Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 1

Visit our Web Site at HTTP://www.ibmring81.com

Vol. 10 Issue 11 November 2013

We meet the first Thursday of the month at Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave. Sarasota FL. 34237 Workshop at 6:00 pm. Officers meeting 6:30 pm. General meeting and presentation 7:00 pm.

Aldo and Rachel Colombini

What can be written about

the Colombinis that hasn’t

been printed many times in

the past.? They have enter-

tained us many times and

continue to entertain us with

myriad effects that they

publish. To list all of them

would require a small book,

not a newsletter. Do they

love magic because it’s their

business or is it their busi-

ness because they love mag-

ic? I think it’s both. Since they do not travel as much as they used

to, it is our good fortune that they will spend an evening with us. If

you haven’t seen them before, this is an opportunity you don’t want

to miss. You’ll learn something new and be thoroughly entertained

by their skill, humor and enthusiasm. It’s magic

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 2

From the

President

“Stevie “Dee” Parties, Conventions,

Graduations.

You name it,

He does it.

Steve can be reached at:

941-752-9123 or

FAX 941-727-7410

CIGAM

HOUSE OF MAGIC 1222 12th St. West

Bradenton FL 34205

JONTI Head Magician

Slight of hand, DVDs,

Lessons

Phone: 941-746-4163 Email:

jontimagic@tampabay.rr.com

November 7th The Colombini’s

December 5th Holiday Magic

January 2nd Doug Conn Lecture

February 6th Meet the Challenge

These two holidays fall on the same

day this year! It’ll never happen again

in our lifetimes!

Thanks to everyone who participated in last month's "Teach In" Sessions.

Members want more magic instruction and your club listens to you!

(I'm still counting cards down to the tenth position, Joe!)

I was asked about flash paper last month and exactly what it is. Flash

paper is a type of chemically treated paper that is widely used by magi-

cians to create quick and startling flashes of fire and light. In short, it

is nitrated paper. Flash paper disappears when lit... leaving no trail! Dur-

ing the Prohibition days, huge amounts of the stuff was sold by magic

dealers to the underworld, for bookies and gangsters would write down

receipts/numbers/data etc. and in the case of a raid by law enforcement

had a way to quickly dispose of the "evidence."

Your Sarasota Weather Report for Thursday is excellent entertainment

because our lecture perfectly illustrates the point that trial & error,

plus wonderful routining and the constant injection of humor and con-

trolled pacing can produce solid magic audience enjoyment. Show up for a

good time!

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 3

Harlan Tarbell bio is by George Schiller (current "Dean" of the SAM)

To most magicians, the name Tarbell brings immediately to mind that classic set of books that some of us have purchased, many have heard of, but few have read. But who was the man responsible and what exactly is in that set of books that everyone talks about?

Harlan Eugene Tarbell was born on February 23, 1890 in Delavan, Illinois. At the age of 12 he was creating cartoons for a newspaper in the town of Morton. It was during this time that he hiked five miles along the railroad tracks to see a performance by the magician Dante (Harry Jansen) at the local town hall.

Primarily interested in pursuing a career in illustration, Tarbell moved to Chicago in 191 I, and it was there that a company called Read and Covert, which produced ma-gicians' equipment, hired him to do illustrations for their catalogs. In the mid I 920s, publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter Jordan decided there was money to be made in developing and selling a correspondence course in magic. They hired magician Walter Baker and Tarbell to develop the course, but Baker dropper out early in the project. They also approached Harry Houdini, but he declined and sug- gested they let Tarbell do the entire project. They provided him with $50,000 and he proceeded to develop a series of 60 correspond lessons, complete with over 3,000 illustrations (all of which he did himself). He finished in 1928.

The course was evolutionary, starting from basic sleights, body positions and tech- niques, and then moving into more complex effects. More than 10,000 copies of the course were sold, but in 1931 the publishers discontinued the project citing slumping sales due to the Depression. However, magician Louis Tannen (who would run a successful New York magic shop) bought the rights to the material and published it in book form in 1941.

The course includes more than 100 lessons in all aspects of magic. Included are sections on close-up magic, mentalism, stage magic, escapes, as well as an intro-ductory essay on the history of magic. Tarbell included hundreds of individual tricks, and also sections on patter, marketing, misdirection, timing, showmanship, routining and magic theory.

The eight volumes still remain an invaluable magic resource, and even a casual perusal by a performer will yield a wealth of ideas on all aspects of the magical arts.

Harlan Tarbell served in the 24th Air Company in the First World War and worked with the medical department. During his service he illustrated a military atlas, and while he was in France had the good fortune to study with French Impressionist Claude Monet.

Tarbell continued to perform as a magician after the war, living mainly in Elmhurst, Illinois. In June of 1960 he suffered a fatal heart attack and died at the age of 70. His course in magic, however, lives on as one of the great standard works on the subject of conjuring. As one magician recently put it, "you can find just about every trick in the Tarbell course--if you look for it!"

Submitted by Gale Molovisky

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 4

I am reporting the September and October meetings together in part because they

have so much in common and in part because they illustrate what it is like when literally

everyone at the meeting actively participates. We learn so much more from one anoth-

er than we do from a visiting lecturer. Yet it is the lecturer that most often draws us

to the meetings.

September: Our program director, Jonti, suggested we select a trick described in the

Linking Ring, note the date and page and then demonstrate it for the members. Not

everyone followed those rules exactly, but here is a full sample: Scott Hendrick per-

formed the card to wallet maneuver; David Pitchford did 3 card changes with consider-

able skill; Bob Banta with the assistance of Arnie Friedman and Mike Sedita confused

us with money in an envelope; Wes Meltzer did a coin manipulation routine; Jim Casey

did a self-working card trick that relied on remembering numbers; Ed Kaczmarek built

a memory tester from plans he said came from the Linking Ring. I wonder since the

Samuel Houston Institute of Technology is written on the apparatus. The initials may

be significant; Arnie Friedman showed how a card could disappear; Steve Gottschalk

did a mind reader routine using magazines; Jerry Meketon with the assistance of Doris

Kaczmarek demonstrated the “Power of Five.” The last man up was Gale Molovinsky.

He brought in for us several articles he built using plans from the Linking Ring. These

props go back many years, but still function as designed.

The main ingredients of this meeting were the interaction of our members and every-

one had a good time. The next meeting had a different format but repeated this expe-

rience.

October: This meeting like the last was designed for sharing knowledge and technique.

Six tables were set up for demonstrations and practice. David Pitchford taught his

easiest coin tricks. One that he showed me and I use frequently with great success is

sticking a nickel on your forehead. Most people (kids especially) want to tell you that

anyone can do that, but when you palm the nickel and give them one that has a nail

sticking out of it and ask them to give it a try, they just break up with laughter.

Wes Meltzer showed how to mysteriously put knots in ropes. Bill Bremner showed sev-

eral variations of the Chop Cup. Arnie Friedman had a miniature variety show and Joe

Floersheimer shared various card routines that required very little skill. I would like to

pause here for a moment to talk about Joe. Like most organizations, there are just a

few members who make things happen for the benefit of all. We are fortunate to have

a lot of them, but Joe is up there with the best. He gets the meeting place, takes the

pictures, writes the newsletter, etc. Thank you.

Submitted by Jerry Meketon, Sectr.

Secretary’s Report

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 5

Trick of the Month. The Great Spelling Trick

From Magic Tips and Tricks, by Rick Carruth, © 2011

Here is a technique that has been around for years, but it’s not

as well known or commonly used as in years past. Now might be the

ideal time to put this effect to work for you…

The effect works like this… The magician takes a deck of play-

ing cards and casually shuffles them from hand to hand. After some

small talk, he deals ten cards, face down, onto a table. He picks up

the cards and asks the spectator to name the first numerical card in

a deck of cards.

If the spectator says, ‘the two,’ remind him or her that the ace

is actually the first card. Take the top card and move it to the bot-

tom of the deck, spelling ‘A.’ Then move the second card to the bot-

tom and spell ‘C.’ Lastly, take the third card off the top and drop it

face up on the table spelling ‘E.’

The spectator will be surprised to see that it is the ace. Re-

peat the same moves as you spell T-W-O and drop the third card

face up on the table. It’s the two. Repeat the same for each num-

ber—three through nine—and the last letter of each number will be

the card spelled.

You will be left holding one last card, and it, of course will be

the 10.

Begin with the cards in this order on top of the deck: 9-7-6-4-

2-10-8-A-5-3. As you pass cards from hand to hand, as in a Hindu

shuffle, be sure NOT to disturb the order of the top ten cards.

When you’re ready to begin the effect, state that you need ten

cards and count the top ten cards, face down, onto the table.

The cards will now be in the proper order to successfully per-

form this self-working surprise (3-5-A-8-10-2-4-6-7-9).

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 6

On Saturday October 5th some members of Ring 81

participated in another local event.

Rocky is always a favorite That’s really Bill Bremner under the hat

Wes Meltzer with the

family pet Rocky Bill and his magical coins

Joe Clifford loves teaching

the kids Time to take a break from

magic and the heat

Vol. 10 Issue 10 Page 7

Want More Magic? Tuesday evening’s magical

get together is held at

Applebees

1991 Main Street, Sarasota

Next to Hollywood 20 Theater

For more information contact:

Dave Pitchford dapo@comcast.net

Arnieism of the Month

arniebaby wants you to know that---

To avoid trouble, breath through the nose——

It keeps the mouth shut---------

Your suggestions and submissions are not only ap-preciated they are sought. Share a trick, an event or

anything that’s relevant to Ring 81.

Officers Ring 81

President, Gale Molovinsky Secretary, Jerry Meketon

gamolo@aol.com jerrymeketon@gmail.com

Vice President, Michael Kent Treasurer, Ed Kaczmarek

edsmagic@aol.com

Past President Al Loeffler Newsletter Joe Floersheimer

Joe.shoes@verizon.net

Bob Scekeres We regret to announce that former IBM

member and Ring 81 president Bob Sckeres

passed away on October 6th. He’d been strug-

gling for the last few years with a debilitating ill-

ness and had relocated to Mechanicsville, PA, to

be closer to his family.

In his work as a

magician, he often demon-

strated newspaper tear

effects. He is survived

by his wife Dru and a

number of children and

grandchildren.

Send condolences to:

Dru Scekeres

1481 English Dr.

Mechanicsville, PA 17055.

Left blank for address