* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #339 Date: Sunday 14th August 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. Is Mak Magic Distributing A Rip Off Item? 3. S.A.M. Convention Boston Competition Results 4. S.A.M. And I.B.M. World Class Magic Extravaganza 5. "It's MAGIC" Cable Show 6. Are You Interested In Mentalism? 7. Magic Convention The Netherlands 2006 8. I Lived And Worked In Thailand For 5 Years 9. Visiting And Performing In Thailand 10. Seeking Anything Connected With Maurice Fogel 11. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 2 12. Dates For New Zealand Magicians To Remember 13. The Amazing Orchante Saga 14. e-zine Archives 15. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Bruce Kalver, Editor of Magic SYMbol for the Society of American Magicians has done a fantastic job with their online youth magic magazine. Junior magicians can subscribe to this superb online magazine and join the SYM by contacting Bruce Kalver at: NOSTALGIA1@aol.com Mandy Davis, Editor of "Secrets" the magazine of the Young Magicians Club for The Magic Circle, UK is also doing a superb job as their Editor. For more information contact Mandy Davis at: mandy@themagiccircle.co.uk ---------------------------------- In last weeks issue of Magic New Zealand Walter Zaney Blaney brought to our attention copyright plans of illusions being auctioned on e-bay. Martin Breese (UK) tracked this individual down and convinced him of the errors of his ways and he will no longer be selling copyrighted plans of illusions. Well done Martin! ----------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Is Mak Magic Distributing A Rip Off Item? ----------------- Message from Wayne Rogers (NZ) I am angry to discover that a large American magic company has chosen to distribute a cheap copy of one of my original effects. The "Appearing Ladder from Toolkit" is a blatant copy of my "Appearing Ladder from Briefcase" which has been on the market and manufactured by me since 1998. My original Appearing Ladder was first launched by Hocus Pocus Magic, and is widely advertised by a number of dealers including Hank Lee, Joe Stevens, The Trickery, Kaymar Magic, and Show-Biz Services. The company ripping off my Ladder is Mak Magic. This has been confirmed by four American magic dealers, plus it is plainly visible on Mak's own website. One dealer wrote: "Mak Magic is distributing this item. All the dealers will have it soon." Another said: "Wayne, I purchased this from Mak Magic. I was not aware that anyone owned the rights to this effect. If this is the case I will discontinue this item. Do you have a distributor in the U.S. that handles your products? I would be happy to purchase your products". I have written to two of Mak Magic's administrators, plus left a message on their phone answering machines. Unfortunately it is during the weekend and they have not replied. I am speaking out now because it is hard to imagine that a major dealer in our magic industry like Mak would not be aware that my Appearing Ladder has been around for seven years. I must assume that distributing the copy is not accidental. At this stage I have not seen the rip-off personally so cannot check the quality, but the video clip shows an exact replica, right down to the detail of the black ends on the ladder. Their advertising even boasts of "a special roller system" so they have obviously duplicated the roller I developed to control the production my original Ladder. OK, so the container the rip-off Ladder is produced from is a tool kit rather than a briefcase. This does not make it a different effect! In some ways the depth of the toolkit box detracts from the deceptiveness of the production and may add more weight, but it is still a rip-off of the basic prop which is the Appearing Ladder. A large part of my living is made from inventing and manufacturing original magic props. What right does a large company like Mak Magic have to take away my basic right to earn something from my ideas. All rip-offs are traditionally cheaper in price and quality. That thought does not soften the blow. My Appearing Ladder is being copied and distributed by a company who should know better. To purchase the original Appearing Ladder from Briefcase, contact the only authorized US distributor, George Schindler of Show-Biz Services in New York, or you can email me direct. Wayne Rogers chicane@nzmagic.com http://www.nzmagic.com ----------------- 3. S.A.M. Convention Boston Competition Results ----------------- Message from Paul Critelli Close-Up Contest Chairperson's High Score Award ($1000.00) - Ivan Amodei Silver Medal of Honor ($500.00) - Ivan Amodei Second Highest Score Award ($500.00) - Jason Michaels Brad Jacobs People's Choice Award ($500.00) - Ivan Amodei Genii Award ($300.00) - Cory Bragar Originality Award - Cory Bragar Senior Stage Contest Chairperson's High Score Award ($1000.00) - Danny Alan Silver Medal of Honor ($500.00) - Danny Alan Second Highest Score Award ($500.00) - Tony Chapek Brad Jacobs People's Choice Award ($500.00) - Tony Chapek Genii Award ($300.00) - Danny Alan Mystic Craig Award for Professional Promise ($300.00) - Jane Huang Originality Award - Tony Chapek J N Hofzinser Award for Classic Magic - Danny Alan Japanese Invitational Award - Danny Alan ----------------- 4. S.A.M. And I.B.M. World Class Magic Extravaganza ----------------- Message from Andy Dallas President Elect of the Society of American Magicians To those of you who do not know who I am let me take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Andy Dallas, I am from Champaign, Illinois, USA. That is 120 miles South of Chicago. I am currently the President Elect of the Society of American Magicians. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with all of you as time goes on. I am writing this as I sit in my camper van at the Abbott's Magic get together in Colon, Michigan. While I am here, I will be meeting with what has become known as the combined convention committee. This is a very exciting project to bring together the S.A.M. and the I.B.M. for a world class Magic Extravaganza. I will keep you posted as information becomes more available. More to come. ----------------- 5. "It's MAGIC" Cable Show ----------------- Message from David Schleich forwarded on by Sam Martin (US) Note: This is ONLY available in the Cities listed since it is on Comcast Cable TV. If you need to see it, ask a friend in one of the listed cities to tape it for you. 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 August show features a performance by Tim and Robin Balster. Air dates for this show are: August 4, August 11, August 18, August 25 and September 1 I am also looking to include segments of promo videos in the show. So if you or know of anyone that would like part of their promo aired on the show contact me at the email address below. Thanks David Schleich itsmagictv@juno.com ------------------------------------------- Arlington Heights, Ch. Bartlett, Ch. 35 Bedford Park, Ch. 19 Bensenville, Ch. 19 Berkeley, Ch. 19 Bloomingdale, Ch. 19 Bridgeview, Ch. 19 Broadview, Ch. 19 Buffalo Grove, Ch. 19 Burbank, Ch. 19 Burr Ridge, Ch. 19 Carol Stream, Ch. 19 Cicero, Ch. 19 Clarendon Hills, Ch. 19 Countryside, Ch. 19 Darien, Ch. 19 Des Plaines, Ch. 35 Downers Grove, Ch. 19 Elk Grove Village, Ch. 19 Elmhurst, Ch. 19 Elmwood Park, Ch. 19 Forest Park, Ch. 19 Forest View, Ch. 19 Franklin Park, Ch. 19 Glendale Heights, Ch. 19 Glenview, Ch. 35 Golf, Ch. 35 Hanover Park, Ch. 35 Hillside, Ch. 19 Hinsdale, Ch. 19 Hodgkins, Ch. 19 Hoffman Estates, Ch. 19 Itasca, Ch. 19 Justice, Ch. 19 Lincolnwood, Ch. 19 Lombard, Ch. 19 Lyons, Ch. 19 Maywood, Ch. 19 McCook, Ch. 19 Medinah, Ch. 19 Morton Grove, Ch. 19 Mt. Prospect, Ch. 35 Niles, Ch. 19 North Riverside, Ch.19 Northbrook, Ch. 35 Oak Brook, Ch. 19 Oak Park, Ch. 19 Oakbrook Terrace, Ch. 19 Palatine, Ch. 19 Park Ridge, Ch. 35 Prospect Heights, Ch. 35 River Grove, Ch. 19 Rolling Meadows, Ch. 19 Roselle, Ch. 19 Rosemont, Ch. 19 Schaumburg, Ch. 35 Schiller Park, Ch. 19 Skokie, Ch. 35 Stone Park, Ch. 19 Streamwood, Ch. 35 Summit, Ch. 19 Villa Park, Ch. 43 Westchester, Ch. 19 Westmont, Ch. 19 Wheeling, Ch. 35 Willow Springs, Ch. 19 Willowbrook, Ch. 19 Wilmette, Ch. 19 Wood Dale, Ch. 19 Woodridge, Ch. 19 ----------------- 6. Are You Interested In Mentalism? ----------------- Message from Robert Allen (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 magician's act, well done mentalism appeals to today's modern audiences. Many performers make their living working exclusively as mentalists and perform for the elite Fortune 500 companies. Most magicians are interested in learning more about this specialized field and established mentalists are always on the lookout for newer and stronger methods and effects. The first ever MINDvention took place on November 14-16, 2004 in Las Vegas. Over 150 people from all over the world gathered to watch, learn, and share exciting mentalism from a well seasoned and knowledgeable group of performers. It was such a smashing success we are doing it again. Danny Archer and Robert Allen present MINDVention - 2005 - - 3 jam packed days composed of lectures, workshops, dealers, shows, panel discussions, and more dedicated events. Attendees will have a chance to perform in several jam shows covering a variety of topics. A number of well-respected individuals from the mentalism community will be conducting lectures and workshops and performing in the shows as well. We are putting together a blockbuster panel of pros that will be second to none. Some of the experts who are planning to take part are; Banacheck, Richard Osterlind, Bruce Bernstein, Barrie Richardson, Rick Maue, Lee Earle, Larry Becker and more to come. (scheduled artists subject to change). Imagine spending 3 fun-filled instructive days, with some of the most talented performers on the planet, in the most magical city on earth. You will learn secrets that can take your performances to the next level and open up a whole new area of marketing to you. If you have any interest at all in mental magic and mentalism you will not want to miss the 2nd annual MINDvention. For more details and registration form, please visit our web site at www.MINDVENTION.com REGISTER NOW AND SAVE! REGISTRATION FEES GO UP September 1, 2005 Registration: $175.00 Till 9/1/05 Registration: $195.00 After 9/1/05 ----------------- 7. Magic Convention The Netherlands 2006 ----------------- Message from Joop Schobben (Holland) De Nederlandse Magische Unie (NMU) Announce "The Dutch National Magic Convention 2006" Organised by Goochelclub Rotterdam 17-18 June 2006 "Isala Theater" Capelle a/d IJssel the Netherlands. Competition "Dutch Championship" Stage and Close-up. Grand International Gala, Various Lectures and Demonstrations. Look at http://www.goochelclubrotterdam.nl/ Or write to: Congresbureau 2006 Reede 34 3232 CV Bielle Netherlands Tel: 0181-415569 E-mail: pkesteloo@ilse.nl ----------------- 8. I Lived And Worked In Thailand For 5 Years ----------------- Message from Don Crawford (Aust) James Hanrahan left a message asking for help on visiting Southern Thailand. I lived and worked in Thailand for 5 years performing corporate functions and a regular Sunday gig at Planet Hollywood (not sure if my returning to Australia had anything to do with it closing down 2 weeks after I left). I am fluent in Thai language in fact perform my show in Thai. Of concern to any Magician (or tourist) is that you cannot touch a Thai persons head unless you have ascertained that you are older than they are. So a magically produced coin or sponge ball from behind someone's ear may not get the reaction you hoped. Pointing your foot in the direction of someone head is never accepted either. This part of custom and culture is similar to the pointing of a bone (death wish). One other warning a Thai person of any age will snatch the cards out of your hand to verify they are not faked. Their attitude to magic in general is not like ours at all. Picture an adult audience who all behave like children. They will tell you if they see something dodgy even if that's not how it was done. Still want to perform there? I have a few friends in Bangkok who are members of the Siam Magic Club. I think they still meet on the last Sunday of the month in the afternoon. If your holiday is not locked in cement this is a great way of meeting fellow magicians. One last piece of advice if you do go there have some of your best stuff for sale cause if it's any good it will be copied anyway. Welcome to land of copy and smile. My act appeared on Thai television one day. Wish it was me presenting it though. My contact is through my website www.DonCrawford.com.au Don Crawford (Melbourne Australia) ----------------- 9. Visiting And Performing In Thailand ----------------- Message from Chuck The last issue noted that James Hanrahan will be visiting and performing in Thailand. He asked for a few do's and don'ts as it relates to their culture. My wife was born in Thailand, however, I met her when she was chief teller at Bank of America. She is presently in northern Thailand as part of a missionary group of Zoe International that is visiting and assisting children in orphanages and the hill tribes who reside and work in the mountains. After approximately three weeks she will return to the USA and this guy who really misses her. Here are a few of the very important don'ts: 1. Never point your foot toward anyone especially the bottom of your feet. (You walk on you feet or shoes resulting in filth that is pointing toward another.) 2. Always remove your shoes when entering a person's home. 3. Never touch an adult on their head - it is an insult. 4. Never touch your genital area in public. The only "do" I can think of is perform a clean show. You will find the Thai's to be a super audience that enjoy laughing and magic. Chuck PS: Both the 'left' and 'right' politicians and people love the King and Queen of Thailand. Be respectful of them. They are a wonderful couple who help the poor in many ways. chamhen@aol.com Chuck ----------------- 10. Seeking Anything Connected With Maurice Fogel ----------------- Message from Chris Woodward (UK) I am earnestly seeking anything connected with Maurice Fogel especially a brochure called Fogel the Facts c.1948 and anything related to Goldston's Magicians' Club and the following magazines to complete the file: Goldston's MAGICIAN MONTHLY WANTS Volume 2 Number 10 ( September 1906) Volume 3 Number 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Volume 4 Number 12 Volume 14 Number 6 If you can help, please contact C.Woodward@tesco.net Thank you ! ----------------- 11. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 2 ----------------- Message from Tony L. Lewis (US) Hi fellow magic enthusiasts, This part of the series on dice stacking represents a break in the flow of the narrative, but I am inserting it here because of a phone call I made recently. * * * After I wrote my first article in this current series, I placed a phone call to the man who I believe is currently the world's best dice stacker. His name is Todd Strong and he has written a book on dice stacking aptly entitled "The Dice Stacking Book" which can be purchased for $9.95 US at Toddstrong.com or at YFD. Todd also has a DVD (recently converted from VHS) also aptly entitled "The Dice Stacking Video," which sells for $24.95. The conversion to DVD is so recent that the VHS version is still listed on the web site. However, the latter is now out of print. You can currently purchase the DVD (or the book) by contacting Todd at Tstrong@whidbey.com. The DVD will be available shortly from YFD. IMO Todd's book and video are the two finest works available on the subject of dice stacking. I ran across them on the internet over four years ago. As is my custom, I contacted Todd personally to find out more about who he was. I soon discovered that Todd is a world famous juggling guru. (Todd did not tell me this. I deduced it from other inquiries I made about him.) He makes a living teaching, lecturing, and writing about juggling both in the US and abroad. In addition to his book on dice stacking Todd has also authored books on the Diabolo (Chinese yo-yo) and the Devil Sticks. Even if you have no thought of purchasing anything from Todd, I urge you strongly to visit his web site. There you will find a comprehensive section on dice stacking as well as other juggling topics. You will also see a streaming video of the dice stack (viewable with a 56 BPS modem). For those of you who are unaware of the fact, dice stacking lies in the gray area between magic and juggling. Even though Todd Strong is not a magician, his video contains a magic dice stacking routine performed by Michael Maxwell, owner of A-1 Multimedia. Here is a final thought for this installment. Yesterday I gave an explanation of why a "miss" is shrugged off by a juggler while it is highly criticized when made by a magician. Yesterday, Todd explained to me a more significant cause for this difference. He pointed out that when a *good* magician performs a difficult sleight, he/she tries hard to make it appear that nothing out of the ordinary is occurring. On the other hand, when a good juggler is in action, he/she is trying to impress the audience with the difficulty of what is being shown to them. Thus, an occasional miss in the performance serves to substantiate that impression. IN the next article I will tell you why I believe Todd Strong is the world's best dice stacker. Regards, Tony L. Lewis ---------------- 12. Dates For New Zealand Magicians To Remember ------------------ Friday 2nd September 2005 Chuck Hickok's Lecture - Auckland Time: 7.30pm Thursday 22nd September Lee Asher Lecture - Auckland Time: 7.30pm Friday 23rd September Lee Asher Lecture - Palmerston North Sunday 23 October 2005 Kiwi Magic Day Venue: Dolphin Theatre, Onehunga Auckland Registration form - go to: www.watson.co.nz/magic.html 20-23 October 2006 28th International New Zealand Convention of Magicians Palmerston North Convention website - go to: www.joel.co.nz/convention.htm ----------------- 13. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Somehow, in last week's episode, the last two lines of the last paragraph were left off. I know that many of you out there are saving my saga, so here is the complete, last paragraph again. Page 60 At around two or three in the morning, it gradually dawns upon you that it is all over. The launch is floating on a calm, serene ocean - the same ocean that, for hours on end, had tried to toss you into the seething ocean; now, the only sound is the gentle, rhythmic slapping of water against the side of the launch. The outboard motors are silent, for the simple reason that we have run out of fuel. I have absolutely no memory of when this happened but, thank God, it must have been some time after the storm had blown itself out - if we'd run out of 'juice' during the storm, I wouldn't be here today writing my SAGA. We found out later that the fuel tanks had been filled-up completely before we had motored out to sea the previous morning, and that there was enough fuel on board to have gone approximately 500 nautical miles - 500 nautical miles - and we ran out of fuel! Page 61 Some time between 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning, a small speck appeared on the horizon - it was an aeroplane; it flew over and circled around our becalmed fishing launch two or three times as we waved frantically; the pilot waved back then, waggling the wings of his aircraft, flew off and vanished over the distant horizon. An hour or so later another speck appeared - it was the coastguard; we discovered later that they had been out all night searching for us all through the storm. They had actually given us up for "lost, drowned at sea" and it was just sheer luck that the pilot of the search aircraft had done a much wider, final sweep and spotted us - we were a long way farther out to sea then anybody had imagined. Having gotten us on board the coastguard cutter, the crew gave us blankets, a meal, and hot drinks. With the launch in tow, we headed back to the port of Papeete. This terrifying ordeal has haunted me all my life. Also, it was one of those rare occasions when I didn't get copies the newspaper coverage of this unforeseen misadventure. It amazes me today, because it was front-page news, especially so because I was a visiting entertainer - my name, and posters were all over the place, including advertisements in the papers. The company who owned the launch were prosecuted! Their irresponsible behaviour and total lack of safety precautions, of putting a man in charge of a fishing boat (and of our lives), who could not speak English, and didn't know use a marine radio, was outrageous. Neither could he navigate, which is quite an insult to his race; South Pacific Islanders as renowned as navigators - they sailed all over the south sea ocean, populating the various islands; they found and colonized New Zealand! Our so-called "captain", would have been more at home paddling a simple canoe and catching fish for his family! Hubert Wayliff, the promoter who had booked me, cancelled three shows and took me to his home (a two-storey, open-plan house and thatched roof, in the Tahitian style, and right on a private beach) "to chill out, get drunk and recover" - I did all three! Isn't it strange how you can remember the 'silliest' things? Hubert had just received a copy of the long-playing record (vinyl, for those of you who have only heard of CD's), from the musical "Hair", which was all the rage in America and London at the time; I can still hear it blasting out from his fantastic stereo sound system - for three solid days. These days, I blast it out of my own 'fantastic', Surround Sound System! Ahhh, the Memories! This has been one hell of a long narrative but, as I said at the beginning, it was a terrifying, frightening ordeal under the most violent and atrocious of conditions. I have had to 'dig deep' and expose emotions that normally one keeps hidden, to try to express the full import of what happened. Now, 32 years on, the memory of it all still affects me emotionally, and can at times leave me, a 58 year-old man (this was written in 2001) blubbering like a baby! On Page 53 of this episode, in the last paragraph, I wrote; quote, '.we guessed he (the 'captain') wanted us to throw the shark back - 'No Way', we all wanted some teeth, but why he was pointing up towards the sky was a total mystery; I being a New Zealander and part Maori, should have known better. I'll explain later'. Unquote. Well, the 'later', is now! It is the custom in Polynesian culture when fishing, that the first fish caught is always thrown back - no exceptions. This 'law', is to appease the 'Gods' - if you do not - their wrath will fall upon you. When the Scandinavian caught the shark, we all helped to haul it on board, it was the first fish caught! We should have thrown it back - WE DIDN'T! THE WRATH OF 'SOMETHING' SURE FELL UPON US, for which we nearly paid with our lives; hence, the heading . 'ANGRY GODS'! MAKE OF THAT, WHAT YOU WILL! ---------------- 14. 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) ------------------- 15. 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/ezine.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