* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #297 Date: Sunday 28 November 2004 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.Alan-Watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================   1. Editor’s Message   2. Short Film Called Magic Dwight - Paul And Debbie Daniels   3. 100's Of Items Added To Martinka Auction   4. IBM International President Tony Wilson’s Magical Adventures   5. Anton Zellman Putting Final Touches To His AutoBizography   6. Ron And June Gordon - Scotland   7. Lance Burton's Locals Appreciation Week Coming Up Next Week   8. Conjuring Lights Christmas Discount Certificate For e-zine Readers   9. Magic And Hypnotism At The Macau Grand Prix   10. Inside Magic’s Daily Newsletter   11. The Gold Tip - Jamie-G   12. The Amazing Orchante Saga   13. e-zine Archives   14. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Honorary Membership At the International Entertainment Company (New Zealand) Ltd & (Australia) Pty Ltd awards night in Auckland last night, Michele and I were asked on behalf of the Magic New Zealand Awards Committee to present Honorary Membership to Chuck and Jan Jones (USA). This was greeted by a standing ovation by those present at the special function. The “World Festival of Magic” has now been touring Australasia for 17 years and for 16 years Chuck Jones & Company has been the headliners. Magic New Zealand recognised their professionalism and their contributions in lifting the magical art to the public. Honorary Membership is not given lightly as this is only the third time that it has been presented by Magic New Zealand. First occasion was to Dan Garrett (USA) and the second occasion was to Paul and Debbie Daniels (UK). It also gave me the opportunity to publicly thank Gene and Rose McCarthy and their company for sponsoring magic events and bringing the many international support acts into New Zealand - this has help inspired our magical youth and help lift the standard of magic down under. -------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Short Film Called Magic Dwight - Paul And Debbie Daniels ----------------- Message from Paul Daniels (UK) Debbie is doing the choreography and appearing as the Good Fairy, Meadowsweet, and I am directing and appearing as Belle's father in the pantomime Beauty and the Beast at the Beck Theatre in Hayes over the Christmas period. People from some other countries have no idea what British Pantomime is all about and confuse it with people who pretend there is a glass window in front of them, and such like. It is an old tradition of a musical comedy play for children with a lot of set formulae that must be adhered to, or the grandparents complain! It's a lot of work BUT it's a lot of fun. We have both just finished acting in a short film called Magic Dwight, It's about a boy who is really fed up with his Dad always pushing him to be a star, eventually even wanting him to be like Paul Daniels, when all Dwight wants to do is play football with the other kids. Debbie had a small part as his teacher, and I played Dwight's father.. AND Paul Daniels. ----------------- 3. 100's Of Items Added To Martinka Auction ----------------- Message from Ted Bogusta (US) Nearly 200 more items have been added to the current Martinka auction and there is still even more to come. As always, you can view images of all listed items at: www.martinka.com/auction Check out the posters, collection of magician's greeting cards and the Milson Worth items that were recently added. You'll also want to watch for the Paul Fox Cups from Danny Dew, A canvas painted banner from Dunninger, Some great Blackstone lots and many more books. If you are not already registered and wish to bid, please fill out the simple registration form at www.martinka.com/register Regards, Ted www.martinka.com Martinka & Co., Inc. 103 Godwin Ave. Midland Park, NJ 07432 USA (212) 279-6079 ----------------- 4. IBM International President Tony Wilson’s Magical Adventures ----------------- Message from Tony Wilson - IBM International President 2004 - 2005 Unfortunately there was an error published in last weeks e-zine article about the IBM concerning membership ages and eligibility to vote. The correct information is as follows Active Members must be 18 years of age or older and are eligible to vote as, indeed, are Associate Members. Youth Members must be 10 years of age to 18 and are not eligible to vote. For those interested in finding out more about what the IBM can offer the web page: www.magician.org will allow your subscribers the opportunity to find out more information. ------------------------------------ Soliciting Video Tape Donations I have a project that is now underway soliciting video tape donations from IBM members and IBM Rings as well as magicians around the world. The VHS Video tapes can be new or used but need to be original tuition tapes, (preferably in their original cases) and can be sent to our International Office at 11155C South Towne Square, St. Louis, MO 631232-7823 USA Phone (314) 845-9200 Fax (314) 845-9220 Email office@magician.org On receipt they will be catalogued and stored and an acknowledgement letter will be sent to the sender(s) in due course they will be sent to magicians in third world countries and carefully distributed to local magicians who will benefit from the contents. This will also assist in raising the standard of magic by educating magicians as well as expose those magicians to a medium of tuition that they would not be able to access for financial reasons. The tapes will be distributed to bone fide magicians and not just IBM members. I have already received over 100 tapes donated by IBM Rings in the province of Ontario, Canada, 44 from an IBM member in California and possibly 500 from a deceased estate in the UK. Here is a great opportunity to clear out your old tapes as you record them onto CD/DVD'S, move to a new house, or consider what you will do with them in the future. As we are getting close to Christmas think of those magicians in third world countries who would benefit from your cast offs and benefit from them from this worthwhile initiative. Thank you in anticipation. ----------------- 5. Anton Zellman Putting Final Touches To His AutoBizography ----------------- Message from Timothy Hyde (Aust) Imagine having access to the complete inside secrets of one of the most successful Trade Show workers alive today. His ideas, routines, marketing and promotion strategies!! Anton Zellman is putting the final touches on his AutoBizography, ready for release very soon. There is an information page already up to give you a taste and some background on this fascinating performer. Discover how he became one of Magic & Mentalism's best kept secrets and carved out a lucrative niche for himself in the Trade Show business. Note, there are also a limited number of the pre release version still available. Full Details below. www.achieving.com.au/coachproZellman.htm ----------------- 6. Ron And June Gordon - Scotland ----------------- Message from Bill Seagraves (NZ) A special welcome on their first visit to New Zealand to Ron and June Gordon from Aberdeen, Scotland visiting their friends Bill and Marlene Seagraves in Taupo. For a couple of weeks before heading for Phoenix Arizona for three months vacation with their Son and family. They have left the winter of Scotland and are happy with the sunshine of New Zealand. Ron is a Past President of The Aberdeen Magical Society and Past President of The Scottish Association of Magical Societies. They were delighted to spend some time with other friends, International President Tony Wilson and wife Mary and thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality. ----------------- 7. Lance Burton's Locals Appreciation Week Coming Up Next Week ----------------- Message by Wayne Bernath - Dirctor of Publicity, Advertising & Marketing for Lance Burton "Lance Burton: Master Magician" will offer $30 tickets to locals only Tuesday, Nov. 30 thru Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino by reservation only at 730-7160. You must have a valid Nevada I.D. ----------------- 8. Conjuring Lights Christmas Discount Certificate For e-zine Readers ----------------- Conjuring Lights Magicians Christmas Shoppe opens online the weekend of November 26th at: http://ConjuringLights.com/ChristmasShop.htm FEATURED THIS YEAR ARE:: * Christmas Cards Specially for Magicians -fully personalized & affordable. Featuring famous magicians, including Harry Houdini, Harry Kellar, Servais LeRoy, Howard Thurston, and Harry Blackstone, and color and black and white engravings of famous scenes from the history of magic, including The Conjuror by Bosch. Fully affordable, and fully personalized. * Magicians' Premium Quality Ceramic Mugs Featuring famous magicians, and engravings of famous scenes from the history of magic. * Magician Christmas Tree Ornaments Featuring Harry Kellar, Howard Thuston, and Harry Blackstone, and their performance of the Levitation of the Princess Karnac * Magicians' T's and sweatshirts Featuring Harry Houdini, Okito, and the historic colorful front is piece from Okito's kimono COURTESY DISCOUNT FOR E-ZINE READERS FROM NOW UNTIL DEC. 6, 2004: It is our pleasure to celebrate another great year of the New Zealand e-zine by offering e-zine readers a Courtesy Discount Certificate offering a 15% discount until Dec. 6, 2004. Enter the following code: 408YFU-3P224U in the box marked "gift certificate" on the check out page, and your discount will be calculated automatically. World-wide shipping by mail and Fedex are available. click on: http://ConjuringLights.com/ChristmasShop.htm Congratulations to Alan Watson on another great year of e-zines! Best wishes for the holiday season to all. TheArchivist@ConjuringLights.com ----------------- 9. Magic And Hypnotism At The Macau Grand Prix ----------------- Message from Guy Cater. (NZ) Had a long flight from Auckland to Hong Kong then a 40 minute trip through this amazing city to the Shun Tek Ferry Terminal and then a two hour wait before the ferry left for an hour’s trip to Macau on the Chinese mainland. By the time I arrived it was too late to go to the hotel so the car took me direct to the rather impressive Macau Tower (very much like Auckland’s Sky Tower) where the function was to start in 15 minutes. No shower, just straight into my tux and it was a bit difficult as it had been over seventeen hours travelling time but, as we all know - the show must go on. This first night I was co-compereing with two of Hong Kong’s top MCs, Anders Nelsson and Patrick Chen. I performed stand up comedy and included the disappearing lit cigarette, the ever popular (and it appears never seen before in Macau) Bra Trick, the plastic bottle illusion and a few comedy balloon items. The function was a welcome to the BMW Race Team who were there for the 51st Macau Grand Prix. Highlight of the evening was the cabaret performance of HARRY HOUDIDN’T from Melbourne, Australia. This was a most suitable act as not only were the Germans there but also many folk from Macau and China who did not speak English and the act was all visual to music. From his opening where he made his wig wobble and then climb down his face (ala the Zombie illusion) Harry (also known as Adrian Kebbe) had the audience in hysterics. He went through an extremely fast paced act with pieces such as Torn and Restored Paper to and from mouth, sword through neck, giant guillotine and many other hilarious bits that me laughing so much I don’t remember them all. His act was extremely interactive and he seemed to have a lot of people up to help but they never really did very much and even I wondered why. All was revealed at the end when he pulled out loads of watches, wallets, bracelets etc and had a stream of folk of all nationalities coming up to retrieve their belongings that he had successfully pick pocketed. Really a great Comedy/Magic act that received a tremendous and well deserved ovation. Next night was for a large party at the Sands Casino (Macau is the gambling centre of Asia and this casino was named after the famous Sands of Las Vegas) and there I performed my Hypnotism Show to a wide array of nationalities… English, Germans, Macau Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Chinese Chinese, a couple of Americans, an Aussie and several other Asian countries as well. All were there for the Grand Prix. Was an excellent night. The band that played at both events were from Melbourne (like Harry and I - bought over for the functions) The Ozones - seven musicians and three singers. Led by brilliant saxophonist Andrew Oh they are one of the finest bands I have ever had the pleasure of working with. There was time to explore Macau and what a fascinating place it is. I always thought that it was an island but in fact it is on the China mainland. Gambling seems to be the major industry there now, but Macau is also rich in history …The Portuguese founded Macau as a strategic port on the western bank of the Pearl River delta in 1557. The first European settlement on coastal China, Macau soon became wealthy through the lucrative Japan-China trade that was banned to the nationals of both countries In 1974 Macau officially became a Chinese territory "under Portuguese administration." It was returned to China on December 20, 1999, as the "Special Administrative Region of Macau" with a guarantee that it could maintain its existing economic, social and political systems for fifty years. There are streets where you would swear you were in Portugal or Spain with the street names and architecture reflecting the European past. It was an amazing four days and I can’t wait to return. ----------------- 10. Inside Magic’s Daily Newsletter ----------------- Message from Tim Quinlan - Editor/Publisher Join those who get their Magic News daily. Join Inside Magic’s Daily Newsletter and receive the latest magic news, reviews, views and gossip five days a week and once on the weekend. Wonder how David Copperfield used trick photography to turn the tables on a stalker? It was in the Daily Newsletter. How good is the new Retro Magic Two Set? Inside Magic Daily Newsletter subscribers got the review first. Was Bev Bergeron’s innovative Blindfold Drive (with aluminium foil covering his head and eyes) successful? You would know as soon as he was unwrapped if you received the Inside Magic Daily Newsletter. The cost for a full week subscription (six big issue with full-color photos) is about the same you would pay for packages of Sweet ‘n Low. Nothing! No one actually pays for Sweet ‘n Low and no one has to pay for the Inside Magic Daily Newsletter. Send and email to subscribe@insidemagic.com and you’ll be signed up. That’s it. If you don’t like it, simply click the cancel link and we walk away friends. Best of all, your name and email addresses are kept strictly confidential and will never be shared with anyone for any reason. You can’t say the same for stealing Sweet ‘n Low, can you? Writers: Are you looking for a method of sharing your news, essays or reviews with thousands each week? Look no further than Inside Magic. We are always looking for great work to share with our great readers. Send your stories, essays or ideas to editor@insidemagic.com. Remember: Inside Magic is the only daily magic newsletter around and that makes it one of the best daily magic newsletters to which you can subscribe. We set the bar so low that some think we’re doing the limbo. ----------------- 11. The Gold Tip - Jamie-G ----------------- Message from Jamie-G (Canada) Props One zip lock lunch bag(see through, six pieces of plastic gold nuggets, one special thumb tip with a plastic gold nugget glued to the top of it Construction: to make your thumb tip all you have to do is glue one of the Gold nuggets on the tip. Using either super or Hot glue should negate any problems with the Gold Nuggets falling off of your tip. Effect: A magician finds a group of children, shows that his left hand is holding an empty zip lock bag. The magician directs attention to the bag and with the wink of an eye pulls a special "magic" gold nugget out of the air. He continues until the bag is full. Added Effect: You can now show the bag full, and grab a piece of gold right through the bag Basic Move: Show your hands empty. You will have to be a little sneaky because the Gold is really shiny. Put your hands flat out with your thumb curled under your fingers. To make your nugget appear just slide your fingers under the nugget and push up. This move makes it look like you have just produced the nugget from thin air. You can also show all sides of the nugget while your fingers are pressed against it. To make it vanish all you have to do is put your fingers back over the nugget. Basic Routines: This is just using the Gold tip the routine looks good with music. You can produce a piece of gold place it in your hand and make it vanish. Rub your fingers together like it is gone. Then with the hand that you just vanished with make it look like you grab the gold and through it up in the air, then catching it by using your tip. From here you make it look like you put the gold in your pocket. This move alone used repeatedly to music can make for and excellent routine. Make sure you move to the music and the music matches your style and mood. Added Effect: You can also load your tip with a silk or anything else that will fit. After you produce the gold you can make it vanish and transform it into a silk etc. Using a normal thumbtip sleight (after producing the nugget). Make sure you hide the tip with the gold on it well as you make the silk appear. ----------------- 12. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 28 THE BED’S OF NAILS ‘Aw Come on honey, I’ve this brilliant pad; sea views, great etchings, and this Fantastic Bed - instead of springs it’s got..’ ‘BUGGER OFF!’ I started practising for the nails feat while still in College; utilising self-hypnosis to control the pain, and making the girls sick by pushing needles into my arms, etc. Fakirs are able to control body functions, pulse rate - heart beat - blood flow - feeling and, involuntary muscles with mind control, coupled with Yoga exercises. Those who have my seen my performances have realised that some form of mind control/self-hypnosis, and Yoga techniques were being employed. Let’s take a closer look at the bed of nails. The majority of those who perform this feat, ‘fake’ it, by the simple expediency of having the nails so close together, anybody could lay on them, easily - it’s just the thought of it which prevents most from ‘having a go’. In fact, you would get a better night’s sleep on their nails than some hotels beds I’ve been unfortunate enough to encounter on my travels. Talking of ‘fake Fakirs’, here’s one of my pet hates! How many T.V. programmes have you seen where the ‘Great Gizmo’ or some martial arts expert lays on a nail bed, (with nails so close together they might just as well lay on the floor), then has a huge lump of concrete placed on their chest, or, supposedly even more difficult and dramatic, several blocks of concrete - which are then smashed up by some ‘clown’ swinging a sledge hammer. THE BIGGER - THE MORE BLOCKS - THE EASIER IT IS! Why? Because the block(s) absorb all the shock of the pounding sledgehammer! By the time the shock waves reach the person underneath, it has been totally dissipated within the block - YOU FEEL NOTHING! Now - place one single brick on their chest, and hit that with a sledgehammer… Want to test it? Simple - place your hand flat on a solid surface, the floor will do; place a heavy weight on top, and tap/hit with an ordinary hammer. You will feel nothing! The bigger, more dense the weight, the harder you can hit it - very impressive to those who don’t know about kinetic energy. I hate those ‘Great Pretenders’, who con the public and gullible T.V. producers, into believing that they are the genuine articles. My bed of nails is made from Marine ply - won’t bend or buckle. The nails are 3” apart; 5” in length, chrome plated, and quite sharp, and a hell of a lot have gone missing over the past 35 and more years. I’ll describe the presentation. Veronica and I take a bed each (it’s in two halves) ‘race’ quickly around the audience, to let them feel the nails, ensuring for themselves that the nails are real, and not rubber, and that they are sharp. I then pick out two of the biggest men I can find from the audience - typically, 15 - 20 stones each), and Veronica escorts them to one side of the stage in readiness, The ‘beds’ are placed on the floor, end to end, and I then stand astride them. Using self-hypnosis, I convince the sub-conscious that my back and legs have lost all feeling; I then pinch my skin quite hard in various spots, to confirm this ‘mental block’ has been attained. My technique is an ancient Yoga principle. Pressing a finger quite hard on a spot between my eyes concentrates all thought into one point. A modern example is ‘scattered light’ (your thoughts) focussed by a laser into one powerful beam. In practice all this takes only a few seconds but, when performing, I do stretch it out for a minute or two - after all, I am a ‘Showman’ and an entertainer. The aforesaid may sound like rubbish to some people, but it works, and has done for centuries. Anaesthetising myself mentally allows me to fall backwards from a standing position, heavily onto the nails. That’s when the screaming starts. Veronica then stands on top of me, poses for a few moments, gets off, immediately sits and then stretches out full length, side on, along my body, gracefully holds the position again for a few moments, then stands up. I slowly rise, and bring myself ‘around’. Incidentally, just because I’m in a self-imposed trance does not mean I’m unconscious - I’m aware of what’s going on - I just filter out the extraneous noises, etc. All this - in fact the entire Fakir act (20 minutes in length), is split second timed and choreographed to special exotic orchestrations which are designed to ‘Sway the Senses’ and stir up those ‘Primeval Instincts’ which are within us all! Page 29 Veronica holds one half of the nails (each half is 3 feet long by 1 foot in width) while I once again go through ‘The Procedure’, and fall onto the other half. Veronica then, from a standing position, drops her half straight down, so that it lands with a sickening thud on my bare chest, and the lower parts of my body. I promise you - every male in the audience winces, and makes an involuntary gesture towards their ‘you know what’s’! Now the excruciating ‘torture’ factor rises to new levels. I. Pick the nails up by one end, swing them up and over my head, and SLAM them back down, FULL FORCE onto my body. The screaming rises in volume by several decibels - men writhe in sympathetic agony as they ‘see’ a man’s most sensitive parts apparently being pulverised to a pulp. I do this 3/ 4 times, and then settle down; Veronica assists the two men picked out earlier, to stand on top of what has now become a ‘Human Filling in a Nail Sandwich’, with 30/ 40 stones of solid manhood wobbling/balancing on top. After what seems like an eternity (actually about 30 seconds or so) the two ‘assistants’, their legs shaking, step down. Veronica lifts up the top bed of nails, I don’t move. The audience begins to think I never will. Then slowly, I sit up, then stand, turn slowly around, take my bows, and then shake the hands of two, much relieved gentlemen. Then, before the audience has a chance to catch its breath, I’m straight into the sword swallowing routine. Apart from a few slight indentations, there is not a mark on my body, front or back. So, how come the nails don’t penetrate the skin? Well, sometimes they do, .if they press down against a rib, or if you slide, they will leave deep scratch marks, but it’s rare! Must say, although I’m okay, it does play havoc with the underpants - I don’t have a pair that isn’t full of holes. Ladies who showed some concern about the ‘Family Jewels’, often asked me, discreetly, how I managed to keep ‘things’ out of harm's way. They were kept safe by some careful ‘tucking away’ (difficult if you’re a ‘Johnny Holmes’. Who? Where have you been? Let me put it this way, He was renowned for being a rather BIG lad… OK!) By eliminating feeling, you are able to relax totally, on the nails. This means your skin will ‘give’, which it can’t do if you’re tensed and tightened up with pain. Liken it to a flat balloon, it takes some pushing before a needle will penetrate it, but blow it up, then push in a needle and ‘Bang’. Obviously, there has to be a breaking point. Twice I’ve had ribs broken, but I’ve withstood 81 stone 6lb (just over half a ton), in Napier, New Zealand. It was a world record at the time. A huge bock of concrete was lowered down onto me, by an enormous crane, whilst I was on the nails. Apart from Veronica, the most worried person was the crane operator; he knew that if the gearing allowed the chain to slip just a ¼” even when that ½ ton plus weight was almost touching my body, I would’ve been crushed to death! I didn’t see him immediately after, but was told later that he was shaking like a leaf when he clambered out of the cab. Anyhow, the World record at the time stood at 77 stone, so I had broken it by ‘miles’. It was recorded officially, with Police in attendance and photographers, signatures, details, etc. sent to the Guinness Book of Records. By the time it reached England, they had received another set of records, from some chap who had broken my record by just 2 pounds. If I had only known, just an additional 3lb of good old kiwi butter and the record would’ve been mine. Two lousy pounds! Oh, well! To illustrate the mental control needed for feats of this kind; at a Beach Resort in Gisborne, New Zealand, many, many years ago; I got very badly sunburned, front and back. You would have been forgiven if you had mistaken me for a freshly cooked lobster - I was in sheer agony! Still, later that evening I was able to do my show, including the nails, as normal. But after the show, Bloody Hell! In the past, some very notable people, including some Political ‘Heavyweights’ have availed their weighty forms, to my ‘Nails’ act. They include the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, the late Robert Muldoon who in his autobiography ‘The Life and Times of a Young Turk’ included a photograph of himself standing on top of me whilst I was laying on my nails, with the caption ‘gathering Tax’, (He was then Minister of Finance). Former Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, - the former Mayor of Wellington, Sir Francis Kitts - former Mayor of Auckland, Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson, and the former Minister of Defence of England, Mr Tom King. Phew - heavyweights, all right! ------------------ 13. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives ------------------ Back issues of the Magic New Zealand 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: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) ------------------- 14. 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 Magic New Zealand e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Magic New Zealand e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of Magic New Zealand. Neither Magic New Zealand or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand e-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold Magic New Zealand 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 Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand 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 Magic New Zealand 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 Magic New Zealand. >>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 2004 Alan Watson