* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment * www.Alan-Watson.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #675 Date: Sunday 19th July 2009 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. FISM Beijing 2009 Competitors Announced 3. Frankie Houdini Has Been Charged 4. Remarkable Magic #1 - Nick Lewin 5. Roadblocks to Creativity - #127 - Kyle Peron 6. Cruising With Paul Romhany #77 7. New SAM Assembly Visit Coordinator 8. New York Times Reviews Darren Brown 9. Potter & Potter Auctions Magic Memorabilia 10. The Magic Circle Young Magician Of The Year 2009 11. 2009 I.B.M. Convention Contests Results 12. An Old Custom Magic Item Returns 13. e-zine Archives 14. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- Please to read that Mandy Davis is going to stand for the council of The Magic Circle. Mandy has been a tireless worker with helping the young up and coming magicians and she would be a great asset to the council. Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. FISM Beijing 2009 Competitors Announced -------------------------------------------- Message by Barry Khoo For those wondering just who would be competing at FISM this year, the list of contestants has finally been released. General Magic Akua Shin - Japan Andost - USA Artyom Shchukin - Russian Federation Avon Lee - Hong Kong Brynolf & Ljung - Sweden Cheffmagic - Denmark Duo Kybalion - Spain Elena Vok - Finland Ernesto - Italy Jae Hoon Lim - Korea Jeff Lee - Taipei Jiang Qiwei - China Kenneth Chan - Hong Kong Latko - Argentina Leriko - Russian Federation Liao Xiaorun - China Ma Yanyan - China Martino - Greece Mayuko - Japan Nacho Diago - Spain Naka Kyosuke - Japan PJ Wen - Taipei Qi Yuanrui - China Qu Lei - China Red Hat - Korea Sami Matoshi - Albania Sergey Yanpolskiv - Russian Federation Siebensinn - Austria Soma - Hungary The Tramp - Switzerland Timo Marc - Germany Xavier Tapias - Spain Manipulation Alan - Taipei An Ha Lim - Korea Dion - The Netherlands Han Seol-Hui - Korea Hugues Protat - France Hyun Joon-Kim - Korea Jordan Gomez - France Liu Mingya - China Liu Zihao - China Maia Jiang - China Masahiko Matsuda - Japan Sebastian Nicholas - Germany Serge Fergini - Russian Federation Trond Hagen - Norway Yo Kato - Japan Zhang Chao - China Stage Illusions Bo Wen - China Jei Min - Korea Julius Frack - Germany Magic Sky Group - China Wang Qimo - China Mental Magic Berk Eratay - Turkey Jorge Luengo - Spain Juan Ordeix - Argentina Nicholai Freidrich - Germany Rob & Emiel - The Netherlands Tony Montana - Argentina Comedy Magic Roman Burenkov - Russian Federation The Lord of Darkness - Germany Micro Magic Daly Tang - Hong Kong Jaque - Spain Johan Stahl - Sweden Katsuya Matsuda - Japan Latko - Argentina Magic Julian - Spain Mago Bruno - Peru Marc Oberon - Great Britain Nektarios - Greece Rune - Norway Satoru - Japan Shota - Japan Shunya Okuno - Japan Simon Coronel - Australia Vittorio Belloni - Italy Card Magic Alexander Popov - Russian Federation Christian Bierbrauer - Germany Dai Hewga - Japan Giacomo de Carlo - Italy Kif - Hong Kong Kiko Pastur - Spain Kristian Nivala - Finland Li Siyuan - China Mago Ernesto - Venezuala Martin Lubcke - Germany Min Hyung Kim - Korea Olmac - France Ramon Rioboo - Spain Ryu Hyun Min - Korea Shawn Farquhar - Canada Sho Arai - Japan Sito Qirong - China Parlour Magic Charlie Caper - Sweden Charming Choi - Korea Jeremy Pei - Singapore Mago Larry - Argentina Rod Chow - Canada Shohei Komoriya - Japan Yves Doumergue - France Just for the record, out of the 100 entrants, 34 of the entrants come from China, Japan and Korea. 12 in Stage and 1 in Close Up from the China Magic Arts Society. 5 in Stage and 7 in the Close Up from Japan. 6 in Stage and 3 in the Close Up from Korea. -------------------------------------------- 3. Frankie Houdini Has Been Charged -------------------------------------------- Message by Paul Romhany (NZ) "Renowned magician and escapologist Frankie Houdini" has been charged with 19 counts of "sexual offences against teenage girls" The Queensland Times (Australia) reports the magistrate court took evidence related to Mr. Houdini's alleged indecent actions involving a 15-year-old. Mr. Houdini is 35-years-old. According to the Queensland Times, Mr. Houdini was previously charged with another 19 charges including: "12 of indecent treatment of a child under 16, two of carnal knowledge and one each of possessing child pornography, making child pornography, procuring a child for sexual acts by false pretence and common assault." Mr. Houdini will face these other charges in a separate trial. Finally, there was an additional charge of "supplying drugs to a child" to be heard by the Brisbane Supreme Court. Mr. Houdini is in custody until his trials. He made no comment in his hearing yesterday. You can read the full article in the Queensland Times here: Magician faces child sex charges. http://www.qt.com.au/story/2009/07/11/magician-child-sex-houdini/ -------------------------------------------- 4. Remarkable Magic #1 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) More Remarkable Magic #1 Starting a new series. It really seems amazing but I have been writing my weekly column in Magic New Zealand for three and a half years. It has been divided into two series 'Meetings with Remarkable Magicians' and 'Remarkable Magic.' I would love any input on what areas I can explore in the future, any interest in a monthly, and old-fashioned 'Hollywood Gossip' column? Last week was the 100th 'Remarkable Magic' column and it seemed a perfect time to begin a new series. With a stunning leap of imagination and creativity I am calling this one 'More Remarkable Magic.' I feel sure that if I had read Kyle's columns more closely I could have come up with a more creative title. However the new title does seem to cover the goals and continues my nod of the head to Mr. Gurdjieff. I really do enjoy receiving all your email, even though it does mostly seem to arrive after I make some silly spelling mistake! I really do apologize for these errors but these columns are written from the road where reference books and Google are seldom options. I would like to apologize in advance for all future mistakes. Since my lengthy run in Las Vegas with 'Comedy Magic' at the Maxim Hotel and Casino I have been traveling pretty much constantly. During this time my two wonderful daughters, Natasha and Kat, have graduated from Boston University and Stanford. I am now planning to cut back a little on the travel - I have more frequent flyer miles than I need in this lifetime! So far this year I have visited New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, Siberia, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Mexico, The Caribbean, Turkey, Libya, Malta and many more I can't recall! Don't let anyone tell you there is no work out there, you may have to travel a little to get it though. Cruise Ships are the nightclubs of our generation (a lot nicer to perform) but instead of the performer moving from showroom to showroom it's the venue that moves. I will be performing back in Las Vegas twice this summer: at Harrah's July 24th-August 6th, filling in for Mac King while he visits FISM. I will be at the Riviera Hotel headlining in their comedy club in September. I hope anyone who is in Vegas during this time while stop by and say Hello. I am also very excited to be attending 'Magic Live' which should be a blast. I will write a full run down of the event and all the characters it will bring to the Neon City. If you have read my columns in Magic New Zealand ezine or Linking Ring but never met me, please walk up and say 'Hi.' I have started a new blog on my web site called 'NowMagic' and in addition to covering my travels I will occasionally republish some of my earlier columns. I decided to do this for two reasons; 1)   I can include some photos and videos that belong there and, 2)   I am going to rewrite them and include a few of the more controversial and juicy details that I omitted in deference to Alan's high standards of responsible publishing. Call it 'Meetings with Remarkable Magicians-fully loaded.' Well, that is my updates. I am still having fun writing these columns for Magic New Zealand and if you're still enjoying reading them - let's go for another 100 columns! Check out my new blog on my website http://www.nicklewin.com -------------------------------------------- 5. Roadblocks to Creativity - #127 - Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message by Kyle Peron (US) magic4u02@aol.com http://www.kyleandkellymagic.com I think the beauty of being a magician is the ability to simply create. I am also an artist, so this part of what we do fascinates me. We can take nothing and create something amazing from it. We have the ability to produce a creative and entertaining experience. The problem most magicians have with being creative is the inability to think freely and openly about any and all possibilities. When we brainstorm ideas for acts or routines, we tend to place roadblocks that hinder us from ever really getting anywhere. The worst enemy to creativity is us. What happens is that we must teach our minds to be open to thinking. Each and every one of you reading this right now has the ability to be as creative as you want to be. The problem is that as we think of wonderful ideas, we stop going down the road because thoughts enter our mind that inhibit us. I always say that when being creative, money is no factor. Now of course it will be eventually, but I am making a simple point here. Creativity alone does not cost anything. If there is no cost to creative thought, why hinder yourself in the first place. I also always say that when thinking of ideas, never limit yourself by saying, "how am I going to do this or afford this." As soon you state this, your hindering creativity. Creativity does not need road blocks that we seem to always place on ourselves. Creativity needs free reign to grow and prosper. If we allow ourselves to think freely, we can come up with amazingly fresh ideas that we would never have thought of before. When one stops to think "How am I going to accomplish this" or "How can I afford this," then what happens is the mind puts up these road blocks. Creativity comes to a grinding halt. All those great ideas inside your head never come about because we are stopping ourselves before we even get started. When I start to brainstorm about ideas for a new routine, I try and place myself first into a spot with little distractions. I train my mind to simply think. In creative thought there are no wrong answers. There are only possibilities to be discovered. So allow these ideas to enter your head freely. Find a method for recording these ideas. This can be pen and paper, a computer or a recording device. Allow these ideas to stream from you. Now do not get bothered by the notion that these ideas may not mean anything or may not be complete. That is simply natural. It happens. Just record them. Some of the best ideas in magic came from incomplete segments of an idea. However, these ideas would never have been recorded if one stopped themselves simply because the thought did not make sense. So as you are thinking creatively understand that there are no rules to hold you down. There are no roadblocks on the road to creative thought. The only roadblocks are ones we place ourselves. So learn to be open with any and all ideas no matter how bizarre they may be. Do not hinder your creativity by wondering how something will be done or the cost associated with it. Do not hinder yourself by not recording an idea simply because it does not make full sense to you at that moment. Simply let your mind be open to any idea. When you start to do this, you will be amazed at what comes about. If you are so hung up on one idea, you will often times miss the 100 other ideas your mind wants to create for you. Do not allow these wonderful ideas to be lost. So do not worry so much about price or how it can be built. There is ALWAYS a way to make something work. That is to be figured out AFTER you have the creative idea. Never hinder thinking freely just because of the worry about cost or how something will be created. Creativity is our most prized skill that we simply take for granted and never use enough of. Learn to think creatively and open the mind to the ideas that we all have there. I guarantee your magic will become more unique and your audiences will thank you for it. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. - I would like to let everyone know that I just released a NEW book and E-Book to the magic Community. "Blue and Gold! The Complete Guide to Working The Scout Market!" is now available as a soft cover printed book as well as an ebook download. - "Encore! Creativity in the Art of Magic" Ebook. Order online now at: http://www.magicenhancer.com/Encore.html - "Tips and Techniques on the Chair Suspension" Ebook. Order online now at: http://www.magicenhancer.com/ChairSuspension.html Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist www.kyleandkellymagic.com -------------------------------------------- 6. Cruising With Paul Romhany #77 -------------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany (NZ) Murder on the High Seas You might think that being on the high seas is a safe vacation. Over the past years, the number of major crimes such as rape and murder have increased. All the modern ships now have cameras and surveillance on every corner of the ship. I know crew who have been fired for getting up to no good and being caught on camera. Sadly, this is happening more and more, and as the ships get larger the more crime will obviously happen, despite the ships security. In this case, it was a domestic dispute which ended in the death. I remember being on the original Pacific Princess years ago and heard shouting and a women screaming don't kill me, don't kill me. I phoned security and they came down and stopped what could have been a very horrible situation. The woman did have broken arm and was laying on the floor with the husband outraged. He was going to sue the ship for entering his cabin. Would you believe the head of security, who I knew and a friend was actually told off for doing his job by the company. As he told me, would I have rather phoned to tell him a woman was dead or that she was still alive! The cabins have very thin walls and you can often hear what is going on next door - it's one way of finding out what people thought of your performance after you finish your gig:) Anyway, here's the latest murder on the high seas. This article just came in today.. July 16, 2009 Man arrested in wife's high-seas death By Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press San Diego (AP) - A Los Angeles man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife during a cruise to Mexico, the FBI said Thursday. Robert McGill was being held in the death of his wife, Shirley, aboard the Carnival Elation. She was killed during a five-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, said Keith Slotter, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego bureau. Slotter would not provide details of the killing or a possible motive. "We have suspicions at this time of how it was conducted but until that autopsy is done I can't comment ... on exactly how it may have occurred," he said. Carnival Cruise Lines issued a statement saying the Elation was on the last leg of its trip on Tuesday evening when the 55-year-old woman was killed during a domestic dispute in a cabin. A passenger contacted ship's security several hours after the ship had left Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday and expressed concern that the wife might be dead, Slotter said. Crew members went to the cabin and found her body but McGill was not there, Slotter said. The suspect, in his mid-50s, was later taken into custody and held in the brig. Passengers aboard Elation said they never got official word, but rumors flew after a guard was posted outside the couple's cabin. The FBI sent 20 agents by U.S. Coast Guard cutter to the ship Wednesday night. They interviewed some 50 witnesses as well as the suspect, Slotter said. The ship docked at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, and the San Diego County medical examiner removed the woman's body about three hours later, said John Gilmore, a spokesman for the Port of San Diego. McGill was taken off the 2,052-passenger ship hours after it returned to its homeport. McGill, who has long hair past his shoulders and wore dark glasses, sat in the back of a sport utility vehicle as he was driven away from the dock. Shortly afterward, FBI agents walked off the ship carrying plastic baggies and a white plastic foam box labeled, "urgent refrigerated evidence enclosed." On Thursday morning, the cruise ship sat at port just a few blocks from downtown San Diego as security personnel and news reporters swarmed the dock. The crowd startled passengers who were lugging suitcases from the terminal building as they prepared to board the Elation, which was scheduled for an afternoon departure on another trip to Cabo. -------------------------------------------- 7. New SAM Assembly Visit Coordinator -------------------------------------------- Message by Kyle Peron SAM Assembly Visit Coordinator Announcement: Dear SAM Assembly Secretaries and Members, Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kyle Peron and it is my honor to have been appointed as your new SAM Assembly Visit Coordinator. I just wanted to reach out to you all to introduce myself and let you know what my plans and goals are to assist you, your assembly and the SAM National Council. As Assembly Visit Coordinator it is my goal to foster awareness of the SAM, increase communication and grow assembly membership and diversity through visibility and accessibility of the SAM and its officers. What does this mean to you and your assembly? It simply means that I am your liaison between your assembly and the SAM National Council. If you would like a visit by any Council Member to your assembly, I will be the person to try and put you in touch with the proper person or committee. This can range from a Regional Vice President or even the President himself, if schedules allow. This also means that visits can take place through personal visit, a phone call to your assembly or even a virtual visit set up via Skype.com. We are working on numerous methods to allow each assembly to stay in contact with the National Council at all levels. So I look forward to working with you this coming year. Please contact me for any Assembly Visit Coordinator needs. I can be reached in the following manner: Email: Magic4u02@aol.com Skype: KPeron1 or KPeron2 Phone (Home): 1-610-326-1075 If there are any questions I can answer for you or your assembly, please just let me know. It will be my pleasure to work with you this year. Kyle Peron SAM Assembly Visit Coordinator -------------------------------------------- 8. New York Times Reviews Darren Brown -------------------------------------------- Message by Tom Ogdon (US) Ben Brantley, chief theater critic for The New York Times, reviews Darren Brown: Postcard From London: Magic Act By Ben Brantley London - I did not expect to be moved by "Enigma," the wildly popular show at the Adelphi Theater. Amused, yes, and possibly even amazed. But emotionally stirred? By a magic act, performed by a fast talker in tails? Yet moved I was by the end of "Enigma," a showcase for the mind-bending talents of Darren Brown, directed by Andy Nyman. Before I proceed, you have to understand that this was my 33rd or 34th production of the past several weeks, and that my head is bursting with disparate images from London's stages. So no doubt I was bizarrely ripe for seeing Mr. Brown's brand of voodoo as a comment on - and even a benediction of - theater itself. For what Mr. Brown does is find (or impose) patterns within (or on) the chaotic whirl of life, making an immense and varied group of people feel, if only for a moment, ineffably connected. He asks us to believe that, just possibly, he can induce a mass trance in hundreds of susceptible people at the same time. And he suggests, with disarming flippancy, that our minds are linked to those of others in ways we have never identified. Mr. Brown, whose specials and series have become savory treats in the pervasive gruel of British television, doesn't do the usual top-hatted conjurer's tricks (or just a few, anyway, of the pick-a-card-any-card variety). He is, for want of a better term, a mind reader, except that doesn't quite capture the drollness and skepticism he brings to his trade. Here I am in a quandary, because in his curtain speech, Mr. Brown singled out the journalists in the audience, asking them not to describe - particularly on the Internet - what they had seen him do. Without being treacherously specific, I can say that many of Mr. Brown's routines involve summoning people from the audience (only those who have caught the plastic discs he has tossed Frisbee-style into their midst) and then proceeding to tell them what they are thinking. He also does the hypnosis thing, although he prefers not to call it that. Such prestidigitation was a staple of musical hall routines a century ago. (You may recall the one used as the plot springboard in Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Thirty-Nine Steps.") More recently, it has been inflated to stadium-concert proportions by Las Vegas sweethearts like David Copperfield. Mr. Brown is having none of that. There is little in the way of flashy special effects in "Enigma," and its star's manner is closer to that of a gentle stand-up comic than a sinister, cape-swirling illusionist. Mr. Brown talks to his audience members, as a whole and as volunteer assistants, like a facetious, ingratiating friend. He wears the air of modesty that comes only with supreme confidence. He lets you know that there is method to his magic, and in the early sequences he even lets you in (or seems to) on how he does what he does. He appears almost ordinary. And then he pulls that metaphoric rabbit out of your mind. The great comfort of "Enigma" lies in its suggestion that people are legible, that they can be read by someone who knows how to do it. Maybe, Mr. Brown hints, we aren't as confused and confusing as we think we are. Though he doesn't pose as a highbrow, he makes increasing use of words that bring to mind Tom Stoppard's philosophical conundrum play "Arcadia" (now in a lively revival here), words like randomness and predetermination. For his big finale, he enlists the whole audience in arranging seven of its members on stage into patterns of. . . Well, that would be telling. Suffice it to say that he creates the illusion that nothing, after all, is random, that beneath the surface, everything ties together and rhymes as if in a perfectly structured sonnet. I found myself unexpectedly thinking of the final scenes of Shakespeare's pastoral comedies, wherein the impossibly tangled sorts itself out and grateful wonder rules. Of course, I have been breathing, drinking and eating plays for the past month. Hardcore soccer fans (and there were definitely some in the audience) might have an entirely different perspective on what Mr. Brown accomplishes. But I bet that in essence it wouldn't be that different from mine. -------------------------------------------- 9. Potter & Potter Auctions Magic Memorabilia -------------------------------------------- Message by Gabe Fajuri At Auction: Rare Magical Sheet Music and Much More! September 12th, 2009 For Immediate Release July 10, 2009 --- Chicago, IL Potter & Potter Auctions is pleased to announce an auction of magic memorabilia, apparatus and books, and rare sheet music, featuring the collection of noted magician, historian and publisher Walter Graham, of Omaha, Nebraska. Most lots will be offered at low starting bids with no reserve. A first for magic collectibles at auction will be an outstanding collection of magic-related sheet music. Hundreds of sheets will be offered in the sale, including some pre-civil war music produced specifically for great magicians of the past. Among these are sheets for John Henry Anderson "The Wizard of the North," Howard Thurston, Harry Blackstone, Sr., Robert-Houdin, W.H. Cremer, One choice example, the Polka D'Illusion Magique (1866), features an elaborately lithographed scene of the Floating Head illusion on its full-color cover, as performed by magician Joseph Michael Hartz. Other highlights include: -An outstanding Checker Cabinet trick (ca. 1947) manufactured by Theo "Okito" Bamberg, known the world over as one of magic's most outstanding craftsmen. - Apparatus from legendary craftsmen from magic's history, including Petrie & Lewis, F.G. Thayer, Martinka, and others. -The Magic of Robert Harbin - one of 500 privately printed copies of this monumental book which details the construction of some of magic's most famous illusions. -A scarce lithograph advertising Howard Thurston's performance of the fabled Indian Rope Trick - produced by the Strobridge Lithograph Company, ca. 1910. -The Albo Books - a complete set of this invaluable and privately circulated 11+ volume work about the history and collecting of magic. -Memorabilia from the estate of famed Omaha amateur magician and debunker of fraudulent mediums, David P. Abbott. -Vintage magic supply house catalogs. -Will Goldston's famous "Locked Books." -Large lots of vintage and contemporary stage, close-up and card tricks, most offered at no reserve. -Vintage stone lithographs and contemporary posters. -A large, choice selection of vintage and contemporary books and periodicals. -------------------------------------------- 10. The Magic Circle Young Magician Of The Year 2009 -------------------------------------------- Message by Peter Scarlett (UK) Here are the results of The Magic Circle Young Magician of the Year 2009 Young Magician of the year: Michael Jordan Michael Jordan is from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, seventeen years old, and currently studying for a qualification in Media, Art and Game Design but is hoping to become a full-time entertainer. A member of The Young Magicians' Club, the Northern Magic Circle and of the Leeds based Circus Zanni; Michael regularly performs both close-up and stand-up magic as well as being one half of illusion act High Jinx. Michael is a regular performer in the British Ring 'Stars of the Future' shows, a former winner of the Young Magicians' Club annual stage competition and also featured on 'Tricky T.V.'. Runner up: Megan Knowles-Bacon Megan Knowles-Bacon is from Eltham, South London, and has been a member of the Young Magicians' Club for six years and is a previous winner of their annual stage competition. Megan is also a member of The Bexleyheath Society of Magicians and has performed at many events for both clubs as well as being featured on 'Tricky T.V.'. Although Megan particularly loves stage magic, she also performs close-up and enjoys taking old tricks and adapting them to her own style. Magic is a huge influence in Megan's life and last year, she won a scholarship from SAM's to go to the Sorcerers Safari Magic camp in Canada. Third Prize: Carl Scutt Carl Scutt is seventeen years old and from Horsham, West Sussex and says he has never entered anything that has made him as nervous or as excited as this competition! Currently studying English, psychology and sociology at college, he has been practising magic for several years and says that people are just starting to realise that it may not just be a "phase"! Carl joined the Young Magicians' Club in 2008 and won their Close-Up competition later in the same year. Next he is hoping his magic will help him fund a degree course in English at the University of East Anglia, and hopefully become a career beyond that. -------------------------------------------- 11. 2009 I.B.M. Convention Contests Results -------------------------------------------- Message by MikeD (US) I have gotten a few additions to the official list of winners and awards for the 2009 I.B.M. Convention Contests from Nashville. If you could share this, now complete, list of winners and awards, with your readers, that would be great. ------------------ Close-up Contest: Finalists: South Korea; Yoo Hyun Min USA; Micah Johnson USA; Ray 'Magic' Adams Singapore; Shin Lim Canada; Atsushi Ono USA; Christian Adult Category Awards: 1st Place Winner: Yoo Hyun Min# (receives a $500 (U.S. currency) 2nd Place Award of Merit: Ray "Magic" Adams Youth Category: 1st Place Winner: Micah Johnson* (receives a $500 (U.S. currency) Savings Bond prize.) 2nd Place Award of Merit: Shin Lim Other Awards: FFFF's People's Choice: Atsushi Ono The I.B.M. Gold Cups International Award of Excellence in Close-up Performance was not awarded. ---------------- Stage Contest: Finalists: South Korea; Minsoo Choi USA; Nathan Kepner Japan; Yo Kato USA; Peter Pitchford Canada; Richard Forget South Korea; Jei Min & Hanna Adult Category: 1st Place Winner: Richard Forget# (receives a $1,000 (U.S. currency) cash prize.) 2nd Place Award of Merit: Peter Pitchford Youth Category: 1st Place Winner: USA; David Mlakar* (receives a $500 (U.S. currency) Savings Bond prize.) 2nd Place Award of Merit: USA; Reuben Moreland Other Awards: I.B.M. People's Choice Award: Jei Min and Hanna (receives a $500 (U.S. currency) cash prize.) Karrell Fox Comedy Award: USA; Jeffrey Alan Sabra The I.B.M. Gold Medal International Award of Excellence in Stage Performance was not awarded. * The Youth Category winner of the I.B.M. Stage Contest (David Mlakar,) and the Youth Category winner of the I.B.M. Close-up Contest (Mica Johnson) will each also receive the Fantasma Youth Prize Package. # The Adult category winner of the I.B.M. Close-up Contest (Yoo Yhun Min) will be offered a contract to perform at the I.B.M. Annual Convention. The Adult category winner of the I.B.M. Stage Contest (Richard Forget) will be offered contracts to perform at the I.B.M. Annual Convention and at the British Ring Convention. -------------------------------- I.B.M. Originality Contest: USA; Michael P. Lair, for shrinking soda can (receives the Gene Gordon Cash Prize, a $100 (U.S. currency) cash prize.) I.B.M. Strolling Olympics: Funniest: USA; Andy Root Most Original: USA; Loudini (Louis Malamed) Best Overall: Micah Johnson and Shin Lim (duo) -------------------------------------------- 12. An Old Custom Magic Item Returns -------------------------------------------- Message by Carl Williams This is a short note to let you know that Custom Magic has decided to once again put out a short run of a trick we first made about 18 years ago. The name of the effect is "The Valley of the Kings". It is a very pretty effect and seems to have a special attraction for ladies. This item is basically a divining effect done with four different colored Mummies. A selected color is placed into a cercoughopus and the unseen color is detected by the Magi as if by magic. -------------------------------------------- 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) -------------------------------------------- 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.Alan-Watson.com 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 2009 Alan Watson