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: #1581
Date: Sunday 2nd August 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. Vanish Magic Magazine August 2020
3. Massive News Update From Cyber Magic Superstar
4. IMPORTANT FISM-North America ANNOUNCEMENT
5. Dan Witkowski On The Magic Word Podcast
6. Magic & Mystery School Events
7. Bullet Proof… John Carey #89
8. Ongoing Adventures Of Romany! #19
9. The Baseball Shuffle By Chris Wardle
10. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
11. E-zine Archives
12. 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: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2020-Jan-to-Dec-2020/1581-Aug02-2020.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. Vanish Magic Magazine August 2020
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Message by Paul Romhany - Editor Vanish Magazine

The worlds' largest circulated magic magazine both printed and digital.
Free digital copy from www.vanishmagazine.com

Feature Stories - Double Cover

Marvin Berglas - Find out how Marvin Berglas continues to run his magic company during these difficult times as he shares business secrets that will help anybody who wants longevity in this business.

Tribute to Marvyn Roy - a wonderful tribute by Nick Lewin and Murray with photos supplied by Mike Caveney to the legendary Mr. Electric Marvyn Roy.

I Can't Breathe - Kevin Beathea continues his series on Black Lives Matter and how it relates to magicians. Stories shared by Puck, Steven Palmore and Eric Anderson.

A Squib In The World - Guest contributor Austin Dumm who talks about breaking down isolation.

Product Highlight - Wieser Wallet by Danny Weiser - this has become the best-selling magic wallet in the past few years - find out all about it.

Top Product Award - As we slowly release our yearly awards we announce the first recipient for Top Product - Hooked by Ruben Vilagrand.

Women In Magic - This edition we look at Connie Boyd - who has been involved in magic for 30 years.

How To See A Hypercube? Joe Ledoux shares his journey on this amazing cube.

Hollie England - Peter Paxx interviews Hollie England from Tartu, Estonia.

The Magiteatern - Thomas L. Swieciak looks at a small theatre of illusion, hidden in the little town of Motala, Sweden featuring the Staaf family.

Tricks - Gregory Wilson - Hostile Take Over. Louie Foxx - Cinnamon Extract. Kelvin Ng - The Chicago Opener Complete.

Magic Is Education by Jeff Christensen - Here comes the Judge!

Magical Wisdom - McBride School of Magic continues its series with focus on Daryl Rogers.

Reviews - Ten items including The Evolution Project, Bolted, AnyWeb, Animated Card in Balloon, Super Latex Cola Drink, Isolated, Virtual Triumph, Virout Of This World, Taking A Stab and Chase.

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3. Massive News Update From Cyber Magic Superstar
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Message by Sam Power (Australia)
The CEO of Big Deal Touring, the same guy responsible for David Copperfield's last multi-million dollar arena tour in Australia, is actively looking through the Cyber Magic Superstar video entries in search of the best 20 artists for a worldwide live tour in 2021. This is one of the biggest showbiz opportunities in the magic world today.

Cyber Magic Superstar is the world's biggest online magic competition where on person will win US$10,000 cash.

You don't need to be the world's best magician to win...
You just need an awesome video that's fun to watch.

Every single person who enters, goes into the draw to be randomly selected to win incredible prizes all throughout the competition consisting of the hottest new magic items on the market thanks to Murphy's Magic Supplies.

The competition is judged by three of the best magicians on the planet, Shin Lim, Franz Harary and Max Maven and will raise money for GetUsPPE.Org to provide gear to healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information about the tour opportunity click here: https://bit.ly/BigDealTouringOpp
For more information about Cyber Magic Superstar click here: www.cybermagicsuperstar.com
Competition & Media Enquiries: competition@cybermagicsuperstar.com

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4. IMPORTANT FISM-North America ANNOUNCEMENT
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Message by Joan Caesar (Canada)

There will be 3 competitions in July 2021, in Quebec City!

We are pleased to announce that the FISM North American Championship of Magic will take place July 28-31, 2021*, in Quebec City. To be eligible, you must meet these two criteria: be a resident of Canada or the United States and be an active member of one of the 5 North American Associations recognized by FISM: AMA, CAM, CMQ, IBM or SAM

The Canadian Championship of Magic 2021 will take place at the same time, for Canadian magicians who are members in good standing of the CAM.

Finally, a new competition will also be presented during the convention, the Concours International de magie Junior "Michel Cailloux" for young magicians aged 17 and under, from Canada or internationally. More information will be available in September 2020 on our web site www.fismna2021.com.We look forward to seeing you again in Quebec in 2021!

Renée-Claude Auclair President of the organizing committee

* If the COVID-19 situation permits
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5. Dan Witkowski On The Magic Word Podcast
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Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star

This week's episode of The Magic Word Podcast spotlights one of the marketing geniuses who is not as heralded through the halls of magic as he should be. Dan Witkowski has had his share of successes with a small bit of notoriety observed in some magic magazines. Dan is the owner and founder of MagicCom, a marketing company that develops campaigns for the world.

He is not limited to any one sector as his ideas and creativity have touched multiple industry segments from pharmaceuticals to tech and from conglomerates like General Mills to Coca-Cola. And he has also developed and produced ideas for the White House and the NFL. In fact, two consecutive Super Bowl "magic themed" halftime shows were created and produced by Dan and MagicCom. And if you have ever seen magic tricks on the backs of cereal boxes in the past few decades, the odds are that it was his innovations.

You can listen to the podcast chat with Dan wherever you get your podcasts. But for more content including videos, photos and the blog, then please be sure to visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/570-dan-witkowski And don't forget to subscribe to the podletter and get ready for an international contest to begin next week. Be among the first to enter by subscribing to the podletter now.

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6. Magic & Mystery School Events
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Message by Jeff McBride (US)

August, 2020 - Magic & Mystery School Events

1-22 - The Core Act with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online
1 - Core Act 1 - Card Magic Mastery with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online
6 - Sisters of Mystery with Abigail McBride - LIVE Online
8 - Core Act 2 - Silk Magic Sensations with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online
15- Core Act 3 - Rope Magic Revelations with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online
22 - Core Act 4 - Manipulation Masterpieces with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online

September, 2020 - Magic & Mystery School Events

5, 12, 19 & 26 - Four Faces of Magic with Jeff McBride - LIVE Online
15-17 - Magic for Speakers and Presenters with Jeff McBride & Tobias Beckwith

https://www.magicalwisdom.com/

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7. Bullet Proof… John Carey #89
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Message by John Carey (UK)
http://www.johncareymagic.co.uk/

Dai Vernon's Trick That Cannot Be Explained is truly an all-time classic. A reputation can be made with just this effect alone. I've always loved it because it makes you think. It's never the same which makes it both stimulating and fun. Recently a friend asked me for a version that was stress free. Below is my bullet proof solution, which relies on being casual and bold. Let's walk through it together...

From a shuffled deck in use casually ribbon spread the deck face up across the table as you say you will remove the Jokers. Do so, using this time honored ruse to secretly remember the top card of the deck. Let's say it's the Three of Hearts. Turn the deck face down and give it a riffle
shuffle, retaining the 3H on top. Execute any convincing false cut and then casually deal the top card aside face down. Do not refer to it as anything in particular. Just do it and let their minds start wondering...

Flip the deck face up as you mention you will get a few of the group to shuffle cards. Hand to hand spread about a third of the deck and covertly be on the lookout for the mate of the 3H - the 3D. Place that third of the deck in front of a helper. Repeat this with a second spectator, placing a
third in front of them, noting if the 3D is in that packet, if it wasn't in the first packet. Finally place the remaining third of the deck in front of another spectator and then request that they each shuffle their cards in unison. Then have them each table their packets face down. You know which spectator has the packet with the mate in it and yet everything seems so fair...

"There are many things with cards that magicians do." As you say this, pick up the packet with the mate in it and flip it face up into dealing grip. Casually spread the cards with the faces neck-tied slightly towards you. "Some take a card out like this as a sort of prediction. But we won't do
that." As you say this you sight the 3D and separate the spread at it so that it becomes the lower card of the right hand spread. The left hand pushes off the face card of its spread and thumbs it off face down onto the table.

Bring both hands back together, but casually place the right hands cards beneath the left hands cards, secretly cutting the packet. Flip the packet face down, pick up the card from the table and push it back into the packet. Table this packet that now secretly has the 3D on top.

"In fact I will do nothing!" Say this without smiling! "Would you please sir take the top card of each packet and mix those three cards up and then lay them out in a face down row?" We will now bring the trick home using a classical one card from three equivoque or magicians choice:

Ask a helper to turn one of the three tabled cards face up with their left hand. If it is the 3D, you simply pick up the other two cards and drop them face down onto the deck and bring home the perfect matching effect with the mystery card set aside at the start. However if the card they turn over is an X card simply ask them to turn over another card with their right hand. If that's an X card too then casually pick the two face up cards up and discard on top of the deck as you draw attention to the card that nobody has seen.

Then finish as above. If the second card they turn face up is the 3D, fear not.

Casually drop the face down card on top of the deck and ask the spectator to simply hand you one of the two cards in view, as you extend a palm up hand.

If they hand you the X card, just drop it on top of the deck and finish your mystery. But if they hand you the 3D you interpret this as the card 'they wanted you to have'. Have them discard the other card. Whatever scenario arises, there is zero pressure and the effect always looks the same from an audience perspective. Build up and remind your audience of the conditions, their shuffles and the seeming fairness of everything.

Talk about how every card in the deck has a mate. Verbally give examples.

Then reveal a perfect match and a little miracle!

Notes:

It goes without saying that if you're target card just happens to be on either the face or on top of the packet, you do nothing! If it's on the face then table that packet face up and turn the other two packets face up as well. Take off the face card of each packet and continue as before. If it's
already on top then table the packet face down and have the top card of each packet mixed etc. etc...

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8. Ongoing Adventures Of Romany! #19
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Message by Romany (UK)

Hello from my Magic Cottage.

The sun is shining and I'm just about to walk barefoot across the beach to the monastery because the nuns have cooked Chana Saag Masala for lunch. Yum.

Good news is that I actually learnt a new magic trick yesterday! ("Casino Melts" by Richard Pinner based on Herbert Milton's "Milton's Aces" ) I've had it in the drawer for 23 years! Plus I have a Zoom call this afternoon with a producer for an interesting new magic project. My interest in magic is coming back even if there still aren't any gigs to be had. Phew!

Yesterday, I posted on my Facebook page the second video of the doctors calling themselves, America Frontline Doctors, talking about the merits of Hydroxychloroquine re Covid. Their first video was taken down by Facebook, YouTube and Twitter after being viewed by 20 million people. So they made another, which has also now been taken down in an interesting act of censorship.

I don't want to get into a debate about the merits of what they say and I wouldn't recommend that you even Google, unless you want to go down the rabbit hole and waste hours as I did.

What does interest me as a magician, is how it is so difficult these days to discern what is true and what is propaganda or scam.

What interests me about their video, is that it certainly looked real.

If it isn't, then bravo, they did a better job than any magician.

I'm also fascinated about how sure people are that what they believe is true, and then how angry they get to defend their position.

To be honest, I haven't dared look at the comments on my page since I dislike conflict and from the brief glimpse I took, people have gone in guns drawn. I wish I hadn't bothered.

However, thinking about all of this has given me a routine for that card trick I learnt yesterday.

As magicians we understand how difficult it is to distinguish what is true from what is not. What if people were to accept that 'truth' is an elusive concept? What if we could understand that our opinion is based on the shifting sands of certain facts in a certain snapshot of time?

What if we remembered that whatever side of politics or opinion we have, what we really want is to be happy and for everyone else to be happy and free from suffering?

In all of this, what if we would accept that the only behaviour that is guaranteed to bring happiness to all is to respect each other and to be kind?

I'll work on the trick and the patter and see if I manage to make a YouTube video for you sometime within the next… erm… week, month, decade, century.

Whatever our opinion, let's remember to be kind.

With my best wishes,

Romany

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
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/romanydivaofmagic Please subscribe!

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9. The Baseball Shuffle By Chris Wardle
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Message by Chris Wardle (UK)

Just released - The Baseball Shuffle by Chris Wardle. The performer displays 10 cards, Ace through to Ten in Clubs. They are dropped into a baseball cap (or an outside jacket pocket) and shaken about. The cards are removed and shown completely mixed, out of order, some face up and some face down. They are replaced and shaken again, while the spectators think 'Order'.

Now the cards are removed and alternate face up and face down, as odd and even values! After a final 'baseball shuffle' shake up, they come out all face up and in numerical order! 'The Baseball Shuffle' is a fun, visual, completely self-working card effect which can be performed casually (in a baseball cap) or using an outside jacket pocket for a more formal presentation.

This can be performed in person or online, as no volunteer assistance required. Entirely self-contained and no reset. A magical, modern, performance piece. The Baseball Shuffle is available now as an instant download from Murphy's Magic and from a wide range of dealers.

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10. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
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Written by the late Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)

After the show at the Waiouru military camp, they put on a small party/drinks/sandwiches for us, to which half the camp turned up, or so it seemed, as well. Anyhow we were sitting at one end of a very long table; at some time during proceedings I started performing close-up magic (surprise, surprise). I had gradually made my way down to the other end of the table when, a woman sitting close to Veronica, started sneezing uncontrollably. Veronica had, by this time, downed one or two or three or. drinks and full of bravado, decided to play - hypnotist! She stared at the poor woman and said to her, "As you look into my (bloodshot) eyes, you will stop sneezing". She Did!

Some bloke nearby began laughing so Veronica, her bravado now increased tenfold, turned to him and said, "If you don't stop laughing I'll give you the sneezes"! Next second, he started sneezing! Five minutes later, she made him stop. Strange how some people imagine that
somehow, the hypnotist's 'power' can 'rub off'' on to somebody who is close to them. Just shows how suggestible and powerful your imagination can be, especially in conjunction with hypnotic suggestion!

Another Unintentionally funny incident involved a young lady. I was standing behind her during a well-known hypnotic test, where you lightly touch the back of your subjects neck with the back of your hand, telling your subject that, "my hand is a magnet. It is pulling you back... You can feel it... You're coming back," etc. etc. Nine times out of 10 they will fall back into your arms. On this particular occasion, the young lady fell back all right, then immediately fell into a hypnotic trance! It happens sometimes, with highly suggestible people.

As I took her weight I became aware that the audience was screaming with laughter as she slowly slipped through my arms as I lowered her to the floor. Unbeknown to me, as she slid down, her top had ridden up against my arms with the - depending on how you look at it -
unfortunate result of her 'not inconsiderable boobs', popping out! I didn't 'feel' a thing. 'She wasn't wearing a bra'!!! Would you call that -'titillating?'

Touring the hypnotism show with promoter - David McKee around the north of the North Island of New Zealand; we were in Kawakawa, working on the floor - No Stage! There is a segment in the show where I've got told the 'subjects' that they are aboard a train, which is about to go through a tunnel, and they are sitting next to the most beautiful girl/good looking 'hunk' that they have ever laid their eyes on. As the train enters a tunnel, they take advantage of the fact that the carriage lights have failed to come on, and go for quick 'kiss and cuddle' before the train 'bursts into daylight' as they exit of tunnel.

The antics, as you might imagine, are hilarious. Over the other side of the room, I could hear David McKee roaring with laughter and Veronica was saying, "What the hell IS he doing"? On going over to inspect what was happening I beheld the sight of a very young boy lying on the floor, with the first two fingers of one hand fully extended - in the traditional 'Up Yours' manner, giving an imaginary young lady a good - 'Seeing To' if you know what I mean! David said to Veronica, "Don't you know what he's doing"? The penny dropped! She went bright red and David roared even louder! I totally spoiled the young lad's fun - I stopped him! Poor little sod, it must've felt like-Coitus Interruptus!

At this juncture I would like to take this opportunity to say, "thank-you Alan (Watson) my old friend, for your magic e-zine which has allowed me to tell my story, that so far, amounts to 52,306 words, and there is still an awful long way to go. Cheers mate". Tom.

Thank you also to my dear friends Sally Metzger (nee Phillips), Jon Zealando (Trev Hodson), and Delarno (Burns Scandrett) for supplying facts that I wasn't sure or didn't know about. Your contributions are invaluable.

Finally, to all my 'magical' friends and readers of Alan Watson's magic e-zine, Veronica and I wish you all a very - happy Christmas.

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11. 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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12. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
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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.magicnewzealand.com

Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday.

The opinions and statements expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson QSM vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand® E- zine.

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