* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #470 Date: Sunday 31st December 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. Hofzinser's Magic Salon 3. Beijing FISM Dates Have Been Changed 4. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 41 - Nick Lewin 5. When The Magic Becomes Real! - Kyle Peron 6. S.A.M. On The Cutting Edge Of Providing World-Class Talent! 7. Nominacion Premios Magia 2006 8. Dondrake And Procraft Illusions Announce Their Merger 9. The Amazing Orchante Saga 10. e-zine Archives 11. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- LAST CHANCE TO BOOK if you want the special rate of $295 Joint IBM / SAM 2008 - Louisville, Kentucky July 21-26, 2008 Early Bird registration rate of $295 US closes off tonight December 31st 2006 As from January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007 - $395 We hear that over 700 have already registered. Complete information and a 2008 Convention Registration form may be found on the website: http://www.ibmsam2008.com/ ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Hofzinser's Magic Salon -------------------------------------------- Message from Magic Christian On January 10th 2007 there will be a big reception for Joh. Nep. Hofzinser at the Vienna City Hall for celebrating 150 years of opening his magic salon in Vienna with his wife Wilhelmina. There will be presentations of Hofzinser's "Kunststuecke" (tricks), a PP presentation and discussions about his life and a buffet. Everything sponsored by the Mayor of Vienna. The original opening took place on January 3rd, 1857. Hofzinser had extremely good critiques in the news papers and the Salon was the meeting point for the society for the next ten years. Those people of the magic world who will be in Vienna at that time please contact me to get an invitation. With out an invitation it will not be possible to take part. Hofzinser celebrated in 2006 his 200th birthday. The Magic Club of Vienna and Magic Christian organized on last June 18th a birthday reminiscence show Happy New Year Magic Christian -------------------------------------------- 3. Beijing FISM Dates Have Been Changed -------------------------------------------- Message from Tony Wilson Dates confirmed for Beijing FISM World Championship of Magic 2009 will now be July 26-31st 2009. -------------------------------------------- 4. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 41 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) Published with the permission of Phil Willmarth - Editor of the Linking Ring I recently wrote a short piece for the Linking Ring's November issue which featured Alan Watson on the cover. I asked Alan if he could republish the piece in Magic New Zealand. At the end of the article you may notice I say that I would feel uncomfortable being quite this personal about Alan in his own e-zine. After giving it some thought I have completely reversed this opinion and feel it is more important it be said there than anywhere! So, let me tell you about my Meeting with a Remarkable Magician called Alan Watson. Alan Watson; my Kiwi brother from another mother. During the four-year run in Las Vegas of my one-man show in Las Vegas I met many magicians. The trouble with doing two 75 minute shows in the course of an afternoon it doesn't leave nearly enough time for socializing, in fact sometimes the only honest thing you can say after meeting someone is that you met them. My friend Bernard Reid brought many of his Kiwi friends to see my show. Bernard would seat in a good booth in the showroom he would then retreat to the casino and win ridiculously large sums of money at a slot machine. At the end of the show Reid would reappear with a glass of Merlot in his hand and make introductions. It was in this manner that I met Alan Watson for the first time. I didn't know it at the time but this casual meeting was the overture to a warm friendship. I am a regular reader of New Zealand's Magicana magazine, which I consider to be a great read even if you get no further than Bernard's Column and the monthly article written by the brilliant Richard Webster. If you read Magicana then you know what Alan Watson looks like; every month the back cover features a full-page advertisement featuring Alan and other members of his family. It was my wife Susan who discovered Alan's Magic New Zealand e-zine. I was amazed at how Susan knew what magic was going on in our hometown of Vegas. Eventually she shared her secret with me and started to forward me copies of MNZ and to my amazement I really enjoyed reading it. Generally speaking I travel so much that magic periodicals are of little interest to me but this was a little different. No matter where I was traveling the e-zine was an Internet café away. I really enjoyed the brevity and directness of the weekly communication. In the back of my mind I had a feeling that I had met Alan but I couldn't be sure, so I just kept reading the e-zine. In January of this year my travels included a cruise that ended in Wellington and I mentioned to Susan that I would like to explore New Zealand a little more. The next thing I knew Susan and Alan had set up a lecture for me in Auckland. "Oh, and Alan says you can stay with him and Michele." She said. I was very pleased to be visiting this far away place and let me say one thing, if you have never visited New Zealand then you should, I have traveled more than most and there are few countries as warm, friendly and flat out beautiful than this. At the end of my cruise engagement I flew across spectacular mountains and lagoons to arrive in Auckland. Waiting for me at the airport was Alan. We drove back to his home and my real introduction to the land of Kiwis had begun. One thing about Alan that becomes obvious the moment you meet him is that there are two loves in his life: family and magic. Not in any particular order, they don't need to be, as he has combined them into a unique package. I had no sooner unpacked my case than I felt part of that family vibe. By the time that first evening drew to a close I was surprised (and a little shocked) at how many things Alan and I had in common. Not just our ideas about performing but our attitudes and values. Alan and his delightful wife Michele were perfect hosts and I felt so much at home it amazed me. The very first thing I wanted to see in their home was the headquarters of Magic New Zealand and I wasn't disappointed. It occupied almost the entire lower floor of the house and was a splendid combination of high tech equipment and magic props. I sat in a corner with a cup of tea and watched as Alan sat in front of the biggest computer monitor I had ever seen. He then quickly and efficiently sorted through more email than I receive in a month! Some emails were answered, some forwarded and one or two placed in his 'publish' file. This procedure was repeated several times during each day and by the end of my visit I realized exactly how much work went into his Internet publication. It was a lot of work and would keep most people busy enough to consider it an extremely full time job. On Saturday I had a chance to see the other side of Alan Watson: the performer. You hear about a 'Family Magic Show' but it takes on a whole new dimension when you actually watch one taking place. I traveled with the family to 'Rainbow's End' the amusement park that Alan has made his working home for many years. After looking around I was very conscious that this wasn't an easy gig, in fact it was very difficult, and I was interested to see how Alan would handle the stage and audience. I left the dressing room where Michele was applying make-up to Aleshia, the youngest magician in the Watson household and I found a seat front of house. I must be one of the most difficult magicians in the world to impress because I look at a show with a strange list of criteria. The magic must be strong and the comedy funny but even more important to me are qualities such as energy and pacing. Alan began his show at 110% energy level and not once in 30 minutes did it let down. Nestled in the middle of the show was a version of the coin in bottle that particularly impressed me and drew gasps from the crowd. I was particularly interested with the non-stop music that accompanied the show. It sounded like a single piece of music however I know enough about the topic to realize that the way the show was constructed this wasn't possible. After the show I questioned Alan about the music and he showed me the latest piece of technology he had added to his collection, a small two Ipod mixer unit. I had never seen one of these units before and instantly lusted after it. Trust Alan to have the latest bit of techno hardware for his show. However it wasn't the technology that was at the heart of the show it was the human quality and the communication between performers and audience was extraordinary. During her featured segment in the show Alan's granddaughter Aleshia nearly stole the show and certainly stole the audience's hearts. It was a delight to watch the pride in Alan's eyes as this talented young magician did her stuff. The show came to a close and the props were quickly packed and we were away for Alan to perform a private show. As we were stopped at a traffic signal a fellow motorist noticed the brightly painted van that acts as a moving billboard for his show. Before the light had changed to green Alan had booked another show! This man is a dynamo and it is easy to spot his background in marketing by his attention to promotion and advertising. Finally we returned to the Watson's house and after Alan checked the email we ate a meal (I loved that Hokey Pokey ice cream!) and shared a bottle of wine and talked. The more we talked the more I appreciated the warmth and humanity that act as a focus in Alan's life. When I left for the airport the next day I knew that I had made a good friend and for me that is something that seems to get harder and harder to do. Before I left Alan asked me if we could adapt my personal blog and add it to his e-zine. I was surprised and proud and immediately agreed: so far we have notched up 27 columns and going strong. The one thing I would not feel comfortable writing about in Magic New Zealand is my regard and respect for Watson. I am delighted to get a chance to do so here and I will try to do so in that uniquely understated Kiwi manner. "Alan you are one of the best; thanks mate!" Please send any bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net -------------------------------------------- 5. Picking and Greeting Your Helpers! - Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message from By Kyle Peron E-Mail: Magic4u02@aol.com I thought I would write this article as there seems to be so much information written on the subject of building your shows, working on routines, or how to be entertaining etc. However, there seems to be some topics which I find little information on. Perhaps it is because there is a feeling that people should already know how to do this or perhaps it is perceived that this is an unimportant task that is minor to the actual show itself. What I am referring to is a simple topic of how we select our helpers, greet them and treat them while on stage with us. I am sure we have all seen some performers over the years just simply point at a person and say, "um.... hmmm YOU!" This certainly is one way in which to select someone from the audience, but dare I say it certainly can't be the best. To me it just seems very rude to select anyone in that form or manner. Maybe some of us can even admit that we have done that in the past or even still do it today. I wonder what we as performers, through our own efforts, can do to make our shows better places for us and those we select to assist us. I think for me it all comes down to an old fashioned word "respect." While growing up I am sure each of us has been taught and told this word "respect" many times by teachers, parents, adults and elders. In other words, respect was taught to us as something we are supposed to do or show to another person. It is the way in which we act around them or treat them. We were told to show respect to gain respect back. But, somewhere between the age of us growing up and us becoming entertainers, some of us have forgotten that the word "respect" should be carried and brought with us when we go on stage. Do we forget or are we nervous or is there some kind of feeling that we are more important then the audience because it was they who came to see us? Not sure exactly what the reason may be and maybe some or all of these can apply to some degree. However, there seems to be this void a lot of us go through when we hit the stage to perform. We seem to leave "respect" backstage. However, if one really studies and cares about his or her performance, you will find a definition for respect that reads as follows: "a sense of worth or excellence of a person." You will notice that it does not mention age, sex, race or even social status. It simply means to treat everyone you meet with a sense of worth and value. I try and remember this whenever I pick someone to assist me on stage and how I treat them while they are assisting me. One thing I remember every time I go on stage is that I must treat my helpers as if they were a guest in my own home. How would I want to be treated? How would I want to be talked to? These are the things that go through my head as I work with my helpers. One of the things I see happening a lot is just how one entertainer goes about the simple process of selecting someone from the audience to assist us on stage. I am sure there are many different ways in which we all select our helpers for assisting us on stage. However, are there certain ways in which we do this that may not be showing the kind of respect that we should be showing? Certainly pointing to someone and shouting, "You" is not the most respectful of ways to get a person to come up and help. However, I have seen this done too many times. When I try and select someone from the audience, I want to show respect to them. I want to make them as comfortable as I can and I want to build their trust in me. I start building this trust by the simple way in which I select them. One thing I do is to try not to point if I can help it. I usually state the person by describing their location of where they are sitting as well as what they are wearing. I might call for the person through the use of the word "lady or gentlemen or boy or girl" Each of these words show respect to my audience. For me, this is better then pointing. I might state it like so, "Would the gentlemen in the 3rd row wearing the red tie like to come up and join me on stage?" Notice I am also asking their permission as opposed to demanding something from them. I am not being forceful but showing respect to them right from the start. I then remember to make sure this person feels comfortable as they are making their way to the stage area. This person is in the spotlight for this time. They may feel nervous and a bit scared of what is to come. They are not used to being on stage as we are and we must be tuned into this. Whenever a helper is heading toward the stage area I want to acknowledge them and show my respect to them. With this in mind, I say something like, "Would you please give her a nice round of applause as she makes her way up to the stage." This is a way for me to show my appreciation for them coming and assisting me. It builds a trust and respect before the person even meets me on stage and lets them know I thank them. I might also tell her to watch her step or even help her up the stairs. I also find it important to meet and greet them half way. I do not wait for them to always come to me. Having them walk to greet me mid stage almost has this feeling that I am more important than they are. I usually meet them at the stairs if I am working on a stage etc. and I help them to the location where I need them to be. I also do not just rush into the effect or routine as I see a lot of people do. I take the time to introduce myself to them find out their name and introduce them to the audience. This helps calm and relax them and gets them to realize that I want them up there and that we are going to have fun. Now many folks wonder if you should you use your assistant to get laughs. Well certainly you can and that is a part of magical entertainment. The difference is that if you are going to use your assistants for laughs that you build the trust with them up first and make certain that every step of the way you are telling them and reinforcing to them that you appreciate them and that you are just kidding. You might say something like, "I am just kidding Joe. Please give Joe here a round of applause for allowing me to pick on him for just a few moments." If I have done this well Joe will understand that I appreciate him being there and I thank him for helping me entertain the audience. After any effect with an assistant, I want them to be certain they realize that I really appreciate them helping me. I do this by always allowing them to get the biggest applause. I direct the applause to them instead of myself. They get the praise from the audience and all the applause that goes along with it. After the applause is over, I usually will whisper to them my own special thanks to them as I escort them and direct them down to their seat. Once again as they head towards their seat I allow the audience to applaud them one last time. One thing I remember a magician telling me a long time ago was this simple question, "What is a magician without an audience?". To me the answer is ..a pretty lonely person. It means to me that I am nothing without my audience. They are the reason why I perform and because of this I always want to show my respect to them. This is one reason why after every performance I do I take the moment to meet and greet the audience if I can. It is my chance to thank them for coming out and show that I appreciate them doing so. So how do you personally pick and greet your own helpers? Well that is something each of us has to figure out for ourselves, but I hope that what you learned as a kid will come back to you and that the word "respect" will be a part of how you handle it. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist Graphic Designer and Illustrator (Specializing in Logo creation) www.kyleandkellymagic.com -------------------------------------------- 6. S.A.M. On The Cutting Edge Of Providing World-Class Talent! -------------------------------------------- Message from George Schindler - Dean - the Society of American Magicians Exciting details on the new, fresh talent from Latin America and FISM and the Oceans 7 Cruise Show! R.G. Smith, Exec. Producer for Talent and Shows tells what awaits us on the featured Gala Shows -- and why the S.A.M. is on the cutting edge of providing World-Class Talent! Dallas S A M  Convention is July 4-5-6-7, 2007 Listen via your browser at www.samconvention.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------- 7. Nominacion Premios Magia 2006 -------------------------------------------- Message from Ted White Mejor Congreso Mágico 10º Convención De Pemar - Sábado 2 de Septiembre de 2006 - Rosario (Santa Fe) Argentina La Segunda Jornada Nacional de Magos Cómicos, 5 de Noviembre - 2006 - Posadas 2006 - Encuentro Nacional De Ilusionistas - Red de Magos Solidarios Posadas, Misiones 05, 06 y 07 de mayo del 2006 Torbellino Mágico Platense - Centro Màgico Platense - 5 de Noviembre de 2006 Mejor Conferencista Mágico Alex Nebur Jorge Faro Marcius Radagast Ulises Palomeque Mejor Actuación En Gala Gustavo Raley Latko Marcius y Matías Prats Senko Mejor Presentador De Galas Mágicas Daba Radagast Raley Revelación Mágica Fernando Arsenian Hugo Valenzuela Radagast Mejor Publicación Mágica. Boletin - Centro Mágico Platnse Emagic - E.M.A. - Director Alex Nebur Mystica - Bazar de Magia - Director Carlos Mauro Mejor Presentación En Internet www crissangel.com www dcopperfield.com www jansenson.com www mirkomagic.com Premio Internacional 1º Festival De Mujeres Mágicas De España - Festival de Mujeres Mágicas en el año 2006, en Barcelona España Atacamagica 2006 13 al 15 Octubre 2006 Festimagia 2006 - 5º Festimagia de 17 al 19 de Marzo de 2006. Flasoma 2006 - de 22 a 26 de Febrero de 2006 Federación Latinoamericana De Sociedades Mágicas Bogota Colombia 23rd FISM World Championship of Magic Stockholm, Sweden July 31. August 2006; 23rd Premio A La Creatividad Anton Corradin Antoninus Pius's Box Eduardo Kosuch - cualquier carta cualquier lugar Henry Evans - experto de la carta Marcius - Compacted Gustavo Raley - SuperCan Mejor Actuacion Magia Infantil Christian Magic Daniel Garber Hernic Mejor Actuacion En Hoteles, Restaurant Y Bares Adrian Guerra Gaston Quieto Uno y medio Rey Ben y Marduk Mejor Producción De Espectáculo Mágico Embrujo Resto Bar Magic Fest en Halloween Show de magia - Teatro Mágico - parque de la costa Mejor Espectáculo En Teatro Gala Pre FISM La magia de Emanuel - Teatro Broadway Magic fest en Halloween - Teatro Empire Show de magia - Teatro Mágico - parque de la costa Una cita con la magia Jansenson - P.Neruda - La Plaza Mejor Espacio Magico En Televisión Fuga a la Noche - Fantino - Adrian Guerra - America Tv Jugados Por Amor Canal 9 Rey Ben Emiliano Y Carla Mañanas informales - Canal 13 Por siempre Tango - Silvio Soldan - Canal 26 Mejor Aviso Publicitario Tematica Mágica Alcatel - jansenson y guerra Bayaspirina C - Bayer el mago Fantasio aviso emagic Mejor Actuación En Circo John Carlas Mr Eduards Circo Atlas Senko Circo del Sol Mejor Actuacion Mentalismo Daba Y Cielo Juan Ordeix Michel Mejor Actuacion De Close Up Hernan Maccagno Marcel Roberto Mansilla Mejor Actuación De Ventriloquo Juan Pablo y Toto Marcelo y Cirilo Carlos Mago y Cholito Mejor Actuación En Televisión Adrian Guerra Juan Ordeix Rey Ben Mejor Actuación En Teatro Carlos Barragan Emanuel Jansenson Mirko Mejor Actuacion En Escena Adrián Guerra Diego Prieto Latko Lipan Jr Mago Del Año Adrián Guerra Carlos Barragan Mirko Gran Premio De Honor A La Trayectoria Enrique "Kartis" Carpinetti Reconocimientos Especiales Carlos Raggi - Buenos Aires Mágico Criss Angel David Copperfield Jurado Pte: Hector Carrion Carlos Marroche Henry Evans Jose Luis Bory - Baiuka Ted White Thanks and happy New Year Magical regards Ted White Cometa Magico -------------------------------------------- 8. Dondrake And Procraft Illusions Announce Their Merger -------------------------------------------- Message from Don Drake The Magic of Dondrake, and Procraft Illusions are proud to announce their merger. From now on all the Black Art Illusions from Dondrake will be manufactured and ordered from Procraft Illusions.com. These are the fine people that make Walter Blaney's new 3001 suspension, so you KNOW they are very high quality indeed, since Walter recommends them. You can still order from the Dondrake website, as usual, and all the books, DVDs and Videos are still being sold by Dondrake as well as bolts and pieces of fabric. Once again I am proud to announce my merging with Procraft Illusions and I know they will build my black art with quality and love, just as I have been. I hate to admit it but they do a better job -:) Oh well, we all get older. Thanks and Happy New Year to all of you. You still order at http://blackartsecrets.com or if you wish http://procraftillusions.com ----------------- 9. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 134 Amusing Incidents and Some That Weren't! Scattered throughout the Saga, are many incidents, and I thought that it would be a good idea to put them into one chapter, plus a few others that haven't been included yet. They will be in no particular order; I'll simply write them as they come to mind. So, sit back and enjoy these various, sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre, episodes that invaded my Show Biz' life! Like the show in the Kawerau Hotel lounge room, with no dressing or changing room facilities. We borrowed some screens from the local hospital and voila - we had a makeshift dressing room. At one point when we were changing, a female voice loudly inquired: "HEY, YOU FELLA'S IN THERE, IS IT A BOY OR GIRL?" The crowd roared! The screens had come from the - MATERNITY WARD! --------- Then there was the night of the party, way back in the early sixties, when the party host who, on hearing that I could swallow swords, roared "Bullshit" and produced a large butcher's sheath full of knives. He worked at the Westfield freezing works. "Let's see you swallow this," he said, brandishing a very large, very lethal knife. I declined, explaining that it wasn't possible to swallow an object with razor sharp edges. "How about this then" he snarled, as he pulled out a very long sharpening steel. "No worries" I said, taking it from him, and gulping it down. That was no problem, but pulling it out again was - the damn thing nearly turned my oesophagus inside out! I had forgotten about the raised spiral edging, which is sharp. Mind you, I was pretty drunk at the time. Never again! ---------- During the hypnotism show one night, a beautifully attired young lady toppled out of her chair when she 'went to sleep', landing on the floor with her legs facing the audience. Unfortunately, her dress had ridden up and, for all to see, were her panties - sporting a very large hole in the most inappropriate position - Three holes in one, as it where! ---------- Or the young lad who, dressed in his Scout uniform, 'surreptitiously' went around, under his own volition - picking the other 'subjects' pockets after they had (by hypnotic suggestion), apparently 'won a bundle' at the races! His mother and father (the Scout Captain) were very red faced! --------- Then there was another hypnotized young fellow who, like everyone else, was supposed to have been 'kissing and cuddling' an imaginary girl (or man, depending on their particular gender), when an equally imaginary train entered a tunnel and the carriage lights failed to come on. He had extended the first two fingers of his right hand and was giving his imaginary 'beauty' a 'good seeing to'! Veronica wanted to know what he was doing. Dave McKee told her - she blushed! All together now, "Ahhhhh"! -------- The things one does to prove a point! Like the time in a coffee lounge one night, following a show at the Rotorua Sound Shell. I swallowed a long handled teaspoon - because a sceptic, who had been to the show, recognised me and said that my swords folded up. The handle of the spoon went down alright, but I didn't figure on the whole thing disappearing down my gullet! The bowl of the spoon shot out of my fingers like a pip; It was covered in cream. I had nearly pulled it out again when some good 'Samaritan' decided to help? - By giving me a hefty slap on the back! The bloody spoon shot back down again! I was most fortunate in that I didn't choke to death! ---------  What is not such a good idea, utterly stupid in fact, is spending the whole day sunbathing on a beach and, finishing up looking like a freshly cooked lobster - as I did in Gisborne, way back in the 'Dark Ages'; Then having to do a show later that night, which entailed among other things, laying on a bed of nails. It was okay during my performance - I was using self - hypnosis, but afterwards? OUCH! -------- Vanishing a lit, full length king size cigarette (You know - by the usual method) in a ladies rather expensive evening gown, which has a metallic thread running thro' it is, most definitely, not a good idea. The heat tends to make 'things' melt somewhat. Most embarrassing, even if there is No Evidence, as to where the 'body' is buried! Page 135 Performing for the 'Homai Institute for the Blind' was interesting to say the least. Everything was visual, performed to music - no patter, and you couldn't cheat as every single move was being described to the letter so, no mistakes allowed either! Glad I didn't pass wind. How would they have described that? Then again, they wouldn't really have needed to, would they! I've just heard the 'Seekers' on the radio singing 'Blowing in The Wind', and the thought just kinda popped into my head! -------- Many years ago, I came up with the bright idea of getting a member of the audience to pull the sword out after I had swallowed it - to dispel any ideas that it folded up. Standing on a chair beside me, they would be instructed to pull the sword straight up and out, at a given signal. Well that was the plan. HA! To be fair, it worked great for a couple of shows then 'Bloody Murphy' stuck his oar in! We were performing at a Hotel that catered for an International clientele, and a Japanese tourist volunteered! We will never know if he simply misunderstood the instructions, or whether he actually thought that Sword Swallowing was faked, and therefore would not cause me any harm. When Veronica gave him the OKAY, to pull the sword OUT, he instead whacked the top of it, HARD - which drove it even further down my throat! Luckily, because I my head was bent back, I saw his hand go up and instinctively 'knew' what was about to happen and bent my knees to lower my height. When you've got 22 inches of SOLID STEEL inside of you, which has actually entered your stomach, you cannot bend over or twist, well you can, if you want to die! It was fortunate that my eyes were open - otherwise several inches of the sword would have protruded from my rear end! I could then have been employed to pick up papers and rubbish in Parks, with my 'built-in - rubbish stick/spike'! What a bum job that would be! --------- When working on a cruise ship, it's not a bad idea to check out the weather before starting a Close - Up magic session, especially if you intend to perform the 'Cups and Balls'! All was well when I started my afternoon session to a packed lounge bar audience. I was part way through my cups and balls routine when the ship started rolling in a heavy swell, even with the stabilisers out. An intricate cups and balls routine is difficult enough under normal circumstances, but when the balls are rolling all over the place - it sure does test your skills somewhat! The crowd kindly applauded the magician at the finish. I applauded the juggler! It just so happens that on that fateful day, Veronica decided to video the proceedings, so I have a permanent record of that rather difficult cups and balls magic/juggling session - I almost get seasick, whenever I watch it! ------------- Walking along a street in Madang, Papua New Guinea, we came across a long line of natives, all with red teeth, including the kids - from the beetle nuts they constantly chewed. They were seated along the footpath, plying their wares for the tourists. It was the usual sort of stuff: shell necklaces, bangles, colourful skirts and trousers, sharks teeth and various carved wooden objects like dolphins etc. One chap was selling wooden salt and peppershakers of various sizes and lengths BUT, they were all in the unmistakable shape of a man's penis! Now me being me, I just couldn't help myself. Squatting down in front of the vendor, I reached down to the base of the biggest set that he had on display and said: "Very nice, but there's something missing", and produced two, red sponge balls! His eyes nearly fell out of his head, especially when I apparently pocketed them and then 'produced' two more, from another set of those rather rude objects. He asked if he could look at one, and gingerly examined it. When I started doing some vanishes and transpositions with them, all the other natives within the vicinity began yelling with excitement at this 'MAGIC'! To them, what they were witnessing was the REAL THING! The chap with the shakers made it quite plain that he wished to bargain with me. He wanted my sponge balls. It was they, not me that had the 'MAGIC POWER'! Of course I wouldn't part with them so, he reached into a large bag and pulled out what was, quite obviously, the pride and joy of his collection - I mean - they were two of the biggest salt and pepper shakers I've ever seen, again in the shape of a Male.! It would have taken 'kilograms', to have filled those massive beasts up. He almost cried when I said NO and, to add insult to injury, we didn't buy anything from him! Well C'mon, he and his nearby stallholder friends had, after all, been right royally entertained, FOR FREE! -------------------------------------------- 10. 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) -------------------------------------------- 11. 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