February 2009 - IBM Ring #21

The Fleming
Flashpaper
February
2009
News, Information & Current Happenings of IBM Ring 21
Prez-tidigitation
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Bob Baker
2
Greats of Magic
3
Calendar of Events
Prez Message
Flash Pot
Flash Points
Points of
Interest
• Greats of Magic
Magic—
—
Fred Kaps
• January Recap
Recap—
— Tricks
from Linking Ring
• February
February—
—Magic to
Music
• March —Lecture
One thing I’ve learned in the many, many years I’ve been doing magic is that the
best way to become a better performer is to do more shows. And, of course, the
best way to develop your tricks is to do them in front of a live audience. Fortu5
nately our IBM Ring has been providing us with many opportunities to perform.
1 This year I want to thank Stephen Levine for enabling us to have two highly successful shows at Jewish Temples.
5
For those of you who were not involved in the last few weeks, twelve of our
8 members had a chance to do an 8-10 minute show and get excellent audience reactions.
I want to thank all those involved, and especially Micah Cover who organized and
directed the first show and Time Mannix, who organized and directed the second
show.
The two shows brought in more than a thousand dollars to the Ring’s treasury,
both from our share of ticket sales and the magic kits we sell during intermission.
Special thanks also go to those who helped with kit sales (Tim and Les and Doris
Cooper) and those who helped behind the scenes. By the way, Frank Padilla, who is
a member of the S.A.M. Assembly, The Westside Wizards, came along for the second show and did the lion’s share of backstage work, especially on the sound.
So, as a note to all for the future, we do anticipate more performances this year
and we would like to see more of our Ring members get involved. Here’s your
chance to get some “flight time” in front of a live (and generally supportive) audience
of both kids and adults.
Let’s see more of you on that stage getting the experience to become more skillful magicians. It’s an opportunity too good to miss.
See you at the next meeting.
Gerry
2008-2009 Executive Board
President: Gerry Schiller (805) 499-8921
[email protected]
Vice-Pres: Rafael Ortiz (818) 761-0426
[email protected]
Secretary: Raul Fernandez (818) 8482013
[email protected]
Treasurer: Lois Harmeyer
(626) 358-2637 [email protected]
Sergeant-at-Arms: Robert de la Guerra
(818) 269-8917 [email protected]
Members at Large
Micah Cover (818) 281-5780
[email protected]
Tim Mannix (323) 848-8922
[email protected]
Bill Turner
(818) 786-5326 [email protected]
Jim Richardson (818) 848-1978
[email protected]
Wendy Sobel (310) 859-2989
[email protected] (editor of Flashpaper)
Past President—Don Kenney
(818) 896-7261 [email protected]
Bendy Spoon (Chapter 7 Magic for Dummies)
The effect: You pick up a spoon and bend it nearly double against the tabletop. Then, you open your hands to reveal a perfectly
straight, untouched spoon.
The secret: Before you do the trick, fish a nickel out of your pocket. You’d be surprised at just how much the smooth, shiny edge
of a nickel looks like the tope of a spoon handle.
1. Get the nickel into push-up position.
That is, pinch the nickel with your right thumb against the inside of your index-finger knuckle. Don’t let anyone see the nickel yet.
Pull it down below the knuckle level with your thumb. Now you’re ready to start.
2. To begin your performance, pick up a spoon with your other hand.
“Hey, you guys,” you might say, “I love the food at this place, but can you believe how cheap the silverware is? I mean, look at
this!”
3.
Assume the Position.
Grab the spoon with both hands, right hand (containing the nickel) on top. In the process push the nickel slightly upward so that
the shiny rim pokes over your index finger.
The bowl of the spoon is digging vertically into the tabletop, the left hand’s pinky is the only finger wrapped around the handle, and
the right hand holds the nickel at the point where the handle’s end might plausibly be.
Your hands should overlap. Otherwise, if you were to put one hand atop the other, your spoon would look like it’s 10 inches
long.
“I mean, what do they make this stuff out of—aluminum foil? Look at this!”
4. Lean forward, grunt and start “bending” the spoon.
I’m serious about the grunting and leaning—it makes this trick. You want to create the impression that this particular silverware is
more substantial than, say, aluminum foil.
As you “press,” here’s the key move: Let the spoon handle come toward you, slipping out the back of your hands. Your hands,
meanwhile, angle forward away from you. The bowl of the spoon slowly flattens out to the table.
Because your hands remain upright, the effect is that you’re bending the spoon into an L or even a C shape. Your left pinky is the
spoon’s pivot point, but otherwise you’re barely touching the spoon.
Let the spoon appear to slowly collapse until your nickel is nearly parallel to the table. Freeze this way for a second, it’s okay to
life the whole assembly up off the table if you want. (Continued Page 5)
Page 2
THE FLEMING FLASHPAPER
FEBRUARY 2009
The Greats of Magic — Gerald Schiller
Page 3
A Series of Capsule Biographies of Famous Magicians
Sullivan Show” in the U.S.
On one of the two shows he did for
In his later years, the great Cardini was
once asked which of the newer magicians he Sullivan he had to share the show with a
very hard act to follow: it was February 9,
most admired. Without hesitation he men1964, the same night the Beatles made their
tioned two names: Channing Pollock and
first U.S. appearance! On that night he perFred Kaps.
formed for an estimated audience of 73 milTo many of us today Kaps may not be
too familiar, but he was an elegant performer lion TV viewers.
Kaps was most elegant as a performer,
and built a solid reputation until his most unespecially in his close up work with the
timely death at the age of 54.
cups and balls and chop cup. In many ways,
Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on
he was a perfectionist, incessantly practicing
June 8, 1926, as Abraham Pieter Adrianus
and working on his material to get it just
Bongers, he first learned magic from a book
of simple tricks he got by collecting coupons right.
Dai Vernon called him “the greatest exfrom oatmeal packets. He first performed at
ponent of sleight of hand I have known.”
the age of 14, calling himself “Valdini.” He
Slydini said that Kaps was “the best magialso used the name “Mystica” but ultimately
cian I have ever seen.” The British perfound the name Kaps in a phone book and
former Michael Vincent said that Kaps
that’s the name he chose.
“blurred” the edges between his brilliance
He honed his skills over the years under
and his humanity.”
the tutelage of Henk Vermeyden and soon
Fred Kaps is the only magician to have
was winning magic contests in Europe. It
won the FISM Grand Prix with a silent act
didn’t take too long before he was being
booked in nightspots throughout Europe and three times: Barcelona, 1950; Amsterdam,
1955; and Liege, 1961.
appeared on television.
Fred Kaps became a genuine celebrity in
Kaps taught himself English by listening to
Holland
and was even given a lifetime pass
recordings of Victor Borge (the Danish cofor free travel on Royal Dutch Airlines to
median and pianist.) His patter always
compensate him
seemed to have the comic inflection of
for all the shows
Borge. Just as Borge seemed a bit confused
he had done for
as he sat at the piano, Fred Kaps constantly
seemed surprised as magic happened around that company.
him as with the appearing cane, multiplying
His death in
candles and his amazing Long Salt Pour.
1980 left a tragic
Sometimes at the end as the salt cascaded
void in magic.
from his hand, the curtains would close, then There has not
his hand would extend from the gap in the
been anyone of
curtains with even more salt pouring from it! such elegance and
He had his own show on the BBC in Eng- style since.
land and was booked to appear on the “Ed
Fred Kaps
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Simon Shaw
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Page 4
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THE
FLEMING FLASHPAPER
FEBRUARY 2009
Page 5
The Flash Pot — a pot pourri of news, in fo, po sting s, etc.
The Flash Pot — a potpourri of news, info, postings, etc.
calide, Wendy Sobel.
February Board Meeting
February 11, 2009, Valley Village, CA
Scheduled for 7:00 pm, Wednesday, February 11, 2009
at Four ‘n 20 Pies located at 4723 Laurel Canyon Blvd.,
Valley Village, Ca. 91607 Phone 818 761-5128
Magic to Music
It’s that time of the year when love is in the air
and music sings to everyone. So the ever popular
“Magic to Music” is being presented again. Bring out
an old favorite effect, and see what new ideas can be
generated by putting it to a favorite piece of music.
This is a very fun evening because it gives members
a chance to do something new and different which
they might never try on their own. So be brave and
see what ideas you can come up with at the February meeting.
Magic of Yesteryear!
Here is a great idea for people who like learning
about the history of magic. Every few months there
will be a “show and tell” of either antique props,
different aspects of magic or just stories about magic
of days gone by. If you have any ideas, or things you
would like to learn about, tell Tim Mannix and he
will see what he can come up with.
February Birthdays
Happy Birthday to all Ring 21 members celebrating their birthdays in February including Lorraine
Kriensky, Gerry Schiller, Rafael Ortiz, Manny Pas-
Calendar of Events
February 5— Magic to Music
March 5 — Lecture with
Tim Mannix and Micah
Cover
April 2 — Mental Magic
* Calendar subject to change without notice.
Happy Birthday from Ring 21!!
(If your birthday was missed, tell Wendy)
At the Magic Castle
On Saturday, February 7 the movie “Women in
Boxes” will be screened at 3:00 p.m. in the Palace of
Mystery. There will be a Q&A session after the film
with the filmmakers.
On March 2 and 3 will be the one and only Carol
Channing in her cabaret act.
Something New at the Website
There is always something new and fun happening at
the Ring 21 website. If you will go there now, you
will see not only animation but voice added to the
page. It makes for interesting reading and listening.
Enjoy.
(Continued from Page 2, The Bendy
Spoon)
“The only problem with this kind of demonstration,” you then say, “is that it gets me in trouble
with the waiters. It’s times like this that it’s good
to be a magician, so I can show you that it was all
an optical illusion anyway!”
5. Toss the spoon in front of you onto the
table.
Trust me: Every eye in the joint will be locked on
the shiny moving spoon. You have a full five seconds of absolute privacy to drop the nickel into
your lap behind the table edge without detection.
Now, of course, you’ve got a befuddled and
amused crown and a normal spoon sitting on the
table in front of you.
The Caryl Fleming IBM Ring #21
Meets @ 7:00pm first Thursday of the
month
Next Meeting
February 5, 2009 7:00 P.M.
Bob Baker Marionette Theater
1345 West 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Linking Ring and More — January 2009
T H E FL E MI N G FL A S H P A P E R
Page 6
THE FLEMING FLASHPAPER
Page 7
FEBRUARY 2009
January Recap—Linking Ring and Lecture Night
The meeting was called to order by President Gerry Schiller at 7:25 pm. We had
some repeat guests, wonderful clown performers Alma, Jacqueline, Jasmine and Jason.
Gerry then informed everyone of how well
the first fund raiser show had been received.
And that between the gate and selling of
magic kits, the club did very well. He reminded people that the next fundraiser will
be on January 25 if anyone would be available
to come and support the Ring if they were
not already in the show.
Tim Mannix talked about the shows, and
that the Ring would like to be performing
some shows at Halloween, also. He also
made a request for more people to get involved in the shows so we have more talent
to draw on. And, as head of the website
committee, Tim gave everyone at the meeting the password to get into the members’
section of Ring 21’s website. If you need that
password, just email Tim and he will email it
back to you.
There was the announcement that the
newsletter is Going Green and we need everyone’s email address.
Lorraine talked about volunteering for
shows for hospitalized veterans. There was a
lot of interest generated. Lorraine, I hope
you have everyone’s name and can follow
through with that. I, for one, would love to
be involved (it’s also another way to get
some “flight time” in while doing something
very important for our military men.)
Don Kenney talked about how important
it is for people to have really good microphones for doing their shows. He inquired if
it would be possible for the club to acquire a
spotlight and a sound system for doing our
shows. It’s something the board will look
into.
Jim Richardson reminded people of the calendars which he has for sale, and gave them to
those of us who already purchased calendars
from him.
Micah Cover reminded people that he
would be at the Magic Castle the week of
January 19—25.
Les Cooper reminded people about the
Westside Wizards meeting coming up the following
Tuesday and that meeting is “Bring a Prop and Do a
Trick.” He also reminded S.A.M. members that the
March meeting will be delayed by one week.
There was mention, for whoever is interested in
going to the IBM Convention this year, they were
holding the “early bird” prices until the end of January.
Jim Millitelo announced that the Renaissance
Faire is going to be open soon, if anyone wants to
participate or just go and have a great time. He will
possibly have 2-for-1 tickets or some sort of discount available.
Sherri McKenzie reminded us that the Vent Club
is still on going. The meetings are now in Glendale
on the second Tuesday of the month, from 7-9 p.m.
Then we held the raffle and Nicolas Garcia, Irv,
Rafe Johnson and Don Kenney all won prizes.
The Trick of the Month was performed by yours
truly (Wendy Sobel). It was a small piece of mentalism that was a lot of fun with fingers.
Micah Cover performed something from the
Video of the Month by Paul Harris (Immaculate
Close-Up). Something called Bleached Black Jack. It
was a very different kind of card magic. Steve Lamb
borrowed the tape.
Lorraine MC’d our show. Micah Cover did mentalism from a Whit Haydn lecture. Robert de La
Guerra also did mentalism from Linking Ring 11/08.
Tim Mannix performed some of Robert Baxt’s act,
and did his newspaper tear. Mario Seki played with
Andrew Jackson from Linking Ring 7/08. Paul Hirsch
showed us the Big Bang Theory. Bob Smillie showed
an effect from Tony Hassini—Exposion; Jim Millitelo
did 3 1/2 clubs from Linking Ring 10/94. Don
Kenney presented something from the Tim Ellis lecture, Ellis in Wonderland. Gerry Schiller did the No
Gimmick Brain Wave deck from the Linking Ring
11/08. Jim Richardson did Heavy 8 from the Linking
Ring, 10/04. Nicolas Garcia did Rope Puzzle from
the Linking Ring 12/98. It was, as usual, a great night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For all the news on Ring 21 go to our award-winning
webpage at ww.ibmring21.org.1.orgwww.ib
1.orgwww.ib
r
* * * * * * * * * *
If you have any comments or suggestions about the Flashpaper,
please direct them to Wendy Sobel.
Please deliver to:
Fleming Flashpaper
Wendy Sobel, Editor
CARYL FLEMING
RING #21 HOLLYWOOD
Celebrating the enjoyment &
camaraderie of magic since 1938!
We’re on the Web!
www.ibmring21.org
Flash Points
• GO TO THE WEBSITE FOR FUN STUFF
• February 5—Magic to
Music
• March 5—Lecture with
Tim Mannix and Micah
Cover
• April 2—Mental Magic