July 2014 - Dallas Magic Clubs

July 2014
Volume 89
The Official Publication
of the Dallas Magic Clubs
It’s Your Magic Club!
Inside this Issue
1
June Meeting
Report
3
Scribblings From The
Scribe Of The Scroll
4
The Prez Sez…
Frank Seltzer
Back To Front
5 From
David Knight
6 T.A.O.M. News
Me
7 BeLIEve
Dr. Mike Smith
8
Dal Sanders
Magic Maniac
Secrets?
9 What
Geoff Grimes
The Vault
10 From
Pix Smith
13
Lecture News
16
Gems From
Diamond Jim
17
Summer Splash
June 18, 2014
of the club, what they would like to see
the club accomplish over the next
year and beyond. Suggestions
addressed club outreach efforts,
club meeting agendas, and club
events.
President Frank Seltzer
called the meeting to
order and initiated the
"housekeeping" portion of
the Dallas Magic Clubs.
First up for discussion was
Soon after the business was
the need for nominations
dispensed with, the night's
for S.A.M. and I.B.M.
performances began with Doc
representatives for the
Grimes asking volunteer Fran
T.A.O.M. Board. Mike
Hatzenbuhler to remove 8 cards
Squires was nominated
from the deck and pick one of
for I.B.M. representative
them. Fran's card was placed in
and the S.A.M. nomination remains the middle of the packet and shuffled.
to be determined.
Doc split the packet into 2 groups of 4
The business portion of the meeting cards and asked John Hatzenbuhler to
continued with the creation of several turn over one of the 4-card packets
one at a time and confirm that the
committees and the assignment
selected
card
of committee members: The
was in the
Public Show Committee will
packet. Then
consist of Jeff Hallberg and
John
was
David Knight. The Annual
asked to hold
Banquet Committee was filled
the
packet
by Mark Jensen and Cinde
between both
Sanders.
The
Internet
hands
while
Presence Committee will be
Fran "invisibly"
Harold Pulcher, Derrel Allen,
pulled her card
Mike Squires, and Joey
from
John's
Byers. Finally, the Outreach
grasp.
In
the
Committee will consist of
end,
Fran's
Geoff Grimes and Rob Divers.
card
was
Frank followed the committee
magically
assignments with an open
removed from
discussion around goals for
John's
packet
the
DMC
going
forward.
which now contained 3 cards. Fran
Suggestions
were
made
and ended up with the Ace of Hearts which
substantiated openly by members she initially selected.
about what they would like to get out
DMC
Officers
Frank Seltzer
President
David Knight
Vice President
Reade Quinton
Treasurer
Dal Sanders
Secrretry
Joey Byers
Sgt. At Arms
Derrel Allen
Past President
Chuck Lehr
Dean of The DMC
Board Members:
Mike McElroy
Until July 2015
Jeff Hallberg
Until Nov. 2014
David Knight
Until Nov. 2014
T.A.O.M.
Board Members
Frank Seltzer
S.A.M. Representative
Until July 2014
Cameron Rivers
I.B.M. Representative
Until July 2014
Wizard’s Scroll
Staff
Dal Sanders
Wizard’s Scroll Editor
Dal@StageMagic.com
Daryl Howard
DMC Photographer
Columnists:
Michael Smith
Frank Seltzer
Geoff Grimes
David Knight
June Performances
Ian Richards performed another
card trick by asking
Geoff Grimes to
select a card. Doc
selected a card and
returned it face up
in the middle of a
half face-up/ half
face-down
deck.
Ian then split the
deck
and
performed a Farostyled shuffle to face all the cards
the same direction. However, after
instructing Doc to wave his hands
over the deck, all cards appeared
face up with the exception of the
Doc's 8 of Hearts.
Ian
was
followed by
Diamond
Jim
Tyler
who
performed a
numerology
routine. He
presented
visitor Mike
Blum with a grid of numbers and
instructed him to circle one number,
and then cross out the other
numbers in the row and column. Jim
asked Mike to repeat this until all the
numbers were either selected or
crossed off. Finally, Mr. Blum's
selections were summed to equal
34. In the meantime, Diamond Jim
made his own predictive magic
square whereby summing a variety
of patterned quadrants also equaled
Mike's freely-selected sum of 34.
Finally, Diamond Jim asked the club
on who was the most famous player
of the Texas Rangers baseball
team.
The
group
responded
unanimously that it was indeed
Nolan Ryan. Jim removed his outer
shirt to display a Rangers baseball
shirt, proudly displaying the name
and number (34) of Nolan Ryan on
the back.
George
Ferrin
followed with a card
mentalism trick. Ian
Richards
volunteered
and
George allowed Ian
to supply his own
deck of cards for
the trick. Ian split
the cards into 4 piles,
selected a pile, and then was
instructed to merely think of a card
from his pile. After instructing Ian to
deal, count, and cut the cards,
George correctly revealed to Ian
that the card he was thinking was of
the 7 of Spades.
Wrapping
up
the
evening's
performances, Derrel Allen signaled
a heart-shape with his hands toward
club
member
favorite
Fran
Hatzenbuhler. Derrel dedicated the
trick to Fran, and then he proceeded
to produce coins from the heart.
Scribbling From
The Scribe of The Scroll
Welcome Back my Friends
To the Show that Never Ends...
What a month we have for you here...there is SO
MUCH good, usable news, information and magic for
you in this issue of The Wizard’s Scroll that you may
not get finished until after the Summer Splash
(Sunday, July 27th).
We had a fantastic meeting in June with NEW
MEMBERS, great magic and the reaffirmation that
This Is Your Magic Club. We want to give you what
you want. Unfortunately, we are not mind readers
(even though we occasionally perform mentalism).
That means that you need to tell us what you want to
see in your Dallas Magic Clubs. What should we
spend more time on...what should we spend less time
on. Let us know.
This is exactly what President Frank Seltzer discusses
in his column The Prez Sez. Last month people said
they wanted more magic at the DMC so that is why
there is no theme for this month’s meeting. Bring your
favorite routine and share it with the group...or better
yet, bring a work in progress and share it, maybe you
will discover where you need to go to make it a great
routine...maybe someone will have some great idea
that makes your routine complete. Frank is also
planning to bring back the “Teach A Trick” portion of
the meetings and he has something planned that you
CAN do and that you WILL do.
The Magic Summit
In November several of the leaders of the DMC are
going to Las Vegas to get the tools to become better
leaders and to grow the DMC. It’s called The Magic
Summit and it’s purpose is to improve the local magic
club experience. Individual clubs are the grassroots of
the entire magic community. This is where passions
are nurtured through the support of fellow magicians,
face to face. It’s also where lifelong friendships are
made. For more information on this idea or if you want
to participate go to www.magicsummit.com.
From The Vault
This month The Wizard’s Scroll is bringing back the
popular column From The Vault with a terrific
submission from Pix Smith and former members of
The Dallas Magic Clubs called The Elders. While I
had heard of the group I did not know who the
members were but I did know that one of the leaders
was Tom Palmer aka Tony Andruzzi. Palmer was
born
Antonio
C.
Andruzzi in 1925 in
Cheyenne, Wyoming.
He learned magic at
the age of 8 from a
magic set. From the
1950's to the early
1970's, he was a
professional illusionist
& comedy magician,
adopted the name
"Tom Palmer" and had
his
name
legally
changed to Thomas S.
Palmer. He was married from 1947 to 1964 to Gloria
Jacobsen (later Gloria Marcom) for whom he
designed her "Vampira" act in 1960. He invented
"Satan's Seat" illusion by 1959. He won 7 TAOM
awards (a record) from 1959 to 1963. In 1970, he
reclaimed Antonio C. Andruzzi as an alternate legal
name. He began switching his performance style to
"Bizarre Magick" as "Tony Andruzzi" and "Masklyn ye
Mage" and "Daemon Ecks". Under both names, he
also wrote articles in Sphinx, Genii, Tops, Magick,
Dope Sheet, Invocation and New Invocation. In 1988,
Brian Flora produced a bizarre magick instructional
video tape featuring Tony Andruzzi, entitled "Bizarre."
Tony Andruzzi died December 22, 1991.
The magic from the Elders that Pix found and is
sharing in this Issue of the scroll is called Dai’s Die
and it is a very clever presentation.
The prez Sez
By Frank Seltzer
This is Your Club!
June’s meeting was great….many of you got involved and said what you wanted from the club. The
main thing, of course, was more magic. As you know over the past year as Vice President I tried to
keep the meetings as short as possible. This year will be no exception. Yes, there will be a few
housekeeping things we need to accomplish but otherwise we are cleared for action.
After getting feedback last month, we are going to have much more magic…all kinds. Rather than
having a theme, anyone (and we hope that means everyone) will participate doing a trick. A couple
of the comments last month were that if the theme was, say cards, those who do stage or coins or
mentalism wouldn't be that interested…so no more themes per se. After all, in our art, there are
many interests and specialties. There are those interested in close-up, others interested in parlor
and some in stage illusions. Within those categories we also have coins, cards, rings, escapes,
mentalism—the list goes on and on. In addition there are those interested in the history of our art, or
those who are collectors. All are going to be welcomed at the club and our goal is to allow all those
specialties to flourish. (Oh yeah and then there are those interested in flourishes.)
So how are we going to do this? We will adopt a new format for the meetings. Our official start time
will remain 7pm. But what I have noticed is that people often session in the lobby or just chat before
the meeting. So while that is going on, we may delay the actual start time 10 or 15 minutes so those
activities can continue. During this time, you can also sign up with the Sergeant at Arms to perform.
Let Joey know if you want to do something.
When we do begin, the business portion of the meeting will be very brief (under 5 minutes) and then
right into the magic.
After our break, we will bring back the Teach a Trick segment, followed by workshops on tricks YOU
want to work on. If you are developing something, this is the time to do it. At Vernon’s in June,
Diamond Jim was helping with classic palm tips…we could do this as part of the meeting as well.
We do have a great deal of experience among our members and we need to exploit this. This is
where we will also have short lectures on topics the members want.
Our overall goal for this year and beyond is to make the meetings FUN and educational.
If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. After all this is YOUR club.
Frank
Back to front
By David Knight
“My Destiny”
In 2007 my wife Kylie and I moved back to the Dallas area to pursue our
dream of being illusionists. Leaving the Spencers was one of the hardest
decisions we ever made. However, we knew that if we wanted to move
forward as artists and develop our own “voice,” we had to do it.
Upon moving out here, we quickly got involved in a local church
(Crosspointe). We were determined to make it as professional magicians
and refused every opportunity to take on a “real job.” Fortunately that first
summer, we had already booked a 10 day gig in Peru and we were able to
supplement with a 3 month long stint at Six Flags.
However, by September our bookings were getting scarce and we were
faced with the very real prospect of giving up chasing our dreams and take
on more traditional work.
After relating this turn of events to the Men’s Group at Crosspointe, our Pastor, David Wahlstedt
approached me and said he would like to meet with Kylie and I the next day. We met him in a
coffee shop in Austin Ranch. He told us that he wanted to offer us part-time jobs on staff at
Crosspointe. He made it very clear that it would not be a “get rich” position. However, it would
allow us the flexibility to continue pursuing our path as well as an element of financial stability.
This was a huge decision for us. Do we take this job and potentially lose the “hunger” for our
career? Or, do we not take the job and face the potential for being broke and homeless?
Well, we did end up taking the job and it changed our lives completely. Not only did it give us the
stability that we needed, it gave us a direction for our show and other areas of our lives.
That job turned into a string of events that drew us further and further into Christian ministry. I went
back to school, got my Bachelor’s degree and ordained. I became the go-to guy for our pastor. I
help him in the development of his sermons and even preach for him when he is out of town.
Our theatrical experience became a huge benefit to Crosspointe when they moved in 2010 to
Theatre 166. We were able to help in deciding how to pull it all together and run it. We call it
Theatre 166 because there are 168 hours in a week. Crosspointe reserves it for two hours on
Sunday morning and open it up to rentals the other 166 hours. In our four years in this space, we
have had over 400 events ranging from Magic Club to yoga classes, dance recitals, concerts and
theatrical productions!
As for Kylie and I, we are still chasing our dream. Our main market has become churches and
youth groups. We perform a stage show that can be 30 minutes to two hours. We are also
currently looking at the possibility of working on cruise ships.
You can catch our show on August 9 at the MCL Grand in Lewisville. We will be performing
90 minutes (plus intermission) and video recording it for our newest promotional video. Go
to http://knightillusions.eventbrite.com for tickets.
TAOM 2014 NEWS
Message from the President
What's New for TAOM 2014! What's still available? LOTS of neat stuff!
Magic Camp at TAOM 2014 is a great deal for our 7-12 age group. All the events with a regular
registration plus events only for the campers and possibly a chance to be on the stage for an
evening performance. There are still places available for this event. If you have already registered
your child for a normal event pass, contact registration@taom.org for an upgrade to include Magic
Camp before it is too late and we will work with you.
HOUDINI tour with Arthur Moses! This event already has several attendees and may not be available when you
arrive. Send a note with 'Houdini' in the subject line to president@taom.org if you want to enter the next couple
drawings. You must be registered and this event occurs parallel to the events at the convention. This is a rare visit back
in time.
ROLAND SARLOT AND SUSAN EYED | Arizona
Roland Sarlot and Susan Eyed bring to the stage their
Carnival of Illusion show full of vaudeville mystery,
excitement and “an evening of worldly magical delights!”
Feature performers from Arizona, Sarlot and Eyed will
provide a fresh new approach to choreographed magic,
music, and illusion performance. Hit performers at a recent
SAM convention, see their website to learn more.
SONNY FONTANA | Las Vegas
DANA DANIELS | California
Dana Daniels, teamed with his Psychic Parrot Luigi ( yes, a
Psychic Parrot ), have been motivating and entertaining at
Corporate events around the country for companies such
as McDonald’s, Lincoln Financial and Frito-Lay. With Dana
as the comedian, and Luigi as the straight bird, the
duo never fail to fracture an audience with laughter. Dana
sets out to prove his little green friend is truly clairvoyant by
performing incredible magic blended with rapid-fire clean
comedy and audience participation.
Sonny Fontana started his grand love affair with magic at
the age of 17 and has since has also become the world's
foremost expert in the ancient art of hand shadows. He
was selected by Francis Ford Coppola to act as the
"Shadow Consultant" for his amazing movie Dracula. He
has performed his Shadow Act in 38 countries and has
been featured in many showrooms in Las Vegas. His
Telephone Magic Act won an award at the F.I.S.M.
Convention in Dresden Germany. His latest creative
endeavour is bringing the Invisible Man live to the stage.
He has had the pleasure of getting many accolades from
celebrities that have seen him perform. Some of them
include, Robert Duval, Gloria Estefan, Nicholas Cage,
Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Kenny
Rogers, Penn & Teller, Levar Burton and Jay Leno.
BeLIEve Me, But Cut The Cards:
A Psychology of Deception
for Magicians
Michael Smith
Part 23
WOW!!!
“Magic, perhaps more than any other art form, has the ability to tear a hole in our maps of reality.”
David Parr, Brain Food, 1998, p. 81
“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning of life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I
think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive…so that we actually feel the rapture of being
alive.” Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, 1988, p. 5
Plato was wrong!!! Wrong!!! Wrong!!! In his Republic, Plato (427-347 BC) contended that lovers of the arts
are bewitched by the deceptions of the senses, saying that they are the “victims of magic.” He is arguing that
philosophy is about truth and magic is about the false. But later he then says something remarkable in
Theaetetus, “the sense of wonder is the mark of the philosopher.”
This month I want us to consider wonder, awe, astonishment, marvel, curiosity, and surprise. In other words,
the feeling of WOW!!! I think this is important to us magicians for three reasons: (1) most of us were first
drawn to this art form because we experienced those feelings ourselves; and (2) we want to continue to
experience those feelings; and (3) those feelings are what we want to help create in those who see our magic.
In other words we want to “feel the rapture of being alive.”
Rene Descartes (1596- 1650), French philosopher and mathematician and considered the father of modern
philosophy, in his The Passions of the Soul argues that wonder is “the first of all passions.” Without wonder to
inspire the other passions (love, hatred, desire, joy, and sadness), we don’t feel them as passions and our
lives are diminished. (For an excellent explanation of this written for magicians see “Ways of Wonder:
Philosophy and the Art of Magic,” in Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks , Larry Hass, 2007, pp.
151-161.)
Our word wow is from an 16th century Scottish word. Robert Burns used it in 1791 in his poem, “Tam o’
Shanter”: “An’, wow! Tam saw an unco sight!” (Unco means strange and unfamiliar). The dictionary has
three meanings for wow: (1) an indication of excitement or surprise; (2) an expression of amazement or awe;
and (3) used sarcastically to express disapproval of something (as in “Wow! I can’t believe you would do such
a thing).
What I want to experience and what I want my audiences to experience are found in the first two definitions. I
don’t want to experience or my audience to experience the third definition. (I do occasionally hear this from
my wife!!) So the task is great. What can we do to so deepen our magical methods and presentations to
make this response more likely? I close with these words from Anne Lamott from her remarkable little book,
Help, Thanks, Wow: the Three Essential Prayers, 2012, p. 73.
“When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere. It is so much more
comfortable to think that we know what it all means, what to expect and how it all hangs together. When we
are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at
something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response
is ‘Wow,’ that’s a prayer.”
Until next time, remember to cut the cards.
—Mike
I just returned from the IBM-SAM Combined
Convention in St Louis where I turned the job of
President of The Society of American Magicians over
to Kenrick “Ice” McDonald.
My year as President was a
lot of fun…and a lot of work.
I will still be involved in the
S.A.M. as the Director of
Marketing, with Convention
Publicity and I will be
working with PNP Brad
Jacobs
on
F.I.S.M.
Business.
We got a lot of positive things done this past year
including ratifying a statement against Cyber Bullying,
taking on the maintenance of Houdini’s Gravesite in
New York and demonstrating the connection between
Science and Magic for over 300,000 kids at the USA
Science & Technology Festival in Washington DC.
We also have put in place several new partnerships
that will make the SAM’s extensive Video and Media
library available to all members online, bring new
magic lectures to Assemblies across the nation and
give the leaders of magic clubs the training and the
tools to make their local clubs more fun. We
partnered with the International Brotherhood of
Magicians to produce the Largest Magic Convention
on the continent and got The US Congress to
recognize magic as an art.
As President of the S.A.M. I visited New York City,
Washington DC (2 Times), Boston, Hartford (CT),
Los Angeles (3 times), Las Vegas (2 times), London,
Blackpool, Omaha (NB), Tulsa, Oklahoma City,
Nashville, Atlanta, Tucson (AZ), Phoenix, Austin, Fort
Worth, Houston, Minneapolis/St Paul (MN),
Columbus (OH), Springfield (MA), Boca Raton (FL)
and many other cities. In most of these places I either
lectured or performed.
The amazing thing is that all of this was
accomplished and I’m still married and I still got to
perform over 410 shows this year (all though that is
down about 140 from the previous year). All in all, it
has been quite a year and I have had a wonderful
time because I have had a wonderful team.
I was mindful the whole time that my run through the
chairs that led to my time as President of The World’s
Oldest and Most Prestigious Magic Organization
started right here with The Dallas Magic Clubs. You
were the people who nominated me and supported
me the whole way. I will always be grateful. I also got
a
couple
of
items
in
my
collection
that
Mark
Jensen
does not have.
One is a leather
bound book with
all the M-U-Ms
from my year as
President. The
other
is
the
Houdini
Bust
that is given to
all
Past
Presidents of the
S.A.M. I’ll show
them to you at
the
Summer
Splash.
What Secrets?”
I totally agree with the principle of protecting the secrets
of magic. It's an issue, for sure, for our magic club at
the college and for those clubs in other schools and
colleges. It's an issue for every "magic camp"
sponsored by shops. Even though the kids and their
parents may buy the youngsters their props (mine did—
that's how I got into magic), most walk away from it with
the secrets they learned in their pockets, and some, I'm
sure, will someday bark out the response (as I have
already heard), "Oh! He's got a fake thumb." That's
when the lesson of protecting the secrets from the
"merely curious" really comes home, and its negligence
bites us.
The implication of universally prohibiting the exposure
of magical secrets suggests that we probably ought not
create magic clubs, especially for youngsters, that
maybe we should close all shops open to the public to
which the eager (but initially, only curious) kids and
their parents flock each weekend. I really don't think
that's what the “secrets” police mean for us to do, but
that's where the "slippery slope" line of argument might
take one. Maybe in a college setting an alternative
might be to require a sizeable deposit that is refundable
only if the apprentice demonstrates by mastery of a set
of routines that he or she is truly interested in magic.
Then, after a public performance (as we require for
membership in many of our adult clubs), the student
receives his/her refund--just a thought. Others who sign
up for the club are introduced to the history of magic,
view DVD's of past magical performances (sans
"explanations"), or get to watch the sponsor perform a
set or two of magic.
The other side of this issue, however, is the widespread
"theft" and broadcast of magic secrets through popular
and social media, exposing even the classics of magic
to the general public. Because that is virtually
impossible to police, at a practical level, our insistence
of holding on to the principle of secrecy is rather a moot
and somewhat archaic exercise, a tradition
comparable, perhaps to the tradition of wearing silly
robes and parading in graduation exercises each
spring. We still do it out of tradition, but I think fewer
folks who come to applaud their graduates give much
thought or could care a whit for these ancient
formalities. The whole arena of magical entertainment
has been exposed for those who care enough to
pursue it through the media, and to protest too
vigorously would seem to most of us, I think, a kind of
futile anachronism (although it still doesn't make it
right!)
So with what are we left? One result of the dispensation
of cheap magical merchandise and their gimmicks is a
by Geoff Grimes
groundswell of a new interest in magic among the kids,
superficial as it may be, probably for most. However, I
think we have to acknowledge it as the whole bevy of
new young "street" magicians dig for their decks of
cards during middle school recess periods. Quite
frankly, I believe it is they who are probably driving and
nurturing the next few generations of magicians. They
are fed, of course, by the young bucks like Adam Rose
and his clan who strut their imaginative new tricks
through "ellusionist.com" and the like. I would like to
think that it becomes our new role for these young folks
to set the standards through performance for what
really fine magical pieces can become when performed
by seasoned, practiced, and experienced magical
entertainers. I suspect, however, much to my own
lament, that is not and will not be the case, that right
now, in fact, it's the "Adam Roses" who are setting the
standards for the new generation of young magic
enthusiasts.
Another result of this wholesale broadcasting, it seems
to me, is favorable to magic entertainment. We have a
new generation of "30-sump'in" parents in the more
affluent suburbs who are "renting" more magicians for
their kids' birthday parties, competing, of course, with
the outdoor "jump houses," clowns, balloon artists, and
balloon artist-clowns for the available tip money (all of
which I had to contend with several weekends past!
However, as I was setting up under a tent behind the
swimming pool, one father and his five year old came
through the back gate, remarking, "Hey, Doc! I've seen
your show four times now! I was the one who
recommended you for this party!"). So fortunate as this
growing trend seems to be, that the major commercial
thrust for Main Street Magic and Fun Company in
McKinney will now be on providing magical
entertainment for this magically-engaged community.
Another response to this rising interest is that the Fort
Worth Magicians Club just last year committed itself to
at least one public performance per year--pasting that
commitment as an objective into its very bylaws!
Maybe I appear to be straying. Where were we?
"Protecting magic secrets from the merely curious."
"Magic is not an evangelical art." I guess I am
beginning to realize even the suggestion of
"evangelicalism" is becoming an irrelevant issue; in the
context of this new groundswell of interest among the
youngsters, "evangelicalism" itself seems anachronistic.
Just sayin' . . .. .
From The Vault
This month we are reviving our column FROM
THE VAULT with the help of Pix Smith who
found an interesting piece of magic from a
group of DMC Members who called themselves
“The Elders”.
DAI’S DIE
- (a routine to be accompanied by a fugue for
tinhorns)
I remember a lunch at On the Border a few
years ago. I had been sniffing around Ebay
and made a purchase of some oddball
something or another, and it was a small
package containing a clear cube and a sheet of
mimeographed instructions. The title of the
trick I knew would interest Bob White, so I
brought it with me that Saturday
“Here Bob, have a look at this. It’s something
of Vernon’s called Dai’s Die. Ever heard of it?”
Bob had a look and said, “You know, there’s a
very interesting story about this trick.”
When Bob White says something like that, you
pay attention.
“Vernon was visiting the Magic Castle for an
extended stay and living on the third floor with
Jay Ose. He was returning to New York City on
the bus to pick up what he called his "trunk" and
Tom Palmer booked a lecture for him in Dallas
on August 16, 1963 for five dollars a person at
the Statler Hilton Hotel. It was on the bus from
LA to Dallas that he came up with that
trick. Tom (Palmer) was one of the Elders and
marketed the trick called Dai's Die. That’s what
you’ve got right there.”
Interesting didn’t begin to cover it.
The Elders were a group of magicians; Tom
Palmer was, according to our own Paul Siegel,
the driving force. It was a small group of men
that were "out of the box" in their magic
thoughts and property productions. With the
help of Paul and Van McGee, “In the group was
Cleve Haubold (Van Cleve), Harold Thomas,
John Gladfelter and Bob Thorson. They may
also have been other contributors from time to
time” Bill Palmer was able to add, “Rose
Gladfelter was also one of the Elders. Ralph
MarcoM was not actually a part of the group,
although he did collaborate actively with Van
Cleve and Gloria in creating new material.”
So, this little bit of foolishness that follows has a
bit of history, and a strong Texas
connection.
THE EFFECT
Six cards are laid out alternating face up and
face down. A prediction is fairly shown, and
placed in plain sight. Someone else may hold it
if desired.
The spectator rolls the die until a satisfactory
number is reached. That number corresponds
to a card, and the prediction proves accurate.
Less than a minute, unless you do it right…
Routine next, method at the end.
THE ROUTINE
If you have never read Damon Runyon, you
ought to. A great American author, the musical
Guys and Dolls is based on just one of his
stories. A terrific radio series called Damon
Runyon Theater ran from 1948 to 1949, and
captured perfectly the argot of prohibition and
post-prohibition New York. And since he, too
has a Texas connection -- while covering
baseball spring training in Texas, he not only
met Pancho Villa, but later joined an expedition
into Mexico to capture him -- he seems a
natural inspiration for the following routine.
Most folks have heard of the game of craps. It
is simple, and one of any casino’s most popular
games. The idea is that you roll the dice, and
then try to roll that number again before you roll
a seven. Simple to learn, easy to play, and a
lot of fun to watch.
Craps has been with us for a long time, and in
fact, it is the centerpiece for many a story by the
FROM THE VAULT—DAI’S DIE Continued
famous American author Damon Runyon. In his
honor, I’d like to invite, let us say, you, please, to
join me for a friendly game of a similar sort. A
gracious round of applause for our player, who
is, in this game, playing for each of you as well.
“Here we have a pair of dice. You may notice
that there are no spots on them, but do not be
concerned. I remember where the spots used to
be, and so there is nothing to worry about.
“Now it is time for a little instruction in the game
of craps. If you would, please roll the dice,. Very
nice! You can see that you rolled an eight, or as
wel like to say in the game, ‘An eighter from
Decatur.’ There is the three and there is the
five. Gather up the dice, and roll again. As long
as you roll an eight before you roll a seven, you
win the money.
Look at that, a six/two -- an easy eight!
-- Collect your winnings….oh wait, we
practicing now. Sorry, sometimes it is
when to quit; sometimes it is knowing
start.
“Let’s go. Roll again.
seven! You win again!
You win
are just
knowing
when to
Do you see that?
outcome of this little game. Now, what is written
is very specific, and if it proves correct, then the
house wins. If it is incorrect, then you walk away
the winner of the evening.
“Are you ready? Then let us commence. The
rules are simple. You roll the die, and if you like
the number that you roll, we continue to the
wager. If you do not, then you may roll again
until you are happy with your number -- or until
the cops arrive to bust up our evening’s
entertainment.
“Let us commence.
“And now, you are happy with your
number? Again, tell everyone what that number
is.
“You had the choice of either die, you had the
chance to roll again, or to stop one roll earlier,
but you chose this time to stop, and you rolled a
six. Had you chosen a one, two, three, four, or
five, things would have been different, but you
chose the six of hearts….
“If you would be so kind, please read what is
written on the paper….
A
“The number you rolled did correspond to the red
card. It looks like, sadly, the house has won.
“Once more. Give them a toss, there you go,
your point is nine. Roll again -- four. Still in the
game -- again….six, close call, again….double
fours - eight the hard way. Come on now, luck is
with you -- all you need is a nine….Seven! Oh,
sorry, that is a losing roll. This is how the game
operators make the money. The math is with the
house. But do not worry, our game is a little
more fair that this one, though it may use the
same gaming instruments!
“Now, do you think that you have acquired a
taste for gambling this evening? No? Then I
think that though the house may have won the
last battle, you have made the decision that will
win the war. The race may not always be to the
swift, nor the victory to the strong, but that's how
the smart money bets. And I am going to bet
that these folks will reward you with a nice round
of applause for your efforts.”
“By this time, I hope that you have found that the
dice are fair. Nothing funny about them, all the
rolls are fair rolls, right? I mean, you saw them
with your very own eyes. Now, to make things
even more fair, if you would, please choose one
of the dice, for yourself, for this will be your die in
our little game.
METHOD
Needed:
Two blank-faced dice, and six
cards. Only two are specific, the red-backed Ace
of Clubs or Spades and the blue-backed Six of
Hearts.
“Are you certain that is the one that you
want? Are you positive that it is fair? Give it a
couple of rolls yourself to make certain.
“This die will no longer be needed, but these
cards will, as well as this piece of paper, on
which is written something concerning the
Recommended: Red-backed Ace of Clubs or
Spades, blue-backed Two, Three, Four, and Five
of either black suit, blue-backed Six of Hearts or
Diamonds.
Alternate the cards face up and face down in any
order (though it can be handy to keep track of
them) with the red six face down in the second
position and the red backed black ace in the third
FROM THE VAULT—DAI’S DIE Continued
position from the top (or bottom -- it doesn’t
matter, as you’ll see.
Lay out the cards in a row; you will have, from
either the right or the left, a face up card, a face
down red six, a face up red-backed ace, a face
down black card, a face up black card, and a
face down black card. The only two important
cards are the face down six and the face up
ace. For purposes of explanation, let’s assume
you have the above laid out from your left to
right and that the face up cards are the five, the
three and the two.
After all the fol-de-rol, designed to get a lot of
time out of a tiny, yet good trick, you are left with
a selected number.
Here is the business, per number:
“You could have rolled a five (turn it face down),
three (ditto) or any other number between one
and six,(turn the other card face down, and
deliberately gather all the cards, leaving the ace
alone on the table) but you rolled the one, the
same as the ace in a deck of cards (there is no
need to point out that the backs of the cards you
have put away are blue. We see them) If you
would be so kind, please read what is written on
the paper….
Start at the left end, and say, “You could have
rolled a one (pick up the card and scoop up the
others as you continue), three, four, or any other
number, but you rolled a two -- the second card
-- right there. If you would be so kind, please
read what is written on the paper…” Turn the
card over to reveal the red card, giving no
importance to the value of the card at all. As
you are picking up cards four, five, and six in the
row, show them black without calling attention to
their value. No reason to get people thinking
Start at the left end, and proceed as in two, but
don’t turn the cards face up -- turn them all face
down as you call attention to their number in the
row, and put them away, leaving card number
three in place…
Start at the right end, and proceed as in 3, or is
that 2, or 2 and 3… the point is that the cards
are turned face down and gathered as every
position is counted, leaving card number four.
Start at the right end, and proceed as in number
two, but paying little attention to the values of
the cards and casually displaying the faces
without calling attention to them. The cards are
turning
face
up
as
they
are
gathered. Obviously, you say “five” and “fifth”
instead of “two” and “second.”
I like this as the best outcome if you are using
cards numbered ace through six. “You could
have rolled a one, (pick up the ace face up) a
two (scoop it up with the ace), a three (scoop it
with the other two), a four, (turn it face up and
scoop it up) or a five (scoop it up and put the
cards away -- be careful with the red-backed
ace) but you rolled a six. Half a boxcar,
sometimes considered an incredibly unlucky
roll, but a six. You rolled a six, That only
happens about 16.6 percent of the time. If you
would be so kind, please read what is written on
the paper….”
In short, if the position is important, emphasize
that and downplay the actual values of the
cards. Don’t be shifty, just don’t give them any
importance. If the value is important, Stress the
values of the unchosen cards, but lay off before
you get to that six, which you can’t show, and
move it along.
Another note -- Vernon was very specific about
the wording of the “prediction.” I have seen this
presented as “You will roll the number of the red
card.” It doesn’t play as well.
This trick has some great examples of Vernon’s
thinking. The revelations are casual and point
out the least of what is necessary to make the
biggest impression. It’s a whimsical idea, and a
lot of fun. It involves an audience member, and
this routine makes the spectator a big picture
winner in the end.
--The original Dai’s Die had a clear cube for the
die (actually a pretty neat novelty in the 60s),
and the mimeographed instructions gave the
card placement and the outs. Please don’t
blame anything else above on Vernon or the
Elders.
Special thanks to Arthur Emerson, Van McGee,
Bill Palmer, Paul Siegel and Bob White for their
help with background information on the
Elders. Thanks Jared Kopf for catching a
couple of egregious typos and a bit of plain old
dumbth.
Wayne Houchin Lecture
Strange Ideas: The No Blessings Tour
Sunday, August 17th
2:00 pm (Doors open at 1:40 pm)
Cost: $20 for DMC members,
$10 for DYMC members
$25 for non-members.
(Cash or Check at the door)
Crosspointe - 2425 West Parker RD
Carrollton, TX 75010
—the DMC monthly meeting place
Who Is Wayne Houchin?
Wayne Houchin's work as a
performance artist, magician, and
dare-devil has made him one of the
most popular and exciting mystery
entertainers in the world.
He has performed in more than 30 countries, appeared on NBC’s Today Show, headlined the
world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, and he made history in the Dominican Republic by
stopping time during a live, nationally televised stunt. Houchin currently stars in the Discovery
Channel's Breaking Magic: The Magic of Science which has been watched by more than 100
million people worldwide.
What Is The Lecture About?
Wayne Houchin debuted his new lecture Strange Ideas last year in Europe to sold out audiences
and rave reviews. This summer, he’s bringing it across the United States. Strange Ideas features
an exploration of original magic and surprising variations - including magic with glass bottles, dollar
bills, a helium balloon, and more. Houchin’s new lecture notes Strange Ideas will also be available.
His previous releases to the magic community include The Signed Coin in Can, Stigmata,
Ultragaff, and Thread. Houchin’s original magic has been performed by David Blaine, Derren
Brown, Criss Angle, Dynamo, and many others.
This is a one-of-a-kind presentation by one of magic’s most unique performers and creators.
Quotes
"Wayne Houchin is one of the hottest magicians on the planet!" - Genii Magazine
“A world class entertainer who shares himself entirely with the audience. A must see for anybody
who loves magic!” - SOMA, 2009 FISM Grand Prix Winner
“Wayne Houchin’s lecture was one of the best we’ve had in years. His magic is fantastic, visual
and amazing. But if you watch him and pay close attention, you might learn something far more
important than tricks: How to connect with an audience, draw them into an experience and make
them care.” – Harry Lucas, Magic Circle Vienna
"Wayne Houchin is brilliant!" - Criss Angel
"Wayne Houchin was incredible during his sold out, standing room only lecture! We enjoyed
having him very much!" - Tannen's Magic
For more information about our other lectures please Click Here
October 5, 2014
November 16th, 2014
From Bamboozlers
Bamboozlers- The Book of Bankable Bar Betchas,
Brain Bogglers, Belly Busters & Bewitchery
by Diamond Jim Tyler is available
$19.95 exclusively at www.diamond-jim.com/originals
APPEARING STRAW
TRICK: The magician rolls up his sleeves and
shows his hands front and back. He then makes
a fist with his left hand and magically pulls a
drinking straw from it with his right hand.
This looks amazing, but the secret method is a
little noisy. Luckily most restaurants or bars are
noisy to begin with, thus the background
ambient chatter should muffle the slight noise
made from this effect.
SECRET:
Slyly obtain one of the restaurant’s drinking
straws and make your way to the bathroom.
While in the bathroom, remove the paper from
the straw and slit it along its length with
something sharp like a knife or a pair of
scissors (Fig. 1). Don’t use a clear straw for this
production. Try to
find one that is
colored or better
yet the kind with
stripes.
Regardless,
make the cut one
long straight line
if possible. If
Figure 1 someone
walks
into the men’s room and gives you a funny look
while you are doing this, simply wave your knife
at them and they will most likely leave you
alone. Proceed by rolling up the straw into a
rolled position as in Figure 2.
Walk out of the
bathroom
and
approach
your
table with the
rolled up straw
concealed
Figure 2 between your first
finger and thumb
of your left hand (Fig. 3). If you keep your left
hand’s first finger and thumb pinched tightly
around the rolled up
straw, you will be able
to show both hand’s
empty
before
producing it. When
ready to make it
appear, simply make a
fist with your left hand.
Grab one end of it with
your right hand and
Figure 3
slowly,
but
dramatically, pull it
from your left fist (Fig. 4). This really looks cool!
It makes a little noise while it is unrolling, but it
truly looks to be whole and normal.
If you’ll take a few
straws with you, then
you can prepare them
in the privacy of your
own home. Then you
can
wrap
rubber
Figure 4 bands around them to
keep them wound up and throw them in your
pocket when you are ready for a night out on
the town.
Sunday
July 27, 2014
2:00 pm until
July 2014
David & Kylie Knight will perform on Saturday, August 9 at Medical Center of Lewisville Grand
Theater. Show will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. To order tickets,
visit KnightIllusions.eventbrite.com.
Dallas born David Knight has always
been a performer. His introduction to
magic came through a 6th grade book
report on Harry Houdini. Kylie was born
and raised in the suburbs of Melbourne,
Australia. As husband and wife, David
& Kylie Knight have been astounding
audiences for over a decade. Their
unique and engaging style of illusion
has earned them fans the world over.
Drawing upon classic magic techniques
combined with their infectious charm,
theatrical sensibilities and sparkling
personalities, the Knights have
designed a show that you won't soon
forget.
This is no ordinary performance: you will be in the exclusive audience for a brand new promotional video
and DVD!
Important details:
• Show starts promptly at 7 pm. Please arrive early – you won’t want to miss anything.
• This is a live filming, so please dress accordingly. We recommend business casual attire.
• To enhance the live and video experiece, please leave kids 5 and under at home.
• Purchase of a ticket gives consent for your image to be used for video, promotional, or other use.
IMPORTANT!!!
This Month The Dallas Magic Clubs Will Meet At:
Crosspointe Church/Community Center
2425 Parker RD
(Hebron Plaza)
Carrollton, TX 75010
The facility is located within a strip mall next to True Spirits.
CLICK HERE FOR AN INTERACTIVE MAP TO THE LOCATION