunger to put on
my head, while Pam spun the
egg beater. Dan then lifted up a
jumbo card, behind Pams back,
of the selected card, which I
named very funny! Bill Brang
was next with a black-and-white
sad clown silk that was put in a
small change bag. It came out as
a happy clown in bright colors.
Marvin Mathena performed
with the circus coloring book
and a cloth bag that changed
color when turned inside out.
Ray Wojciechowski had an
old routine in which everyone
picked a number, we added and
subtracted, and everyone ended
up with a Gray Elephant from
Demark. Then our guest visitor
from Italy, Renzo, performed a
very good rope routine. Renzo
also had a lot of new balloon
twists to show us! This was the
best meeting of the year so far
oh its only January? And a great
way to say Happy New Year!
Randy A. Smith,
Hank Moorehouse Assembly 88
meets the second Wednesday at
7PM at the Faith Lutheran Church,
1255 E Forest Ave, Ypsilanti,
Michigan. Randy A. Smith
r a n d y. r e m a r k a b l e @ g m a i l .
com
(313)
562-3875.
www.aamagic.org

95

MAGIC DINNER
LIVE 2012

Vancouver, Canada This


years Assembly 95 annual
awards banquet was the first year
that the event was made open to
the general public through ticket
sales. Also, it is the first year that
the assembly hired outside talent
to entertain both the members
and the guests. Members were
responsible for selling tickets,
which responsibility they took
on admirably, with a total of two
hundred tickets sold, making
the event a sellout. The top
sellers were Henry Tom, Lon
Mandrake, Dennis Hewson, and
Rod Chow, who contributed with
the rest of the members to make
the fundraising event a financial
success.
Guests were treated to professional pre-dinner entertainment
by the S.A.M. 95 Close-up Magic
Stars: Ray Roch, Henry Tom,
Rick Mearns, Dennis Hewson,
Steve Dickson, Juan Garcia, and
Jeff Christensen.The emcee for
this evening of Asian fusion food

and live magic was FISM World


Champion Shawn Farquhar,
who was naturally outstanding
in keeping the evening running
smoothly, plus making sure the
guests were well entertained and
informed throughout the night.
Congratulations to all the
award winners: Linda Mandrake
Lottie Hemeon Award for Best
Assistant; Steve Dickson Carl
Hemeon Award of Excellence;
Henry Tom Leon Mandrake
Trophy for Outstanding Showmanship; and Rod Chow
Assembly Presidential Citation
plaque
for
Distinguished
Service.

Assembly #95 President Lon


Mandrake presents The Leon
Mandrake Award for Outstanding Showmanship to
Dr. Henry Tom.

Congratulations to Assembly
95s new Dean, Shawn Farquhar,
who not only received a plaque
from the assembly presented to
him by President Lon Mandrake,
but who also received a National
Presidential Citation presented to
Shawn by Rod Chow as Regional
Vice President for Canada on
behalf of Most Illustrious Vinny
Grosso. This was a historic
event, because Assembly 95 not
only inducted their very first
dean, but Shawn also became
the very first person to receive
a Presidential Citation presented
in Canada. Shawn also received
written letters of congratulations
from National Dean George
Schindler, RVP Northwestern
States Michael Roth, Assembly
95 President Lon Mandrake, and
RVP Canada Rod Chow.
The headliner for the evenings
platform show was the internationally acclaimed, awardwinning magician, Stephen
Bargatze. Stephen was absolutely hilarious as he played on
the audience members while
amazing everyone at the same
time. Stephen also came back
to do a well received lecture the

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 17

Assembly News
next day. The event organization
committee of Shawn Farquhar,
Rod Chow, Lon Mandrake, Jens
Henriksen is to be commended
for a successful function.
Rod Chow
The Carl Hemeon Assembly No.
95 meets the first Tuesday of
each month at members homes.
Rod Chow rod@rodchow.com
(604) 669-7777. www.sam95.
com

104

Empties the
drawers on
Auction Night

Salem, MA The seasons fifth


Bill Towne School of Magic
session taught by Len Lazar
preceded our January meeting.
Members and guests can look
forward to Lens future classes:
Stand-Up Card Magic, in
March; Rubber Bands and Paper
Clips, in April; and Impromptu
Magic and Quickies, in May.
The School of Magic continues
to serve as not only a wonderful
introduction to essential techniques in the art, but also as a
healthy refresher for the more
experienced performer. Lens
gift for finding easier handlings
for so many card and coin effects
makes the School of Magic a true
treasure in which our assembly
can take justifiable pride.
Discussions continued around
the success of our big, annual
convention, SAMCON 10 and
plans for the eleventh SAMCON,
to be held once again at the
Marriott in Peabody, Massachusetts. This SAMCON promises
to be a major event, with Levent,
Scott Alexander, and Norm
Barnhart already on board. New
plans to lower the admission
price for the evening show alone
to twenty-five dollars should
encourage more family attendance. Whole day tickets will
be $70 until October 30 and $80
from October 31.
The date for SAMCON XI
will be Saturday, November 3,
2012. While past producer Steve
Doc Rogers has set the bar
high during his tenure, Doug
Rickenback and Evan BusoJarnis received a warm round of
applause for volunteering to take
up the challenge for this years
production. We know they will
do well.
Secretary Bob manned the three
Forrest family hot dog machines,
supplying bidders with condiments, dogs, soft drinks and
their daily nitrate requirement
as Jim Luscutoff emceed the

J Hubbard, our favorite Santa,


kicks off the bidding wars.

annual auction. It proved to be


a long night as magician after
magician presented the contents
of emptied drawers and closets.
Unloved or unperformed items
ranged from larger stage props
to humble DVDs and gaffs.
Items that garnered no bids were
donated for our S.Y.M. auction
that follows at the end of the
month.
Activities planned for future
meetings include our March
lecture by Peter Samuelson;
Aprils meeting, with guest
yet to be announced; the Boris
Wild lecture in May; and Junes
Officers Installation Banquet to
wrap up the year.
Information on SAMCON and
on Witch City S.A.M. Assembly
104 can be found at the website.
Bob Forrest
Assembly 104 meets the first
Wednesday of each month at 7
p.m. at the First Baptist Church
of Salem, 292 Lafayette Street,
Salem Massachusetts. Bob
Forrest
captainalbrightsq1@
comcast.net (339) 227-0797.
www.sam104.com

110

112

Holiday
Magic

Concord, CA After Kara


Ewing had won the attendance
reward,
Christmas-themed
magic began. To start off
the themed magic, Michelle
OKeefe assisted Rod McFadden
in his demonstration of crazy
Christmas lights, in which the
colored switches lit up the corresponding colored lights, but only
for Rod. When Michelle tried,
colored lights not corresponding
to the colored switches began
lighting up.

his will. Zappo later showed us


how to create a tiny reindeer
from a string of Christmas
garland beads. He remarked that
he learned the technique from
Deezo the Clown, who reportedly never had to pay for a meal,
because he performed making
small animals from the beads in
restaurants.
At that point, Fred Nelson (aka
The Big Kahuna) performed
Overkill as the Trick of the
Month with the able assistance
of Kara Ewing. Fred credits Paul
Harris as the originator of the
illusion. Briefly, Fred is able to
predict the same card again and
again even though he mixes up
the cards and has them cut again
and again.
And for the off-theme portion
of the magic, Ric Ewing showed
an illusion he has been working
on; it is called Black Tie because
it begins by having an audience
member take a black tie wrap and
zip tie Rics thumbs securely. He
then has the person who did the
tying place a silk over his hands
as he adeptly struggles to free
his thumbs.
Finally, Doug Kovacich illustrated a larger scale escape with
handcuffs. Dave Anderson
Diablo Assembly 112 meets on
the third Wednesday of every
month at the Round Table Pizza
in Concord. Doug Kovacich
douglassthemagicman@
hotmail.com (925) 435-4824.
http://sam112.com/

115

Magic with
Money

Charlottesville,

January
Meeting

New Cumberland, PA
The January meeting was well
attended and had two visitors
who are prominent on the local
magic scene Lee Germain and
Dave Pepka. Nice to see you
fellas, come again. Plans for our
one day convention are finalized
with Saturday, May 19, 2012
as the day, The Mens Club in
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania,
the place, and $50 the cost. The
price includes two meals, lunch
and dinner, and also admission
to the eight dealers, two lectures,
an auction, plus the close-up and
evening shows. Scheduled to be
there are: Bob Little as emcee,
Ben Salinas, Francis Menotti,
and Kyle and Kelly Peron. Res-

18 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

ervations for dinner must be


received before Saturday, May
5, 2012.
The after-meeting contest had
no particular theme and had
seven members performing.
There were three card effects;
Al Bienstock, Joe Noll, and
Lou Abbotiello; an escape from
a coat while handcuffed by Jon
Stover; an appearing cigarette
by Almar; an instant restoration
of a Rubiks cube by Jason Hade;
and rabbit mask hat tear by
Mike Snyder. First place went to
Mike Snyder, second to Joe Noll,
and third place to Almar.
Joe Homecheck, Assembly 110
meets 2nd Thursdays, 7:00pm,
Doc
Holidays
Restaurant,
Limekiln Road, New Cumberland, PA. Email: Secretay@
CentralPAMagic.org.

Michelle OKeefe attempts to get


Rod McFaddens crazy Christmas
light device to work correctly.

Bob Holdridge followed with


a colorful Christmas prediction involving some drawings in
colored envelopes. Then Zappo
(AKA Larry Wright) treated
us to a visit by Santa Claus
appearing via a festive plaid
egg bag, Showing off that Santa
is magic, Zappo demonstrated
that Santa can come and go at

VA

Winter Carnival at Pigeon


Forge in March was announced.
George updated the group on
his efforts to raise awareness
of our group and expand our
membership. He submitted
a Public Service Announcement to the local media.
Mark D. informed the group
that we have an opportunity to
place a free advertisement in the
Forest Lakes Newsletter, which
will reach 1,400 homes.
George has established an
email
account
(samassembly115@gmail.com),
twitter
account (samassembly115), and
a Facebook page (Sam Assembly
115). Please LIKE the page if
you are on Facebook. George
also developed a great logo for
the group. The group discussed
the potential of having a Peter
Monticup
lecture/workshop.
May/June was discussed as a po-

Assembly News
tentially good timeframe for the
event.
Every member participated in
performing magic this month.
The theme of the month was
Magic with Money. Below
is a brief recap of the terrific
diversity of effects shared. Mark
Trimpe performed a method
of introducing coins using two
playing cards, a series of coin
flourishes, and a transformation of a coin into a key. Wes
performed a coin vanish, a
Karate Coin routine, coin behind
ear with a kicker ending of a
transformation to a Jumbo coin,
and Hopping Halves. Dan H.
performed Simplex Three Fly,
Four Coins Across, and engaged
the group with a demonstration
and discussion of the Muscle
Pass.
George performed a Two
Dollar Routine involving the
transformation of a two-dollar
bill into two one-dollar bills, and
a card routine known as Knock
Em Dead. Dan R. performed an
original Four Coin Production
followed by a demonstration of
how this move can also be used
with great effect in ball magic.
David performed Hypno-Bill,
a visual transformation of a
bill from one denomination to
another. Mark D. performed
the Tonight Show Matrix by
Dean Dill and Color Changing
Deck The official meeting was
adjourned, but the gathering
continued
until
close
to
midnight. It was another great
evening of magic!
Assembly 115 meets at the
Pavillion Building in Forest
Lakes subdivision the first Friday
of the month David Clauss
visionenhancement@comcast.
net (434) 979-1698.

120

A Variety
of Magic

Champaign, IL Andy Dallas


demoed his Bottle Up game
with instruction on building
your own. In old business, we
discussed having a club show at
the SoDo Theater in downtown
Champaign and when would be
a good time for another show
at the VA in Danville. We also
discussed going as a group to
see Markus Cleggs Magic and
Other Nonsense: An Evening of
Sleight of Hand and Legerdemain at the Sodo. We will firm
up the details at this months
meeting.
J.R. Thomas opened with a
poetic version of the torn and

restored thread and a While


You Were Out message pad
prediction. Jim Percy did a
nice rising card followed up by
finding a selected card using his
olfactory sense. Chris Bontjes
did a nine-card divination and
a three-card count and reveal.
Justin Dudley showed off his
Rubiks Cube solving skills
and Prof. Rob Higgins read
some minds. Chris was able
to bring us all to our feet and
stop the show by producing
his wifes Christmas cookies.
Ken Barham
Assembly 120, Andy Dallas
Assembly meets third Wed. at
7pm, (except Nov. and Dec.)
For location call Jim Percy at
217-494-2222 or Ken Barham
Sec, 2318 Winchester Dr,
Champaign, IL 61821. 217-8415616 email: Kebram@aol.com

129

Catch
Up

Pensicola, FL November 17,


2011, was our awards banquet;
no one left hungry. President
Nathan Nickerson handed out
the awards: Magician of the
Year Bill Metsch; Honored
Magician of the Year Beau
Broomall; Sorcerers Circle Bill
Metsch, Beau Broomall, Bryan
Drake, Perry Vath, Isaac Brady,
Al Grimm, and Gene Burrell;
Distinguished Members Billy
Countryman, Dave Kloman, Bill
Mikulas and Harley Day. These
members are always there doing
whatever they can for the club
Congratulations!
November 19, 2011 was our
public show; the performers
were: Beau Broomall, Billy
Countryman, Jeremy Sperling,
Al Grim, Gene Burrell, Ronann
Carrero, and emcee Nathan
Nickerson. Special thanks to all
who worked behind the scenes.
We also did a Christmas show
for the Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department; performers
were Al Grimm, Beau Broomall,
and Gene Burrell.
In December we had our
Christmas Party. The theme of
the night was Christmas Magic.
Dave Kloman started it off by
running a knife through his
finger. It was a trick; hes okay.
Beau Broomall used a change
bag and turned some loose
silks into one that said Merry
Christmas. Gene Burrell had a
magic book, drew a Santa, and
made him appear. Bill Metsch
performed a bean box that he
made, and Nathan Nickerson

wowed us with some card magic.


The January meeting started
off with member Gene Burrell
conducted a teach-in; he shared
many useful tips that will be
put to good use. Beau taught
us an old gem, Who Will Lie.
Januarys theme was Homemade
Magic. Jeff Sobel showed us his
homemade coloring book that he
is working on; he wasnt making
it for a kids show. Bill Mikulas
entertained us with how to
have fun with everyday objects,
like what to do with those old
cardboard toilet paper rolls.
Gene Burrell performed his
homemade ice pick hand stab; it
was not for the faint of heart and
kids should never try this. It was
dangerous and scary.
Our last entertainer for the
night was Dave Kloman with
his basket of magic. He put on a
mini show with a silk tube, rose
breath, solid block to ball, a mini
finger chopper, my favorite gold
ring on gold chain, and a coin
trick. Dave is always great fun to
watch. Bill Metsch
The Gulf Coast Magicians
Guild Assembly 129 meets the
3rd Thursday of the month at
the Bay View Senior Center,
Pensacola, Florida. At 6:45
pm. Nathan Nickerson nate@
nathannickerson.com
www.gulfcoastmagic.com

are the same price they have


been for years, only $30 each.
You can get yours by contacting
the assembly treasurer (Scott),
or you can get them at Williams
Magic Shop. There is a possibility that we may need to move
our meeting spot in the near
future. Kenny has done a bit of
research for us and has arranged
for us to use the Fraternal Order
of Eagles hall. Its a cool place,
it has a stage, its about three
times the size of the Z Mansion
Room, and it even has a bar with
decently priced drinks ($3-$5
range). There is a sliding wall
to separate our room from
the bar patronage. There was a
whole lot more discussed, and
before we knew it, it was time to
start the general meeting. Lots of
folks made it in between the last
of the business meeting and the
start of the general meeting. Our
Sgt-at-Arms (Nellie) introduced
our newest faces: new members
Niam Knoll and Michael Graff
and previous member Christopher Martinez. Gary Husson
Assembly 136 meets on the first
Monday of each month at the Z
Mansion in downtown Tucson.
Gary
Husson:
profgary@
prodigy.net (520) 616-8004.

A huge year
ahead!

Fort Worth, TX The


January 2012 meeting of the
Fort Worth Magicians Club was
a lecture/meeting with a guest
lecturer as a special thank you
to our members.
Our president, Ash Adams,
opened with a warm welcome
to all of our members. We had a
very strong turnout in anticipation of our guest lecturer, Lance
Pierce. After the welcome, Ash
handed the program over for announcements.
Bill Irwin reminded the club
of the upcoming planning/organizational meeting for the Texas
Association of Magicians convention on Labor Day weekend,
2014. With it just over two years
away, there is a lot that has to be
done for the convention to be a
success, and now is the time to
start making it happen.
Geoff Grimes reported on
the success of our volunteers
with the Snowball Express
Holiday event held in Dallas.
The magicians who performed
for these families shared their
heart-warming experience with
the club.
Randi Rain, our vice president

136

Tucson, AZ Our first


meeting of 2012 got underway
at 6:25 p.m. on Monday, January
2. We had a refreshingly large
turn-out for the meeting, despite
it being so close to the holidays.
President DeSchalit held sway
for the majority of the business
meeting, reviewing the items
he wished to discuss with the
officers and membership. He has
big plans for this year, and the
future looks very bright indeed!
The upcoming banquet tickets

Rady Atha performing


White Line.

138

January 2012
meeting

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 19

Assembly News
and program chair got us up to
speed on our task of creating an
act for our October installation
banquet. She reviewed what we
had previously defined, and introduced Larry Heil to help us
with defining the motivation for
the act. Larry gave us insights
on motivation and how it helps
define not only what we do, but
how we do it. With Larrys help,
we determined the motivation
for this particular act should be
to entertain but as a successful
failure.
Mathew Martin performed for
us from his professional repertoire. He did a routine that
combined the sympathetic silks
with a borrowed bill in orange.
He passed the magic totem to
Libby Sharpe who will perform
for us next month.
Our newest member, Pamela
Jenkins, did her qualification
act. In her act, she gracefully
reminded us that a supportive
spouse of a magician is one of
the most important assets the
magician can have.
Lance Pierce provided a
wonderful lecture covering a
variety of close-up and parlor
routines. His strength in thinking
through the subtleties in each
routine makes his material very
impressive. I feel sorry for those
who missed this special lecture.
Assembly 138 meets as the Fort
Worth Magicians Club on the
first Thursday of each month at
7:00 p.m. at the Tarrant County
College Trinity River Campus
in downtown Fort Worth. See
www.fortworthmagiciansclub.
org for more information.
Jeff Hallberg
Assembly 138 meets as the
Fort Worth Magicians Club
on the first Thursday of each
month at 7:00 P.M. at the
Tarrant County College Trinity
River Campus in downtown
Fort Worth. Jeff Hallberg
fo r t wo r t h m a g i c i a n s c l u b @
hotmail.com (817) 479-3186
www.fortworthmagiciansclub.
org.

150

DUES NEWS
CHOOSE!

Fort Myers, FL With thirty


members joining the dozen who
regularly enjoy a pre-meeting
dinner in the pleasant dining
room of Myerlee Manor, the
January session found president
Tony Dunn and treasurer
Richard Payne briefly discussing
the new dues set-up. Members
are now required to pay a very

modest $20 a year in dues and


pay $10 each time they attend
a lecture. Pay $35 for the year
and it covers dues and admission
to every one of the five or six
lectures during the year.
Our lecturer, Paul Lelekis, is a
regular worker in Tampa restaurants and at corporate gigs. Paul
is known to many from magic
journals that publish his original
effects and reviews of tricks and
books.

Keep your eye on the coin, not


the tie.

Lelekis opened fast with a


rope-through-middle bit and
then picked up the pace with a
flurry of card, coin, and sponge
ball routines that left numerous
members blinking in amazed
confusion. Finding it near impossible to keep up with the
rapid-fire profusion of effects
and heres how I do it explanations, some members simply lay
aside their pencils and notepads
and sat back to watch the magic.
Unlike some lecturers who
insist that none of their material
be videotaped, Paul graciously asked the club secretary
to record his rope routine for
members to study later. It just
seemed too complex to describe
in the lecture notes, he said.
Combining
a
cut-restored,
rope-stretch, and Professors
Nightmare, the effect is one hes
done for years to great reactions.
Virtually
exhausted
at
evenings end by the onslaught
of magic and laugh lines his
sponge balls are called Mamas
Meatballs some members
found themselves with barely
enough strength to gather around
Pauls display of his notes,
ropes, and other for sale items.
Don Dunn
The Fort Myers Magicians
Assn., Assembly 150, meets
the second Tuesday of each

20 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

month at Myerlee Manor, 1499


Brandywine Circle. Richard
Payne richardhpayne@aol.com
(239) 433-6885

Beaver, PA, the 2nd Thursday


of every month. Judy Steed
heyjude1943@msn.com (330)
525-5389.

New Year,
Much Magic

Past Officers
Present

157

Beaver, PA The Fundraiser


with Riverside High School is to
be March 16, 2012. Doug Ries is
working on the schedule of events
and the helpers. Picnic dates for
the summer and fall picnics are
being reserved by Rich Howard.
Several members are going to
MagiFest in Columbus. The
John Morrison Awards (those
who had earned the most points
for 2011) were presented to third
place Frank Kietzke, second
place Eric Davis, and first place
Rich Howard. The Bert Pickard
Award (for going above and
beyond his work for the club)
went to Doug Ries.
Six members performed, with
Eric Davis as emcee. Don Moody
presented a higher dimension of
Doug Riess OMG using an electronic die. When a button on top
was pushed a vision of the die
was seen by all. Jim Tate demonstrated how to take spots on and
off a small paddle he had and
how to include a second paddle
into the mix. Ray Lucas asked
an assistant to choose a card
and show everyone but him. He
produced a frame with a card in
it. When shown to the assistant, it
was not chosen card. Ray placed
the frame down and the chosen
card appeared. Jeff Mullins
showed everyone a poker chip
which he placed on the table.
He had someone choose a card
from his deck. When the helper
picked up the chip, there was a
sticker on it that was the same as
the chosen card.
Trent Rapp stated he had a
splinter in his finger, bit on it, and
pulled a toothpick out with his
teeth. He then proceeded to play
a hand of poker with an assistant.
The helper chose which card will
be his as the dealing went on.
The participant turned over his
cards and has a full house. Trent
turned over his and had a royal
flush. Eric Davis performed Its
a Match with a deck of cards and
a lucky pack of matches. He
shows two cards. He found the
first card in the match packet.
The second card was in deck
with matches attached to it.
Judy Steed
The Mystic Magicians of Beaver
Valley, Assembly 157 meet at
the Towne Square Restaurant in

170

Colorado Springs, CO
Present President Jamie Doyle
was the emcee and showed us
the second half of his half off
magic showand the scarf has
vanished!
Frank Klein led off with his
sophisticated tribute to John
Ramseys Cork and Coin routine.
Frank followed this with the
Empanada, in which a thoughtof card was slowly surrounded
by two Jokers that mysteriously
worked their way in from either
side of the deck.
Jamie Doyle returned
and the predicted card was
also the King of Spades! He
then performed a signed coin
to box nest. Dave Wintermute
magically illustrated the Jonah
and Whale bible story. Jamie
and here is the signed card
introduced Dick Bowman,
who performed two routines, a
Triumph variation and a really
neat Seeing Spots paddle
routine. Spots appeared, jumped,
and moved between two paddles
in a spotlessly clean routine.
Jamie and the corner
exactly fits the torn card asked
if others had anything they
wished to share and Larry Scott
(fearless and resourceful man
that he is) said yes.
Larry demonstrated a variation
on the Professors Nightmare
that I had never seen before. He
showed the three ropes cleanly,
palms to the audience, stretched
from hand to hand; a volunteer
could have easily traced the
length of each with a finger. He
then tightened his grip and vertically stretched the ropes up to
equal length. To further show
they were equal lengths, he tied
them together so they made one
long rope tied in three equal
sections. He wound up the rope
and applied his magic. He then
unwound the rope to show the
long rope was now tied together
by a long, medium, and short
rope. After untying these three
different length ropes, we could
examine them. So smooth, clean,
original, and very deceptive I
wish I could do that.
Come join SAM Assembly
170 - the Pikes Peak Prestidigitators. We meet 4th Tuesday
monthly at Sand Creek Police

Assembly News
Dept Community Room - 4125
Center. Park Dr., Colorado
Springs, CO 80916.

172

Annual
Christmas
Party

Port St Lucie, FL Decembers annual Christmas party at


Maneros in Palm City saw the
induction of our new officers for
2012: Paul Hilko President, Ed
Malinowski Vice-President,
Danny Eisen Treasurer, and
Alan Greenwood Recording
Secretary. Dean Devitt, thats
me, will be assuming the role of
Corresponding Secretary.
Master of Ceremonies Dean
Devitt led off the evenings
magic program, which featured
performers Ed Malinowski, Jay
Rene, Paul Hilko, and Al Chiaverini. The evening ended with
our traditional gift exchange,
which is another story in and
of itself. It was a thoroughly
enjoyable evening of companionship, good food, and great
magic, and the end of another
great year at Assembly 172!
The Donald E. Leas first
meeting of 2012 started off with
a bang, figuratively, anyway.
After a call to order by our
new President, Paul Hilko and
some other official matters,
Assembly 172 got down to the
fun part.
Take a little Lets Make a
Deal, combine it with American
Pickers, add a bit of The Price
is Right (or wrong as the case
may be), top it off with a few
Unsolved Mysteries, and throw it
all in your favorite change bag.
Do your best hocus pocus, open
the bag, and youve got it the
Donald E. Lea Assembly auction
night.
Hosted by President Paul Hilko
and his capable assistant Jay
Rene, the annual auction night
evolved into an all-out bidding
war. Paul and Jay presented an
amazing array of effects, from
the Six-Card Repeat to color
changing flower bouquets and
from watch winders to the rabbit
in the hat. Some great effects
changed hands; Rocky the
raccoon found a new home, and
several buyers expressed concern
that they might not be allowed
back in the house with their new
purchases. In all, it was a fun
night for everyone, with a lot of
magic, a lot of laughter, and a lot
of Ill buy it; what does it do?
Fortunately, we had our own Ben
Coraggio available to keep track

of the bids and sales. He would


later tell us that the assembly had
cleared over $25 on the night. Not
too shabby for a pile of stuff.
Dean F. Devitt
The Donald E. Lea Assembly
172 meets the fourth Tuesday
of each month at 7:00 pm at The
Saint Lucie Lanes on Route 1
in Port St. Lucie. Come join us.
Dean Devitt quindar46@yahoo.
com (772) 466-1942.

benefits were also discussed.


Scot Grassette informed us of
a possible upcoming opportunity with Jeff McBride and a
four-hour workshop in Rumford,
Maine.

174

New England
VP Performs
and Lectures at 174

Augusta, ME The SAM 174


and Magic Kings convened in
Augusta on Sunday, January 8,
2012, and a good time was had
by all! Thirteen members were
present and more joined us at the
after-meeting at the China King
restaurant. A brief period of
discussion set forth the agenda
for the coming year as follows:
March Music and magic,
April Tri-State Auction, May
Flower Magi, June Unknowns
Convention and Picnic Walkaround magic; July Patriotic
Magic, August Liquid Magic,
September Illusions-Stagecraft-Black Art, October
Spooky Magic, November
Do an Aldo Colombini Effect,
December Christmas/Holiday
magic.
Our honored guests were New
England Regional VP Joseph
Caulfield, Esq. and his wife
Kathy, also known as Lord and
Lady Blacksword. Treasurer
Karen
Seymour
presented
Assembly 174 lapel pins to
our guests. The Blackswords
performed and lectured on
bizarre magic, and the lecture
was excellent!
Lord Blacksword showed us
where rubies come from, demonstrated the dichotomy between
free will and predestination with
a mind blowing three-card prediction performed in near laboratory conditions, and then wove
a tale about the Duke of Verona
in Sorrento, Italy, and the annual
prisoner release. Lady Blacksword and Baxter the dog puppet
were able accomplices in the
affair, concluding with a production of the largest flower bouquet
imaginable. Lady Blacksword
shared some tips of prop manufacturing and Lord Blacksword
lectured on making magic your
own.
The S.A.M. convention in Las
Vegas and some work afoot
with the S.A.M. and medical

Lord & Lady Blacksword.

I.B.M. Territorial VP Alan


Drew III presented money
magic and showed a very
snappy table put together from
readily available components.
Conjuring Carroll shared a gem
of a card effect hed collected
over the years. He shared that
his new years resolution is to
perform effects each month that
hes purchased over the years
that ended up collecting dust. He
also challenged other members
to do the same. Id say he met his
goal for January.
Dennis Labbe showed a commercial effect with a baby
gag prediction that was 100%
correct!
Wes Booth made
a blue card visibly melted
through two red cards, and
Lord Blacksword helped him
perform Dai Vernons Piano
Trick from Scarnes Card Tricks
Carroll Chapman
Assembly 174 and the Magic
Kings meet the second Sunday
of each month at 1:00P located
at
Kennebec
Community
Church on Glenridge Drive
in Augusta, just behind Rite
Aid. Carroll Chapman magic@
conjuringcarroll.com
(207)
635-3133.

181

Paying the
Rent and
January Meeting

Three
magicians from Assembly 181
paid the rent by performing
a just-before-Christmas magic
show for the tiny tots daycare at
the church where we meet. Weve
done this Christmas show for
Hightstown,

NJ

quite a number of years and its


always a delightful experience;
the children are very responsive
and very well behaved. Dennis
Thomas, our professional child
party guy, acted as emcee.
It was flowers, flowers, flowers,
as Magic Dave opened with a
Crystal Casket, followed by the
Magicians Dream Boxes filled
with flowers; he closed off his
set with a Botania that brought
gasps from the children. ERYX
was up next and he opened with,
you guessed it, more flowers, in
this case, sleeve bouquets. This
was followed by routines using
a Silk cylinder, a Dove Pan and
a Chick Pan. To close out, our
resident kid show worker Dennis
Thomas did part of his winterthemed library show. Denniss
experience really shows; he
got reactions from all the kids
and involved a good number of
eager helpers in the magic. The
kids had a great time, as did we.
We packed up in time for Santa
to do his bit and we retired to
the Perkins restaurant for a late
breakfast.
On January 5, 2012, we were
supposed to have a lecture
by Alex Lourido, inventor of
the Butter Coin and a host of
other magic effects. Unfortunately, the lines of communication got crossed up, causing
us to improvise. Four new
people showed up and promptly
joined the assembly. Our club
namesake, Dick Gustafson, also
made an appearance and led
an evening of discussing past
magical experiences and stories
of the stage. Nearly everyone
performed some magic effects
that they have been using lately
or are working on. It turned
into a most delightful evening.
About half of the group then
retired to the Claremont Diner
for a late night dinner and
more
magic
conversation.
ERYX
Assembly 181 meets at the
United Methodist Church, 187
Stockton St., Hightstown, NJ
on the first Thursday of the
month, Sept. thru June. Doors
open at 7:00 PM ERYX eryx1@
msn.com (609) 324-0660 www.
magicsam181.com.

188

New Assembly
President

Orem, UT In January, Brian


Daniel South, as he now identifies himself, conducted his first
meeting, starting out with a
discussion on lectures, a public

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 21

Assembly News
next time. Dave also
showed us several
routines with Creative
Magic
Alphabet
Cards shades of
the ol 21 Card Trick.
Al Lampkin further
perpetuated his reputation as a klutz by
clumsily handling a
beautiful Mental Epic
built by Mark Evans.
Im glad Mark wasnt
there to see this.
Assembly celebrates Imed. Past Pres.
Immediate
past
Kerry Summers birthday
president
Kerry
show, our website, and other
Summers was off on
events Brian hoped to implement one of his supposed cruises,
during 2012. Following Obamas so we celebrated his birthday
promise, Brian assured us there absentia with a song and a
would be change. He then asked carrot cake with HB KS on it.
for introductions around the Delicious.
room as there were many new Assembly 188 meets every
faces along with their old bodies. second Thursday, except July,
The theme for the evening was at 7:00pm at The Courtyard at
mentalism, so Brian kicked off Jamestown, 3352 North 100
the evening by thinking a East, Provo, Utah. Guests are
joke and we all thought about welcome, contact Brian Daniel
laughing. Mont Dutson, the con- South at brian@teachbymagic.
summate professional that he is, com (801) 916-2442 for more
began with mental gags leading details. www.utahmagicclub.org
up to accurate predictions with
show cards, numbers, tarot
January
cards, and coins. All proved
2012Meeting
accurate. Curtis Hickman gave
a very clever introduction to Brevard County, FL Our
his mental routine involving a first meeting post holidays was
key, a coin, and a playing card. a back to basics success. After
We were all impressed with the club president Greg Phillips
demeanor he developed for the closed our short business
routine.
meeting, it was right to the
Ben Jones took a quantum magic! Greg has done a good job
leap in his presentations, ac- in keeping interest and interaccurately predicting what Brian tion at a high level. This meeting
would choose from the menu was no exception.
Ben presented. It made us all
Greg talked Back to Basics
hungry. Steve Dawson, as is and then performed his version
usual, showed us a very unusual of the Professors Nightmare.
prop and a clever routine with Greg explained that none other
chopstick-like
things
with than Gene Gordon taught it to
numbers on them in a box. Steve him as a boy. (Greg grew up just
predicted the outcome.
outside of Buffalo.) A small disKim Walkowski, who Jan cussion ensued of the Carver/
Goodsell credited with getting Gordon argument.
the assembly started, did a
After that, he passed the ropes
clever routine titled Grin and on to other members of the club
Bear It. We understood where to perform on the spot. Mike
the bear came from when Kim Futch did his routine, talking
presented Chris Dutson with a about being a spaghetti maker
small stuffed bear. Darn, she making medium spaghetti.
missed out on the $500,000. Ron Cory Allen did a Drunk
Carrasco gave us much of his Testroutine that he performed
subtle humor as he presented a in clubs and bars; Club VP Dr.
lie detector routine involving David Sanders reached back a
several members of the audience. couple years and then showed
Whats said in Orem stays in his backwardsversion of the
Orem. No need to lie.
Professors Nightmare. Each perDave
Magical
Johnson formance was a little different in
broke out his Little Black Book set-up and handling.
and fixed Roy Babbel up with
Then President Greg taught
an oh-so-cute chick that Dave his version, and had each
knows. Sorry Roy, better luck performer come to the front

198

22 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

and teach their versions and


talk about why they did certain
things. Then things exploded!
Everyone began handling the
ropes, asking questions, discussing different handlings and
performances. Nearly everyone
left with a great trick for their
arsenal.
The magic continued as Pete
Crummey used one of the ropes
for his series of Knot tricks.
Corey Allen talked about performing in foreign languages
and demonstrated his color
changing mouchoir (handkerchief).
Don Leddin brought back an
interesting effect from MAGIC
Live. After having a new deck
opened, shuffled, and cut by
a number of people, he talked
about another way to cut the
deck. He brought out a paring
knife and cut through the box
and cards. After withdrawing
the knife, he handed the box out
and a large block of steel was
withdrawn with no opening or
holes in it. We then took some
time with Don and discussed
deck switches and pocket management with a real heavy object
for maximum effect. Everyone
contributed some great ideas and
Don went away with a great performance piece.
Treasurer Joe Massimini ended
the magic with a unique version
of Color Vision in which he read
the thoughts of Mike Futch.
The Space Coast Magic Club
SAM Assembly198 is a must stop
along your Space Coast Visit!
Come and find out, the second
Tuesday of each month at 7PM at
Church on the Rock, 4028 South
Babcock Street, Melbourne,
Florida 32901. Youth Session
begins at 6:30. www.SpaceCoastMagicClub.com or see us
on Facebook, SPACE COAST
MAGIC CLUB. Contact Greg@
GregPhillipsmagic.com 1-87798-MAGIC.

200

January
Meeting

Seattle, WA Roger Sylwester


started out the evening with a
dice stacking routine that was
very entertaining as well as surprising the final dice stack was
revealed to be a single large die.
Dan Kennedy presented a quick
numerical trick in which a series
of cards with various numbers
were presented; after the
spectator revealed which cards
the chosen number was located
on Dan was able to tell quickly

what number was selected.


Hugh Danny Dragon Castell
presented a well thought-out
routine involving the mixing
of a martini. The jigger was
used to vanish and reproduce
the olive; the final shot was
vanished completely. Hugh
was then able to produce a
shot from seemingly nowhere.
Ken Marsh did a quick linking
cards bit in which two cards with
holes in the middle were linked
and then unlinked and immediately handed out.
Reymarx Gereda presented a
quick card trick that was very
magical; a spectator chose a
card, replaced the card in the
deck, and then two cards were
selected and added to find the
location of the chosen card in a
mixed packet. Evan Reynolds
presented a lovely piece of
magic in which a small fairy
door was presented. After the
door was magically cleaned, a
number the spectator chose was
revealed inside the door.
Bill Murray did a nice card
matching routine that was
very magical. Mark Paulson
presented a great mentalism/
magic trick in which he had a
spectator find his lucky card
by looking up his birthday in a
calendar book to reveal the card.
When the spectator went to find
his card in the deck, it was the
only card not there. The card
was revealed in Marks pocket.
Larry Dimmitt presented a
hypnosis effect in which the
spectator remembered a card
from a deck; once Larry hypnotized him he was then unable
to see the card in the deck. Jim
Earnshaw presented a cup and
ball routine using marshmallows
and cocoa cups based on David
Regals Cocoa. Jim Earnshaw
Assembly 200 meets on the
first Thursday of each month
at a branch of the King County
Library from 7:00 p.m. to
9:00 p.m. Jim Earnshaw
jimear nshaw@comcast.
net
(206)
225-6715.
www.emeraldcitywizards.org

205

Las Vegas
Headliners
Come to Rochester!

Rochester, MN On January
26, 2012, the Rochester Mystic
13 enjoyed a great turnout at
our new meeting location at
the Rochester Assembly of
God church. Compeer Greg
Chalmers negotiated this incredible location, which includes a

Assembly News
huge meeting room, stage, sound
system, stage lighting, and even
a green screen for photography
and video recording. Theres
something about working on a
real stage that enhances even
the simplest effect. Add to that
professional sound and lights
and you have the foundation for
some powerful creativity.
The next evening, several
members attended the RT
Autism Awareness Foundationsannual fundraiser
Mending Minds: A Magical
Gala for Autism at the Rochester
International Event Center. The
show featured an all-star lineup
including Las Vegas headliners
Lance Burton and Mac King,
juggler Michael Goudeau, and
comedian Bob Zany from the
Bob & Tom Morning Show. In
addition to performing some of
their best known routines, all
of the artists contributed autographed memorabilia for the
events fundraising campaign.
We even spotted some Penn &
Teller and Criss Angel merchandise in the silent auction room. In
all, it was a wonderful evening of
charitable giving and entertainment for a very worthy cause.
David J. Moitzheim
The Rochester Mystic 13 meets
the last Thursday of each month
(barring holidays). Meetings
are held at Rochester Assembly
of God, 4240 NW 18 Ave,
Rochester, MN 55901.More information can be found at our
website:
www.mystic13.com.
Direct inquires to: david@
danzigthehypnotist.com

215

Brent Braun
Lecture

Louisville, KY Local Louisville magician and club member


Brent Braun gave a lecture to
Assembly 215 on January 17,
2012. Brent began with a routine
he called This, That, and the
Other. This is a card routine
involving only four cards, and
is very deceptive. Following this
was his well-known Torched and
Restored card routine, a classic
routine with a twist. Mr. Braun
followed this with the fastest
card trick in the world, which
he referred to as the Kickback
Transpo; it is indeed, so very
fast and awesome it amazed

everyone. He continued with a


classic Triumph effect with a
kick; it is available on his DVD,
Decks, Lies and Videotape. Brent
finished with a routine created
and referenced to Harvey Bergs
Intercept.
Brent is very talented, and
is a master at magic development with an expertise in card
routines. His website, decksliesandvideotape.com, has his
items available for purchase;
they are highly recommended.
Any person traveling through
Louisville
may
contact
us for information on our
monthly meeting and who
will be our featured magician.
Tom Crecelius
Louisville
Magic
Club,
Assembly 215 meets at the
Saint Matthews Baptist Church
in
Louisville,
Kentucky.
Tom Crecelius medimagic@
cs.com
(812)
633-7875
www.LMCmagic.com

266

A NEW YEAR
OF MAGIC

Lakeland, FL Our pre-meeting activity was a talk by Jim


and Joyce Zachary, Treasures
in M-U-M. They went over the
past few years and showed us
some highlights. It was great rediscovering the hidden treasures
that arrive in our mailbox every
month. President Ed McGowan
led us thru our business meeting,
during which we discussed
themes for the upcoming
months meetings. The next year
looks to be chock full of magical
adventures for us all.
Our
normal
performance
portion of the night was replaced
this month with a full session
workshop with the theme of
stacked decks. Our lead-off
batter was Jerry Kardos, who
showed a trick with a five-card
stack in which the cards flipped
over at his command.
Next, funnyman Elmo Bennett
was up with three effects: a poker-themed routine, an open prediction (in which he revealed the
card before it was even thought
of), and a Follow the Leader
stack. Even after the explanation we were still baffled by this
tricky routine.
Al DAlfonso was next with
a short talk on the plusses and

minuses of the Out of this World one new members joined our
effect. He finished up by putting group thanks to the efforts of our
everything into practice with dynamic new President, Arnie
his spin on a no-stack version Rosen. We had a return visit from
courtesy of Eugene Burger.
Aldo and Rachel Colombini, a
Dean Bob Macey did a very popular couple who placed
two-deck routine that came to their emphasis on entertainment
us by way of Assembly 266 spiced with humor. The highlight
alumni Tom Craven, who visited of the evening was the appearwith the gang over
the holidays. Bob
presented Toms gift
of an incredible card at
any number effect that
almost works itself.
The headliner on the
bill was card maven
Ed who gave a mini
lecture on the history
of stacks, showing us
six different stacks
and discussing the adRachel, Arnold Rosen, Aldo
vantages of each. He
showed off some rare
stacked and marked decks from ance of longtime member and
his collection. Watching Ed talk former Treasurer, Sheila Rubin.
a room full of magi through Sheila has been fighting a debiliidentifying a card by the back tating disease. It was inspiring to
markings might not have been see her under these most difficult
as mystifying as the effects he circumstances. Our prayers go
explained, but it sure was en- with her. We were also honored
tertaining! As a special treat to by the presence of PNP Warren
those who stayed till the end Ed Kaps.
shared with us a website that is
As you may know, Rachel
full of resources so we could Colombini underwent serious
continue our study on stacks.
surgery this past year. We are
We have experimented with glad to report she is doing well.
mini-workshops in the past, but This is the Colombinis farewell
this is the first time we have tour of the USA and Canada.
devoted a full evening to it. They will continue to be active
Everyone rose to the challenge, with magic. As dealers, they
putting their own touches to charge only $10 for each of their
the concept of stacks, which effects. Most of their material is
really helped this program not difficult to do. Aldo previsucceed. Be sure to visit ously placed second in a FISM
Assembly 266 the next time convention with a very difficult
youre in Central Florida; you cups and balls routine. Rachel
never know what well try next! showed us a simple version
Al DAlfonso
of the same effect. Both Aldo
Jim Zachary Assembly 266 and Rachel performed effects,
meets the second Monday which included cards, ropes,
of the month at 7PM at the and mental tricks. One of Aldos
Lakeland I-HOP, I-4 & US 98. best effects was a ring off rope
Al DAlfonso keeper0499@ routine. Another outstandembarqmail.com (321) 437-3814. ing effect was called Five Card
Stunner, in which a black card
ALDO & RACHEL continually disappeared from a
COLOMBINI group of red cards. A wonderful
LECTURE evening was enjoyed by all.
Marshall Johnson
Boca Raton, FL On Assembly 274 meets at the JCC
Monday, January 2, 2012, the in Boca Raton, FL on the first
Sam Schwartz Assembly 274 Monday of each month at 7:00
had one of its most success- PM. Arnold Rosen, President
ful meetings ever! There was Arnold205@aol.com
(561)
hardly a vacant chair. Thirty- 212-2575.

274

Go to:

www.mum-magazine.com
and use the easy submission form to file your report.
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 23

Good Cheer List


Please take a minute and spread a few words of cheer with a card or note to one of our less fortunate members.
Send additions, changes, or deletions to: Anthony Antonelly, Chairman, Sick and Convalescent Committee,
(215) 820-3192 ext. 1512. magicforfun60@aol.com
Peter Anthony
5100 OBannon Dr. Apt 72
Las Vegas, NV 89146

Joseph H. (Ben) Grant


400 Commonwealth Ave, Unit 9
Warwick, RI 02886

Frank J. McNaughton, Sr
1926 Apple Street,
Williamsport, PA 17701

Matt Savin
P.O. Box 7693
Alhambra, CA 91802-7533

David Ball
40 Sandy Lodge Way
Northwood, Middlesex
HA6 2AS UK

Charlie Gross
16745 Gertrude Street,
Omaha, NE 60136-3023

James J. Morrisey
24 Grove St.
Wayland, MA 01788

Helene Schad
2440 Viginia Ave.
Bensalem, PA 19020

Roger Barr
883 B Leverpool Circle,
Manchester, NJ 08759

Roy Horn
c/o Siegfried & Roy
1639 N Valley Drive,
Las Vegas, NV 89108

Anthony Murphy
11 Angel Rd.,
North Reading, MA 01864

Grant Schofield
(The Great Granzini)
9303 Quailbrook Ct.
Bakersfield, CA 93312

William H. Brewe
1698 Montrose
Cincinnati, OH 45214

Edward Kelly
224-15 64 Avenue,
Bayside, NY 11364

John Clark
603 W Country Club Rd.
Egg Harbor City, NJ 08215

Bob King
304 Suburban Court,
Rochester, NY 14620

Cesareo Pelaez
The Cabot St. Theatre
286 Cabot St.
Beverly, MA 01918

Lawrence Clark
204 Hazelwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14215

Robert D. Knigge
PO Box 5,
Jones Borough, TN 3765

Larry Poague
34221 West 90 Circle
Desota, KS 66108

Mario Susi
6 Bristol Rd.
W. Peabody, MA 01960

Tony Corrao
100 Daly Blvd. #2804
Oceanside, NY 11572

Stanley R. Kramien
11205 SW Summerfield Dr.
Apt 161
Tigard, OR 97224-3391

Jim Relyea
241 W. Lakeshore
Rockaway, NJ 07866

Larry Taverner
805 LaPaz Ct.
Bakersfield, CA 93312

Richard Laneau
4020 55th St. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33709

Harry Riser
8505 Woodfield Crossing
The Forum
Indianapolis, IN 46240

Jack White
4288 Arguello St.
San Diego, CA 92103

George Gilbert Lott


1725 Great Hill Rd.
Guilford, CT 06437

Dale Rumsmoke
430 Perrymont Ave
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Daniel Cudennec
Dany Trick
225, Stang-ar-Veildan-Traon, Mellac-29300,
Quimperle, France
Dan A. Dorsey
98 Woodvalley Dr.
Fayetteville, GA 30215

Nahmen Nissen
PO Box 1856
Colfax, CA 95713-1856

Pat Ryan
43 Fairbanks Rd.
Churchville, NY 14428

Sybill Simons
65 West 95 St. Apt 3A
New York, NY 10025
Sam Stecher
1000 Loring Ave Apt. C-23
Salem, MA 01970- 4253

Michael Woolf
Box 38046
Wellington Mail Centre
Lower Hutt 5045
Wellington, New Zealand

Stars of Tomorrow Show Seeks Young Performers

Show producer Marlene Clark is seeking to hire young performers for the Stars of Tomorrow
show, a professional stage show that features magicians ages seven through seventeen. The
show is part of the annual S.A.M. national convention, which will take place July 23-26, 2012,
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Applicants should submit: an application; a video, DVD or YouTube link of the fiveto-ten-minute stage act that they would like to perform in the show; a biography; and
a photo for the convention program. Young magicians interested in emceeing the show
also should include samples of introductions, jokes, and emcee bits in their videos. The
deadline for receiving applications is April 20, 2012. Each performer will receive a cash
payment, two free convention registrations (one for the performer, the other for a parent or
guardian), plus one year membership in the Society of Young Magicians. Information and
applications are available from Marlene Clark (203-689-5730 or afuntime@comcast.net) or at
www.magicsym.com (click on the Stars of Tomorrow graphic. For full details on the
convention please see www.magicsam.com.
24 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

New Members & Reinstatements


The following applications and reinstatements for Associate Memberships and Assembly Memberships have been received. For good cause shown, in
accordance with Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Society of American Magicians, any member in good standing may object to the
acceptance of any new Associate Member (Assembly Memberships have already been approved by the Assembly to which they will be affiliated).
Any objection should be directed to the National Administrator.

NEW APPLICATIONS

Jones, Matthew [Surrey, BC CANADA]


Kafig, Paul [Westbourogh, MA]
Kahn, Geri [Benicia, CA]
Alos, Michael [Philadelphia, PA]
Knyazev, Arie [Davis, CA]
Alston, Richard [Canton, GA]
Koerner, Ken [Neenha, WI]
Anderson, Nick [Taft, CA]
Koerner, Vicki [Neenah, WI]
Anderson, Ronald [Westminster, CA]
Kovalsky, Philip [Delray beach, FL]
Aragon, Fernando [Lilburn, GA]
Krevere, Dan [Vienna, VA]
Avila, Hugo [Bell, CA]
Krevere, Martha Beltran [Vienna, VA]
Baker, Michael [Fremont, CA]
Krishnamurthy, Nari [Santa Clara, CA]
Baroch, Andrew [Washington, DC]
Lester, Martin [Welling, KENT UK]
Barr, Blake [Peabody, MA]
Loudon, Ian t [Ft Lauderdale, FL]
Bender, Charles [Boca Raton, FL]
Love, Ron [Chino, CA]
Binnix, G. David [Cumming, GA]
Luescher, Fred [Oberwil, SWITZERLAND]
Blanco, Mariano [Springfield, NJ]
Lum, Ray [Las Vegas, NV]
Blashek, James [Santa Clara, CA]
Blumenthal, Ryan [Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA] Mccoy, Doug [Ancaster, ON CANADA]
Mcneece, Kevin [Fort Collins, CO]
Bottenfield, Robert [Riverside, CA]
Meinzer, Jerry [Colorado springs, CO]
Brennan, Mark [Watervilet, NY]
Moore, Bob [Columbus, OH]
Byers, Jason [Boise, ID]
Morley, Thomas [Atlanta, GA]
Byrd, Jordan [Blue Springs, MO]
Morning Star, Autumn [Erie, CO]
Calderon, David [Coral Gabels, FL]
Campbell, Lawrence [Huntington Beach, CA] Munoz, Oscar [Pharr, TX]
Nadeau, Dennis [Wynantskill, NY]
Cap, Jon [New Britain, CT]
Nelson, Karl [Boynton Beach, FL]
Carrano, Chick [Anaheim Hills, CA]
Neruda, Steve [Algonquin, IL]
Chaikin, Josh [Lenexa, KS]
Oh, Alvin [New York, NY]
Clark, Julia [Independence, MO]
Ovadia, Victor [Boca Raton, FL]
Colvin, Richard r [Kelso, WA]
Paone, Barbara [Colonia, NJ]
Cordi, Joseph [Farmingdale, NY]
Cranford, Michael [San Juan Capistrano, CA] Peterson, Ronald [Albuquerque, NM]
Pettry, A.M. Buck [Arvada, CO]
Davidson, Jason [West Hollywood, CA]
Plowman, Travis [Orlando, FL]
Deming, William [Paradise, CA]
Pratt, Jill [North Mymms, UK]
Dirks, Donovan [Omaha, NE]
Price, Douglas E [Columbus, OH]
Docherty, Stephen [San Marino, CA]
Quick, Robert [Robinson, IL]
Doire, Jim [Grand Prairie, TX]
Duinker, Niels [Spijkenisse, NETHERLANDS] Rasmussen, Fred [Sunnyvale, CA]
Rogers, Reade [Richardson, TX]
Farag, F Joseph [Cincinnati, OH]
Sawyers, Sam [Garland, TX]
Farkas, Thomas [Hightstown, NJ]
Schettler, Marcel [Wuelfrath, GERMANY]
Fosso, Jason [Rio Rancho, NM]
Schlanger, Steve [Los angeles, CA]
Frame, Jason [Monroe, NC]
Senocak, Julian [Cotati, CA]
Frances, Arnold [Delray Beach, FL]
Sergott Jr, John [Middletown, PA]
Goldberg, Jordan [Delray Beach, FL]
Shultz, Stephen [Rolling Hills, CA]
Gorenstein, Alan [Boynton Beach, FL]
Sica, Joe [Castle Rock, CO]
Graham, Aly [Oro Valley, AZ]
Silver, Hill [Pembrooke Pines, FL]
Hamil, David [Richmond, BC CANADA]
Slusher, John [Titusville, FL]
Hatcher, Brian [Charleston, WV]
Standard, Boyce Lee [Chester, VA]
Heller, Kevin [Auburn, IN]
Stern, Louis [Lake Worth, FL]
Henby, Barry [Gurnee, IL]
Hendry, Russell [Timaru, NEW ZEALAND] Sylvester, Thomas [Boca Raton, FL]
Tamura, Junichi [Tokyo, JAPAN]
Hoff, Seymour [San Jose, CA]
Van Amburg, Gordon [Brooklyn, NY]
Howell, Sean [Westland, MI]
Vanriet, Joshua [La Mesa, CA]
Humphrey, Jeremy [Brandenburg, KY]
Vient, Timothy [Sierra Madre, CA]
Ito, Masashi [Yokohama, JAPAN]
Walton, John [Bellingham, WA]
Janji, Steve [The Woodlands, TX]
Ward, John [San Antonip, TEXAS]
Jarvis, Mark [Solon, OH]
Warnke, Dan [Port St Lucie, FL]
Jones, Bruce [Overland Park, KS]
Waters, Arthur [Tucson, AZ]
Jones, Doug [San Jose, CA]

Weglinski, Jack [Boca Raton, FL]


Weiss, Scott [New York, NY]
Wilcox, John [Needham, MA]
Wilkinson, Andrew [Bradford, W. YORKSHIRE
UK]
Wojtas, Ken [Forest Park, IL]

REINSTATEMENTS
Akamatsu, Yoichi [Osaka 590-0007, JAPAN]
Alexander, Scott [Parkesburg, PA]
Anthonisen, Keith [Austin, MN]
Arkin, Charles [Cincinnati, OH]
Babcock, Derek [Troy, IL]
Barth, Dan H [Congerville, IL]
Barwick Jr, William Allen [Rockville, MD]
Boyd, David [New York, NY]
Brizendine, Bob [Palm Shores, FL]
Brock, Hutson [Zachary, LA]
Caceres Velez, Juan Carlos [Toa Alta, PR]
Castro, Dennis I [Sugar Land, TX]
Compton Jr, Dave [Trenton, NJ]
Corrier, Shon [Houston, TX]
Dicharry, Ryan [Saint Gabriel, LA]
Dilley, Daniel [West Lafayette, IN]
Doyle, Jamieson M [Colorado Springs, CO]
Droge, Steven Max [Warwick, NY]
Eastwood, Charles B [Bedford, NH]
Flint, Sandy [Sealy, TX]
Haddad, Peter W [Willimantic, CT]
Hammons, Paul K [Whittier, CA]
Harmon, Wayne E [Hudson, NH]
Hartman, Craig [South Jordan, UT]
Hirthler, Steve [Colorado Springs, CO]
Howell, Michael [Cortaro, AZ]
Hubble, Patrick [Lynchburg, VA]
Ingleby, Robert Lynn [West Valley, UT]
Javier, Ricardo [Dallas, TX]
Johnson, Kent [Riverside, IL]
Kerr Dmd, Brian C [Scranton, PA]
Kikuchi, Takatomo [Kawaguchishi, JAPAN]
Levinson, Doron [Holon, ISRAEL]
Mangham, James [Snellville, GA]
Martinez, Christopher [Tucson, AZ]
Mclaughlin, John [Gloucester, MA]
Moss, Lorne [Briggs Corner, NB CANADA]
Perry, James [Marlboro, NY]
Pforr, Beatrice [Brookline, MA]
Portala, Eli [Toledo, OH]
Saienni, Joe [Pheonix, AZ]
South, Brian D [Payson, UT]
Tessier, Christopher [Shelton, CT]
Walsh, James Andrew [Marlboro, MA]
Wollet, Wolfgang [Henderson, NV]

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 25

STAGE

LEVENT

101

Deciding on a Classic
In the last column, I explained the
virtues of the so-called classics of stage
magic and why they are a great place for
magic novices to begin, if they desire to
build a working repertoire.
When I think about adding a classic
trick to my show, the first step is always
the research phase. This is the process
in which I learn everything I can about
a trick so that I can answer the following
important questions:
What is the effect? In other words, what
does the trick actually look like to the
audience?
How does the trick work (mechanically
and psychologically)?
Am I physically able to do the trick?
Can I currently obtain the props and or
make them myself?
Is the trick appropriate for the venue in
which I plan to perform?
And the most important question: can
I make the trick entertaining to the
audience?

Research Hit the Books


For me, the primary means of researching a trick is to read every magic book and
periodical that contains an explanation
or description of the effect in question. I
prefer to begin with the earliest version of
the trick in print and work my way chronologically to the present. This method helps
me understand how the trick has changed
over time. I will talk more about these
changes in the next column, but first I
would like to discuss the old magic literature.
Since we are talking about classic
tricks, research into early versions involves
26 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

reading magic books from the nineteenth


century or earlier. Unfortunately, I became
a magician long before the Internet age;
therefore, I was forced to spend a considerable amount of time and money collecting old magic books. Without the Internet,
finding old magic books takes a lot of
legwork and is not easy. However, today
you can easily find these books on the
websites of magic used-book dealers such
as www.magicbookshop.com. You can
also search the inventories of general book
dealers at www.abe.com or look on auction
sites such as eBay.
As far as periodicals are concerned, you
can purchase entire files of old magazines
in searchable PDF form from publishers
such as www.miraclefactory.net, www.
lybrary.com, and www.martinbreese.com.
Keep in mind that books are great, but
never underestimate the wonderful ideas
that are contained in magic magazines. For
example, the mentor of my mentor (John
Thompson) was the brilliant Charlie Miller
(1909-1989). Mr. Miller was an enormously talented master of close-up and small
apparatus magic and was a fine professional entertainer. In my bookshelf I have about
a half dozen little booklets that he wrote as
well as Expert Card Technique (1940) by
Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, a book
that contained many of Millers (uncredited) methods. Charlie Miller was such a
great mind that one might wonder why he
hadnt contributed more to the literature of
magic by writing a big book. Well, in my
opinion, Mr. Miller did write the equivalent of a big magic book, because from
1964 to 1984 he wrote a monthly column
of tricks in Genii magazine that was titled
Magicana. I actually have a complete file
of Magicana in my library. It is a treasure
trove of ideas and advice; if you added up
the pages it would be enough content to fill
an 800-page book. So never discount the
knowledge that can be gained from magic
magazines, especially old ones.
Lucky for us, the copyright on many
of the old magic books has expired and
various sources have appeared that allow
these books to be downloaded in digital
form. For instance, a paid membership
to the Ask Alexander website located at
www.ConjuringArts.org gives you access
to a huge repository of magic literature;
many old magic books have been scanned
by Google and can be read for free at www.
books.google.com
Today, you can research a classic magic
trick at a fraction of what it used to cost.

But please be aware that gathering information from old magic books is not always
easy. The written language in use at that
time is different from today and understanding exactly what the author is trying
to convey is an acquired skill, one that can
be very challenging. Furthermore, some
of the old books do not follow the typical
convention of describing the Effect
followed by the Required Props and then
the Method or Presentation. Many of
the old books barely explain the effect.
For example in The Art of Magic (1909)
by T. Nelson Downs and John Northern
Hilliard there is a series of three billiard
ball sequences that together formed the
ball routine that Downs used in vaudeville
before he perfected his famous Misers
Dream act. The effect for each of the
three ball routines is printed as follows:
Four Solid Billiard Balls Appear, One at
a Time, Between the Fingers of the Right
or the Left Hand.
Passing Four Solid Balls from
Hand to Hand
Color Change with Four Solid Balls
Unfortunately for the reader of that
book, this is all you get as an explanation
of what the effect looks like. Right after
those one-sentence descriptions there is
a very lengthy and complicated move-bymove rundown of how to perform the trick.
If you only read the text, it will be nearly
impossible to understand what the routine
looks like or whether or not it is any good.
But if you read it carefully with the props
in your hands, doing what the author says,
you will have a much better understanding
of what the trick is all about. Because I am
an amateur musician with very little talent,
this reminds me of sheet music. To me a
piece of sheet music offers very few visual
clues as to what the song will sound like.
But if I play the written notes on a piano
keyboard, I can then hear the song and
begin to understand what the composer
had created. In my way of thinking, the
magic in the old books are like songs that
can only be appreciated if they are played
and heard.

Is the New Better than


the Old?
As long as I am talking about old
tricks, I should address the belief that some

Levents magic library


people have that new tricks are better than
old tricks. I can see why a person would
have that notion; the modern world leads
us to believe that the new is always better
than the old. When it comes to things like
technology, I can certainly agree with this
idea. But when it comes to Art, that is not
always the case. For instance, during the
Italian Renaissance, there lived the artist
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), who
was a master of not only of painting but
also of sculpture. There are many masters
of both those individual arts, but there
has yet to have been another person who
possessed as high a degree of skill with
both sculpture and painting at the same
time. In the theater we have the English
playwright William Shakespeare (15641616), whose thirty-eight plays and 154
sonnets stand as a high point in drama
and the use of the English language. And
finally, in music we have the German
composer Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750), whose prodigious ability to create
beautiful musical counterpoint with
fluidity and precision is something that has
neither been equaled nor approached since
his death 261 years ago. These men might
not have only been the best in the world
while they were alive; they could be the

greatest artists in their respective art forms


for the entire duration of human history.
As I said before, unlike technology, in
the Arts the latest or the newest doesnt
mean the best. There are many recent pop
songs that have reached number one on the
charts, but I doubt most of them will be
played two hundred years from now. But
I guarantee that two hundred years from
now somebody will be placidly listening
to Bach, marveling at the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel and the Piet at St. Peters
Basilica, and shedding a tear for a Shakespearian tragedy.
Let me ask you this: If we have had
such great masters of painting, literature,
and music, dont you think it is possible for
us to have had great magicians from the
past whose work stands the test of time? I
believe that the art of magic has had many
great geniuses in the distant past and one
of the reasons why I read old magic books
is because I want to learn their secrets and
marvel at their art and artifice.

Were the Vaudevillians


Any Good?
As to the style of the old time magicians
such as those from the age of vaudeville

(1881-1932), there seems to be a popularly


held assumption that those conjurers of
the past performed in an old and stodgy
manner. I think this is a misconception
caused by the fact that most people today
have never actually seen a vaudeville
magician. The few people who believe they
have seen a vaudeville magician, more
than likely have only seen a Hollywood
film, with an actor playing the part of a
magician. Those movies bear no relation
to real vaudeville, and quite frankly, a film
actor with a few days rehearsal with selfworking props is no substitute for a professional vaudevillian with ten thousand
shows worth of experience.
There is very little motion picture film
of real vaudeville artists, but the films
that I have seen proved to me that those
performers were fantastic showmen with
tremendous talent. I have personally seen
film of T. Nelson Downs (1867-1938)
performing his coin star, click pass, and
new fan pass, and I was blown away by
his skill. Ive watched footage of Tenkai
(1889-1972) producing cigarettes on the
vaudeville stage and Horace Goldin (18731939) doing apparatus magic with blinding
energy. And in every film I have seen of
Cardini (1894-1973) Ive become a witness
to the sublime.
Speaking of Cardini: A few years back, I
decided to recreate Cardinis entire billiard
ball routine (which uses eight solid balls
of various colors and one shell) for one of
my DVD projects. I studied many sources
in the magic literature, but the primary
source was a move-by-move write-up of
Cardinis entire act written by a knowledgeable magician in 1931. By following
the written moves and blending them with
the material from multiple sources, I was
able to reconstruct the entire Cardini ball
routine. Needless to say, Cardinis ball
routine (of which no complete film exists)
is a masterpiece. As I rehearsed the routine,
something occurred to me: there were
several ball sequences that seemed very
familiar. I had soon discovered that parts
of Cardinis routine were from T. Nelson
Downss ball routine that was published
in The Art of Magic in 1909. It seems that
even the great Cardini did magic research
when he included a classic in his act. If he
did research, then why wouldnt you?
In the next column I will discuss how to
use computers to your advantage when researching magic and how not every change
to a trick is actually an improvement.
2012 Levent Cimkentli

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 27

Ellipsis*

[ih-lip-sis] an omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from an original text


by Michael Perovich

The Leipzig Stop Trick


Dai Vernons Tribute to Nate Leipzig contains a description of
Leipzigs stage act, including a number of card tricks. One of the
effects, The Leipzig Stop Trick, is briefly described on pages 49
and 50 as a part of a series of locations. A chosen card (actually
several, because a number of cards are found sequentially) is
secretly brought to the top of the pack. The cards are dealt one at
a time into the magicians palm (thus secretly placing the chosen
card on the bottom of the dealt pile) and the spectator stops the
deal wherever he or she likes. The chosen card is revealed by the
magician palming it from the bottom of the in-hand packet and
depositing it on top without anyone seeing it. While this may
seem straightforward, I felt these actions had to be done without
hesitation. Any delay would seem to telegraph that something was
going on and, furthermore, your hands were likely to be burned
by the audience from the point at which the transferring of cards
stops until the chosen card is revealed. The instructions read:
Immediately the man called Stop, Leipzig asked, This one?
and then side-slipped the bottom card into his right palm, brought
his right hand over the cards in his left hand, and deposited it on
top. Without pause, his right hand travelled to the cards on the
table, and as he pointed to the top card, he said: or the next .
I frankly didnt understand how this could be brought off. I
mentioned to the Professor that it seemed very awkward to me and
I marveled at how Leipzig was able to get away with it. How could
this sequence flow as described in the book? I probably mentioned
that I just didnt see how anyone could get away with palming a
card from the bottom of the pack and dumping it on top when the
audiences attention was directed at his hands.
Asking such questions was somewhat of a risky business, as I
had learned when I once told the Professor I didnt see how anyone
could get away with Ross Bertrams Passing the Half-Bucks in
Stars of Magic. I stated this at the Castle Main Bar and got a
pretty animated response. What do you mean? Thats a beautiful,
beautiful effect. It can be performed exactly as described in
Stars of Magic and will fool the keenest observer. With that
he launched into the trick and did it beautifully, perfectly, and
without my glimpsing any of the secret transfers. He then went
over the fine points of the effect with me, the angles to be considered, and a bunch of other stuff, but I knew that for a second there
I had evoked his ire.
In the case of the Leipzig effect, however, the answer came
quickly, gently, and accompanied by a demonstration that made
clear to me how it could be done. It could, in fact, be done under
the closest scrutiny, somewhat as described in the book, but with
the sequence revised and with an all-important turn of the wrist.
The action he showed me might be known to you, but I had never
seen it before nor have I ever seen anyone do it since. It is an
exquisitely beautiful move.
Once the chosen card is brought to the top, the deck is given
to the spectator or placed on the table between the spectator and
the magician. The spectator now deals cards one at a time onto
the magicians outstretched palm, or the magician can pull them
one at a time from the top of the pack and place them on his palm
(Photo 1).
Regardless of how one goes about this, you end up with an
irregular pile of cards in your outstretched hand. Now, in the act
of squaring the cards you palm the bottom card of the pack. This
28 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Photo 1

is done by the Leipzig move akin to the side steal. Rather than
get into a deer-in-headlights mode as you fool with the pack, I
typically take the pack from above with my free hand just as I
finish squaring them, briefly gesture with the hand into which the
cards were originally dealt, and as this hand returns it pushes out
the bottom card with the extended fingertips and takes the dealt
packet back as the hand holding the packet from above palms the
chosen card (Photo 2).

Photo 2

Photo 5
Photo 3

Photo 4

The magician now says, We have stopped exactly at a point


chosen by you, but you still have a decision to make. Do you want
this card or this one? Suiting action to words, the hand with the
palmed card reaches out and with the middle finger touches the
top card of the tabled packet (Photo 3) as I say this card.... I
then bring the hand back toward myself and directly over the hand
holding the packet of dealt cards; this is all done in one smooth
continuous move. As the palmed card passes over the held packet,
it drops its card onto those in the hand (Photo 4) and immediately
turns palm up. I say, ...or this one? as the fingernails of the
middle fingers of the palm-up hand (which a split second before
held the palmed card) tap the cards piled in the hand (Photo 5).
If youve managed to follow along with these directions, you
realize that the fingernails of the palm-up hand are now tapping
the chosen card. Once you get the hang of this, you will love the
way it feels. This method of depositing a palmed card can be
used any time a reason can be found to point in succession to
separate piles of cards, ending with the pile in your hand. This

is the reverse of the sequence described in the book; the feint of


turning the hand palm up at the end and tapping the packet seals
the deal. I think this is a case where the original description is on
the right track but fundamentally wrong.
Of course, the spectator may choose the card at the top of
the packet on the table. In this case, that card is taken, placed on
the magicians packet and shown to be the chosen card using the
double lift or changed as described in the Leipzig book. [Editors
note: This change is like a very loose second deal, covered with
a wrist turn. Remember, Leipzig used this as a stage trick; in
close-up situations the double lift may be more suitable.]
A little masterpiece in Leipzigs hands, Im sure.
Next time well examine the handling of the back palm in Dai
Vernons Mosquitos Parade. You might read it in the meantime
and try to perform it as described so that we can better understand
the complexities of this wonderful little routine. It appears in Dai
Vernons More Inner Secrets of Card Magic, a book every card
magician should own.

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MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 29

A Magician Prepares...

by Dennis Loomis

Seven Keys to Baldpate


I have always been fond of the Seven Keys to Bald Pate plot
of Ted Annemann (based on an idea of Joseph J. Kolar), and over
the years Ive worked out several ways to present it. Annemanns
original version was written up in his The Book without a Name.
It involves (as far as the audience knows) a sturdy padlock, seven
keys, and a cloth bag. The padlock was not gimmicked, but there
were actually thirteen keys. Seven of the keys would open the
lock, and the other six keys would not. The bag was a double compartment change bag. In the Annemann version it is the performer
who makes the psychic selection of the proper key.
Roy Johnson, in his book The Second Time Around, details
the idea of a box into which you place a watch belonging to a
spectator from the audience. The box is locked with the padlock;
the helper tries several keys to show that none of them will open
the lock. The performer produces one last key, which is shown
to be the only key that works in the lock. The keys are mixed
together and seven spectators each take a key at random. The
assisting volunteer chooses one spectator; the keys held by the
others are all dropped into the box through a slot in the top. If
the one remaining key is not the one that opens the lock, it will
be impossible to retrieve the spectators watch. Of course, the
remaining key is the correct one, and the spectator gets his watch
back. I like this version very much, particularly placing the watch
into jeopardy and allowing the spectator to get the credit for the
proper psychic selection.
The plot is an inherently interesting one, and in a school you
can make it more interesting by using the principal or another
authority figure and putting his glasses, watch, cell phone, ring,
wallet, necktie, and belt into the box before locking the box
closed with the padlock. The students enjoy seeing the principal
surrender all of these valuables, and then seeing his goodies
locked up.
However, I did not like Annemanns version because the keys
go out of sight inside the bag. There is also the possibility that the
spectator, when reaching into the bag, might feel keys through the
divider and realize the double nature of the bag. I didnt like Roy
Johnsons method because it uses extra keys, requires that you
steal an extra key from your pocket, and requires a sleight-of-hand
switch. While the switch is not particularly difficult, I just wanted
something cleaner.
So, I purchased the mechanical version sold under the name
of Key-R-Rect. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.
It uses only seven keys, they never go out of sight, and during
the entire routine you never touch the keys yourself except to
bring the correct key from your pocket on a ribbon. Having said
that, I freely admit that its the presentation that matters. Richard
Osterlind performs this with the original Annemann version and
its just fine. I just think that the use of the Key-R-Rect lock makes
it much cleaner.
I thought that a very sturdy box should be used for this. You
can see the box I made in Photo 1. All of the keys, except for the
special one, hang on hooks on the front of the box. That one
special key is threaded on a ribbon and is ready in my pocket.
In Photo 2, you can see that the lid of the box has a chromeplated light switch plate fastened to the top. There is a hole through
the lid that lines up with the hole in the switch plate so that the keys
can be dropped into the box once its locked. Since the keys are
30 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

fairly small objects, I


wanted to find a way for
the audience to follow
the action, and hit upon
the idea of using sound.
The metal keys produce
a surprisingly loud sound
when they strike a glass
surface. I use a glass
bowl (Photo 3) for the keys to
be placed into once each one
is tried by the spectator. I also
mounted a jar on the underside
of the lid (Photo 4). When a key
is dropped into the slot in the
top of the box it lands in the jar
and makes a nice loud sound.
This sound can be enhanced by
holding the microphone by the
slot when a key is dropped in.
Once the first six keys are
tried and dropped into the
bowl, I take the correct key
(on its ribbon) from my pocket,

remove it from the ribbon,


and allow the spectator to
try it in the lock; the lock
opens. I have him take the
key out himself and add it
to the others in the bowl.
Then I get him to relock
the lock. I mix up the keys
in the bowl by shaking
it. I hold the microphone
by the bowl so that the
audience can hear the keys
getting mixed.
I now claim that the
spectator has the psychic
ability to find the key that
will open the lock so that he can
reclaim his goodies. I hold the bowl
out to him and ask him to reach in
and stir the keys around a bit; he is
then to pick one that does not open
the lock. When he withdraws a single
key, I ask him if he is quite sure
that the key does not open the lock.
Usually the spectator plays along. If
not, I cajole him a bit until he does.
I then say, Since you are confident

that the key you are holding is not the key that opens the lock,
drop it into the box through the slot. I hold the microphone up
to the slot as he does this so the audience can hear the sound of
the key landing inside the jar. (The jar also prevents the falling
key from damaging his watch, cell phone, and the other borrowed
items.)
As soon as the key lands, I act very surprised and say, I cant
believe you really did that! You do understand, dont you, that
if that was the key that opens the lock, you have no way to get
your valuables back? I let him answer that as best he can and
continue, Well, in for a penny, in for a pound I always say. Go
ahead and pick another key that you are sure will not open the
lock. Good. You know where it goes, dont you? When he drops
it in, you move right along, picking up the pace; he picks keys and
drops them into the slot without wasting time.
You stop when there is just one key left in the bowl. I ask, Do
you have any idea what the odds are that this key will open the
lock? He seldom has any idea and I tell him the truth: the odds
are just over fourteen percent. Then I ask, Why is it that you
believe that you have psychic powers? Usually, he cant answer
that. I try to look incredulous as I ask, If you have no good reason
to believe you have psychic powers, why did you drop all of the
other keys into the slot? Surely it cant be just because I told you
to! Well, it hardly matters now; its time to find out how psychic
you really are. And then, addressing the audience I say, If he
found the only key that will open the box, I think you should give
him a big round of applause. I hold out the bowl; he takes the key
and I just gesture toward the lock. As he inserts and turns the key,
I hold the microphone by the lock so the audience can hear the

unmistakable sound of the lock opening. I very quickly remove


the lock, hold it up, and then start the applause for my volunteer.
When the applause starts to die, I open the lid of the box, allowing
the spectator to retrieve his personal items. As he leaves the stage,
I generally get another round of applause for him.

5
To reset, I return the regular keys to the hooks on the front of
the box, put the glass bowl into a protective bag, put the bag inside
the box, put the special key back onto the ribbon, and put it into
the box as well. To keep the keys in place during transport, I made
a board of three-quarter-inch plywood with holes to go over the
hooks on the front of the box to protect them (Photo 5). The box
goes inside a heavy, protective, drawstring bag (Photo 6).
Copyright 2012 by Dennis Loomis

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 31

i left my
cards at
David Garrard
David is a native of Atlanta,
Georgia. His dad mystified him
with a few tricks when David was
twelve years old. I was really
wowed by this magic; even after
I had learned everything that
my dad knew, he saw that I still
wanted to know more.
Davids dad, who was a Baptist
minister, had a good friend named
Felix Snipes who was also a
minister and a very well known
magician in Christian magic circles. Upon hearing of young
Davids interest in magic, he invited him and his father to the
Georgia magic club; David was hooked. He said that growing
up in Atlanta during that time was great, since he was able
to learn from magicians like Tom Mullica, Abb Dickson, and
Duke Stern, who all lived in the Atlanta area. David learned
everything he could and was soon performing at local birthday
parties and Blue and Gold banquets.
Being a preachers kid, David started looking for ways that
he could use his newfound magic and performing skills to help
share his beliefs. He had a friend who was a humorist who
inspired him and he started to pattern his presentations in a
humorous way. The magician Andre Kole also influenced him.
I dont want to be known as a gospel or Christian magician,
although I dont mind people knowing that I am a magician
who is a Christian, David said. I just want to be the best
magician and do the best show I can. If that makes me an
interesting enough person for people to care about what else
I think, then thats great.
David attended college in Birmingham, Alabama, studying
history and philosophy; he then moved to Louisville, Kentucky,
to attend a Baptist seminary located there. Since he needed to
have some kind of student teaching position while attending
seminary, he started working with the children at his church
and found that he really enjoyed it. Upon graduation his
church asked him if he would stay on as the childrens pastor.
Since he still wanted to perform magic, he said he would if it
would be a part-time position. Everything worked out, and
thirty-five years later he is still the part-time childrens
pastor there. David chuckled when he said, part-time, since
he said, theres no such thing as a part-time minister. But
his schedule at the church does allow him to perform sixty to
seventy magic shows a year as well.
Today, David lives in Louisville with his wife Stephanie
and two children, Claire and Tyler. He also pulls duty as the
president of the Louisville Magic Club. This club is a com32 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

HOME

by

steve

mars hall

bination of the Lance Burton I.B.M. Ring 64 and the Mac


King S.A.M. Assembly 215. Having had the chance to visit,
and lecture for, the Louisville Magic Club, I could see what a
vibrant and friendly organization it is. When asked what he felt
makes a great magic club, this is what David had to say: We
try to build a team and create new leadership, keep members
informed, keep the politics out, help out the younger members,
and do things for the community. These are the points that I
feel are most important for a magic club.
If youre ever in Louisville, contact David and drop in on
the Louisville Magic Club. Oh, and tell him that Steve told you
to ask to be taken to the hamburger restaurant before the
meeting. Youll be glad you did!

Done with a Dollar


By David Garrard
Effect: Four quarters magically transform into two half
dollars, and ultimately change into a silver dollar.
Needed: Four quarters, two half dollars, one silver dollar,
and a magic wand (Photo 1). Place everything in your right
pants or jacket pocket.

Performance: When you are ready to perform, reach


into your pocket and bring out all four quarters making sure
that no one sees how many you are actually holding.
The other day I saw a trick called Done with a Dollar. Its a
great trick, and I would like to show it to you, but times are tough
and I only have seventy-five cents. As you say this, push three of
the quarters out of your closed hand with your thumb, letting
them fall onto the table. Retain the extra quarter in fingerpalm position.
The trick begins with the old two-in-the-hand, one-in-thepocket dodge. Pick up one of the quarters with your right
hand and toss it into your left. Pick up the second quarter and
do the same, adding the extra quarter as you toss. Take the
remaining quarter and place it back into your pocket. Finger
palm it and bring your hand out saying, If I have one in my

pocket, how many should I have in my hand? As you say this,


hold up the first finger of your right hand, using the Ramsey
subtlety to hide the fourth quarter.
The spectator will answer, Two, especially if you
emphasize the word should. Open your left hand as you say,
Thats right, but this is a trick done with three coins!
Jiggle around the coins in your left hand until one quarter
settles in finger-palm position at the base of your middle
fingers (Photo 2). Dump the coins in your left hand into your
right hand, retaining the coin in left-hand finger palm as you
do. Thanks to the extra coin in your right hand, the spectator
will still see three coins. This is a very nice visual retention
exchange. Place the three coins back on the table as you say,
Lets try it again.

2
Make a loose fist with your left hand (which conceals one
quarter). Place one quarter on top of the fist. Repeat with
the second quarter. Allow these two quarters to fall down
into your closed fist as you place the third quarter in your
pocket. This time, actually leave the coin in your right pocket.
However, bring your hand out in exactly the same way you did
previously, with your fingers curled.
Again ask, If I have one in my pocket (indicate with the first
finger of your right hand) how many should I have in my hand?
As you deliver this last line, open the fingers of your right hand
and gesture palm up to your left. This is fun and throws off any
spectator who thinks you have a coin in that hand. Open your
left hand to show three coins. Dump them into your right
hand and then dump them onto the table.
A friend saw me do this trick and felt sorry for me. He gave me
another quarter so the trick could actually be done with a dollar.
As you say this, reach into your pocket and finger palm one of
the half dollars as you grab the extra quarter. Bring your hand
out holding the quarter between your thumb and first finger
with the half dollar finger palmed.
Place the fourth quarter on the table as you say, And now
my trick really is done with a dollar! In fact, thats all you need
to remember from here on. Once again, Im going to place two
quarters in my left hand. Do so, but as you toss the second
quarter also toss the half dollar. And I will put two quarters in
my pocket. Leave the quarters in your pocket but bring out
the second half dollar finger palmed.
If I have two quarters in my pocket, how many should I have
in my left hand? Thats right, two, but all you need to remember
now is that this trick is done with a dollar! Open your left hand
to reveal two quarters and one half dollar. As you explain
that the coins total a dollar, use the index finger of your right
hand (with the second half dollar still finger palmed) to move
the coins around so that the quarters arrive in finger palm
position at the base of your middle fingers (Photo 3).

3
Apparently dump the coins from your left hand into your
right hand, but retain the quarters in left-hand finger palm.
As the half dollar in your left hand joins the half dollar in your
right, keep your right hand closed and shake your fist gently
so the coins rattle around. Ask again, What is this trick done
with? Open your right hand to reveal the two halves as you
say, Thats right, a dollar!
Take one of the halves with the thumb and first finger of
your left hand and the other in your right. Display them momentarily, and then place them on the table. Keep your hands
relaxed (the left one still holds two quarters).
For the next part of the trick, I need a magic wand. Reach into
your left pocket first (as if searching) and ditch the quarters.
Almost at the same time, reach into your right pocket, finger
palm or classic palm the dollar, and bring out the wand.
Place the wand on the table and pick up one of the halves
with your right hand. Toss the half dollar into your left hand,
but as you do, execute the Bobo switch, retaining the half and
tossing the dollar into your left hand, which immediately closes
around it. (Be careful that the coins dont hit each other and
talk as you do this.) Classic
palm the first half as you pick
up the second half, holding
it at the tips of your fingers.
Pretend to place this half into
4
the left hand as well, but as
you do, let the classic palmed
half fall down on top of it in
a variation of the click pass.
At this point, both halves will
be on the fingertips of your
right hand; the dollar will be
in your left (Photo 4). Curl
your right second, third, and
fourth fingers inward, hiding
the halves as you pick up the wand with your thumb and first
finger. Wave it over the left hand and then put the wand away,
leaving it and the halves in your pocket.
Ask again what the trick is done with. When the spectator
says, A dollar, you agree. Then open your left hand to reveal
the silver dollar and let it fall to the table.

Steves Stuff
Although it takes a while to read through all the moves,
this trick goes pretty fast. Its a fun routine that will get the
spectators involved and, move-wise, it should be within the
grasp of many reading this. Have fun with this one!

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 33

Treasures from the Salon de Magie

by Ken Klosterman

continued to rise, leaves falling away to reveal tiny buds.


As Germain continued his fanning, the buds opened up
and sprouted fully grown, rich red roses real roses.
Many
magicians
At this point Germain broke his silence to address
have featured a flower the audience: This is no illusion, optical delusion, or
growth trick in their hallucination. I assure you, it is reality. On that cue,
programs. Harry Kellar the bandleader began a lively number as Germain
magically grew roses removed blossoms from the rose bush and distributed
throughout his career, them to female spectators.
from the 1880s until his
From start to finish, Germains Flower Growth took
retirement in 1907. The seventy-seven seconds. But preparing the stage,
female magician Dell apparatus, and flowers for the final effect took well over
ODell, Hardeen, and an hour. To the casual observer, the trick might have
even Houdini included seemed simple enough to perform; in fact, throwing one
it in their programs. In switch is all that is required to operate the trick. But
its most basic form, it without the proper window dressing setting the proper
derives from the Hindu mood, playing the proper music the Flower Growth
trick in which a seed or is really just a mechanical marvel. In the hands of
twig is thrust into the Germain, sensitively acted, it was nothing short of a
ground and covered beautiful, graceful miracle natures laws defied.
with a cloth. The cloth
Houdini performed his version in the magic portion
is lifted occasionally, of his act before doing escapes in part two. He had
each time revealing two rose bushes custom made by Rudolph Schlosser on
a gradually growing contract for Hornmann Magic Company of New York. In
plant. When the covering is finally removed, a mango his presentation, two flowerpots were introduced and
bush is shown to have grown.
brought to the footlights to show them empty. Setting
There are four such illusions in the collection and each of the pots on top of its own table, one at either
well look at two of them. The
side of the stage, Houdini then
Flower Growth as performed and
produced two small bouquets
invented by Karl Germain around
of roses. These were feather
1897 is a near perfect illusion. It
flowers made by Schlosser. Each
is stunning because the flowers
bouquet was placed in a pot and
real flowers grow in a pot without
covered with a large, light handsuspicious magical apparatus, metal
kerchief. As Houdini continued
cones (Kellars version), springhis show, from time to time he
loaded devices, or decorated
took a sprinkling can to each pot
bottomless containers.
and apparently watered the soil.
Germains interpretation of the
Shapes were seen to slowly form
classic plot was simplicity in itself.
underneath each silk. When he
At center stage sat an undraped,
finally removed the coverings,
three-legged gold leaf table.
the small bouquets had grown
Germain had it carved especially for
into full-sized rose bushes. The
the Flower Growth trick. Beginning
feather roses looked real but
with patter alluding to the famous
could not be distributed to the
mango trick popularized by Hindu
audience as with Germains
fakirs, Germain set an empty,
method. The other Houdini rose
ordinary flowerpot on a low side
bush is in the collection of John
table at center stage and visibly
Gaughan.
poured soil into it from a cloth bag.
Germain had three copies of
Next some seeds were added. He
the apparatus made. Two were
set the pot atop the table at center
full-size and meant for the stage.
From the Salon de Magie Collection
stage and picked up a fan. As the
One served as a backup in case of
gentle melody of Edward Elgars
a mechanical mishap. The third
Salut dAmour was played, Germain gestured toward was a smaller version for use in parlor settings. At one
the pot with the fan, moving from one side of the table time I owned all three of Germains rose bushes. One
to the other as he did so.
remains in the Salon de Magie, one I presented to David
Slowly, a bud began to peek out above the lip of the Copperfield for his museum, and the parlor-size version
flowerpot. There was no covering cloth as in Houdinis I presented to Teller, who is a great admirer of Germain.
version. Growing inch by inch, the sprouting plant All the Flower Growths are in good hands.

The Blooming Rose Bush

34 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Android Alakazam
A week doesnt go by without someone writing to me asking
for some Android magic apps recommendations. The available
apps were so bad that they werent worth wasting the page space.
Also, because there are different flavors of Android phones
(unlike the iPhone), the apps sometimes crashed. I decided to
focus my attention on finding at least a few apps worthy to be
showcased here. This was one of the hardest columns Ive ever
written. After ten days of diligent searching heres what I found.

Wingman Card Magic and Wingman


Card Accomplice

a magic app.
The magician shows photos of
Houdini and recounts information about
his life and career. He asks the spectator
to look into Houdinis eyes and think of
a card. When the spectator says what his
card was, the magician shows a photo of
Houdinis family; Houdinis brother is
holding the exact, named card in his hand
in a photo taken one hundred years ago.
The routine is wonderful and the
photos and bio add to the presentation. Houdinis Last Magic
Trick is available in the Android Market for $5.

This is a twenty-first-century way of using


a stooge to find out information. Wingman
Card Magic and Wingman Card Accomplice are a pair of apps that you deploy on
two Android devices that have been paired
over Bluetooth. The magician asks the
audience to call out, draw, sign, or otherwise
indicate a card, and the accomplice simply
chooses it surreptitiously in the accomplice
app. Wingman Card Magic is available at
the Android app store for $1.99. Wingman Card Accomplice is
available for free in the Android app store. Because it is free,
you can set up different stooges without paying multiple times
for the app.

Mind Reader Magic

Martys Magic Coin

A Wi-Free Presentation

This was the first magic trick I ever saw


on an iPhone. Marty has now written the app
for Android. The iPhone downloads have
passed the 25,000 mark, so you know that
this is a very popular effect. The performer
asks for a quarter from the audience, rubs
it into the phones screen, and shows that
the coin is now inside the phone by letting
the coin roll around the inside edges, letting
it fall from one edge to the other. Finally,
the performer shakes the phone and the coin
falls out onto the table. Marty includes a few effects including
the new carrot slice bit in which the performer cuts a carrot slice
and rubs it into the phone. Its then shaken out of the phone and
eaten. Thirty-two different worldwide coins are programmed
into the app. His instructions and video tutorials are first rate.
Martys Magic Coin is available in the iTunes store and now for
Android in the Android Market for $2.99.

Houdinis Last Magic Trick


This is my favorite Android app because it is similar to one
of my favorite iPhone apps, PSYPIC. This app adds elements of
a nice routine, which makes it look impromptu rather than like

A version of the very popular iPredict


on the iPhone, Mind Reader Magic allows
the spectator to think of an ESP symbol
from a selection of cards placed in front of
him. The magician draws an ESP symbol
on the phone and amazingly the prediction is correct. Another routine is this: the
magician draws a symbol on the phone and
then sends his thoughts to the spectator who
names a symbol. Of course, the symbol he
names matches the drawing on the phone. Mind Reader Magic
is available in the Android Market for $5.

Ever want to give a presentation from your iPhone, iPad, or


iPod Touch wirelessly? Most people do it with WiFi connections. If you are in a hotel ballroom, they usually want to charge
you for that WiFi use. Heres another solution. IM.PLAY is an
audio/video transmitter for Apple devices. Plug the transmitter
dongle into your device and the receiver into your TV and you
are ready to go. Again I stress, no WiFi needed! The transmitter battery lasts for over three hours of continual use without
ever draining the battery on your device. IM.PLAY retails for
around $100. You can read all about it and download a brochure
at agent.liquiddigital.com/au.
Bruce is always on the lookout for computer magic, iPhone/
iPod Touch apps, and tech toys that can be used in magic
applications. If you have any suggestions for future columns,
write to Bruce at SAMtalkBruce@cox.net.

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 35

Far More than Meets the Eye


A Conversation with Simon and Ginny Aronson
by Michael Close

Simon and Ginny Aronson are two of the smartest, nicest people I know. Through his five books (Bound to
Please, The Aronson Approach, Simply Simon, Try the Impossible, and Sessions, co-authored with David Solomon), his
marketed effects, and his three-DVD set Sessions with Simon: The Impossible Magic of Simon Aronson (L&L Publishing),
Simon has established an enviable reputation as one of magics most thoughtful and thorough creators. Many of
his effects, such as Shuffle-bored, Red See Passover, Side-swiped, and Prior Commitment, are in the repertoire
of magicians worldwide. He is a pioneer in memorized deck magic, and his Aronson stack is one of the two most
popular stacks in use. You can download his free, fifty-three-page introduction, Memories Are Made of This, from
his website (www.simonaronson.com/memorizedhome.htm). He accomplished all this while pursuing a full-time,
twenty-six-year career as an associate and then full-partner at the law firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook. Ginnys
thirty-five year, full-time law career at Sidley Austin LLP was even busier. She progressed from associate, to partner,
to managing partner (in 1998), and was the first woman to reach the management committee in the 132-year
history of the firm. One of her last accomplishments before retirement was supervising the development and design
of the firms new forty-story office building in Chicago.
The Aronsons share many interests, including modern art, ballroom dancing, and piano playing. But it is their collaboration in a two-person mindreading act that is particularly astonishing. Lisa and I experienced this firsthand, in
an impromptu setting, during lunch, when Simon borrowed a dollar bill and Ginny, with her back turned, divined the
digits and letters of the serial number. Their act is a forty-year work-in-progress, and it is a deep fooler. The depth of
detail that Ginny is able to describe is amazing. (You can see an eighteen-minute portion of their act on Volume One
of the above DVD set.)
I chatted with both Simon and Ginny via Skype; we talked about their backgrounds, Simons life in magic, and the
development of the two-person mindreading act. Michael Close
Michael: Lets start at the beginning.
Simon: I was born in Boston in 1943 (because both my
parents families lived in the Boston area). But my parents resided in
Chicago, so I lived in Chicago until age two-and-a-half, at which point
we moved to New York State. I lived in Forest Hills until I was about
nine, and then we moved to Rye, New York, where we lived until I left
for college.

M: Your father had a very interesting career.


S: My father, Arnold Aronson, was a lobbyist and promoter for all
kinds of anti-discrimination programs mainly nationally, but also
locally. Civil rights was his forte. While he was in Chicago, he and A.
Phillip Randolph worked to get the first Fair Employment Practices
Act passed. He worked with Truman, and with every administration
thereafter. He was passionate about civil rights all his life. In fact, not
only did he do this for his entire working career, but when he retired
in 1976 he moved to Washington, D.C., so he could do more on his
own time.
Ginny: He was a true civil rights leader. For his work on civil
rights he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award in the United States) by President Clinton in 1998.
36 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

M: What did your mom do, Simon?


S: My mother was a Radcliffe grad and a social worker, but also

an artist. She was a very dedicated painter, working in


various media oils, watercolors, collage. I developed
an appreciation of art from my mother. Whenever I visited home in New York or later Washington D.C., she took
me to the various museums. As you know, Ginny and I
are collectors, and Im sure that my appreciation of and
desire to be surrounded by modern and abstract art
comes from her.

M: Did the gift of a magic set begin your interest in


magic?
S: Yes. My first magic set was a Mandrake set, followed
very quickly by a Gilbert Mysto set. My fathers cousin
was in the toy industry and he brought me little tricks
(like the Adams stuff). But when we moved to Rye, just
before my ninth birthday, we were just three blocks
away from Playland, the second largest amusement park
in New York, second only to Coney Island. At that time
it was a wonderful amusement park with rides, games,
and a very large trick and novelty shop. My father, seeing that I was intrigued by the little junky plastic tricks,
took me to the magic store there and we started buying
tricks. I remember getting an egg bag, a money maker,
and a small set of linking rings; I was just fascinated with
everything they had there. It was the Playland magic
shop that brought me beyond the normal simple magic
kit phase, where many kids start and also stop.
Another thing about Playland really intrigued me.
Besides its magic shop, Playland also had a real boardwalk
with carny games; games that, in retrospect, might not
have been completely on the up and up. I was just fascinated by how those games worked. I think that those
carny games enhanced my appreciation for the type of
deception that goes on in magic almost a conman thing.
M: Later you worked at that Playland magic shop?
S: Yes, I actually realized my dream job. I had been
a regular customer for years and the owner got to know
me; he enjoyed talking magic with me. When I turned
sixteen, he was looking for cheap labor, and since I was
home for the summers, he gave me the job managing and
operating the shop.
G: I think a lot of Simons humor, fast talk, and ability
to get along with people came from this experience.
Especially with the Guess Your Weight and Guess Your
Age games.
S: The magic shop owner also operated those games,
so I filled in whenever someone was on break. Running
those games was as close as I got to being a carny
pitchman. It cost a quarter to play; if the participant won,
he got a prize but the prizes actually cost only a nickel
or a dime. They were plastic kewpie dolls and Plaster of
Paris statues, but everything cost far less than a quarter.
The whole idea was to get the customers to pay the
quarter.

M: At the beginning, you were interested in prop


magic.
S: Absolutely. Candidly, theres one other thing that
drove my interest in magic. I was an absolutely terrible
athlete. I had no sports ability whatsoever. My father recognized that I needed an activity that I could practice and
be good at, and he encouraged me. So I took to showing
people tricks and doing little shows in the backyard. I
eventually bought enough tricks from the Playland shop
to do a whole show. I performed shows on the birthday
circuit; my first paid show was at age eleven. My mother
drove me. I actually charged a full dollar for that show.
My mother, with amazing foresight, told me that I should
frame that dollar. I still have it. And its valuable, because
its a Silver Certificate, and they dont make those types
of bills anymore. It may even be worth three dollars now.
A few months after my first paid show, the local
newspaper sponsored a promotion that let kids run free
classified ads. I put in an ad stating that I was available
to do magic at birthday parties. The editors picked me
to do a story and photo spread on because they thought
it would be unusual. That photo of me with the dove pan
appeared on the front page of The Daily Item on June 18,
1955.

Simon, age 12

M: What about the photo of you in the top hat?


S: That was taken a few years later by a professional
photographer who was one of my clients. I used that top
hat in my Die Box routine. The trick ended with the die
going to the top hat. The hat was not part of my image.
(All laugh.) I was doing birthday parties from age eleven
on, easily four or five a month, maybe more. It depended on my mothers tolerance for taking me around. My
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 37

Lewiss father. This club met once a month in the Department of Parks building. As soon as I heard about it,
I joined. Thats when I got boosted up into more professional-level magic. The other club members were dedicated and creative my peers in F.A.M.E. included Persi
Diaconis and Johnny Benzais. They were already doing
pretty advanced card magic.
After the F.A.M.E. meeting let out, I would go over to
Tannens and see every magician who was prominent
in New York. On Saturday, Tannens closed at three p.m.
and everybody went right downstairs to the 42nd Street
cafeteria, which was an early predecessor to Rubins
(where everybody hangs out today). There was a big long
table. Dai Vernon would sit at the end, people like Howie
Schwartzman and Ken Krenzel would sit near him, and
Vernon would hold court. All of us kids would sit at tables
around them, trying to listen in on the conversations. We
werent part of the group, but we tried to learn whatever
we could see.

Birthday party circuit circa 1959.

birthday show performing was something I continued all


through high school and college. In fact, birthday shows
were pretty much my sole source of income until I was
thirty.
I was very fortunate that my father continued to encourage my interest in magic. We lived near New York
City, just a train ride away. My folks were culture buffs
and loved to go into the city for theater and musical
comedy shows. In 1954 they took me to see Milbourne
Christopher do a full evening show at the Longacre Theatre. This was a famous show. After the show my father
took me backstage and introduced me to Christopher.
He was very encouraging. He told me about one of the
tricks he did. (I also saw his Christophers Wonders show
at the Maidman Playhouse a few years later.) I started to
see New York City as a source of real magic, where the
real pros were. I discovered Lou Tannens shop. From age
twelve to fourteen, every Saturday Id go to New York.
Lou Tannen personally took me under his wing. Lou was
a good salesman, but he was also a good mentor guiding me toward the tricks that I could perform and steering me away from things I couldnt handle. He taught me
about presentation. He was a very enthusiastic guy.
Theres one other important thing I should mention.
The New York Department of Parks sponsored a boys
program (magic was sexist in those days) that taught
magic. It was called F.A.M.E., Future American Magical
Entertainers; it was started by Abraham Hurwitz, Shari
38 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

M: At some point you made the transition from


props to sleight of hand. Did this happen around this
time?
S: It was during my very late high school years and
college. The big formative shift was my move to Chicago
at age eighteen. Certainly while hanging around the New
York guys in 1960 I started playing with cards. But when
I started at the University of Chicago in 1961, within the
first weeks of my arrival, I headed over to Irelands Magic
Store (which later became
Magic, Inc.). Everybody was
doing card tricks there. Once
I got to Chicago my interest
shifted, except that I kept doing the birthday shows to earn
spending money.
M: What was your
major at the University of
Chicago?
S: As an undergraduate
I was an economics major. I
loved university life. Im an
academic at heart; I love to
learn new things. I would
always prefer to be a student
rather than a teacher. I graduated college in only three years
rather than four, receiving my
B.A. in 1964, but I wanted to
study more. So I moved to the
graduate school in the philosophy department, and I stayed
there for six more years.

M: You studied philosophy for six years?


S: Yes, at the graduate level, from 1964 to 1970.
I received my M.A. in philosophy in 1965, and then
stayed on to work toward my doctorate. I actually
taught humanities in the college for two years during
that period. But eventually I got tired of philosophy, so I
turned part of my thesis into an article and published it
in The Journal of the History of Philosophy (1972). Since I
still didnt want to face the real world, I thought that law
school would be a wonderful way to postpone any career
decisions for another three years. And that was really my
main reason for going to law school.
G: The faculty used to joke that Simon was the only
student at the University of Chicago who had tenure.
(Laughter from all.)
S: But Ginny is not far behind me. I ultimately had a
total of twelve years at the University of Chicago; Ginny
had nine years, counting her undergraduate work,
graduate work, and law school. I steadfastly avoided
any decision that would be remotely described as going
toward a career. I probably had a secret desire to see if I
could stay in school until I was ready for retirement.
M: And during the period that youre a full-time
professional student, youre keeping yourself afloat
by doing magic shows.
S: Its even more extreme. Because of all my years as a
student in economics, philosophy, and law school, I had a
lengthy period during which I had no income whatsoever.
Simon with Bill Malone, Bob Syrup,
and Ed Marlo - 1980

But there was very little outgo, either. I qualified for


scholarships so my tuition was paid for, and I was a
resident head for one of the undergraduate dorms. In
return for keeping students under some control, and
being a dorm daddy, the university gave me my room
and board at the dorm. My birthday party shows, and
later performing mindreading shows, were the only ways
I got any money for my hobbies or for dating.
M: Lets catch up on your background, Ginny.
Where were you born?
G: I was born in Bremerton, Washington, a little town
across the bay from Seattle. It was a Navy town. My dad
worked on the big aircraft carriers in the Puget Sound
naval shipyard. He died quite young, when I was nine.
My mother remarried and I ended up with a large
family. I had an older brother and sister and then
acquired two more sisters when my mother remarried.
I left Bremerton when I was eighteen to go to the
University of Chicago. I was greatly benefitted by the
university. They had a small-town talent search, because
they didnt want their entire student body to be just
from New York or Chicago. You could consider it a type
of integration plan. They went to Washington, Oregon,
and Montana and chose kids from small towns who had
done well. They gave me a full scholarship.
S: Let me brag about Ginny: She was one of the few
people from her high school to actually travel out-ofstate for college. She made it big.
G: My first few years were quite a struggle because my
high school education did not match up to the education
that Chicago and New York students had received.
I persevered and did fine and got my B.A. degree in
sociology. Then I applied for graduate school and
received a National Institute of Health full scholarship to
NYU to study sociology. So I went to New York for a year,
but I didnt particularly like it; I came back to Chicago in
June of 1970.
S: It was a wondrously fortuitous thing for me that
Ginny didnt like New York and decided to come back to
Chicago to continue her graduate degree. We had known
each other casually during her undergraduate work,
because she dated one of my friends, Bob. They broke up
when she left for New York. At the time she returned to
Chicago, I had recently been jilted by my girlfriend. I was
available and looking, so I called her up and we had our
first date.
G: And the rest is history. I then did two more years
of graduate study at U of C, working part-time at the
National Opinion Research Center, to help support
that education. Then, after three years of grad
work and having finished everything but my PhD
dissertation, Simon convinced me to go to law
school.
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 39

M: You were still in law school, Simon?


S: Yes. U of C law is a three-year program; I was in my
third year as Ginny started her first.

M: Ginny, you saw Simon do the mindreading act


before you began dating him, didnt you?
G: Yes. Simon had invited my boyfriend Bob and me
on a double date. I was totally surprised when we arrived at a Chicago nightclub, and I discovered that the
entertainment was none other than Simon himself and
his girlfriend, performing an amazing mindreading act!
(You have to understand that I was a real small town innocent and had never seen anything remotely like this.)
On the drive home, while we all chatted, I actually tried to
prevent myself from thinking private thoughts for fear
that Simon might read them.
S: I had two mindreading partners prior to Ginny.
Ginny should tell you why she started being my mental
partner. It was extremely reluctantly.
G: I really was a shy, quiet, small town girl; although
I admired the mindreading act when I saw Simon do it,
the thought of getting up on stage and deceiving people
was fairly intimidating to me. My problem was that, even
though Simon and I were dating, Simon was continuing
to do the act with his then ex-girlfriend (who was quite
pretty). So every Saturday night (and sometimes twice a
week), theyd go off to nightclubs to do the act, and there
I was, his actual girlfriend, sitting alone at home. You can
imagine what I was worrying might be going on.

40 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

S: I tried to reassure her that my relationship with my


ex-girlfriend was purely business...
G: ...yeah, right...
S: ...but when you tell that to your girlfriend and youre
out until two in the morning with your ex...
M: ...and its not like she could read your mind...
S: ...and I loved doing the act, and I honestly needed
the money. So I said that the only solution would be
for Ginny to learn the act. So she did, and we started
performing together by the fall of 1970.
G: But the act was a lot simpler then.

M: Lets give everyone some background on the


two-person act. You saw Eddie Fields and George
Martz in Chicago doing their dime-store mentalism.
S: Yes, but my very first acquaintance with two-person mindreading goes back way before Eddie Fields. It
goes back to when I was still in New York, and I remember this vividly. In 1956, when I was twelve, there was
a Broadway show called The Great Sebastians; it starred
Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who were husband and
wife. It was a comedy written for them about a vaudeville
two-person mindreading team who are travelling around
Europe as war is about to break out. The Germans see
them, decide that they are real, and take them captive
in order to get secret information by having them read
minds. Its a comedy about how this vaudeville team tries
to escape and convince the Germans that its not real. But
the Germans have been convinced.

My father, knowing that the show was about magic


and mindreading, took the whole family to it. What was
absolutely captivating, in my recollection, is that the first
five minutes or so of the Broadway show opened with
them apparently doing their vaudeville mindreading act
in the theater for the real audience! Alfred Lunt went
through the first few rows picking out objects, and Lynne
Fontanne was on stage, blindfolded, identifying them.
That was my first introduction to that kind of act.
Later, in 1965, in Chicago, somebody had mentioned
that there was this guy reading minds at Woolworths, so I
trekked from Hyde Park downtown to the Loop and went
to Woolworths. There was somebody billed as the Professor, blindfolded, and he was calling out and describing
objects that were held up by people in the store aisles.
There was another guy, almost completely nondescript
he looked like a store clerk who ushered the people
together to form an audience and helped them with their
various objects. It was Eddie Fields, secretly coding that
information to the Professor, George Martz, who was a
retired wrestler and boxer who Eddie had trained.
I had very mixed feelings. On the one hand I was completely in awe at what they could accomplish and the
audience reaction. There was no doubt that they were
being believed completely. I was amazed at the depth of
information they could convey. On the other hand, I was
stunned by how ungrammatical and awkward Eddie was
in terms of speaking even though it fit him well. His
character was someone who would mumble, who would
speak in half sentences. Hed start something and then
break off and talk to someone else. There was no good
grammatical flow. I decided then and there that I wanted
to do that kind of act, but I didnt want to sound like him.
And that meant I better figure out what goes on in those
acts.
For the next four months I basically skipped most of
my classes so I could research (mainly in Jay Marshalls
library) everything I could I find on two-person codes.
I accumulated everything I could find probably fifteen
to twenty different codes and then started putting
things together, but in the way I would speak. I thought
a lot about what makes the coding in a mindreading act
effective but invisible.
M: So, Simon, you studied all the available
information on the subject and then worked out a
code to your satisfaction.
S: I wouldnt use the word satisfaction. The one thing
that I can tell you (without going into detail on the method) is that our system is constantly evolving. The basic
underlying cues we use are somewhat fixed, those dont
change, but how we handle certain situations changes.
Even in the early years, even the beginning stuff was very
malleable. I dont know how someone could do this type

of act without a lot of experience. You dont realize all the


possibilities youll encounter.

M: Im sure that from an intellectual standpoint


what you both find fascinating about this type of act is
discovering how much you can do with how little you
say. But there is also a theatrical aspect; the danger
is that once you establish that Ginny can sense these
objects, what do you do next? Dramatically, how do
you ramp up the procedure? Can you talk about that?
S: I think youre exactly right; if you want to do it as
a theatrical act it has to build. Once youve shown what
you can do, you want to build suspense. For us, we build
suspense by hoping that the objects will become ever
more challenging and difficult at least as the audience
perceives it. This act in a sense is ultimate jazzing, because it depends so much on the audience. Youd think
we would want a bunch of objects that were prepared to
do combs, watches, wallets, lipstick but in fact such
commonplace things make for a deadly act, because its
not interesting. The audience can quickly sense that you
would be ready for such objects. We love it when we get
objects that to the audience seem unlikely and challenging, but weve anticipated them and were prepared for
them. Its a question of how many steps ahead you can
plan for.
G: One thing that Simon has done is to build a sequence
of tests within the act, which the audience perceives to be
progressively harder, so it seems to build in difficulty.
S: We dont immediately open with objects. We start
with a playing card test, to get Ginny warmed up. Then
we do our dice demonstration. I have a big fishbowl filled
with a hundred different-colored dice. One spectator selects any die, a second person picks another die of a different color; both are a free choice. Ginny, blindfolded,
immediately calls out the two colors. When they give
them a roll she not only calls out the total, she also tells
them how its made up and which number is on which
colored die. And, depending on how long a show it is, we
have other tests we can add in also. By the time we get to
the objects, the audience has seen a certain growth.
Perceived challenges are what make our act interesting. For example, often a person takes off his shoe
and hands it to you. This is a whole different level than
watches and keys. The whole audience says, Wow,
because they think this is an offbeat item, one they might
not have thought to do. So, for that audience a shoe is a
clever, novel thing. What they dont know is that we see
this in virtually every show. Were ready for shoes and
boots, sneakers, sandals, and even socks!
The interesting part for us is how much we can do
with the things that are so far out that were not ready
for them. We sometimes hit an object we cant do, but
perhaps Ginny can say what its made of, or tell a little
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 41

about it. And sometimes we get lucky in just winging it.


Heres our favorite example, which happened when we
performed at Magic Chicago. A gentleman held up an object, and I saw immediately that its nothing weve ever
done before, not even remotely. Ginny, blindfolded, says,
I have the impression that this object has something to
do with music. So far, so good, and people start nodding
that shes correct. Then I threw another cue to her, but I
can see that she is puzzled as hell.
G: I have no idea of where Simons heading, but I know
what he sent me, a cue for silverware, specifically a fork,
so I said, Does this have something to do with a fork?
Like a musical fork? I was silently thinking, could someone play a musical fork the way they play spoons?
S: And I immediately said, Thats exactly right, its a
tuning fork!
G: The audience just died.
S: Ginny still didnt know what it was. But when she
said musical fork, I just chimed in, and confirmed, Yes,
exactly, a tuning fork. Those are the challenges we love.

so when I immediately announced it was from Israel, the


audience roared!
One of the unusual features ofour two-person act is
that we can do it in virtually any venue, at any time. All
we need is each other and an audience (that has stuff
with them). We can do it in a large auditorium, a small
living room but weve also performed it poolside, and
once, on a traveling tour bus (I stood up front, and Simon
marched up the aisle).Simon used to joke that for closeup all he needed was a deck of cards; for mindreading, all
he needs is a wife (preferably his own).

M: And as far the audience was concerned, you got


it completely right. Simons comment was an affirmation, not a clarification.
S: And when I say the code grows, after every show we
add things to our lists, our categories, our experiences.

M: And you have to constantly revise those lists to


reflect objects that are contemporary. So items will
disappear. New items, especially new technology, will
be commonplace.
S: Thats right. We can still do a draft card or a telegram, but they dont really exist anymore. In the past four
or five years weve had to get very educated in electronics. We often get thumb drives. Five or six years ago no
one would have had one of those.
G: Lets go back to Michaels original question, which
was how do you keep it entertaining, to make it something beyond just a recitation. There are two things going on. I dont consider myself a naturally funny person,
and since I do most of the talking, Ive been trying very
hard to be amusing or to reveal things in such a way that
people laugh. I think thats been working well. So thats
one element. We dont try to do a bizarre or mysterious
kind of act, in which Im really reading minds in a serious
manner. Im kind of funny.
Second, even with objects that seem normal, that everyone knows and carries, like a credit card, I will reveal level after level of detail, and this process becomes
very interesting. Objects that allow me detailed description provide the audience with a lot of fun. We recently
did a show at the University of Chicago, where someone held up a drivers license. The guy then called out,
from where? Fortunately, Simon had already cued me,
42 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

M: Have there been times when people come up to


you to answer questions about their personal lives?
G: During the 70s a woman came up after a show and
said that her son was missing in Vietnam and asked if
we could tell her if he was alive or dead. Simon promptly
replied that we only dealt with objects. There was another incident after a show (and we make it very clear that
what we do is entertainment) when a woman came up
to me and said that her mother was at the edge of death;
she wanted me to be with her after she died. The clear
implication was that I could somehow talk to her mother.
And then there was an incident after a birthday party.
Sometimes, just to make it look a little more genuine,
I will intentionally miss on an object. And so, when a
woman held up her string of pearls, I said I just couldnt
receive an impression.

S: And keep in mind that a pearl necklace is something


we can do easily. We can do many different kinds of necklaces, but Ginny purposely missed the necklace because I
had told her to build in a few mistakes.
G: The next morning we heard from the host that the
woman had flushed her necklace and they were real
pearls down the toilet because she thought they were
jinxed, just because I couldnt sense them. Fortunately,
that type of thing hasnt happened recently. But Simon
now jokes that any intentional misses should only be on
stuff like pencils, not valuables.
S: Whether or not to make disclaimers, so you dont
mislead people, is an issue in mentalism. But part of the
appeal of mentalism is that people arent sure. What the
audience sees seems real, and that captivates and engages them. We always build in a disclaimer at the beginning; Were not here to convince anybody; were here to
entertain you. But remember that even a skeptic keeps
an open mind. Thats one of those suitably ambiguous
pronouncements that leaves the door open for anyone to
think whatever they want.
G: But remember, we do the act in an amusing way.
S: I enjoy humor, and Im constitutionally unable not
to chuckle and make jokes. We were doing a show in New
York recently and a lady handed me a piece of jewelry.
Ginny identified it saying, Its a pin with diamonds in it.
The lady said, Oh, but theyre fake. So I replied, Dont
worry, so are we.

M: Simon, lets talk for a moment about how you


create your effects. Ive been performing many of
your tricks for more than thirty years; in fact, I established quite a reputation (and sold a few books
for you) with Red See Passover. The thing that greatly
appeals to me is that your material is designed to fool
intelligent spectators.
S: I make the assumption that my spectators are thinking people and that they know a lot. Not necessarily that
they know a lot about magic, but that they are observant
and rational. I dont have absolutist principles about the
way I try to create things, but certainly one guideline that
Ive always used is that whatever the method is, it ought
to be counterintuitive. Whatever first thought people
might normally have about a possible method, then the
actual method ought not follow that same direction.
I love to combine methods. Sometimes, by accident,
people will fall onto the method. But if you have several
things going on a little bit of sleight of hand, a little bit
of mathematics, a little bit of a stack, a bit of subtlety,
some misdirection then even if they get one part of it,
its not enough to discover the whole method.
Ive always believed that the more advance preparation you have, and by that I mean anything that happens
before the trick begins, then the less there is for the spec-

tators to observe. Theres nothing wrong with doing a


trick with a borrowed, shuffled deck and starting from
scratch. But in a situation in which you start totally impromptu and clean, then any clues to the method are, by
definition, in front of the audience and potentially noticeable.
If, however, before you begin you secretly arrange
three or four cards or the full deck the audience
doesnt see that, and they cant reconstruct a method
from what theyve merely seen, because you did things
before the trick started. Triple Play, the trick I contributed to this issue of M-U-M, is a good example. Part of what
makes that trick a little more deceptive is that youve
prearranged some things. They see a shuffled deck, but
theyre starting at the wrong place. Once you get them
starting at the wrong place, its much harder for them to
retrace the method.

Private Gathering, focusing on Memorized Deck Magic 1995 (Plants,


Weber, Aronson, Pierce, Gagnon, Krenz, Tamariz, Rioboo, Kalush)

M: Id like to touch for a moment on memorized


deck magic, an area of card magic that has become
quite popular in the past few years. You mentioned
to me one time that the most useful stack anyone
will memorize is the second one, because until you
start working with a stack, you dont really know how
youll utilize it, and you wont know what features
you wish were built in. My question is: Is the Aronson
stack your second stack? Had you learned another
one first, like Nicola or Ireland?
S: No. When I first got turned on to memorized deck
magic in 1969, it came through Marlo, who had published a large section of great memorized deck tricks in
Ibidem. That turned me on, and I decided Id memorize a
stack. Its the same as with the mindreading act; when I
decide to do something that will require a lot of memory,
I do a lot of research before I settle on what to memorize.
Marlo was using the Ireland stack. He had been turned
on to memorized deck work from Laurie Ireland. I was
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 43

immediately faced with Ireland or Nicola. Given that


I had the opportunity, I thought I should think about
what was built into the stack. At the time I was doing a lot of gambling and poker tricks, because I had
recently read Rusducks publications, so I put a lot of
Rusducks and Michael Zens material into my stack.
If I were ever to do it again, there are definitely
things I would change in my stack, but I dont think
that those changes are strong enough to warrant a
whole new stack. Id probably change the Aces around
a bit to make them more accessible for productions.
But candidly, so much of what Im finding is that the
best memorized deck magic is the stuff that is stack independent. Its based on the performers facility with
the stack, rather than how the stack is constructed.

M: Youre both retired now and the two-person


mindreading act is coming to the fore; I assume
that youll be performing it as often as you are
able.
S: We have more shows booked for this year. Making money is not the goal; its for fun, for friends. We
look forward to doing it. Certainly at some point, I
dont want to say when, I would love to put all our experience and thoughts and methodologies on the mindreading act into print. Its kind of written, because we
have a highly detailed notebook that we use to refresh
our memories. It needs to be fleshed out in more of a
descriptive form. I think that forty-five years of experience doing it has some value. Too many people have
put out material that ends up being bare-bones lists.
Thats not where the details are. The details are: how
do you size up an audience; what do you do beforehand; how do you do scanning of a room; how do you
avoid objects? There are millions of things you can do
to enhance your performance, and these are just some
of things we have learned over the years.
G: The problem is that Simon doesnt want to put it
out while were still performing it.
M: That is certainly understandable.
S: When we do the mindreading, and (assuming
people dont believe) the spectators are trying to figure out how we do it, the very first thing that crosses
their mind is that were communicating through some
kind of code. So thats the one method we try to dispel.
In my card magic I want them to say, He didnt do anything. In the mindreading act I want them to say, He
didnt say anything.
G: And people say that all the time.
S: People come up with all sorts of crazy explanations and they wont stop. The one explanation that I
love and Ginny hates is: I know how you do it. Simons
a great ventriloquist and shes the dummy. I wish that
was the method; it would save us a lot of work.

44 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Living with Simon (or, Try the Impossible)


By Ginny Aronson

imon and I could not be more different. Simon


lives in his imagination, gets totally involved in
his passions, and is addicted to whatever hes
doing at the moment. Im the practical one, rooted
in the real world; its a good thing he has me to bring him
back to earth.
Simon and I share deeply in whatever the other
does. I love to cook, and he loves magic. So Simon gets
to eat gourmet food, and I get to select playing cards.
Somehow, I think he got the better of that deal. Ive been
his loyal partner in all aspects of his magic, from editing
every one of Simons books and articles, to spending our
vacations at magic conventions around the world (where
I get to see our magical friends), from hosting magicians
visiting Chicago (Michael Close was one of our earliest
sleepover guests), to sharing my kitchen every Saturday
so that the Chicago Session can brainstorm. For over
twenty-five years I put up with Ed Marlos cigars (but
after hed had a session with Ed, I made Simon change
his clothes before Id let him back into our home).
Dont get me wrong its been a unique, fascinating, eye-opening life. I have seen David Roth push coins
through my kitchen table, ironed Guy Hollingworths
shirt so he could look impeccable for his lecture, and
had Boris Wild soulfully perform his romantic Kiss Act,
complete with music, just for me, with red paper kisses
fluttering around my dining room at the climax. One
morning, before I left home for work, Lennart Green
stumbled out of our guest room, still in his pajamas, and
performed his entire FISM act for me over breakfast!
Simon can be critical, and he isnt afraid to offer his
opinions. While I was initially shy and retiring, over the
years my law career and my performing persona as a
mindreader have made me pretty discerning and blunt
on my own, and Im not hesitant to tell Simon when his
latest creation isnt up to snuff, or when a move flashes,
or when a plot is confusing. I enjoy good magic, but dont
have much tolerance for weak performances. Simon
feels the same way, but doesnt hesitate to help youngsters who are just starting out in this amazing hobby. At
conventions, hell be accosted by some kid who wants
to ask a question or show him something; Simon plunks
himself down on the floor with him, and hell patiently
spend time demonstrating, explaining, or trading ideas.
(Simon says hes forever grateful to his early mentors,
and he just wants to pay it forward. Simons problem
is, now, once hes down on the floor he has a hard time
physically getting up!)
All in all, our life in magic has been one more,
all-encompassing bond thats brought us even closer
together. Its almost as if we can read each others
mind.

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 45

Triple Play By Simon Aronson


Effect: From a shuffled deck, a spectator freely selects a
card, remembers it, and replaces it into one half of the deck.
That half is isolated on the table, under the spectators hand.
The performer gives the remaining half an overhand
shuffle, stopping this shuffle wherever the spectator designates, to form three random piles. He explains that these piles
will tell him what the spectators selected card is.
The performer turns the first pile face up to reveal, say,
a red card on its face. Sure enough, the spectator confirms
her chosen card is red. He next turns the second pile face up
to reveal that its bottom card is, say, a Diamond. Again, the
spectator confirms her chosen card is, in fact, a Diamond.
The performer lifts up the third pile, so that only he can see
its face card, and asks, Does your card happen to be a Six,
(or, whatever the value may be)? The spectator nods that this
value is, indeed, correct.
For the climax, the performer turns over this third pile to
reveal not just any Six, but in fact the spectators identical
selected card, which has thus magically transported from
under the spectators hand.
Method: I like effects that combine several disparate
methods, and Triple Play is a good illustration. It incorporates
a small stack (of just four cards), some sleight of hand, and
some minor multiple outs (all of which look the same). The
end result is something thats close to impromptu, is relatively easy, and allows a completely free selection from a (nearly)
shuffled deck.
Set-up: Before you begin, preset the bottom four cards
of the deck so that there is one of each suit, in the following
order (from the face): Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds.
(The values dont matter, but it looks a bit more random if the
two red suits arent the same value; similarly with the two
black suits.) You can see that, by using just two of these four
cards, well be able to match both the color and the suit of
whatever free selection the spectator chooses.
Working: With the deck on the table, give it a few casual
riffle shuffles. Your only requirement is to maintain the
bottom four-card stack in its place, which is accomplished
by simply first dropping the bottom four cards (or more) as a
block as you begin the shuffle. Since the rest of the shuffle is
fair, the deck looks convincingly mixed.
Were now going to have a card freely selected from
somewhere in the center of the deck.
With your right hand, pick up the entire deck from above,
and dribble it back into your left hand, as you explain to
your spectator Ginny, In a moment, Im going to dribble the
deck like this, and as I dribble, just call out the word stop
wherever you want. Be sure to time this initial demonstration so that the entire deck has dribbled into your left hand by
the end of your sentence.
Pick up the deck again and commence another dribble,
timing it so that Ginny says stop somewhere around the
middle of the deck. When she does, casually place the cards
remaining in your right hand onto the table. With your
left thumb, push the top card of the left-hand packet (the
card Ginny stopped at) to the right for about half its width.
Holding it in this sidejogged position, raise your left hand up
to a vertical position, so that Ginny can see the face of this
46 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

sidejogged card (lets assume its the Six of Diamonds, as in


Photo 1).

Photo 1

After youve displayed the card, lower your left hand,


with the selection still sidejogged, so the left-hand packet is
roughly parallel to the tabletop. Now, with your right hand,
pick up the tabled packet and hold it about twelve inches
above the table, preparing to dribble these cards to the table.
In a moment youre going to do just that, and as the right-hand
cards fall it will appear as if the left hand tosses the sidejogged selection into the dribbling stream of cards. In fact,
the selection will secretly be retained on top of the left-hand
packet by using Steve Bedwells Dribble Toss Control. Here
are the details.
Comment, Remember your card. Now lets bury it
somewhere among these cards. As you say this, start to
release the right-hand cards so that they dribble to the table
in a slow, even flow. Hold the left-hand packet with its sidejogged top card to the left of these dribbling cards, about
six inches above the table top (Photo 2). When about half
the right-hand cards have dribbled off, move your left hand
sharply to the right, toward the dribbling stream of cards,
as if tossing the selected card into the dribble. In fact, the
selection actually is not tossed or released. During that sharp
rightward motion, with your left thumb, quickly pull the
selection back to the left, square with the top of the left-hand
packet. (Steve Bedwell describes this as somewhat akin to the
action of a rub-away vanish, in midair.) During this action,
your right hand continues its dribbling action, until all of its
cards have dropped to the table. This is a perfect illusion of
the sidejogged, selected card being tossed somewhere among

Photo 2

the dribbled cards. (As an extra convincer, as you pretend


to toss the card into the dribble, contrive to hit the stream
of dribbling cards, knocking some of them a little bit to the
right.)
While Ginny believes her card is lost somewhere among
the tabled cards, her selected card is actually still on top of the
left-hand packet. Youll now secretly learn its identity using
the Funsky glimpse. Heres how. When you secretly pull the
selection back onto the left-hand packet, hold a break under
it with the left little finger. As a result of the dribbling action,
the pile of dribbled cards on the table will be slightly askew,
so its natural to square up those cards a bit. To do this, turn
both hands palm down, and simultaneously pinch the inner
corners of this tabled pile. During this momentary square-up,
your left little finger pushes rightward on its broken top
card. This causes the index of the selected card to become
sidejogged at the inner end of the packet. Its natural for you
to look down at the cards as youre squaring them, so youll
plainly see the index of the selection. From the front, your
hands completely mask this sidejogged index. (The performers view of this glimpsing action is shown in Photo 3, where
the 6D index can be plainly seen. Photo 4 depicts the front
or audiences view.)
As you complete this square-up of the tabled half,
comment, Your card is somewhere among these cards.
Ginny, put your hand on this pile, so well remember where
your card is. Push that half toward Ginny, making it easier
for her and isolating that pile even further.

Photo 3

Photo 4

Youre way ahead of your spectators. Ginny thinks shes


holding onto her card, but in fact, its already secretly on top of
your remaining half. And, because of the secret glimpse, you
already know the identity of her card the Six of Diamonds.

From here on the procedures vary slightly depending upon


the suit of the selected card. Let me pause here to explain that
this is actually part of the multiple outs I mentioned. Whenever
someone shows me an effect that includes somewhat different
endings or procedures depending on the spectators choices,
I hate it when I only get to see the best or cleanest procedure,
because the alternatives are often disappointing. So in this
specific description I will actually present the weaker or more
complicated out first, so youll know that any other out will
in fact look even better. (But, really, in this trick weak is a
misnomer, because all of the four procedures are exceptionally straightforward.)
If the Selected Card is Red: Casually spread your
remaining half face down between your hands, saying, If I
were to look through this half, I might learn some clue about
your card. So we wont look at them. Use this spreading
action to casually take a break above the bottom two cards of
the spread (the two black cards in your stack) with your left
little finger. Close up the spread, retaining that break.
Youre now going to lose those two black cards, with a
simple double undercut. With your right hand from above,
cut off approximately the top half of your packet, as your left
little finger pulls down on its break slightly. Insert the righthand portion into this break, allowing the right-hand cards to
coalesce with the two pulled-down black cards, as your left
little finger retakes a break above the inserted portion. Now
simply cut that half again at the new break and complete the
cut, squaring the cards. (The two black cards have now been
lost, and the bottom two cards of your half are now the two
red cards of your stack, with the Heart at the face). It simply
appears as if youve just given your half a couple of cuts.
If the Selected Card is Black: As you may have noted,
the goal here is simply to position the two stack cards that
match the color of the selection to the bottom of your half. If
the selected card is black, then the two black stack cards are
already in position, so nothing additional needs to be done.
Thus, if your glimpse tells you the selection is black, youll
omit the double undercut entirely, and proceed directly to the
next step.
Using an overhand shuffle procedure, you will divide your
remaining cards into three piles apparently at the spectators direction. Continue, In fact, Ill mix them up, and
as I shuffle, please call out stop. Here you commence a
slow, face-down overhand shuffle of your half, but done in a
particular way.
Im aware that most people overhand shuffle by drawing
cards from the right hand into the left hand, but some people
(mainly lefties, including me) shuffle the opposite way. In
order to make this next description intelligible and unambiguous, instead of referring to left-hand or right-hand
packets during the shuffle, Im going to instead refer to the
upper-hand and lower-hand packets. The upper packet
is where the cards start, and they are drawn off this upper
packet (either singly, or in clumps) into the lower hand,
which receives them on top of its growing packet of alreadyshuffled-off cards.
Commence your overhand shuffle by first milking just
the top and bottom cards of the upper packet together. (Photo
5 depicts an exposed view of this milking action; basically,
the top and bottom cards are simply peeled off together).
Then continue shuffling, immediately pulling off a sizeable
clump of cards from the upper packet, using your lower-hand
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 47

of A. (B and C thus surround A). The order of the packets,


reading from left to right, will thus be C, A, B.

Photo 5

thumb to reach up over the upper edge of the upper packet to


grasp them and pull them off. (We want this lower packet to
contain a significant number of cards for a subsequent shuffle,
and by pulling off a sizable clump we ensure that it does).
Now continue to shuffle off cards either singly or in smaller
clumps, slowly, as you wait for the spectator to call stop. As
soon as she does, separate the hands and place the remaining
upper packet onto the table. For convenience, lets call this
packet A. (In our specific example, the face card of this tabled
packet A will be a Diamond; if the glimpsed selection had
been black, it would be a Club).
Please note that this placing of the upper packet onto
the table, instead of the lower, just-shuffled-off cards, is
somewhat atypical, and thus can be a bit hard to remember.
Theres nothing difficult about actually doing it, and it goes
by completely unnoticed, but I do want to call your attention
to it as an anomaly when compared to what you might be
used to doing. (As I start the shuffle, I remind myself of this
upcoming action; such thinking about it beforehand makes it
automatic as soon as Ginny calls stop.)
For greater ease and naturalness in the following step,
when you table this packet A, right-handed shufflers should
place it slightly off-center, just a bit toward the left side of
the table (left-handed shufflers should reverse this). Youll see
why in a moment.
Now youll divide your remaining cards into two more
piles. Casually transfer the remaining cards from your lower
hand to your upper hand and commence a second overhand
shuffle, again first milking the bottom card as you start
this shuffle. Then continue shuffling off cards singly or in
very small clumps (since you wont have many cards left) as
you request Ginny to call out stop once more. As soon as
she does, separate your hands, thus holding a small packet in
each. Lets call the cards remaining in the upper-hand packet
B (the face card of B will be the spectators chosen card); the
cards in the lower hand will constitute packet C.
Youll now casually drop these two packets
simultaneously onto the table, next to the already-tabled
packet A. But here we reach the second alternative
procedure. Its a very small difference in handling, depending
on the suit of the glimpsed selection. More specifically, well
place packets B and C onto the table slightly differently,
depending on whether the suit of the spectators selection is
minor (Diamond or Club) or major (Heart or Spade).
If the Selection is a Minor Suit: Simultaneously drop
upper packet B next to and to the right of the already-tabled
packet A, as you drop lower packet C next to but to the left
48 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

If the Selection is a Major Suit: Simultaneously drop


lower packet C next to and to the right of the already-tabled
packet A, as you drop upper packet B next to and to the right
of C. (B and C thus are both placed on the same side, i.e., to
the right of, A). The order of the packets, reading from left to
right, will thus be A, C, B.
All of this occurs in the blink of an eye, as soon as the
spectator calls stop. There are only two alternatives, either to
surround the tabled packet, or for both to go on the same
side of the tabled packet. Since youll already know whether
the selected suit is minor or major early on, youll have plenty
of time to plan ahead for how to drop these last two packets
onto the table. (As a mnemonic, I simply remember Minor
Surround and that reminds me of everything I need.)
Again, a caveat: the above minor/major alternatives are
written for right-handed shufflers; left-handed shufflers
should simply reverse the left/right designations. This will
make either alternative feel and look completely natural,
because your upper and lower hands wont have to cross as
they simultaneously table their respective packets next to A.
The spectator thinks youre just beginning; shes
apparently still covering her selected card, and youve just
formed three piles. But in fact, all your work is done, and
youre ready for the climax. And, youll be glad to know, the
revelations at the climax all look exactly the same, regardless
of the suit of the selection.
Situation check: If youve proceeded as described above,
youre now ready to reveal the card at the face of each of
the three tabled packets, moving from left to right, as the
matching color (but opposite suit), matching suit, and finally,
the spectators selection itself. (For left-handed shufflers, if
youve reversed the left/right packet placement onto the table,
youll have this desired order, but reading from right to left.)
Heres how I present the several climaxes. Remind Ginny,
Your card is somewhere in your half point to the half
deck still under Ginnys hand but these other cards
gesture toward the three piles youve just formed on the table
can tell me something about your card. For instance, this
pile point to the leftmost tabled packet is the color pile.
Openly tilt that packet up a bit, to peek at the face card of that
packet, but keep it low to the table so that only you can see
it. After glancing at that face card, look up at Ginny and ask,
inquisitively, You stopped my shuffle at exactly this point.
This indicates your card is a red one, right? When Ginny
acknowledges that youre correct, only then flip that leftmost
packet face up, to reveal that its face card is indeed a red
one. (This delayed turnover establishes an action youll use
for greater effect on the third pile.)
Proceed to the next pile (the middle one), saying, This
is the suit pile. It should tell me the suit of your card. Peek
at its face card, again so that only you can see it. Then point
at Ginnys hand (to subtly reinforce where her selection
supposedly resides) and say, You picked a Diamond, didnt
you? Once Ginny confirms, then turn your middle pile face
up, showing that you werent making anything up, and indeed
its face card is a Diamond.
By this point the spectator will get the gist of where the
trick is apparently heading. Point to the final tabled pile, commenting, This last pile is the hardest, because its supposed
to tell us the actual value of your chosen card and there
are thirteen possible values in the entire deck. Pause as

you let this fact sink in, and once more point to the spectators hand, still holding on to her half of the deck. And
since your chosen card is already out of play over here, its
even more difficult. Gingerly tilt up this third pile, so that
only you can see its face card, and ask, Does your card
happen to be a Six (or, whatever the value of the selection
was)? The spectator nods that this value is, indeed, correct.
She may think the trick is over, since youve now fully
identified her chosen card; she fully expects you will turn that
pile over to reveal one of the other sixes.
For the surprise climax, announce, But the real magic is
not just that you stopped exactly at the right indicator cards.
Because this indicator isnt just any Six its in fact your
very own card, the Six of Diamonds. Turn this third pile face
up, to reveal the selection on its face.

Further Comments
Memory Guide: Its actually pretty easy to remember the
alternative procedures, because they boil down to only two
simple rules:
First, if the glimpsed selection is red, lose the bottom two
cards with the pull-down and double undercut; if the selection
is black, omit this.
Second, if the selection is minor, drop the two shuffled
piles surrounding the tabled pile; if the selection is major,
put both shuffled piles on the same side of the tabled pile.
Thats it.
Setting it Up: The four-card setup is quite easy, and can

easily be done almost impromptu. If you start with a fully


shuffled deck and run through the faces, its quite likely that
youll spot two red cards in the order you need (a Diamond,
with a Heart immediately below it). Just cut those two cards
to the bottom of the deck. All thats left is to casually move
or cull any Club below the Heart, and then a Spade below
the Club. Thats it. In fact, its not unusual to find within a
shuffled deck three out of the four needed suit cards already
in order; when this happens, cut all three to the face of the
deck, and then cull or place the remaining fourth suit card
into the necessary position.
Credits and History: The Dribble Toss Control can
be seen on Steve Bedwell Taped (A-1 Multimedia, 1995,
subtitled, The Steve Bedwell Video, Volume 1) in the routine
Parked Card. It also is described in The Trapdoor, issue # 61,
p. 1181. The Funsky Glimpse was devised by my close friend
Mergel Funsky to be used with the Dribble Toss Control; it
first saw print in my effect About Face (MAGIC Magazine,
September 2007, p. 95).
In experimenting with this effect I originally devised
other methods. The entire effect becomes much easier if
youre willing to have the selection forced, because then you
only need a two-card setup and you dont need any alternative procedures. My first attempts were along these lines, but
I decided that an obviously free selection added much. I also
developed a free selection version, with no setup at all but
it requires that you turn your remaining half face up, to cull
the needed two cards. I ultimately decided that the minimal
four-card setup described here gave me the best of all worlds,
and I hope you like it as well .

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 49

Roger Blakiston (AKA Jolly Roger)


Unlimited Possibilities

Is it Really Magic?
Frequently, a young child will ask me
if I am really doing magic. There are many
different ways that I could, or could not,
choose to answer the question. I could
say yes or no. I could respond with a
question, and ask him what he thinks. If
I ask him what he believes and he says
yes, do I then agree with him?
I consider the answer of great importance for a childrens entertainer who
performs magic. Your response could unknowingly have a profound effect on the
child. It is as important as the answer you
give when a child reaches a certain age
and asks if there is really such a person as
Santa Claus. I would guess that many of
my readers believe there is no such thing
as real magic, and as performers we all
know that there is a logical explanation for
all the tricks that we do. However, children
see the world through very different eyes,
and a young child may well believe in
magic in the same way as she believes in
her imaginary friends or believes that one
year is an eternity. What right do we have
or what do we gain by taking away the
belief a child has in magic?

Never ever doubt in magic.


The purest honest thoughts come from
children; ask any child if he believes
in magic, and he will tell you the
truth. Scott Dixon
Quite often when I take out a puppet in
my show, a child shouts out, Is it real?
Obviously, this child thinks that there is a
possibility that it is real; do we say to the
child, He thinks hes real, or Of course
hes real, or Yes, hes real, or Dont be
silly, hes only a puppet! If you say he is
real, then another child may say, No hes
not, and an argument ensues. Oh the joys
of entertaining children!
Another situation that may happen is
when a child comes up to you before the
50 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

show and makes the statement, I know


that magic is not real! Here again, think
carefully about the way you react to this.
You could say nothing, you could agree
with the child, you could disagree with
the child, or you could say something like,
Are you really sure? In truth, the very
fact that the child makes this statement
could be that he or she is trying to prove
something. Ask yourself what the child
is really getting at. Maybe the child has
always thought that magic was real, and a
friend says it is not. Maybe curiosity has
prompted the question; your answer could
dispel some doubt.

Sometimes the questions are


complicated and the answers are
simple. Dr. Seuss
When a potential client calls me up and
asks me to describe my show, I include the
statement that I end my show by levitating
myself and becoming invisible. I do not
mention that I do a magic trick in which
it looks as if I am levitating and becoming
invisible. I actually imply in my response
that I really do magical things in my show.
The client never asks me if there is a trick
to it. Even as adults, it is almost as though
we are all yearning to believe in magic
in a troubled world. It is likely that the
clients are creating a picture of what they
are going to see at the end of their childs
magic show, and may well be as
excited about witnessing this as
their offspring. They are looking
forward to seeing magic!
I love tricks in which the
magic happens in the childs
hands. It is great to hear a child
say, Did I do that? One routine
I created, which is currently
available on my website, is Jolly
Rogers Ridiculous Ribbons. As
part of the routine, a child has
three different colored ribbons
hanging around her neck while
she is wearing a top hat. She
removes the hat, places the
ribbons inside it, and waves a
magic wand; the ribbons become
linked together! The child does

all the magic. I did this at a show recently


and the mother of my helper came up to
me afterwards and said her child was so
excited that she was able to do the magic.
The childs reality was that it was her that
caused the magic to happen and not me.
What is reality? As magicians, we
create a false reality (an illusion) through
careful manipulation. When performing
conjuring tricks, it also becomes necessary
to tell false truths. As an example, we
announce that we are moving a coin from
one hand to the other, when in truth we are
retaining the coin in the original hand. I
prefer to call this a false truth, as the word
lie seems too harsh. We are creating
illusions an alternative reality. The
majority of the members of our audiences
accept this reality without question. The
fact that most older folks know that you are
using trickery to perform your illusions
does not take away from the reality that
they cannot logically connect the data you
give them to the astonishing conclusion.
I do not think that we all experience the
same reality, whether in real life, or while
watching a magic show. What is real to a
young child is quite different to an adults
perception of reality. You make the determination of what is real and what is not.
Last summer, I attended MAGIC
Live in Las Vegas. There was a lecture
unlike anything I had attended before. It
presented the concept of what it would be

like to experience magic if you were blind.


We were all given a blindfold and led to a
chair, where we were seated for an hour.
All we could hear was a voice telling us
what to do. There were various objects that
we could feel on the side of the chair, and
through the sense of touch we were able
to experience magic in our hands. It was
quite fascinating and indeed amazing. It
was another reality, and one that many
who are blind must experience on a daily
basis. For most of us, light is a reality. For
these people, darkness is a permanent
reality, and light does not exist.
There are those who believe that what
we perceive as color is not real rather it is
our perception of bent light (wavelengths)
reflected off of or absorbed though our
eyes. No two people perceive or see
color exactly the same. Couldnt our
perceptions of anything as real be bent
and altered by the experiences we each
have in life? My wife never wants to
know how (technically) a trick is done. To
her, it takes away from the magic, plain
and simple. She is a computer programmer, and her life is filled with logic and
formulas. There are things that she figures
out on her own, of course, especially after
seeing a trick performed many times, but
she doesnt want to try to figure it out, even
though sometimes I am dying to show her
how simple it is. I believe there are many
people (and for sure, many children) who
do not even want to question the validity
of the illusion or their perception of it.
I am not going to tell you what to say to a
child when he or she asks you if magic is
real. My purpose in this article is to invite
you to ponder on the possible responses,
realizing the implications that they can
have on the child. When I moved from
England to the United States in 1992, my
son Nicholas was just eight years old. He
had always believed in Father Christmas,
although he discovered fairly quickly
that Americans called him Santa Claus.
I explained to him that it was the same
person, and he accepted that. Enter his
third grade teacher, who decided to make
the statement one day in class that, As you
all know, there is no such thing as Santa.
My son came home from school devastated and confused, and it became necessary
to have the conversation with him sooner
than was necessary. Santa was real to him
even at the age of eight, and in my opinion
it was wrong of the teacher to make the
presumption that nobody in the class still

believed in him. A magical part of my


sons childhood vanished in that moment
in time, never to return.

Wonder is a very subtle, precious


emotion, often lost in the gross hustle
and bustle of modern life. When we
feel wonder, we are immediately
reminded of the purity and innocence
of our childhood. Then, everything
was magical and mysterious. Magic
should help us relive that wonder.
Doug Henning
I consider it of great importance for
those of us who entertain children to try to
enter their reality. One way of doing this is
to take yourself back to the days when you
were a child. If you were lucky enough to
have seen a magic show at a young age,
try to recall what kind of emotional experience you had. Did you think the magician
was just a silly man who made you laugh
with his antics? Were you fooled by the
magic; did you try to work out how the
tricks were done? Or dare I suggest that
you actually believed that what you were
seeing was a real man of magic who cast
spells and worked wonders? Have you
ever observed young children in their own
little creative world? They are oblivious to
anyone or anything around them. They are
lost in their own imaginative land of makebelieve. They might be singing to themselves or scribbling without thought on
a scrap of paper. They could be playing
imagination games, or maybe creating
towers in their room out of their toys.
Often a childs toy, a toy that to us adults is
quite simple, is the toy the child will play
with the most. Many times, the box that
the toy came in is more appealing than the
toy itself.

Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane


Seymour.) We all create our own reality.
If you are a professional childrens entertainer, you manifest your working life by
your actions. If you want more shows, you
advertise, organize a marketing campaign,
and network with others. If you dont want
to do shows for a couple of weeks to take
a vacation, you make that choice. You are
master of your destiny, and what may start
as only a dream very quickly becomes
your reality.
Children coming to see you at a magic
show expect to witness magic. They may
consider it real or trickery, depending
on their age, but it is still magic. In my
opinion, each child should be allowed to
react in a natural way to that magic. They
do not all experience the same reality
just as none of us shares the same reality.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a


very persistent one.
Albert Einstein
Just a final note: I hope that most of
you read James Muntons excellent Pro
Files column in M-U-M. James, like me,
is a Brit who has left the UK. He now lives
and works in Dallas, Texas, doing shows
for both children and adults. James has
recently done a one-hour podcast interview
with me, and I encourage you all to check
this out. I give lots of tips on entertaining children, among other subjects. This
podcast will also help you get know me
in person, in addition to my ramblings in
this column. You can access this podcast
by visiting www.MagicBistro.com and
clicking on the podcasts list at the top.

Children see magic because


they look for it. Christopher Moore
In the book The Force is with You,
author and movie producer Stephen
Simon states that, both spirituality and
quantum physics today are questioning the
so-called reality of the world around us.
We are coming to realize that this life we
live may indeed be an elaborately designed
illusion in which we play out the evolution
of our consciousness. (Stephen Simon
produced of one of my all-time favorite
films, What Dreams May Come, starring
Robin Williams, as well as Somewhere in

As always, I welcome all your


comments and emails. I can be contacted
at ComicMagician@cox.net.

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 51

The Nielsen Gallery


Dante Portrait

Dimensions: Half-sheet 18.5 x 28 Lithographer: Adolph Friedlander, Hamburg. Date:1931


Nielsen Rating: Scarce
performed as part of Red Skeltons 1949
tour.
Loos big break came on September
11, 1961, when he performed on the
premiere of Bozos Circus. This live TV
Large touring illusion shows such as
show featured Bob Bell as Bozo, host Ned
those staged by Dante and Blackstone
Locke as Ringmaster Ned, a thirteenneeded a never-ending supply of boys
piece orchestra, circus acts, cartoons,
and girls to serve as assistants and
games, and prizes, all presented before
onstage confidants. Most who served in
an audience of several hundred children.
those roles did so for a while and then
Resplendent in a Chinese dragon robe,
went on to other careers. Others used
Loo did tricks involving vanishing
their experiences as a proving ground for
chickens and pagoda illusions. In 1980,
their own interest in magic and became
he performed on the Bozo show for the
well known and successful magicians
twentieth and final time. By that time
in their own right. Such was the case for
Di Yip Loo (right) assisting Dante and
there was an eight-year wait for tickets
De Yip Loo, who cut his magical teeth
Moi-Yo Miller in the Sawing illusion.
to the show.
working for both these magic dynasties.
In 1985, Loo launched the Shang Po
Harry Jansen was an accomplished
Magic Show, a family act that included
magician by the time Howard Thurston
his wife Arlene and daughter Mai Ling,
picked him to head his number-two unit
which traveled extensively across North
and gave him the stage name Dante.
and South America.
But it was through that show that the
Commenting on Loos impact on
world came to know and admire the
magic, noted illusionist and magician
magical artistry of this talented illuJim Steinmeyer wrote:
sionist. He carried a full contingent of
Theres little question that Louie was
onstage personnel; for three years in the
the real thing. When youre growing
1940s, one of his most valued assistants
up, you take all those people for granted.
was the young Chinese man, De Yip Loo.
De Yip Loo was just the magician that
Loo came to the United States in
I saw once or twice a year on Bozos
1936, at the age of eleven, to join his
Circus. I thought that every magician
father, who had settled in Minnesota.
Di Yip Loo levitating his daughter
was supposed to be that good (or was
The rest of his family remained in China.
Frances Mai-Ling, who assisted in his show.
going to be that good). But its only
At the age of fifteen, he got a job as a
been in recent years that I think about
busboy at the Nankin Restaurant in
how good he really was. And very few
Chicago. One day, Blackstone stopped
performers since then have measured
in the restaurant between shows at the
up. I dont think its just my boyhood
nearby Oriental Theatre and struck up a
memories. I distinctly recall his act, and
conversation. Hungry for new assistants,
have seen tapes of his material in more
he asked young Loo if he wanted a job
recent years. He was the real thing,
on his show. The manager of the restauand hed done it all.
rant reportedly encouraged him to take
Over the course of his sixty-year
it, because he was such a lousy busboy.
career, Loo has been credited with
Thereafter, he worked for Blackstone as
inventing, rebuilding, and improving
a personal valet and stage assistant for a
illusions used by such magicians
year until Blackstone started touring for
as Harry Blackstone Jr. and Doug
the U.S.O. and reduced his troupe.
Henning. He was particularly admired
From the Blackstone show Loo
for his creative improvements in Blackserved as onstage assistant to Dante,
stones Lightbulb Penetration.
a position he held for three seasons.
Loo in colorful Chinese costume assists Dante
He toured for a while as part of an
His steady hand and attention to detail
with the Crushing a Woman illusion.
act with friend and fellow Dante assistant
served Dante well in illusions such as
George Johnstone. The comedy turn was
Crushing a Woman, Sawing a Woman
in Half, and the Backstage Illusion. Soon after becoming a U.S. titled, Johnstone and ORourke, with Loo playing the Irish part
citizen in 1945, he was drafted into the Army and joined the Quar- of the act. Loo retired from show business after suffering a stroke
termasters Corps, serving in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and in 1998, but he remains an inspiration not only to magicians
young and old but also to people who have had strokes. He lives
Okinawa.
After the war, he resumed his magic career working in in Chicago.
Tom Ewing
nightclubs, burlesque, and corporate trade shows. He also
De Yip Loo and
Dante the Magician

52 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

53 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

INFORMED OPINION
Latest Product Reviews
Compiled and Edited by W. S. Duncan

Mentalism, platform magic, hardcore card technique, tricks with gaffed cards, a lost lecture video, and even some coin magic
come your way this month. If you are looking for something different in the close-up arena, check out Norman Becks review
of Photoshop, and dont overlook The Gathering, which uses a playing card, but is not a card trick. If you are really looking for
something different, Jim Kleefeld reviews a bill-to-impossible-location effect that will amuse you and your audiences.

Avant-Cards The Card Magic of Tom Gagnon


Written by Wesley James
Available from www.TomGagnonMagic.com
Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $50.00
Review by Antonio M. Cabral
Avant-Cards is the longawaited collection of the unique
card work of Tom Gagnon.
Every so often a book comes
along that really captures the
card
workers
imagination,
either through novelty, difficulty,
creative potential, or some combination thereof. Im thinking
of books like The Card Classics
of Ken Krenzel, Ernest Earicks
By Forces Unseen, anything by
Jerry Andrus or Ray Kosby. Tom
Gagnons card work is firmly in
that category, exploring a variety
of applications of a handful of very intriguing moves. The move
monkeys are going to eat this one up.
The book itself is beautifully produced, and copiously (and
well) illustrated by Tom himself. Some of you might recognize or
remember Toms illustrations from the Vernon Chronicles series,
and his work hasnt dropped a bit in quality. In addition there are
detailed descriptions of each item by Wesley James, and if youre
familiar with Wesleys writing, his word count hasnt dropped a
bit, either. If a picture is worth a thousand words, between the
two gentlemen youre certainly getting your moneys worth. One
caveat about the writing is that in a few places, its difficult to
distinguish between Wesleys voice and Toms. In describing
Gagnons Versatile Spread Control, the sentence Since I needed
to learn this technique to assure I could describe it properly
is clearly Wesley, while elsewhere, describing Cavorting Aces,
Although the patter and the presentation are Dr. Daleys, the
routine is strictly mine refers toGagnon? I think? Its probably
safe to assume that the content is one hundred percent Gagnon,
while only the writing is Wesley James. Still, it makes for a
confusing read.
That quibble aside, the items in Avant-Cards arent for the
beginner, or for the faint of heart. There are no new and clever
self-working principles, nor is there anything for the stand-up or
walk-around performer; all the moves require the use of a table,
a close-up mat, and ample room. For the enthusiast looking to
master every sleight in the calendar however, this book is like
54 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

discovering an extra month between July and August.


Leading off is Gagnons Tabled Spread Pass, in which Gagnon
started from an old gamblers move and created a shift that has to
be seen to be believed. In fact, if you look for Tom on YouTube (or
his website, above), you can see him execute this move perfectly;
its flat-out invisible in his hands. Of the variants and applications offered, the two that caught my eye were the refinement of
the original Draw Shift in which the pack never seems to lift off
the table, and a handling of the classic Cavorting Aces (aka The
Acrobatic Jacks) in which all the action happens with the cards
ribbon spread on the table.
Following that are the Gagnon Spread Controls, which, while
not easy to acquire, are going to be worth their weight in gold
to the card worker who develops the kind of facility with them
that Tom has. There are very few ribbon spread techniques in the
literature; Im going to be practicing this one. Once you get it
under your fingers, its a force, a switch, a control, and a reverse.
Tom has developed some very creative and practical applications
for this idea. Rounding out the collection is a selection of bottom
deals, less of the gaming table variety and more of the magicians
switch variety. In many instances, the bottom is dealt off the top
of the packet, and if that sentence intrigues you, congrats, youre
the exact target audience for this material.
One thing that comes through in all of these moves is a very
distinct style of handling cards that governs how these moves are
executed. Its all very, very natural when you see Tom Gagnon
do it. Someone else might have to assimilate some new habits in
order to make these moves look as good as they should. Thats not
a bad thing; the same goes for most card table or gambling moves.
With the material in Avant-Cards, I wouldnt be surprised if Tom
Gagnon cuts a path for a whole new crop of card workers. Recommended for the card enthusiast.

Mr. Mystos Wizard Academy Book


By Mr. Mysto (as Revealed to John Carney)
Available from www.CarneyMagic.com
Price $20.00
Review by David Goodsell
This handsome, soft-cover, eighty-page book will be perfect
for that relative or friend who is just getting started in magic. Most
of the tricks are the common stuff of beginners books, such as
the paperclips and the dollar bill trick, the use of a key card, the
fake bending of a spoon, and the sausage between the fingertips
optical illusion. There are a few that are more uncommon, such
as the Creepy Crawly Creature, made from a paper napkin and
motivated by a rolling lemon under the napkin. But, the magic
is not for those already on their way in our craft. Except that

each trick or stunt is accompanied


by wonderful black-and-white
inked cartoons showing John as
Mr. Mysto performing and explaining the tricks with his black
cat assistant Nepomuk dressed
up in rabbit ears (Kudos to artist
Stephanie Gladden).
Many will buy the book for
that reason alone, especially if
they have ever seen John Carney
perform as Mr. Mysto. The material
is simple enough for your ten-yearold niece, but clever enough for
your co-worker at the office. These
things raise Mr. Mystos Wizard Academy several cuts above the
average introductory book of magic.

Al Koran The Unique Years Book


Compiled by Martin Breese
Available from www.Abracadabra.co.uk
Price $47.00
Review by Payne
Al Koran is associated with
mentalism. And while there are
mental effects aplenty to be found
in the pages of this new book
from Martin Breese, there are
other tricks and moves to be discovered as well. Granted, most of
these tricks are dedicated to the
use of playing cards, but since
the majority of the material in
this book has been extracted from
routines he published in many of
the journals at the time, this is to
be expected.
According to the blurb on the
front flap, Al Koran was associated with Harry Stanleys Londonbased studio, Unique Magic, hence the title of this book. Mr. Stanley
encouraged his friend to write up some of the effects used in his
act so they could be marketed through the shop. Five of these
appear in this volume, along with two effects Koran sold after he
moved to the United States. The rest of the material, over thirty
tricks in all, has been taken from the various magic magazines
Koran contributed to over the years: The Gen, The Magic Wand,
Pentagram, and The Wizard. He also submitted material to Abracadabra, but since these articles were reprinted in The Magic of
Al Koran a few years ago, they have not been included here.
Because he ran a column in The Gen, some of the effects
included in this portion of the book arent Mr. Korans but were
selected by him for publication. This section also contains basic
information on sleights such as the top change, the crimp, and
a deck switch. So it is a veritable potpourri of material, though
as already mentioned, it is mostly cards. But there is a torn and
restored cigarette paper routine that is worth a look.
Those looking for mentalism will not be disappointed; there is
plenty of material from Mr. Korans working repertoire included
here. Instructions for his Miracle Pack, a powerful gaffed deck
that I had the pleasure of seeing Johnny Thompson perform at a
magic lecture earlier this year, are to be found in these pages. It is

a truly stunning piece of mentalism in which, with only a question


or two, one is able to name the card a spectator has mentally
chosen from a fanned deck.
Most of the material requires minimum sleight of hand, and
should be within the technical abilities of the average performer.
Some of the tricks require minimal prop construction. Again, there
is nothing too complex, but some of it requires the use of colored
carbon paper, which you might have a difficult time procuring in
this digital age. However, a couple of the effects (the ones taken
from the instruction sheets from Unique Magic) require props that
either have no instructions on exactly how to build them or will
require some delicate skill to construct. These, I believe, were
included more as documentation to preserve the legacy of Mr.
Koran than to be included in anyones act. But apart from these
three or four routines everything else in the book is quite usable.

Pentagon: Super Powers Book


By Patrick Redford

Available from www.PatrickRedford.com (password tarbell)


Price: $40.00
Review by Joshua Kane
If one were to draw up a psychological profile of shared interests among
magicians and mentalists, noting a
penchant for comic books and super
hero culture would in a large percentage of cases be a palpable hit. Many
of us first bought our magic sets in the
hope of gaining actual powers. And
every time we read a dealer description
that lists all the methods that an effect
does not use, we are secretly hoping
that we may finally have stumbled on
something that does indeed run on
pixie dust or dragons blood.
The theme of Pentagon, the latest
volume in Patrick Redfords Shape series, is superpowers. There
is nothing that comes across as prop-y, and the learning curve is
both low on mechanics and high on presentation. The first effect,
which is found in the introduction, is a sweet take on the strongman
stunt of ripping a penny in two. Methods are included in which the
penny can be signed. This is stronger than standard coin bending
and leaves your audience with an interesting artifact.
Patricks Super Hearing routine will enable you to deduce the
number of pennies in a fistful of change shaken in a spectators
hand. This can be done in person or over the phone. With X-Ray
Vision you will be able to tell which hand a spectator has hidden a
quarter in, as well as the state on the back of the coin, and whether
the coin is heads or tails up. This is a strong multi-part routine
that can be performed in phases or in its entirety. It is excellent for
impromptu situations. His extension of Banacheks P.K.Touches is
innovative and weds several pseudo-hypnosis stunts to the initial
effect to create a strong suite. A drawing duplication and a time
travel effect are also included. All required sleights are capably
taught and the crediting is good.
There are inside jokes in the comic sections, and the graphic
novel format of the book effectively eliminates the need for a DVD.
Pentagon is a fun read and worthy of your consideration. I suggest
you pick up a copy of Pentagon and the other volumes today as
much for the uniqueness of the format as for the continued quality
of the material.
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 55

Heart and Soul: Presentations for the Gospel


Storyteller Book
By Ed Solomon

Richard Osterlind: Live...Without a Net


Three-DVD Set
By Richard Osterlind

Review by Payne

Review by Joshua Kane

I have heard it said that gospel magic


and bizarre magic are simply opposing
sides of the same coin. Granted, the
performer postulating this theory was a
practitioner of bizarre magic. The fact
that he also made this proclamation
within earshot of a gospel performer
should also be taken into consideration.
But after giving it some thought, I tend
to agree with the hypothesis. Strange
as it seems, bizarre and gospel magic
have much in common. Chief among
them is the use of storytelling in the
presentations. So it should come as
no surprise that one of bizarre magics most prolific of authors,
Ed Solomon, has released a slim volume of material specifically
created for gospel performers.
The book contains twenty-three presentations. But unlike
most of the gospel routines I have been exposed to in the past,
few of Mr. Solomons tales directly refer to scripture. Just as the
Bible often uses parable to impart truth, Mr. Solomon uses this
literary form to frame most of his stories. In fact, many of his
presentations would work to illustrate the common themes found
in any of the Abrahamic religions, because they touch on the
universal beliefs of virtue, compassion, and humility. But at least
ten of the routines in the book are built around New Testament
teachings. Of these, one discusses the Catholic martyr Saint Rita,
another employs Tarot cards, and a third involves the possibly
sacrilegious act of filling a water pistol with holy water to fend off
an invisible yet malevolent entity.
As is common in many of Mr. Solomons presentations, the
magic takes a subservient role to the tale. In fact, a few of the
stories contained in this book are either completely devoid of the
use of a magic effect or the author recommends not presenting
a trick with the tale because he feels it would only weaken the
story. The magic is in the telling of the stories themselves. Those
presentations that do involve the use of a trick generally do so
only at the very end, using the illusion as punctuation to the story
rather than weaving the magic effect through it. Those stories that
do employ magic in them use common props that most of us have
or can easily obtain. The only routine one might have an issue
assembling is the very first routine in the book. This one
utilizes a set of gimmicked scales found in Christian Chelmans
Capricornian Tales, a fairly esoteric tome that is most likely not
to be found in the average magicians library.
Finally, unlike many books devoted to the genre of bizarre
magic, the stories contained here are general enough in their
structure and verbiage to be easily adapted to the average
performer, something that is unusual in the bizarrists circle.
More often than not, bizarre routines are so geared to the creators
persona that they usually have to be completely reworked or
re-imagined to fit another persons performance style and personality. Nearly all the tales in Heart and Soul can (and in many cases
should) be performed exactly as they are written lest they lose
their impact and meaning.

Live...Without a Net is the latest Richard


Osterlind release from L&L Publications. This three-DVD set includes a
lot of solid material gleaned from
the classics, underused texts,
and Osterlinds own estimable
repertoire. There is value to
be found here. However, I feel
that Richard has done himself
a disservice by frontloading the
first disc with a series of rants
and complaints about the fraternity, and their response to him.
It reduces his effectiveness, as he
comes across tired and defensive. The
first disc is also the weakest of the three.
Richard has an agenda that goes beyond
teaching good magic and mentalism to magicians. He makes it
clear that he is tired of people suggesting that his performances
and material will not make the same impact on a non-L&L studio
audience. Some people, he asserts, feel that the audience is unrealistic in their reactions and are coached to applaud. This is his
chance, he says, to shut up the mouths of some of these people
who have attacked him on various forums and to prove that he can
garner equal (if not greater) reactions before a lay audience. While
the first DVD does include a full performance in front of a Reno
comedy club audience, we do not actually get to see Richard at his
best. We are also told in the introduction that he had not walked
around warming up the audience as he is accustomed to do. He
also makes it clear in the post-show commentary that the set of
material he performs has been assembled from various acts he has
performed over the years; I doubt that this is the A material he
would perform if we hired him for a live show.
Richard also takes the time in the introduction to vent that
todays magicians are jaded by the wealth of material made
available to them. This is somewhat ironic, given that Richard
himself has contributed to this overabundance by having not only
presented his own material to the community, but having also
harvested other creators effects and, in Ammar-esque fashion,
put out pre-gleaned collections. These have, in part, been responsible for raising a generation of mystery entertainers, who feel no
need to read and who have not gained, through trial and error,
their own personal criteria on how to judge material. Among the
material Richard has shared over the years are secrets such as
Acidus (which I suspect its creator would not have happily made
available to an indiscriminate audience). But, like Richard, I
digress...
Richard starts off his set addressing the question Can
mentalism and magic be mixed? with a well received performance of Vernons Symphony of the Rings. He then segues
into metal bending as he impressively causes several spoons to
bend. It did seem odd in a restaurant/club environment that he
was using his own spoons rather than spoons from the participants tables. His Mental Epic includes the Ronnie Gann gag and
finishes stronger than most presentations. Unfortunately, the prop

Available from www.LeapingLizardsmagic.com


Price $30.00

56 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies


Price $99.95

itself is clearly a prop: the best you can say is that it resembles
an antiquated restaurant board. Richard argues that a blackboard
has less glare than a white board and can be read more easily
in the room. I assert that a white pad of paper also has no glare
and is commonly found, whereas one would be hard pressed to
find a handheld slate even in a classroom, unless one were to go
to a Colonial reenactment. He then moves into Par-Optic Vision,
a routine using his Dynamo deck in which a spectator selects
a group of cards and drops them into his own pocket. Richard,
divining the cards, calls them out and the card the spectator pulls
out does indeed match each time. This was my favorite effect on
the first disc. His Add-a-Number routine does not require a magic
shop pad, and the subtleties regarding this routine are exceptional and worthy of note. His Combination Padlock effect, which
requires a Grismer lock, a hard-to-find and expensive commercial
item, is well routined.
Almost half of the performance is taken up with Richards
presentation of Q&A using a Dunninger box. This is not a
method that Richard routinely uses; as he tells us, he explored
this method and moved beyond it in developing his Thought Scan
device (which, while it has wings, is certainly less boxy than the
Dunninger box). Richard has a reputation for performing Q&A.
Unfortunately, this reputation is not well served here; in his explanation as much time is spent dismissing anticipated attacks
on the routine and the props as in teaching the methodology. In
fact, while it is called Q&A, it is actually closer to sealed message
reading, of the type Kreskin is known for. No questions are asked,
except for the ones used by the mentalist to pump for information.
There are no questions answered. Instead, Richard only reveals
information that was clearly written down. After already putting
too much heat on the Dunninger box by explaining the reasons
for its strange construction, he then spends a great deal of time
staring down into the box catching thoughts from the air and
writing them down before revelations actually begin. The pieces
of paper that the thoughts are written on are not even folded up;
Richard asserts in the explanation that with the slips being on
card stock there would be no reason to fold them.
This routine was an excellent lesson in how not to perform
Q&A (and why perhaps most performers should not try). Everyone
in the audience writes something down and yet only a few people
end up directly involved and rewarded the larger the audience,
the greater the discrepancy. While I appreciated Richards performance of Q&A with Thought Scan on Mind Mysteries Volume
One, I found this presentation ineffective. He closed the set with
an uncredited version of Clip Line known as Alpha Mental. Not
only are you able to predict where the newspaper strip will be
cut, but you can then go on to read the spectators mind as he
focuses on a word in the first four lines of text he is holding. This
is as strong as Clip Line can get, and is worthy of your attention.
It is easy to make up with a computer and any desktop publishing program, and is a real fooler. This version was sold a number
of years ago by Uwe Schenk and Otto Sondermeyer. Fortunately
for the fraternity, Osterlind has come to an agreement with the
creators and has put it out with both his personal handling and
updates through his website, where it can be found as Alpha
Mental Plus.
While finding the good stuff on Disc 1 was a bit of a slog,
I felt amply rewarded by the richer material found on the rest of
the set. Disc 2 includes an encore from the stage show, a clean
handling of the Linking Finger Rings, and several strong pieces
well suited for close-up and post-show performances. A triple
prediction effect with index cards from his book Mystique is
perfect for walk-around and packs light. If you have ever wanted

to be able to do an Add-a-Number calculator type effect with a


borrowed iPhone you will be quite pleased; there is no longer a
need to bring your own calculator, and you end clean. His presentation of Dr. Sacks Dice Routine suited the casino environment
perfectly and will soon be in my pockets as well. This is a classic
effect from The Phoenix and always manages to fool and delight
me. The disc closes off with a performance-only segment of a
double penny bend that looks quite good.
The third disc has Richard performing in the casino concourse
in impromptu encounters. We are treated to more of his spoon
bending as well as several kick-butt routines with the Osterlind
Radar/Dynamo deck. His Knife through Coat routine, harvested
from Tarbell, is a sound reminder that the best material has already
been published in books and is only waiting to be rediscovered
and employed. It is arguably ungaffed and is taught with all
necessary caveats. Richard then goes on to demonstrate multiple
routines maximizing the usefulness of his Perfected Center Tear,
as well as some compelling reasons to practice with, pack, and
use a Swami gimmick. Bob Cassidys Chronologue diary effect
(marketed by Viking magic) is taught with the Osterlind touches.
The performance-only Hypnotic Hands effect, which closes the
final disc, leads me to hope that somewhere down the road we will
see a Richard Osterlind hypnosis DVD set.
It has been said that every time a mentalist picks up a prop his
fee goes down. I agree with this and it is one of the main reasons
I was not happy with Osterlinds performance on Disc 1; there
are simply too many writing surfaces and implements used. I am
not sure if it is that my audiences are sharper-eyed or if Richards
are more polite, but I am certain that I would be caught out or
walked out upon if I performed the Q&A as he does it. I also feel
that there should be a warning on the set to indicate that there
are many routines that will require specific store-bought props,
some of which are expensive and hard to find. Overall, there is too
much running when one is not being chased and over explaining
of the ordinariness of store-bought props, as well as an assumption that audiences dont notice certain things. Two pieces are not
taught and not everything is taught in order.
Is this Osterlinds best set? No. That would be Mind Mysteries.
Is there enough good material to justify the purchase? Yes. Will
it encourage you to revisit old books in your library? Definitely.
The material presented ranges from classic routines culled from
old books that play well today and are worthy of consideration, to
deeper explorations of material from Osterlinds older discs, and
one or two pieces that were brought in to avoid repetition from the
earlier discs but were not as strong. As with earlier Osterlind sets,
there is a mixture of magic and mentalism. There is solid material
in the set but you have to wade past the first disc to get it.

Old School Kranzo DVD


By Nathan Kranzo

Available from www.KranzoMagic.com


Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $35.00
Review by Danny Archer
In 2001, a Nathan Kranzo lecture in Dallas was recorded.
The original VHS tape was lost, but was recently discovered
and converted to DVD. For an older recording, and a onecamera shoot, the sound and video are fine (and there are close-ups
at times). DVD navigation amounts to Play All with no choice
to jump to specific effects or explanations.
Nathan starts the performance by putting both hands in his
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 57

jacket pockets and slowly turning


around. When he again faces
front, he now has a lollipop in
his mouth. He then removes
his wristwatch, revealing a
tan line. He grasps the tan
line with his other hand and
drags it up his arm (the tan
line is no longer on his wrist)
until he stops and shows that
the tan line is now on his bicep.
A candy bar is removed from its
wrapper, displayed, and then slid back
inside. Demonstrating the art of psychic eating,
Nate removes the candy bar and shows that it has a few bites out
of it. When he smiles, there is chocolate smeared on his teeth.
Explaining how he was unable to cash a check for $10.25 at the
grocery store, Nate rips the corner from the check and touches it
to a flame; the corner changes into a quarter. The check is then
folded and changes into a ten dollar bill. In the routine called Low
Tide, three coins are produced from the flame of a lighter and are
then vanished and reproduced.
Nathan ends the performance at this point and goes on to
explain the handlings and methods he employs. From a technical
point of view nothing is too hard or difficult for the average
magician. The moving tan line effect has been performed on TV
by Penn & Teller, Marco Tempest, Chris Korn, and others, and it
shows the right-of-center thinking Nathan uses for his clever and
creative effects. Low Tide is a nice coin effect that really got me
thinking. And the check routine is a wonderful presentation for
the classic $100 Bill Switch.
Kranzo continues by dropping a lit match into his fist and
producing a packet of hot sauce. When he opens the packet,
smoke comes out. He also shares an alternate use for the smoke
production, which I think more people would actually use. Nate
then busts out the pasteboards for an impossible location effect.
Probably better suited for parlor than strolling, this is a serious
fooler. Then Nate has a sheer handkerchief and a silver dollar
examined. He uses the two for a series of visual penetrations of
the coin though the silk. In a short interlude, a roll of breath mints
turns into a can of breath spray. Then, its back to the cards as
Nate has two spectators each peek at a card. He has them each
name the card and as they both say, Four of Hearts, he shows
that the deck has vanished, except for that card.
Nate stops the performance and explains the effects from the
second part of the lecture. The silk and coin routine is different
than Ammars and I think its better. Because only one coin is in
play, the audiences attention can be very focused. The two card
effects are great and are off the beaten path (as is a lot of the magic
on this DVD). Kranzo is a very talented creator and performer,
and watching him at the start of his career, sharing some of his
very best material in a live setting, makes for an experience that I
highly recommend.

A Little R&B DVD with gimmicks


By Dan Harlan

Available from www.danharlanmagic.com


Price $19.95
Review by Dan Garrett
On his website, Dan Harlan describes the material on this
DVD as the Color-Space-Time-Warp-Sandwich-Express! The
58 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

packaging (an homage to a rhythm-and-blues music CD cover)


displays Harlans skills in the graphic arts, but the R&B refers
to something other than music.
In this case, it is the abbreviation for a nifty (and fairly well
known) playing card gimmick: the red/blue double-backer.
The DVD generously includes three of the gimmicks for you
standard Bicycle 808 Poker Rider Back cards printed by the
US Playing Card Company.
However, most of the routines
require only one of the R&B
cards, so youll have extras if
you need them.
The DVD gives us ten
varied and sundry effects/
routines, with ten varied
and sundry presentational
themes. Youll be surprised
at the variety and one or two
will stand out. For me, those
favorites are Star Trek (being
a hard Trekker myself) and R&B Special (a multi-phased Holy
Grail of signed card transpositions with the R&B card).
Having live performances to show how the material plays in
the real world for real people is always a plus on any instructional
magic DVD. No exceptions here. Each routine is taught with a
true Dan Harlan flare (spelling intentional). You wont be bored.
The skill level is not that difficult. If you have a decent double
lift and can competently execute an Elmsley count, then all the
material taught here will come very easily to you. If not, then a
portion of the material will still be within the grasp of even a rank
first-year card wizard. (Work on that double lift!)
If you are interested in exploring some magical, entertaining,
commercial card routines with the R&B gaff, this DVD is a very
good buy.

Metal Eclipse DVD


By Tristan Mory

Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies


Price $40.00
Review by Marc DeSouza
Ive never met Tristan Mory, but I would not want to bump into
him in a dark alley. He gives the impression of being one weird
dude. I love the fact that he took a very different direction for this
video, but I dont think it furthered either
the performance or teaching of the
material. It only highlighted
the fact that this guy Mory is
one odd man.
The disc is subtitled
Expert Coin Magic, and,
for the most part, that
is correct. There are two
non-coin effects. One is called
Hell, and it is a very old papercutting stunt that isnt even magic.
I have no idea why it was included.
The other is called Chemical Flower. A
cigarette is pushed into the fist; when the fist is
opened, the cigarette has changed into a paper flower. Upon closer
examination, it is seen that the paper flower is actually made
from a cigarette. Its an odd little effect, but not one I would be

interested in performing.
So now, lets go to the main subject. I would classify the
majority of the techniques and effects to be magicians magic.
Morys work is very idiosyncratic. He has amazing accuracy with
moves that are what I call concealed juggling. The moves are very
knacky, but all are telegraphed by actions that betray the actual
methods. He has a Spellbound transformation in which the hand
is slapped on the coin and the coin changes. This can be repeated
endlessly. Again, I think that when viewed a couple of times, the
method is a bit obvious.
He shows several vanishes, productions, and hand washes that
all suffer from the same types of actions listed above. There are
also several Matrix routines. In one of them, Matrix Evaporation,
the coins disappear instead of assembling, and I think it is very
good. His Matrix 450 is also a very fine version of this neo-classic
effect.
The performances are shot outdoors along a desolate country
road. It seemed to be shot in an almost David Lynch-ian manner
and, indeed, Mory would not be out of place in Twin Peaks. The
explanations are shot in a studio with Mory performing some
odd shtick at the beginning of each sequence, usually involving
throwing something off screen. Everything is well shot and the
explanations are clear, but I was bothered by the fact that there are
no credits anywhere on the disc.
If you are a coin nut, youll find a few things on here that will
be of interest. If you are an average magician looking for new
material for your performance repertoire, you probably wont find
it here. Given the high price asked for this single disc, I dont
recommend it.

3 DVD
By Eric Ross

Available from www.ericrossmagic.com


Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $25.00
Review by Danny Archer
On the DVD named 3, Eric Ross
presents three different effects,
all card revelations. The DVD
is of the homemade variety,
shot with a single camera; a
few times the action was not
as well framed as I would
have liked. But overall the
sound and video get the job
done. The DVD menu allows
you to choose each individual
performance, construction, and/or
explanations.
Mr. Ross begins by performing Chapped
for a spectator on the street. She is handed a tube of
ChapStick and is asked to select a card. After failing to find the
card, Eric has the spectator read the logo aloud, ChapStick. As
he rubs his finger over the logo, the text changes into the spectators selected card. The ChapStick tube is fully examinable.
Included are gimmicks needed to make up the effect. Its not that
hard to construct the gimmicked tube. The change of the words
ChapStick into the selected card looks great. Whats needed is a
better presentation for introducing the ChapStick in the first place.
The second effect is called Shades. A spectator selects and
signs the King of Hearts. Eric then takes the card and openly draws

sunglasses on one of the Kings faces. Then he visually moves


the sunglasses across the card and onto the other Kings face. He
then hands out the card for immediate examination as a unique
souvenir. Eric clearly covers the construction of the gimmick
using materials most of us already have. There is a little more
work involved compared to the Chapped gimmick, but anyone
should be able to make this work. It takes about five minutes to
make a gimmicked card, so restaurant workers probably wont use
this, but it looks great in performance.
Watermark is an effect that was previously released in Erics
lecture notes. A card is selected and returned to the deck. The
spectator removes a bill from his pocket; the performer holds the
bill and points out the watermark on it. He asks the spectator to
name his card; a watermark of the selected card is now clearly
seen on the bill. The bill can be shown on both sides and then is
handed back. The card watermark is no longer visible. As before,
some construction is required and a file on the DVD (you must
put it into your computer) contains what you will need to make
the gimmick. It is pretty easy to make the gimmick once you take
the file to a print shop. The effect looks very good, but here is one
caveat: you will need a light source that will allow you to see the
watermark in the bill. This may limit your performance opportunities in a professional working environment. As with Chapped
and Shades, you end dirty and Eric briefly discusses ditching the
gaff, but in all cases, audience reaction should be strong enough
to cover the ditch.
All three of these revelations are strong and visual and two end
with an unusual object (although you probably wont give away
the ChapStick). I like all three effects; the inclusion of the artwork
for two of the effects makes this an easy DVD to recommend for
anyone looking for a unique and memorable card revelation.

Sly News Tear DVD


By Tony Clark

Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies


Price $30.00
Review by Jim Kleefeld
Ahhhthe elusive search for the perfect Newspaper Tear! Its
been game-on for decades. Many pros
thought Gene Anderson found it,
although most hobbyists did
not discover the beauty of
his remarkable work until
Doug Henning performed
it on national television.
Its so well conceived that
its popularity skyrocketed,
then plummeted due to overexposure, then rose back up, and
eventually leveled off at a more
reasonable rate. Its safe to say that
on any given day someone is performing it
somewhere.
But the Anderson tear has its limitations. It is time-consuming to make up. Newspapers have changed in size, structure,
and consistency, and are no longer exactly the best proportions.
Daily newspapers, on which the Anderson tear is based, are not
ubiquitous as they once were, having been replaced in many
households with online and televised news. Tabloids and weeklies,
a very different size and format, are increasing in number and
popularity. In addition, the Anderson trick has some serious
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 59

preparation in both time and components. Even finding the right


wire is no longer a given. Uh-oh. Did I let wire slip? I meant
magnets. And Velcro.
Back to newspaper tears in general: Improvements, additions,
alterations, and alternatives have been offered by Robert Baxt,
Alex Hecklau, Mark Mason, and Andrew Mayne, among others.
L&L Publishing has a DVD available with versions by six
performers.
So, why should you consider Tony Clarks Sly News Tear?
Well, there are several positives to Tonys method. It is easier
than most to set up and prepare. You do not need wire, magnets,
Blu-Tack, or any other special equipment. There is some craftwork involved, but you will need nothing more than scissors and
glue. It uses the common street papers that you can get for free.
The restoration is easy and visual. Tonys video instructions are
clear, solid, and easy to follow. And the video includes several
important tips on the construction and handling that you could
apply to any newspaper tear. The trick can be presented in many
settings, including stage, parlor, and even casual or pseudo-impromptu situations, and the price is only $30 for one of the most
visual and startling tricks you will perform.
The routine is shown in a couple of venues, and then explained
well. Clarks presentation is well, I dont want to say dull or
dry lets just call it standard. You show both sides of a single,
double-page spread from a newspaper. You fold it in half and tear
down the fold four times, ripping the sheet into sixteenths. You
show numerous separate torn pieces. You push the pieces all
together. You instantly drop the bundle of pieces and it falls open
into a restored full sheet.
This is a very decent method simple, cheap, quick, and easy
to prepare and present. It is well documented in a fine and straightforward manner so you can learn it easily and quickly. Getting
this product is money well-spent. But if you hang tightly to every
dollar and dont buy your magic lightly, I have a few inherent
concerns that you might consider. Although you only use one
single sheet, you need four duplicate papers to make up a performance set. Not a problem if you grab a stack of free papers from
the stand outside your grocery store, but inconvenient if you want
to use a fresh current local paper each time. Tonys presentation
is essentially Andersons, the same one Henning performed in the
1970s: This is an illusion. You only think you see paper being
torn. I would have liked to see his video beefed up with a few
fresh presentational ideas. What about special patter for tearing
up a specialty paper such as Rolling Stone or USA Today or a local
Apartment Guide? I can see doing this for a kids birthday party if
you have a special birthday newsletter printed.
One small flaw I saw in the performance (twice, actually, one
in each performance video) is the movement required to vanish
the torn pieces. Without tipping the method, I can only say that
it looks exactly like what it is. When I watched the initial performance, I knew exactly what Clark was doing and correctly
guessed the method. Probably Im too seasoned and a lay audience
would miss this move, but you may want to watch the trailer on
YouTube and judge for yourself. Another issue is that the reveal,
at least on the video, is a tad slow. The paper drops open instantly
to show a vertical half of the front page, which you then flip open
to show the entire front page, and open again to show the full
front and back spread. There is nothing wrong with this to the
audience it is clearly a fully-restored newspaper but compared
to the Anderson or Hecklau tear where the entire two-page spread
opens instantly, it is less visual.
The other consideration is whether you want to do a newspaper
tear at all. Yes, everyone in the audience knows what a newspaper
60 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

is, but in light of CNN, Facebook, and Twitter, are you branding
yourself as old-fashioned by using one? Maybe it depends on
whom you perform for. My advice is, know your audience. If you
do want to present a newspaper tear, then overall, Newsflash 2.0
is a better newspaper tear, probably the best one so far, but it will
set you back a whopping $132. For the money, Tony Clarks Sly
News Tear is a good investment for anyone who wants to update
their program with a classic trick.

Photoshop DVD and Props


By Will Tsai

Available from www.SMProductionz.com


Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $25.00
Review by NormaN Beck
When you get a product
for review, it is like
Christmas: you never know if
youre going to like it or not.
I just received two presents,
and this is the first of them. I
like Photoshop very much. I
had never heard of Mr. Will
Tsai, the inventor/performer
of Photoshop, but I know a
good deal about him now from watching this DVD.
Mr. Tsai thinks a lot about his magic, and he is a smart fellow.
In Photoshop you show a small plastic case with a photograph
inside. The photo shows a picture of a candy kiss. You remove
the photograph, flex it over a spectators hands, and a real piece of
candy falls onto the spectators palm. And yes, the piece of candy
is gone from the photograph.
The prop is well made. Besides the effect itself, I liked the
format of the DVD; Mr. Tsai gives you many other ideas for
the prop. I felt like the DVD was a kick start for being creative.
The fact that there are now add-on packs available to extend the
gimmick to other effects indicates that we havent seen the last of
Photoshop.
You cannot go wrong with this prop. It will be in my close-up
case as a worker from now on. I cant wait to meet the creator.

Miracle Monte Trick


By Wolfgang Moser

Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies


Retail Price $25.00
Review by Jamie Salinas
The Three Card Monte themed
card trick is one of close-up
magics
classic
routines.
There have been many variations, with Michael Skinners
Ultimate Three Card Monte
as arguably the best routine
available. Will this one measure
up to Michaels version?
The DVD begins with a multiple-camera shoot of a live performance in a formal close-up setting. The
routine uses two black cards and a red Ace. The

spectators are invited to try to follow the Ace, but several times,
under what seem to be very fair conditions, the Ace is not where
they think it should be. Even when a paper clip is used to mark
the Ace, it is not where it was expected to be. In the last phase of
the routine, a corner of the Ace is torn and removed to mark the
money card, but once again is not where we expect.
The performance is very easy to follow and looks very
magical. The DVD includes special cards printed on Bicycle
Mandolin-backed cards. Each time you perform the effect, you
will destroy a card, but this card can be given away as a souvenir
to the spectator. This routine combines some of the best ideas
from Michael Skinners routine with some less well known ideas
from Harry Anderson. The beauty of this routine is that there are
none of the suspicious or confusing moves found in many Monte
routines.
Also included on the DVD is a bonus routine that uses the
specially printed card. Usually a bonus routine is included as an
afterthought, but in this case the effect is actually very good,
adding greatly to the value you receive with your purchase. You
will use this routine, as you will be able to perform it over and
over without damaging the special card.
Included with the DVD are enough cards for twenty
performances. Replacement cards are going to cost you fifty cents
each, but for the right situation, this should not be an issue. The
table-hopper may think twice about performing this at each table,
but the effect and routine are very strong. This is a very good
alternative to Michael Skinners version, so if you are not put off
by the cost of refills, you may want to invest your time and money
in this.

Stand Up Monte Trick


by Garrett Thomas

Available from www.KozmoMagic.com


Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $30.00
Review by W.S. Duncan
I should begin by laying
my own cards on the table: I
do not like card tricks with
a Three Card Monte theme.
Im not sure why exactly,
but lying to people who
believe Im showing them
something that will protect
them from cheaters makes
me feel like a dirty cop
or a politician whatever.
This is an emotional
response, not a logical one,
but it seems to me that if
you are going to tell your audience that you will demonstrate how
cheaters work, then you shouldnt cheat them by doing a freakin
card trick. Just do the real Monte with the hype, the bent corner,
and all. If you do cards, you already have at least one book with
a legitimate (?) routine, and its no harder to learn than most card
tricks.
If you think thats an untenable position, well, its just gotten
worse. Garrett Thomas has released, through Kozmo Magic,
a card trick called Stand Up Monte, and its brilliant. Honestly,
it makes me reevaluate the whole thing about cheating people,
because the blow off is so over the top.

With quotes praising the routine from stars like Daniel Garcia,
Eric Jones, Jeff McBride, and Paul Harris, its hard to imagine
that people will overlook this. Its probably more likely that it will
become the standard routine, as was Michael Skinners before it.
Yep, its good enough that you might toss away your Ultimate
Three Card Monte set in favor of this collection of gaffed cards.
The routine consists of the usual bewildering series of transpositions between the money card (here a Queen) and two indifferent
cards. But then things begin to get weird, when, after admitting
that you have extra cards, you introduce a second Queen, and
then a third indifferent card until you end up with three Queens
and three indifferent cards. And then the three indifferent cards
change places with the three Queens under test conditions.
Its an over the top, not at all legit, card trick pretending
to be a gambling demo which used to bother me, but not so
much anymore. Recommended for folks who like playful and
interactive card tricks.

Ultra Gum DVD


By Spidey, Devon Ye, and Richard Sanders
Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $30.00
Review by Jim Kleefeld
For a nifty, quick, casual effect that
looks impossible, its hard to beat
Ultra Gum, conceived by Devon
Ye and Spidey. This is essentially an object to impossible location trick. A small
objectappears sealed inside
one capsule of a clear, blister-pack-style chewing gum
package. Ultra Gum is priced
the same as most other one-trick
DVDs, but you get a couple of
gimmicks and two-and-a-half
hours of clear instructions that detail the
original premise and numerous variations in both
handling and effect.
The basic trick is that you borrow a dollar bill, tear off the
corner, vanish that corner, and cause it to reappear inside a brandnew, factory-fresh, sealed blister pack of gum. The gum package
is the kind that has a cardboard sleeve outside and a multi-bubble
blister pack inside. You can have the gum package in play, even
held by a spectator, before you borrow or vanish anything. Variations include using a selected card instead of a bill, or causing the
entire bill to transport instead of merely the corner. Although the
shaky hand-held camera irritatingly wobbles and bounces around
in what I assume is an effort to look slick or urban, you can
still see some looks of surprise, amazement, and incredulity on
the spectators in live shots. In a close-up, impromptu setting, the
effect looks like amazing magic.
Devon Ye and Spidey demonstrate and explain the trick that
they created, and Richard Sanders teaches most of the preparation, setup, and handling. This works well, because Ye and Spidey
get the credit they deserve for their creation while Sanders clearly
comes across on camera as the most succinct presenter.
Although the variations are minor, youd do well to watch
all the presentations, as some may be much more appealing to
you than others. One of the nice things about this product is its
adaptability. The creators transport a bill corner, an entire bill,
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 61

and a card corner into the sealed blister portion of a gum pack,
both under cover and visibly. Small pieces, such as the corner
of the bill appear in the blister along with the gum. If you use a
full folded bill, it replaces the gum piece. The trio shows several
routines for each presentation.
The flaws in the product are small, mostly ones of redundancy. Each part is taught and retaught with many repetitions of
action. The performance of Time Travel, for instance, is shown
three times with little variation. Also, the presentations were not
scripted, and could have used some film retakes or editing. Several
times the video is cut off and replaced by a black screen with
text giving you additional advice or a correction. The producers
obviously knew they had left something out. How hard would it
have been to just refilm that five-minute segment? Another thing
I found curiously lacking is any exploration of other package
products besides gum. This effect and method would surely work
with other types of packages and blister-packed products.
Your major consideration in buying this should be how
much you will want to use it. Although amazing and visual,
there are some downsides. Each performance instance finds an
object embedded in a new package. The spectator tears open the
package to retrieve the bill or card corner. What that means is that
each time you want to present the effect you have to use another
prepared packet. If you make four at home and carry them with
you (a package of gum, is fairly small, after all), you can do it four
times (possibly eight) in an evening. This may be fine for that
once-in-a-lifetime moment with friends, but not as handy for restaurant table-hoppers who do twenty-four sets a night. The prep is
easy, but will take you about fifteen minutes, so consider reserving
this for that one special moment in the evening. Another consideration is that it clearly plays better as an off-hand or impromptu
effect. If you do concise scripted sets, this may stand out as a
setup. However, if you like to have something ready to totally
amaze a small group of people at any given time, Ultra Gum is a
clever idea, a great effect, and well-worth the price of admission.

The Gathering DVD


by Jamie Dawes

Available from www.full52.com


Distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies
Price $35.00
Review by Marc DeSouza
Here is a compelling penetration effect. A card is chosen and
the participant signs it. You take a hole-punch and punch two

62 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

holes in the top end of the card. You then take a borrowed ring and
link it through the two holes. You can hand
the spectators the card to examine; the
ring is really linked on the card.
You finish by tearing through
the card to remove the ring and
return it. The spectator can keep
the card as well. So, whats the
catch? Well, its not real magic,
so you need a gimmick. Jamie and
Dave Forrest take you through the
preparation of the card, which at first
seems a little daunting, but it is just a
knack you will need to develop. Once you get
it, you should be able to prepare one in about five
minutes. You do need a new card every time you perform this
effect, so you will most likely not use this in every set if you do
strolling or restaurant magic.
There is a little fiddly moment when you actually link the ring
onto the card, but I think it should pass muster in front of a real
audience. As a one-trick DVD, I would consider this to be too
expensive for the effect, but wait! No, there are no Ginsu knives,
but a bonus effect that is a great color-changing deck routine. A
card is chosen from a blue-backed deck. Suddenly, the card turns
red, then the rest of the deck changes to red as well, but then the
card turns back to blue. Finally, the entire deck goes blank on the
backs and the fronts, except for the selection. Now what would
you pay for this two-trick DVD? Well, it is still an expensive
DVD, but a little closer to reasonable.
I would not expend the effort required to make each gaff to
perform this on a regular basis. I would consider using it once
in a while, though, for a special audience. The Color Changing
Deck is excellent and I will certainly use that one, so the DVD is
worthwhile on that basis. $35 is probably not a high price to pay
for a piece of magic that I will actually use, but you may feel differently. Its not for the curious. On that basis, I give it a guarded
recommendation.

If you wish to have your product


reviewed please send it to:
Bill Duncan
P.O. Box 50562
Bellevue, WA 98015-0562

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INSIDE STRAIGHT
BY NORMAN BECK

Much Ado About Little


Everything is bigger in Texas; at least thats what we
say. I am not here to talk to you about the big things in
Texas, nor are we going to discuss trivial matters. Rather,
we are going to talk about the little things.
I am a big fan of tells and minutia precise details,
small or trifling matters. I love Mac Kings show, but I
dont love it because of one single trick or effect. I love it
for the thousand little things that happen along the way:
the call-backs, the perfectly placed jokes, the wonderfully motivated sleights the details that in combination
become much more than little.
My topic this month is the word little, a word that
crops up in many famous quotes. Writer Robert Brault
said, Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look
back and realize they were the big things. Winston
Churchill said, Attitude is a little thing that makes a
big difference. I will tell you from personal experience
that little is a word that you should use sparingly. Very
often, little is not the best word choice.
I came to learn this one day while I was a claims
adjuster for State Farm Insurance. A very crusty
curmudgeon who worked next to me said, You know,
you get off on the wrong foot with everyone you talk to
on the phone. I was shocked. I normally have a good
bedside manner and am normally not rude (unless I am
in a 7-Eleven convenience store). What could I be doing
wrong? I had to ask my coworker straight up, because he
would not volunteer the information.
Here was my error: When I called someone about the
claim he had pending, I said, Good morning Mr. Doe,
this is Norman Beck the adjuster for State Farm. I am
calling to talk to you about the little wreck you had last
week. That one small word was my downfall. At first I
didnt understand what I was doing wrong, even after it
was explained to me. The problem with the word little
is that for the person who had the wreck, it wasnt little
and it wasnt trivial. It was a major bad day for them.
We may forget what we had for lunch yesterday, but we
remember every wreck we have been in. The fact that
I used the word little started me off on less than firm
footing; without realizing it, I was being insensitive to
the situation.
One day, one of the women who works at my current
office was very excited that she had been given a promise
ring. A coworker made the statement My, what a cute
little diamond it has. As you can imagine, that comment
was not taken as a compliment. As a magician, you could
also fall into this trap. You go to do a kids birthday party
and you tell the parents, I am here for the little magic
show.
The problem is that in relationships (and its all about
relationships) you just dont know what is little to
someone else, or how sensitive they may be to the word.
You are much safer to not use it.
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 63

Christian Painter

Mental Breakdown

The Mentalists
Dilemma
Recently, Katalina and I performed for
a college journalism class that was learning
to write from an objective viewpoint about
what they have experienced. They were
aware that we were entertainers and had
seen our website. We performed twenty
minutes of show and then took questions
for fifteen minutes. Most of the questions
were pretty standard, but then Katalina
was hit with this one: How long have you
known that you possessed your special
abilities? There was a long pause; they
knew we were entertainers, we injected
much levity and fun in the presentation,
and we never stated that we had any psychic
powers. And yet, here we were, standing at
the edge of the mentalists dilemma.
Why is answering this question such
a dilemma? We have performed over two
thousand college shows over ten years.
We learned very quickly that if, at the
conclusion of the show, you share with
your audience that everything you did
was a trick or a deception, they will be
greatly disappointed. They feel cheated.
They wanted to believe in something more
and you took that away from them. This
all happens at an emotional level. Do not
confuse this with a rational, intellectual
exposition of psychic powers; what Im
talking about is an entertainment show. It
is an emotionally driven event.
Not everyone will believe that you have
powers. Over the years of performing, we
have come to validate that Dunninger was
correct: One third will believe no matter
what; one third will not believe no matter
what; and one third remains uncommitted. As a mentalist entertainer, I have no
agenda concerning psychic phenomena.
It is merely one premise for the show.
My wife and I are not consciously trying
to make any statement about the psychic
world.
To be clear, in our show Katalina and
I never state that we have any psychic
powers. We never claim that we have
64 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

abilities beyond those of the rational


scientific realm. We do create an aura
of mystery and wonder and we want our
audience to stretch cerebrally. We think of
our performance the same way one would
think of a Spiderman or Star Trek movie.
In these movies, people get to watch
something that they know is not real, but
yet are able to suspend their disbelief and
enjoy the movie. Once it is over, they are
able to discuss details, but always in their
mind they know that it is fantasy.
So then, why do people believe that
a mentalist might have powers, but
Spiderman and Captain Kirk do not? Here
are two possible answers: 1) People are
emotional beings; they want to believe
that there might be more to the world than
what theyve currently seen, read about,
or experienced. People thirst for a greater
consciousness. As mystery entertainers, we give them those glimpses that
hope. 2) We have come to understand that
no matter how good a movie is it can be
faked, through CGI, editing, or advanced
technology. However, for a live mystery
performance the audience can rule out any
movie trickery; they are forced to decide
whether what you do is real or a trick. Most
audiences believe that they are able to see
through any normal magical techniques.
They believe they know and understand
to some degree about sleight of hand, the
use of the sleeves, or secret mirrors. When,
after viewing a live performance, all of
this is ruled out, they begin to wonder, Is
this real?
If your script is believable, your
premises plausible, and your technique
excellent, then you have led your audience
to the edge of their belief system. This
is where I enjoy taking my audience.
However, the drawback is: at the end of
the performance, how do you handle the
questions from those individuals who,
regardless of what you may have said or
done during the show, believe that you
have extraordinary powers? Katalina and
I used to think we would simply answer
them honestly. However, we learned that
this upset people. Hearing the stark, barren
truth was like showing the empty sets
and half-constructed buildings of a good
movie. It was an emotional letdown.
At one time or another, we have all
read that, for performers, the show begins

when you arrive and ends when you drive


away in your vehicle. Katalina and I have
learned, the hard way, that this is very true.
Who is at fault if the audience begins to
believe that you have real powers? You
never said you had any, the performance
was in an entertainment environment, and
you called yourself an entertainer; it would
seem that to any logical person, you were
nothing more than an actor on a stage (nod
to Robert-Houdin).
However, a very good performance,
like good music, strikes us at an emotional
level, and then our rational faculties begin
to leave us. However, is leaving people
wondering a bad thing? Isnt this how inspiration can ignite finite possibilities?
Should we destroy their wonderful feeling
just to instruct them that we are mere tricksters?
Do we have a civic responsibility to
inform our audiences that we are nothing
more than deception artists, no matter how
it impacts the show? Or should we let them
enjoy the emotional rush that they paid to
receive? This is an ethical and existential
question.
Katalina and I have never believed
that we will change the belief system of
a person coming to our show. We might
inspire them, make them laugh, make
them wonder, or give them an emotional
rush, but we wont fundamentally change
the fabric of their thinking. Occasionally,
we do get someone who comes up to us
after the show with much deeper questions
about what is possible and what is not. We
handle these situations on a case-by-case
basis.
The mentalists dilemma is not
connected to the conmen who might use
trickery for personal gain, but for those
entertainers who are thrust into decisions
about when the show ends. When do we
break the spell that we have created? When
are we no longer entertainers? These are
personal questions, and they are not as
simple as they seem.
In the classroom, when Katalina was
asked that question there was a long pause.
Katalina and I glanced at each other. We
have non-verbal cues born out of years
of performing together; without saying a
word, we knew that we agreed on how we
were going to handle this one. I stood back
and Katalina began her answer.

The Contest of Magic at the S.A.M Convention

Las Vegas, Nevada


July 23 26, 2012
If you would like to be considered for The Contest of Magic at the S.A.M. Convention
in Las Vegas, you must obtain an application packet. To do this, email Paul Critelli at:
MagicPaul@aol.com. Put S.A.M. Contest in the subject line. Please make sure to include
your email and your full name, regular postal address, and your phone number. If you do not
have access to email, send your request to:

Paul Critelli, 858 Iroquois SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506


All application packets will be sent out on or after January 5, 2012.
Please note the following deadlines:
All requests for an application packet must be received by May 18, 2012.
All applications and DVDs must be received by June 25, 2012.
Do not send any DVD without a completed application form.
Thank you and good luck!
Paul Critelli, Chairperson Contest of Magic
MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 65

Larry Hass

Theory and Art of Magic

Taking the
Career Plunge
As a magic teacher and college
professor, hardly a week goes by in which
I dont receive emails from dedicated
magicians who have pressing questions
about our craft. One question that comes
up a lot is about how to make magic a
full-time career. Many people love performing magic; it is their passion and their
calling. How can they go about doing it
full time?
Since I am asked about it so frequently, this month I want to share my best
insights on the career question, insights
arrived at through personal experience,
many conversations, and considerable
reflection. My goal is to help magicians
who are wrestling with this understand
the options, so they can arrive at the best
course of action for themselves.
First, I have found that the career
question primarily comes from people
in one of two groups: those who already
have a day job (or career), and mid- to
late-teenagers who are troubled about
whether to go to college or to become
a full-time performer. I have things to
say to each group, but a first important
reminder applies to everyone: there have
been countless excellent performers and
creators who had non-magic day jobs.
Some famous historical examples are
Dr. Jacob Daley, Milt Kort, John Ramsey,
and Alex Elmsley; a few current examples
are people such as Marc DeSouza, Jack
Kent Tillar, John Bannon, and Norman
Beck. I suspect most readers will know
many other people who fit the bill. Clearly,
it is possible to have a first-rate career in
magic keeping it as an avocation, rather
than making it a full-time vocation...and
the money is better!
But lets say you have heard the sirens
song calling you to quit your job or career
and take the plunge. What then? Assuming
this is not simply bad day at the office
daydreaming, I believe there are two
different ways to make the transition.
The first one is what I call sink or
swim. That is, you just up-and-quit your
66 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

day job and then knuckle down to get performing work. I am not criticizing this
approach; I know a number of successful
full-time magicians who have done it this
way. For them, needing to pay the bills
forced them to find work and become good
enough to get more work, again and again.
Having said that, I also know several
people who have tried this and sunk; they
are not involved with magic anymore.
Yes, sink or swim is risky business
indeed. My perception is that the people
who succeed at this already have considerable performing experience and a solid
repertoire of good material. They also
have extremely modest lifestyle needs and
a special talent for improving under fire.
Perform or perish is not for everyone,
but it is for some people, and perhaps you
are one of them!
The other approach is what I call
plotting and planning. Here, one plans
to go full-time at some point in the future,
and, in the meantime, strategically works
hard to prepare for the big day. This
strategic work typically involves performing lots of shows, getting promotional materials in place, building a large
network of clients, and saving money for
the rainy days that will soon be upon you.
It may also involve many complex conversations and negotiations with your partner
or spouse who, at first, is going to think
youre nuts!
I can tell you that plotting and planning
is an excellent way to take the plunge.
I say this with confidence because it is
how I made the career transition. I used to
be a full-time college professor, teaching
a variety of subjects in philosophy, but
over a period of about ten years I slowly
and surely changed my career. I currently
work on magic about ninety percent of the
time as a performer, magic teacher, writer,
and publisher.
Yes, I said ten years. This approach
is not for the impatient among you. But
please note: I worked on magic just about
every day of those ten years to develop
the repertoire, skills, experiences, and
network of relationships that made it
possible for me to go (mostly) full time.
And this approach didnt drive a semitruck through my family life either.
Plotting and planning is a fine way to go.
On the other hand, perhaps you are a
teenager wrestling with the question of
whether or not to go to college. I keenly

appreciate the dilemma: you feel the excitement of a career in magic while college
looks like a big, fat drag, and a waste of
time. I hear you, but the correct answer is:
go to college!
You might think I say this because I am
a college professor. The truth is actually
the opposite: I am a college professor
because I understand the unsurpassed
economic and personal value of a college
education in America today.
Here are two shocking economic facts
to consider (College Pays 2010, CollegeBoard Advocacy and Policy Center):
1) Median earnings of bachelors
degree recipients are $21,900 more than
high school graduates.
2) Median earnings for men ages
25-34 with a bachelors degree are
seventy-four percent higher than for high
school graduates (seventy-nine percent for
women).
Please read the above two sentences
again; they shout volumes about the
economic imperative of being college
educated in the world today.
But the economic benefits are small
compared to the personal growth benefits:
college vastly expands the global horizons
and cultural literacy of people. It gives
them desperately needed communication
skills. Further, wise young magicians
choose courses of study that fuel their
magic careers, such as theatre, communications, business, and marketing. And
they make countless opportunities to
perform on campus and become famous
as the magician.
The bottom line is that going to an
excellent college, and working hard there,
rather magically transforms you into a
more interesting person the exact kind
of person who smart, wealthy people want
to hire. Over the years I have spent time
with a significant number of magicians
who opted out of college. While there are
a few exceptions (those who created selfeducation programs), the vast majority
of them regret it. Go to college and build
your magic career at the same time. It is
not an either/or.
I wish you the very best as you wrestle
with all the complex factors involved in
considering the plunge. In matters such
as this, where your quality of life and
happiness are squarely on the line, it is
imperative to listen to both your heart and
your head. Good luck!

Aldo Colombini
Anytime, Anyplace
Any Deck
In the Outback

This uses the Bluff Jog Force. The inspiration for the move came from John T.
Sheetss Betcha in his one-man parade in
the May 2003 Linking Ring.

Effect: A card is chosen from one half


of the deck. Two cards appear in a startling
way in the other half, revealing the value
and suit of the chosen card.

Performance: Take back a shuffled


deck and spread it with the faces of the
cards toward you. Glimpse the top two
cards of the deck. Lets assume that the
Six of Clubs is on top, followed by the Ten
of Diamonds. Look for either the Six of
Diamonds or the Ten of Clubs and bring
it to the face of the deck. Lets assume we
find the Six of Diamonds and bring it to
the face.
Cut the deck into two face-down piles.
Pick up the pile with the Six of Diamonds
on the bottom and perform the Bluff Jog
Force as follows:
Pick up a break over the bottom card.
Grasp the deck from above with the right
hand in an overhand (Biddle) grip. Use
your left thumb to peel off cards into your
left hand until stopped by the spectator.
Point to the last card peeled into the left
hand.
The right hand moves forward with
its half, as if it were pushing the top card
forward with your middle finger (Photo
1). Actually, nothing moves; when the
right half is out-jogged over the front of
the deck, drop the card below the break
onto the bottom packet (Photo 2), and

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 4

Photo 3
then move your right hand straight back,
leaving the bottom card out-jogged from
the deck (Photo 3). Properly timed, this
looks exactly as if you were pushing the
top card of the left-hand portion forward.
Drop the right-hand cards on top, leaving
the Six of Diamonds out-jogged. Set these
cards aside on the table.
You are now going to do the Outback
Display used by Jack Birnman in his
routine And a Pair of Kings. Pick up the
other pile (with the Six of Clubs and Ten of
Diamonds on top) and hold it face down in
left-hand dealing position.
Do a double turnover to show the Ten
of Diamonds. Leave the double face up
on top of the pile. Grip the packet from
above in the right hand. Your right forefinger swing cuts the top half of that pile
into the left hand. The right-hand cards are
brought over the left-hand cards and the
middle finger of the right hand is placed
onto the face-up Ten of Diamonds. Square
the right-hand cards with the left-hand
packet, but in so doing the middle finger of
the right hand pushes the Ten of Diamonds
forward, forcing it to be out-jogged
(Photo 4).
The Six of Clubs remains face up

between the two packets. The left forefinger pushes all the cards below the Ten of
Diamonds backwards (toward you) so that
the Six of Clubs appears on the protruding portion of the packet (Photo 5). This is
the Outback Display; the whole sequence
is a continuous move that only takes a few
seconds.

Photo 5

Point first to the Six of Clubs, referring


to its value, a Six. Then point to the Ten of
Diamonds, referring to its suit, a Diamond.
Point to the out-jogged chosen card on the
other packet on the table. The spectator
removes it and he will find that it is, in fact,
the Six of Diamonds.
Ciao, Aldo
acmagic@mindspring.com

MARCH 2012 - M-U-M Magazine 67

George Schindler

The Deans Diary

I didnt need Marilyn


Monroe; I had Pamela
Smith singing Happy
Birthday to me that
night.
A year later we
Magical Birthdays
were working in
I was born on Easter Sunday, March 31, Canada at Perfect
Magie
and was the only baby boy delivered in that Magics
hospital on that day. The nurses thought Montreal, and more
it was an omen. But the only connection magic friends offered
I have with Jesus was that we were both best wishes. I had
milestone
born Jewish. The Israel Zion hospital in another
Brooklyn is still there and was renamed the birthday in 1999 when
Maimonides Hospital. My mother always Bill Walsh gave me
told me that I had to be born on March 31; a surprise bash in
a day later and I would have been an April Sydney, Australia. He
presented me with a
fool (close call).
Lots of kids have a magician at their hat that was a wok with
birthday parties. But in recent years I have the underside covered with a hairy wig
been lucky enough to have many magicians and designated as Hairs Wok. (We
at mine. How wonderful it is to be in this had already seen Ayres Rock on an
business where our friends and colleagues earlier visit.)
My largest magical family is the
are family. As I get older, I recall many
special dates that marked milestone events. S.A.M. national council. The midyear
meeting is usually
In my line of work I
in March, and just
get to travel a great deal;
before the start of
it seems that March is
the dinner show in
always a busy month.
St. Louis (2004),
Once the Ides of March
Gary Hughes had a
pass, Im on the road a lot.
special announceIn 1979 I remember celement to make. He
brating my birthday with
called my name
many newfound friends
and presented me
in Birmingham, England,
with a delicious
at a Jack Hughes Wizards
cake. The Texas
Weekend of Magic. It
meeting in 2007
was the first (and last)
was no exception.
time I drove in England.
Richard Garriott
I rented a car in London.
hosted a really
Lee Noble, Nina, and I
Wearing the Hairs Wok.
great afternoon of
packed Denny & Lee,
magic at his home
their canvas trunk, and
all of our luggage into a very small Aston in Austin, with close-up walk-around
Martin. The following day, we celebrated magic and a show in his automaton
the fact that we were all still alive and that it museum. In mid afternoon, Virginia
Apperson insisted I see the display on
was my birthday.
In 1984, Nina and our two closest non- the patio. And there it was two large
magical friends arranged for dinner at birthday cakes! It was fortunate that
Mostly Magic on a Thursday, which was they did not have a candle for each year
sometimes open mic night for comedians, or the fire marshal would have shut us
and not always a full house. It seemed a bit down. There are no tighter bonds than
odd to find the place full, but the giveaway those among the S.A.M. and our magical
was that my father and Ninas mother were fraternity. See you in Vegas. By the way,
sitting at a front table. Nina and her cohorts July is Jann Goodsells birthday.
had a great magical surprise party for me.
68 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

Birthday in Austin

Rod Danilewicz

Confessions of a Paid Amateur

Watching Others
If you are serious about becoming
a better performer, there is educational
value in watching others perform, but only
if there is no magic in their presentation.
We always get distracted by the magic. I
collect videos of older performers Jack
Benny, Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, and the like.
Find these if you can. Have a pen and pad
handy as you watch them with the volume
off on your TV. Our purpose is not to
enjoy, but to observe, take notes, and learn.
Watch how Bob Hope and Jack Benny
made an entrance body erect, head
up, long confident strides. Their body
language says they are in command. As
they approach center stage they will look
at and acknowledge the audience. Once
at center stage they pause and their gaze
sweeps the audience. Without saying a
word they convey the message: I am here
because of you, and I want you to know I
appreciate that. The pause also gives the
audience time to focus their attention.
Hope and Benny were two of the biggest
stars of their day, but without an audience
they would have been nobody. If youre
happy practicing card fans in front of the
mirror or doing a half-baked spongeballto-square presentation at the club meeting,
you need read no further. You dont need
an audience, because its all about you.
The audience does not need to be bored by
another lackluster demonstration of tricks
incoherently strung together. Your fellow
magicians dont need you out there giving
magic a bad name. Are you catching on?
I feel the entrance sets the tone for the
entire show. For us part-timers there will
be variables we have to control. We will
not often have the luxury of being introduced by a professional emcee. Write an
introduction the Kiwanis Club president
can read. This is his time in the spotlight
as well. Expect him to add his own spin
70 M-U-M Magazine - MARCH 2012

and a bad joke. Keep it short and simple. A


hometown crowd will already know who
you are. Just tell them enough to let them
know you are competent at your hobby.
Save the B.S. for your obituary.
We will see few formal stages that
allow a grand entrance from the wings.
Most of us work at audience level from
the floor. While our introduction is read
we stand beside the emcee with our head
down and hands clasped like a mourner at
a funeral. Our grand entrance consists of
looking up to suddenly realize there are
other people in the room and taking three
weak steps forward.
In this instance, I would make my
entrance from the back of the room. It
creates interest; all eyes are on you as
you appear for the first time. If youve
been standing up front like a sad sack the
audience has already formed an opinion
about you.
If there is a center aisle use it. Act
confident and show enthusiasm as you
come forward. Acknowledge the audience
and connect with both sides of the aisle. If
you must use a side aisle, dont forget the
far side of the room. A casual wave and
smile as you look directly at those people
works nicely.
We are now center stage, smiling at
the audience. While they are forming an
opinion of us, we are, in turn, sizing them
up. If you did your preshow work, it only
takes a few seconds to determine where
key people are seated. If you scanned the
group while setting up, you should know
who the shy people are, people who would
not be good volunteers. You will have
identified troublemakers you dont want to
call on.
When you do zero in on a potential
victim, observe her. Pick up clues on how
to best invade her space without upsetting
her. I never directly ask someone to come
up and assist me. I first engage in a little
small talk. If you can ask a couple of
questions that elicit a yes answer, she will
be more receptive when you ask her to
come up.
Madam, that dress you are wearing

To be a magician
you need only to learn
a few tricks. To be
an entertainer, you
have to acquire some
verbal tap dancing
skills. Your effects
and methods will
rarely change, but
each audience will be
different.
is stunning. Would you consider joining
me on stage so the rest of the audience
has an opportunity to admire it? Even
if she refuses, you have shown that you
care enough about your audience that you
notice individuals.
To be a magician you need only to learn
a few tricks. To be an entertainer, you
have to acquire some verbal tap dancing
skills. Your effects and methods will
rarely change, but each audience will be
different. Everything you do should have
a presentation for seven different types of
audiences: childrens shows (of course),
savvy teenagers (a special challenge), baby
boomers (who were brought up believing
its all about them), the boisterous crowd
where alcohol is served, an audience of
all older people, genteel groups, and the
audience that is made up of all of the above.
The body language and words you
choose for each audience are more
important than your selection of what
tricks to perform. Next month I put
my hand up your shirt and you get to
speak.
Email me at Polishwiserd@sbcglobal.net.

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