Magic New Zealand® E-zine

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* Magic New Zealand®
* Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment Ltd (New Zealand)
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Issue Number: #1565
Date: Sunday 12th April 2020
Editor: Alan Watson QSM
www.watson.co.nz
E-mail: editor@magicnewzealand.com
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Hi here is the latest news
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1. Editor's Message
2. Sad News From New York Magician Bill Gleason
3. Magic Bytes Is Publishing 'Smoke & Mirrors VR'
4. Coronovirus: Magician Dynamo 'Feeling Better'
5. Celebrate Mark Wilson's 91st Birthday
6. Magicians Talking Magic
7. May Potter & Potter Auctions
8. Dream Silver - John Carey #76
9. Ongoing Adventures Of Romany! #4
10. Bets To Win Big Bucks
11. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
12. E-zine Archives
13. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice

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1. Editor's Message
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If you would like to read the Magic New Zealand e-zine in HTML format
go to: magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2020-Jan-to-Dec-2020/1565-Apr12-2020.html

If you would like to write a regular column for Magic New Zealand or have some magic news drop me a line:
Editor@MagicNewZealand.com

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2. Sad News From New York Magician Bill Gleason
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Report from the Epicenter By Bill Gleason

Tuesday April 7th 2020

This is the year of the rat - or more precisely Plague Carrying Rat! I am sitting here in Nassau County New York, the epicenter of COVID 19. The number of sick for New York passed 138,836 today. The death toll today is over 5489 for New York, 387,547 for America, and 1,414,738 for the World. So far only eight of them are friends and now an almost unending line of former co-workers and first responders. Dozens of my friends are sick, many are in the hospital and some of them on vents, and some of them will not survive.

The neighbors behind me are both Customs Agents. Last Saturday night the whole family was taken away to the hospital and the house was quarantined. Sunday a NYPD Lieutenant on my block was taken to the hospital and his wife and 3 sons were told to stay inside in a self-quarantine. Stores that were open like the laundry mat now have a Department of Health sticker on the door Closed due to COV - SARS - 2. The 7-11 in my neighborhood is now locked up and paper covers the windows, the owner died of COVID 19 2 days ago.

The supermarket shelves are poorly stocked, some items ran out a month ago and have never been restocked, like toilet paper and disinfectant. For the first time in 50 years there is no rush hour, sometimes there are no cars at all. Over a million people on Long Island and after 7 pm the whole place gets deadly quiet. Planes use to pass overhead about every 2 minutes heading into or out of Kennedy or LaGuardia, now we can go hours and sometimes days without a single plane. No meetings, no church, no wakes, no funerals, No magic, life and society on pause.

The magic clubs have their meetings online, but everyone is online and depending on your company and how many of your neighbors have the same service. You either can't connect or choppy video, even streaming movies break up until the kids go to bed late at night. All the kids are home schooled or online because the schools have been closed for the last month and probably will be for the rest of the school year. The parks are closed, all the non-essential businesses are closed, work from home for those that can. For the most part it is stay at home unless you have somewhere you have to go.

The heroes fall Police officers, EMTs, Nurses, Doctors and so many. The daily briefings from the NYC Mayor, and the three area Governors, and the President, followed by the newscasts with the numbers of sick and dead numb everyone. Leaving you to wonder if the best of us are falling what chance do I have, or my family? Social distancing, 6 feet apart seemed silly at first, now it's stay away because you could kill me.

The COVID 19 makes a person infectious in a day; with no symptoms, it can take up to 10 days to show symptoms and the person to know they have it. Now we have learned that some of the infectious will never show symptoms. A lot of people can get exposed in that time. That is why the signs on the Highway and the ads in the newspaper say Stay inside and Stay alive - Flatten the curve - Stop the spread. Now everyone knows someone who is sick and almost everyone knows of someone who has died. The magic community is not immune we have members who are sick, and ones who are hospitalized, some on vents.

Me I have a job that I must do, I have no choice but to go out. I take precautions I wash my hands and I wear a mask. I pay close attention to my surroundings; I do the social distancing and I cover my cough. I stay away from people who don't. I use hand sanitizer and I leave my shoes outside until I clean them. I open boxes that are shipped to me outside with gloves on and dispose of the boxes. I follow CDC guidelines. I wait for the day that there is a workable cure, or a vaccine and life can return to normal. Until then I know, and my docs agree, if I get this virus I will die. This is real! COVID 19 has already killed my friends and sickened so many more. Let the Doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the EMT's, and the volunteers and everyone else involved be the magicians for the moment saving lives and make a cure appear. Be Safe and wear a mask!

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3. Magic Bytes Is Publishing 'Smoke & Mirrors VR'
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Article forwarded by James R Laudermilk

Magic Bytes

We're excited to announce, that Magic Bytes will be publishing James Laudermilk's upcoming Virtual Reality experience 'Smoke & Mirrors VR' for Oculus Rift and other VR headsets! You are the Magician and experience what it is like to perform on different stages and create unbelievable illusions. This magical VR experience also has a museum of magicians to preserve the history of magic which features illusionists like The Award Winning Queens Service Medal Magician, Alan Watson, Magic Castle Magician Misty Lee, Magicians Kyle & Misty, Houdini and even Martinka's famous magic shop where the Society of American Magicians was founded in 1902. The game was already featured in Indie Gamer Magazine, Vanish Magic Magazine and Cucalorus Film Festival in North Carolina.

James is a 19-year Army Veteran and Iraq War veteran. After beating Cancer in 2016, he taught himself programming in Unity. He also started developing his own game 'Smoke and Mirrors VR' when he was selected for Oculus Launch Pad 2018 which is ran and owned by Facebook. Virtual Reality is helping James with his diagnosed PTSD. Magic Bytes CEO & Founder Thomas Meiertoberens visited James at his home near Atlanta to meet him in person, experience his passion for new technologies, learn more about his latest VR animation tools and to discuss details of his magical VR game. It's an honor to have James on our team.

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4. Coronovirus: Magician Dynamo 'Feeling Better'
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Article forwarded by Jason Phillips (UK)
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BBC News

Magician Dynamo has said he is now feeling "much better", having been struck down with coronovirus last week.

In a Twitter video, the 37-year-old TV showman thanked his fans for their support over the weekend.
Dynamo tested positive for the virus after having a persistent cough and "aches and pains" last week.

He said he hoped magic would be a "little bit of escapism" for people self-isolating, and praised NHS staff working on the pandemic front line.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-52189188

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5. Celebrate Mark Wilson's 91st Birthday
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Message by Greg Wilson (US)

Celebrate Mark Wilson's 91st Birthday in an international way on Facebook Live! This Saturday, April 11th, from 4pm to 5pm Los Angeles Time (PDT, UTC-07:00).

https://facebook.com/MarkWilsonMagic

Mark and Nani will be live online for this wonderful interactive celebration of Mark's birthday. It's the next best way to be there, since we can't all gather in-person... let's do it ONLINE! Their son, Greg Wilson, is setting up the event in cooperation with the Magic Castle's Chair of the Board of Trustees, Gay Blackstone, and GM, Joe Furlow. Let's all enjoy sharing our love of magic with the man that has pioneered and achieved so much in so many different fields of the art. A true living legend. We are excited to see you all soon.

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6. Magicians Talking Magic
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David Copperfield sends a message of thanks with his dog Rosie from the MGM.

We announce this week's guests for a new late-night show, Late Night Magic Touch with Michael Paul. This week features Jeff Hobson, Matt Marcy & Alex Ramon. - Late Night Magic Touch /w Michael Paul Guests Announced - This week guests: Jeff Hobson, Matt Marcy & Alex Ramon - David Copperfield and Rosie - Join Conjuring Community for free Larry Wilmore lecture - Magician Jeff Peterson is still stuck at sea - Daily Magic Sound Bites with David Penn and more!

Late Night: https://magicianmasterclass.com/late

Pizza Party: https://magicianmasterclass.com/pizza

Magic Headlines: https://magicianmasterclass.com/live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCbUb5nIAY

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7. May Potter & Potter Auctions
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Our May auction features a strong selection of Houdiniana - including rare postcards, signed photographs, early letters, programs, and memorabilia. Other highlights include ephemera from the careers of Chung Ling Soo, Jose Frakson, and Harry Kellar. Memorabilia and magic tricks from the career of Johnny Thompson, a/k/a The Great Tomsoni, will round out the sale.

Place your bids now, or phone bid on auction day at potterauctions.com.

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8. Dream Silver - John Carey #76
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Message by John Carey (UK)
http://www.johncareymagic.co.uk/

"Hi Guys. Did you know that sometimes as a magician you get so wrapped up in your work you even have dreams about it?! It's true! Just the other night I had a dream about working in a beautiful hotel just like this one, and for people who looked remarkably like you. In that
dream I took out a small leather coin purse and told you that before I came to the hotel there were five silver coins inside it, but before starting to perform I took some away. I also told you I hadn't removed all five coins, but had taken out at least one. I asked you Sarah how many your
intuition had told you I had removed and you said? Two coins? That's exactly what you said in my dream! I then opened the purse and tipped out the contents. And there you are. You decided I had removed two coins, leaving just one, two, three silver coins. I guess dreams really can come true!"

So I thought it wise to give you my script before discussing the method here for this little piece of close-up Mentalism. Of course please feel free, in fact I encourage you, to change it to suit your own personality. All you require is a small leather coin purse and four identical silver coins of whatever currency applicable to you. Drop two coins inside the purse and finger palm the other two, one in each hand and you're set. Bring the purse out and display it at the fingertips of your palm down right hand. The Ramsay subtlety conceals the finger palmed coin nicely. Segue into your dream presentation and then ask your helper how many of the five coins does she intuit you removed?

Let's deal with the three possibilities that will arise: If the spectator says you removed three of the silver coins, simply hand her the purse and ask her to open it and tip out the two coins inside and complete the mystery. If she says however that she believes you removed two coins, leaving three inside, open the purse in the right hand and tip out the contents into your left hand, allowing the coins to coalesce with the finger palmed coin and reveal three coins. Finally, if she says you removed just one coin once more open the purse in the right hand, but this time as you tip out the coins into your left hand allow the coin in right hand finger to secretly drop with those coins, allowing you to show four coins remaining. Congratulate your helper on her uncanny powers of intuition and segue into your next piece.

Notes:

Of course if you think about it, the script is a subtle and nicer way of asking someone to think of a number between one and five? Without the presentation the effect would be kind of bland. Have fun with it

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9. Ongoing Adventures Of Romany! #4
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Message by Romany Romany (UK)

Love & Magic In The Time Of Corona

No sooner had I said hello and told you about my adventure of performing what was to be my last show against a magical backdrop of a Fijian ocean, palm trees and bright stars in a black sky, that I disappeared!

We didn't know that the world was going to change, did we?!

I'm writing to you from a Buddhist monastery in England. I've been cutting back huge bushes all day in the Temple garden, carting overflowing wheelbarrows to the forest. I've not worn make-up for three weeks, my costumes and magic are starting to collect dust in a small cottage I've rented nearby that I can't return to because I'm locked in a monastery. You honestly couldn't make it up.

And why a monastery?

It's a long story but in a nutshell, back in Feb, I'd planned to rent a little cottage just outside a Buddhist centre in the north of England where my husband now lives. I planned to Air BnB my house in Brighton but keep my magic theatre and studio there as a base, travel more than ever with shows and visit my chap occasionally. I went to perform in Fiji. When I came back, the virus hit. Showbiz stopped. Suddenly in one week, I had no income and two houses to pay for!

I quickly realised that I needed to abandon my beautiful magic studio and theatre so that the whole house could be rented to pay bills. For five days, I tore down red velvet curtains, spotlights, and backdrops. Threw the chairs and boxes of magic into the garage. Hired a decorator to make the studio neutral with white walls and new curtains. With my Divamobile crammed with magic and possessions, I sped out of Brighton just days before lockdown.

The monks were worried I might bring the virus back from Brighton, so I took a two week quarantine in my newly rented cottage. Time to unpack and create a new little magic room, shelves of books I have yet to read, a handy little building in the backyard for props.

It was strange to spend two weeks alone. So much time.

Lockdown was announced and I had another choice, stay in my lovely little cottage but alone, or move to the monastery for the duration and be with my husband.

So now I'm here. 100 monks, nuns, lay people, all keeping two metres apart. No-one in or out. I'm sharing my husband's small room in a cottage with 3 monks. He keeps telling me to be quiet! I have a few boxes of new magic and books in my van that I'll play with when I have a free minute. The grounds are beautiful and apparently I'm now head gardener of the Temple gardens. I'll be working as a volunteer five days a week.

A new life in a new world. For a while at least.

Because everything is magic and everything changes. That's what I've been telling my audiences for years. It's true. For now, it feels like a little holiday from showbiz. Hopefully, it's not going to be for long.

Please keep well and safe, what is most important is to be with the people you love.

You can read more about Romany's magical adventures in her inspiring memoir Spun Into Gold - The Secret Life of a Female Magician, available worldwide and as an audiobook.

Book Depository Free Shipping bit.ly/2ONMFvB
Amazon UK bit.ly/2kqB4G6
Amazon USA amzn.to/2m3XT2J
Audible adbl.co/2qROlu5

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10. Bets To Win Big Bucks
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Message by Jim Tyler (US)

Diamond Jim Tyler in association with Dover Publications has released his latest book titled Bar Bets To Win Big Bucks. The subtitle is Money-making Tricks and Brainteasers. The book contains 67 bar bets, lots of illustrations, 128 pages and a foreword by Martin Gardner.
It retails for $10 and is available on his website at http://djtyler.com/product/barbets-bigbucks/
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11. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
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Written by the late Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)

Noumea - The 'Royal Touch' - Champagne above the clouds

Following 'The Perfect Storm' calamity in Tahiti, my contract with Hubert Wayliff should have finished on December 22nd - leaving Tahiti on the 23rd and returning via a U.T.A. Direct flight (French airlines) back home to New Zealand. According to the stamps in my passport, which doesn't lie, I actually left on Friday the 26th December and landed at Nadi international airport, Fiji, on Saturday 27th at 12:40pm, then transferred to a Flight that took me to New Caledonia, arriving there at 2:15pm - stayed for four days before leaving on January 1st for home - Auckland, New Zealand.

I had forgotten that Hubert had slotted in three shows at the last minute to make up for the three that he had cancelled after 'The Perfect Storm' nightmare. He had also arranged, with GILBERT THONG, famous local entrepreneur in New Caledonia, for me to work two or three nights at
Gilbert's nightclub, the 'Tahiti Cabaret' in Noumea and also one performance at the Chateau Royal, the finest hotel in New Caledonia, for New Year's Eve. This came about partly because the story of the near-disastrous fishing fiasco in Tahiti had also hit the newspapers in New Caledonia and 'The Amazing ORCHANTE' was well known in New Caledonia during those years, from previous club and theatre engagements that I had completed there, for Gilbert.

It had been arranged that I was to stay at the Chateau Royal Hotel for the night of the 31st December/1st January - but someone had made a monumental cock-up. The entire hotel was completely booked out for that night's festivities - for the well-off, rich and famous of New Caledonia, the 'Chateau' was the place to be, and be seen, on New year's Eve!

The management was highly embarrassed - their international 'star' entertainer was without a room and bed. The 'powers that be' huddled together in a corner and after much loud whispering in French, and a fair amount of arm and hand waving, the manager came up to me and said "we have a rather special room for you, please follow me". We walked out of the hotel foyer, along a path, until we came to another building a short distance from the hotel proper. The first thing that struck me was the front door - it was magnificent - must have cost a fortune - but it was nothing compared to what met my eyes when we got inside. The manager said "this, Mr Orchard, is the
royal suite, it is reserved for royal personages and visiting dignitaries such as the President of France -it is the only accommodation we have available to offer you, please enjoy and except my apologies".

Enjoy! Everywhere I looked, all that was metallic, was - Gold! The doorknobs, cupboard handles - anything that had a handle - Gold. In the bathroom the taps on the washbasins (there were two), and bath, were gold as were all the fittings in the shower - the toilet roll holder, the handle of
the toilet brush, even the Holder for the toilet brush was, gold - the toilet/lavatory/ bog, was also - gold! You have absolutely no idea how difficult it was, to do 'the necessary' into such opulence! The luxurious furnishings were richly comfortable, armchairs sumptuous beyond belief as was the enormous four-poster bed. The Chateau Royal was bought some years later by the 'Club Med' group, which in my opinion greatly lowered the tone of this once elegant hotel of supreme excellence.

Later that evening, after my show had finished, I headed for the bar and as usual, the Close-up Magic started - the show after the show. I wound-up with the U.T.A. flight crew, including the pilot and co-pilot (all French) of the aircraft that was flying out to New Zealand the following day - they had come down to see the New Year in. It wasn't long before someone asked me if
I was staying in the hotel and when I said "well actually, I'm in the Royal Suite," it kind of stopped the conversation - there was stunned silence until somebody said "BULLSHIT, let's take a look then"!

Now, I'm well aware of the rules and regulations today, in regards to alcohol and flight crews, particularly pilots but this was 1969/1st January 1970 - 31 years ago, and perhaps things were a bit more relaxed then, I wouldn't know, but the full complement of that U.T.A. flight finished up in my 'suite 'along with God knows who else - the party finished up sometime after five in there morning!

I was at the airport at 10 o'clock in the morning, checking in for my flight back home, take-off 11 am. When I got on board you wouldn't think that six hours earlier those air hostesses had been whooping it up big-time, in my suite - all smiles, charm and grace with "hi Tommy, How's tricks" in their delightful French accents, they sure looked a lot better than I felt. About 30 minutes into the flight one of the hostesses came up to me and said that the pilots wanted to know if I would like to join them on the flight deck - "yes please!" When I got up there it was handshakes all round with a "loved your Room, great party - what are you drinking - champagne sound OK to you?"

I've performed magic in some strange places, but spending the entire flight in the cockpit of a French Caravelle Airliner, sipping champagne and entertaining the pilots with close-up magic, and the flight crew who took turns to 'pop in' onto the flight deck, the whole way from New Caledonia to New Zealand, takes some beating.

One of the most beautiful sights that I have seen in my lifetime was from the cockpit of that French airliner - as we approached the North Cape, top end of the north island of New Zealand. It was the most incredibly beautiful, intense velvety green, as far as you could see, from 20,000 ft up. That view, as seen from the cockpit of an aeroplane, really is something - Truly Magical!
Post Script:

After nearly losing my life only two weeks previously, from which I was still recovering, the 'Royal Touch' and 'Mile High' Champagne, was just what a suffering soul needed - perhaps there really is an omnipotent being, after all!

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12. E-zine Archives
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Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e- zine go to:
www.magicnewzealand.com

Click on the red button centre right "Archives"

When you enter the archive the e- zines are in issue order in folders for each year and are Coded, e.g. 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999)

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13. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
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Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday.

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