* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #367 Date: Sunday 20th November 2005 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. Magicians In The News This Week Links 3. Update On IBM/SAM September 2008-New Orleans 4. Fire destroys Waterfront - The Magic Castle Of The South Pacific 5. Franz Harary's Mega Magic Christmas Show At Seoul Land 6. What The Initials MAK In MAK Magic Stand For 7. Time And Dates Of "Its MAGIC" 8. MAKky see, MAKky do 9. Sankey/Penquin 10. The Late Jay Marshalls 'Lefty's' New Home 11. Performed For The Rolling Stones 12. "The Secret Notebooks of Mr Hyde" 13. Rock And Roll Star Of Magic - Michael Ammar 14. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 14 15. The Amazing Orchante Saga 16. e-zine Archives 17. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Bruce Kalver an excellent job as editor of The Magic SYMbol. I hear that the December issue will be coming out in 3D. For those that don't know The Society of Young Magicians (S.Y.M.) is sponsored by the Society of American Magicians, is a world-wide organization for youth, ages 7 through 17. (At age 18 you graduate to membership in the Society of American Magicians.) The purpose of S.Y.M. is to promote interest in magic as a wholesome hobby that will help develop self-confidence and skill, the ability to speak in public, discipline that comes from learning, practicing and performing magic, and a sense of service to others through helping others lean magic and by performing magic at charitable events. For more information on the Society of Young Magicians go to: http://www.magicsam.com/sym/ --------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Magicians In The News This Week Links ----------------- Bloch an arbitrator by trade, magician by hobby http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/13196086.htm San Jose Mercury News - United States ... Do.". Bloch is an arbitrator by trade and a magician by hobby. ... living. To live, he works as a master of ceremonies and magician. ... Baby Name Shocker: Wild Pursuit of Best Baby Name Drives Desperate ... http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/11/prweb305259.htm PR Web (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA ... $1,000 in cash. "I'm open to any and all suggestions," says Ryan Kaltman, a 33-year-old professional magician. Kaltman says ... 'Tricky Ricky' performs Sun. http://www.tricitynews.com/portalscode/list.cgi?paper=74&cat=46&id=534026&more= Coquitlam Tri City News - Coquitlam,British Columbia,Canada International award-winning Children's Magician of the Year Rick Mearns will appear at Dogwood Pavilion this Sunday, Nov. 20. Mearns ... Learn Magic From a Professional Magician With Mac King's Magic in ... http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051117/nyfnsm24.html?.v=1 Yahoo! News (press release) - USA 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Headlining Las Vegas comedian and magician Mac King, whose show is a favorite for parents and kids alike, has created the official Mac ... Magician will harness library's power to do tricks http://www.projo.com/yourlife/content/projo_20051117_kids17.16b3d934.html Providence Journal (subscription) - Providence,RI,USA BY BRYAN ROURKE. Magician Harry Leaman will show you several in a free class this afternoon at the East Providence Public Library. ... ----------------- 3. Update On IBM/SAM September 2008-New Orleans ----------------- Message from George Schindler Dean Society of American Magicians New Orleans Still A Go For 2008 IBM/SAM Worldwide Convention The Organizing Committee for the jointly sponsored IBM/SAM convention confirmed today that the 2008 Contest of Magic and Special Events is still on track for New Orleans, July 7-12, 2008. The six-day event will culminate by awarding the largest contest prize ever, $10,000 each in stage and close-up categories, and will also crown the 2008 winner as the "North American Champion of Magic." All finalists will be eligible to compete in the FISM World Champion of Magic the following year. New Orleans has made a remarkable recovery in the short period of time since it was severely damage by hurricane Katrina. Major hotels, restaurants and popular tourist sites have reopened. Both the Orpheum and Saenger theaters were unaffected by the storm. Many conventions have already rebooked for next year. Brad Jacobs and Hank Moorehouse will travel to New Orleans in December to complete contract discussions. The room rate of $99, single or double occupancy, at the Marriott Hotel is still guaranteed. The convention headquarters hotel is strategically located on the edge of the French Quarter just five blocks from the theaters and waterfront. Convention registration will open on January 15, 2006. Registration includes all convention related activities - all contests, a USA and an International gala show, six world class lectures, East Meets West Close-up Gala, People's Choice Awards, a gala banquet, plus many surprise appearances and special events. The fee is only $295 per person through June 15, 2006. Registration forms together with all instructions for registering and making hotel reservations will be available on both the SAM and IBM websites starting January 15. ----------------- 4. Fire destroys Waterfront - The Magic Castle Of The South Pacific ----------------- Message from David Groves (US) I logged onto The Vanuatu Daily Post, and found this article. Fire destroys Waterfront By Marc Neil-Jones October 29 2005 The Waterfront bar and restaurant in Port Vila was burnt to the ground losing everything in the early hours of Friday morning. Shocked onlookers shook their heads in dismay as the most famous bar and restaurant in Vila was reduced to a pile of ashes between 2am and 3am. An electrical fault is believed to be the likely cause of the fire but insurance loss adjuster David Conwell from McLarens Young International did not want to speculate until his investigation over the cause of the fire was completed. According to Kalo Joseph, the security guard who has worked at the Waterfront for 8 years, he heard the crackling sound of a fire and suddenly saw flames inside the roof, which then spread quickly to the Natangura roofing. He saw nobody around and stated that if arson had been involved with somebody throwing a lighted object at the building, the Natangura would have been targeted and gone up first. He advised, "the fire started inside the roof near the kitchen area just after 2am". He rushed to the McQuoids house and the restaurant managers before contacting the police. The VMF fire truck arrived at around 2-15am and yet again had problems with no water and had to return and then had no water pressure, and leaking hoses. There was anger at how incompetent the fire service is with one onlooker saying, "How simple is it to pump water from the sea located just metres away from the restaurant? No water? Hello isn't that water in the ocean? We keep getting the same old excuses, no water, broken equipment, no money, no means to pump water from anywhere to put out a fire. What's the point in having a fire truck if it never puts out a fire?" Rob Birkley who is the son of the landowners, was alerted and contacted the airport fire truck which rushed to the scene and quickly put the fire out, but by the time they arrived at around 2.45am it had almost burnt itself out. The airport fire service was praised for its professionalism and quick action once it had arrived at the scene. Don McQuoid told Daily Post that the loss "is substantial, in the vicinity of Vt40 million as we had two weeks takings of around Vt5.5 million in the safe, lost all our kitchen equipment, bars alcohol stock of 600 liters of beer and all the spirits and our lost income from the business is huge". Cash boxes were found but all the money inside the metal cases was burnt. By lunch time the safe had not yet been found. He was optimistic that the bar and restaurant which is leased from Elsie Berkley could be rebuilt quickly and be back open by the New Year. Mrs Berkley is rushing back to assess the damage. He advised, "The structure of the building is simple. I had hoped we would save the large central support post but it looks badly burned. It is the equipment and kitchen that is a problem. I needed the Waterfront open to help with cash flow for the new Saloon Bar and Restaurant and the Seven Seas Brewery but now I will be forced to open the brewery earlier than anticipated. I will move everything over to the Saloon at Mele at the old Ranche De La Colle and we will now be open there 7 days a week until the Waterfront is rebuilt. The Waterfront band and staff will now operate out of the Saloon Bar and we will open the new brewery up immediately as we have 10,000 litres of beer ready to go." The Waterfront was built in 1984 by Chris Siulis for Ron Birkley and the open plan design became famous after cyclone Uma in 1987 as it was one of the few buildings left totally unscathed by the wind which blew through it. Siulis said, "It is sad as the Waterfront held a lot of memories for many people. It was originally built entirely by man Emau using timber from Siviri in North Efate and Natangora from the Banks. There was not one nail in the original building. Originally it was a bar and BBQ area where we used to drag fish including marlin up from the beach and hang them off the central post in the middle of the bar with blood everywhere. There used to be some pretty wild parties there". Time magazine listed the Waterfront as one of the 10 best bars in the world in 1995 when it was under the management of Rick Hogg from New Zealand. Don and Donna McQuoid took over the restaurant and bar in 1997 and have expanded its operations with magic and live bands. The restaurant continues to be one of the most popular places to relax for visiting yachties and tourists. --------------------------------------------- 5. Franz Harary's Mega Magic Christmas Show At Seoul Land -------------------------------------------- Message from Jack Straw From the Desk of MURRAY Productions, Inc. Murray is currently in Seoul, Korea starring in Franz Harary's Mega Magic Christmas Show at Seoul Land. He has a crew of 20 people working on the show, including 6 beautiful models / dancers from the Ukraine. He will be in Korea until January 2006, then head back to the USA, where he will be starring in a show at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada (Feb. - April 2006) along with his duties on television, as host of TV's BSPN Entertainment. To find out more about MURRAY click http://murraymagic.com or http://murraysawchuck.com --------------------------------------------- 6. What The Initials MAK In MAK Magic Stand For -------------------------------------------- Message from Wayne Rogers (NZ) Friends, I have discovered what the initials MAK in MAK Magic stand for. M ake A nother K opy They have now stolen 3 of my Appearing Products and are making cheap copies. They are the Appearing Ladder, Appearing Broom and Appearing Shovel. I am tired of developing original props and having them ripped off by an established company, and being distributed by a large magic distributor. They have no ethics. Remember where the originals came from, because these rip-off guys do not put their name on the props they steal. This note just in from a dealer: "Hi Wayne I am sorry, I had no idea that MAK had stolen your ideas. When we received the Appearing items from MAK, we were hugely disappointed. The broom looked totally fake and the Shovel literally broke in my hands, the join had cracked in transport. The shovel head is made of a horrible yellow plastic. I visited your web site and your products look amazing! Your Broom is fantastic! If you could send me a price list I can talk to my colleges about ordering your items. All the best and sincere apologies" To view my original items go to: http://www.nzmagic.com/productpg.html --------------------------------------------- 7. Time And Dates Of "Its MAGIC" -------------------------------------------- Message from David Schleich forwarded on by Sam Martin "Its MAGIC" airing in December This is ONLY available in the Cities listed since it is on Comcast Cable TV. The "It's MAGIC" cable show is shown on Thursdays at 5:30 PM in the cities listed below. Each month "It's MAGIC" features different magicians from the Chicagoland area. The November show is dedicated to the remembrance of Nick Tomei. It is a replay which features a studio performance he did at the age of 90 and his invisible levitating hair routine he performed for SAM 148. Air dates for this show are: December 1 and December 8 Arlington Heights, Ch. 35 Glendale Heights, Ch. 19 Palatine, Ch. 19 Bartlett, Ch. 35 Glenview, Ch. 35 Park Ridge, Ch. 35 Bedford Park, Ch. 19 Golf, Ch. 35 Prospect Heights, Ch. 35 Bensenville, Ch. 19 Hanover Park, Ch. 35 River Forest, Ch. 19 Berkeley, Ch. 19 Hillside, Ch. 19 River Grove, Ch. 19 Bloomingdale, Ch. 19 Hinsdale, Ch. 19 Rolling Meadows, Ch. 19 Bridgeview, Ch. 19 Hodgkins, Ch. 19 Roselle, Ch. 19 Broadview, Ch. 19 Hoffman Estates, Ch. 19 Rosemont, Ch. 19 Buffalo Grove, Ch. 19 Itasca, Ch. 19 Schaumburg, Ch. 35 Burbank, Ch. 19 Justice, Ch. 19 Schiller Park, Ch. 19 Burr Ridge, Ch. 19 Lincolnwood, Ch. 19 Skokie, Ch. 35 Carol Stream, Ch. 19 Lombard, Ch. 19 Stone Park, Ch. 19 Cicero, Ch. 19 Lyons, Ch. 19 Streamwood, Ch. 35 Clarendon Hills, Ch. 19 Maywood, Ch. 19 Summit, Ch. 19 Countryside, Ch. 19 McCook, Ch. 19 Villa Park, Ch. 43 Darien, Ch. 19 Medinah, Ch. 19 Westchester, Ch. 19 Des Plaines, Ch. 35 Morton Grove, Ch. 19 Westmont, Ch. 19 Downers Grove, Ch. 19 Mt. Prospect, Ch. 35 Wheeling, Ch. 35 Elk Grove Village, Ch. 19 Niles, Ch. 19 Willow Springs, Ch. 19 Elmhurst, Ch. 19 North Riverside, Ch.19 Willowbrook, Ch. 19 Elmwood Park, Ch. 19 Northbrook, Ch. 35 Wilmette, Ch. 19 Forest Park, Ch. 19 Oak Brook, Ch. 19 Wood Dale, Ch. 19 Forest View, Ch. 19 Oak Park, Ch. 19 Woodridge, Ch. 19 Franklin Park, Ch. 19 Oakbrook Terrace, Ch. 19 --------------------------------------------- 8. MAKky see, MAKky do -------------------------------------------- Message from Jack Straw MAKky see, MAKky do Mak Magic will be known by many readers as the company that got ripped off by Magic Makers Inc. when Makers produced 'The Joker Tube', which was a blatant copy of Mak's key item 'Stratosphere'. Just like the old adage 'the abused becomes the abuser' Mak Magic have started ripping off other people's items as well. First it was a poor copy of Wayne Roger's feature item 'Appearing Ladder from Briefcase' which they cleverly redesigned as 'Appearing Ladder from Toolbox'. Wayne wrote to them to object, but with no success. They brought out a cheap copy of his 'Appearing Broom' called.. 'Appearing Broom'. Then they brought out an 'Appearing Stool'. As this was not a copy of any of Wayne's items, he wrote to congratulate them on their originality and to encourage them down the path of developing new items. Their response? They've just released their version of his 'Appearing Garden Shovel' called the 'Appearing Spade' Now Mak have also got 'Appearing Poles', 'Appearing Wands' and 'Appearing Straws' on their site, but Wayne's only real problem with them was the copying on the ladder, broom and shovel. Basically, he says, they're going to put him out of business! We'd rather Wayne continue to manufacture good quality products rather than have him close shop and magicians using these cheaper, not nearly as realistic, household appliances. We encourage anyone who's thinking about purchasing any of these items to spend the few extra dollars for a quality product and support the inventor at the same time. You can buy them (and many other yet- to-be-ripped-off items) from Wayne Rogers here. For these and many other ripped-off products, take a look at the Magic Fakers website. --------------------------------------------- 9. Sankey/Penquin -------------------------------------------- Message from Jack Straw This just sent in . go to this link to read more about Jay Sankey/Penquin .... http://www.escamoteurettes.com/blog/index.php?p=248 ----------------- 10. The Late Jay Marshalls 'Lefty's' New Home ----------------- Message from Henry Lewis (UK) Our Executive Curator John Fisher MIMC handed to me one of the presumed only two 'Lefty' glove puppet which Jay's son presented to us as you may remember at The Magic Circle Centenary in London. I am happy to say that it is now attractively on display in our new showcase in the Devant Room for all to see. --------------------------------------------- 11. Performed For The Rolling Stones -------------------------------------------- Message from Jay Alexander (US) What a great month of shows! One of the highlights was sharing the stage with Deepak Chopra and Jack Canfield of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" fame. As many of you know, I have performed for the Rolling Stones every time they have been in San Francisco over the past 11 years. The other night I was invited to dinner by Ronnie Wood. The following write up appeared in today's San Francisco Chronicle. I am looking forward to the last show of the month which will be my eighth show performing for Robin Williams and his guests. Have a magical Thanksgiving, Friday, November 18, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle From the Leah Garchik column. The Rolling Stones' Ron Wood had dinner with magician Jay Alexander at the Slanted Door on Monday night. Spy B. Soccus reports that they seemed to be having a great time, Alexander doing "his magical silverware bending." To a restaurant's flatware? "The wait staff seemed to be very entertained," said Soccus. As far as official Slanted Door policy on silverware bending, "We do have a policy against damaging property," said Marivic Phan. It's water under the bridge now, and if one or two spoons died in the course of this entertainment, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but don't go there thinking of wreaking havoc on the cutlery ----------------- 12. "The Secret Notebooks Of Mr Hyde" ----------------- Message from Timothy Hyde Ex New Zealand mystery performer Timothy Hyde, (full time professional based in Australia for the last 25 years) proudly announces the publication of his first collection of routines "The Secret Notebooks of Mr Hyde". A collection of Mental & Mirthful Routines for the Real world. Full details, Contents, Pricing and early reactions can be found here. http://www.achieving.com.au/Notebooks1.htm ----------------- 13. Rock And Roll Star Of Magic - Michael Ammar ----------------- Message from Lee Asher (US) Hopefully everyone is having a great new year! 2005 is going to be tremendous and just to prove how great this year will be, I offer you something many have been patiently waiting for. I am proud to give you On Tour: with Mike Ammar. (Cut and paste into address bar if not clickable): http://www.leeasher.com/ammar.htm This is my short documentary about the Rock and Roll Star of Magic - Michael Ammar. Travel (in the passenger's seat) with Michael and me, as we embark on an 8 city lecture tour in 9 days time. You may download the first installment FREE starting today. It's 14megs in size, and it shouldn't take you too long to download if you are on dial-up (under an hour). Those of you on high-speed, you can download it in under a 60 seconds. All I ask in trade for watching this free documentary is if you would please answer my questionnaire at the bottom of this email. Please answer honestly because your input is crucial. If you want to tell everyone about it also, please be my guest. (Get them to answer the questionnaire too!) Thanks in advance for taking the time to check out On Tour: with Mike Ammar, and I hope to read thoughts from every single one of you. Awaiting your response... Lee Asher Ps. the second installment will be released after the whole world gets a chance to see the first part. Answer the questionnaire and I promise you will be on the list to see the second half first. ______________ QUESTIONNAIRE 1. What was your favorite part of the Ammar documentary, and why? 2. What was your least favorite part of the Ammar documentary, and why? (If you could change one element of the video, what would you change, and what would you change it to?) 3. Imagine if I am about to release a brand new product, would you rather: A. Download it as a PDF booklet (least expensive - no production costs) B. Have it as a printed copy (mid priced - minor production costs) C. Watch it on DVD (most expensive - high production costs) D. Want Lee Asher to begin a magic open source code like Gnu/Lynx project (Steve Fearson suggestion) 4. If I could wave a magic wand that could be used to help you improve your sleight of hand, what would you want to be able to do? 5. (Say out loud and complete the following) "I would come back and visit Leeasher.com more often if..." 6. If I were to go on a lecture tour similar to the one you watched in On Tour: with Michael Ammar (but in the Midwest), what would YOU personally like to see included in On Tour: with Lee Asher? Thank you for taking the time to answer this questionnaire. Don't forget to visit http://www.leeasher.com/ammar.htm --------------------------------------------- 14. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 14 -------------------------------------------- Message from Tony L. Lewis (US) A review of the DVD, Gerry's Extreme Dice Stacking # 14 in the dice stacking series At the end of the last article in this series, I announced that I would be reviewing the DVD entitled Gerry's Extreme Dice Stacking. I also stated that I was very anxious to watch this video as I had been hearing glowing reports about it from reliable sources. I concluded by writing that after viewing the DVD, I felt that Gerry is the best dice stacker I have ever seen. Yes, I believe that he is even better than Todd Strong. When I asked him how he felt about the matter, Todd stated that he could do everything that Gerry demonstrated in his DVD. Since I have always found Todd to be most truthful, I have no reason to doubt his statement. However, until I see Todd duplicate everything that Gerry does in his DVD, I will have to give Gerry a very small edge on him. You can get a very detailed description of the Gerry DVD at http://www.mymagic.com/gerry.htm. You can also order it for $34.95 at that web site. Meir Yedid pays the postage to anywhere in the world. That should be well received by all those of you who feel that US residents get a big advantage on the mailing costs for all the magic products produced in that country. The video, which runs a little under an hour, provides you with instant access to 41 scenes. Here is a short completely accurate excerpt from Meir's web site: "First, Gerry explains the basics of dice stacking, the types of dice, cups and surfaces to use, how to make soda cans into dice cups, the proper methods to stack, hold a cup, set up your rhythm, pick up dice, keep dice in the cup, stop the cup, manage final loads and much more. Then he shows you his advanced techniques including the corrective sweep, multiple pickups, dice stealing methods, loading dice, remarkable multiple cup techniques, two-handed stacking and other moves and dodges." I found such exhibits as the multiple cup routines to be truly remarkable. Gerry stacks a small cup within a big cup with dice stacked in the small cup! It is no wonder that he is billed as the World Champion Dice Stacker. Although I consider this DVD to be a required item for anyone interested in dice stacking, I would not recommend it as the best one for learning the art. In my opinion, Todd Strong's book and video still hold the honors in that department. However, the Gerry DVD is a great instructional tool for any dice stacker who wishes to markedly upgrade his/her repertoire. It is also a most entertaining DVD for a less skilled magician to watch and admire. I readily concede the point that Gerry has taken the art of dice stacking to a point that I will never attain. Maybe If I were forty years younger I might be able to master all his moves, and then again maybe not. However, I firmly disagree with a couple of the points that Gerry makes about dice cups. These are as follows: 1. He states that a hard sided cup is far superior to a soft sided one because gripping a soft sided cup can tend to spoil the stack. 2. Gerry says that a leather dice cup looks like a prop and therefore detracts from the impact of the dice stacking routine. My first dice stacking cup was soft sided and the custom cup I had made for me by Mike Rogers was constructed in the same manner. Both are made of leather. I favor this type of cup because it makes it very easy to control the load of a large die and lay it down soundlessly on the table. When I discuss this point with those who favor the hard sided cup, they maintain that they can retain the load by keeping it in place with their little finger. They also claim that they can effect a silent release of the load onto the stacking surface. Well, I have heard a lot of these "silent" releases while I believe that it is well nigh impossible to detect the one I do with my soft sided cup. Of course I am always saying something when I place the loaded cup on the table, to cover any inadvertent slip I might make. I have noticed that almost all beginners and many accomplished stackers hold the cup with an extremely firm grip. That would definitely spoil the stack if they were using a soft sided cup. When I teach the stack, I stress that the grip on the cup should be gentle and that the lip of the cup should barely touch the table. If the performer uses this technique, a soft sided cup will not prove to be a deterrent in achieving a good stack. Also, using this method will greatly lengthen the life of the dice cup. Todd Strong is a better dice stacker than I am, but he goes through cups at a fairly fast rate. This is due to the fact that the lip of his cup is always pressed very firmly to the table, thus causing it to wear down in a relatively short amount of time. My original cup is well over forty years old and is still quite usable. My newer cup will look good for the rest of my life. As I previously stated, I also take exception to Gerry's statement that a leather dice cup looks like an artificial prop. In the US, leather dice cups are used in many pastimes. The popular diversion of backgammon requires cups of this type as does the game of poker dice. In many bars in this country the bartender always has handy a leather cup and five dice that he uses to roll favored customers for their drinks. I just googled "Leather dice cup" in quotes and received almost 600 hits. It would seem to me that there is too much familiarity with this piece of equipment for it to be regarded as an artificial looking prop. Although I heartily recommend the Gerry DVD, I found one component of it to be somewhat annoying. The English translator sounds as if he does not have a great deal of experience in performing his task. I got the impression that he was continually groping for the correct phrasing as he was going along. Although the translation was excellent, it definitely could have been rendered in a more pleasing manner. Additionally, the original German audio can be heard faintly in the background. However, these defects do nothing to detract from the extreme excellence of Gerry's performance. It is a great pleasure to watch him perform. Keep in mind that in many parts of the video, the audio is really superfluous. This reviewing interlude is now concluded. In the next article of the series I will describe how I attempted to bring the quality of my dice stacking up to a level that would match the excellence of my newly acquired, custom made set of eight dice. Regards, Tony L. Lewis tonylew@concentric.net ----------------- 15. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 75 World Records, Cartoons, and a Minister of Finance! It all started when (the late) Lew Pryme, pop singer, television personality, M.C. and the proprietor of 'Fullers Entertainment Bureau' put a family show together, touring the holiday beach resorts over the 1970/71 Christmas/New Year period. He called it 'Carnival Capers' and the artists featured were, 'Crunchy', New Zealand's famous television clown, with Sally-Anne (Crunchy was actually Peter Newberry; Sally Anne was Sally Phillips, Peters assistant.). Then there Lew Pryme himself and, yours truly! 12 months previously I had set a new world record - sleeping on my bed of nails for two hours and nine minutes, but it didn't stand for long - it was beaten by a Scotsman only six weeks later. I decided to have another 'crack' at it! I arranged my new attempt outside a major supermarket at Mount Maunganui for Tuesday 29th December 1970 (we were already at the 'Mount' for a short season with 'Carnival Capers'). There were several reviews - but the one from the Auckland based 'New Zealand Herald', which was written up the day after my successful record attempt, is the report which is relevant to this particular episode in my life. The New Zealand Herald, (Wednesday 30th December) headed its review with - "records new mark after lying on bed of nails; An Auckland entertainer Orchanté, has regained his lying -on-a -bed-of-nails world championship. Resting quietly on a bed of five-inch nails yesterday, he broke by three minutes, the mark set earlier this year in England. Originally planning to lie on the nails for three hours, Orchanté was forced to give up the attempt after two hours and 20 minutes when he suffered cramp in his back. Mr Lew Pryme, of Auckland, The organiser of the Mt.Maunganui 5000 Club, said that the only training Orchanté had done for the bid was that he had been in Rotorua performing on Monday night and had not got to bed until 3a.m yesterday! Refusing breakfast, Orchanté drank only cups of coffee and when the attempt was over, a jug of beer awaited him at the local hotel. Crowds clustered around the bed during the attempt, fingering the nails to prove that they really were sharp!" The following morning (Thursday the31st), the New Zealand Herald's cartoonist- 'Minhinnick', drew a cartoon (I bought the original!) depicting (the late Sir Robert Muldoon) Mr Muldoon, the then Minister of Finance, in bathing trunks, lying on a bed of nails labelled, "spending pressures". The caption quoted Mr Muldoon, on holiday at Orewa, as saying: "I just get here and sit. Sometimes I cut the grass. For me that as a holiday." This is followed by another caption which reads, "Auckland entertainer breaks record for lying on a bed of nails" - News. As luck would have it, a few days later (Tuesday January the 5th 1971), I was at the 'Puriri Motor Camp' at Orewa. I had been booked some time earlier by the proprietor, Johnny Maire, who just happened to be a personal friend of- Robert Muldoon! Don't you just love it when, for a change, 'fate' decides to deal you a 'winning hand'! What happened next is best described by quoting the caption underneath the large photograph and write-up that appeared on the Front Page of the New Zealand Herald the following morning. (Wednesday, January 6th, 1971- section one) The caption reads -"Mr Muldoon, standing on a board studded underneath with nails while the entertainer Orchanté, lies on a similar bed of nails at a performance at the Puriri Motor Camp, Orewa, last night. Mr Muldoon is assisted by Karina, Orchanté s assistant. The review (slightly edited) reads as follows -"The entertainer Orchanté lay prostrate on a bed of five-inch nails, and standing on his chest was the Minister of Finance, Mr Muldoon. The children watching the spectacle were fascinated and horrified. They writhed in deck chairs or buried their faces in mum's dress. Fathers also, squirmed in sympathetic agony. Five seconds. . . 10 seconds. Mr Muldoon looked down from his wobbly perch at the prostrate entertainer. His Face was like a neon sign. Smiles flashed and vanished as forced pleasure was overcome by concern. ---------------- 16. 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) ------------------- 17. 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 2005 Alan Watson