2009-02 Joanie Spina to visit Orlando?

I received a very nice email from Joanie Spina today, she is ready, willing and able to come south and share her expertise in act direction, video production, and so forth. For those of you who think Ms. Spina is Tony’s daughter from Tannen’s Magic Shop in New York, you have another thing coming… Joanie Spina is one of the top magic directors and act consultants of our day. Not only beautiful, she is sooooo incredably talented I can’t wait for her arrival later this year. Joanie served as lead dancer and choreographer to David Coppefield for most of Dave’s legendary years. Imagine the stories of on the road with DC. Speaking of which, here is a picture taken after Dave’s recent visit to Orlando, Thanks Dave!

Keith Lock

Senior Producer/Director

Magical Arts & Design, LLC.

1039 Pine Street

Orlando, Florida 32824

1-866-905-9858 Office

1-407-760-1426 Direct

Please Visit:

www.MagicalArtsandDesign.com

2009-02 David Williamson - Extra Lecture

David Williamson is playing the Orlando IBM Banquet Sunday, March 1^st. Craig Fennessey and his magical muscle men have put together a GREAT Evening and I for one can’t wait! Speaking of David Williamson, Dave has decided to stay in the sunny warmth of Florida for a few days after the Banquet. And even better, he has decided to perform a very special lecture on Wednesday, March 4^th at MAD Studios as part of our Super Star Series of Magic Legends. You got it, David Williamson, behind the scenes…

As if that is not enough, we are going to do something ultra cool regarding David’s appearance. Normally this special lecture series would cost over $50.00 to attend. We are lowering the admission for the evening to $30.00 per person! And as if that wasn’t enough as well, David just informed me that he will be giving out FREE to everyone that has PRE-REGISTERED for the event AUNT MARY’S TERRIBLE SECRET. Yep, a professional gambling routine that COSTS $25.00 to buy. So, do the math. Pre-register for $30.00 bucks, get a $25.00 routine for FREE. It’s really like getting David Williamson for $5.00. Plus David will be teaching the routine!!! Try to beat that! Please call TODAY to get your seats for his lecture… Seats may not be available day of show???????

2009-02 McBride in Orlando

Hello one and all,

Here is the OFFICIAL RELEASE of JEFF MCBRIDE’S appearance in ORLANDO!

WHAT: One of the most sought after magical genius’ of our time coming to Orlando!

WHEN: March 18^th, 90 minute stage show followed by an exclusive 2 hour lecture for magicians ONLY! The show is open to the PUBLIC. Be sure to bring friends, co-workers, neighbors, girlfriends, wives, etc.

WHERE: Both the show and lecture will be held at Sleuth's Mystery Show Theatre located on International Drive just off Sandlake Road, we will provide exact directions to those that register.

WHY: The LOVE of MAGIC, The LOVE of LIFE, The LOVE of JEFF McBRIDE!

HOW: The cost of the show to $25.00 advance/$30 at door. The Lecture is $25.00 Advance/$30.00 at door. Call Magical

Arts and Design NOW to get your seats at 407-858-9858.

SPECIAL ADDED FEATURE:

Magical Arts and Design will be hosting Mr. McBride in a VERY, VERY exclusive private workshop the following evening at the MAD Studios. Those attending will be spending four hours of intense McBride Magic as only Jeff can share. This is the same information source that Jeff teaches at his famous Vegas based Mystery School. Anybody that knows the value of this program knows this is not to be missed. We have already had more response to this special event than anything thing else we’ve shared. The total cost for this one of a kind night is only $125.00. That is a fraction of what Jeff gets in Vegas for the same info, training, and expertise. This event must be pre-registered. Only a handful of seats remain, please book your’s NOW!

Other Info:

Many have asked about the VIP season discount deal. Unfortunately, that was only available prior to the Mike Finney event. Sorry guys, please jump on the offers when they are made available, thanks…

2009-02 Copperfield Comments from Dan

While DC was in Orlando recently, Orlando Weekly had a short interview with him via email.

1. DC insisted that he once, while performing in Orlando, "placed Shaq in his Shrinker illusion". If you know how the trick works, and have seen Shaq up close...it MUST have been some trick to get him in the thing.
2. When asked about the Masked Magician and the magic tricks on You Tube , DC states: "...the shows are quite inaccurate." Whew....that's a relief.
3. DC states that he "discovered the Fountain of Youth on his island in the Bahamas." I thought that the gal who accused him of attacking her actually "aged" him.

Dan

2009-02 SCAM 2009 (Not what you think)

Some thoughts on SCAM

In January for the past thirteen years the South Carolina Association of Magicians holds a convention in Columbia SC. It is a day and a half convention packed with lectures, contests, and shows, both close up and stage. SCAM has had a habit of showcasing magicians before they are “found” by other conventions or magic magazines. Last year SCAM featured Chris Capehart for their Gala Show and a lecture. Eleven months later in December he was featured in Genii magazine. It has always been a fun convention and the people in South Carolina are warm and friendly. The convention this year was held January 16 and 17.

The Recession has come to magic

Last year SCAM had 170 people attend the convention. This year they had 66 people preregister and less than 80 people attend. The dealers’ room was EMPTY! Since they had so few register they had three dealers give lectures, Harry Allen, Mark Mason and Barry Mitchell. The stage show that was normally held in a large theater was replaced by a cabaret show in the hotel ball room.

Mentalism has invaded magic

Mentalism is much more a part of magic than ever before. This year’s stage and close up competition included Mentalism acts. One of the magicians, David London that performed and lectured did a Mentalism effect for his cabaret show. The trend in magic seems to be moving to more Mentalism effects.

Young magicians are thinking more

David London is a highly creative, very theatrical young magician. At age 15 he could not find much written on the theory of magic so he started his own magazine, Behind the Smoke and Mirrors. This morphed into a new volume of magazines called Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors and a web site www.Magicalthinking.net. David studied film in college and there found art and Surrealism, which greatly influences his magic. David is a bit out there and anything but traditional but he is fun to watch and has an interesting thought process that I found new and refreshing.

Francis Menotti is a young magician from Philadelphia that is well educated, a graduate of Penn State, and very well spoken. He claims that both his parents are physicists. He is very creative and takes traditional effects and puts a new, sometimes strange or weird twist on them. He did an egg bag routine with a spectator where his cell phone kept ringing with his mother on the line telling him how to do the routine. At the end of the effect the spectator pulled the cell phone from the bag and Francis was holding the egg up to his ear.

These young magicians are thinking more about the theatrics and the entertainment value of the effect than the moves. Everything that they did was scripted and thought out in advance. They presented pieces of theater not just tricks.

Card magic is alive and well

The other lecturers and performers were all card guys, Allan Ackerman, Boris Wild, and Ed Ellis. Ed is from Canton Ohio and has recently moved back there after living in Arizona and performing at the Castle and other places out west. Ed is also a drummer and did a solo with the Buddy Rich band some time in his past. Ed will be featured at the national IBM convention this year in Nashville. Ed has some very pretty moves to display four aces and “dissolve” one card into another. He also has a few twists on rubber band magic. Mark Fitzgerald told me that Ed gets all of his yellow rubber bands from him, which Ed passed out in his lecture.

Boris Wild pushed his marked deck and the effects that it can do. He said that he tried for years to get the US Playing Card Co. to print the marked deck for him. A couple of years ago the company got a new president who agreed to print the decks. They printed 25,000 and sold them in one year. When they went back for a reprint the company resisted. They finally agreed, but Boris thinks that it may be the last time. Is it a marketing ploy on Boris’ part to get you to buy now? Maybe. He did his Kiss act, which is still pretty with an emotional hook but not as magical as it once seemed since it uses his same Kiss move (a variation of the flustration count) over and over.

Allan Ackerman is a phenomenal card worker. He will blow your mind. Today Allan runs the computer network for a college in Las Vegas, but he is still one of the best card guys around. He recently put together a series of DVD’s on Erdnase and gave a midnight lecture on Ednase. When I asked him what one thing you should learn from Erdnase, he said the bottom deal as it can do so many things for you. He demonstrated several of the card tricks from Ednase’s book using the bottom deal.

SCAM is a fun day and a half. I hope that the poor turnout this year does not kill the convention in future years.

Gary Adams

2009-02 Ring 45 Event

Ring 45/SAM 280 and the Elks Lodge 1676 in Miami

Invites you to a Flea Market/Mini Convention

When: Sunday, March 1^st, 2009 from 9am-10pm

Where: Elks Lodge 1676 6304 SW 78^th street, Miami, FloRIda 33143

What: Mini Convention, see tentative schedule below;

7:30am-9:00pm Flea Marketers setup (Ballroom)

9:00am-1:00pm Flea Market Opens (4 FULL hours of shopping
NEW and USED magic)

11:45am-1:00pm Lunch (Includes hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and choice of
soft drink or draft beer)

1:00pm-6:00pm Lectures by Aldo Colombini, Levent & John Calvert. (Lecture Hall)

6:00pm-7:00pm FREE TIME relax, hang out and mingle. (Bar and Lobby)

7:00pm-8:00pm Cocktails & Close-up Enjoy Close-up magic, hors d’ oeuvres,
cash bar. (Bar & Lobby)

8:00p- 10:00pm Dinner/Show: Dinner includes salad, roast beef,
special rice, vegetables, complimentary wine or soft drinks with
dinner, desert and coffee.

The Show Features: *** Aldo Colombini
*** Alexander Blade
*** Levent
*** John Calvert

The Close-up show is under the direction of Mr. Ron Olmsted.

Registration: FULL DAY: $50.00 in Advance (if received by February 25^th) $60.00 After

Flea market table: one six foot table: $10.00 plus Full Day registration
(no table sharing)

Dinner/Show Only: $30.00 in Advance $40.00 at door

Reservations/Information: Contact Maria Ibanez at 305.258.3414 or
Merlina17@aol.com.

Make all checks/money orders to: Magic City Conjurers.

2009-02 Thanks from Magical Arts & Design

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to tell you that the Mike Finney event will be posted on YouTube, February 2nd.

We had a great time meeting some old and new friends Thursday night, and look forward to seeing you all at the Jeff McBride event in March.

Also, on Thursday, we misplaced one of our digital camera chargers, if anyone grabbed it by mistake, please give us a call. Pictures of it can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/dnl7bp and http://tinyurl.com/b3ebja.

Thanks!

Bill "V." VonTobel

2009-02 Another Ring 258 event

Tom Craven lecture is on Feb 15th. Sunday at 1 pm.

at The NY cafe restaurant in leesburg

1690 Citrus Blvd.

hwy 441 North

Leesburg

352-365-8800

Non members and guests $15, Orlando ring 170 members $10

2009-02 Ring 258 Events

IBM Ring 258 Leesburg, Florida Presents Magic shows on April 14th, 2009, plus John Calvert lecture on April 15th To be held at the Villages in Lady Lake Florida. Time and location of the lecture to be determined.

AN EVENING OF MAGIC LIVE!!

Featuring John Calvert

Come see John Calvert known for his breath-taking illusions onstage, his incredible daredevil feats, and his many real-life escapes from death. With a magic career that led to record-breaking engagements on Broadway and exciting adventures around the world. Calvert has captivated audiences in the great cities of five continents. The 97-year-old-and-still-performing-his-international-traveling-magic-show, also enjoyed an International film career. Haven't heard of him? Well, you should have. He was the first magician to do a big magic stage show in Vegas, and on Broadway. When he performed in Hollywood, celebs like Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye and Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy, of course often helped out in his act. He knew Harry Blackstone Sr. and Jr. and has outlived them both, and Siegfried and Roy have called Calvert an inspiration.

He's also an adventurer the likes of Hemingway or Hughes, having owned several airplanes and yachts, occasionally crashing or fending off pirates. And he's been in 40 movies, although sometimes it was a little hard to tell, like when he was a hand double for Clark Gable in "Honky Tonk" in 1941.

He has performed his magic show all over the world: Bombay, Israel, London, and now at The Villages in Lady Lake.

Mr. Calvert will be joined on stage for ninety minutes of magic with members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians to present this Evening of Magic. Performance will be on April 14th at 6 and 8:30 PM with ticket available at the Savannah Center Box office, or online at the Villages Website.

Ticket $15.00

Contact the sponsoring magicians club thru e-mail Magicians@aol.com

This notice is online at: www.magico.biz

2009-02 Dennis' Deliberations

I got nostalgic over the holidays. Maybe it’s the eggnog- or what is in the eggnog.

Remember "Blasted" (the coin effect with the metal coaster)? It was a kind of single-shot "Copentro". You put a nickel on a small metal tray and invert a glass over it and when you make a penny disappear a loud pop is heard and both coins are in the glass.

I never wanted to spend the 8 bucks on so (back then) for the gimmicked nickel and penny. It was mostly a bar trick anyway. I wanted a version that used regular ordinary looking props. One day in 1971, I was inside “The Bowie Inn” guzzling a Budweiser. It was a bar near the old Bowie Horse Race Track about 20 miles east of Washington, D.C. I was in my last days of college. I did some announcing at the track (I worked in radio also) and I used to help write the mimeographed “Tip Sheet” for the track.

I almost got fired when I tired to do a comedy routine over the PA system. I said: “Folks did you know that race tracks are the only place in the world where windows clean people?”. The old boss, with cigar in hand, barged into the booth and said, “Kid, this ain’t vaudeville, just read the card and the pages!”. (A “page” was when you announced someone’s name and told them to call the track phone operator. Cell phones did not exist then)

So, back to the bar in the Bowie Inn: I looked down at the bar and saw a fiber beer coaster for Budweiser. I saw the round seal on the familiar logo. I took three of them and went home. Using an Exacto craft knife, on the first coaster, I cut around the edge of the circle but I left a little bit of the fiber connected on the upper edge.

(About a sixteenth of an inch) This made a nice spring flap when it was slightly broken in! On the next coaster, I then cut out and removed the entire circle. The last coaster I left un-gimmicked. Using glue, I sandwiched all of them together with the normal one on the bottom, the one with the hole (forming a compartment for a penny) and finally the spring flap on top.

You could insert a regular penny into the coaster and it looked normal. I had created a poor-man’s version of “Blasted”!

To perform: Sit at the bar. Borrow a penny and a nickel and do a French drop and a few slights. Then grab up a glass and reach over and take the gimmicked coaster off a stack and lay the nickel on it and put the inverted glass over top. Hold the coaster with the glass in your left hand and act like you are tossing the penny at the glass and shake the coaster and glass. The penny will fly out of the coaster and I guarantee you that the person next to you will be impressed.

Try making one. I guess Budweiser will be around for a while even though they were just bought out by a global beverage conglomerate. As I said, I am nostalgic for the good old days!


This little gem of philosophy about the death of Common Sense grew out of many E-Mail exchanges from my Canadian magic friend, Larry Thornton:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to quit while audiences still want more; why the gracious entertainer will win over the self-centered egomaniac; realizing that one's magic show isn't necessarily the greatest since Robert-Houdin; and poor audience responses are more than likely the fault of the entertainer.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't purchase expensive and grandiose magic props that exceed your abilities and ambition) and reliable strategies (audiences are the best judges of how good you are). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing criticisms were set in place. Reports of a mediocre magician spoiling magic for everyone else; street magicians getting in everyone's face against their wishes; and sleight of hand fanatics addicted to flashy flourishes and wildly extravagant card juggling over powerful magic effects, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when magic dealers started selling serious magic props to every rube who came in off the street -- or online. It declined even further when desperado magicians began exposing top-flight illusions and some of magic's best tricks of the trade on national television; and it reached its all-time low when maverick performers on national TV resorted to camera trickery to fool home viewers.

Common Sense lost the will to live when some mentalists started claiming genuine psychic powers; when You Tube exploded on the scene with thousands of blatant "dealer demonstrations" on video clips for all the world to see; and when young magicians wrote slick books for mass consumption that revealed commercial magic secrets that weren't their's to expose.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from rip-off artists who made knock-offs of your own magical creations. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after decades of clowns, rank amateurs, and anyone else who could walk into a magic shop and purchase an "act" -- started competing with the established competition at cut-rate prices.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority of thoroughly contented magic addicts -- and do nothing.

Dennis Phillips

2009-01 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170

Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring

Next general meeting Wednesday, 1/21/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP



Meeting theme: Lecture (see below)

I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819

Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
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
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.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.

2009-01 from the Editor

A very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all members. As I write this posting, the weather is getting cold, it looks as if we will have our annual one night of winter tonight.

Magic has returned to TV, My65 (WRBW) is broadcasting Masters of Illusion on a regular basis, Mondays at 9 p.m.. Don't miss it! The two most recent shows have had some new names in magic, as well as well know artists such as Jeff McBride and Kevin James.

Just after New Year my wfe and I took the opportunity to visit Magic At Mandolins. We were treated to an excellent magic show by Dan Stapleton. As bonus, we also enjoyed a pretty good dinner. Do visit this show if you get a chance.

Thanks to our contributors again, and hopefully some of you have made a New year's resolution to submit an article for the newsletter this year.

Your editor

Stefan

2009-01

It was another wonderful ring holiday party. President Craig Fennessey opened up the December meeting with the annual election of the new board of officers. The floor was opened up for nominations and nothing was heard.

The nominated slate of current officers was re-elected for 2009 by Parliamentary rules. They are: Craig J. Fennessy-President, Chris Dunn- Vice President, Art Thomas – Treasurer, Dennis Phillips- Secretary, James Songster- Director at Large, Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms and serving as Editor of FAMULUS -Stefan Bartelski. Jacki Manna continues as our Hospitality chairperson.

Following the brief business meeting we began our Christmas and Holiday Tradition, the wacky, gift exchange. Jacki Manna was the MC and kept the activities lively and entertaining. The rules are that a person can either pick a new unopened gift or 'steal' someone else's gift. Each gift can be stolen only 3 times. This chaos makes for a lot of fun. Finally all the gifts were taken. The challenge every year is to end up with the trick of your dreams! The competition is all in fun. Some stand out gifts were a collection of Jim Steinmeyer books, another was a box full of classic effects. Someone got a Malini egg bag and another a brand new spring skunk.

This year, instead of insisting that the new gift recipients immediately perform their treasures, a structures show was presented and emceed by Mark Fitzgerald. He opened up with his classic coin routine that always gets oohs and aahs.

First up was Richard Hewitt, former Ring President. He brought a nice collection of stage effects. He opened with the Dove in Balloon and then he vanished the dove in the Breakaway Box. Before the box was dismantled a stuffed rabbit was brought out and Richard played with it all the way over to the other side of the stage where he transformed it into a real rabbit in a Flash Appearance box. Richard moved into Al Delage’s “Fastest Trick in the World” where a large bouquet of flowers instantly vanishes. He followed it up with a giant Botania appearance. Assisted by Dennis Phillips, he asked a spectator to select a page out of a paperback book and remember the page number and a few facts on the page. The spectator retained the book but when they opened the book again, the page was torn out and Richard had the matching page as well as knowing the information on it. Richard then made a beer bottle disappear in a paper sack.
Bowing off to a nice hand, Richard introduced his assistant, Dennis Phillips. Dennis presented an effect inspired by the late Bob McAllister’s “Chocolate Chip Cookie trick” using Mini-Hershey Chocolate bars. Mini-bars are plucked from the air and finally transformed into a giant Hershey bar. The idea for the variation was from our own Kevin Butler, a New York native and fan of McAllister’s. Butler is a respected scholar of early television children’s shows. Kevin calls his variation, “The sweet tooth lover’s dream”.

Next up, Charlie Pfrogner used a young helper and delightful patter to present a holiday version of The Beads of Prussia. Mark Fitzgerald returned with an engaging “Silent Card Trick” where not a word was spoken and all the lines were on flip cards. At the end you find out why he can not speak. The selected signed card was in his mouth! Jacki Manna showed why she is the top ventriloquist in Central Florida. She did a delightful Christmas routine with Axtell’s magic drawing board with a Christmas tree and a talking Santa Clause. Dan Stapleton kept with the winter theme and made a borrowed business card appear in a solid block of ice while it was being held by spectators on a towel.

Jim McNiff invited up two spectators to have a seat at a card table. A deck was cut and shuffled and divided into two piles and a card selected from each spectator’s pile and returned and shuffled and yet Jim was able to tell the location and name of each card. Carl Fowler, assisted by his wife, Barbara, closed out the show on a high note. In the late 90s, John Calvert awarded Fowler a special plaque for Carl’s expert use of music in his act. Carl and Barbara did the color changing plumes, flower boxes from a shopping bag and a botania. He concluded with his original levitation where Barbara levitates while standing on a balloon. The balloon is popped and she remains suspended.

Mark Fitzgerald wound up the festivities with his delightful spectator assisted, Linking Ring routine. The evening ended on a high note with refreshments and more fellowship.

Join us whenever you are visiting Orlando. Good things are always happening in Ring 170.

Dennis Phillips

2009-01 New meeting Location !!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

IBM Ring 170 members,
WE HAVE ANOTHER NEW MEETING PLACE FOR 2009!!

ATTENTION EVERYONE, we are no longer holding our monthly Ring 170 meetings at the Elks Lodge. Due to circumstances beyond our control December was our last meeting at the Elks facility. Until further notice we will now meet at the I-Hop at Kirkman Road. This is the same place we have been holding lectures for years. Come early and have dinner with us. We are working on a new permanent facility for our club meetings and should have all the details completed by this March….I'll keep you all posted and believe me it will be worth the wait….Sorry for any confusion.

RING 170 MEETING TIME: 7:30 as usual.

I-HOP LOCATION:I-HOP restaurant at 5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819 across the street from Hooters near Universal Studios. 407-370-0597 (Back conference room)

DIRECTIONS:Take I-4 and exit at the Universal Studios/ Kirkman Road Exit. Go north pass the Vineland Road intersection and I-Hop is on the right 1/3 mile.

2009 is starting off with some great magic. THIS MONTH IS A PAID LECTURE: Please note that the January meeting will be a lecture by Chastain Criswell

ADMISSION : $10.00 for all paid members $15.00 for all non-paid members
As a club bonus we will allow you to pay your 2009 dues at the door and receive the $10.00 admission. After this night all unpaid dues will now be $20.00 per year.

For more lecture information call Craig Fennessy, 407-947-1182

2009-01 Urgent appeal for Cathi Cooper

Dear Friends:
JOHN V. COOPER — magician, author, educational speaker, performance coach, and friend of many — died Sunday night, December 28, after a year-long struggle with heart and kidney problems. He was 52 years old. Due to a 20-year long heart condition that started with strep throat, John was never able to get health insurance or life insurance. Cathi, his wife of 25 years, is now in a serious financial situation.
LET ME EXPLAIN:
John was a fulltime magician and public speaker. Cathi, worked in the performance business with him, having quit a fulltime job years ago as his health required her. During the last year of his life, Cathi had to be with John 24 hours each day, even presenting many of his teacher in-service programs when he could not stand and do them. John could only sit at the back of the room and help with sales.
By June 2008, when he attended my Greenville SC workshop as my guest, John was so weak that he could not stand and work at all. Indeed, John and Cathi had virtually no income for the past six months.
By September 2008 John’s heart condition worsened. He needed a heart transplant, but could not be placed on the list due to kidney problems. By November he was placed on dialysis three times weekly — during which time John & Cathi had their 25th wedding anniversary, and he stabilized enough to return home two weeks before Christmas.
Prior to this time, with hospital bills mounting to over $100,000, John and Cathi had applied for medical financial assistance. They were turned down by Medicare and Medicaid because they had “a little money” in their checking account and because “their credit cards were NOT totally max-ed out,” they were told. The hospital put them at that time on a payment plan.
I spoke to John and Cathi the Sunday before Christmas. He was weak but “hanging in there,” he said. Both Cathi & John were extremely thankful for gifts of cash and books (to resell) sent by many friends. I assured them of our prayers via family, church, magic and clown groups.
The next morning John got worse. I will spare you the details, but he was rushed to the hospital and hovered for the week between life and death. Like the fighter he was, John made it through Christmas on Thursday, still conscious and coherent. Then on Sunday evening, with wife Cathi, brother Jeff, and 27-year-old son John Jr at his bedside, John Cooper joined his maker in Heaven.
On December 31, Cathi held a memorial service for John at the funeral home in Anderson, SC. About 70 people attended, friends from church, magicians, and speakers that knew John. Speakers included brother Jeff, Tim Sonefelt, Max Howard (for himself and reading an email from Sammy Smith), David Ginn, Mark Daniel, Tom Sikorski, Steve Spanks, Rhett Bryson, as well as Al Walker, past president of the National Speakers Association, of which John was a member. The service was full of funny stories and happy memories — a celebration of John’s life. Cathi kept a box of tissues in her lap for tears cried due to heartfelt stories and plenty of John Cooper style corny jokes. All guests were given red sponge clown noses to take home and remember that funny John Cooper. It was amazing how one life touched so many different people. John Cooper, everyone agreed, was a one-of-a-kind guy!
For the past two months Cathi has been under tremendous stress, as you can well understand. Now John is gone, and Cathi has no income and no insurance whatsoever. Book sales from her online store (see below) have been very low in recent months, which was something she tried to do while tending to John at home this fall.
Have you ever wished YOU could really help someone you don’t even know? Someone who is truly in need? Have you ever wanted the real spirit of Christmas to work in the real world? Well, friends, here is YOUR CHANCE to make that happen! The time to help that someone is NOW — and that someone is Cathi Cooper.
How can you help? Honestly, Cathi needs money to pay medical bills and house bills. Gift cards will NOT work for those needs. She needs cash. Let me suggest several different ways you can help her:
1. SEND CATHI A SYMPATHY CARD and pray for her. If you can spare $5 - $10 - $20 or more with the card, yes, that would help. Here is her address: Cathi Cooper, 101 Beulah Drive, Anderson SC 29625 USA.
2. SEND a financial contribution to the JOHN V. COOPER FUND, % Regions Bank, 3404 Clemson Boulevard, Anderson SC 29621. Cathi will use this to pay medical bills and personal expenses. It’s tax deductible, if you need an excuse.
3. MAKE A CONTRIBUTION using PayPal. Cathi has an account. Go to https://www.paypal.com and long on to your own account. Then click on “Send Money” and type in Cathi’s email: wwinc@mindspring.com. Think of it as “Wonder Woman Inc @ mindspring.com.”
4. ORDER SOMETHING from the store: http://sunnysideupbooks.com/. There are all kinds of books in the store, including magic books.
5. SEND CATHI SOME BOOKS. If you have new or used books around the house, pack them up and ship to Cathi via Media Mail (the cheapest book rate) in the USA only. Maybe she can sell them on the website.
Magic and clown friends, especially YOU GUYS — under different circumstances, this could be the wife or mom of any one of us. How would YOU want her treated if YOU passed away in this situation? Consider that and act accordingly. Whatever you do — please act now, this week, this month, to help a very nice lady out of a jam!
Personally, I believe that helping Cathi right now is living out the Golden Rule.
Sincerely, David Ginn / myself at home

2009-01 Zig-zag wanted

Looking to borrow, rent or buy a Zig Zag.

Call Dan Stapleton at (407) 491-3287

2009-01 Christmas Party Pictures

Due to the large volume of pictures which Craig made available, they have been uploaded to PicasaWeb Albums. Click on the title above to view.

2009-01 David Copperfield coming to Orlando

It's been a few years since Copperfield has been to Orlando so don't miss his show at the Bob Carr Jan. 29...two shows 5:30 & 8:00pm.

Dan Stapleton

2009-01 Ring 258 news

The second lecture will be in February, Tom Craven 1pm February 15th, also at theNYcafe in Leesburg.
Magic Ian has several new DVD's out, to be distributed thru Murphy's Magic some time in February. A basic instructional DVD on the Linking Ropes, Coin Balloon-acy: coin thru balloon effect, and Diminishing sponge ball DVD. Also in the mix is Dances with Ropes routine, plus Flagtastick: three silks change to a flag on a flagpole. Of course, these are always available directly at www.tricks.ws
More info on the Ring258 club is on Google Calendars, just log onto Google and enter IBM ring 258 in the search, there are other IBM rings who use this service.We also have our club Blog, ring258.blogspot.com and our photos on Google.

2009-01 Dennis' Deliberations

Inferno The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
(XXVII, 61-66):
S`io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocchè giammai di questo fondo
Non tornò vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.

A trip through Hell?
It has been a theme in many magic illusion shows such as David Bamberg’s “Fu Manchu” and Bill Neff’s “Madhouse of Mystery”. Dante, not the magician but the Italian Poet, wrote the quote above in 1300 C.E (I will translate it later). He created a satirical trip through hell and put all those in it that he disliked. His main purpose was political, His poem had him taking a trip through hell with Virgil, the great Roman Epic poet who wrote The Aeneid.

The Italians are experts on the subject of hell…I am sure you know that if you have ever visited Italy, especially Southern Italy with its active volcanoes. I am sure that you know that we get most of our ideas about hell not from the Bible but from John Milton (Paradise Lost) and from Dante Alighieri, the Medieval poet. He described an architectonic structure of hell with deeper and deeper levels and greater degrees of punishment as you descended into the pits.

Hum…Dante and Virgil! That reminds me of magic!

Imagine that you and I go on a trip through a “hell” where they send bad magicians.

The main entrance had “Abandon Hope all you who enter here”, sort of like the sign that should be over the door at the registration to a lousy magic convention. In fact, I think my wife Cindy put a sign like that over the spare room in our house where I keep many of my small props and videos.

Each lower level of hell had a sign over the entrance to that particular level. Think about those signs on easels outside the room where a boring magic lecture is taking place. There was one such long 90 minute lecture by a big name pro titled: “100 ways to get the most out of your Hank-Pull”. Folks, it is just a black plastic egg with a piece of elastic. Of course the big-name, dealer-lecturer was selling 100 different versions of a hank-pull and $15 lecture notes or a DVD combo for $40. Just like sinners in Dante’s Hell, those who paid the simony, for magic powers, never really understood the truth about the sins of their own ignorance.

“Bad Amateur Magicians” were up near the top which was just below Limbo and they suffered from only minor punishment. They are really operating out of ignorance and lack of experience so you can’t be that harsh on them. One layer down, the first level of hell is for those addicted to saying, “Pick a card, any card!” Right below them are those that believe that the older the gag the funnier the bit. “Give me your hand. No, the clean one”, “Do you want to change your mind? Oh you are happy with the one you have!”, “Pick a card. Sometime today, please”, “stand here on the trap door”.

Magic hoarders are next on our descending journey. Does anyone really need 4 sets of Linking Rings and 23 thumb tips? At some point on the moral scale, legitimate magic collecting can degenerate into gluttonous hoarding and selfish greed. Kleptomania is excused but not a house and garage filled with junk that you can not live without.

A little lower there is the place for blasphemers (anyone who says anything bad about Jeff McBride or Franz Harary). Then we move down to the boasters.
Did they really get a standing ovation by their version of Professors Nightmare?

Hey, there is Rocco who has been condemned for eternity to search for plastic thumb tips and LED lights for the sin of selling his tacky D’Lite’s to everyone in every flea-market across the land. Penn and Teller are buck naked. It is not a pretty sight. They are condemned for their exposure and senseless ridicule of other magicians.

“Act copy cats” and “crooked magic dealers” and cheap “knock off artists” are a little lower. One of the 10 commandments is “Thou shall not steal”. They spent their whole lives redefining “stealing”. This bunch never gave credit for who they stole their ideas from. This crowd of sinners are so lacking in originality, they ask every visitor if they can have a Xerox of the escape routes from hell. All the visitors show them that the wallpaper around them contains a blueprint of the entire structure but they are too lazy
to create their own route.

Even lower is David Blaine. He is in for his camera tricks, selective editing and asking 5,000 people on video to think of a card and then discarding every recording but the one he got one right. His biggest sin is portraying himself as some kind of Messiah in making dead flies come alive and dead pigeons resurrect themselves. He ended up here after his last failed TV special. He is condemned to spend eternity frozen in a block of ice that is submerged in a fishbowl while sitting on the tip of a 50 foot pedestal.

Near the bottom is Criss Angel. He is in for having pretended that he has any talent and relentlessly using the same crane-mounted Foy flying rig over and over again with a different set of paid stooges. The cost of keeping him in hell is being subsidized by Cirque du Soleil where they no longer “Believe” and are thrilled to get rid of him.

Val Valentino, the Masked Magician is trapped at the bottom. Maybe he is Satan? At least he looks the part.

For some reason Dante called his exploration of hell, “The Divine Comedy”. (Every heard the Emcee jokes at a magic convention?)

Here is a translation of the epigraph that is at the beginning of this article. It is over Dante’s 8th level of hell.

If I thought my answer were given
to anyone who would ever return to the world,
this flame would stand still without moving any further.
But since never from this abyss
has anyone ever returned alive, if what I hear is true,
it is without fear of infamy I answer you.

So next time you see a less than worthy magic performance, meet a less than virtuous magician or attend a lousy magic convention, this thought should make you feel better while you are enduring the torture. You will live to tell others about it. Perhaps with a virtuous magical career, YOU can escape the fate of those condemned.

Dennis