* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Zealand's MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #113 Date: Sunday 17th March 2002 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. alt.magic Frequently Asked Questions 3. NYC Magicians's Now Meet At "Maui Tacos" 4. "A Date With Sinatra" 5. Magic Collection For Sale 6. www.JonRacherbaumer.com 7. "Magic, Emeralds, and Monsters" 8. Carter And The Devil 9. Balloon Twisting Courses 10. Looking For Magical Effects And Ideas With Balloons 11. For Sale - Sound System 12. The Magicians Foundation, Inc. 13. Tom Piccard - Lecture/Show In Singapore 14. The Orchante Saga #70 15. MagicNZ e-zine archives 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Just purchased Whaley's Who's Who In Magic (US $55.00 + $4.00 - $6 int s&h and insurance) and Whaley Encyclopedic Dictionary of Magic on CD. Bart Whaley has done an awesome job in recording our magical history and is extensively reviewed in Linking Ring, page 105, December issue 2001, (his address is Black Bart Magic 1416 Pine St., Key West, FL 33040, USA) his ph 305-293-8820, US $55.00 + $4.00 ($6 int) s&h and insurance. ---------------------------------------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ---------------------------------- 2. alt.magic Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------------- Message from Jack Poulter (Canada) As some readers may know I am the current "keeper" of the alt.magic Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for that newsgroup on Usenet (part of the Internet). I am in the throes of revising the FAQ with assistance from a couple of kind souls. I am looking, at present, for information on any magic periodicals that are published in Australia/New Zealand/nearby countries. I need full details on frequency of publication, subscription rates to various parts of the world, and a description of the target audience if other than a general magic magazine. Examples of the information may be found in Part 3 of the FAQ. The alt.magic FAQ is archived at: www.aaronjones.com/alt-magic www.bestiary.co.uk/altmagic/faq.htm (This site has the five FAQ files available for download as zip files, and has web site URLs converted to hyperlinks for ease of access.) www.repromagic.co.uk/resource/faq.html www.linkingpage.com/altmagic.html (Note: Other sites appear to carry older, out of date, versions of the FAQ. The above sites are sent those parts which have been amended, near the end of each month and *should* be current.) For those who do not have a web browser, individual parts of the five part FAQ may be obtained from an auto-mailer. Send blank e-mail to: altmagic@aaronjones.com for details. Thanks. Jack Poulter On an Island in the Pacific* e -mail: jpoulter@islandnet.com ---------------------------------- 3. NYC Magician's Now Meet At "Maui Tacos" ---------------------------------- Message from Doug Edwards (US) The NYC Magician's met at a new luxuries restaurant called "Maui Tacos" at 330 Fifth Ave (32nd Street) yesterday. The tables are new and nicely set up with two VCR's constantly going showing footage of Slydini, Frank Garcia, and other greats. As you may know, Reuben's (our previous place on Saturday's) was closed a couple of months ago. Hopefully Maui Taco's will be our new meeting place. The owner loves magic and welcomes magicians on Saturdays at 2pm - 5pm. ---------------------------------- 4. "A Date With Sinatra" ---------------------------------- Message from Sandy Singer (US) Magician/broadcaster Sandy Singer who hosts the Internet radio show "A Date With Sinatra" interviews Dean Martin's son Ricci and the conversation turn's to Dean's favorite hobby -- MAGIC. The show be available on-line this week [3/17-3/23] at: www.SandySinger.com ---------------------------------- 5. Magic Collection For Sale ---------------------------------- Message from Michael Grandinetti (US) michaelgrandinetti@earthlink.net I am selling most of my magic collection. Included are stage, parlor, and close-up effects as well as books and videos. Items are in great to MINT condition and are priced between 40-50% off. Effects include Jim Steinmeyer's Hospitality (built by David Charvet Studios), Don Wayne's Matchbook Follies, Psychic Clock, Ultimate Flashback, Exploding Light Bulb, and Paul Harris's Twilight Angels. Videos include those by Joan Spina, Gregory Wilson, Jay Scott Berry, and Richard Osterlind. Rare and hard to find books also available. Please feel free to email me for a complete list and with any questions that you may have. ------------------------------------------------------- 6. www.JonRacherbaumer.com ------------------------------------------------------- Message from Jon Racherbaumer (US) The following material has just been added to my Website: FREEBIE This section is free to anyone surfing the site. If anything, visit the site and print out this trick. It is called "Laholsky Takes A Breather" and is a magician-fooler. It is based on a "buried" trick explained in Leo Behnke's Simple, Baffling Tricks (1992). Its action-procedure invites fast company to make several misguided assumptions and the handling suggests a mathematical basis, which is not the case at all. This variation converts the effect from a location-reversal to a straightforward and unexpected divination. Check it out. The rest of the site is for regular subscribers or Premium Members. Here are what they can now access. NEW TRICKS There are two new items in the TRICKS section: "Evaporation" and "Pushing Past Failure" "Evaporation" is a finessed version of "Vanishing Oil and Water," which in turn was inspired by Roy Walton's "Vanishing Water" (Ibidem 34-35: August-1969) and Walton's "Oil and Queens" from The Devil's Playthings (1969). "Pushing Past Failure" is a variation that combines Michael Skinner's spelling climax with Ed Marlo's "Push-Through Failure" from The Cardician (1953). This is the effect: A spectator freely selects a card and then the deck is cut into two portions. The magician turns one half face up and places the selection in the center. He then shuffles the face-up half into the face-down half, but the halves are not pushed together. Instead they are pushed through each other. Next the face-up cards are spread and a face-down card appears in the center. The spectator is asked to name his card. After he does, the magician picks up the face-up spread, turns it face down, and spells the name of the selected, dealing a card for each letter in the spell. At the end of the spell, the selection appears face up, indicating that it was the card that magically moves from one section to the other. The "Evaporation" effect is off the beaten path: The magician shows and counts eight cards, only the backs showing. The packet is flipped face up and the cards are sequentially counted again, showing an alteration of red and black cards. Four of the cards are dealt face down, apparently without disturbing their order. The other cards are shown to still consist of alternating red and black cards. The packet is squeezed and is then shown to consist of four black cards. This packet instantly changes into four blank-face cards. The tabled cards are turned face up to reveal four more blank-face cards. THREE PRIME MOVES The initial Prime Moves put into the archive are the "Drop-Delay Force," a Color Change by Bill Malone that is used to force a card rather than as a transformation. Unlike the venerable Slip Force, this technique eliminates vulnerable angles of visibility. There are also two casual methods for handling "doubles:" the "Impeccable Double" and "Skid Double." This section will eventually include over 100 sleights and moves, all fully explained and enhanced with digital photographs. NEW E-BOOK Following on the heels of Unlimited 3.0, the new e-book added to the Premium Section is Clock Work 2.0, a 32-page reprint of On the Clock Effect that was published thirty years ago. This is the best dollar-value on the site. Over a year period, there will be at least 6 e-books available, totalling over $150 in savings from buying hard and soft-cover versions from dealers or direct-mail. Clock Work 2.0 is a downloadable, printable PDF-formatted manuscript that was part of the proposed Yod Series, a series of booklets whose organizing principle was rooted in three C-words, coherency, contextual, and completeness. By compiling several methods of a single effect-in this case, the Clock Effect-a plexus of interrelated parts could be conveyed. Analysts could then first examine the effects piecemeal. Then they could re-examine them in relation to each other, connecting dots along the way. I also wanted to produce a no-frills, text-driven, academic manuscript that would engage only serious-minded students who wanted to deeply understand the nature of a given effect and experiment with the discrete parts of modi operandi. On the Clock Effect (1971) was primarily sparked by a single principle I discovered reading Fred G. Taylor's "Crazy Clocks" in 1968. The principle was not new. But how it was applied, was mind-expanding. What stirred my mind was that a random act (cutting off a packet of indeterminate cards) could result in a determined outcome. This was ripe with promise. Consider this: A deck composed of n-cards with a card preset at position-x is tabled in front of a spectator. Further assume that the number of cards above the card at position-x is 12. If a spectator then cuts off any number of these 12 cards as a random act, a wonder thing happens if you deal 12 cards off of the talon, reversing their order. The card originally preset at position-x in now at a position from the top equal to the number of cards randomly cut off by the spectator. This being the case, magicians would be able to know the identity of the selection beforehand. Furthermore, it would also be possible to know the number. The resultant numerical position of the force-card indicates the number. In Taylor's trick, the effect can be repeated and a written prediction is used. The performer does not predict the "hour" but names it after the clock dial is formed and the spectator notes his card. In the ensuing thirty years and perhaps as result of this modest monograph, focus was centered on a basic effect that might have otherwise been relegated to the scrap heap of middling tricks. The underlying principle also proved to be a catalyst, which also led to other surprising discoveries. There is always something more to be discovered. This is also the rationale that directs and inspires works like this one. Clock Work 2.0 is an interim program until the next upgrade appears. Here are the contents of this manuscript: Preface Introduction to Original Monograph Mystic Twelve Recall Zodiac Card Mystery Technicolor Hour Card Chronometry Synchronicity A Few Seconds on Stay Stack Speaking of the Clock Prediction Surprise and Clock Combination Predetermined Hour Impromptu Predetermined Hour Easy Determined Hour Tell-Tale Clocks The Magic Clock Time For Si Stebbins Time Zones Stolen Hours Select Chronology I'm inviting everyone to check out this site. Again, enjoy the FREEBIE and perhaps try out the site for a month, using the convenient Pay Pal payment process. Onward. ---------------------------------- 7. "Magic, Emeralds, and Monsters" ---------------------------------- Message from Don Beach (US) I've written a novel about magic called "Magic, Emeralds, and Monsters. "It's a satirical fantasy about a mentalist at the Hollywood Magic Castle who uses his psychic powers to help the police solve crimes. This novel is available through the Internet at Barnes and Noble.com or Amazon.com under the title of the book or the author's name: Don Beach. ---------------------------------- 8. Carter And The Devil ---------------------------------- Message from Richard Walls (NZ) This quite well reviewed novel is on sale in NZ....at Dymock's anyway where I saw it on a visit to Christchurch (or was it Auckland) in October. price either $34.95 or $39.95. I didn't buy it, which was just as well as I was actually gifted a copy at Christmas...haven't yet had a chance to read it though! ---------------------------------- 9. Balloon Twisting Courses ---------------------------------- Message Kent Blackmore (Aust) Lynne Kloger, an experienced party performer in the Sydney and Illawarra areas, is offering a balloon twisting course for beginners, intermediate and advanced performers. It will be at the Mortdale Pensioners Welfare Club, 76 Pitt St, Mortdale between 7 and 9 p.m. on May 1, 15, 29, June 12, 26 and July 10. The full range of single and multiple balloon shapes will be covered - prior knowledge isn't needed as the first lesson will give introduction to the fun and ease of balloon twisting, ending with a balloon party on the final night. The cost is $180-00 for the whole course, or $50-00 for individual nights. Further information and a full course programme is available. Contact Lynne on 42-943-471 or email fairylynne@dingoblue.net.au ---------------------------------- 10. Looking For Magical Effects And Ideas With Balloons ---------------------------------- Message from Adrian Smith (South - Africa) I am looking for magical effects that are performed with 260Q - Modelling balloons. I have for example, Jeff Hobsons Balloon bag - poodle and Jeff McBride balloon bubble. If there are any other magical effects and ideas that could be done with balloons (not standard balloon modelling).Please e-mail me at: e-mail - adrian3@freemail.absa.co.za home-page - members.freemail.absa.co.za/adrian3/ ---------------------------------- 11. For Sale - Sound System ---------------------------------- Message from Richard Webster (NZ) esp@psychic.co.nz Jansen Entertainer 30 sound system, with radio microphone. Excellent condition. $500.00 o.n.o. Phone Richard on 576-5438. ---------------------------------- 12. The Magicians Foundation, Inc. ---------------------------------- Message from Ronaldo B. Moraleta, M.D The Magicians Foundation, Inc. announces the birth of its website: www.geocities.com/wizzo_magic/magfi ---------------------------------- 13. Tom Piccard - Lecture/Show In Singapore ---------------------------------- Message from Tom Piccard Just a note that I will be doing a lecture/show for the magic club of Singapore.on March 20, 2002 at the Bayview hotel 8pm (show time). If you're in the area try to make it there. I don't give many lectures for magic clubs so if you're in the area come on down. And remember - Magic is not just Tricks!!! Visit my website: http://go.to/piccard ---------------------------------- 14. "The New Zealand Country Music Hall of Fame". ---------------------------------- Message from David J O'Connor (AMA) I have followed with great interest Orchante's humorous and anecdotal reminiscing of his great New Zealand tours as an entertainer. It has brought back many happy memories of parts of New Zealand and its quaint towns and the musicians and artistes he travelled with. On a recent visit I called into a small South Taranaki town called Manaia (known as the country's bread capital), where I was delighted to find in the main street of this dairy farming community town, "The New Zealand Country Music Hall of Fame". The locals have refurbished the old original Manaia Band Hall into a traditional Hall of Fame featuring many of the notable country singers and musicians who have toured through out the country over the years. The Hall of Fame features photographs, posters, and antique memorabilia of the stars of the past, and even has a full sized stage, lighting and sound system. So if you ever pass through the little town of Manaia do drop by for a very pleasant country music experience. Oh by the way, Manaia is also the home of Yarrows world famous Bakery. I know its not strictly magic, but it will be a magical nostalgic experience. Kia Ora. ---------------------------------- 15. The Orchante Saga #70 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi Driving a 'sick' car over the mighty 'Arthur's Pass' to Timaru I mentioned that we had left our 1958 'Humber Hawk' car (page 67) in Greymouth, which is on the West coast of the South Island, after 'Bloody Murphy' (you've got to blame someone) had tinkered with the oil rings - they blew - in bits-and-pieces, out the exhaust pipe! When we got back to Timaru after the ('Unspectacular' according to one lousy critic) . Spectacular '74 had finished, we borrowed a friend's car and returned to Greymouth to pick up the now 'oil guzzling' Humber. Filling it up with oil, with a couple of extra gallons in the boot, I headed back to Timaru with Veronica following. Sometime ago David J O'Connor (South Africa) an ex pat Kiwi like myself said, via the Magic NZ-ezine, some nice words about my writings which have quote -"brought back tremendous memories, not only geographically.." unquote. Well, here is some more New Zealand geography, that perhaps will also be of interest to overseas magicians who might be visiting my home country in the future, and who may wish to take time out to visit/experience some of New Zealand's beautiful, world famous scenery. The quickest way back to Timaru from Greymouth is to head south for 18 miles on Highway 6, then turn left at the Kamara junction onto Highway 73 - where you start the long climb up through Arthur's Pass - and the Otira Gorge, to the village at the peak (3,032-ft) at which point you begin the long descent back down again to Christchurch, around 96 miles away to the East. When we were touring Switzerland with our show we were often reminded of the village at the peak of Arthur's Pass - the area is renowned for its ski slopes, and it sports a chalet style restaurant, much like you'll find all over Switzerland. Driving through the Otira Gorge is not for the faint hearted (caravans are banned), especially in bad weather. With towering mountains on one side and a sheer drop down the other, the Otira river far below looks more like a thin watery thread The narrow road (with passing bays) is very steep with a series of 'scary' hairpin bends that are reminiscent of some of the roads around Monaco and across the Pyrenees through to the tiny principality of Andorra. The five miles long Otira tunnel is the only rail link through the mountains that is covered daily between Christchurch and Greymouth by the Trans - Alpine Express, and is renowned as the most scenic trip, by rail, in New Zealand. It took 15 years of construction before it was completed in 1923, and was by necessity, the first ELECTRIFIED line (in what was then the British Empire) - because a normal steam locomotive, whilst going through the tunnel, would have choked the passengers to death with sulphurous smoke! Talking about smoke, looking out of the rear vision mirror as I roared up the mountain pass, all I could see behind me was what looked like a massive, black cumulonimbus thundercloud - the bloody oil was burning faster than a sheet of flash paper! Although the oil rings were gone there wasn't much wrong with the engine itself - it still had plenty of power. Veronica was amazed to see me pass a brand-new Toyota van going up the steep incline - she was a couple of S-bends back so was looking at my car more or less side on as I zipped past and witnessed the Toyota being enveloped and vanishing within the oily cloud. Once we had got over the other side of Arthur's Pass we turned off Highway 73 and onto number 72, which would then take us south across country to Geraldine & Winchester, where we would join Highway 1 for Timaru. However, we turned off for the town of Methven, to get some more oil. We found this small garage and I couldn't believe my eyes; parked outside the workshop was a car with a 'For Sale' sign on its window. It was a beautiful, gleaming, 1957 'Humber Super Snipe', in absolute mint condition. I just dribbled and drooled all over the place! It turns out that the car belonged to the garage owner who was an A-grade mechanic and had owned the car from new. We were both dumbfounded when he opened up the car bonnet - he had CHROME PLATED ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING that could be plated, it was a 'poetic vision' of loveliness - the entire engine was so clean you could have eaten a gourmet chefs meal off it. The interior of the car, in fact the whole vehicle looked like it had just been released from a Show Room. When he started the engine you couldn't be too sure if it was actually running or not, it was so quiet and when he revved it up it simply purred with unbridled power! Then he took us for run in it. Sheer luxury. This car was solid - they don't build them like that these days. When you closed the doors they shut with that nice, satisfying 'THUWUUNK' sound that you just don't hear any more. THERE AND THEN, WE SAID GOODBYE TO THE 'HAWK' and - BOUGHT THE 'SUPER SNIPE'! - continues - ------------------------------------- 16. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: newzealand When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov0699.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (nov06) and the last next two numbers the year (99) If you want to print copies of MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive ------------------------------------- 17. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MagicNZ e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of MagicNZ. Neither MagicNZ or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via MagicNZ e-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold MagicNZ and/or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to MagicNZ for potential publication. MagicNZ welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by MagicNZ are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of MagicNZ. >> This publication may be freely redistributed (but not sold) to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer.<< © Copyright 2002 Alan Watson