* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #233 Date: Sunday 25th January 2004 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. Updated Information On The Max Malini Show   3. Latest Vegas News   4. 27th New Zealand International Magicians Convention Update   5. Feb 6 On OVATION At 10.30pm   6. Houdini Days 2004 Magic Festival   7. Houdini Days in Appleton!!!   8. Are You Interested In Mentalism?   9. Record Prices For Certain Rare Titles   10. Be Thankful You're Not A Turkey!   11. Instructions For Jamie-G's Foil System (Silver And Gold Foil)   12. The Amazing Orchante Saga   13. e-zine Archives   14. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Magicians here in New Zealand are really looking forward to attending Paul Daniels MasterClass and also the evening show assisted by his gorgeous wife Debbie, Sunday week - 1st February. ---------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Updated Information On The Max Malini Show ----------------- Message from Paul Daniels (England) From 1st to 20th March, Sundays excepted, I will be telling the story of Max Malini and performing his magic at the Jermyn Street Theatre, 16b Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6ST. The box office number is 020 7287 2875. Showtime is 7.45pm and all seats are £57. Please note that this is a change of venue from the original advert that went out. The Jermyn Street Theatre is a tiny 70 seat theatre located close to Picadilly. Due to the size of the venue early booking is recommended. For those who do not know, Malini was a Jewish Gentleman who toured the world in the early part of the 20th century, performing in the drawing rooms of the rich and famous, even Kings and Queens, as well as the finest hotels. His magic became legendary amongst magicians and, at that time, the general public. Add to that the fascinating stories he told and generated, and you have a most interesting evening. As he said on his business card: "You will wonder when I am coming; You will wonder more when I am gone." ----------------- 3. Latest Vegas News ----------------- Message from David Neubauer (US) Another Cirque du Soleil spin-off is being fast-tracked to go into The Mirage as the successor to Siegfried & Roy in their former showroom. The replacement show "involves some of the biggest musical icons of the 20th century," sources say, and was in the works for another city until the Oct. 3 tiger attack that injured Roy Horn and ended the iconic production. The new show would be Cirque's fourth on the Strip; a fifth is being created for the MGM Grand, with a summer opening planned. ----------------- 4. 27th New Zealand International Magicians Convention Update ----------------- Message from Mick Peck (NZ) - Registrations: Registrations are being received from all over New Zealand, as well as from those traveling from Australia and Vanuatu to attend. Have you registered yet? Our Early Bird rate is applicable to all registrations received before the first of February, so if you want to save yourself some money there is still time to get your registration form and payment in this week. Registration forms were included in the November/December issue of Magicana Magazine and are also available for download at www.aucklandmagician.com/convention/ if you need to print yourself a copy. - Competitions: Competitions that will be held are: Close-up Magic, Stage Magic, Children's Entertainer, Walk On/Walk Off, Strolling Magic, and the MC Competition. More details can be found on the convention website, and again it is recommended you secure your place as soon as you can. This will be a convention to remember - guaranteed. .. Shore Is Magic! Convention Website : www.aucklandmagician.com/convention/ Mick Peck mick@aucklandmagician.com ----------------- 5. Feb 6 On OVATION At 10.30pm ----------------- Message from Tim Ellis (Aust) Oh, one other Magic related show on Foxtel in February. Feb 6 on OVATION at 10.30pm, PENN & TELLER "a profile of America's most outrageous comedy duo." ----------------- 6. Houdini Days 2004 Magic Festival ----------------- Message from Sam Martin The Houdini Days 2004 Magic Festival in "Houdini's Hometown" (Appleton, Wisconsin) will occur on September 2-5, 2004. The line-up follows: Parlor Area: Bill Malone, Michael Ammar, Doc Eason, Joshua Jay, Jon Stetson, Mark Bond. Escapes: a. The Chinese Water Torture Cell (Dean Gunnarson) b. The Suspended Straightjacket Escape (The Comedy Magic of Mike & Chris) c. Rope Tie Challenge (Danny Magic) Main Stage: Michael Finney, Mark Wilson &Nani Darnell, Ice McDonald, Jeff McBride, Kevin King, Glen Gerard, Jessica Reed, Rex Sikes, Jon Stetson, and Tom Burgoon. Children's Area: Robert Baxt, David "Silly Billy" Kaye, and Rondini Strolling Magicians: Nate Nygren, Bruce Hetzler, Lou Lepore, and Danny Magic Other activities: 1. Young Magicians Workshops - taught by Mark Wilson, Michael Ammar, Ice McDonald, Jessica Reed, Nate Nygren, and Bruce Hetzler 2. Jeff McBride's Intensive Workshop 3. Lectures 4. Magic's Greatest Hits Show at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center 5. Rising Stars of Magic Competition - win CASH awards and RECOGNITION! The best part of the entire Festival - All outdoor performances are FREE! Check out the website at - www.houdinidays.com - for more information. Thank you for your interest, Chris Cochrane Houdini Days Organizer ----------------- 7. Houdini Days in Appleton!!! ----------------- Message from Ron London (US) I see that Houdini Days in Appleton, WI, are going on for this year. I "thought" the magic community was boycotting Appleton because of the museum exposure. Way back when it was suggested that a straitjacket exposure take the place of a sub trunk exposure. (Isn't it interesting that magicians don't mind an exposure if it isn't out of their own show) I've closed my show with a straitjacket escape since the early 60s. And my comment, way back when, was (if a straitjacket was a hands-on experience like the sub trunk) "how would you like to be strapped into a straitjacket which had already been worn by 50 smelly tourists that day???" In my estimation .. a dumb "substitute". Exposure of any kind should be out!!! ----------------- 8. Are You Interested In Mentalism? ----------------- Message from Danny Archer (US) YES! WE KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO SAY THAT! Mentalism is a subject that appeals to practically anyone who is interested in magic. Mental magic effects have been a part of almost every top magicians act because well done mentalism appeals to modern audiences. Many performers make their living working exclusively as mentalists and perform for the elite Fortune 500 companies. Most of us are interested in learning more about this specialized field and established mentalists are always on the lookout for newer and stronger methods and effects. So it is with great pleasure, that the producers of the Las Vegas Magic Invitational (LVMI) Robert Allen and Danny Archer announce that they are organizing a convention geared towards mental magic and mentalism. After starting and running the highly acclaimed LVMI close-up convention for three years, they are turning their minds to producing a world-class mentalism convention. The first ever MINDvention will take place on November 14th -16th in Las Vegas at the San Remo Hotel and Casino (the site of the LVMI convention). Registration will be $175 and attendance will be limited. The three jam packed days will be composed with lectures, workshops, dealers, shows, panel discussions, and more dedicated events. Attendees will have a chance to perform in several shows covering a variety of topics. A number of well-respected individuals from the mentalism community will be conducting the lectures and workshops and performing in the shows as well. We are putting together a panel of pros that will be second to none. Some of the experts who are planning to take part are: Bob Cassidy, Alain Nu, Mark Strivings, Brad Henderson, Chuck Hickok, Bruce Bernstein, John Riggs and Terry Nosek (scheduled artists subject to change). As they have done with close-up magic and the LVMI, Robert and Danny are planning on doing the same with mentalism and the MINDvention convention. This will be one of the most talked about events of 2004 for the magic/mentalism community. Imagine spending three fun-filled instructive days, with some of the most talented performers in the world, in the most magical city on Earth. Learning secrets that can take your performances to the next level and opening up a whole new area to market yourself. If you have any interest at all in mental magic and mentalism you will not want to miss the first ever MINDvention. For more details and registration form, please visit our web site at www.LVMI.net Danny Archer Magic / Magicians Lecture Network 1911 Yosemite St. Denver, CO 80220-2254 303.321.6267 fax 303.355-2013 e-mail : lecturenet@aol.com ----------------- 8. More Information On Peter Heinz Kersten ----------------- Message from Magic Christian Peter Heinz Kersten (real name Peter Stockerhammer) died last night after a stroke he had last Thursday. His stage name is Peter Heinz Kersten, the name should in no way be mixed up with the former East German magician Peter Kersten. The Austrian Peter Heinz Kersten was a very talented singer of Viennese songs and magician, he organized as President of the Magic Club of Vienna several magic shows in the famous "Theater an der Wien" in Vienna between 1976 and 1985 and booked a lot of famous magicians for these shows. In his real life he was a successful dentist and had also a lot of friends in show business. Peter was also for a long time the President of the artist union in Austria and later its Honorary President. The magic scene in Austria lost one of its well known personalities, but I am sure he will organize successful magic shows in that unknown place where we all will meet him again. The funeral for Peter Heinz Kersten will take place Tuesday 27th of January at 11.00 a.m. in the cemetery of Ottakring (16th district) in Vienna, Austria With best regards and sorrow, Magic Christian ----------------- 9. Record Prices For Certain Rare Titles ----------------- Message from Mario Sale held of the Tom Blue Magic Library at Swann Galleries in NYC last Thursday Jan 15, 2004 fetched some record prices for certain rare titles. This was a true collector's library with most books in excellent mint condition , cherished and cared by Tom for many years, Highlight were: 1- Record price paid for lot #3, Dr R J Albo's Classic Magic books series. This set was complete with the added "perk" that volumes 1-5 were inscribed to Dai Vernon by Albo. Sold for $5,500 plus 15% premium. 2- Lot 278,Kellar's Arithmetical Calculations, a small and scarce 32 page soft bound pamphlet authored and signed by Harry Kellar, fetched a whopping $3,600 plus premium versus and estimate of $800/1,200 3- Lupton's A Thousand Things ca 1700's Toole Stott 448 sold for $2,600 vs an estimate of 600/900 4- Lot 363, Thornton The New Cabinet of Arts which had an estimate of 400/600 went unsold when the reserve was raised to $4,400. It was discovered that only 3 copies of this title are in existence, 2 in institutions. However it failed to sell against a starting bid of $4,400. Scarce and unusual titles fetched within or above estimates, with some recent titles issued on a limited basis (L&L Collector's edition series) selling many times their estimate. ----------------- 10. Be Thankful You're Not A Turkey! ----------------- Message from Peter Marucci (Canada) Effect: The magician talks about getting ready for Thanksgiving (or Christmas, or whatever) and cooking the holiday bird. Following a series of awful gags, he produces -- not a turkey, but a rubber chicken! Preparation: You'll need that old dove pan that's been sitting in the back of your magic closet, gathering dust. And give it a good cleaning, okay? And you'll need our old friend, the rubber chicken. You'll also need a shaker of "Instant Turkey." This is just a cardboard salt shaker (the kind you take on picnics -- if you should ever be forced to actually go on a picnic) with a label pasted over the outside, saying "Instant Turkey." And, finally, you'll need a page from a calendar, preferably from the month Thanksgiving falls in (October in Canada, November in the United States), a small handful of half-inch metal nuts, and a can of lighter fluid, with a label on it that says "WD-40" or some other kind of workshop oil. Load the rubber chicken into the load chamber of the dove pan, have the rest of the stuff close by on your table, and you're ready to go. Presentation: "It's getting close to that time of year when your days are numbered if you happen to be a turkey. Thanksgiving (or Christmas or whatever) is always a big day around our house and, this year, I offered to cook the holiday bird. It was really easy -- once I figured out that a goblet wasn't a small turkey." Pick up the shaker of Instant Turkey. "And it's extra easy if you use this new product on the market -- Instant Turkey. Just sprinkle some in your roasting pan." Shake the shaker over the base of the dove pan. "And don't forget the stuffing. I have my own special recipe. I throw in a handful of nuts." Toss the metal nuts into the pan base. "Add a few dates." Show the calendar page, tear it up, and sprinkle the pieces into the base. "And a little oil." Show the can of "workshop oil" to the audience and squirt some of the lighter fluid into the pan. "I hope this is better than last year, when we had an octopus for Thanksgiving dinner. It didn't taste very good -- but at least everybody got a drumstick." Ignite the fluid in the pan and put on the cover. "Cook this for 45 minutes at 350 degrees -- or, if you've got lots of time, for 350 minutes at 45 degrees." Remove the lid from the pan, with a flourish. "Okay, Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!" Do a double-take as you look into the pan. Then pull out the rubber chicken and wait for the laughs. "Well, I knew we were going to have some sort of a foul (fowl) dinner." Finis. Second Thoughts: This routine will naturally work with the Christmas turkey; can be re-jigged to bake a birthday cake for a birthday party; cooking the main dish for a Fourth of July picnic; or -- well, you get the idea. The other thing I like about this is that it provides a logical use for the dove pan -- it's supposed to be a piece of kitchen equipment, which is exactly what it looks like. But, you say, I don't have a dove pan. No problem. You can use a drawer box, painted to look like a kitchen range, with the drawer as the oven. Or you can use a square circle, with the outer square made up like a stove (with a Plexiglas, see-through panel in the front) and the inside tube covered in tinfoil, to represent a roasting pan. So I hope you see what I'm getting at: Most props can be adapted for most occasions, with a little work and a -- most importantly -- a little creative thought. Have fun with this. Peter Marucci 270 St. Andrew St. East Fergus, Ontario, Canada N1M 1R1 e-mail: showtimecol@aol.com ----------------- 11. Instructions For Jamie-G's Foil System (Silver And Gold Foil) ----------------- Message from Jamie-G Handling The Foil (Preparation)  First of all you cannot use a lighter to take the paper off the back of the foil. If you do that then you will remove the glue that is on the back of the foil. Take the foil and crumple it up into a small ball. Uncrumple it and then you slowly peel away the paper. The side that you just removed the paper from is the side with the glue so remember that when you go and put it on something. Put the glue side face down on anything that you are going to put the foil on and take a marker or pen or anything like that and rub it gently. The friction will cause the glue to stick to whatever it is. This foil will stick to anything. You can only use the foil from Canada. In the U.S. they use a different kind of glue so that you can't separate the paper from the foil. History Of Foil I’ve seen a child making a tinfoil ball one time. He was collecting as much foil as he could that way he could make the ball bigger and bigger. I thought that it was cool on how all the foil would stick together the way it did. The ball was the size of a baseball and it was solid. I initially started to use the foil for card magic and then eventually coins. Today this foil can be used for almost any magic situations all you have to do is use your mind. I'm a member of Ring 2100 and there alone I have sent over 400 mailings of this foil system. This is by far a new door in close up magic. It is now a lot easier to make you own new awesome close up magic. I have been using this foil system for about 15 to 20 years know and still to this day in one form or another I use this foil system. Two tricks that come to mind is my magic C.D. burner and a trick that I call Silvered. Examples Of Tricks That Can Be Done With The Silver Foil Examples of some tricks that you can use the silver foil with:  #1.Turning a gold coin into a silver one  #2.Turning a dime into a silver penny.  #3.Melt metal right off of spoons and forks.  #4.Magically make a coin so hot the coin starts to peal metal shavings.  #5.Take a playing card and rub the face of it on a silver C.D. and the face of the card disappears.  #6.Make a gold coin turn sliver on one side.  #7.Magically breaks down a coin to its molecular structure  #8.Turn normal paper money into real silver bills.  #9.Take a normal pop cap and turn it into a silver one. #10.Take a silver coin and make it melt threw a piece of paper #11.Produce silver pennies out of the air. Examples Of Tricks That Can Be Done With The Gold Foil #1.Make a quarter turn gold by the wave of your hand. #2.Turn any silver coin into gold. #3.Take a playing card and put it face down on the table take your gold ring off and rub the playing card when you turn the card over the hole face of the card is know gold. #4.Melt a gold coin into a card. #5.Melt gold off anyone's jewellery. #6.Melt gold off a gold coin. #7.Melt a coin into liquid gold that make the gold move some where else #8.Make a pattle out of tongue depressors Make one side gold and the other side normal. Or if you make two of them you can make one side gold and one side silver for a cool new looking pattle. (Show both sides silver or one side gold and the other side silver, or both sides gold) #9.A cool trick would be what ever coins you put in your hand the coins turn instantly turn into gold ones #10.Take a normal pen and when you pass the pen threw your hand once the pen comes out it is gold. Note: All you have to do is sit down and think about what you want to do in this effect. The best part about this foil is that if you take the paper off the right way the foil (after you start rubbing it to some thing) it will stick to all most anything. Also you must remember that it rubs right off too. So if you have some coins with this foil on it don't leave the coin in your pocket with other coins because your special coin will get scratched. Where Do You Get The Foil If you can't find any cigarette foil from any Canadian packs that will work and trust me not all foil does work get a hold of me and I will send you out some foil that will get you started in a hole new world of close up magic. There are all kinds of new idea's out here lets go get them. My wife and I sell the total magic foil package for $15.00 U.S. -plus shipping-we send you tons of gold and silver foil. Get a whole new magic system for the price of a packet trick. Contact Information e-mail:jamiegmagic@aol.com (learn 50 magic tricks for free)Website:www.windsormagiccircle.homestead.com Inventor creator of "THE MAGIC FOIL SYSTEM" -Jamie Gilbert..(a.k.a)JAMIE-G Mailing Address:Jamie Gilbert 1607 Marentette Ave. Windsor,Ontario,Canada N8X 4E5 ----------------- 12. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page - 54 Raging Ocean - ‘Going Mental’ Fishing off the Coast of Tahiti, December 1969. It is around 3 pm, time to head back - we noticed that land – Tahiti – was not in sight. The shark, in its fight to escape, had towed us over the horizon. Now the ‘FUN’ part starts. It turns out that our ‘Captain’, who “no Speakie English”, didn’t know how to navigate. He, like us, didn’t have a bloody clue which way to go – he couldn’t even read the compass. OH, SHIT! Earlier in this narrative, I said we headed West – actually it was South-West, out from the beach front of the Maeva Hotel - logic tells you that heading North-East would put you on the right track, but, we DIDN’T KNOW then, that we’d gone South-West. After all these years, I’ve just worked it out. The ‘Maeva Beach Hotel’ is a few miles down from the Faaa International airport at Papeete, which is on the West coast. I came up with the bright idea of tuning into a radio station – (if it was broadcasting in French, it would have to be Tahiti), slowly turn the launch around until we got the strongest signal, and head off in that direction. That didn’t work -out in the middle of the ocean radio signals are the same strength, no matter which direction you’re facing. More S.T! Then we noticed a slight breeze had come up, and the sea was getting a little choppy – nothing much really, but the sky was darkening. Someone said, “why not send out an S.O.S. on the radio” - great idea – why hadn’t we thought of that in the first place, or our so-called ‘captain’, for that matter. We wrote S.O.S. on a piece of paper, thinking he (the Captain) would at least understand that for Christ’s sake, then pointed to the radio. He looked at it as if it was something from Mars –not only could he not navigate – he didn’t know how to use the bloody radio! By now we, the Swede, the Norwegian and myself, were praying that there was plenty of toilet paper on board – we were going to need it. Outside, the wind has come right up and is blowing quite hard. The smooth sea has rapidly transformed from a large ground-swell, to angry, surging, foaming waves that were breaking over the stern of the launch, froth flying every which way – our shark was breathing water - the once beautiful blue sky, now obscured by darkening ominous cumulonimbus clouds, the torrid air heavy, laden with moisture. ‘El Capitan’ (who speakie no English), has started the outboards, his eyes staring straight ahead, fixated like a man in a trance, face vacuous, holding the wheel as the launch wallowed, slapping and thudding at the bottom of each trough. It became frighteningly obvious that our so-called Captain’s (who no Speakie English) only sea-going experience was limited to cruising and fishing around, and just off, the Tahitian reef, in smooth, calm waters, where he could also ‘show off’ with his watery ‘wheelies’. The guy didn’t have a F…G clue - our lives were in HIS hands - DEAR GOD! One of the ‘boys’ (I can’t remember which), was becoming extremely agitated, yelling at anyone to ‘do something’, while his mate did his best to calm him down; ‘El Capitan’ was on another plane of existence. My only experience with boats was trout fishing on lakes in New Zealand - Taupo and Rotorua in the North Island, and Queenstown in the South Island. I vaguely remembered being told, or reading that, if caught out in rough weather in the middle of a lake, the surface can and will whip up like ocean waves. That you should power down the motor(s) when going into a trough, and full power back on when going back up and, not to go straight up or down - but cross each wave on an angle - at 45 degrees, and back up to your left at 45 degrees, and continue this action ad finitum, much like a board surfer does on those huge waves that they tackle. Get the angle wrong, and/or too little power, and you will flip, swamp, and sink! It’s a wonder I have any memory at all of what happened, considering the extreme circumstance – I have very clear memory of the chap who ‘lost it’, he went totally crazy, screaming insane. His mate had to lock him in the cabin – I can’t remember where our Captain was – probably in the cabin as well. Somehow, I had taken over the wheel, attempting to put my very limited knowledge of boating into some sort of practice. The other Scandinavian was on deck with me, doing what, I don’t know, but I remember he was calm and cool, the total opposite of his now utterly demented ‘mate’. We were in the middle of a raging, tropical cyclonic hurricane, and rainstorm. With the tempestuous wind howling, the turbulent ferocity and intensity of it all was terrifying! - CONTINUES - ------------------ 13. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives ------------------ Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.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) ------------------- 14. 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 Magic New Zealand e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Magic New Zealand e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of Magic New Zealand. Neither Magic New Zealand or Alan Watson can 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 that they will not hold Magic New Zealand and or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of Magic New Zealand. 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 2004 Alan Watson