Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

We were very pleased to host a lecture by Steve Reynolds, only our second lecture since the COVID pandemic. As a protege of John Racherbaumer, Steve definitely knew how to fool us with the pasteboards.

We had a great turnout for the lecture. Several magicians came from the Tulsa area. Our lecture sponsor system really worked well on this one. The sponsors got most of their money back.

John showed that a deck was all backs and then turned the backs to faces. He invited Derrick Beeson to select a card. John tore the card into four pieces and then restored the card, except for one corner.

John asked Jerry Bowzer to select a card from an invisible deck of cards as he spread them and called off the values to Jerry. Once the deck became visible, the selected card was between two kings. John called this his “classic force with an invisible deck.”

John demonstrated his “invisible palm” with four Aces. He said this routine was “Open Travelers.” He then demonstrated his Zarrow shuffle, which looked totally legitimate, even for a roomful of magicians burning his hands.

John showed us several other card effects, including a color-changing deck. We highly recommend him to any group that is interested in card magic.

Our September meeting was our annual swap meet and auction. We had a record bid; a nest of boxes by Viking Magic sold for $280.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

Our theme for August was rope magic and President Cassidy Smith kicked off the meeting by cutting and restoring a length of rope. He then removed the ends of the rope and replaced them. Finally, he removed the middle of the rope and replaced it. Cassidy demonstrated a false knot, an archer’s knot, and a quick knot. He finished his routine with three large linking rings and a five-foot length of rope tied in a ring. He made some very interesting patterns by linking the rings and the rope.

Lee Woodside presented a mini-lecture on the venerable “Professor’s Nightmare.” He said that he has been opening his banquet shows with it for over thirty years. He explained that he bought the three pieces of one-quarter inch blue Dacron (polyester) rope from West Marine back in 1992. After handing out pre-cut ropes to everyone, Lee instructed his fellow magicians in the finer points of the Fred Kaps move and the false count. He also stressed the importance of making eye contact with every member of the audience during the routine.

David Teeman brought out three different-colored ropes: red, yellow and green. He tied each rope into a loop, but when he separated them, he had one giant loop with three different colors. He then showed us the linking ropes that he had gotten from Oscar Munoz many years ago. He ended by performing the rope through the neck.

Brian Tabor showed two crotchet needles. As he worked them together, he formed a small pocket handkerchief.

Kevin Brasier showed his Dean’s Box and asked his fellow magicians for ideas on adding other routines to the ones provided. Lee Woodside suggested adding some of the routines form Stewart James’ spirit cabinet routine, “Sefalaljia,” including the ball in the glass and the ring on string.

Jim Green invited Cally to join him. He had her hold a long loop made from a ceiling fan chain. Jim was able to cause a brass ring to hook onto the chain.

Michael King asked asked Brian Tabor to help him. He showed a napkin, a paper cup, a paper plate, and a plastic spoon. Micheal poured sugar into the napkin, and with a wave of the “spoon wand,” the sugar vanished. He then showed that it had traveled to the paper cup and he poured it in a stream onto the paper plate.

The names of the performers were placed into a hat and one name was drawn. Jim Green became the proud new owner of a two-CD set of “Bill Abbot Presents Classic Workers.”

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

Our annual “Pandemonium of Magic” public show was very successful this year. We have performed our show on the day before Father’s Day for many years. We had a great audience, an impressive lineup of magicians, and actually made some money for the Ring.

David Teeman welcomed everyone to the venue. He used a pair of large dice ala “victory cubes” to produce his assistant, Brynna. He then turned the show over to President Cassidy Smith, who emceed.

Lee Woodside, AKA Captain Lee, hypnotized the entire audience and left a post-hypnotic suggestion with them to always applaud loudly (Professor’s Nightmare). Lee performed his “magic card” (What’s Next) and finished with a true classic of magic, the venerable die box.

Rick Johnson performed danger magic. He placed an object into his mouth and had four strings dangling from his mouth. He invited an audience member to select one string and yank on it. Nothing was tied to the string. After two more strings were yanked and proved to not be tied to anything, he removed a treble fish hook from his mouth, which was tied to the fourth string.

Rick displayed a folded up paper bag. He opened it up, reached into the bag and brought forth a bottle of beer.

Rick showed five wooden disks, one of which had a large spike sticking up from it. He covered each disk with a paper bag. The bags were thoroughly mixed by both Rick and an audience member so no one knew which was which. As an audience member made a selection, Rick would quickly smash that bag with the palm of his hand. When only one bag remained, he lifted the bag to show that the deadly spike was beneath it. He smashed an apple onto the spike to show that it was indeed dangerous.

David Teeman, with the help of his beautiful young assistance Brynna, performed an acrobatic knot routine. He vanished a silk scarf and it instantly reappeared in a small glass coffin being held by Brynna.

Grant Vinson showed three Chinese coins, which he threaded onto a cord. One at a time, the coins melted through the cord.

Daniel Buster performed as the Western Gambler/Western Roper. After cutting to the four Aces in a deck of playing cards, he demonstrated his skills with a lasso, ala Will Rogers.

Darryl Brooks performed his act to music. He showed a silk to rope manipulation, the Metamorphis Spots, and a ring and rope routine.

Brian Tabor hypnotized the entire audience with a spinning disk. When they all looked at his head, it seemed to grow in size. He then performed a comedy silk to egg routine.

Shaun Clark invited the audience to enter his coffee shop. He performed a broken and restored coffee stirrer routine and then caused two coffee rings on a napkin to link together.

Cassidy Smith performed Jim Steinmeyer’s “Hospitality” routine. He poured different drinks out of one milk carton. As he tore up the now empty milk carton, Michelle Tabor passed out the different drinks to audience members to prove that they were genuine drinks and not just colored water.

Kevin Brasier closed the show with his stage illusions with his assistant, Hannah. He placed her in a box and pulled the middle out to the side (Zig Zag Lady.) He ended by shackling Hanna, tying her in a bag, and locking her in a trunk. He got on top of the trunk with a curtain and raised the curtain over his head. When the curtain was lowered, Hannah was holding it. The trunk was unlocked and opened, the bag was opened, and there was Kevin in shackles.

Strong storms raged through south Oklahoma City a couple of nights before our July meeting. Although our venue was undamaged, downed power lines blocked the roads leading to it. An “alternate plan bravo” was quickly arrived at and twelve magicians convened at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Moore, OK.

Among those in attendance was James Schoonover, who drove all the way from Ardmore and brought along his niece, Berkeley. Berkeley penetrated a dollar bill with a ballpoint pen and then showed that the bill was undamaged. Michael King suggested to her and her uncle the names of some accomplished female magicians that they might want to check out on YouTube. James Schoonover performed an ace assembly and a couple of other tricks

Michael King caused a quantity of salt to vanish and then reappear. Michael then grabbed a straw and removed the wrapper, stating that the straw was now his magic wand. As he passed his “wand” over grains of salt, they began jumping onto the straw. He balanced the straw on top of a pepper shaker and caused the straw to move by using hand motions.

David Teeman performed the trick where a number of colored blocks are held in a box, and at his command, the named blocks fall from the box.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

June is the month for our annual Close-Up Contest. President Cassidy Smith placed numbers in a hat and invited each contestant to draw the number for his order in the performances.

David Teeman invited Brian Tabor to join him. David showed a box with different colored blocks, which were held in place by a rod that ran from one end of the box to other and through holes in the blocks. David removed the rod, dumped out the blocks, and invited Brian to choose two blocks. Brian chose yellow and blue. David returned the blocks to the box and re-inserted the rod. After a magical incantation, he dumped out the blocks, but the yellow and blue block remained in the box, impaled by the rod.

David opened a small envelope and removed five cards. Each card had a picture on it. There were a caduceus, a horseshoe, a knife, and elephant and a pepper. He asked Brian to choose one card. When Brian chose the elephant, David turned over the card and on the back was the message, “You will choose this Charm.” No applause. However, David then turned over the remaining four cards and placed them in a square to show the picture of an elephant. Now there was applause.

Jay Relkin asked Jerry Bowzer and Michelle Tabor to join him. He showed a small cube with a different color spot on each side. He then asked Jerry to select any color, place the cube in a small box with that color on top and place the lid on the box. Jay and Michelle looked away while Jerry did this. Jay then had Michelle look at Jerry, read his mind, and name the color. Michelle said, “Green” and Jerry confirmed that green was his choice. Jay concluded his performance with a very professional “coins across” routine, with the last coin traveling from Jerry’s hand to Jay’s.

Brian Tabor brought out a deck of playing cards and placed one card into his pocket. He invited Jerry Bowzer to choose one card from the deck. Brian placed a round sticker on the back of the card and then lost it in the deck. Brian removed the card from his pocket. As he shook the card, a sticker suddenly appeared on its back. He turned the card around to reveal that it was the selected Jack of Hearts.

Brian took out a two-dollar bill, showed it front and back, and then folded it in half lengthwise. He showed that there were two small holes in the bill that lined up. He then folded a playing card in half and placed the folded bill inside. He placed a toothpick through the card and the bill. With a magical pass, he was able to move the bill back and forth. He removed the toothpick and unfolded the bill to show that it was intact except for the two small holes.

Bob Caldwell showed a deck of Zener ESP cards and told the history of their development for psychic testing by Dr. J.B. Rhine at Duke University. Abigail volunteered to help him. As he dealt cards to the table, he asked her to tell him whether to switch cards or not. He then showed his prediction of the number 3, 7, 13, and 19. When he counted down to those locations in the deck, each card proved to be a Star.

Kevin Brasier invited three people to each write a 3-digit number on the page in a small notebook. He handed Abigail a book and asked her to announce the number of pages, which was just over 500. The three numbers were added to produce a total of 932. Since this was larger than the number of pages, Kevin divided it in half, yielding 466. He summed these digits to get 16. Abigail found the sixteenth word on page 466 to be “company,” which matched the prediction Kevin had placed in an envelope earlier.

While the scores from the judges (everyone who did not perform) were tallied by our Treasurer Michael King, David Teeman gave a glowing review of the “non-convention” called “Pebblepalooza.” He and his son, Justin Teeman had attended it in Dallas over the Memorial Day weekend.

Cassidy Smith announced the winners of the close-up contest as follows: First Place – Jay Relkin; 2^nd Place – Brian Tabor; and Third Place – Bob Caldwell. Jay received a $50 magic gift certificate and a brand new balloon-to-bunny box. Brian Tabor received a $25 certificate and Bob Caldwell received a $15 certificate. Each will also receive a trophy at a later meeting.

Shaun Clark led off the member performances. He dealt cards until Jay Relkin called “stop.” Shaun tore the corner off the card and placed the card and torn corner onto Jay’s palm and asked Jay to cover it with his other hand. When Jay lifted his hand, the torn corner had melted onto the back of the card.

Lee Woodside showed a small box with six dice in it. Each die had a different number showing on its face. Lee placed the lid on the box and handed Michelle Tabor another die and a small dice cup. Lee asked Michelle to shake the cup and place it mouth-down on top of the box containing the dice. Lee lifted the dice cup to reveal that Michelle had rolled a six. When he lifted the top from the box, he showed that each of the six dice now showed the number six on top.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

Our theme for May was “May the force be with you.” President Cassidy Smith introduced Lee Woodside with a lecture on forces. Lee covered some of the finer points of the venerable cross cut and Hindu forces with playing cards. He then invited Kevin Brasier and his daughter, Cally to participate in a mind reading exercise. Lee asked Kevin to select a playing card and attempt to transmit its value telepathically to his daughter. When that was unsuccessful, Lee placed a crystal ball (shot glass) on Kevin’s outstretched hand and said that it would concentrate the thought waves. Sure enough, the experiment was successful and the crowd enjoyed being in on the gag. Lee then explained his use of the 50/50 forcing deck and offered decks for sale just like in a “real” lecture.

Lee showed a couple of gimmicked decks that can be use for forces: the Svengali deck and the Pop-Eyed Popper deck. He said that the jumbo Pop-Eyed Popper is ideal for stage work.

Lee invited Jerry Bowzer to roll two dice. Using the numbers rolled, Lee arrived at Jerry’s special numerological number and showed him a chart of forecasts based on different numbers. Jerry’s number predicted a long and healthy life while all the other numbers predicted horrible outcomes. Lee credited the routine to an “Auto-Magic” column in the Linking Ring.

Lee demonstrated a calendar force using a calendar he received free from a local bank. He then had audience members provide digits for a math problem. Sure enough, the totals added up to Lee’s prediction.

Cassidy Smith performed comedy magic using various gaffed cards. He showed how the use of a 52-on-1 card or a long card (e.g.: 15 of Spades) can entertain an audience. Cassidy then led a discussion on how to get an audience’s interest. He said that attention can be demanded, but interest must be earned. David Teeman suggested the use of music. Justin Teeman said that he likes to start by asking a question, such as “Can I borrow your imagination?”

Glenn Fain, one of our local magic dealers for many years, passed away recently. Cassidy Smith performed a broken wand ceremony on his behalf.

Cassidy Smith taught a magic trick using plastic drinking straws. Even though the two straws were securely wrapped around each other, Cassidy was able to cause one straw to penetrate the other.

David Teeman led off the member performances. He showed a mesh bag that contained six colored eggs and stated that each egg held a prize, but that one of the eggs held a special prize. Each “contestant” reached into the bag and grabbed an egg, which contained a piece of gum. The last egg, which was the magician’s, contained a one-hundred dollar bill. (Actually, it didn’t; it contained two pieces of gum, but wouldn’t that have been cool?) David showed that he had several colored markers. He went through a “point, pick and eliminate” procedure with an audience member, leaving one marker. This turned out to be the only marker where the color of the cap matched the color of the ink.

Brian Tabor asked questions of an audience member to arrive at one playing card. The value chosen turned out to be the only card in the deck with a different colored back.

Kevin Brasier had Brian Tabor select a card, which was then lost in the deck. Kevin was able to divine the chosen card.

Daniel Buster had a card selected and then shuffled it into the deck. He placed the deck on end on the table and blew on it. Sure enough, the deck separated at the location of the selected card.

Shaun Clark asked Brian Tabor to say “Stop” at any time as he dribbled the cards from one hand into the other. The selected card matched Shaun’s jumbo prediction card.

The names of all the performers were placed into a hat, with the winner to receive a copy of Simon Lovell’s How to Cheat at Everything. Lee Woodside’s name was drawn, but he said that he already had the book. Another name was drawn and Keven Brasier was the winner.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

President Cassidy Smith kicked off our April meeting by performing a routine with a miniature baseball bat and baseball. He performed a “flurry” type effect and ended with the bat and ball both vanishing. Cassidy then attempted a book test with a book titled THE WORD OF GOD. Rick Martin chose a word from the book and Cassidy divined the word “Jesus.” Not the right word, but Cassidy asked, “Wouldn’t it have been a miracle had I been right?”

Our theme for the evening was “Let’s Make Magic,” which has been one of our most popular themes over the years. Members are taught new tricks, often with “some assembly required,” and go home with new props and routines.

Cassidy Smith taught the principal of the eight-card brainwave and provided several variations. David Teeman taught an effect where a participant chooses one of four Aces and the magician shows that it is the only card with a blue back, while the other three Aces have red backs. Best of all, the magician ends clean and the playing cards may be examined.

Inspired by Thomas Henry’s “Rediscovering the Buddha Papers” article in the February 2023 Linking Ring, Lee Woodside supplied all the materials for making up this timeless miracle. Lee themed his effect around a 1939 quote by Winston Churchill that Russia is like “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Lee added “puzzle” as a fourth layer and noted that the papers remind him of nesting Russian dolls.

Grant Vincent gave us a brief review of his experiences at the annual Cavalcade of Magic in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He said that it was his first ever magic convention and he had a wonderful time and bought a few things from the vendors in the awesome dealer room.

Gary Trosper gave a review of the book MAGIC IS DEAD, by Ian Frisch. He said that it gave an inside look at an organization of card magicians which included quite a few people that many magicians are familiar with. He also said that the book is available through our Metro Library.

Lee Woodside offered copies of our Ring’s annual Grimoire on flash drives and sold out. He promised to bring more to the next meeting.

David Teeman removed a deck of playing cards from a wrapper that had pictures of a face-up deck with one face-down card. He had visitor Calli Brasier select a playing card from the deck. He asked if the card she selected was among the face-up cards on the sheet. When she said, “No,” he said that meant that the face down card had to be hers. When she appeared skeptical, he turned the sheet over and showed that the one face-up card was now her selected card. He said that Bob Caldwell had made this for him.

Michael King invited Calli and her sister Molly to assist him “on stage.” He showed a ribbon and four Chinese coins and proceeded to perform amazing magic, sometimes right in the girls’ hands. The coins melted off the ribbon. It was a charming routine. (Inside pun intended.)

Kevin Brasier turned on a table lamp. He borrowed a one-dollar bill from Michael King and recorded the serial number. When the bill vanished, the lamp went out. Kevin unscrewed the light bulb and showed that there was a bill inside. He wrapped the bulb in a bandanna and shattered the bulb. Sure enough, the serial number on the bill matched what was written down.

Cassidy Smith performed a sponge ball routine using miniature basketballs. He then went from “Conjuring Cassidy” to “Cowboy Cassidy” and demonstrated his expertise with spinning a rope ala Oklahoma’s own hero Will Rogers. He next demonstrating several trick knots. He finished by having a playing card selected and returned to the deck. He dribbled the cards into a paper sack and used a rope to lasso the selected card.

The names of the performers were placed into a hat and two names were drawn. David Teeman became the proud owner of signed lecture notes and Kevin Brasier took home a card magic DVD.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

After a long dry spell without live lectures, we were very pleased that Jeff Corn was willing to stop in OKC on his way west to the Magic Castle and give a lecture. Jeff began by showing two playing cards, with his hands otherwise empty. He rubbed the two cards together and produced a half-dollar. He proceeded to do a “coin flurry” and then performed a coins across routine.

Jeff invited Jerry Bowzer to join him. He showed a one-dollar bill and a twenty-dollar bill and asked Jerry to hold both in his fist. Jeff removed the one-dollar bill from Jerry’s hand and magically changed it into a twenty. Jerry opened his hand to reveal the one. He showed us how to make the very deceptive gimmicked bill.

Jeff brought out three ropes of different lengths and performed a three-stage “Professor’s Nightmare” type routine with them. He next showed a deck of playing cards made up of cards from different casinos in Las Vegas. He shuffled the deck and then asked Grant Vinson to cut off about half the cards, leaving the other half for Jeff. After some shuffling, cutting and dealing, each person ended up with four piles of cards. Grant turned over the top card of each of his stacks and found that they were all kings. Jeff turned over the four aces from his stacks. Jeff then showed that all the remaining cards in the deck were tens of clubs.

Jeff set up two paper match books to use as card easels. He showed two two aces and placed them backs-out on the easels. With a magical flourish, the cards switched places. He did it again, but this time the two red aces appeared in their place.

Jeff finished with a trick he called “The Lucky Coin.” He had Jerry Bowzer select a card (the two of hearts), which was then lost in the deck. Jeff spread the deck on the table and asked that Jerry place a casino chip where he thought the two of hearts was. Jeff removed the cards not in the vicinity of the chip and spread out the few cards that were left. He asked that Jerry place the chip on one of these cards. Sure enough, the selected card was the two of hearts. As a kicker, Jeff asked that Jerry turn over the casino chip. On the back was the index off a two of hearts.

We were very excited to host an IBM Jam in February. We got to meet IBM President-Elect Chuck Arkin and enjoy lectures by both him and Michael Dardant. A ring event article was submitted about the “Jam.”

President Cassidy Smith was our featured performer for March. Cassidy used a Golden Nugget (think Michael Skinner) matchbook as a card easel. He invited David Teeman to select a card, which was the two of hearts, and return it to the deck. Cassidy shuffled the deck and then showed the queen of spades, which he placed on the “easel.” With a magical flourish, the card turned into the two of hearts.

Cassidy showed four red-back aces and a blue-back blank card. He placed the blue-back card back-out on the easel. He showed that the four red-back cards had become blank. When he turned the blue-back card around, it had the pips from all four aces on it.

Justin Teeman led a discussion on magic mentors. Professional illusionist Rob Lake was able to attend our meeting because he was in town to visit family. He said that he had learned a great deal from both Kirby Van Burch and the late Jim Smithson. Several other members said that they had learned a lot from Jim Smithson. The late Harold Todd was also mentioned as a mentor.

Cassidy Smith asked members to name something they want audiences to perceive about them in addition to being magical. Some of the answers included: funny, silly, fun-loving, respectful, grandfatherly, connected to the audience, and energetic.

During our brief business meeting, Lee Woodside sold copies of our annual Grimoire, which were hot off the press from our magical scribe, Malaki Dracwin (AKA David Swanson.) The Grimoires were distributed on flash drives this year, since most computers no long come with CD/DVD drives. Those who contributed to the Grimoire had already received a free copy.

Our performance theme for the month was “A Tribute to the Masters.” Lee Woodside led off by first performing his version of the professor’s nightmare, using blue Dacron sailing rope. Lee then talked about his early years in magic as he performed Tenyo’s “What’s Next.” He said that he has been doing that routine for over 25 years and was surprised when he found out by reading FROM BEYOND that Eugene Burger was using his own version of the spot card in a somewhat similar routine.

James Graham showed four what he called “spaghetti strings.” With a flourish, one of the strings vanished. He then talked about working in a spaghetti factory and demonstrated how he could make the unequal lengths of spaghetti conform to the same length. James performed a “magician’s clock” effect with a deck of cards. After shuffling a deck of playing cards and having them cut by an audience member, he placed twelve cards face-down in a circle. When he turned them over, the ace was in the one-o’clock position, the deuce in the two-o’clock position and so forth. The card he had placed in the middle was a king. James ended with a poker deal routine that he said he learned from BACKSTAGE WITH BLACKSTONE.

After thoroughly shuffling a deck of playing cards, Michael King cut to each of the aces. Michael’s card handling skills are amazing.

Cassidy Smith presented a linking ring routine using Shoot Ogawa’s “Ninja Rings,” which are close-up size linking rings. He performed several standard linking ring moves, but impressed us the most by spinning one ring on the tabletop and linking it to the ring in his hand.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

Vice President Justin Teeman opened our February meeting with an announcement of upcoming magic activities. A Jeff Corn lecture is scheduled for February 13^th and will be free to all paid-up members. An IBM Jam is set for February 18^th. A Ryan Byer magic show, which will include local magical talent, will be performed on March 11^th at Rose State College.

Secretary Lee Woodside announced that the Ring 46 Grimoire will be available at the March meeting and will be delivered on flash drives this year. Our Grimoire began many years ago as a printed document and was later made available on CD-Rom discs. The Grimoire will be free to those who contributed material and will be five dollars for everyone else. Malaki Dracwin (AKA David Swanson) has been our Grimoire editor for more than twenty-five years! Lee also announced that a box of books on juggling, balloon animals and yo-yos had been donated by Jim Short. He invited members to grab a book if they were interested in learning a new skill.

Our theme for February was “Coming out of your Shell.” Members were challenged to present coin tricks where the effect could be achieved using either a gimmick or by pure sleight-of-hand. Lee Woodside invited Rick Johnson to join him “on stage.” He showed a US fifty-cent piece and a Mexican 20-centavo coin and asked Rick to put them behind his back and place one coin in each hand. Lee asked Rick to open the hand with the half-dollar, which Lee took and showed to everyone. He then waved his hand over the hand holding the Mexican coin. When Rick opened his hand, the Mexican coin had changed into a US quarter. Lee said that this trick, “Scotch & Soda,” is probably one of the best-selling magic tricks of all time. He said that the trick could be easily performed with three un-gimmicked coins, but the gimmick is really cool.

Lee next showed a “Coin Changer” that he said was made by master-craftsman Rick Martin. He slid the drawer out of the device and showed that it contained a US penny. He slid the drawer back into the box and invoked a spell used by the ancient alchemists. When the drawer was pulled out, the penny (base metal) had changed into a US quarter (“silver”).

President Cassidy Smith performed several versions of “matrix,” using four coins and four playing cards. He even performed a reverse matrix, where the coins ended up in the original four corners.

Michael King showed that he had a quarter and a penny. He asked Jerry Bowzer which he preferred and Jerry chose the quarter. Michael showed that he still had the quarter, but the penny had disappeared. He said the trick is sold as “Captain & Coke.” He said that while it is much easier to reset than Scotch & Soda, the coin gimmick does not hold up to close inspection.

Jim Green wrote a number on a dry erase board and then asked audience members for numbers. When Cassidy Smith added up the numbers, they matched Jim’s prediction.

David Teeman displayed a fifty-cent piece and as he held it, it visibly morphed into a transparent disk. David then brought out a metal box full of coin gimmicks that he had been given and asked for help identifying the uses for the different pieces. His fellow magicians were able to identify several of the gimmicks.

Our meeting concluded with Justin Teeman leading a discussion on the use of gimmicks versus sleight-of-hand. Some of the considerations were price, ease of reset, and the effort required to master a routine. It was agreed that marrying a gimmick with sleight-of-hand can create killer routines.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

Our theme for the January meeting was showing off the magic we acquired over the holidays. Jerry Bowzer showed us his four new Lord of the Rings playing card decks that he recently received. He also showed us an uncut sheet of LOTR cards that he plans to have framed.

Derrick Beeson said that his holiday magic was a trip to Disney World. He said the trip was made less pleasant by 40-degree temperatures and constant rain.

New visitor Grant Vinson showed us his Volume 2 of CARD COLLEGE, by Roberto Giobbi. He said that he has been working on card magic since July and has the first four volumes of the set.

Justin Teeman said that he had received the new 2-volume set of books called TALK ABOUT TRICKS, by Joshua Jay, which is a compilation of Jay’s columns in “Magic” magazine. Justin then led a discussion on how to keep an audience engaged prior to our break.

Lee Woodside showed two booklets that he received for Christmas. TAROT MAGIC, by Matteo Filippini, describes routines that can be performed using tarot cards along with doing readings. SOMETHING STRANGE, by Tony Shiels, describes several bizarre magick routines.

Michael King told us about seeing a performance of “Cirque Christmas” over the holidays. He said that Lucy Darling performed some magic in the show.

David Teeman performed his card trick about four brothers who each “turn around” from a walk to go home and get a drink. Each of the four cards in the packet turned over one at a time. The routine climaxed with the backs of the playing cards all featuring different Coca Cola products, even though all the cards had previously had Bicycle backs.

Those who had not yet enjoyed enough magic repaired to the nearby Buffalo Wild Wings for food, drink, and magic sessioning.

Lee Woodside

Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring

Meets 7:00 pm, 1^st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC

LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.

www.okcmagic.club

We held our annual Holiday Party in December. Ring 46 provided ham, turkey and soft drinks and the members brought side dishes, salads, and desserts. We had a great time feasting and visiting prior to the evening’s magic.

Vice President Justin Teeman presided over our festivities. He introduced Michael King, who briefly discussed the magic of Sean-Paul and Juliana Fay, who have converted an old church in Eureka Springs, Arkansas into a venue for their magic and mentalism. Michael then showed us photos of his recent gig at the new Oklahoma City Convention Center.

We did not get the required six entries for a stage/parlor magic contest, but that did not stop us from enjoying some wonderful magic. Lee Woodside led the whole audience through a performance of “The Famous Australian Card Trick.” Afterwards, several decks of playing cards littered the floor, adding to the festive atmosphere of the gathering.

Jeff Davis began his performance by placing a Rubik’s Cube into a box. After much byplay, he showed that the box was completely empty and the cube had returned to his top hat. Jeff then showed us his routine for the Dribeek Die, where a large die is removed from a box and then the box is placed into the die. He ended by demonstrating the zig-zag balloon box he had built.

David Teeman and his lovely young assistant Byrnna performed a routine where David removed a silk scarf from a glass box held by Byrnna and placed it into a silk caddy. When he made a magical gesture, the scarf disappeared and reappeared in the glass box (crystal casket.) David then placed a green scarf into a box with a red and white interior. When he closed and reopened the box, the scarf was now red and the box interior was green and white. David concluded his performance by inviting a volunteer to join him on stage. She selected a Time magazine and chose a page from the magazine and then a word on the page. When David handed her a dictionary to look up the word, the page that should have contained the word was missing from the book. She opened an envelope that she was given at the start of the routine, and sure enough, she found the torn-out page with the chosen word circled.

Lee Woodside