2012-04 Dennis' Deliberations

Hey! The crumble of the brick and mortar shops seems to be accelerating. Now, even the on-line shops could be thinning.  I am speaking of the latest legal issues with Hank Lee, as reported by Boston media. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/30805445/detail.html     “Harry P. Levy, the owner of Hank Lee's Magic Factory, admitted he made 134 false transactions between 2009 to 2011 on a customer's American Express card totaling $561,927, according to a stipulation of facts signed by Levy and prosecutors. The document was filed in Federal Court in Boston Friday, March 30th. Levy has agreed to plead guilty to credit card fraud and making false statements, and in exchange prosecutors won't charge him with wire fraud or aggravated identity theft, according to a plea agreement. Levy faces a total of up to 20 years in prison on the charges. Prosecutors will seek a sentence at the "low end of sentencing guidelines," and to have Levy ordered to pay restitution to the victim, according to the plea agreement.”

 ****** We all know the average membership demographics in a magic club are slanted toward older men.  Research studies show that female membership in magic clubs and performances hovers around 5 percent. That is incredibly low. As Melinda attempts to revive her career in Las Vegas, we are aware that there are probably no female names that are recognized by the public as being female magicians or illusionists.  Magic hobbyists know about Charlotte Pendragon, Adrian Black. Jade, Princess Tenko, Joanie Spina and others: http://www.all-about-magicians.com/femalemagicians.html  Why there aren’t more women magicians is an intriguing question, especially in an age when women are more likely to participate in comedy, acting, sports and music. What is it about magic that discourages women from an active role and sees them primarily as magicians’ assistants? http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/why-have-women-magicians-vanished-8369/

I will look at the article: Perhaps by looking at this unusual hobby and form of entertainment, we can better understand how gender is performed and how differences continue throughout today’s society. What does magic tell us about the persistence of gender roles in our supposedly more egalitarian era?Instead of speculating, consider the explanations from magicians themselves. Responding to a survey posted on various magic Web sites and boards (and thus not meant to generalize all magicians), 220 male and seven female amateur and professional magicians answered the question: Why aren’t there more women magicians?

These are the answers provided by the seven female magicians:
Males seem to better identify with famous magicians, most of who are male, and therefore are more apt to develop an interest in magic. Because magic at its heart is about power. Men in general have an internal desire to move into chaotic situations with power to bring about order. Is that not in essence what magicians do? Now, I know sometimes the magician causes the chaos in the first place — cutting the rope, tearing the paper, sawing the lady — but the magician always makes things turn out right. Women, by contrast, usually desire to build strong, intimate relationships with others, and this doesn’t always translate well to magic. Part of the great challenge in being a female magician is not simply to amaze people – which is crazy easy — but to put a deeper meaning into the things we do in order to build that relationship to a level where meaningful ideas can be exchanged. Because women have not seen themselves as magicians they have not been encouraged. Women have to invent for themselves ways to do things that men do not.

Most magic instruction is designed for men with jackets. Women’s clothes don’t have pockets and women can’t reach into their breast pockets. Magic books and magazines gear more for men in their advertising and descriptions of magic. It’s hard for women to find role models that they identify with. Also, women are under intense pressure to stay thin to perform, they are criticized more, where men often do not have the same pressures when performing. Like most performing arts, there weren’t many women as a lead performer. It wasn’t socially acceptable for women to be in a “lead” role since they were housewives and mothers of children. To break that mold took a lot of courage. Women were known as the assistants to create a beauty and distraction for the stage magician. So the lesser role was really played by the woman, yet the one with the most responsibility is the woman. It is the assistant who is the real magician.

Just recently women are starting to appear in more science- and math-related jobs, and the same goes for magic. Men never take women seriously, and it is harder for some women to find mentors. Also women see a magician do a stage act with skinny models dancing around and have a hard time visualizing the woman doing magic with men dancing around her. Large men can’t be box jumpers, so [they] can’t have a male assistant in the box all the time, which adds to the difficulty of a woman performing.

To summarizing the key explanations, the actual words of the magicians are presented: (for more details on these see the on-line article) 
Gadget/Technical
It’s rare to see women become interested in technology and gadgets to the same extent as men. It interests guys more in general to know how stuff works. PowerMagic suggests power, or a show or display of power. Magic attracts men for the most part because of this power, which is oft associated with men in patriarchal societies. Men feel more social pressure to be in control. It stems from the initial power trip most young men are on when they first begin the pursuit of magic (“I know something you don’t know”).
Competitive, Confrontational and Commanding
The initial steps in magic tend to be attempts to prove “I know something you do not.” This is a very confrontational relationship that is more typical of men than women. The “boldness” required to present yourself is, historically, a masculine trait. Women present magic more as an art form.
Hobby for Geeks
It’s the boys-and-their-toys syndrome. Magic is often considered a childish phase and fixation, which is more acceptable for men to have than it is for women. 
Traditional Gender Roles
It’s about stereotyping and social acceptability. Parents give magic sets to little boys and dolls to little girls. The classic image of a magician is male, so more males are drawn to it as an acceptable hobby, and the next generation sees mostly male magicians and thinks it a pursuit for males, so the pattern perpetuates itself. Also, differences in social acceptance of keeping secrets may be a factor for magic. Men tend not to believe they have deceived a friend by keeping a secret (not restricted to magic) while females relate it to trust. Males accept keeping secrets such as customer base, market information, etc., as just another day at the office. Women “share” and aren’t generally the best at keeping secrets.
The Nature of Magic
Historically, women have been persecuted for participating in magic and women who practiced magic were historically identified with witchcraft. Perhaps people expect males to be wizards/magicians and women to be witches. Because women are smaller, they are better suited as the subjects for levitations and other illusions where close confinement is required. A woman’s hands are usually smaller than a man’s and therefore less suited for concealing cards and other large objects. It also seems to be more difficult to adapt women’s clothing with pockets for concealment of birds and other objects used in magic.
Biology
Brains are wired differently for men and women. Most of contemporary magic is presented as an analytical challenge/puzzle. This is analogue to the left part of the brain, which is the “male” part. Women are more right brain oriented and respond better to the emotional, lyrical and mythical. There are different interests between women and men, mainly due to a difference in their brains. This does not mean that women are inferior to men, just that they are different. Although there are many young female magicians entering the field, and despite less overt discrimination in magic clubs and performance venues, the continued male-dominance of magic highlights the entrenched values and social roles in our society today. Looking at the increased number of women in other traditionally all-male occupations, such as medicine or law, obscures how many still view gender differences in areas characterized by issues of power and control.

Perhaps only when magic’s gender imbalance changes can we declare that discrimination based on sex has truly vanished. I would encourage you to read the entire article. The answers given were by seven female magicians.  As the father of two daughters, it seems to me that the ancient Roman Myth of Dido-Elissa, is still deeply embedded in Western thought!

Dennis Phillips   

2012-03 Famulus newsletter

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170


The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 3/21/2012 at 7:30 PM SHARP


I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Easter Magic

Please join us for dinner beforehand

Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.

Website: http://www.ring170.com/

F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Sheldon Brook- Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron & Joe Zimmer  -
Mark Fitzgerald- Director at Large -
Dan Knapp- Sgt at Arms -
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************

GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.

Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.

2012-03 From the Editor

Spring is sprung and we have moved to Daylight Savings Time, so summer is on its way. In this newsletter you will see a short review and some pictures of another excellent Flea Market/Auction. Congratulations to everyone involved, especially our president as driving force behind this event.

2012-03 Ring Report

President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order with 28 members and several guests, Clem Kinnicutt and "Sammy, The Magician": both were accompanied by their wives.  Craig went on to report that Jack Kodell was recuperating from a recent health setback at a local rehab facility.  The plans for our annual Flea Market and Auction on March 10th were going well with the 30 available  tables going fast. Bob Swadling and Bob Moreland were scheduled to do lectures and the former will also do a Workshop.

Dan Stapleton did a brief book review of  The Life and Times of Augustus Rapp and So You Want To Be An Illusionist by David Seebach.  He endorsed them both.

 

Orlando SAM Chapter President, Craig Schwarz, presented Charlie Pfrogner with a fifty (50) year membership pin commemorating is service with them.  Charlie is also very active in IBM 170.  A brief film, from the 70's, was shown of  member Valerie Swadling performing her FISM award winning magic act.  Bev Bergeron came on to demonstrate and teach Bob Hummer's  Three (3) Item Prediction.

 

Phil Schwartz presented Magic History Moment No. 37.  His subject this month was Frederick Eugene Powell, a master magician who entered our world in 1856 and performed throughout his long life into the 30's.  Educated at Pennsylvania Military College in Engineering he gave up a teaching career to pursue Magic.  He teamed with several of the top magicians of the day to perform on stage some very unforgettable illusions. He was a contemporary and friend to Houdini.  Powell's most noteworthy illusions included 'Noah's Ark' and 'Cremation': his tricks included the burned and restored rope and coin ladder.  Powell died at the age of 82 in 1938.

 

This month we had 11 performers demonstrating their art to an appreciative audience.  Chuck Smith did a Keno Prediction effect followed by George Bernard showing a Chain Penetrating Spike.  Charlie Pfrogner was back, after an illness, performing a Card Transpo that was very entertaining.  Dan Stapleton performed Psycho-Psycometry with Valentines Day cards that were sent to him from audience participants.  Newcomer, Sammy, The Magician, entertained with Shots in the Deck, a novel playing card illusion.  Bob Swadling took the stage next and demonstrated his card handling techniques.  Craig Fennessey did a Cut, Mixed, and Matched Jumbo Card Routine.  J. C. Hiatt followed with a perplexing selected card routine.  Next,  Ed McGowan brought out his Cups and Balls and expertly performed the Vernon Routine to the delight of the membership.  Ravelli closed the evening performances with a shredded paper routine to restored paper and ended with the oral consumption of razor blades and then producing them, from his mouth, on a thread, as the curtain went down.

2012-03 Annual Flea Market/Auction

To judge by the attendance, this year's Flea Market and Auction was again a huge success, thanks to the excellent organization by President Craig Fennessey and a horde of volunteers. As usual, the visitors were treated to two free lectures, by the inimitable Bob Swadling (with a lot of help from Val) and Robert Moreland. In addition, Bob Swadling gave an over-subscribed workshop to 15 lucky participants.

Pictures below

2012-03 Dennis' Deliberations

I still get upset over magic on TV boasting that there is “no trick photography and it is just as you would see it if you were here!”  That statement is only true if you stood in one exact spot, with blinders on each side of your eyes!  That is not a practical or realistic or truthful claim.

I think, in some videos, the cameras (angles) are as important as the illusion. And it could be, that some viewer could be placed at a spot that would reveal something, but they are hired to still look dumbfounded. It is all designed to throw us off completely. One magician wrote me back once in one of my previous tirades to say, ” Yes, his trick was Interesting. But not practical.”

The beginning of this kind of “magic” was:

1) Copperfield with his stooges on the Lear Jet and Statue of Liberty Vanish as well as his fake dummy being hung from a chopper on the Grand Canyon levitation.

2) David Blaine, in his first special, when he edited in a few shots of his feet while he was doing “chin-ups” during the Balducci heel-rise sketch.

After that it was pretty much over for any creditability for TV “Magic”. The Golden Rule of Milbourne Christopher, Mark Wilson and Doug Henning had been trashed: Never use the camera in any way that would violate what an audience would see if they were there in person.  

Even Jim Steinmeyer stooped to use a “position vital” method on Lance Burton’s Elephant Vanish. Anyone there would have seen the mirror method unless they were positioned with blinders on and looking only where the camera was aimed.

I am not sure that “practical” has anything to do with TV fakery.  Whatever looks like a miracle on TV, regardless of how it is done, has accomplished its purpose. TV itself is a trick, an illusion. It is just a flat screen with moving pictures.  Copperfield was able to adapt total TV trickery to an entertaining sketch on live stage with the “Escape from Alcatraz”. Of course the fake shots of him flying a helicopter and vanishing things by dropping them out of frame were not used in his stage version. His actual vanish from the cardboard box on the table was done differently for TV.

I have never actually performed John Cornelius’ “Fickle Nickel” but Henning opened one of his specials with it.   I guess it could work in some situations as a live performance piece but, for me, I consider it impractical due to the complexity of the thread and getting into and out of it. It is great for TV. Can I forgive Henning for breaking his own rule? Probably.  

About the same time, on Copperfield’s #3 special, David was doing a miracle in his opening by making a medallion appear in his bare hands.  The methodology was similar to Fickle Nickel but apparently Copperfield had someone sitting below him manipulating the medallion on a magnetic stick and keeping it constantly behind his hands, so as not to be seen.  Is that magic?  It is TV magic using the characteristics of the camera and, as such, it is camera trickery.     When you drop a coin out of frame, it is the TV equal to “lapping” or sleeving but if you were there you would see it.  That is TV trickery.

I am not trying to be a purist. I am trying to arrive at some ethical definitions.  I get people who come up to me and ask, “Is that Criss Angel guy for real?  I saw him float a woman on the sidewalk in the middle of the town with people all around him. That must be real!”   I almost always say, “Yep he is real alright!” Often it is followed by them saying, “Do it!  Float me right here!” I respond, “Just like Criss Angel, I would need 50 grand worth of video gear, an editing suite, 12 assistants and all the special gimmicks.”   I wink…  They then get the idea; not the method or secret but the idea that TV magic is a bit different than live magic.

************

Career management and timing are so important to anyone wanting to work in show business. You can have all the talent in the world but if it is not managed and brought to bear at the right time and places, you will get nowhere.  It is so easy to get side-tracked and lost in the boiling cauldron of show business.  The opportunity to stay in the top tier and in the public’s eye and making money is very limited and tenuous.   You can rattle off the names: Brett Daniels, Rick Thomas et.al. All who have decent acts and should find it easy to stay busy. I am not sure that they do.

There was a window from 1975 until 2000, that we now call, “The Second Golden Age of Magic” where a competent stage act (willing to travel and put up with a little hardship) could stay fairly busy.  Just like the First Golden Age was ended by talking pictures and the Great Depression, the second was crushed by the Internet and the Great Recession. The Great Recession began in 2000 with the Dot Com bubble burst and was deepened in 2001 with 9-11 and then smothered over by Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve with massive injections of paper money which led to the Real Estate Bubble and financial shenanigans and the Global 2008 free-fall. 

In many ways, this epoch in magic is worse than the 1930s Depression for variety arts. America is no longer rural with a large market of “tall grass” venues.  Mac Birch and later Lee Grabel and Ken Griffin and many others just went into the remote countryside where  the population only had radio and they booked “first money” gigs for community organizations such as The Lions, Rotary Optimists and even school fund-raising.

Such a market no longer exists and is only viable in some parts of Canada, Australia and New Zealand... John Kaplan still does it in Canada and sells his method but I do not think that it works well in many places here in the lower 48 other than in the minds of those deluded by visions of grandeur. What cracks me up is that there are many magicians who have failed at taking out a successful touring show but they will sell you the secret to doing it for a few hundred dollars.

As the rural areas got strung with phone wires, the late 40s to mid 80s saw the heyday of the “phone promotion”.  This was the main source of activity for my illusion show.  A rural club or charity was booked and a crew of phone callers moved into town for a month and sold tickets through phone calls in a “day room” to local businesses and its “night room” to homes and local families.  The last gasp of dying breath on this was in the late 80s.  My long time agents, John Bevis and Ken Parker all faced the truth: Wal-Mart killed small town businesses and phone answering machines, cell phones and legal restrictions killed cold-calls to homes.  I recall in the pre-internet age (1989)when Ken showed me his note-card file with calling records of a town ( called a “tap file” in phone room lingo) and only one third of some small town businesses were left after the rise of the big boxes such as Wal-Mart.  Compounding this was the collapse of most Fraternal Organizations. Today you can look at the declining memberships of the Elks, Moose, Masons, Boy Scouts and see how our ideas of “community” have shifted from face-to-face interaction to social media!

My point is that these venues and performing opportunities for a lightly capitalized illusion, self-promoted and independent touring show no longer exist.  

I have heard that the big money shows such as Ringling now use E-mail lists and their name-recognition along with splashy video clips in their E-Mail to sell tickets on-line to their smaller tier of traveling attractions (Mickey’s Magic Show etc).  Whereas, radio, TV, newspapers and print media posters were the primary and expensive and inefficient method of advertising, now E-mail is free. But you have to have the list and the name recognition and the money.

It is easy to see oneself as a victim and blame others or get into mental depression and self-pity.  The fact is that show business is a very limited business and is often at the mercy of conditions beyond the control of all parties. Will Rock, was a great showman and he tried it for a few years , in the late 30s, with Thurston’s brother’s show and then threw in the towel and spent his remaining years working for a dry-cleaners. Raymond Sugden was said to be a great performer. He signed a 10 year contract with Howard Thurston and performed under the name of Tampa - England's Court Magician. The timing was wrong.  Talkies were in, vaudeville was on the way out, and the Great Depression had arrived.   

The cultural mindset of America has been greatly influenced by the mythological Calvinist-Puritan work ethic: “the cream rises to the top” and “hard work and talent always are rewarded”. This is overlaid with the myth found in the Horatio Alger “Rags to Riches” stories which were so popular in the late 1800s.  “Anyone can get rich, famous and successful is you work hard enough. This is America!”  When both of these myths are severely challenged by existential reality, social rage and anger result along with political unrest. 

Culturally, Americans try to find who publicly denies the holy myths which were supposed to work for them. The search for the “guilty” is both public and noisy.   On one side, a cacophony of screams into the radio microphone: “It’s the illegal immigrants. It’s the unions. It’s all those lazy and stupid people who want something for nothing. It’s…”    Fill in the blanks with racial slurs and what I don’t have to tell you.  On the other side: “It’s the rich. It’s Wall Street. It’s the Far Right. Its the Bankers.  It’s the …”

In a country without a common ethnicity and religion, we are only bound together by economics and an ill defined and individual and flexible idea of liberty and freedom. That is not much to hang unity upon.

In the last few years, I have come to appreciate an old bumper sticker that I saw on an old rusted-out car years ago in Orlando. It said, “Since I gave up hope, I feel so much better!”  

Recently I have beaten my head against the wall until it is bloody and I am just flat tired.  Younger, brighter and fresher minds may find an easier way to make money in magic.  I am old and worn out. I have been selling myself for far too long.  Churchill once defined insanity as “Doing the identical thing over and over again and each time expecting a different result”.   I am at the point where I know that I am not insane and I simply don’t have a clue as to what else to do and I no longer want to do the same thing over and over again.      I will continue to perform and  mentor, write, discuss, create on the cheap, do shows if they drop in my lap, sub-teach and do radio.  It could be worse…

There comes a time to stop believing in myths and face reality. Arthur Miller put these words in the mouth of Charlie as a eulogy for the ill-fated Willy Loman, a man who never could face reality,  in Death of a Salesman    “A salesman is got to dream, boy. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. . .”    I don’t think that formula works anymore. 

2012-02 Ring newsletter

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170


The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 2/15/2012 at 7:30 PM SHARP


I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Fresh Tricks

Please join us for dinner beforehand

Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.

Website: http://www.ring170.com/

F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Sheldon Brook- Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron & Joe Zimmer  -
Mark Fitzgerald- Director at Large -
Dan Knapp- Sgt at Arms -
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************

GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.

Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.

2012-02 From the Editor

A happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Your editor is back at work, traveling again, so greetings from the snowy city of Calgary.

Don't forget that the Annual Flea Market and Auction is coming up with great lectures and workshops.

Thanks to Dennis for continuing to provide us with his insights

Your editor

2012-02 Ring Report

President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order on January 18th with 26 members
present and introduced the elected Officers of the Ring for 2012 to them. Under Good
and Welfare he reported that Dennis Phillips was in Orlando to attend the funeral of
a family member. Dennis was a past Secretary of our Ring and long time member.
Craig went on to say that Jack Kodell and Charlie Pfrogner were both recuperating from
recent illnesses at local rehab centers. George Bernard was in attendance at the meeting.
George makes his home in New England but is very active in our Ring during the Winter
season. Craig concluded his comments by announcing that our Annual Flea Market and
Auction will be held on Saturday, March 10th, at the same location it has been for the
past several years.
Dan Stapleton announced that Circus Fans of America will be meeting in Tampa on
April 19th: he will do a lecture as well as perform at the event. Joe Zimmer, in addition
to his magical pursuits, is very busy at Titanic, on International Drive where more
than 200 artifacts related to that historical tragedy, are now on display. Craig F. and
Mark Fitzgerald can be seen performing Friday nights at the Hard Rock Cafe. Another
member, Ravelli, broke away from his busy schedule of appearances, at the Marriott
Courtyard, the Columbia Restaurant in Celebration and the Royal Plaza Hotel in Lake
Buena Vista, to attend our monthly meeting.
Phil Schwartz presented Magic History Moment #36, a brief treatise on the work of Carl
Owens, a master woodworker, and inventor of many magic illusions, was the head of
Owens Magic Supreme. Two of his most noted illusions were the Trunk Mystery and
the Packing Box.
After a brief intermission, there were only 3 performances by members, Chuck Smithand Dan Stapleton tried, very successfully, their powers of mentalism while Ravelli
demonstrated a new card effect.
Sheldon Brook

2012-02 Dennis' Deliberations

It was the dead of winter here and I was out of school, so I decided to get back on my project of converting the rest of my VHS tapes to DVDs. This is so they will last and be playable for as long as I am alive. I have a collection on David Ginn videos, some given to me and some I bought from him at lectures. I expected to just start the recording and walk away but to my surprise, they all were incredibly fun to watch. Maybe I am in my second childhood? I also went a looked at my collection of David Ginn books. They give me a new respect for Ginn. He has long been a kind of magic joke to many magicians as “the guy who gets kids screaming” and someone who magicians typecast as a low-brow kid’s performer and book huckster. I am certain that the mantle of “King of Korn” in some way passed from Karroll Fox to Ginn.  But, of course, everyone has copied something from him. 

As I watched the tapes, I got to thinking that if you ignored his thick Georgia accent (“ doin’ good in skee ooool”) and his complete lack of parsimony in his patter, he is a very lovable and entertaining performer. Ginn is very likable and instantly interesting! That is a quality of real merit.  I know that he copies and refines other people’s work but his pacing and unified presentation is great. In fact, in an earlier age of magic, he would have been a lot more main stream.   Bobo had the same kind of act and market but probably, in his day, a bit more respect.  Ginn is a big guy and has a physically clumsy image on stage. He is also geeky elfish looking and I think that this visual persona adds to his appeal. Audiences like to laugh at funny looking people.  In Ginn’s case, he talks like an excited Southern Baptist preacher which makes the physical comedy and gags even more funny.  I am actually complimenting him because his image and actions match his target market and act.  Ginn is on the chunky side whereas Bobo was emaciated looking. They both just look and move funny.   Ginn has the guts to do every trick in the catalog.  It is probably because he has to have a different show every year since he plays to the same Georgia market and audience.   This necessity caused him to develop different presentations and a wealth of material.  He found another outlet and revenue source in selling the information and creations to other magicians. 

After 3 hours of Ginn on tape, I began to think the way he thinks.  I was going through a Dollar Store and saw a large wooden cooking spoon. I thought, “Hey, I can take this and paint the handle like a magic wand and leave the spoon part plain wood.  I can hand it to the kid with the spoon part hidden in my hand and when he takes the other end; I can release my hand so everyone can see it is just a wooden spoon. Then I will say, “Here take my magic wand and don’t stir anything up! Okay, give me that back before you cook up any mischief!”    You get the idea! You can borrow the idea. It cost me $1.00 to make.     I love how Ginn took stuff that I passed over at magic flea markets for a dollar and made it a funny bit of business.  

I have known David since the early 70s and always appreciated what he did.  Every time we meet now we share our old story of how we met back in the days when indoor malls regularly had magic stage shows.  I was doing Whistlestop, my local kid’s show on WBTV (about 1973) and I heard that “David Ginn” was doing his Magic Mall show at SouthPark Mall.  I finished taping my show on TV in the late afternoon and headed over to the Mall.  I was still in my baggage boy costume from the show.   I got to the mall and Ginn was just going on so I slithered up on the side and joined the standing crowd.   He needed a volunteer for the Sub Trunk. I guess I looked like a good volunteer because he called on me.  He said, “Let’s give him a round of applause and the crowd broke into loud applause and cheers. They recognized me from Whistlestop.  I got on stage and a few kids screamed out my name, “Dennis!”   Ginn was a bit shaken and asked, “Am I supposed to know you? They do.”  I just said, “Yep, they know me”.  He asked after hearing them scream my name, “Your name must be Dennis?” I said “yes” another big cheer went up.   He was puzzled but went on with the routine...especially the part about me stepping inside when the girl is inside.  Every once in a while I would mumble softly in a stage whisper, “Nice Abbotts box”, “Faster than Richiardi”... He would giggle and kept on. He knew that I was “in the know” and relaxed.  After the show, a crowd gathered around me, due to my fame from TV, and when they were gone, I went over to him and explained the story. We exchanged a few Atlanta stories. Duke Stern had worked for a hardware store, which had a magic counter and back then Abe Dickson was touring with his big show, Presto.  That SouthPark Mall show was my introduction to Ginn. A tip of my hat to Ginn... he has been around for a long and successful career and vastly under-rated as a performer. 

Christmas themed tricks in your Holiday shows... A friend in Charlotte, North Carolina used: Santa Cookies and milk.    “Wizzy Dizzy Milk”. It was an early 60s Supreme trick and sold here back then by Abbotts. I do not think it is in production by Abbotts any more. It was a box with a lid on the top and on the bottom. You started out pouring milk in the top and then rotating the box end for end and opening up the bottom and pouring milk in that and then back to the top and finally pulling out a full ungimmicked glass of milk which you either drink or pour out.  Nothing was ever spilled!   The secret was the glass inside was in a wire ring and it would swivel by the two pins on the side that went into holes in the side of the box.  The act of turning over the box still kept it upright because of gravity! You were just swiveling the box while the glass inside stayed upright!   Some other Christmas themed tricks and routines: -A Thumb Tip Holiday colors streamer is produced and vanished-Fire pan to a Foam Christmas tree-A Santa Hat Tear with a kid, then a Sponge Star routine--(like sponge balls) then from the Santa hat they have been wearing a Holiday Color Mouth coil is produced--they get to pull it out.... Of course, you can always spend money on something like “Hippity-Hop Santas” or a Christmas Stocking Egg Bag.  My only Christmas themed prop is a 36 inch Santa Silk. I don’t like spending money on props that only get used once a year.  I put the money into a good Reindeer Mascot costume that I offer as part of the package. They provide the volunteer to wear it. 

I hope you have worked up a few “love” routines for your Valentines Day shows!  Anything with flowers and a story of love works.  I do an effect like Paul Romhany’s Dream Prediction  where I have predicted what happened on a married couple’s first date!  A middle age couple works fine with this. I end by giving a rose to the husband to give to his wife. This is a one-man routine and I am sure that most of you can figure out the method.  Let me know your ideas on any Holiday themed effect as well as posting it right here.

Dennis

2012-01 Ring 170 Newsletter

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170


The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 1/18/2012 at 7:30 PM SHARP


I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Fresh Tricks

Please join us for dinner beforehand

Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.

Website: http://www.ring170.com/

F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Sheldon Brook- Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron & Joe Zimmer  -
Mark Fitzgerald- Director at Large -
Dan Knapp- Sgt at Arms -
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************

GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.

Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.

2012-01 From The Editor

Firstly, all the best for 2012 to all ring members and readers of this newsletter. Hopefully this year will be better for most than the last couple of years.

I would like to thank Dennis and Sheldon for their regular contributions, and Dan for his treatise on 'old jokes'.

Hopefully some of you took my suggestion from the previous newsletter to heart and will be sending me contributions to the newsletter soon.

Your Editor

2012-01 Ring Report

President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order with approximately 25 members
and guests present. He sadly announced the illnesses of Gary Adams and Charlie
Pfrogner. Charlie is recovering at the Conway Lakes Rehabilitation Center and can see
well wishers at this time. Craig also mentioned that the 75th Anniversary Meeting of
Genii Magazine will be held in Orlando the first week in October. Our Ring's annual Flea
Market and Auction will be held either the 2d or 3d Saturday in March. The date to be
selected will depend on the availability of guest performers.
Nominations and an election of Ring Officers took place with the following results:
President - Craig Fennessey,
Vice-President - Chris Dunn,
Secretary - Sheldon Brook,
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron and Joe Zimmer,
Sgt. of Arms - Dan Knapp,
Director at Large - Mark Fitzgerald,
Editor - Stefan Bartelski

A gift exchange followed the business meeting with Jacki Manna presiding and
refreshments served. After a short break, the performance portion of the meeting took
place with Doug Kalcik leading off doing spoon bending and a mystifying card selection
trick. Jacki Manna returned to the dais and performed a comedy routine assisted by a
not so dummy 'Chester Field '. Dan Stapleton next entertained with a prediction routine
that he can perform with either cards or dissimilar objects called "Hearts and Diamonds".
Bev Bergeron demonstrated his Pencil through a Quarter illusion. Scott Pepper, a
visitor from the United Kingdom, had an audience participant demonstrate their poor
marksmanship with a ray gun and a 3-ballon illusion set-up. Bob Swadling tried his luck
with a signed card-one dollar bill routine. Next, J. C. Hiatt performed a very entertaining
dice routine that left the membership amazed. Mark Fitzgerald, the final performer,
ended the meeting by determining a card selected by the audience and turned it into
an 'ambitious card '.

2012-01 No such things as old stale jokes!

In my lecture notes, "Magic for the Working Magician" I blog about using "old jokes" in magic. The title of my lecture notes means that any magician who does shows, knows what I mean when I say, "There is no such thing as (old-stale) jokes'. Those magicians who work, those who perform, understand exactly what I am talking about. Yes there are jokes that are old, that have been around for many years. But I'll bet that every time you use the line in your head chopper routine, "One-Two-Three days ago I did this trick..." will ALWAYS get a laugh. Maybe not from everyone, but the proof of its worth is in the fact that SOMEBODY will laugh. Same thing with the gag, "Place this object in your hand, no..the clean hand". It will get a few chuckles, even though the gag has been around for many years.

At Wizardz, in Kissimmee, it's obvious where the magicians sit from the laymen. Just listen and watch the reaction. At Abbott's Magic get-Together, this summer, all the magicians sat in the center of the auditorium and the laymen, in the school bleachers on the sides. Guess where the best reaction came from? Not the center. Many blogs in magazines, or reviews of acts that the reporter critiques, often mentions "the same old/stale jokes". Trust me, after performing aboard cruise ships for 23 years, I think I have some authority to (hear) what works and what doesn't. Do the old jokes ALWAYS get laughs? Well, no. But then again the best entertainers won't ALWAYS have good shows either. Ask any of them, they'll tell you.

Onboard one of my ships was a comedian who got standing ovations many times. And much of his material I found in Milton Berles Joke book. And Milton Berle probably got them from other comics from years before him. Of course, this ship comedian did update the material to make it sound refreshing and topical. Now comes the most important part. It's the right audience and the TIMING of a joke that makes it funny. Some people don't have the "timing" a joke needs.

I took the "old/stale" vaudeville comedy routine, now a marketed magic trick, the Vanishing Banana/Bandana, rewrote the script, hired a professional voice-over actor to narrate, then, because I don't look like a funny guy, dressed differently. Sometimes the routine gets some of the biggest laughs in my show. On some weeks aboard the cruise ships, I would perform illusions, along with other, smaller effects, and I would get angry for the huge reaction that "stupid" banana routine got. Because the big bucks and back-breaking work was in the illusions, yet that old/stale banana gag got the better reaction...are you kidding me? Is it no wonder that many "working" magicians advertise (comedy) in their show title, even when the show is mainly magic? Too many times, after my show I hear, "I don't usually like magic but...." And guess what, my "comedy" is filled with "old/stale" jokes. Do I use those jokes when magicians are in the audience? Sometimes. Do I use those jokes in all shows? No. Again, it depends on the audience.

 Aboard ships I often did a fifteen minute monolog of old cruise ship jokes. Back in the 1980's there were always more older than younger audiences. And often I would hear from an old timer, "I heard that joke years ago..." Yet, the audience usually howled at the routine because they could identify with what I was saying. It was topical humor...and "themed"...old age jokes and cruise ships...couldn't miss. Oh yes, sometimes a comment card would say "comedian needs new jokes"...but that comment would come from the guy who, in fact, heard the joke(s) before, but not the majority of the audience. Believe me, if there were no or few laughs, I would keep trying different material until the jokes "hit". And that's what I did, so much so, that I put them on tape ("Comedy Live-From Ship to Shore") and sold the souvenir tapes after my show...and lots of them.

Here's my point, unless you only perform for fellow magicians, try some of those old-stale jokes. Update them but know the timing of the joke and I guarantee you laughs, not from everyone but enough to get an idea which jokes or gags you will keep and which are not for you. A few weeks ago I used the (very old) black hand gag. Yes, it got laughs. Not "howls" but enough to use it again, once in a while. Why? Because it's such an old gag-prop that most people have not seen it. Like the Zig-Zag illusion, when in the 1970's every person on the block had one. Not many magicians perform it today. I do....most laymen have never seen a Zig-Zag illusion or even a Sub Trunk or Zombie Ball. I know because I use all three all the time and they never...NEVER...get less than an enthusiastic response. Same thing with jokes....BUT...don't expect "old-stale" jokes OR NEW jokes to get the big laughs all the time. There is a place for all jokes. It's just the delivery, the timing, the audience...and by the way, whom ever said, "There is no such thing as bad audiences, just bad actors/entertainers" never really did shows himself. Don't let him fool you...it's only an old/stale saying.
-Dan Stapleton

2012-01 Charity Magic Show 1/28

2012-01 Dennis' Deliberations

I have a confession. Marco Tempest leaves me cold. I have no appreciation of what he does. I do not consider it very mysterious or in the category of “stage magic”.  It is electronic gimmicky. But, I respect what he does and recognize that he is on the cutting edge of what magic will be in the 21st century. So even though Marco does not entertain me, I am going to heap praise on him.

FIRST: He entertains the public.
SECOND: Whether the “old guard” of magic finds him an electronic “sell-out” or not, he’s GETTING WORK. That is a positive and envious position to be in during this economic mess.
THIRD: I personally find his manner and voice and accent, and even looks, a turn-off, none of which is his fault. Many people like him. He does wear well while performing and is not obnoxious.
FOURTH: Check the history of Marco Tempest. He grew up doing “our” conventional conjuring, entering contests and what not, but then said he got “bored with it all.”  Having a geek’s interest in media technologies, he put on his thinking cap and merged the two.
FIFTH: In the process, he was able to create a novel form of “magic”, with a bit of a rainbows-and-butterflies Doug Henning slant, and it struck a chord with corporate hacks and audiences.  More power to him — considering so many very talented conventional magicians can’t get a decent toe-hold in show business these days.
SIXTH: I and all us old guys  have every right to say, in effect, his shtick of merging video special effects to “our” magic, is not our cup of tea, but we have to admit (through a gnashing of teeth?) that he’s hit on a successful ANGLE and is running with it.  You have to admire that much.Thinking outside the magic box…. is what it’s all about. The world is full of magic clones all doing essentially the same stock stuff. Now watch a few other guys come out of the woodwork trying to copy him.  I don’t think his technological bent can be FAKED, it has to come naturally. Lucky for him he had two sincere interests and was able to combine them, and (most important!) made them commercial.The world has always thrived on NOVELTY, but inherent in the very definition of “novelty” (I think) is something that cannot have “legs.” If it lasts it’s not novel, and if it is novel, it can’t last. When it is accepted as mainstream, it is no longer novel! David Copperfield hasn’t a thing to worry about.

Speaking of  Marco Tempest, how can Europe have at least 5 big touring illusion shows and we have almost nothing?  (They have Dani Lary, Peter Marvey, Luis DeMatos  etc. etc.) I helped Paul Osborne on some of his design work and consultation is in Europe. How can Dani Lary afford this?

This is very odd because I have been told that Europe is a socialist basket case; I have also been told Europeans are dying because their socialized medicine is failing. I have been told that their tax rates are confiscatory so they have no discretionary money. I have been told that most Europeans are crushed economically and have no freedom. That is what I keep hearing on the most watched news network on cable TV. They say that few people their own cars and homes in Europe much less a Super X in the attic and Temple of Benares in the basement.  I don’t know if the news channel is exaggerating for political purposes.  All I know is that Europeans have access to and they see lots of magic!

I have heard from some that big show business is not “controlled” by big mega media corporations in Europe as it is here. It is a lot more diversified and in some cases government supported.  This may be because each country operates politically separate even though they share a common currency.  I don’t think that money alone assure success otherwise Steve Wyrick would be at the top. Europe has a lot more respect for variety arts… Over here in the United States, variety arts do not have the same respect. It took Canada to create the very artsy Cirque du Soleil.  Does America lack a sufficiently sophisticated population to enjoy magic?  

Since I moved here in rural Virginia, I have been forced to drop “magic” from my advertising.  The Religious Fundamentalists here believe all magicians are in league with the devil. When I lived up here in the 1960s, I do not remember such superstition as a magician. What changed?  I would say that we have gone downhill intellectually, religiously and economically since then.The feeling by some on the International show-business scene is that America is become a 3rd world poverty- stricken place filled with ignorant people. A fair number of magicians have become ex-patriots in order to keep working. Jonathan David Bass relocated to Prague in the Czech Republic. Joe Conrad is in Thailand. Japan has several ex-patriot Americans. Cyril, from San Francisco, is a big star. Robert Gallup made it big in Australia. Hank Lee was on a tour in China when he died.   How many road tours like that are there here?

I am mentioning this because I care about my country. Yes, I am also a bit jealous of all the touring large magic shows and sophisticated magic in Europe.

I hope this New Year in a good one for you.

2011-12 Ring 170 newsletter

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170


The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 12/20/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP


I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Club Annual Holiday Party

Please join us for dinner beforehand

Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.

Website: http://www.ring170.com/

F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Sheldon Brook- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************

GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.

Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.

2011-12 From the Editor

So 2011 draws to a close, and I am sure many of us are glad to see the rear end of this year, hoping for a better time in 2012. Remember the last meeting of the year is the traditional Ring 170 Holiday Party. Bring a gift of value at least $15 and have some fun. Even if you do not bring a gift, there will be plenty of fun to go around.

Please consider submitting your name for some of the board positions that will be coming available soon. Let Craig Fennessey know if you are interested, before the December meeting. We will be voting for the 2012 board at that meeting. These positions do not involve a huge amount of work but some new blood and ideas would be very helpful.

Especial thanks to Dennis and Sheldon for the consistency in their contributions throughout the year. As we go into 2012, can I ask the members to please add "submitting an article to the Famulus newsletter" as one of their New Year resolutions.

I would like to wish all members a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah or Happy Holidays, whichever is appropriate. Of course, a happy and prosperous New Year to each and everyone.

Your editor

2011-12 Ring Report

President Craig Fennessey opened the meeting on November 16th with 19 members and guests present at the opening: more were to come as the meeting progressed. Paige Sessions introduced himself, as a guest and told of his interest in magic and a desire to join the Ring.

Annual dues have come around again and all those members who are paid up by the January 4th lecture, by Joshua Jay, would be admitted without charge.

At our next meeting there will be a Christmas gift exchange and participants are asked to bring a gift,
which will be opened when selected and available for the picking. A gift of $15 or more was suggested. Members were solicited to consider Board Membership for the upcoming year of 2012. This subject will be considered more thoroughly at our next meeting.

Several members told of their current bookings: Ravelli is keeping busy with appearances at the Columbia Restaurant in Celebration on weekends as well as the Marriot Courtyard and Royal Plaza Hotel in Lake Buena Vista. Joe Zimmer endorsed the Titanic, The Experience, attraction on International Drive which is expanding to include a Dinner Show. Mark Fitzgerald and Craig Fennessey are busy at the Hard Rock Cafe and are
joined on occasion by Wallace Murphy, who will also be travelling to Naples to fulfill a Corporate gig. Dan Stapleton is performing at numerous locations on International Drive during this busy Holiday Season. Dan Knapp will be part of the monthly show at Give Kids The World.

Bev Bergeron continued with his series of impromptu magic with a dollar bill production routine. He was followed by Phil Schwartz with Magic History Moment #35. Phil, accompanied by Jeff Pierce, attended a three-day Magic Convention at Brookledge, in Studio City, California, the home, between 1928 and 1942, of Jennie and Floyd Thayer. The Thayers built a Studio-Theater, behind the house, which opened in 1933. The home was purchased by the Larson Family in 1942 who still reside at the property today. Brookledge is a property with a great amount of historical Magic significance. As a result of his interest, Phil recently published a high quality booklet entitled The Story of Brookledge.

After a brief intermission the performances were initiated by Bev Bergeron who did a comical card effect. Richard Hewitt continued in the same vein with a variation of the Invisible Deck. Charlie Pfrogner, with help from an audience participant, illustrated his physic powers of prediction. Dan Stapleton followed with a demonstration of his Poker Prowess with three audience volunteers going against him with little success. Ravelli
closed the evening with a very entertaining performance utilizing coins, rope and cards. It was easy to see why he is a sought after performer.

Sheldon Brook

2011-12 Annual Holiday Party

REMEMBER…the December monthly meeting is our IBM RING 170 HOLIDAY PARTY !!!…come early (6:00pm) and join us for dinner.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 7:30pm

You may bring snacks and drinks (non-alcoholic) to share….

I-Hop is providing the cake!

This year we are doing our traditional Holiday gift exchange…..

To participate in the gift exchange you need to bring a new magic related gift…wrapped….gift value needs to be $15.00 or more.

When you arrive, turn in your gift, you will be given a lottery holiday name….during the gift exchange when your holiday name is chosen…you may select the gift of your choice.  Jacki Manna will be the host for the evening…and will go over the gift exchange rules.

Please….no old magazines or broken flea market buys. Bring something you would be delighted to receive yourself.

Please note… If you choose not to participate in the gift exchange…that’s fine…you will have plenty of fun just watching…and you can also enjoy the free snack food, drink and magic performances after the gift exchange.

2011-12 Update on Charlie Pfrogner

Update to the Charlie Pfrogner Update

Charlie Pfrogner – is being released from the Florida SouthHospital today at 5:30pm today…..Tuesday, December 20, 2011.

You may now see/contact Charlie at:

Conway Lake Health Rehabilitation Center

5201 Curry Ford Road

Rm# 203B

Orlando, Florida 32812

407-384-8838

Thanks for all the support!

2011-12 Dennis' Deliberations

Equivoque is the word that most magicians recognize as “A Magician’s Force”.  This is the technique of making the spectator think that they have a free choice while you know what you want them to choose and manipulate them to take what you want.  I was recently talking to a couple of professional magicians and we were talking about the technique. I told them that I always explain it to magicians as the same thing as asking someone to choose which current author of mentalism books they prefer, Phil Goldstein or Max Maven.  

The PATEO Force is usually credited to Roy Baker. It stands for (P)ick (A)ny (T)wo - (E)liminate (O)ne.  One of the great examples of this technique was when the deep voice of Eugene Burger combined with a Robert Neal story. Eugene laid many cards face down on the table and said that people were dying in the small medieval town and people began to accuse others of being responsible for the deaths. Eugene had a spectator pick two cards and he turned over one. It was the Queen of Diamonds, the town’s seamstress. Was she a witch? No, soon she died. All the cards had a profession in the village. The Jack of Spades was the Gravedigger. He was selected and died. It got down to the only card that was not dead and Burger turned it over and it was the one who brought the plague, the ace of spades.  I thought that this was a great example of story telling and the PATEO Force.  
One suggestion on Equivoque: If you are doing it multiple times, break up the way you ask them to choose so your method is not obvious.  Like Max Maven’s B-Wave, the application of Equivoque can be simple and yet powerful.

MELINDA is BACK.......uhhh.    But I prefer her front.....

Actually, I liked Melinda’s illusions. Perhaps there was not enough room at the top for her. I mean, uhhh, at the top of show business there was not enough room.

She complains in Magic Magazine (November issue) that they used to always want her to dress skimpier.  Well, golly gee, that's all most men remember her for.

She had a lot of “bump and grind” and was properly instructed in that style of dancing by her mother, Bonnie, a former Vegas dancer. But, she could move rather well when choreographed.

Her first and only solo TV special, the Disney produced one taped here in Orlando, was a train wreck but I could see some great routines and concepts in it. Her magic got lost in needless scenes with fairytales; unicorns, cartoon characters and even an Indianapolis racecar vanish. The Melinda personality got lost in a massive Disney promotion show.

 I really hope she can make a comeback.

Some guys are just crazy for magic. They think, eat and have it on their mind all the time. It dominates their life!  I wonder if the following letter could actually ever happen.

Dear Abby,I am a professional magician with a deep concern. I have never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I keep strange hours with my career, and I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me.The usual signs; phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. When I'm about to leave for a gig, I learn, for the umpteenth time, my wife is about to go out with "the girls", although when I ask their names she always says, just some friends from work, you don't know them. When I finally get home and discover she's not there, I try to stay awake and watch for her when she comes in, but I usually fall asleep.Anyway, I have never broached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just did not want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to finally check on her. Around midnight when I got home from another show, and again she wasn't home yet, I hid in the garage behind some illusion props so I could get a good view of the whole street when she arrived home after night out with "the girls."When she got out of the car she was buttoning up her blouse, her hair and makeup were all messed up and a guy kissed her good-by and I really need your advice!It was at that moment, crouching inside my Zig Zag, that I noticed a hairline crack along the door at the hinges. Is this something I can fix myself, or should I take it back to Abbotts for repairs?Signed...Puzzled Magician

I hope that gave you a Holiday laugh and keep your life balanced in the New Year!  Show attention to the ones you love this holiday season.

Peace and Happiness to all in 2012!

Dennis Phillips, in the heart of the Great Shenandoah Valley, Harrisonburg, Virginia

2011-11 Ring 170 Newsletter

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170


The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 11/16/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP


I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Christmas Effects

Please join us for dinner beforehand

Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.

Website: http://www.ring170.com/

F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Sheldon Brook- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************

GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.

Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.

2011-11 From the Editor

As we draw close to the end of 2011, I have to thank, yet again, Dennis and Sheldon for their regular contributions. And add my regular request to Ring members to contribute to the newsletter. If you are worried about your writing skills, just do what you can and then put a note in your contribution that you would like me to wordsmith the piece. I will be happy to help. By the way, without such a request, I restrict myself to spelling, formatting and minor grammatical corrections.

Remember, at the November meeting we would love to receive the names of some new blood for the board. While we know that the board does a great job, the addition of new recruits with fresh ideas will help ensure that we keep the Ring active.

Your editor