Magician Of The Year
Transcription
Magician Of The Year
May 2014 Volume 89 The Official Publication of the Dallas Magic Clubs Magician Of The Year Inside this Issue 1 May Meeting Report 3 Scribblings From The Scribe Of The Scroll 4 Thoughts From The President 5 The VEEP Speaks 6 T.A.O.M. News Me 7 BeLIEve Dr. Mike Smith 8 Dal Sanders Magic Maniac 10 Performing Magic In the Moment Geoff Grimes 12 Banquet News 13 Lecture News More Photos 14 Daryl Howard From 15 Gems Diamond Jim April15, 2014 The April meeting started with official business — voting for 2014 officers. These lucky members will be installed as officers at the Dallas Magic Clubs banquet in May: Joe Byers (Sgt. at Arms), David Knight (Vice President), Frank Seltzer (President), Dal Sanders (Secretary), and Reade Quinton (Treasurer). Following voting, Dal Sanders presented Frank Seltzer a special certificate from the Society of American Magicians, celebrating Frank’s 25 years of membership. The April meeting featured the Dallas Magic Clubs first Magician of the Year contest (or at least the first in many, many years). The first performer was Daryl Howard, with the assistance of Caleb and Geneva Westeen. Daryl started with a ring and necklace penetration and then a ring and wand penetration. He then produced a magic “gift box” which started empty but subsequently produced a number of items including party ribbon, anniversary cards, a set of glasses, and a bottle of champagne. Derrel Allen performed at a table for John Greene and Jennifer Gracy. Derrel had John remove a deck of cards from select a suit and a value, and then asked him to look for that card in the deck. When John stated that the card was not in the deck, they discovered it was still in the card box. Then, Derrel showed off his “cheat detector”, which was a small gadget with four lights that indicated card suits. Four cards were arranged in front of the machine (one of each suit) in random sequences, but the lights DMC Officers Derrel Allen President Frank Seltzer Vice President Magician Of the Year on the machine always organize the 2015 IBM/SAM correctly identified the location combined convention. of each card. Reade Quinton Secretary/Treasurer Brad Ingle Sgt. At Arms Mark Jensen 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 Reade Quinton DMC Monthly Report Columnists: Mark Jensen Michael Smith Frank Seltzer Derrel Allen Mike Squires took on a challenge presented to him by Dal Sanders. Dal randomly selected a volume of Tarbell (in this case, Vol 4), and Mike was tasked with creating a 10 minute show based solely on effects in that volume. Mike started with a block routine with wood blocks labeled with the letters D, M, and C representing the Dallas Magic Clubs. He then performed a bottle effect where the liquid contents of a soda bottle magically remained in place even when the bottle was inverted. He finished with a card effect in which cards were placed into a wine glass and mysteriously transformed into selected cards. New member (and soon to be officer) Joey Byers performed a mentalism effect in which the club members were asked to Members chose a location for the convention, the date, the registration cost, and the headlining magician. It was then revealed that a balloon, safe guarded by Ian Richards the entire time, contained a folded piece of paper that predicted correctly each of these decisions. The last to perform was Kendal Kane, who gave an energetic act set to music. Effects included silk productions, umbrella productions, and flower productions. The winner of the competition will be announced at the banquet in May. After a raffle for fabulous prizes, the members headed off to Vernon’s for more magic, food, and frosty beverages. Scribbling From The Scribe of The Scroll I’m Back... A year ago I gave up the Wizard’s Scroll to focus on being The President of The Society of American Magicians...a job I will hold until July. However, I have already written my last President’s Report for the M-UM and I am about to become Secretary of the DMC so it seemed like a good time to return to The Scroll. It occurs to me that this means two things. First of all, by becoming Secretary of the DMC, I will probably never become President of the DMC. That make me little sad, but only a little because I am constantly surprised and impressed by the quality of people that step up to lead our group. The second thing this means is that I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to the man who kept this newsletter going and growing for the past year. Thank You to Brad Ingle... Brad did a great job keeping the information coming this past year. When he took the job he only agreed to do a year. I wish he wanted to continue but a deal is a deal so I’m back. Brad has shown his creativity in every issue that he has edited. I love the changes he brought to the scroll...we look A LOT more modern now. I also think his insights as the Scribe were great. I hope I can be as interesting as he was. I hope he will continue to help me as we move Forward. Brad, I owe you a frosty beverage or two. What I Did On My Extended Vacation... Basically I did what I always do...I went to a ton of conventions, visited several magic clubs, lectured, performed and hung out with my magic friends across the world. The difference was that this year I was doing it as President of the World’s Oldest and Most Prestigious Magic Organization, The Society of American Magicians. After the Washington DC S.A.M. Convention I came back to Texas for my first “Official” event. The Fort Worth Magic Club made me an Honorary Member and gave me a very nice Plaque. Next I went to PCAM in Los Angeles, California and then to KIDabra in Tennessee. That was a HUGE culture shock but even bigger than that was going back to Los Angeles for Derek DelGaudio and Vanessa Lauren’s wedding. EVERYONE IN MAGIC was there...If a bomb had gone off there that night then Mark Jensen would have no one to ever book for a lecture again. The day after Cinde and I went to MAGIC-Live and our plane was full of hung over magicians. Of course, that first month ended with our own TAOM where we all had fun. In September and October I performed everyday at the Texas State Fair...5 shows or more a day for 21 days. In November we had our National Council meeting in Boca Raton, Florida where the S.A.M. decided to take over the maintenance of Houdini’s Gravesite and pass a resolution against bullying. December was pretty quiet but we had a ton of shows But in January, it all started up again. I went to Omaha for the Wizards Magic Banquet and then to New England for a lecture tour. I was very cold but that wasn’t the worst. The worst was in February when I went to Minneapolis for a writing session. And then to England for The Blackpool Magicians Conference. With 3,700 attendees it is the largest in the world. In March I got to thaw out when we had my second S.A.M. National Council Meeting in Tucson Arizona. While we were there we also took in some Spring Training Baseball. In April the Society of American Magicians was invited to present at the 2014 Science and Engineering Festival in Washington DC where there were 250,000 people, many of whom saw first hand how science and magic go hand in hand. With the help of Eric Hogue we also got something important done on Capital Hill. Read more about that in The Magic Maniac. Finally, I just got back from New York City and the 105th Salute to Magic. I did all of this and STILL performed 411 shows this year. I’m ready for break...that’s why I’m back on the Scroll My Commencement, 2014 With this being the last article as president of the Dallas Magic Clubs written by me, I thought about reflecting on the past 12 months. However, a small thing happened this morning that caused me to change my thoughts on the subject. I realized that over the past several months, I’ve had daily opportunity to be a positive influence. Like all of us, I have either accepted this opportunity, or I have passed it by to be taken up by another. Today, I realized that I have not accepted the daily challenge of being a positive influence to one because it seemed an unworthy challenge. Why bother with trying to be positive to one when you aspire to be a positive influence on many, tens, hundreds or thousands! We all want to play to the big stage. Yet, today I realized that if I was a positive influence to the one; the one that didn’t seem to want or need affirmative motivation, I might be the spark that indirectly influenced millions. My sphere of influence is not that great. Yet there may be one in my sphere that influences another who may then influence millions. So my question, my task, my goal is “Can I make a positive mark on one person daily?” I accept that challenge. I want to be a positive influence on my family, my church, my community, and yes, I want to positively influence the Dallas Magic Clubs and the magic community. And while I take this as my 2014 commencement task, I urge you to please, try and influence me with your thoughts of positive motivation. Try to get a little more out of me, and I may do the same with you. Follow me on— twitter: @mrgoodfriend, Google+: plus.google.com/+Omagic and on facebook: themagicofmrgoodfriend. Derrel — The Veep Speaks By Frank Seltzer Well this is my last Veep speaks. Next time I guess I’ll be the Prez. So, what has happened over the past year? Well I have tried very hard to make our programs interesting. We have had a lecture with Eric Evans for our January meeting. We had a garage sale in November and in April we had a contest for performing magician of the year. David Knight will be our new Vice President and he has some great ideas for the next year. My thoughts for this coming year as President will be for us to have a show that will raise additional money for the club. I think that our dues at $20 a year are fair, but with rising costs for the banquet (yes we do not make any money on that) and paying for a space for our monthly meetings, we could use more cash. A show could raise several hundreds of dollars for us, which would be a good thing. But more importantly, I want to know what YOU want from the club. We each have our own ideas, but by talking about what we want and how to get it we can make the club better. So for now, enjoy the banquet and Martin Lewis and next month be thinking about what YOU want. Frank — TAOM 2014 NEWS Message from the President Congratulations to Austin for another successful auction. I am pleased to report that many of you registered for the Fort Worth convention before the price rise and more have entered the drawing for the Houdini tour. Which brings us to the latest lucky winners:… Congratulations to Michael, Meguel, Damon, Josh and Vanessa. I know you will have a great time with Arthur Moses. (Arthur gave a presentation the night before the auction at the Collectors' Meeting. I was told it was fantastic and that he has some of the most unusual stuff!) 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 rapidfire clean comedy and audience participation. 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. 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, SONNY FONTANA | Las Vegas 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 21 “When religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine. Now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.” Thomas Szsaz, M.D. For the next two columns I want to explore the relationship between magic and medicine. As you know I am not a physician (in fact I struggled with biology and chemistry in school). But, as a minister, and mental health therapist (and former hospital and psychiatric chaplain) I have associated professionally with physicians for over forty years. Dallas’ own Reade Quinton, a physician, medical examiner, and educator, recently attended Jeff McBride’s School of Magic and Mystery conference on “Magic and Medicine.” In a future column I will share some of his thoughts and experiences from this conference that he described as the “best magic conference and the best medical conference I’ve ever attended.” Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz, M.D., professor at Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago is also a magician. He teaches a course on “Magic and Medicine” for medical students and says, “Magic and medicine share the same DNA. Medicine is a performance art.” In other words, magic is in medicine; and medicine is in magic. Dr. Rosenkranz was one of the main presenters at the McBride conference that Reade attended. (Also see the article about Dr. Rosenkranz, “Healing Medicine Through Magic” in the April, 2014 issue of Magic Magazine.) Paul A. Offit, M.D. in his book, Do You Believe in Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (2013) quotes Art Caplan, professor of New York University’s Langone Medical Center, in addressing the ethics of the “placebo effect,” saying it’s ethical to deceive the patient at low risk, at low cost, and at low burden. “In fairness, all practitioners- mainstream or otherwise- employ some form of deception. They know that a positive attitude, reassuring demeanor, and air of competence are important. We use the placebo effect all the time. I’ve got a bow tie. I wear a white coat. You come to a big building that looks pretty impressive… From the days of shamans and witch doctors to the modern-day physician, everybody has their props, their deceptions,” says Offit. Norman Cousins (1915-1990), author of Anatomy of an Illness (1979) once met with Albert Schweitzer (18751965), famous theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary to Africa. Cousins wrote, “I had ventured the remark that local people were lucky to have access to the Schweitzer clinic instead of having to depend on witch-doctor supernaturalism. Dr. Schweitzer asked me how much I knew about witch doctors. I was trapped in my ignorance.” The next day Schweitzer took Cousins into the jungle and introduced him to the local witch-doctor. “For the next two hours, we stood off to one side and watched,” reported Cousins. “With some patients, the witch doctor merely put herbs in a brown paper bag and instructed the ill person in their use. With other patients, he gave no herbs but filled the air with incantations. A third category of patients he merely spoke to in a subdued voice and pointed to Dr. Schweitzer.” Later Schweitzer interpreted what they had seen. The first group had minor illness that would resolve on their own or with a little help. The second group had psychological problems and was treated with “African psychotherapy.” The third group had more serious diseases the witch-doctor couldn’t treat, so he directed them to see Dr. Schweitzer. “The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason the rest of us succeed,” he said. “Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.” Next time, we hear from Reade. Until then, beLIEve me, but cut the cards. —Mike The Background Story On How Congress Proclaimed Magic As An Art Several years ago, when I was Regional Vice President of The Society of American Magicians, I was encouraged to get local and state governments to make proclamations for National Magic Week that would recognize Magic as an Art. The reason was simple, many times magicians apply for grants and get turned down because magic is considered a hobby or a craft. While the organization was successful in getting local cities and states to issue these proclamations, they had not been successful in obtaining national proclamations. This is something that the S.A.M. had been trying to accomplish since at least the 1960’s. As current National President of The Society of American Magicians, I continued to pursue getting national recognition for the Art of Magic realizing how important this could be to the magic community. After all, Doug Henning famously fought the Canadian government to have magic recognized as an art and that resulted in his being able to launch the show that would eventually become the hit Broadway musical THE MAGIC SHOW. Eric Hogue is the mayor of Wyle, Texas, a small suburb of Dallas. Eric happens to be one of my oldest and dearest friends as well as a member of the S.A.M. I approached Eric for a City Proclamation during National Magic Week. As we talked further the two of us realized they had the same goal. They both wanted National recognition to Proclaim Magic as an Art. Mayor Hogue gave me that smile that he saves for when he has something up his sleeve and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this”. After a lot of work and many meetings we almost got the Proclamation to Congress in the Fall of 2013, but then the government shut down. Everyone thought we were back to square one, but on April 8th, Eric set up a meeting with me and some members of Congress. As a result of that meeting, on April 28, 2014 this statement was entered into the Congressional Record. HON. PETE SESSIONS OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of one of my constituents, Dal Sanders, National President of The Society of American Magicians, to recognize magic as an art. The art of magic has been around for centuries and is intended to entertain audiences with the staging of tricks and creating seemingly impossible illusions. Throughout its history, magic has grown to show innovative and creative ways to delight and engage audiences worldwide. It takes a great deal of dedication and a strong work ethic to devote the practice time necessary to master this art. I would specifically like to take this opportunity to recognize the world's oldest magic organization, The Society of American Magicians, S A M. Since its founding in 1902, The S.A.M. has attempted to elevate and advance the art of magic by promoting an environment for magicians worldwide to come together and share their passion. The S.A.M. members follow in the footsteps of renowned magicians Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston, who each served as national president of The S.A.M., and Harry Blackstone, Jr., and David Copperfield, who both have served as The S.A.M. ambassadors. Mr. Speaker, I ask my esteemed colleagues to join me in recognizing the art of magic. Simply put, the United States Congress has finally recognized Magic as an Art. Magicians in The United States can now refer to this Congressional Record for support in obtaining Arts Grants, Grant writers cannot ignore magic merely because what we do is “just a hobby” or at best, “just a craft”. This is just a small step in getting the recognition our art deserves, but it is a step in the right direction. Now it is up to us to be Excellent. Performing Magic In the Moment A colleague and great friend, who serves as a Vice President of Instruction at a local college, notes her campus president’s insistence at each meeting of the President’s Council to “be here! Be here now!” Of course, the intent is to call the members of the council together—often distracted at the outset by other pressing concerns—to focus on the topic of conversation at hand and to deliberate without being “misdirected.” A pretty good objective, but not so easy to achieve! The same objective is, however, something each of us hopes to achieve and maintain in our magic audiences. Recently, I have been reading with great respect Jeff McBride’s The Show Doctor, a compilation of his mid-decade articles for MAGIC Magazine, edited and published—including additional material—by Larry Hass and The Theory and Art of Magic Press. One section intrigued me last week. Jeff is analyzing his pacing of his routines and the careful ordering of effects, arranged and introduced in such a way as to keep his audience focused and engaged throughout the show (see his discussion of “Time Travel Cards,” pp. 136 ff.) I prefer to call it keeping my audience “in the moment.” Geoff Grimes My new best friend-of-the-moment, a music company representative, I learned, just rolled back and laughed in astonishment! Clearly, he was “in the moment,” and I was game, so out came the full deck of cards. “I think, after fifty years or so, why I got back into magic,” I explained, “is because it gives us each a chance to slip back into a time of ‘play like and make believe’ that we abandoned long ago—if you know what I mean—back from the world of common sense and hard facts we have to deal with every day. Let me show you,” I suggested. As I opened the deck, he was still with me, so I continued. “You know, every magician has to have a what?” I asked as I gestured to the cards halfway out of the box. “A deck of cards?” He only queried the obvious. “That’s right! So we might as well get it over with!” (My standard entrée into a card routine in the event I am about to engage a “cardophobic”), and I commenced my two-piece set of “cards across.” “Whoa!” he howled as he bolted back from the bar. “What just happened?” He appeared confused— always death to an effective magical piece. I reviewed the steps and his selection of a card that had jumped invisibly from one clump of cards to another. I was performing impromptu at a restaurant bar a night or two ago for a genial fellow who happened to sit down next to me. Both of us were unaccompanied and finishing off a mighty long day. Light conversation drifted into a discussion of our work, and I noted that I was topping off a day of “Whoa! Whoa!! Whoa!!! The guys just aren’t going three back-to-back kids’ birthday party magic to believe me when I tell ’em back in the office shows—an explanation that elicited his delight and come Monday! That was great!” an opening, I hoped, for a casual performance. The magic had attracted the attention of couples I have to confess I had some stiff competition for sitting and swilling their drinks across from us, his attention: UT-Austin was on a final drive and along with the young bartender and her assistant about to win the “Valero Alamo Bowl” on the large manager. Appreciative, he encouraged me, “Come screen monitor mounted just in front of us, and all back again, and I’ll take care of you, the bar guys and their gals were hootin’ and personally!” (Whatever that means! A comment like hollerin’ while the bartender was slinging around that is just a platitude, I’ve learned over the years— refills of foamy frosty beer mugs and piña coladas. a claim designed to make you feel good in the It was a gay occasion, to be sure, but my moment without, in this case, committing to correspondent seemed interested, so I stepped into anything specific!) the opportunity with “This One,” a little card force and a perky, great little packet trick opener. “Thanks a lot!” my companion exclaimed. “You the steps he or she has just encountered. That just made my drive back home a little more will help keep the routine in focus. tolerable.” Build casually, effortlessly, but carefully to the “Well, thanks for allowing me to share the prestige. In teaching composition, English moment with you,” I said. I finally introduced professors call it “periodic development”—saving myself by name and he in kind. We shook hands, the most important point for last. Build to the collected our credit cards and receipts for the climax, but don’t rush it. Let the “magic” happen good eats, and both left feeling pretty good and on its own, as if distant and removed from your rewarded. own control. So, how do we perform magic “in the moment”? I took away some insight from the experience: First, for your audience to be “in the moment,” you must first be “in the place,” aware of the people around you, the tempo and tenor of the conversations, and the nuances of the activities. If literally you have sufficient space to work in and the two of you are not all cramped up, if the conversation around you is casual and fleeting rather than focused and engaged, if the “client” for your magic seems open to a little idle chatter, then the moment might be right. Share the surprise as a phenomenon just as amazing and as unexpected to you as it is to your audience. And when the magic does happen, allow the experience just witnessed to sink in on its own. Don’t be too ready to insist on the last comment or to interpret the experience of your viewer. And certainly, don’t feel like you have to punctuate the experience with some worn out, cheap cliché. Be comfortable enough in your magical piece to allow the viewer to elaborate his or her own reaction and response, and to comment or not; after all, it may not be until Monday back at the office that he or she can Second, don’t press. Don’t be too eager to reach verbalize a reaction. for the cards; don’t be pushy. Let the moment for the magic evolve on its own as a natural turn in In other words, the exit from your routine is just the conversation. as important to the final effect as is the style of the performance itself and the subject of a future When the moment is right, introduce the commentary. Suffice it to say, you want to create possibility for experiencing “something a little a natural transition from the magical piece, different, something unusual enough to be maybe back to the kids at the last magic show interesting.” that afternoon, back to the long day of work—a personal introduction, if it hasn’t already Fourth, stay natural; don’t morph into some kind happened, a slap on the back, and a polite exit. of fake persona, some kind of stage personality, After all, you’re looking at a fifty-minute drive back ready to explode into a phantasma of grand from the restaurant in McKinney to your warm, illusions. Just keep your presence cool, casual, comfortable pillow back home in DeSoto. and respectful of your “client.” I have found in each of these principles an Even though you may be drifting into patter you effective way to keep my audience in the have used a thousand times, the transition from moment. the conversation into your old and practiced script should flow seamlessly from your conversation I’m just sayin’ . . . . into the routine. Enter your magical piece with confidence but without too much “enthusiasm,” as if you are merely responding to your client’s invitation. Provide reflection. Depending on the level of potential distractions around you, it will be helpful to your client’s attention if you pause to review No Fooling - We've got a fantastic opportunity coming up This Week If you've been around magic for more than a couple months you've heard of Martin Lewis. He is both an inventor and incredible performer. If you've ever seen Cardiographic you've seen Martin's ingenuity at work. You like 3 card monte effects - check out his Side Walk Shuffle. Heard of the left handed league? Martin is a member along with the other legendary performers. Believe me, this is one lecture you do not want to miss. Wednesday, May 21st - 6:30 pm Theater 166 — Crosspointe 2425 West Parker RD Carrollton, TX 75010 If you don't know the name Martin Lewis there are only 2 possible reasons. You have been in magic for only a month or two OR You have been living under a rock (a big heavy rock at that). Do yourself a favor and make sure you catch Martin's lecture. Martin is the creator of many standard effects used by many working pros today. Here is a sample program of Martin's typical lecture, although he has been known to mix things up a bit from time to time: The Prismatic Pencil Pocket Technicolor Prediction Crystal Gazing The Senor Mardo Eggbag Cardiographic Card in Bottle Intermission The Big Switch Business Card-iographic Point of Arrival Sidewalk Shuffle Stampede Second McAbee Rings Here are just a couple comments about Martin's Lectures: Rich Bloch — Collectors Workshop "World Magic Summit" "I can't tell you how pleased I was, both as an organizer and as an audience member, with your extraordinary efforts. The stage show set precisely the right tone and your lectures and close up presentations were superb.” David Sandy — WORKSHOP conventions) "Now that I've had a little time to absorb the feedback from the surveys, I am impressed with what I see. WORKSHOP participants indicated that your material was not only very educational, but also much needed. You did a fabulous job as emcee of Saturday evenings stage show... you are certainly one of the best!" From Bamboozlers 3 Bamboozlers- The Book of Bankable Bar Betchas, Brain Bogglers, Belly Busters & Bewitchery: Volume Three by Diamond Jim Tyler is available now Expect the same classy style pocket-sized book. It contains 75 effects with over 100 illustrations and is bound in green faux leather, with silver gilt edges, silver foiled stamping and has a ribbon marker. The foreword is by Mac King and will sell for $19.95 exclusively at www.diamond-jim.com/originals DICE CUP CATCH BET: Wager that one cannot hold a pair of dice on the side of a glass or dice cup and toss both inside. Ask someone to hold a dice cup or a non-tapered glass with their right hand. They should also pinch a die, between their middle finger and thumb, with the same hand so that it rests against the outside of the glass. Ask them to use their left hand to balance another die on top of the first (Fig. 1). The challenge is to toss both dice into the cup or glass one at a time without the use of their other hand. The pair of dice must be in the glass simultaneously to win. When attempting this they’ll learn that tossing the first die into the cup is pretty easy. However when they try tossing the second die inside it is much more difficult. Mainly because the first die wants to fly out of the glass when trying to toss the second one inside. Of course one should be careful if using a real glass over a non-carpeted floor. SECRET: Toss and catch the uppermost die in the cup. To catch the remaining die inside simply release the die and drop your right hand holding the cup toward the floor briskly about eight inches. Then it’s a simple matter to move the downward moving cup under the falling die to catch it inside (Fig. 2). The downward momentum allows the die already inside the cup to stay inside. Give this bit 100% and you’ll be doing it in no time. You should always give 100% unless you are donating blood. MAY 2014 IMPORTANT!!! This Month The Dallas Magic Clubs Will Meet At: Brookhaven Country Club 3333 Golfing Green Drive Farmers Branch, TX 75234 The facility is located within a strip mall next to True Spirits. CLICK HERE FOR AN INTERACTIVE MAP TO THE LOCATION