* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand® * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #313 Date: Sunday 29th January 2005 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. Paul Daniels Thoughts On BBC TV - Secrets Of Magic   3. Michael Bailey’s Thoughts On BBC TV - Secrets Of Magic   4. Mike Bornstein Killed By A Truck While Crossing A Street   5. Rooklyn Memorabilia To Be Auctioned   6. Breaking Vegas Magic News!   7. Las Vegas Magic - February, 2005   8. Johnny Carson Dies At Age 79   9. Dan Fleshman Lecture - Florida   10. Chinese New Year's Gala – New York   11. Contacts For Gulf Coast Magic Seminar!!!   12. 2005 LVMI Convention Information   13. Paul Diamond Sell The Magic You Are Not Using   14. Hilarities Comedy Club In Cuyahoga Falls Ohio   15. New Way To Melt A Fork - Jamie-G   16. The Amazing Orchante Saga   17. e-zine Archives   18. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Magic New Zealand has made mention before of Auckland magician Ken Ring and his meteoric rise to become NZ's foremost long-range weather forecaster. His latest book "Predict Weather Almanac 2005" (published by Random House) has now been listed by the book trade watchdogs Booksellers NZ as the season's 6th most popular in non-fiction. Throughout an average book's lifetime in the NZ market, sales do not usually exceed 3500. This almanac, now into its third print run, has sold over 5000 in just the last three months. Ken, known throughout NZ schools for his Mathman shows, has in the last 4-5 years been quietly gathering legendary status among event-planners and farmers with his uncannily accurate weather predictions. His website www.predictweather.com now receives 1600 hits per day and every quarter the site makes the Top Ten in the Hitwise list for the Lifestyle category covering all Australasia. Back in October 2001 Ken received an email request from a film director called Niki Caro to name three days of unsettled weather in a month's time, at a specific location on NZ's wild and magnificent East coast. "Whale Rider", eventual winner of three international awards was the film. So the skies you see in the background were predicted to the day by a mentalist/magician. How does he do it? Ken says that his lengthy study of stone circles like Stonehenge has revealed an ancient mathematical formula by which daily changes in weather can be predicted, anywhere, far ahead, even to as much as twenty years. He thinks it was something that maybe would have been known to many shamans. Says Ken, long-range weather is the ultimate prediction routine, and has an accuracy of about 90%. -------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Paul Daniels’ Thoughts On BBC TV - Secrets Of Magic ----------------- Message from Paul Daniels (UK) Firstly let me say that the show was a repeat broadcast of what had gone out before. I didn't see it the first time and, thanks to a serious cold and being confined to bed, I was able to watch it. There is very little in it for magicians to worry about but, sadly, it also did nothing to elevate the Art that is the Theatre of Magic. The 'giveaway' secrets were a joke upon the public because nobody, repeat nobody, in their right mind would ever think that magicians would use these methods. Having told the public how they did the 'miracles' they then went on to perform better and more baffling tricks. In the midst of the revelations of how they had brought about the magic a woman participant came out with a line that ALL exposures, real or fake, should always bear in mind. The woman thought the trick was GREAT, the magician was WONDERFUL, it was all MAGIC but when she was told the simplicity of the how she said that she felt she had been tricked and it was obvious that she felt stupid. Shame. The magic was gone. The presenter was Nick Nowles, who had been directed to walk around being overly deep and serious about what was about to happen. The performers were John Lenahan, Danny Butler and Etienne Pradier. I hope I have the spelling right. John, I am sure, is a nice enough jobbing magician, but he came over as being too obsequious in his presentations and seemed to lack confidence on the screen. Danny Butler came across as a magic club performer and sadly, the only one who seemed to have any style, Etienne, was not allowed to strut his stuff. The production company was Objective, and that means O'Connor and Owens again I guess. The programme would have been a LOT more attractive without the silly explanations and the world of magic has only suffered by it not being more completely thought out. ----------------- 3. Michael Bailey’s Thoughts On BBC TV - Secrets Of Magic ----------------- Message from Michael Bailey (UK) 'Secrets of Magic' was broadcast on BBC1 at 6.50pm last Saturday evening. The programme had a similar format to the first show transmitted last year but had no panel of celebrities trying to guess the method. This time the public watched the magic and they were asked to choose the method used from four options given to them. The methods explained were - as previously - not the 'real' method and were generally (certainly to magicians watching) far fetched. The magicians then went on to perform other tricks using similar props - trucks, cafe equipment, bank notes, kettles, light bulbs - with much stronger magical effect and without giving away the secret. The performers were John Lenahan, Etienne Pradier and Danny Buckler and the programme was produced by Objective Productions. It seems there may be other programmes in this series. ----------------- 4. Mike Bornstein Killed By A Truck While Crossing A Street ----------------- Message from George Schindler (US) The Parent Assembly #1 and the IBM Ring #26 have lost one of New York's most important magicians and mentor to many Mike Bornstein was killed by a truck while crossing a street when a truck making a turn hit him on January 20. ----------------- 5. Rooklyn Memorabilia To Be Auctioned ----------------- Message from Steve Walker (Aust) Konni Rooklyn has ask me to auction off some of the Rooklyn memorabilia she still has and my good friend Kent Blackmore has kindly put photos of the items plus a description on his website at www.users.bigpond.com/kblackmore/rooklyn.html. The auction is February 14th at the Geniis Magical Society in Sydney. Of particular interest to New Zealand Magicians is item 7. * 7. This is a table cloth which was presented to Rooklyn at the "Trocadero" in Auckland on April 14th 1946 by the New Zealand Society of Magicians. All the signatures of the members in attendance have been embroidered over plus some clever embroidery of magical logos. It is framed with glass so would cost a fortune to send to NZ but I'm sure it can be easily demounted and sent then reframed if required in NZ. Please have a look at the website who knows maybe there are still some around old enough to remember the occasion. ----------------- 6. Breaking Vegas Magic News! ----------------- Message from David Neubauer (US) Collin Foster has just signed a new deal at the Plaza Hotel/Casino. His show "Collin Foster - Quicker Than The Eye" will re-open there on Tuesday, February 8th. I just heard from Collin that he thought he would be re-opening at the Westin this Friday as planned, but this new deal has changed that. So far we know that he will perform two shows a day, six days a week (dark Mondays). More news on this in the next Las Vegas Update. Good job Collin! ----------------- 7. Las Vegas Magic - February, 2005 ----------------- Message from David Neubauer (www.dnmagic.com) PRODUCTION SHOWS: Amazing Johnathan 10 pm, (Dark Thurs.), Riviera. Collin Foster - Quicker than the Eye 8 pm, (Dark Tues. & Wed.), Westin Hotel. Escape - The Magic Show Dixie Dooley and Shedini 8:30 pm, (Dark Sun. - Wed.), Riviera. Haunted Vegas Tour & Show Robert Allen & Jac Hayden 9:00 pm tour, 11:00 pm show (Dark Tues. - Thurs.) Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas 2 & 4 pm, (Dark Sun.), Tropicana. Jamie Porter's Radio Side Show Sat @ 5 am, KLAV FM 1230. La Femme Stephan Vanel 8 & 10:30 pm, (Dark Tues.), MGM Grand. Lance Burton, Master Magician 7 pm Tues-Sat & 10 pm Tues. & Sat. Monte Carlo. Mac King Comedy Magic Show 1 & 3 pm, (Dark Sun. & Mon.) Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater. Magic and Mirth Tony Blanco - www.tonyblanco.com Thurs.- Mon. evenings, various times, Excalibur. Magic in the Desert Nick Coleman 4 pm, (free) (Dark Mon., Fri.) Bourbon Street. Ovations Fielding West, Jason Byrne 9 pm, Lady Luck. Penn & Teller 9 pm, (Dark Tues.), Rio. Showgirls of Magic www.showgirlsofmagic.com 8 & 10:30 (Dark Mon.) (Adults only 2nd show), San Remo. Spotlight Will Roya - www.spotlightshow.com 7 pm, (Dark Fri.), Bourbon Street. Steve Wyrick 7 & 10 pm, (Dark Tues.), Aladdin. V, The Ultimate Variety Show Jeff Hobson, Nathan & Sarah - www.vtheshow.com 7 & 9 pm, Aladdin. World's Greatest Magic Show Kevin James, Joseph Gabriel, The Majestix, Kozak. Derek Roberts, Billy Fergueson & Chris Randall (pre-show). Special Guest Magicians each month. 6 pm nightly, 6 & 8:15 Fri., 2 pm Sun., Greek Isle. March WGM Guest Stars: Arden James (until March 20), Losander (March 21 on) Xtreme Close-up Magic Steve Dacri - Imperial Palace. 9 & 11 pm. Free, 1 drink min. (Dark Sun.) RESTAURANTS: Eric Allan Outback Steakhouse (Green Valley), Fri. & Sat. Jayden LaCross TGI Fridays, Wed. & Sun. FEBRUARY, 2005 January 31-Feb. 6: Rafael (from Belgium) - World's Greatest Magic Show - Greek Isle. February 7-13: Magic Wave (from Holland) - World's Greatest Magic Show - Greek Isle. February 14-26: Shimada - World's Greatest Magic Show - Greek Isle. February 18-20: Lance Burton Teen Weekend. Lance Burton, Jeff McBride and guests in an intensive two day workshop. Email rbwells@erols.com for more information. February 20-23: World Magic Seminar. So far featuring Lance Burton, Jeff McBride, Lennart Green, Flip, Michael Close, Rich Bloch, Chip Lowell, Amos Levkovitch, Nathan Gibson, Alex Gonzalez, Bob Sheets, Carl Andrews, Dan and Dave Buck, David Merry, Glenn Farrington, Jamy Ian Swiss, Jason England, Joe Devlin, Micky Silver, Phillip Kaiser, R. Paul Wilson , Roger Klaus and Vanni Bossi. www.worldmagicseminar.com. Orleans Hotel. February 27-March 20: Arden James - World's Greatest Magic Show - Greek Isle. MARCH, 2005 March 21- April 3: Losander - World's Greatest Magic Show - Greek Isle. JUNE, 2005 June 12-14: The Las Vegas Magic Invitational - Palace Station Guest of honor is Paul Harris. Performers include Eric DeCamps, Allan Ackerman, John Bannon, David Solomon, Chris Randall and Earl Nelson. ----------------- 8. Johnny Carson Dies At Age 79 ----------------- Message from Wayne Bernath & Lance Burton (US) Here's a statement from Lance Burton in reference to Johnny Carson's death. Lance Burton, of course, is deeply saddened by the death of Johnny Carson. Not only was he a major influence on his career but he brought excellence to late night television and entertainment on NBC. Johnny Carson's talent scouts discovered Lance Burton at "It's Magic" in LA. Joe Trammel, Nathan Burton and Jennifer Joseph all of Las Vegas are three of the 10 entertainers to appear on "The Entertainer" hosted and produced by Wayne Newton tonight at 10 and 11 p.m. on "E!" This was filmed in Las Vegas over a 35-day period. Joe Trammel will be tapping the keg at the Hofbrauhaus and leading the parade to kick-off the series. The ceremony will be 4:30-5 p.m. I will be there 497-3622. The 10-part series airs 160 times over 10 weeks. Best Regards, Wayne Bernath ------------------------------- Like countless other entertainers, I owe Johnny Carson a huge debt of gratitude. My first appearance on national television was on the Tonight Show on October 28th 1982. He was personally responsible for my big break in show business. He was always very kind and generous to me and I am sad today to learn of his passing. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Johnny Carson was the perfect talk show host, a great stand-up comedian, and a very fine magician. He was a class act. On his last telecast of the Tonight Show he said "And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it." Actually, we were the lucky ones. We got to watch him for thirty years. Lance Burton ----------------- 9. Dan Fleshman Lecture - Florida ----------------- Message from Maria Ibanez S.A.M. National 2nd Vice President Be the first in the area to see the lecture by Dan Fleshman What: Dan Fleshman Lecture When: Monday, February 7th -- 7 PM (Easy to remember, the 7th at 7) Where: Jewish Community Center 801 Donna Klein Blvd Boca Raton, Florida 33428 561-852-3200 How: No tricks, no gimmicks, no come-ons..simply some of the best magical entertainment and lecture available. Plus: Come meet and visit with some of the top officers of the Society of American Magicians John Apperson, President and his lovely wife, the First Lady of the S.A.M. Virginia Apperson Our own Maria Ibanez, National Second Vice President of the S.A.M. Jann Wherry Goodsell, P.N.P., .Y.M. Director Bruce Kalver, SAMtalk Moderator/Symbol Editor Clem Kinnicutt, Life Membership Chair; RVP NE States Jean Kinnicutt, Gifts and Insignia Chairman Shirley Glass, Gifts and Insignia So, come one, come all and come early, stay late and lets have a terrific evening; let us make our honored guests welcome. Come and enjoy the lecture of Dan Fleshman..FREE to all S.A.M. 274 members, only$15.00 to non-members. Magically, Harold Greenbaum President, S.A.M. 274 Sam Schwartz Assembly ----------------- 10. Chinese New Year's Gala – New York ----------------- Message from Bobby Torkova I'm pleased to announce that I'll be performing magic at the Chinese New Year's Gala at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The show is on Friday, February 4th, 2005 Showtime: 8:00pm The Theater at Madison Square Garden 7th Ave & 32nd Street, New York, NY Ticket Hotline: 888-300-0763 http://newyeargala.ntdtv.com/2005/en/venues/ny.htm There will be over 100 performers and should be quite spectacular. I hope you can come. I've also updated my website with new photos. If you'd like to have a look, here's a direct link: www.torkova.com/gallery.htm ----------------- 11. Contacts For Gulf Coast Magic Seminar!!! ----------------- Message from Mr Wiz (US) I am contacting everyone here to find out if anyone has any information regarding the following and/or even if they were involved with the following. On August 5 - 7 of 2004 Party Magic - Lori Kirlin planned a Gulf Coast Magic Seminar to be taken place in Ft. Myers, Florida. At the end notice was sent by them announcing that this event was cancelled and they will be refunding the money to everyone who paid for. I contacted them back to follow up regarding my refund which was a $25.00 reservation fee plus $50.00 for advertising in their program. Since as of this date I haven't received anything I decided to contact them to follow up. When I tried sending an e-mail to their e-mail address it came back as user unknown. Also tried calling the phone number and got a message that has been disconnected. At this point I have no other contact options but only to take further legal action to resolve this matter. This is why I am contacting everyone to find out if anyone knows of them or/and had the same problem happen too? Their website address is: www.magicalmania.com It is still operational and still has the information on the Gulf Coast Magic Seminar. Thanks for your time and attention. I will look forward hearing from anyone regarding who has any information that can help. Magically yours, Javier customerservice@mrwiztrunkofmagic.com ----------------- 12. 2005 LVMI Convention Information ----------------- Message from Danny Archer (US) The LVMI close-up convention is pleased to announce that we have just added to our line-up one of lecturers, magic's premier teacher the one and only Michael Ammar. Details on this upcoming JUNE convention in Las Vegas follows. BIG NEWS first … Due to a major remodeling at the hotel we have used in the past, the Las Vegas Magic Invitational (lvmi.net) is changing its date from September to June. This year’s convention will take place from Sunday June 12th – Tuesday June 14th at our new home the Palace Station Hotel and casino (www.stationcasinos.com). The new venue will offer us a vastly improved meeting space, a heck of a lot more and better dining options, and a selection of hotels rooms priced from $39 per night and up! We are so excited about our new space and the possibilities it holds to allow us to make an already fantastic close-up convention even better. Since this is our 5th Anniversary, we are pulling out all the stops and assembling a Dream Team of lecturers and performers. Our special guest of honor will be that one of a kind Close-Up Kinda Guy ---  Paul Harris. Joining Paul will be; sleight of hand master Eric DeCamps, the Las Vegas card expert Allan Ackerman, the creative conjuring of John Bannon, Chicago card wizard David Solomon, Close-up wunderkind Chris Randall and living legend Earl Nelson! More to come … Just added magic’s premier teacher Michael Ammar. Since it’s inception, The Las Vegas Magic Invitational (LVMI) has been acclaimed far and wide not only for the excellence of its lecturers and performers, but for the outstanding contributions from the many special guests and attendees. Every night after the scheduled events have finished, there has been a who’s who of magic hanging out and jammin’ at the bar. Spotted at past convention have been luminaries like; Paul Wilson, Jeff McBride, Daryl, Lee Asher, Chris Korn, Penn & Teller, Homer Liawag, Chris Kenner, Michael Close, Mac King, Bob Fitch, Michael Forbes, Bill Goodwin, Paul Harris, Brad Henderson, Daniel Cros, Peter Reveen, Gaetan Bloom, Bob Kohler, Dean Dill, Garrett Thomas, Tony Clark, Tim Trono, Dan Watkins, Kevin James, Gaeton Bloom, Geoff Latta, David Roth, Roger Klause, Pete Studebaker, Jon Armstrong, Jeff Hobson and many other magic celebrities. The I in LVMI stands for Invitational and the attendees are invited to perform. There have been some really great acts and performers at these shows. Shows, lectures, dealers, sessions, and a chance to perform for the group and a whole lot more. What more could you want! Dealers include: Dean Dill, Daryl, William Pearce Magic Tricks and Books, The Trick Shop San Diego, CA, Andy Greget books, Magiclites and more to come. Don't read about LVMI in the magazines or on the boards and wish you were there … BE THERE! Registration fees are as follows: LVMI Registration $150 (register on-line at lvmi.net) *Registration is limited. So Act now! Scheduled acts subject to change ----------------- 13. Paul Diamond Sell The Magic You Are Not Using ----------------- Message from Paul Diamond (US) Get back money for the stuff that's gathering dust. If you try to sell your magic at auction, you never will sell it all. If you sell it to the club you will never get the kind of money I can get for you. Try to sell to a collector he won’t offer enough. I have many references. Phone number is 561-687-3785. If you have questions, please call. Now read my formula carefully, Please. What isn’t sold in that sale we then revise prices. We start then with 20 to 30 percent off. We are selling USED magic. NATURALLY, RARE & COLLECTORS Items BRING A Bigger Price Magic that doesn’t sell we hold on to & than send a sale out a few weeks later. When we get down to the nitty-gritty we contact the bed room dealers and get rid of the rest. Our magicians membership list is well over 3,000 to date.and everyone loves a deal. I also have the largest database on magic prices in the world. Send me your list of magic with retail prices if you can.if not I will price it & send you a complete list with correct prices. Books & Magic bring the best prices, Videos are Fair prices. You have to send all Magic, Videos & Books etc here. My wife & I mail it from here at no charge to you. You know my reputation.retired life got boring so this is helping my brain function & I get to play with the magic while preparing it for sale. Don’t let the Magic your not using go to waste, turn it into cash. Paul Diamond mrhumble@prodigy.net ----------------- 14. Hilarities Comedy Club In Cuyahoga Falls Ohio ----------------- Message from Eric R. Brouman (US) Award winning Magician Eric R. Brouman will be headlining at Hilarities Comedy Club in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio from Feb 23 to 26. To make reservations call 330-923-1962. Also, check out www.ericbrouman.com. 1-888-BROUMAN ----------------- 15. New Way To Melt A Fork - Jamie-G ----------------- Message from Jamie-G (Canada) Effect: The magician takes a fork and by shaking the fork it causes the tines to bend in different angles. Then the magician rubs the fork with his finger and cause's the whole fork to bend. As a final part of this effect the magician turns the fork upside down then asks the spectator to hold out his hand. The magician then starts to rub the bottom of the fork and the metal starts to melt right in front of the spectators eyes. As proof that this is really happening there are little pieces of metal left over in the spectator's hand. Also the spectator can see the metal coming right off the fork. Note: This is a major break through in metal bending. Until I came up with this special foil system this effect was not possible. You don't have to do the metal bending if you don't want to you can just turn the fork over rub the bottom of the fork and melt the bottom of the fork that way. Also make sure that you get the spectator to hold out their hand and as they are watching you melting this fork right in front of their eyes they see little pieces of metal fall from the fork into their hand and on the floor. This is a killer effect all on its own and you really don't even need to do the metal bending. If you do metal bending it all fits in very well together. This effect alone is priceless and should be a very guarded secret. This effect is very easy to do and anyone can do it when you know how. Even a child can do it. Method: You can use any metal bending moves that suit you the best or whatever you have learned in metal bending all of it is good. But since I came up with the magic foil system you don't really need it to melt metal off a fork and it look as real as if you are really melting a fork. If you find that the moves in metal bending are hard and you have a hard time trying to bend the tines of the fork you are going to love this. Before hand you must prepare the fork with the silver foil we are going to go through this step by step. First you must remove the paper from the foil don't forget what side the paper is on because this is the side with the glue on it and it is the side that goes on the fork. After you take the paper off the foil you place the foil on the fork, now you take a ball point pen or a magic marker and rub the foil on the fork. The foil will start to bond onto the fork and you cannot tell that the foil is on it. The more foil you put on the fork the better because later you are going to scratch it off and this is what is left behind as proof of the fork melting. This silver foil is great you can have the spectator have the fork in his hands all day and they will never know that it is gimmicked with this foil you can't see it you can't feel it only you know its there. Note: As you’re rubbing the bottom of the fork in real time you are using your finger nail to take off the foil. Rub in a circular motion so it just looks like you are rubbing the bottom of the fork. This tip alone is worth a million dollars. Also when you are putting the foil on the fork take your time with the foil and make it nice and neat. You will fool your self it is that good. Real Time: You pick up a fork turn it upside down, you ask a spectator to hold out their hand. Then you start to rub the bottom of the fork as little parts of metal start to fly into their hand and on the floor. This is the best and easiest way to melt a fork. So if you don't know how to do metal bending you  can use this method to melt a fork and still look like expert. But on the other hand if you do know how to metal bend you save the foil for last and you look all the better. Stand Alone: What I'm trying to say is that you can just use the foil method alone. All you do is turn the fork over scratch the foil off into the spectator's hand and that would be enough for the effect. This is fresh and new magic that I have come up with. It is as well known to magicians as well and I am sure you can see the possibilities with this great foil and the magic that you can do with it. This is a very powerful effect and I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with it. Patter: You can pretty well say whatever you want in an effect like this or you can say nothing at all but "WATCH". But in a special effect like this you can tell the spectator just by rubbing the fork you can generate enough heat to melt a fork and if they hold out their hand you will prove it to them. (Go on with the effect) Metal Bending: If you don't know how to metal bend check out Guy Bavli's videos and books on this subject. I feel that he is the best magician on this topic. Your local magic shop should carry his video tapes and special props. Hope you enjoy this effect and give it a try and have fun with it..JAMIE-G ----------------- 16. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 37 Adventures in Paradise New Caledonia is a French overseas Island Territory, in the South Pacific. It may be different now, but back in the ‘60s; very few of the people - a melting pot of Melanesian/Polynesian, European French, Indonesian, and Vietnamese - spoke English, (no wonder). In those days, my Sleight of Hand Magic show was performed to music - no patter, so language was never an issue. Because I didn’t speak French, there would have been a problem with the Hypnotism show, except for Gilbert, who spoke fluent English, as well as his native French – (the official language of New Caledonia and Tahiti). After several hours of rehearsing my ‘hypnotic induction’ technique with Gilbert, he eventually got the intonation right and a general idea of my ‘patter during the hour and a half of my performance. The end result was, every word I uttered, Gilbert repeated in French – so fast it seemed like his words were coming out of my mouth (apart from my lips moving out of sync, it would’ve made a great ‘Vent’ act). As a Translator, he should have had some sort of speed record. In reality, Gilbert was the Hypnotist; I was his ‘guiding voice’, although the audience didn’t think of it that way. It was brilliant – must have been a world first – I’ve never heard of a Hypnotist show being worked this way, via a Translator, before or since. On Opening Night at the Rex Theatre, I was still a little shaky from the double dose of vaccinations – I guess adrenaline helped to keep me going, and I did have that mountain of velvet curtains to warm me up. Most difficult, was the non-stop 1 ½ hour, Hypnotic demonstrations. ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON’ – it did! “There’s no business like.! We arrived in Tahiti on 17th June. To be honest, I don’t remember much about the Theatre shows – I know we performed at ‘L’Hotel Taaone Resort’ - I have an old photo, taken from the Show at the hotel, showing me laying on the bed of nails, doing ‘The Human Sandwich’ bit - with two gorgeous Tahitian Wahines standing on top of me. Tahiti really is beautiful, so are the women! The most memorable event for me on this, my first visit to this captivating Island, was being taken to a Bar on the Harbour waterfront of Papeete. I’ve forgotten the name of this Bar, but it had quite an infamous reputation: I know it was featured in a couple of old B/W War films. Perhaps one of you may have been stationed there, or visited the Bar during the Pacific conflict – maybe YOU remember the name of this legendary Bar. It doesn’t exist now – it was gone when I returned two years later. The French have no respect for the beauty of the South Pacific Islands – don’t forget what they are doing, even now, with their nuclear testing on Mururoa Atoll since 1966, with no second thought of World opinion, or the wishes of the inhabitants of the entire South Pacific region. They even had the audacity to sink Greenpeace’s ‘RAINBOW WARRIOR’ in a foreign country (Auckland, New Zealand) in July 1985. UNFORGIVEABLE! Standing at the Bar, I started, as usual, doing some Close-up magic, which turned into an impromptu show, to a packed crowd of drinkers. They comprised of just about anybody, the flotsam and jetsam of humanity – mixed together with tourists, sailors, fishermen, etc. It was pretty wild! This was a perfect example of being able to entertain, with magic, at the ‘Drop of a Hat’ - using anything you could lay your hands on - coins, cigarettes, toilet roll, a pack of cards you wouldn’t spit on (you didn’t have to, everybody else had - for years). There are dozens of effects you can do, all different, with a thumb tip – always carry one. Right now, as I sit here scribbling this lot out, I’m wearing a T-shirt and a pair of dirty old jeans with the knees worn through - used for knocking around the house and garden. In the right hand pocket, a THUMB TIP! Out of developed habit, when I change trousers, the ‘tip’ ALWAYS, without fail, goes from one pair to the other. I’M NEVER WITHOUT IT! Continues next week ------------------ 17. 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) ------------------- 18. 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® nor 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. 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