* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #459 Date: Sunday 11th November 2006 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. Gary Darwin Back At Home Recovering From Multiple Surgeries 3. Unconventional Convention In Kentucky 4. 'The Prestige' - Peter Zenner 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 34 - Nick Lewin 6. Procrastination: Your Success Enemy! - By Kyle Peron 7. The Death Of James Swoger (US) 8. Broken Wand - Deane LeCornu 9. Broken Wand - Harvey Stege 10. Contribute To My Father's Memory - www.pinogareri.com 11. e-zine Archives 12. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- A HUGE thank you to Phil Willmarth (Editor of the IBM Link Ring), Tony Wilson (Immediate Past International IBM President), Richard Webster (Internationally renowned author), Michael Woolf (Editor, New Zealand's Magicana Magazine) and Nick Lewin (International professional comedy magician) as these guys surprised me BIG time. Thanks guys. On Wednesday night at IBM Ring 160's bi-monthly meeting my very good friend Richard Webster came along came along to present a parcel to me. Unwrapping the many layers I felt like a young child opening a birthday present. Boy did I get a BIG surprise! Unbeknown to me Phil Willmarth had arranged with Tony Wilson to secretly liaise with Richard Webster to write an extensive article on me for the November issue of the Linking Ring. Michael Woolf organised the photos for the article and also one for the front page of the Linking Ring. Thrilled to see Nicks Lewin's article - loved the heading 'Alan Watson; my Kiwi Brother from Another Mother'. It is true! Nick and I are like brothers in many ways. ---------------------------- On the 7th October my friend Mike Millar (USA) took up the challenge and quit his job to become a full time professional magician. Congratulations! ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Gary Darwin Back At Home Recovering From Multiple Surgeries -------------------------------------------- Message from Don Drake (US) Gary has to stay off the feet for a few weeks, but in a couple of months he should be well enough to attend the convention. I'm looking forward to seeing my writing partner and old pal again, because I will be working in the dealer's room, demonstrating some of my new black art. I just want to say that it's a real pleasure to work for a high class magic dealer, and Joe Stevens fills the bill. I'm thrilled that Joe carries my products, and I hope to see you all there in Feb. Don't forget to attend the best yearly convention in the world, that is The World Magic Seminar at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, from Feb. 18-22. For more info, go to worldmagicseminar.com -------------------------------------------- 3. Unconventional Convention In Kentucky -------------------------------------------- Message from Dan Garrett (US) During this past weekend, the first weekend in November, another Unconvention Convention was successfully held. Sponsored by the IBM Ring in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, the convention has been an annual event for approximately 30 years. It took place in the beautiful setting of the Cumberland Falls National Forest state park, home of the 'moonbow.' This is a natural phenomenon of a rainbow caused by the light of a full moon in the mist of the river, and I am told there are only two other places in the world where this could be seen. (I'm not certain of this, but one can always google 'moonbow' or similar words to find out more.) The timing of the Unconventional Convention couldn't have been better, because there was a moonbow visible on both nights of the convention. I was fortunate to join a group of magicians who went to see it, and I can bear witness that it is real. The Guest of Honor this year was Dan Garrett who lectured and performed on stage and closeup. Past Guests of Honor include Gene Anderson, Michael Ammar and many others. The convention lives up to its title of "Unconventional" because there are no announced acts or schedule of events. People just show up, do magic, and things happen! It's great. The event draws hearty contingents of magicians from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia and even further away. Because the moonbow was an added attraction and the public was there in full force, the shows were completely filled with appreciative audiences. -------------------------------------------- 4. 'The Prestige' - Peter Zenner -------------------------------------------- Message from Peter Zenner (UK) I am baffled. Michael Caine was a guest on 'Parkinson', a British TV chat-show, last Saturday night and he was explaining the three parts of a magic trick as per his latest film 'The Prestige'. To make sure that I understood correctly, I have just done a search on the Internet and come up with the following -- ...the three-part structure of a magic trick as outlined by Cutter in an opening voiceover. In old-school magic parlance, the three acts are called the Pledge, the Turn, and The Prestige. The Pledge offers the audience assurances that nothing funny is going on: Please shuffle the cards yourself; nothing up my sleeve, etc. The Turn is the moment when something extraordinary happens: And the hankerchief is gone! The third act, The Prestige, seals the deal: the vanished object reappears in a spectator's pocket, say. "It's not enough to make something disappear,"Cutter explains. "You have to bring it back." Ricky Jay and Michael Weber are credited with the magic advising in the film and John Wade told us that he was the adviser to the author when the book was originally written. Can somebody please tell me where the expressions "the Pledge, the Turn, and The Prestige" come from? I have 'only' been in magic about 50 years but I have done my fair share of Hoffman & Co. reading and never come across these expressions before. Are they a fabrication just for the story or has someone, somewhere, at some time, actually used these words within the world of magic? Just curious. Peter Zenner PS See http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/prestige.html Visit my web-site 'Zenigmas' at http://www.zenigmas.fsnet.co.uk -------------------------------------------- 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 34 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) Saturday Morning Specials. The more I write about magic the clearer it becomes to me that in many ways it's the role of the Magic Store that fascinates me the most. Judging from the responses to my articles it seems that many of my readers also have many of their favorite memories carefully polished and centered on this same topic. I want to explore this area a little more fully because in the age of Internet shopping it seems to me we are at a crossroads and the honest to God magic shop is in danger of vanishing and if this happens we will have lost something very special. The very first magic shop I spent my pocket money in was a tiny, crowded magic oasis on the Tottenham Court Road in the very heart of London's West End. It was here I made the mistakes we all make in our early purchases! Gradually the gentleman behind the counter started to educate my fledgling taste. The name of my first Saturday morning tutor was Jon Tremain and he began the lifelong process of finding a trick you can truly make your own. To my delight I discovered that another magic shop called Davenport's existed about five minutes walk from the Tottenham Court Road. This was like trading up from a Honda Civic to a Jaguar; much more space and way better equipped! It was here that Pat Page showed me that it wasn't just the trick that mattered but what you did with it. To spend a morning watching Pat entertain his Saturday morning regulars was an education all its own. Next I discovered Ken Brooke and his Magic Place. I have written quite extensively about Ken and all I learned from him. Suffice to say it was here I learned the skills that really helped launch me into my career in magic. Upon arriving in Los Angeles there were two major choices when buying magic: 'Hollywood Magic' and Joe Berg's store and of the two I infinitely preferred to visit Joe's store. Here there was the additional benefit that if you hung around until Jules Lenier's break you could accompany him to the coffee shop around the corner on Vine Street and talk magic with him drinking endless cups of black coffee, while Jules ate English muffins smothered in butter and sprinkled with salt. Needless to say there were many other magic stores that I've enjoyed visiting over the years. When I was working in Chicago it was worth an extra day on my schedule to fit in a visit with Jay Marshall. Jay had a way of quietly passing on information that was as wonderful, quirky and unique as the man himself. I never once left Magic Inc. without at least one cool trick to add to my repertoire. How I wish I had had a chance to spend my teenage years with Jay as a teacher: would I have traded it for the wisdom and help I received from Billy McComb and Ken Brooke in those same years? No, but Jay is the only magician I have ever met who could take a trick McComb performed and improve it. 'Nuff said.  Much of the best fun I have had in the magic world has occurred lounging around magic stores on a Saturday morning with the locals gathered to trade stories and tricks and the proprietor tried to balance making a living and making a magician. There is a very special fellowship about these shops that can never be replaced by ordering on the Internet. Convenient as virtual shopping on the Web is, there must always be room for the real thing. Support your local magic shop or it may disappear into some cosmic Toppit. In the words of Joni Mitchell "You never know what you've got till it's gone." Please send and bricks or bouquets to NickLewin@earthlink.net -------------------------------------------- 6. Procrastination: Your Success Enemy! - By Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message from Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist Graphic Designer and Illustrator (Specializing in Logo creation) www.kyleandkellymagic.com I received an interesting article the other day from a friend that was about procrastination and it really hit home with me that this notion of procrastination really can be one of the single worst enemies for anyone wanting or seeking their own success. I thought about it all night and felt that it would make a good topic for discussion and I hope some of my thoughts may be insightful, get you thinking or spark further discussions on the topic. First off it is a simple fact of life that most of us procrastinate. In fact maybe some of us more than others. It is so easy to procrastinate because the art of not taking any action certainly is a lot easier than the art of physically getting up and doing it. As a successful-minded marketer myself, I do not know what is more damaging and frustrating to me than the above word. When there is something that we don't want to do, it is amazing what our minds can come up with to simply avoid having to do it. Even though the course of action we are supposed to take may be something that can really help us to succeed, we simply would rather make up a reason NOT to do it thAn have to spend the effort needed to simply do it. It is a sort of a catch 22 if you think about it. On one side we know that if we keep procrastinating, nothing will ever get done. You cannot be as successful as you want to be unless you stop procrastinating and simply start taking action by doing. On the other side it is so much easier to simply do nothing at all, but if we do nothing at all, then we tend to feel worse about ourselves and you cannot fully enjoy the success you could be obtaining. I think as a magician and marketer there are several key reasons why we procrastinate. Here is just some of my thoughts and reasons and I would love to hear yours as well. - Tunnel Vision Scenario: Most people tend to procrastinate because they have this "tunnel vision going on in the head. Many folks just simply are not marketing driven but want to seek success and obtain it. Because of this the time-line it takes to sometimes obtain a certain level of success does not mean anything to them. They are the ones who seem to look straight ahead and seek only those things that can give them immediate results right away. They concern themselves with day to day results instead of really opening themselves up to ideas that in time can give them even more success than they had hoped for. - Laziness: You knew this one was coming. hehe People are just simply lazy. Many folks dream of success and want success but do not want to spend effort or energy needed to take action and seek it themselves. They then procrastinate because being lazy is so much easier then doing work. - False Assumptions: This is the case where most people feel that being successful as they want to be means simply waiting by the phone in hopes that it rings off the hook with people just dying to book them for gigs. Well this is a false assumption or false hope. Sure once you obtain a certain level of success, the phone will ring due to word of mouth and such. However even that level of success will not happen unless you stop procrastinating and actually do something active to get success flowing your way. - Being Overwhelmed: Many folks who want success procrastinate simply because they feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff they have to do on any given day. The business of simply doing the shows and performing them is so hard enough that the marketing aspect of seeking and growing their success falls by the side. They feel they have to handle everything and do it all themselves without realizing that this only hurts the problem instead of helping solve it. These are only a few but you get the idea. So now how do you battle procrastination and get yourself into a right mindset to stop procrastinating and really get yourself to take action to find your own success? Let me give you a few of my own thoughts. - First off I would say in order to not procrastinate you must change your way of thinking. Simply put it means to be proactive instead of always being reactive. Procrastination is certainly counter productive to being proactive. If you take a proactive stance thAn you start training your mind to simply get up off your butt and go out there and do something. The more you start doing this, the more being proactive becomes habit forming. Instead of forcing yourself to do it, you simply just do it naturally. - Another tool that works for me to stop procrastinating is a simple thing called a "list". You remember those things your mom or wife puts on the fridge to remind you to go food shopping, do the wash, pick up little spot the dog at the dog groomers. It is a point that listing things that need to get done, will help you to stay and remain focused at the tasks that need to get done. The idea of list generating is that a task then becomes tangible. You can see it there and so it has a start and an end. Once you do it, it gets crossed off and you can actually see your growth in a physical sense. - The next idea for helping you overcome procrastination is simply the act of starting something. Whether you like it or not, you are going to have to force yourself to start something you know you need to do to be successful. Do whatever it takes to get you to take action. If this means calling your mom to keep nagging you every day, then that is what you do. The hardest part about being successful is simply the start process itself. Once you start, it becomes a lot easier. - Reward yourself: That's right, give yourself a reward for obtaining and completing something that you know will help in your marketing success of your magic business. No matter how small you may think it is, reward yourself for doing the task. This then only motivates you more to do even more next time. It helps to establish a train of positive thought inside of you. - Do not bite off more than you can chew: basically this means do not first start off by trying to tackle the biggest chore on your success to do list. Start off small. If there is a big success task that needs to get done, break it down to simpler smaller parts and then tackle these as they become more manageable to you. - Change your way of thinking through doing: OK this is a tough one but something each of us can do. It means that non-procrastinators have a certain strategy or system that helps us through tasks that seem to be no fun. We get our mind in gear and look towards the final outcome and then start to ACT. There is that word again. ACT. You simply must act to obtain the success you want for yourself. It also is very amazing that once you actually start a success task, it gets done faster than you may have thought. Someone once told me that a business without marketing is simply not a business at all; it's a hobby. Making magic a hobby is fine if that is what you want to do. However, if you want to seek and obtain your own success than you have to stop procrastinating and start doing. So if you want to stop procrastinating on your own success start to first understand why you procrastinate in the first place and then take steps in the right direction to get yourself away from that bad habit and establish a better one. Sometimes all it takes is a buddy system. Find someone who wants and seeks success as you do. team up as a sort of support group for each other. Tell each other each week what your success goals are for that week and make sure that each of you do not accept any excuses from each other. It may and will take time to break bad habits, but once you see the success you can obtain by moving procrastination out of your thinking, you will simply start to do more on your own. I hope this may be of help to some who read it. It was just thoughts that I had really been thinking about the past few days and so decided to just get them down in a written form. I hope they are a help and get you thinking about this. I really would love to hear your ideas on this as well as answers to these questions: 1) What do you do that causes you to procrastinate the most? 2) Why do you think this happens for you? 3) What can you do to change this bad habit? It is my hope that this thread can help motivate us all through learning. -------------------------------------------- 7. The Death Of James Swoger, (US) -------------------------------------------- Message from Frank Harnett (US) I first met Jim in 1945, as a fledgling magician. Through Jim in his House of Enchantment, I learned many of the really basic techniques of performing. Jim was an excellent machinist and manufactured scores of effects, many done in plastic and were quite nicely done. His equipment was used by pros and myself, as a semi-pro, and were indeed quite highly prized. His illusions were used by Blackstone, Sr. and others of the high echelon of magic. As a teacher, he was well equipped. Somewhere along the line in my earlier days I developed a slight bounce in my deportment during my manipulations. Jim set me straight on this and smoothed out the act...no more bounce. For a time I worked in his magic shop manufacturing flash paper and assisted in the sales end of the business. Jim was a true friend of magic and will be missed. -------------------------------------------- 8. Broken Wand - Deane LeCornu -------------------------------------------- Message from Roy J Hopwood OM President IBM Garden City Ring 148 - Adelaide, Australia Deane LeCornu OM a long time member of IBM Garden City Ring 148 - Adelaide died this morning (Tuesday 7 November 2006). Deane was a past president and also a long serving secretary of the Ring. He was a well respected member of the Adelaide magic scene and a mentor to many. He will be missed not only by his family but the family of magicians in Adelaide as well. He had been ill for a long time and recently went into a nursing home. His family are gathering around his wife Jean and other family members are travelling from interstate. It is too early at this stage to give details of arrangements. I will update you as soon as they become available. One of our members is writing an obituary and will perform the broken wand ceremony at the service. -------------------------------------------- 9. Broken Wand - Harvey Stege -------------------------------------------- Message from Carl Macan (US) We recently had a death of a fellow magician, Harvey Stege, a long time member of Ring 129, Heart of America Ring 129 of Kansas City. -------------------------------------------- 10. Contribute To My Father's Memory - www.pinogareri.com -------------------------------------------- Message from Angela Minozzi forwarded on by Ace Starry Hello Everyone, Please contribute to my father's memory within this great blog that my uncle has created for my father... www.pinogareri.com Please pass this on.... Thank you. Love, Angela From my Uncle Aldo: Please visit pino's new website and feel free to contribute to the blog. www.pinogareri.com Aldo -------------------------------------------- 11. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.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) -------------------------------------------- 12. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html. Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson 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 they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein. Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 2006 Alan Watson