July Magi-Gram is here!

Due to the IBM Convention, we do not have a July meeting, and usually, no July newsletter. But despite his enormous duties as Registrar for the IBM Convention, erstwhile Editor Bob Patterson has managed to create a July issue! You can view it online by clicking here, or see the link in the right hand column ---->

Winton Carroll Contest Results in June Magi-Gram!

Congratulations to Past President Louis Meyer, who won the Winton Carroll Most Humorous Magician Contest and was awarded the well-deserved DC Comedy Magician of the Year staff! Read all about it here, or look at the right column for the link.

Special Magi-Whirl Newsletter is Here!

In addition to the May Magi-Gram, Editor Bob Patterson has put together a special edition of the newsletter, with an extraordinary look at Magi-Whirl 2011, which is rapidly becoming the best little convention in the East. You can also look in the right-hand column for the current links to the Magi-Gram and many other great things!

April Magic-Gram is Here!

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Treasurer Bob Patterson, the April issue of Ring 50's Magi-Gram is online and ready for you to read. You can view it online, print or download it here.
Later, you can simply click on the Magi-Gram link in the column to your right --->

Wayne Alan Lecture Debut Impressive

I.B.M. Ring 50’s April 6th meeting was opened by President Arnie Fuoco. After a few business details he introduced our lecturer, Wayne Alan, Corporate Illusionist.

Alan opened his lecture with balloon to bouquet and then two more bouquets appeared. After explaining the production and giving a few tips, he had two spectators join him on stage. He did a Two Card Monte with a regular size Ace and a Queen and then he did it with jumbo cards. Finally, removing the table cloth he showed two very large cards (40”x30”) which were set up on the stage. From these two cards a live Queen (Cassandra) was produced! He explained the workings of the effect and how to build it for less than $300. Next was a coin routine with his version of coins across and the coins appearing under a glass.

Alan's lecture was based on his decades of experience and proven show business concepts, covering 1/3 talent, 1/3 marketing, and 1/3 publicity. Wayne Alan says, " Be a showman and act like a star, be mysterious without being hokey, dress like a star, have beautiful assistants, and ride the coattails of the famous."

Other effects that he demonstrated and taught included the famous rabbit from a hat, card shark gags, a card routine ending with his business card, chop cup, a white board card revelation, a comedy mind reading routine using a spectator blindfolded with a Mardi Gras mask.

Alan also did a torn and restored card with the card reappearing in a frame held by a spectator. The card had a corner missing and it matched the one held by another spectator. He ended the evening with a crystal silk cylinder routine. Throughout the lecture he gave credits to contributors of the effects and routines. A great lecture by Wayne Alan! The May meeting is the Dan Lacey contest for Washington DC Magician of the Year.

- Bob Patterson

March Magi-Gram Newsletter is Here!

Once again, thanks to the nimble cursor of Bob Patterson, we have the Magi-Gram uploaded. To read it, you can click here or visit the link in the right-hand column on this page.

February Magi-Gram Newsletter is Here!

The February Ring 50 Magi-Gram Newsletter is here! You can view it here, or look for the link in the right column.

January 2011 Magi-Gram is Here!

The January Ring 50 Magi-Gram Newsletter is here! You can view it here, or look for the link in the right column.

December Magi-Gram is Here!

You can read it by clicking here or by looking for the link in the right column. Thanks to Bob Patterson for a wonderful, fun-filled issue!

TLR Reviewers Perform at November Meeting

The November 3rd meeting had more than 50 in attendance, including new members Cassandra Rogers and Julian Ortiza, who were officially voted in. Magi-Whirl 2011 Chairman Theo Rushin, Jr., announced the full lineup for the April 29-30 event: Losander, Luna Shimada, Keith Fields and Mark Mason. Magi-Whirl will have a truly international flavor this year and you can get details at www.Magi-Whirl.org.

The November showcase featured Ring 50 members performing tricks they had reviewed for The Linking Ring. Since Associate Editor Jason Goldberg is in charge of Hocus in Focus and is also a Ring 50 members, most of the reviewers are from Ring 50. (Because of the sheer number of performers that follow, there is no room for full descriptions, which you can find in the November 2010 Magi-Gram newsletter.)

President Arnie Fuoco introduced the acts, which began with Jason Goldberg doing a charming rendition of Christian Schenk’s “Metamorphosis,” in which caterpillars on cards change to butterflies and one comes off as a souvenir. Treasurer Bob Patterson did Cameron Francis’ “Annihilation Deck,” in which two prediction cards are removed from the deck, and then a helper chooses a card. The prediction cards do not match the selection, but have the value and suit of the selection written on their backs! Bob Continued with “Prohibition” from Blacks Magic, a very clean, nearly impromptu cap-in-bottle effect. Bob concluded with “Double Coincidence,” one of the effects from Jean-Pierre Vallarino’s “Fasten” DVD.

Dick Christian did several mental magic and mentalism items, including “School Daze” by Black’s Magic, Asi Wind’s “Switcher,” and Devin Knight’s “Word Sight.” Kevin McGuire switched gears into children’s magic with a modified version of “Fronkey” from Oliver Meech’s “5 for £5 Kids Magic,” a sort of McCombical Deck routine for children, which was very cute.

With many funny bits of business, Arnie Levin did a four ace trick from the Criss Angel DVD, and then recommended we simply buy McDonald’s Aces. He finished with “Keyruption” by Bob Solari, in which a borrowed, signed, bill vanishes and winds up in a zippered leather key case – a definite recommendation.

Rucj Uffelman performed Devin Knight’s “Inside Thoughts” and “Schezuan Sampler” from Mentalism Unlimited. Bob Carnathan performed Devin Knight’s “Unshop,” and Danny Selnick did Gaeton Bloom’s “The Die.” Geoff Weber astonished all with the signature routine from Steve Spill’s “Confessions of a Needle Swallower” DVD.

Eric Henning had a last-minute change of program, announcing that he had been privileged to perform for President and the First Family at the White House Halloween party. He proceeded to do the routine he had developed for this engagement, which combined Bill Abbott’s “The Thing” with the DaVinci Floating Table. Afterward, Michael Taggert came up and reiterated his reviews of “The Thing” and also Jim Kleefeld’s “Sound Control” utility device, which Henning had used in his act.

TLR Reviewers Perform the Latest Items

The November 3rd meeting will be demonstrations of the latest magic items on the market by our Ring 50 product reviewers for the "Hocus in Focus" section of The Linking Ring. New items arrive at TLR editor’s office for review. He sends them to the Associate Editor, Jason Goldberg, for his reviewers to examine, tear apart, perform, and evaluate. Many are new items, books, DVDs, and some are revisions or modifications to classic magic effects. This will be a good chance to see a demo of an item you have seen advertised and want to know more about.

We appreciate the time the "Hocus in Focus" team spends on their reviews. It is not an easy task to critically examine the hard work of others. Our Ring 50 reviewers are:
Jason Goldberg, Tom Bohacek, Sam Brothers, Dick Christian, Eric Henning, Dick Kahane, Arnie Levin, Larry Lipman, Kevin McGuire, Louis Meyer, Bob Patterson, Tom Paxton, Dwight Redman, Danny Selnick, Dave Shepherd, Ed Spells, Michael Taggert, Geoff Weber, Rucj Uffelman, Bill Wells and Paul White.

October Magi-Gram is Here!

You can read it online or download it and print it out from your own computer if you like. Just click here. Special thanks to Bob Patterson, who in addition to his duties as Treasurer, has been faithfully creating this great newsletter monthly.

You can see the online newsletter archive at http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2674897

September Magi-Gram is here!

Thanks to Bob Patterson for another brilliant job and in-depth coverage of the September New Performers Show. You can read all about it here.
There's also a link in the right column ---->

March Magi-Gram is here!

You can view it, download and print it here. Thanks to Bob Patterson for his hard work on this!

July-August Magi-Gram is Here!

You can view, download and print out the latest issue of our monthly newsletter the Magi-Gram, here.