Secretary Report – February 2024

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

Meets 7:00 pm, 1st 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

Brian Tabor kicked off our February meeting as the featured performer. He started by showing an octagonal piece of cardboard representing a clock face with one hand on each side. As he flipped the “clock” around various axes, the perception was that the hands were moving. Brian invited Jonathon Meyer and Rick Martin to join him for a test of observation. After showing a small spread of playing cards to each of the participants, he asked them how many red cards they saw and how many total cards were in the spread. Their different answers to each question demonstrated the dubious nature of eye-witness testimony.

Brian invited Kallie to deal cards face up from a face up deck of playing cards. He said that when she stopped dealing the last card dealt would be her selection. That card proved to be the only one with an “X” on the back of it. Brian asked Grant Vinson to hand him the deck of cards that he had entrusted Grant with earlier. He then asked Grant to name a number between one and fifty-two and any playing card. Grant named the number 22 and the deuce of diamonds. Brian removed the cards from the deck, handed the deck to Grant, and asked Grant to deal to the 22nd card. Sure enough, it was the two of diamonds.

Jim Green showed a cork board on a stand on which a drawing of a stick figure of a person was attached. Jim blindfolded himself and asked Derrick Beeson and Rick Johnson to each stick a pin into the stick figure. Jim was able to divine that Derrick had stuck his pin into the hand and Rick had chosen the heart. Was it Voodoo?

President Cassidy Smith led a discussion on ideas for what to call a magician’s one-man show. He said that “Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants” was a great name. He said that his personal choice was “Modest Dishonesty – a Magic Show by Cassidy Smith.”

David Teeman invited Dale Shawn, who is blind, to experience some magic. David brought out three sealed decks of playing cards and laid them on the table in a stack. He invited Dale to pick up all three decks at once with one hand. After this was repeated a couple of times, he asked Dale to pick up only the top deck. It was obvious that Dale was amazed. He said that the one deck was heavier than all three of the decks. David said that the demonstration was more of a psychological phenomenon than a magic trick.

Lee Woodside invited Abby to experience some romantic magic. Lee explained that paper clips are male and female just like people. After telling the story of how the two clips met and fell in love, he magically linked them together. Lee said that the routine was from Ibidem, but the method is published in many beginning magic books.

Derrick Beeson showed a close-up mat and servante that he obtained from Patt’s Matts. He said that they were excellent quality. He said that he also recommends coins from Ronald Davies. Derrick performed a routine called “Chop Shop,” by John Bannon. He showed a red-backed queen and three blue-backed jokers. Each time he put the queen into his pocked, it would reappear in the packet of cards. As a kicker ending, the four cards turned into the four aces.

Jonathon Meyer caused coins to appear in his empty hands, then vanish. He then produced them from his nose!

Cassidy Smith performed a beautiful and romantic routine called “The Rose 2.0” from Bond Lee. After a long-stemmed rose vanished in a ball of fire, Cassidy magically produced four roses one at a time.

We were pleased to book a last-minute lecture by Michael Komiskas. Michael presents a well-rounded lecture; in addition to cards and coins, he teaches magic with cups and balls, business cards, silk scarves, and even the ever-present Sharpie® marker.

Michael began by showing a sheer head scarf. He performed a coin production and then caused the silver dollar to penetrate the scarf in different ways. The routine ended with the vanish of the coin.

Michael handed a deck of imaginary cards to a member of the audience. He asked that the participant throw half the deck over his shoulder and then pass the remainder of the deck on to another audience member. This process continued until only one card remained. Michael then opened a box that had been in plain sight the whole time and removed a folded playing card. When he unfolded the card, it matched the card selected by the audience.

Michael took out his Sharpie and showed that it would cling to his fingers. This old gag got a groan, because he was using the method taught in many children’s magic books. However, he then did it again without “cheating.” While simple and easy, the method is a fooler.

Michael invited Jay Relkin to observe his chop cup routine up close. The final loads were a large ball, a 9-ball, and a potato that more than filled the cup.

Michael took out a purse frame without a bag and took out four silver dollars. He performed a nice “coins across” routine with the coins.

Kevin Brasier selected a card and signed it. Michael put the card into his pocket. Kevin’s daughter, Kallie selected another card and signed it. Michael brought out Kevin’s card and put it with Kallie’s. The two cards fused together, with a signature on each side of a double-faced card. Michael calls this routine “Anniversary Travelers.”

Michael brought out a Sharpie and performed the ubiquitous bending trick that everyone has seen, where the magician shakes the pencil up and down and it looks like it’s bending. However, when he stopped the motion, the previously straight Sharpie was now visible bent and could be handed out for examination.

Ashlee selected and signed the four of diamonds. Michael folded the card and then tore it into four pieces. He placed the pieces into a card box and shook them to “heal” the cards. When he dumped the card into Ashlee’s hand, she unfolded the card and it had her signature on it. Michael calls this routine, appropriately enough, “Healed.”

Michael showed three white medical-grade silicon balls and caused them to travel from hand to hand. He ended the routine with the venerable “two in the hand, one in the pocket” effect.

Michael brought forth a small bottle with a cork in it. He removed the cork and dumped out his quarter collection. Each quarter featured a different state on the back side. Brian Tabor selected one quarter and initialed it. Michael initialed the other side of the coin. He then replaced the cork in the bottle and held the signed coin on his palm. When he banged the bottle against the coin, the coin penetrated the bottle. When he dumped the coin into Brian’s hand, Brian verified that it was the coin he had initialed.

Derrick Beeson wrote a word on one of Michael’s business cards and inserted the card back into the stack. The stack of cards was rubber-banded together. Michael was able to divine the word that Derrick had written.

Michael performed a routine with a hot rod that did not involve the cheesy “one through six” number force. His routine was a story about a rainbow and a pot of gold.

Michael showed a very small ream of “copy paper” and showed that all the sheets of paper were blank. He then began “printing” on the paper until he had a full deck of playing cards. His routine is a take on the mental photography deck.

Michael showed us a unique pencil through bill routine that he came up with after watching “Misled” on a David Copperfield show. Not knowing the method, he created his own.

Michael showed us his KFC, the Komiskas Folded Card. This is an improvement on the age-old Mercury Card Fold that most magicians are familiar with.

Michael showed us his improved method of handling the cross-cut force. It fools many magicians. After showing a couple of other things, Michael explained all his miracles. We highly recommend Michael’s lecture for magicians who want to learn some new effects and get some performance tips from a working professional.

Lee Woodside

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