Bizzaro, The Optical Illusionist – Lectures at February 3rd Meeting

In a world full of reality TV and lackluster entertainment, Bizzaro, The Optical Illusionist strives to open people’s eyes and prove that Different isn’t Bad. Bizzaro has performed from coast to coast and appeared on FOX, NBC, America’s got Talent, and the Travel Channel’s Extreme Conventions. "My lecture has a little bit for everyone. Anyone who has seen me before knows a big part of my lectures is about building creativity and character as well.” All of that and some new products developed and performed in Las Vegas await you so come join the party and bring a friend! The lecture is free to paid-up Ring 50 members, all other magicians $10 at the door.

Ring 50 Treasurer Collecting Dues for 2010
Ring 50 annual dues of $15 for 2010 are due by February. Anyone, wishing to do so, can pay their dues at the February 3rd meeting. The Ring 50 Treasurer, Bob Patterson, requests that you pay by check, as this eases the record keeping. Make checks payable to IBM Ring 50. Cash will be accepted providing you have the correct change ($15). If you are unable to make the meetings contact Bob for a mailing address at Treasurer@IBMRing50.Org. Enjoy your Ring activities throughout 2010 by paying your dues now.

The Spirit of Houdini at Ring 50

President Louis Meyer opened the January 6th meeting promptly at 8:00 PM. After announcements about Magi-Whirl, the I.B.M. Convention in San Diego, and the KapitalKidvention the Houdini Night program began before a crowd of 62 people.

Rucj Uffelman (right) began with an escape from a chain dog collar locked around his wrists. Harry Houdini saw this system used to transport prisoners to Siberia (and we all know that no one escapes from Siberia). Rucj’s wrists were securely bound with the steel chain and padlocked by a spectator. He amazed the audience by getting out of the chain in a matter of seconds.

Challenges by the US Postal Service led Houdini into escaping from a sealed and locked mailbag (a canvas bag, with metal grommets on top). Danny Selnick (Photo: on left) re-created that event with his ankles and wrists tightly secured to the ends of long metal shackles by means of two heavy duty chains and locks before being locked in a mailbag using a solid steel bar is passing through the grommets, with padlocks on both ends of the bar. A backdrop was placed around him and within a record time he made his escape as the crowd applauded him.

John Roberts (right) claimed Houdini failed to have a timing device when performing his escapes. John displayed a small pole with a woodpecker at the top that he used to time his escape from his securely rope tied wrists. His hands were covered with a cloth as the woodpecker made his way down the pole, John began his escape. When the woodpecker reached the bottom before John could escape, he reset the timer and in a flash was free of the ropes.

Louis Hofheimer (a.k.a. Captain Token) and two lovely girl assistants performed two stage escapes. Using several pieces of rope one girl was secured to a 4 inch square totem pole 6 feet tall. A rope was tied around her neck, her waist, her legs and her ankles. In the blink of an eye, in full view of the audience, she magically materializes through the ropes! Next, a large mystic looking box was brought onto the stage area. A young lady entered the box. The doors were closed and without hesitation the magician stabbed ten swords into all parts of the box. The audience could plainly see the smallness of the box did not permit the girl evading the swords. The box was then opened and the girl had vanished! The box was revolved so that all sides were visible. The doors were closed ... the swords quickly withdrawn ... the top of the box was opened ... and up popped the girl, unharmed!


VP Arnold Fuoco (right) told the story about the time Dai Vernon fooled Harry Houdini (who in his early years billed himself as "The King of Cards"). Houdini often boasted that if he saw a card trick performed three times in a row he would be able to figure it out. Vernon then showed Houdini a trick, where he removed the top card of the deck and placed it in the middle, and then turned over the top card to again reveal the original card. Houdini watched Vernon do the trick seven times, each time insisting that Vernon "do it again". Finally Houdini's wife, and Vernon's friends said, "Face it Houdini, you're fooled." For years afterward, Vernon used the title The Man Who Fooled Houdini in his advertisements. The trick Dai Vernon chose to fool Houdini with was his own version of the classic ambitious card routine, so named because the spectator's chosen card always wants to get to the top of the deck. Arnie demonstrated this as he told the story.

Wayne Alan showed some pieces from the collection in his home “Houdini Room.” One was a handcuff made by a spectator and was used on Houdini during a performance. He also had the metal air vent grate from the hospital room in which Harry Houdini died. Wayne’s cookbook, Magical Meatless Meals shares over 100 healthy and delectable vegetarian recipes collected during his storied and award-winning career in show business. Many of these and the pictures are linked to the Houdini fame.

By the 1920's, Houdini's career was going into a slump. As he approached age 50, his escapes were becoming too strenuous and his "death-defying" feats no longer enthralled increasingly jaded audiences. Vaudeville itself was slowly being strangled by competition from radio and movies, which were cheaper for audiences and more profitable for producers. Houdini switched to exposing fraudulent spirit mediums. Louis Meyer presented Houdini's original “Fraudulent Spirit Medium Expose Lecture” with pictures. Although many believe that people were more gullible back then, the popularity of "mediums" such as John Edwards makes this a timely topic.

Houdini Night, February Lecture Slated

Houdini Night at the January 6th Meeting
The January meeting will be Houdini Magic Night. Houdini initially focused on traditional card tricks. At one point, he billed himself as the "King of Cards." But he soon began experimenting with escape acts and became widely known as "The Handcuff King." He would free himself from jails, handcuffs, chains, ropes, and straitjackets, He later exposed séances and spiritualism. If you have magic related to Houdini and would like to perform, please email Ring 50 President Louis Meyer so he can put you on the program.

Bizzaro, The Optical Illusionist slated for February 3rd Meeting
In a world full of reality TV and lackluster entertainment, Bizzaro, The Optical Illusionist strives to open people’s eyes and prove that Different isn’t Bad. Bizzaro has performed from coast to coast and appeared on FOX, NBC, America’s got Talent, and the Travel Channel’s Extreme Conventions. "My lecture has a little bit for everyone. Anyone who has seen me before knows a big part of my lectures is about building creativity and character as well.” All of that and some new products developed and performed in Las Vegas await you so come join the party and bring a friend! The lecture is free to paid-up Ring 50 members, all other magicians $10 at the door.

Ring 50 Magic Youth International Meeting "The Counts of Conjuring"
Don’t forget to encourage a youth to attend the Ring 50 MYI. The youth meeting starts at 6:00 pm at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria. The Youth Ring is open for children ages 7-17. Please let Louis know if you are bringing any youths so that we can be better prepared for them. A Magic Youth International Ring will offer a fun, interactive, and safe environment for the young magicians. We have averaged about 5 kids per meeting but we would love to build that up.

Ring 50 Treasurer Collecting Dues for 2010
Ring 50 annual dues of $15 for 2010 are due by February. Anyone, wishing to do so, can pay their dues at the January 6th meeting. The Ring 50 Treasurer, Bob Patterson, requests that you pay by check, as this eases the record keeping. Make checks payable to IBM Ring 50. Cash will be accepted providing you have the correct change ($15). If you are unable to make the meetings, you can also send a check to his home address at 3450 Wainscott Place, Lake Ridge, VA 22192-5362. Enjoy your Ring activities throughout 2010 by paying your dues now.

Meeting Schedule 2009-2010 Update

IBM Ring 50 Schedule 2010
(as of 31 Dec 09)
Watch our website for updates to the schedule

2010
January 6……….. Houdini Magic Night
February 3 …….. Lecture; Bizzaro, The Optical Illusionist

March 3………… Auction Night
April 7 ………….. Kyle Peron Lecture, Nominations for Officers
April 9 & 10……. Magi-Whirl 2010, Washington DC, Ring 50
May 5……………. Dan Lacey Contest, Election of Officers
June 2……………. Winton Carroll Contest “Most Humorous Magician”
July ……………… No Ring 50 Meeting
July 6-10………... 82nd IBM Convention, San Diego, California

A Devious December Knight

Photo: Eric Henning

Gasps and nods of approval went around the room as salt poured out of the light bulb, which, just moments before, had been lit. Ring 50's December 2 meeting featured the unusual and clever methods of Pittsburgh's Devin Knight, a full-time professional mentalist. Devin was a protege of the late Al Mann, and has the same knack for creating devious foolers. In a direct, unadorned style reminiscent of the late Del Ray, Devin presented a number of his original magic and mental pieces, which had caused such a sensation at the recent Mindvention.

After Knight's opening gambit with the Salt from Light Bulb, he moved into mental magic, with "Poker Tells," in which a spectator correctly sorts the four Aces by suit sight unseen, and the performer reveals he predicted the outcome.

The one knuckle-buster came next, with Knight doing a slow-motion bare hand vanish of the four Aces one at a time, only to find them in his coat pocket. This "Dissolving Aces" was a beautiful piece, reminiscent of Slydini.

In the comedy magic realm, Knight offered his "Baby Gag on Steroids," in which the prediction actually does come out right at the end. The stand-up workers and emcees were very interested in this one.

Going into pure mentalism, Knight performed "Predictionary," in which a spectator's though-of word is found to be the only word circled in magic marker in a pocket dictionary. When Knight signed the page and gave the book to the helper to keep, it stunned the crowd.

Next came "Farsight." An audience helper freely chose one of twelve face-up cards, covering the remaining cards with a bandanna and placing the chosen card on top, then turning it face down. Despite the fact that his back was turned the entire time, Knight correctly identified the chosen card.

Next came "Spray Paint Surprise," in which a borrowed ring vanishes and is heard inside a can of spray paint. Knight "sprayed" the ring onto an index card and then squeezed the ring out of the card. This was a quirky piece that could be a feature in a parlor set.

"Out of Sight" is Knight's take on the David Hoy "Tossed-Out Deck," with a twist: a spectator examined and thoroughly shuffled the deck before Knight tossed it out for cards to be peeked. As usual, the method was devious and unexpected, and the necessary bits could be easily made up of things the average magician has lying around.

Perhaps the strangest item in an already-strange set was "Retro-Sight," in which printed flash cards were reflected in a mirror - and the printed words reversed themselves and could be read in the mirror!

"Around the Square" breathed new life into the venerable "Squircle," turning it into an ESP card revelation. When it was obvious that the helper had chosen the circle, but Devin had cut a square into the newspaper, he unfolded the paper. When the square cutout visibly and instantly changed to a circle, an audible gasp went around the room.

In "Deal or No Deal," Knight revealed the duplicate of a freely-chosen card inside a simple ungaffed cardboard box. This example of ultra-clean mental magic has been making the rounds of the message boards, and it really is as good as it it sounds.

Knight closed with "Food for Thought," in which a helper's menu choice is revealed to match the performer's, and "Chess Gambit," a super-clean prediction of a chosen chess piece.

Although each routine was available for purchase, Knight did explain in detail how to construct all the necessary apparatus, so it was not essential to buy anything. However, Ring 50 members swarmed the sales table at the break and again at the end of the evening.

For Knight, it was the end of a two-month, 24-city tour. For some Ring 50 members, it was the beginning of their work in mentalism.

NEWS: Click here to read the December 2009 Magi-Gram.