* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #24 Date: Sunday 4th June 2000 Editor: Alan Watson www.alan-watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editors Message 2. Wizardz is opening new venue 3. Linking Ring on CD ROM 4. Pat Sweeney went into hospital on the 29th May 5. The Castle of Magic - NZ's only Magic 6. MagicNZ BBS - end of an era 7. New news group for SAM members 8. MagicNZ BBS closes down 9. 20 cent NZ shell coin 10. For sale - white doves 11. Closed an era in NZ magic 12. Diarise these events 13. News Items 14. MagicNZ e-zine archives 15. Benefit of subscribing to the MagicNZ e-zine 16. Subscription Management 17. Contact Information. ------------------------------------- 1. Editors Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Magicana CONGRATULATIONS Michael Woolf on our first issue of Magicana as Editor. If you have not received your copy of Magicana by Monday, e-mail Michael to make sure that you are on his mail list: michaelw@ihug.co.nz MagicNZ BBS We have decided to close down the MagicNZ BBS as Chris Parkinson - (Parky) and I felt that it was now out dated technology. It certainly achieved the objectives that we had envisioned. MagicNZ BBS gained international recognition for its contribution in promoting New Zealand magicians and magic from around the world. We would like to thank the foundation members of MagicNZ BBS for having the vision to help bring our dream to fruition. Seventeen foundation members: Mark Felton, Thomas Felton, Bruce Graham, Chris Parkinson, Paul Romhany, Bill Reid, Ken Ring, Malcolm Silverman, Shane Thompson, Arif Usmani, Alan, Michele, Nicole, Larissa and Melanie Watson, Richard Webster and Michael Woolf. Pat Sweeney As you all know Pat Sweeney is in hospital recovering from a Heart Operation. Burns Scandrett has kindly offered use of his e-mail address for you to send messages to Pat. Burns will deliver them to Pat on your behalf. Burns e-mail address: delarno@xtra.co.nz If you prefer to send Pat a get well card, his home address is: Flat 1 7 Dawson St Christchurch Paul Romhany In the Western Leader this week Paul Romhany had a 1/3 page article and photo entitled "Quietly does it for funny chap". It read, "A New Lynn Charlie Chaplin is tramping around the world with a silent show. The silver screen comedian is depicted by Paul Romhany who twirls his cane at the Auckland City Celebration of Performing Arts this weekend ... he spends three months a year in New Zealand and the rest taking his show across Asia, the Middle East and the United States ... Mr Romhany has been an avid fan and impersonator of the early silent movie star since he was a child. He turned his infatuation into a career 12 years ago .........." If you have any magic news drop me a line: alan@watson.co.nz ------------------------------------- 2. Wizardz is opening new venue ---------------------------------- Message from Ron Wilson Most of you probably know that Wizardz is opening a new venue that adjoins the Disney property near Tokyo. The opening will be the beginning of July and the magicians for the first few months will be Jonathan Neal and Jody Baran & Kathleen. Of particular interest is that Jonathan Neal will now be booking all performers for Wizardz both here and in Japan. Fred Wood is of course the President of Wizardz. ---------------------------------- 3. Linking Ring on CD ROM ---------------------------------- Message from Don Wiberg I enjoyed reading the latest from NZ. I'm just passing the following along. I have not seen the CD's yet but am looking forward to viewing them. They will be on display at the convention in Buffalo. I'm sure Tony will come back with a full report. Subj: Linking Ring on CD ROM Date: 5/27/00 9:49:12 PM Central Daylight Time From: JOE BERTUZ I am pleased to announce that the Endowment and Development Foundation has signed an agreement with Digital Publishing, Inc. (DPI) to produce the entire file of The Linking Ring from 1922 to 1999, front cover to back cover, on CD-ROM. This agreement was negotiated following the receipt of a written opinion by a law firm specializing in intellectual property law that we had the right to do this providing our journal was reproduced in it's entirety. The underlying purpose of the Agreement is for DPI to create scanned images of past issues of the Magazines, and make electronic copies available on CD-ROMs, including CDs in both regular format and in DVD format, and capable of a full text search. The CD-ROMs will be available in both the PC and Macintosh formats, and DPI will scan and create an electronic image of the updates of the magazines every three years. However, while our contract called for each 25-year segment to be marketed over a three year period, I am pleased to announce that as of two weeks ago, DPI had scanned and indexed 75% of The Linking Rings, and we are hoping that the entire collection will be made available for sale at our Annual Convention in Buffalo, New York. Finally, our contract specifies that only current I.B.M. members may purchase the CDs and each purchaser will be verified as a current member before CDs are sent. The complete Archive contains all issues of The Linking Ring including: All Articles, Departments, Columns, and other textual material. All Colour photographs and black/white photographs in context. All other graphic materials (drawing etc.) All advertisements. Front and back covers (inside/outside). Full text searchable database and all contextual material. Structured Index for each article containing title, author(s) and abstract. The electronic images will be displayed in JPEG Format (does not require the installation of special viewing software). There is a powerful, browser-based search engine, and user technical support via a 1-800 phone number, e-mail, and FAX. Each set consists of the images, associated full text database, and structured index for the volumes included, and the search and retrieval software. You will have the ability to type in the name of a magic effect or a person's name and the program will show you every listing where that name is mentioned and which CDs to insert to access the information. You will also have the ability to view all advertisements from 1922 through 1999, view Ring reports etc., or you can access each page of every issue, and print any of the information you desire for your own use (of course, reproduction rights are strictly covered by copyright). For the past five years the Endowment and Development Foundation has worked with many vendors to find a one that could provide us with full text search along with satisfactory pricing, as our target market is relatively small. We feel that we have found that vendor in Digital Publishing, as the pricing for each of the 25-year volumes is an amazingly low $125, with discounts for those who purchase the entire collection, following is the discount structure: Volume 1 - $125 Volume 2 - $125 Volume 3 - $125 Any two sets $210 All three sets $300 All orders received before July 1, 2000, will receive an additional 10% discount. Shipping and Handling in the continental US via US Postal Service Priority Mail is $5.50, Federal Express 3rd Day Delivery is $12.00. Alaska/Hawaii via US Postal Service Priority Mail is $5.50, Federal Express 3rd Day Delivery is $22.00. International: Request shipping cost at time of order. All applicable duties, tariffs, etc., are the responsibility of the purchaser. To order your set of CD-ROMs please call (888) 344-4782, outside the United States call (703) 737-3397, FAX (703) 737-7699 or e-mail your order to: Lfranke@erols.com. Please enclose the following information, your name, the address where the shipment will be sent, telephone and FAX (if applicable), your e-mail address, your credit card number and expiration date, the Volumes you are requesting PC or Macintosh Format, regular CD or DVD, and the preferred method of shipment. Digital Publishing's hours of operation is 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You will receive installation instructions as well as instructions on how to view the user manual. The manual is in a .PDF file along with a copy of Adobe Acrobat needed to view the file In the event that all three Volumes are not available at time of shipment, Digital Publishing will ship the Volumes available and your credit card will be billed only for those Volumes. The additional discount will still apply when the additional Volume is available, once shipped your credit card will be billed accordingly. As previously mentioned, updates will be available on a three year cycle. The first update will be available in February 2003 and will contain the page images from the preceding thirty-six months and updated integrated full text and structured index databases. While we are excited about this program, and believe the ability to have ready access to the enormous amount of technical and historical information in these hundreds of volumes is a major contribution to the art of magic, we have yet to receive our advance copies, as the contract calls for the Executive Editor of The Linking Ring to approve the collection, and especially the search engine used prior to distribution. Again, we will keep you informed. I would like to thank the Board of Trustees of the International Brotherhood of Magicians for their help and cooperation, as they have made this program possible. Joseph M. Bertuzzi Endowment and Development Foundation, Chairman ---------------------------------- 4. Pat Sweeney went into hospital on the 29th May ---------------------------------- Message from Burns Scandrett Pat Sweeney went into hospital on the 29th for the op the next day (yesterday) Message from Burns 30th May I just rang Christchurch Public Hospital re Pat Sweeney. He had the operation, recovering well in the Cardiology ward. I shall call in to see him tomorrow and report back. Message from Burns 3rd June I called in to see Pat and he is recovering very well. He asked me to pass on his regards and thanks your readers for their kind thoughts. ------------------------------------- 5. The Castle of Magic - NZ's only Magic ------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany This week while performing in Christchurch I had the chance to visit the Castle of Magic - NZ's only Magic Shop. The warm welcome I received and hospitality was just wonderful. Over coffee and lunch Robert and I got to share creative 'magic' ideas and catch up on the world of magic. The shop was full of wonderful products and what really impressed me was the quality of some of the professional magic Robert had in store. He has some 'original' ideas being manufactured here in New Zealand and the workmanship on what I saw was far superior than I have seen overseas! A demo product arrived while I was there and I ordered one straightaway!! One of the products is an amazing tip over trunk that is a real work of art in itself. For anybody wanting to produce a rabbit, this is, in my opinion far superior to any of the other 'boxes' on the market. This opens up much more possibilities for routining etc. Be sure to visit the Castle of Magic when in Christchurch or at least do yourself a favour and phone and ask him about his 'Kiwi' Products as well as other supplies. The phone number is 03 379 4468 ------------------------------------- 6. MagicNZ BBS - end of an era ------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany May 31st marked the end of an era in the history of New Zealand Magic. Without a doubt, the most influential tool for bringing New Zealand magic to the rest of the world and the rest of the world to New Zealand was finally switched off. The NZ Magic BBS was the first graphic bulletin board of it's kind in the world to connect magicians together. It was set up by Chris Parkinson and Alan Watson and as a founder member I had the chance to chat 'live' to some of the most well known magicians in the world as well as keep in touch with magic friends in New Zealand. There were times where up to five magicians from different parts of the world would be 'talking' to each other and discussing routines, effects and the even what we had for dinner. One of the wonderful things about the BBS was that as soon as something happened overseas, people would send messages to the 'chat' room and it finally gave Kiwi magicians the chance to get up to date news from around the world. While overseas performing, it was a great opportunity for professional magicians to keep in contact with other magicians back home and keep everybody up to date. When I attended FISM in Germany I was able to send the results within minutes of finding out, no magazine could offer such instant news. If something happened overseas or even within New Zealand, you could be sure of the results being posted on the BBS. In the very early days, many magicians didn't even own a computer so had no idea what the BBS was, or let along something called 'the internet'. Over the past few years, almost every magician in this country now owns a computer and is hooked up to the Internet. What they are probably not aware of is the input Alan and Chris had, and still have, in setting up Magic on the Internet World Wide. Every New Zealand magician owns a great deal of gratitude to Chris Parkinson and Alan Watson for their pioneering in the Internet and for putting the Bulletin Board together. Members of MagicNZ BBS also had the chance to appear in print in various magazine around the world including The Linking Ring, MUM, Magic Circle Magazine and the SAM magazine to name a few. MagicNZ BBS also sponsored many lectures that came through to New Zealand and lectured throughout the country. The closing of the BBS shows just how far ahead in their thinking Chris and over by other means and they are forging ahead with other ideas that supersede the BBS. Again, they are leading the way in this amazing technology we call the Internet. Thanks Chris and Alan from every magician in New Zealand!!!! Paul Romhany www.comic.co.nz ------------------------------------- 7. New news group for SAM members ------------------------------------- Message from Bill & Mandy Reid This is a new NEWS group for SAM members. It has only been running for a few weeks and already has great support. It is moderated by Bruce Kalver so join up to get a daily dose of the S.A.M. by sharing news, ideas and views with other members worldwide. The emails will be sent to you in digest form daily. This service is only for current S.A.M. members. To Join go to: www.egroups.com/invite/SAMtalk and click the "JOIN" button ------------------------------------- 8. MagicNZ BBS closes down ------------------------------------- Message from Bill & Mandy Reid It is sad to see the MagicNZ BBS close down; as for me it was a great way to keep up with the news outside the Hawks Bay and Internationally. It was way ahead of its time, but time and technology has now caught up and by passed it. A great deal of thanks, and never enough praise can be passed on to both Chris Parkinson & Alan Watson for the time and effort they put into the BBS, thus keeping NZ magic out there in the public view, both in NZ and Internationally. ------------------------------------- 9. 20 cent NZ shell coin ------------------------------------- Message from Ken Bates - kbmagic@xtra.co.nz Do you know where I can get a 20 cent NZ shell coin? ------------------------------------- 10. For sale - white doves ------------------------------------- Message from Tony Wilson - twilson@xtra.co.nz As my doves keep reproducing and Mary and I are moving towards downsizing our home I have seven doves for sale collectively or individually. Price $5 each or seven for $30!!! Buyer organises collection and selection or pays for freight. ------------------------------------- 11. Closed an era in NZ magic ------------------------------------- Message from Ken Ring The MagicNZ BBS that started our modern electrotech presence closed its online doors a few days ago, and in so doing, closed an era in NZ magic. Started by Chris Parkinson and Alan Watson, "the board" became democracy-in-action, a forum for lively discussion, idea-swapping, and news bulletins. At one time it was the only place to air grievances. MagicNZ was started with just 6 working professionals who were quickly attracting international publicity for NZ magicians and NZ magic. When the Internet became available later, the BBS became the natural carrying-vehicle. Free public meetings were regularly held for members and Chris would explain the latest advances. In the end the advent of email made the relatively cumbersome BBS start to become sidelined. Without the BBS and the efforts of its founders, NZ magicians would have lost out on many lecture tours and overseas information. Without it we would only now be joining the Internet rush like the rest of the country. Magicians have traditionally embraced every new technology first, and we were fortunate in having two devoted and dedicated people to open us up to this new world of possibilities. There were those who like Alan Watson, Paul Romhany, Guy Cater and Graham Rogers regularly supported and contributed, even when they were overseas, giving us almost day-by-day diaries of events. There were hints and ideas from Chris to improve our tech skills, jokes and cartoons from Wayne Logue, birthday greetings sent (someone had a list) and of course the Grymoire mail list, subscribed to by folk like Lance Burton, Trevor Lewis and Max Maven - what a mine of magical information! All eras pass, and the BBS now slips into history. But it will be fondly and long remembered, and how from very humble beginnings through to incredible sophistication it taught us all to use our computers in ways we never dreamt possible. It was an electronic friend, the only club where some of us felt no acrimony, and it served its members outstandingly well. Chris and Alan, thank you for your time and efforts over these last 7 great years. ------------------------------------- 12. Diarise these events ---------------------------------- Sunday 25th June Auckland - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Tuesday 27th June Wellington - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Thursday 29th June Christchurch - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Sunday 22nd October - IBM Ring 160 Day of magic Thursday 12th - 16th April (Easter) 2001 - 26th New Zealand Magicians' Convention If you require more information about the above events go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive to research for more information. ------------------------------------- 13. News Items ------------------------------------- If you have any news items that you feel the majority of our subscribers would be interested in please e-mail me so I can include them in the next e-zine. The magician who e-mails me a particular news item FIRST will receive full credit at the top of that item. If the news is of major importance I will send them out immediately as a Newsflash. ------------------------------------- 14. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: magicnz When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov6.txt first three numbers denote issue number then the date. ------------------------------------- 15. Benefit of subscribing to the MagicNZ e-zine ------------------------------------- You will now be informed well in advance of coming events and kept right up to date with the latest news. MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, late on Sunday night. ------------------------------------- 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MagicNZ e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors. Neither MagicNZ nor Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via MagicNZ e-zine. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions as we see fit. >> This publication may be freely redistributed to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY << (c) Copyright 2000 Alan Watson ------------------------------------- 17. Contact Information ------------------------------------- Alan Watson Ph. (9) 483-9274 Fax. (09) 483-9274 Mobile 025 95-7070 e-mail alan@watson.co.nz www.magician.co.nz www.magicianz.com