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 had the return of our Informal Magic Round Table sessions August 17th at the Collective Food-hall in Downtown OKC with 6 magicians in attendance: Cassidy Smith, Michael King, Justin Teeman, Brian and Michelle Tabor, and Shaun Clark. Very nice well-managed outdoor space with good food, good friends, and of course magic. Each of us enjoyed the fellowship and shaking the dust off of our sleight of hand muscles. The Round Table is something that will be resurrected. It will be monthly at first and held typically the Monday after the Monthly Meeting. Looking to have the next one on the original stomping grounds of the OKC Round Table, Buffalo Wild Wings in Moore.

Our September meeting was again held via Zoom, with Vice President Justin Teeman once again hosting. Twenty-four magician “attended” the meeting, some from as far away as Colorado, Wisconsin, and Virginia. We were very pleased that David Parr and Bruce and Kitty Spangler joined us.

President Cassidy Smith was our featured performer and was on the boat that he captains on the Bricktown canal in downtown OKC. He performed a 3-fly effect with three different colored poker chips. Our theme for the month was “picnic magic” and this effect would be a good one for that venue.

Michael King performed a “free will” type effect with items that are appropriate for a gathering in these virus-altered times: a mask, gloves, and wipes. He asked his participant to tell him what to do with each of the items and then showed that he had accurately predicted her choices.

Lee Woodside showed a YouTube video of his “Rub a Dub Dub” cups and balls routine that he had recorded earlier for the meeting. (Search for “Rub a Dub Dub Lee Woodside to find it.) He said that he has been performing the routine for over 25 years. He then reminisced about past-president Tom Todd’s performance where he pulled everything needed for a picnic out of a square circle. The most amazing thing was that the items produced appeared to be enough to fill at least ten of the boxes from which they were taken. David Teeman told us that he had bought the props from Tom and now has them in his garage.

David Teeman then showed us a mesh bag containing an egg. He removed the egg and tossed it toward Wendy Wylde in Colorado. Wendy “caught” it and then tossed it back. Sure enough, the egg was then visible in the bag. David said that he likes to do this trick to warm up an audience before a show.

Michael King showed us a knife, fork and spoon kit about the size of a credit card that he can put in his shirt pocket when he performs a show. He said that more than once he has been offered food at an event without being offered any utensils with which to consume it.

David Parr described an effect he does where the “fizz” is transferred from one bottle of carbonated water to another. He said that soda water is preferable to soft drinks because it’s an easy cleanup in case of a spill. Tim Pendergast said that he performs the effect with beers in Denver and then gives the beer to a homeless person in the audience.

Derrick Beeson showed off three close-up pads that he said he got via a kickstarter campaign. He then placed a half-dollar in his hand and had his young daughter wave a magic wand. Sure enough, the coin vanished, proving that magic can indeed run in the family.

Bruce Spangler said that one of the best props to have at an outdoor venue is an umbrella. He said that the mutilated parasol is a good effect. He then told the story of when he had a boy eagerly volunteer to be the “victim” of his arm chopper routine. When he got the boy on stage, he realized that he had only a stump instead of a hand on one arm. The boy’s mother later told him that the boy was so excited to be asked to participate because no one had ever picked him before because of his handicap.

David Teeman showed us what he claimed was his first wife’s skull. He then clarified that she was his only wife and that he was still married to her. She had purchased the skull (a real one) to use in her dental training. This prompted other magicians to bring out their own skulls for show and tell.

Bruce Spangler showed off the “talking” skull that he had mounted on a board. He had rigged it so that he could easily remove the gaff and hand the skull out for examination. Michael Genovese showed a skull with playing card pips on it that he purchased at a truck stop. David Parr showed the skull that he painted to look very realistic. He told the story of how he got nervous standing in the security line at the airport because he remembered that he had put the skull in his carry-on bag. However, he was not questioned about it.

Kitty Spangler showed us her wolf skeleton that howls at the moon. Michael Genovese then showed us his skull teapot. Kitty Wylde said that she got a skull in the mail with a note that said that anyone who does bizarre magick needed a skull.

Michael King ended our meeting by showing off his “A-Salt Rifle” that he uses at picnics. It fires a small burst of salt using air pressure and will stun or kill a fly.

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 hosted our August meeting on Zoom. We had 26 magicians sign on, including several from Colorado and David Parr from Milwaukie.

Our featured performer for the evening was Jonathon Taylor. Jonathon performed several routines with copper and silver coins and finished with a “coin flurry” using a silver half-dollar. He then showed us a purse, which holds four half-dollars and has a secret pocket to hold out another coin.

Our theme for the evening was “back to school,” and magicians showed some pretty innovative ways of weaving that theme into their routines. Magicians were also invited to show off or tell about their favorite props.

Nate from Ft. Collins, CO showed a key that a “latch key” kid might hang from a cord around his neck. He proceeded to show us a key on cord routine that was inspired by a Dan Fleshman ring on cord effect.

David Teeman showed the faces of several cards and asked a participant to pick one card. When he turned the cards around, the selected card had a different color back from the others in the packet.

Cassidy Smith showed us a standard item from the classroom, the venerable #2 pencil, with which he performed a routine utilizing paddle moves. He then showed us some interesting props: sponge squirrels, a snake wand, and a deck of playing cards with five suits, the fifth suit being stars.

Michael King showed how he used to fool the school bullies by carrying only one-dollar bills as his lunch money. He visually changed the bills to twenties and the back again to ones. Michael then began shuffling a deck of cards and asked Wendy Wylde to name one playing card while he shuffled. Michael showed that the deck was in new deck order with one card conspicuously missing, the seven of clubs that Wendy had named. Michael removed the seven of clubs from his pocket.

David Parr showed us a booklet titled “101 Magic Tricks,” by Adams. He explained that a friend had given it to him and that the booklet contained a number of interesting stunts. He also showed a straight razor gaffed to contain stage blood and produce a very convincing “cut.” He said that he had obtained it from Tony Andruzzi, a pioneer of bizarre magic.

David Teeman showed off three wooden blocks and a cord which he uses for a gospel routine. He said that he had made them years ago and still uses them.

Justin Teeman showed off a deck of Golden Nugget playing cards. Lee Woodside showed off his Rings and Things Foxy Cups which he uses to perform the “Rub-A-Dub Dub” routine. He said that he has been performing that routine for over 25 years. Lee said that he had seen David Copperfield perform the Collectors’ Workshop “Sidekick” effect thirty odd years ago and had wanted one. He said that he actually made up and performed the effect using threads before he actually bought a “Sidekick” twelve years ago. He said that it is difficult finding venues to perform it in because it is sound activated and requires the sound of a gun to trigger the effects. Lee finished by performing the intro to his medicine show act.

William Rader, former president of Ring 46 and now living in Denver, showed off his HERMANN THE MAGICAN book, a first edition from 1897. He also showed us his “400 Tricks You Can Do,” which was very special because it was inscribed to Harry Blackstone, Jr. from his father Harry Sr.

Jerry Bowzer showed us his “Project Manger’s Toolkit” from his days as an IBM executive. He had a magic eight ball for decision making, rose-colored glasses, and a Gumby, which bends over backwards.

Michael King showed us the “obedient ball” that he made himself using a 3-D printer. He also showed us the “Sixth Sense,” which can be used in a “which hand” type effect or a Kurotsoke-type effect to detect the location of a white ball among several white ones. Finally, he showed one of the original Losander floating tables which he purchased at Losander’s lecture in OKC.

Steve Goldstein, who is active in the Surplus Magic Exchange on Facebook, showed off a locking “two copper, one silver” coin set made with a silver Barber coin. He said that it alone was worth the price he paid for a lot of coin magic gimmicks.

Cassidy Smith showed us sponge rainbows that he uses for a routine where coins change colors to match the colors of the rainbow. Michael King showed us the dummy arms he uses in his juggling show. He said that he bought them from Mike Cavaney.

We are proving that we can have an enjoyable and magical meeting without having to gather in person. However, we’re all looking forward to the day when we can once again share our magic face-to-face.

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 hosted our July meeting on Zoom. We had 26 magicians sign on, including several visitors from Colorado and a former member of Ring 46 who now resides in California.

President Cassidy Smith discussed the magic he sometimes performs on the water taxi he captains in OKC’s Bricktown canal. He then performed a brainwave type effect using US currency rather than playing cards. Sure enough, the chosen bill had “Counterfeit” written across the back of it.

Jerry Bowzer showed off his copy of THE ESSENTIAL DAI VERNON book, still in the shrink wrap. Several of our card guys told him he needs to open it up and read it. Amy from Colorado discussed her shows and said that she likes to aim her performances at adults but keeps them suitable for all ages.

David Teeman showed us a twenty-dollar bill that was folded to show a guy in a face mask. He also showed us his Houdini stamp bear that was on sale at Post Offices some years back. Darryl Brooks discussed his live performances in Bricktown. He said that he places a circle of rope with a six-foot radius around his performing table to remind audience members to practice social distancing. He also showed the mask with a cute animal face that he sometimes wears when performing.

James Lopez discussed how he has been learning routines that work well on video. He said that the unchanging angle of the audience’s view favors certain sleights and makes some things possible that would not work when those watching the show do so from different angles.

Michael King again showed off his “sponge Covid” and his “Covid Clean” spray can. He said that he bought one of the “grabbers” used to retrieve objects from high shelves. He found one that is six feet long that allows an audience member to interact without getting too close to him during his performance.

Cassidy Smith announced that it was time for our annual close-up contest, our first ever using Zoom. Darryl Brooks showed three small silk scarves. He pushed them into his closed fist and, after the appropriate magical incantations, produced an American Flag. He next performed Max Maven’s “B’Wave” using jumbo playing cards. He finished with his version of the “Jumping Knot of Pakistan.”

Derrick Beeson removed an Okito box from a small purse and dumped three coins from the box: an English penny, and American half-dollar, and a Chinese coin. He caused the silver coin to change places with the other two several times and ended by causing the coins to disappear and then reappear in three different places: one under the purse, one within the purse, and the last one back in the Okito box.

Mike Stelzer placed a deck of cards into a houlette. One at a time, the four Aces moved to the face of the deck. Next he had a playing card selected and he placed it back into the deck. Magically, the selected card turned over in the deck. He ended by showing a half-dollar with a hole drilled through it. He was able to cause the hole to move to different locations on the coin.

The last part of our meeting was devoted to member performances by those not entered into the competition. David Teeman showed a trick called “That Old Yarn” that he had obtained in a box of magic he purchased. He taped a selected card to the end of the yarn and buried the card in the deck. He pulled on the yarn and the card magically appeared back on top of the deck. He then showed five lengths of cord. He removed five cords one at a time, but each time he still had five cords. His patter theme for the effect was “Give your love away to make it multiply.”

Michael King shuffled a deck of playing cards and asked someone to name a card. The seven of hearts was named. Michael removed the battery cover from his TV remote and showed that a card was folded up inside. He removed the card and unfolded it to reveal the seven of hearts. Michael next randomized a Rubik’s Cube per the audience’s instructions. He pulled out a “prediction” cube that perfectly matched. He solved the randomized cube in just a couple of seconds! Finally, he showed three large washers threaded onto a ribbon. One by one, he pulled the washers through the ribbon.

James Lopez had a card selected. Sure enough, the selected card turned over in the deck. Not only that, the card matched his prediction. He then had each viewer grab a deck of cards and remove four reds and four blacks. After asking that cards be turned over several times and even shuffled, he accurately predicted the number of face up and face down cards each participant would have and the colors of the cards.

Once the online meeting was officially ended, the Ring 46 officers communicated via email to determine the winners of the 2020 close-up contest. Darryl Brooks took first place and will receive a $30 magic gift card to the magic dealer of his choice. Derrick Beeson took second place and will receive a $20 gift card. Mike Stelzer took third place and will receive a $10 gift card. Each winner will also receive a trophy at an upcoming live meeting.

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

An Ring 46 officers’ meeting was held via Zoom on May 25^th to plan our return to normal activities following the Covid 19 interruption. We decided that our annual public show “Pandemonium” would be canceled for 2020, but that in person meetings, with precautions, would resume in July.

Our June meeting was once again held on Zoom. Justin Teeman, our Vice President set it up for us. We were very pleased to have twenty-nine participants, including a number of magicians form Colorado, including the former President of Ring 46, William Rader, and the current President of the “Mile High Magicans,” Wendy Wylde.

President Cassidy Smith led a discussion on “Maximizing Impact While Minimizing Contact.” With the advent of the coronavirus, tricks where the audience members handle the props are at least temporarily out the window. Too bad; I love the sponge balls.

David Teeman spread a packet of cards to show their faces. He asked a participant to name one of the cards. He showed the back of that card to be red and the backs of all the other cards to be blue and no, it wasn’t a brainwave trick. He showed each of the card backs individually. David then showed a drinking glass on a pedestal. He removed a silk scarf from the glass and vanished it. He then showed a metal tube to be empty and placed it over the glass. When he removed the tube, the scarf had reappeared in the glass.

Justin Teeman performed Jim Steinmeyer’s 9-card trick from one of his IMPUZZIBILITIES books for those who missed it in June. John Stack showed a playing card from which a corner had been torn off. He was able to hold the card by that corner, which was an impossible-looking image. John then picked up a deck of cards and caused the majority of the deck to vanish in plain sight, leaving him with just two cards.

Mentalist William Rader told us about a new idea he is working on. He asks a volunteer to give him three names, the names of two people he knows and one he doesn’t. William then divines which of the names is the one the volunteer doesn’t know. He demonstrated this with Cassidy Smith and was successful. William also showed us proofs of a set Tarot cards that he is planning to market.

Zachary Heath, who is widely known in the magic community for his “Ash and Ember” effect, showed us a ring on his finger. He then removed the ring by pulling it through the finger. He then showed a “haunted key” type effect using a finger ring. With Zach’s great skill, and obviously lots of practice, it was very magical and a bit eerie.

One of the advantages of a Zoom meeting is that if a member happens to think of something he has that would be of interest, he can quickly get it and show it. In Joe Coover’s case, it was his tiny house. Joe used to build tiny houses when he lived in California and now that he has moved back to Oklahoma, he lives in one of his creations. Although quite small, it was laid out so that no space was wasted and it had some very interesting features.

After briefly discussing his ideas on tricks that work well on video, Joe Coover showed a $100 bill. He folded it lengthwise into thirds and folded it in about 1/8” on each end. He then balanced it between his two thumbs. When he slowly moved one of his thumbs away, the bill remained suspended. No threads, no adhesives, no magnets, no kidding!

Michael King showed us some “motion picture” currency that he uses to test the making up of tricks using currency. He said that it is available very economically on the internet.

David Teeman showed what appeared to be two folded dollar bills held together to make a cross. However, when he unfolded it, it was just one bill. He said the trick is from SELF-WORKING PAPER MAGIC, by Karl Fulves.

Jonathon Taylor has obviously been using his shelter-in-place time to work on his coin magic. He performed a very commercial coins through the hand routine.

John Shack showed us a piece of playing card art that he constructed to emulate Bansky’s famous art piece that self-shredded after being auctioned for $1.4 million dollars. Very clever!

Cassidy Smith put the names of all those who performed into a hat. The winner, John Shack, will receive an illusions book at the next in-person meeting. John Shack then offered the prize of a comedy mentalism book by Bob Nelson. Cassidy drew another name from the hat and David Teeman was the winner. We’re all looking forward to seeing one another in person in July.

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 May Ring meeting was conducted via a “Zoom” session set up by academic scholar and Vice President Justin Teeman. The meeting participants were Derrick Beeson, Jerry Bowzer, Darryl Brooks, Daniel Buster, Ezekial Jump, Michael King, Phil Kalivoda, Steve Lancaster from Tulsa, Cassidy Smith, David Teeman, Justin Teeman, Brian Tabor, Jonathon Taylor, and Lee Woodside, plus two “lurkers” without video logged in as “Mark” and “Me.”

President Cassidy Smith used a rope to demonstrate a disappearing shoelace knot, an “instant” knot, and a William Tell knot. He also reported that he has been working up a “bigger wand” effect for his kids’ shows.

Darryl Brooks showed off his new “Supreme Slate of Mind” which he is planning to use for a mind-reading routine. Although the board is set up for use as a “no force” mental epic, Darryl intends to use an “Omni” deck to force the third item.

Justin Teeman performed an on-line version of Jim Steinmeyer’s venerable 9-card trick from his “Impuzzibilities” series. Everyone was invited to find nine playing cards and follow along. Sure enough, everyone arrived at his selected card after spelling it.

David Teeman placed silk scarves into a tube. He then produced flowers from the tube that were the same colors as the scarves. Finally, he showed that the tube was now empty.

Ezekial Jump announced that this would be his final meeting with Ring 46. His work as an Army Band musician will soon be taking him to the Savannah, Georgia area. We wish him well!

Jonathon Taylor performed a “pop out” coin production that he said he worked up from a video by the amazing Shin Lim. Lee Woodside reported that our former junior magician, J. P. Wilson was shown on an episode of the wildly popular documentary “Tiger King.” J. P. used some of Joe Exotic’s big cats in his illusion show many years ago.

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 April Ring meeting was canceled so that our members could abide by the shelter in place order and be safe at home. That did not stop the magic. Members were invited to submit input to our President, Cassidy Smith. Cassidy then compiled the results and sent out a newsletter to all our members to enjoy.

Three members submitted links to magic performances they had uploaded to YouTube. Darryl Brooks performed a silk scarves routine set to music.

Alex Riera riffled through the deck and invited the viewer to mentally select one card. He then asked for the help of his assistant to find the selected card. Sure enough, his dog jumped up and grabbed the card that was being thought of!

Jonathon Taylor rolled silver dollars in his hand and changed them into balls of silver. He then changed them back into coins.

Lee Woodside described a card trick with which magicians could fool themselves in the safety of their homes. Justin Teeman presented us with a thought-provoking essay of his thoughts on changes to the performance of card magic brought about by the current pandemic.

Our annual Grimoire is normally given free to those who submitted material and offered on CD at a nominal price to the other members. These are not normal times. Instead, a PDF copy of the 2020 Grimoire, edited as always by our long-time scribe Malaki (AKA David Swanson), was emailed to each member. Those who contributed to this year’s Grimoire were Malaki, Rick Martin, Michael Stelzer, David Teeman, and Lee Woodside.

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

A rare winter storm caused the postponement of David Stone’s lecture to a night on which I had a prior commitment, so I asked President Cassidy Smith to send his report. Cassidy said that David’s lecture demonstrated why he is an international star. His lecture began with his signature bottle production, which became a running gag throughout the lecture. His card set featured card on ceiling, card to box, an easy torn and restored card, plus a stunning trick where a sticker changed color while stuck to an indifferent card, then that card changed to the selection. It looked like a special effect!

The highlight was a hilarious routine where a volunteer accidentally dropped a borrowed deck into a bucket of water. But everything was righted with the signed card being found and visually restored. As a kicker, the deck was dried & returned to its owner. 

Finally, he offered professional advice on comedy, polishing one’s act to it’s absolute best and using bold misdirection to accomplish your needs. We highly recommend his inspiring lecture.

Our theme for our March meeting was bar betchas, scams, cons and gambling routines. Featured performer Daniel Buster started out by amazing us with his ability to dead cut to each of the four Aces ala Ricky Jay. After numerous shuffles, including reversing half the deck and shuffling the cards, he ended by showing that all the cards in the deck were once again face down, except for the four aces, which were face up.

Derrick Beeson gave us reviews of a few of his more recent magic purchases. He started by performing “Pocket Nightmare,” which is a three to five minute routine by Max Maven. He invited an audience member to glimpse a card. He then gave the deck to the volunteer and asked him to remove the glimpsed card from the deck. The card was missing. Derrick then reached into his pocket and removed the card. Derrick also recommended the books TRIPLE THREAT MASTER WORK 2.0, by Mark Tams and SECRET LANGUAGE VOLUME 1, by Helder Guimaraes.

Michael King presented a slide show of photos he took on a recent trip he made to perform gigs in Chicago and New York City. The highlight of his trip was Tannen’s Magic.

Jim Green performed a voodoo routine. He had an audience participant draw around his hand on a drawing pad. He then had him stick a pin into one of the fingers on the drawing. As Jim moved a quill pen on the page, the pin eerily followed his movements.

After a very brief business meeting, Cassidy Smith led a discussion on ways to make gambling routines interesting to a lay audience. Some ideas were that the audience members should be winners, a story could be told to enhance the routine, and the routine could be framed as a public service announcement.

Rick Martin showed us a wand he had made that shoots flash paper. He said that he constructed it easily and inexpensively from items he purchased from Amazon online and at Ace Hardware.

David Teeman used two decks of cards he had purchased at casinos in Las Vegas. He handed one deck to an audience participant. He riffled through the other deck and had the participant say, “Stop.” When he removed his deck from the card box, that very same card was reversed in the deck.

Justin Teeman invited Michael King to shuffle a deck of cards. Justin then cut to each of the four Jacks. He then performed a blackjack themed effect using the four Jacks and four Aces.

Michael King demonstrated his ability to deal from the bottom of the deck. He placed the four Aces on the bottom and then proceeded to deal them to himself.

We were pleased that Ron Wilson drove up from Wichita Falls to visit us. Ron is President of the “Ren Clark” Ring in Fort Worth, Texas. After giving us a rundown on what is planned for the 2020 TAOM convention, he wowed us with his card handling ability.

Cassidy Smith showed us some cups and balls moves, including the production of three balls and having the balls penetrate the cups. He then set the cups aside and ended with a two in the hand, one in the pocket routine using the balls.

Mike Stelzer showed as “Scams and Hustles” set that he had purchased at a local mall. It included a broken iPhone screen gag, marked ESP cards, a mis-spotted forcing die, and a book of bar bets.

Shaun Clark showed us a Texas Holdem routine where he dealt himself each of the possible types of poker hands. He ended with a royal flush in spades.

Jonathon Taylor invited an audience member to mentally select a number. After taking the participant through some math exercises using that number, Jonathon bet that he held exactly that amount of change in his hand. The bet was eagerly accepted because the final answer was two and a half cents. Sure enough, Jonathon held two pennies and half of a third one.

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 introduced John Shack (AKA John Shackleford) as our lecturer for the evening. This was John’s first magic lecture and was free for all paid-up members of Ring 46. John quit his job a couple of years ago and has been earning his living as a full-time magician and magic developer.

John began by having Derrick Beeson sign both sides of a coin with a Sharpie. He then tossed the coin into a sealed bottle of drinking water. He uncapped the bottle, poured out the water, and showed that the signed coin was indeed inside the bottle. He said that this is sold through Penguin Magic as “Splash.”

John next showed a no-frame zig-zag card that he had developed. He openly slid the top and bottom halves of a playing card about halfway and then handed the card out for examination. John then gave us a brief explanation of card splitting.

He showed us a very pretty color changing effect where the face card of a deck visibly changed to another card not once, but twice. He ended clean. John spread a deck of cards to show that all the cards faced the same way. After two cards were selected and reversed in the deck, he showed that all the cards were now reversed.

John folded a dollar bill and placed a chopstick into the fold. After piercing the bill with the chopstick, he unfolded the bill to show that the chopstick was definitely penetrating the bill. He removed the chopstick and showed that the bill was none the worse for having been pierced. After showing his hands empty and picking up and tearing open a sugar packet, he proceeded to extract a long drinking straw from the packet.

John demonstrated a new product he created that will be released for sale to magicians in the near future. I can best describe it as being a playing card version of a mismade bill, except that it happens right in front of the spectators eyes when the card is merely tossed into the air.

You can see some of John’s magic by searching for “John Shack Magic” on YouTube. He is using social media to make a name for himself. He also performs regularly at a venue in downtown Oklahoma City.

Lee Woodside read an email he had received from Joseph “Shyster Joe” Diggle saying that Joe had received his certificate of Lifetime Membership in IBM Ring 46 and was honored by it. Although “retired” in the California desert, Joe is still performing magic at schools and other venues.

Our theme for February was “Romantic Magic.” Lee Woodside led off by telling a tragic love story involving a young Japanese couple during World War II. The climax of the routine was when haunting music emanated from a music box from which the music box movement had been removed.

Jim Green blew up a 360 balloon. However, instead of making a dog with it, he proceeded to “eat” it. He offered to teach this to anyone who was interested.

Brian Frank talked about whether finding a mate is controlled by fate or free will. He offered to test whether Brian Tabor and his wife, Michelle, were fated to be together. He had Brian choose whether to use the cards designated as “Fate” or “Free Will” as he spelled the words Kiss, Hug, Lover and Heart using two sets of cards. (Will the cards match?) Sure enough, the pairs of cards matched, with the final two cards bearing the names “Brian” and “Michelle.”

Shaun Clark borrowed an iPhone from Brian Tabor and said that he would create an alternate reality. He handed the phone back to Brian with the calculator app opened. He asked Brian to add 2 + 2. The answer was 5! Shaun then broke the spell and had him re-add the numbers. Sure enough, the answer was 4.

David Teeman gave a review of the S.A.M. Convention that he recently attended in Las Vegas. He then showed several items that he had picked up at the convention and at the ABC Store. He demonstrated amazing skill with card flourishes and then admitted that he was using the new “Electric Deck” by Wladimir. He said that he highly recommends that anyone visiting Vegas be sure to take in Jeff McBride’s Wonderground show. He also said that the Gold Medal Magic of China with Juliana Chen was fantastic.

Cassidy Smith showed us a “chop cup” routine using a small Hershey’s Chocolate can and candy kisses. The kicker ending, after producing two jumbo kisses, was that the can is actually sealed at both ends. Justin Teeman performed a routine where he was able to divine playing cards selected by Brian Tabor and Jay Relkin under “test conditions.”

Michael King said that he had attended the “Miss Saigon” stage show twice and was very impressed with the illusion of a helicopter flying in during the final scene. He said that he got to see it from two different angles and found it to be a great illusion both times.

The names of the performers were placed into a hat and two names were drawn. Shaun Clark won the book HOUSE OF CARDS – LIFE AND MAGIC OF PAUL ROSINI and Jim Green won a DVD of card magic.

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 first meeting of 2020 as our featured performer. He presented several effects themed around New Year’s resolutions. He began with by transforming a cane into two silk scarves. He then said that the number one resolution is to quit smoking. He said (tongue in cheek) that since he didn’t smoke, he would have to start smoking in 2020 so he could quit in 2021. After miming some cigarette manipulations, he blew a smoke ring that turned out be made of brass. When he brought out a cigarette pack and touched his lips to one and removed it, it turned out to be a rope instead. This turned into a ring on rope routine. He then brought out a cigarette lighter and produced silver dollars from the flame, which led into a coins across routine using silver dollars and a wine glass. Cassidy next invited an audience member to participate in a three-part mentalism routine using pieces from a Monopoly game. A game piece was selected, two deeds were selected, and finally one property was chosen. Cassidy showed that he had successfully predicted the dog, a total deed value of $220 and Kentucky Avenue. Cassidy next performed a very professional cups and balls routine, culminating in final loads of a lemon, a lime and an orange, which went along with his resolution to include more fruit in his diet. He ended by tearing up his list of resolutions and creating a snow storm.

Vice President Justin Teeman went over the schedule of events for 2020 that were planned at the December officers’ meeting. We have a very exciting year of meetings and lectures to look forward to.

David Teeman passed out silk scarves to every magician. He then taught us the barehanded production of a scarf and how to tie a knot that can be removed by having a participant blowing on it. He said that he learned the false knot by watching Bill Bixby as “The Magician.”

The business portion of our meeting was brief. Cassidy Smith announced lecture opportunities and lined up sponsors for each lecture. Lee Woodside made a plea for more submissions for our annual Ring 46 Grimoire, which has been edited for over twenty years by Malaki. Lee then moved that longtime member Joseph “Shyster Joe” Diggle be proclaimed a Life Member of Ring 46. The vote to do so was unanimous.

Lee Woodside led off the member performances by showing the “Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox” he had received for Christmas from his girlfriend, Peggy. Lee placed the envelope with his letter to Santa into the mailbox and closed it. When he raised the flag to indicate outgoing mail, the box played a Christmas tune. When he opened the mailbox, the letter was gone, magically on its way to Santa at the North Pole.

Derrick Beeson had a card selected and lost in the deck. The card reappeared in a white envelope within a black envelope. He credited the effect to Leo Xing and said the name of it is “Gone.” He then showed us a holdout device that is marketed as “The Delivery System.” He said that it is very handy for retrieving items such as final loads for a cups and balls routine. He then highly recommended Scott Robinson’s book PURE IMAGINATION. He also showed us a close-up pad from Danny Garcia, which he said is very nice for the price.

Mike Stelzer performed a Tenyo effect where a card is chosen and returned to the deck. The deck is placed into a paper sack and a rope is used to “fish” for the card. Sure enough, when the rope was pulled from the back, the end of the rope was tied around the chosen card.

Justin Teeman invited Cassidy to remove five cards from the deck and give them to him. Justin handed back one of the cards invisibly. He then counted to show that there were, in fact, now only four cards. When Cassidy tossed the invisible card toward the packet, Justin spread the cards to show that there were now five, with the selected card reversed in the packet.

Jerry Bowzer told us of receiving a bottle of 2086 Chateau Picard wine for Christmas from his daughter, who works in movies. He then showed us two of the “Firefly” rechargeable lighted playing card sets that he got by participating in a Kickstarter program.

Michael King invited Derrick and Jonathon to join him “on stage,” where he performed a “psychokinetic touches” routine with the two volunteers. He then had audience members mix up a Rubik’s Cube. He brought out another cube from a sack and showed that it perfectly matched the one randomized by the audience. He then removed a photo from an envelope that had been held by a volunteer and showed that the Rubik’s Cube in the photo also perfectly matched. He concluded by tossing the cube into the air and magically solving it.

Rick Martin performed a very professional routine using “Dean’s Box.” He caused a white rope and blue rope to magically link together and also caused a metal ring to link onto one of the ropes under “impossible” conditions.

Shaun Clark showed us the “How to Read Minds Kit” available from Peter Turner. It includes a number of professional mentalism items along with five hours of instruction on a USB flash drive.

The names of all the evening’s performers were placed into a hat and one name was drawn. Shaun Clark was the lucky winner of a “Half & Half” coin and 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

Ring 46 was pleased to host a lecture by Bill Wisch in November. Bill was a student of Slydini and claimed to be the only one authorized by Slydini to teach his material. While the effects Bill covered were great, it was well worth the price of the lecture to me just to hear his stories about magic greats such as Tannen, Zarrow and, of course, Slydini.

Bill performed a wonderful version of “Any Card at Any Number.” He also performed the “Helicopter Card,” a bare-handed coin production and flurry, and “X-Box,” where a selected card ends up folded in quarters within the deck when it is replaced in the card box.

Bill invited Rick Martin to join him at his table to participate in the legendary “Slydini Silks” routine. Despite the fact that two silk scarves were securely tied together, they magically disconnected.

Bill also performed an effect where a card was selected and returned to the deck. The participant then rolled an imaginary die several times to select which of six packets of cards to use. Six cards from this packet were dealt onto the table and the participant again rolled the imaginary die to select the final card. Sure enough, it turned out to be the selection.

Following his performances, Bill explained each of the effects in detail. Bill left us with this quote, “Misdirection is true when they believe what you do and they follow you.”

Our December meeting was devoted to our annual Holiday Party and Stage/Parlor Magic Contest. Members brought along spouses, kids and friends to join in the festivities. We started with a feast of turkey, smoked ham, and numerous side dishes and desserts.

After everyone had his or her fill, it was on to the stage and parlor magic contest. President Cassidy Smith first introduced Derrick Beeson. Derrick performed a stand-up coins across routine. Derrick then brought out a deck of cards with the first name of a different celebrity written on the back of each card. A card was chosen and the name written on it was Leonardo. Derrick then took from his prediction envelope a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio . . . as a baby. After the groans died down, he turned the photo over to show a more current photo of DiCaprio.

Terry “Mr. T.Lo” LoSawyer placed a small cabinet over the head of his daughter, Rebecca. After inserting numerous swords into the cabinet, he opened it to show that Rebecca’s head had disappeared. When the swords were removed, her head was restored. T.Lo then asked Brian Tabor and his wife, Michelle to help him demonstrate how an old-fashioned water pump on the farm used to work. T.Lo used an ice pick to poke a hole in the top of Michelle’s head. He then poured water into the hole to “prime the pump.” Finally, he held a funnel under her elbow and asked Brian to work the handle (her other arm.) As Brian vigorously worked the “pump handle,” water flowed from the funnel.

New member Rick Martin used the contest as his member performance debut. He showed an old electrical board from the early 20^th century that he had found at a flea market. It had four light bulbs (red, green, blue and yellow) and four switches with covers corresponding to the colors of the lights. He showed that each switch controlled the light of the corresponding color. However, when he switched light bulbs, the switches still controlled the lights matching the colors of the switches. When he switched the colored switch covers, each switch still controlled the light of the same color. When he removed a switch cover, the light of that color would no longer come on. It was baffling!

Brian Tabor and his wife, Michelle performed as a team. They started by each performing the Professor’s Nightmare, except that hers worked and his did not. Brian then invited Jay Relkin to select a card, sign it, and return it to the deck. After he had done so, Brian brought out a steel animal trap and set it. He placed the deck of cards in his mouth and slowly bent down to lower the deck onto the trap’s trigger. When the trap snapped shut onto the deck, Brian stood up straight and removed the folded card from his mouth. Jay verified his signature.

Shaun Clark performed a very artistic linking ring routine using only two rings. His choice of background music greatly enhanced the effect.

Darryl Brooks began with a knots off silk scarf routine. Next he invited Alex and Derrick to assist him. He tied two ropes onto “Houdini’s Wand” and threaded chains and handcuffs onto the ropes. As his helpers held the ends of the ropes, Darryl removed the wand and all the restraint devices fell free of the ropes, which were still being securely held by the assistants. Darryl ended his show with a 4-ring linking ring routine set to music.

Lee Woodside invited Jonathon and his son, Blain to participate in a “game show.” Lee brought out three “tree frogs” named Monte, Thelma and Louise and said that the object of the game was to keep their eyes on Monte. Jonathon’s was never able to finger the right frog and his son won all the candy bars. Jonathon did receive a consolation prize, which was a jumping frog. Lee credited the idea for his routine to the late Bob McAllister. Lee said he calls the routine “Tree Frog Monte.”

Mike Stelzer performed a comedy magic routine. He began with two linked rings, which refused all efforts to come apart. He said that he was only a bit hungry and used a chopper to cut a hot dog in half. He placed his own wrist through the hole of the same chopper, but the blade penetrated his arm without injury. He penetrated his neck with dental floss and then ate the hot dog while reading instructions on how to perform the linking rings. Alas, the rings still refused to unlink.

After a short break for the contest votes to be tabulated, Cassidy Smith held what may well have been one of the shortest business meeting in magic history. It took less than a minute for all current officers of Ring 46 to be re-elected by acclamation to serve again in 2020. Cassidy Smith is President, Justin Teeman is Vice President, Lee Woodside is Secretary, and Michael King is Treasurer.

Cassidy then announced the winners of the 2019 Stage and Parlor Magic Contest. Lee Woodside won first place, which was a $50 gift certificate for Penguin Magic (just in time for the cyber-Monday specials.) Brian and Michelle Tabor won second place and a $25 gift certificate. Rick Martin won third, which was a vintage Lance Burton T-Shirt and several magic DVDs. Each winning contestant will also receive a trophy at a later meeting.

Cassidy closed the meeting by reading a card from Dayna Davis Savage commending the officers and members of Ring 46 for keeping her daddy’s magic alive. Dayna’s father was Seymour Davis, a longtime Oklahoma City magician and the namesake of IBM Ring 46 in Oklahoma City.

Lee Woodside