Magic New Zealand® E-zine

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* Magic New Zealand®
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Issue Number: #1698
Date: Sunday 15th January 2023
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. The Academy Of Magical Arts' Junior Society
3. January 2023 Edition Of Vanish Magic Magazine
4. January Issue Genii Magazine
5. The Magic Word Podcast
6. Magic Live August 6-9, 2023 - Las Vegas, Nevada
7. Magic Castle - Chinese Spring Festival
8. Magic Museum Bellachini - Episode 14
9. No Stone Unturned - Paul Stone - Article #90
10. Tales From The Fantastic Magic Center - #23
11. Deja Boo! - John Carey #182
12. News From The Academy Of Illusions
13. Collectible Magician Memorabilia Sale
14. E-zine Archives
15. 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:

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. The Academy Of Magical Arts' Junior Society
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The Academy of Magical Arts' Junior Society at the Magic Castle is expanding internationally.

If you know a young magician who might be interested, please pass this information on.

Join the Academy of Magical Arts

Junior Society at the Magic Castle from anywhere in the world.

Beginning in 2023: Worldwide Junior Membership.

A long-awaited program is about to launch. Beginning in 2023, magicians aged 13 to 20 years worldwide will be able to audition for the Academy of Magical Arts Junior Society as Non-Resident Members.

The benefits are many and include…

Virtual performance workshops - Professional mentoring - Streaming lectures from world-class performers - Full in-person membership benefits - And much more…

Recent lectures have included…

Dani DaOrtiz - Joshua Jay - Eric Jones - John Carney - Carisa Hendrix aka Lucy Darling - Michael Carbonaro - Daniel Garcia - David Williamson - Michael Ammar - Dan Harlan - Michael Weber - Justin Willman - Jim Steinmeyer - Tom Stone

Join an elite group with alumni includes…

Kevin James - Michael Weber - Neil Patrick Harris - Mark Kalin - Ed Alonzon - Jason Latimer - Cyril Takayama

For more information go to:
www.magiccastle.com/junior-academy

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3. January 2023 Edition Of Vanish Magic Magazine
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Message by Paul Romhany - Editor Vanish Magazine

Feature story: Bend it like Geller - 50 years of spoon bending. Uri Geller changed the path for magicians and mentalists forever. Ben Harris talks about this milestone and we get an insight in to what makes Uri such a success. We also feature Caroline Ravn who has made her mark in the magic world with her unique performances.

Magic Illusion plans - Nigel Harrison features a stand-up illusion: Under Control
Dan Stapleton - a regular new contributor with stories from his incredible career
Nick Lewin's "New" New Year resolution
Magic In the Middle East - this is a real eye opener from Sanad Rashed
Vanishing Birdcage Edition - Hal 'Dameon' Meyers starts a new series of material from own act. This is an amazing addition to any vanishing birdcage.
ADANAC Control - a card routine by Dave Attwood
Patrick Kuffs: The Crystal Bank Night routine
Louie Foxx - Eternal Flame
Product Highlight: Glasses by Illuminati Magic - Bone Conduction glasses is a Game Changer for magicians & Mentalists.
Product Reviews - the very latest in magic and downloads.

This and so much more.

www.vanishmagazine.com

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4. January Issue Genii Magazine
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Message by Richard Kaufman - Editor Genii Magazine

Everyone deserves the holiday gift of a subscription to Genii. It's not too late to give a digital subscription of every issue of Genii ever published for only $35 for one year. Subscribe today at www.geniimagazine.com.

Max Maven is memorialized this month by three of his closest friends: Stephen Minch, David Rich, and Jamy Ian Swiss. Minch and Swiss, of course, you know. Rich, whom you don't, was a friend of Max's during his early days in Boston. Max would be pleased that he's getting so much space in Genii that there's no room left for a secondary story.

Our columns this month include a most special installment of "Chamber of Secrets" in which we are treated to John Gaughan's beautiful woodworking in the recreation of a French prop for which no original example seems to survive. In "Cardopolis" David Britland applies a 150-year-old principle to modern card madness. Rafael Benatar conjures a memorized miracle, including a greeting from Juan Tamariz, in "Thoughts On …" Roberto Mansilla picks up a knife for non-felonious reasons in "Artifices". David Kaye confronts the aging of the children's performer in "Expert at the Kids' Table".

In addition, Shawn McMaster tells us about recent happenings at The Magic Castle, Vanessa Armstrong rolls the latest news our way, and tricks, books, and videos are reviewed by David Regal, Francis Menotti, and … Jonathan Levit, who happily joins our staff.

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5. The Magic Word Podcast
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Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star

Ellis & Johnson from Australia, plus Mac King & Joel Hodgson from the U.S. on The Magic Word Podcast

Happy New Year from The Magic Word Podcast! Thank you for making 2022 a great year of episodes with over 70 podcasts featuring some of the top names in magic plus many perhaps you've never met before, plus daily reports from eight magic conventions including F.I.S.M. in Quebec. Thank you for listening. And if you missed any of those episodes, they are all accessible in the Archives on the website.

We kicked off the year by chatting with two Australian magicians, Tim Ellis and Nicholas J. Johnson. More than just a chat, the topic we covered was "busting magic myths" that are held as truths by many magicians. We talked about ten separate "truisms" and discussed their validity, meaning and truthfulness in our art today. If there are other topics along this line that you would like for us to explore in an upcoming episode, then please let me know by dropping a line to me at scott@themagicwordpodcast.com You can watch our episode on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/xQbMGqi4GDY But to get more content and to listen to the podcast online, please visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/731-magic-mythbusting

This week we feature a conversation that has been in queue for over six months. During our attendance at Abbott's Get Together in Colon, Michigan, last August, we sat down with not one, but two Titans in the comedy market: Mac King and Joel Hodgson. They shared the Senator Crandall Comedy Award at this convention for the second time! Our chat was not only funny but inspiring and informative that revealed some things that I did not know about either one of them such as neither studied improv.

Mac King is known to most of the magic community as the longest running comedy magic act on the Las Vegas Strip. But Joel Hodgson has a broader audience outside of magic as he is the creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 which is a cult television show. He started out as a comedy magician having appeared on many network shows like Saturday Night Live, The David Letterman Show, and many more for multiple times.

You can listen to this and all our episodes wherever you get your podcasts. But for more information and content, please visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/732-king-hodgson

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6. Magic Live August 6-9, 2023 - Las Vegas, Nevada
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The producers of MAGIC Live work year round to find new ways to surprise you, to offer something unexpected, to create an environment for you to share with new friends and old - and to send everyone home inspired.

Not your average convention…

Yes, we book amazingly talented people, but then we manage to get them to do things they normally don't do at a magic convention.

Whether it's sharing a personal moment during a General Session or teaching the real work for the first time in a Focus Session or performing a new piece onstage, close-up, or in one of our special venues - these presenters and performers are willing to jump out of their comfort zone to help build something special.

Everything first class…

More than anything, MAGIC Live is known for its professional approach. From the highly organized registration process, to wonderful welcome gifts and a high-energy opening party… and that's just the opening day.

Every detail is considered, every option is explored, and every bit is polished in order to bring you the best convention experience ever!

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7. Magic Castle - Chinese Spring Festival
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Message from Dale Salwak (US)

January 23-29, 2023

Palace Theater - 8:00, 10:00, 11:30
*Jinling Hu
*Rod Chow
*Juliana Chen

Palace Brunch - 12:15, 1:30, 2:45
*Rod Chow
*Wu Xuehui and Hongyun zhe
*Juliana Chen

Parlour - Early 7:15, 8:15, 9:15
*Jeffrey Wang

Parlour - Late 10:15, 11:15, 12:30am
*David Shao

Parlour Brunch - 11:30am, 12:15pm, 1:00, 2:15 Saturday & Sunday
*Will Zhang

Close-Up - Cocktail Hour 5:15, 5:45, 6:15 (Thursday-Sunday)
*Jason Tong

Close-Up - Early 7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 9:15 - (Monday thru Sunday)
*Dongjin Li

Close-Up - Late 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:30am
*David Yee

Peller Theater - 8:00, 10:00, 11:30 (Thursday-Sunday)
*Alex Huang
*Byron Leung

Library Bar - 7:30 - 11:30 (Thursday-Sunday)
*Kemin Zhang

Friday Lunch - 12:00, 1:00, 2:00
*Will Zhang

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8. Magic Museum Bellachini - Episode 14
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Message by Wittus Witt (Germany)

Happy New Year to all, dear colleagues. In the meantime, the museum is open and has received an immense amount of press coverage. Radio and television stations have reported on the first public magic museum in Germany. By the time of this writing, over 100 guests have already visited the Bellachini Museum. In addition, I gave performances in the museum every evening between Christmas and New Year's Day, which were also almost always fully booked. So all in all, a very nice start for the museum. From this year on, the museum will be open regularly from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00.

In Hamburg, and probably in other cities as well, there will be a "Long Night of Museums". The organisers have already approached me and asked me if I would like to participate with my museum. Of course I'll take this opportunity, because this means good publicity for the museum once again.

Finally, I would like to inform you that I am now going to found a support association for the museum. A support association has many advantages: firstly, it also shows the seriousness of the museum, and secondly, donations can be collected and receipted to the donor. This allows the donor to declare the money to the tax office as a special expense. In return, members receive a reduced entrance fee to the museum and to the evening performances.

I don't think there is a comparable public museum for magic yet, and I'm happy if it is visited by many magic lovers, of course. So plan a visit when you are in Hamburg.

Here is a film of the opening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1vYoZGaHT8&t=34s

German is spoken, but you can see the rooms and the atmosphere very well. (But you can also activate the subtitles in YouTube.) The presenter is my good colleague Stefan Alexander Rautenberg. The lady speaker is the director of the German Playing Card Museum in Stuttgart, Dr. Annette Köger, and the male speaker is the president of the citizens' association of the district where the museum is located, Markus Schreiber. And at the end I even do magic ....

Goodbye at the Bellachini.
Wittus Witt

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9. No Stone Unturned - Paul Stone - Article #90
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Message by Paul Stone (US)

So, what happened in London for the pilot of Penn & Teller's 'Fool Us' TV Show?

The first challenge was the weather, it was not only very cold, it was snowing too. I believe we had three days in a rehearsal room where Johnny Thompson and I worked with the ten acts. We also had to get the Show's Celebrity Host, British TV Star, Jonathan Ross, up to speed, so that he too would understand how Penn would communicate to the performers whether they'd been busted.

The pilot show was hectic, and very nerve wracking for the performers, who were all in one large changing room.

Johnny Thompson's main job was to be the ultimate arbiter and decide if any of the performers had fooled Penn & Teller. And he decided that two of the performers had indeed done so, John Archer and Ben Earl. And so 'Fool Us' was up and running.

As a result of the show's success, a series of six further shows was contracted to be filmed in London over a two week period the following May. This meant that we would need to find around 30 more British performers. Johnny once again asked me to work as Magic Consultant with him on these shows.

During January, February and March I spent many days at Johnny's house as we checked out hours of audition tapes. Even then, a lot of professional performers were still not entirely comfortable about being on the show in case they would be embarrassed on live TV.

At that time, I used to travel back to UK fairly regularly, and so I was able to meet up with, and persuade, several performers to go on the show, and in some cases where necessary, I put them directly in touch with Johnny, who used his experience and great knowledge to bring them on board.

The series was duly filmed and over the past ten years since then the show has gone from strength to strength, with some wonderful performers taking part.

However, I learnt a life lesson. Always get a contract! Johnny was a very close friend of mine, and he and I agreed on a fee for all the work involved, but we did it on a handshake.

As it turned out, I was cut from the show by the show's producers just two weeks before the filming of the series in London, as 'surplus to requirements', after spending weeks working on the show, and using my contacts to find many of the performers in England.

And although Johnny promised to make it right, I never received a penny! Definitely a lesson learnt!

The only upside to the story is that Mike Close took over as Magic Consultant working with Johnny until he sadly died, and Mike is still doing a fantastic job, and I'm delighted for him. He is one of the good guys!

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10. Tales From The Fantastic Magic Center - #23
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Message by Kent Cummins, Director (US)

The Chinese Dress Change Illusion

It started in 1967. I was a U.S. Army lieutenant stationed in Germany, and I had an opportunity to compete at the World Congress of Magicians in Baden. I didn't win in the competition, but I found a wonderful new illusion for my show.

My wife's cousin Roxanne was visiting, and the three of us strolled through the Dealers' Room at the convention. I stopped at a booth by Iznae-Henley from Belgium, and asked, "What is that colorful prop on the back shelf?"

The dealer saw how young I was, and said, "That is just for illusionists." Offended, I pointed out that I was currently performing illusions in my floor shows for the military, and he said that he would demonstrate the illusion in his hotel room after the dealers' room closed.

Margot, Roxanne and I went to his small hotel room; his wife dressed in a form-fitting Chinese mini skirt, and the demonstration began. He showed that the wooden box was empty except for an American-style party dress. His wife stepped into an empty black bag, counted the three, and when she dropped the bag she was in the party dress…and the Chinese dress was in the box!
We were stunned! We were only a few feet away from the entire performance, and what we just saw seemed impossible. I bought the illusion on the spot.

I didn't get to perform the illusion in my floor shows in Germany because I was curtailed for Vietnam, But I started performing it in special shows after I returned to the U.S. Quick change routines were not common in magic shows back then, so it gave my show something different from other magicians in the area.

The Fantastic Magic Center is dedicated to preserving and sharing the art of magic. Check out my free weekly podcast at:

www.FantasticMagicCenter.com
kent@magichotline.com

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11. Deja Boo! - John Carey #182
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Message by John Carey (UK)
http://www.johncareymagic.co.uk/

Here's a strong impromptu piece, inspired by a Bill Goldman effect called Deja Vu, that used a Svengali deck. Firstly, let's outline my presentation. "Have you ever experienced Deja Vu? That weird moment when you see or do something strange and think, hold on, that happened yesterday?! Well let's use the cards, sometimes referred to as the Devil's playthings and see if we can all experience Deja Vu.

Please shuffle the deck thoroughly. Ok, as I spread the cards, I want you to touch four cards in different parts of the deck. Let's put them face-down here in a row, that's number one, two, three and four. You get to decide which three you don't want. So you don't want number two, four and one? They go back into the deck. Take a look at the card at number three and lock it into your mind. That goes back too and we shuffle some more.

But what if we could recreate the past and experience Deja Vu? Just like you did earlier, please touch any four cards. And just like earlier we will place them in a row on the table. So that's number one, that's two, there's three and that's number four. So if we truly can recreate that moment where things happen that go beyond coincidence and surpass strange, we would take the cards you decided earlier not to keep; that's numbers two, four and one and put them away. Leaving us looking at the present as we think of the past and the card at number three you decided to keep. Tell us all the name of your card? Now turn over the card. Now that's what's
known as Deja Vu!"

Method

Have the deck shuffled and upon return hand to hand spread and have four cards freely touched in different parts of the deck. Up-jog each one that is touched. The right hand comes over the deck from above and swivels the cards out and drops them on top of the deck. A moment later deal those cards in a face-down tabled row. Designate the cards one, two, three and four from left to right and ask your helper to call out any number. Let's say they call out number three. Pick up the other cards and lose them into the deck in different locations. Pick up the card they chose and raise the face of it towards the spectator and ask them to remember it. We shall assume it's the Seven of Clubs. Insert this card back into the deck and get a break above it as you square up. Pause a beat and then cut half the cards above the break to the table. Continue by cutting to your break and drop that packet on top of the tabled packet. Finish the control by dropping the remaining cards on top and square up. Their selection is now on top.

Talk about Deja vu and recreating the past. Have four cards touched and out-jog them like before (1). As you swivel them out of the deck with the palm down right hand, the right thumb secretly engages the top card of the deck (2) and pushes it forwards in line with the out-jogged cards (3). Swivel the cards out and drop them on top of the deck (4). This is a lovely move of Larry Jennings called the Optical Add On. In our example, they chose number three earlier in the effect. Deal off the selection and then casually deal off three more cards, being sure their selection is at position three. Of course, if they chose a different number you would drop it into that position in preparation for the climax.

Me, My Cards & I

Show the faces of the cards at the other positions on the table and lose them in the deck. Ask for the name of your helper's card and have them turn over the card on the table to conclude this uncanny demonstration of Deja Vu!

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12. News From The Academy Of Illusions
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Message by Jay Scott Berry (Australia)

As we count down to the new year, it's an opportunity to give thanks for where we are, reflect on where we've been, and plan for where we're heading. Way back in March 2020, most of us were reeling from the loss of live shows. As Franz Harary put it, "There are 2 kinds of magicians: Those who got their butts kicked, and those who are lying."

Many faced a real and present existential crisis. I understood that "Survival of the Fittest" isn't necessarily about being the strongest, but about those who are most flexible, resilient, and able to adapt to changing circumstances. Instead of wallowing in the loss of live shows, I decided to turn Crisis into Opportunity.

By the end of April, I had my first online Lectures and Shows. That set the stage for over a thousand virtual shows, lectures, webcasts, masterclasses, digital downloads and private sessions.

We are currently averaging 15 Private Sessions a week, to aspiring magicians and working pros the world over. Plus, a major new project is brewing, which will launch on February 1st. More details on that next month.

What's fascinating to consider is that none of this would have happened without the crisis of the last few years. My personal motto is to "Let Adversity Fuel Your Determination." Like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes, the Academy is poised to fly ever higher in 2023 … Excelsior!

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13. Collectible Magician Memorabilia Sale
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Message by Steve Varro (US)

Estates Of Magic Presents
Collectible Magician Memorabilia SALE

The entire sale is Collectible Magician Memorabilia
(Pins, Buttons, Coins, Brochures & Programs, and posters.

Just go to EstatesOfMagic.Com and click on the catalog.

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14. 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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15. 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.

Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson QSM, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions or statements contained 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.