Author: Paul Sedler

Another SAM12 assembly meeting again with the strange but topical theme of Foul/Fowl Magic!! 13 people joined us at Eagle Magic and one person attended via Zoom (Hi Sandy!!). We welcomed two new SAM 12 members, too: Keith Hochstedler and Walt Pattinson!

The meeting started with the presentation of a plaque celebrating Eagle Magic’s 125th anniversary to the owner, and long-time SAM 12 member and former president,  Larry Kahlow.  It’s great to have North America’s oldest brick-and-mortar magic shop in the Twin Cities, and SAM 12 and Eagle Magic have had a great relationship over the years!

During the business portion of the meeting, SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore gave his report: A reminder to pay your SAM12 dues, and a brief explanation of his struggles getting non-profit status for the club. Luckily we had an accountant in attendance who had some great advice for Adam.

Next, a few updates from the members: Larry and Jennifer Kahlow took the Sun Princess Magic Castle Cruise. Paul Ladig performed at a retirement home. Manny Betinis worked at a couple of holiday parties and did some walk-around magic at a wedding. SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore spent some time in Vegas recently and saw a bunch of great shows including Minneapolis native Nick Deffatte. He’s also working on a new solo show. Looking ahead to our upcoming meetings, we talked about our annual chili dinner and holiday celebration in December and the annual auction in February.

On to the performances: Larry Kahlow gave us a mini-lecture on dove pans, demonstrating several different versions and how to get a larger rabbit to fit comfortably in a load pan. Paul Ladig used his “black art “ box to make a duck disappear. Manny Betinis told an amusing Thanksgiving story while performing Color Monte with some homemade cards–amazing!! Jeff Kohagen continues to work on his double color change–just when you think it can’t get any better; it does. SAM12 Scribe Paul Sedler brought an old Star Trek-themed, packet trick called “Star Trick”, a strange trick with some very bad reveals, putting it firmly in the “foul” category. SAM12 President Kevin Smith folded a yellow paper origami bird that found a selected card. Lastly, Adam Moore is working on a book test trick and asked for some advice on adding a little punch to the ending.

The evening ended with the usual socializing and snacks. Next month we’re having our annual Chili Dinner and Holiday Party. Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the January 2025 MUM Magazine

Time for SAM12 to meet again!! An enthusiastic group of eleven people attended the meeting, all in person at Eagle Magic. Our theme: “Spooky Magic”. 

During the short business portion of the meeting, we talked about the Masters of Illusion performance in Burnsville. Everyone who attended it enjoyed it. After the the show Gay Blackstone, Dan Sperry, Mike Caveny, and other magicians visited Eagle Magic. Paul Cook gave us his annual report of his time at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, where he performed more shows and worked every weekend. The crowds were great and he was able to try out new material. 

On to performances: SAM12 President Kevin Smith spoke about a series of seance performances he did years ago in Portland and demonstrated some of the props he used during the “dark room” segment. Next, he showed us his annual Halloween prop haul from Michaels, including very creepy doll heads that he planned to turn into Zombie balls. Todd Anderson told us a story about the book “Spooky Magic” he bought when he was a kid and was surprised kids can still buy it today. (That led to a discussion on how Halloween shows have changed over the years.) Finally, Paul Ladig showed us his beautiful Mikame wrist chopper and walked us through a performance. That started a discussion on different versions and how to perform them safely.

The evening ended with the usual socializing and snacks. Next month the theme is “Fowl/Foul Magic.” Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the December 2024 MUM Magazine

SAM Assembly 12 is back after the summer break!! 

Eight people attended in person at Eagle Magic, with two attending remotely via Zoom.

Our theme this month: What I did over the summer; magically speaking.

Many SAM 12 members attended conventions over the summer, including Abracorndabra (many attended and had a great time), Magic Live (a huge conference with many big-name performers), and the TAOM/SAM convention (spread out and a bit disorganized, but still a good convention.)

Other summer magical activities included a trip to the Magic Castle, a local IBM fundraising event, and SAM12 participation in a Houdini birthday-themed show at the Jewish Community Center. The Houdini show was well attended and a success, and might even become an annual event. 

A few of us had some performances over the summer as well. Paul Ladig worked at some assisted living facilities. Jeff Kohagen dusted off his magic props for a family gathering, performing both kid and adult magic.

On to performances: 

Jeff performed a quick coins-across routine that looked amazing! He also demonstrated a double side-steal color change he’s working on that shows great promise. Next, Brad Gudim performed an excellent ring-on-string routine. Then SAM12 president Kevin Smith talked about his summer task of cleaning out his old magic and discovering his old Reiss Games magic props. He performed and explained  “Your Favorite Ace” by Garcia and Schindler from a booklet that accompanied a Reiss Games card trick set.  (This booklet was an excerpt from the excellent “Magic With Cards”  book by Garcia and Schindler.)

The highlight of the evening was Todd Anderson talking about “top shelf magic,” those large expensive magic props on the top shelves of magic shops you always wished for. Todd showed us a classic mirror box he restored, painted like an old radio. He wondered if he could do better. Did he ever!!! Todd spent months over the summer building a mirror box that looks like an old time radio with knobs, a lighted dial, a working antenna, and even a way to tune in the local radio stations!!! Absolutely amazing!! 

The evening ended with planning for next month, as well as the usual socializing and snacks. Next month the theme is “Spooky Magic.” Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the November 2024 MUM Magazine

SAM12 usually take the summers off, so there will not be an official meeting until September.  There might be a summer cookout, keep your eyes on SAM12.org for all the details. SAM12 Fact: SAM12 is actually 104 years old this year, but our original charter that was signed by Harry Houdini in 1920 when he was president of S.A.M. was lost. It’s likely in the secret warehouse that was featured at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Join us, won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the August 2024 issue of M-U-M

SAM12 meets every third Friday of the month. Do you know what else happens the third Friday of the month of May? AbraCORNdabra in Des Moines, Iowa. SAM 12 was very well represented at the Iowa magic convention. 13 of us met over pizza and drinks at the hotel bar for our “official meeting.” Pizza, drinks, friends, and magic. A good time was had by all! Join us won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the July 2024 issue of M-U-M

Has it been another month already?! Time for SAM12 to meet again! The April meeting was attended by 10 people in person and 4 via Zoom.

Lots of business was discussed including our afterthoughts on the Gateway Closeup Convention that recently happened in St. Louis. It was a great time and well attended by many members of SAM12. We’re also looking forward to Magic Collector Expo and AbraCORNdabra coming up in May. Our treasurer, Adam Moore gave a report on our financial status (including noting that he properly filed things with the IRS). Adam also talked about a recent performance at a local church.

Next, we discussed the upcoming Houdini birthday celebration coming up this summer, and how SAM 12 will be involved. This led to a robust discussion on how to get more members to the Assembly.

Paul Cook kicked off our performances with a rather funny, and rather messy, vanishing salt. Next, Paul Laidig performed a spooky rendition of Kurotsuke that included music and a light show. Larry Kahlow attempted to stack dice…and was mostly successful! Finally, in the spirit of our theme (“Magic That Might Convince Ancient Peoples That You’re a Wizard!”) Adam Moore told a couple of stories about impromptu magic presentations that had a much larger impact than expected, including a performance of the Balducci Levitation!

The meeting concluded as it always does with refreshments and socializing. Join us won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get all the info at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the June 2024 issue of M-U-M

We started a new annual SAM12 tradition at our March meeting: Movie Night! Around 20 members joined us at Discovery United Methodist Church, in person and via Zoom.

Big Screen. Popcorn. The movie: Billy Topit. Special guest: Lance Burton!

Lance joined us via Zoom from his farm in Kentucky to introduce his movie. It’s about a Las Vegas kid’s magician, played by Lance Burton, who’s just trying to impress the cute waitress and ends up getting mixed up with the mob. Spoiler alert: It all works out in the end. The movie was jam-packed with cameos from Lance’s magician friends, and he challenged us to find as many as we could as we watched. We all enjoyed the movie and the popcorn.

Lance then joined us after the movie and answered our many questions. Big thanks to Lance Burton! He was very personable, had great stories, and answered all our (sometimes odd/silly) questions.

Special thanks to Adam Moore and Sandy Meyer for organizing the event!

You never know who’s going to show up at a SAM12 meeting. Join us won’t you? Get the full scoop at SAM12.org. See you next month!

Look for this in the May 2024 issue of M-U-M

At our February meeting we held the SAM12 Annual Auction. Seventeen people were in attendance at Eagle Magic in Burnsville. It was the annual opportunity to sell some unwanted magic AND just as good a chance of adding magic to your collection. There were bargains galore with bids starting as low as one dollar! A great time was had by all! It was a very casual auction with many laughs and stories. Some left with more magic than they came with, some left with less magic than they came with. As usual, refreshments and socializing brought the evening to a close. Join us, won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. We’d love to see you! We meet on the third Friday of the month. More information at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the April 2024 issue of M-U-M

Welcome to 2024 everyone! Let’s make it a magical year! Fourteen magicians attended our January 19th meeting at Eagle Magic. Our theme was “Things You Found While Going Through Your Stuff For the Auction.”

During the business portion, we discussed who’s attending AbraCORNdabra in Iowa this year and the lineup of lecturers and performers. Several members of SAM 12 are planning on attending and are hoping for another great convention.

Paul Ladig is performing from his basement stage and got written up in the local paper recently, leading to more business. Old-school advertising for an old-school magician! BlackSmith Magic (SAM12 President Kevin Smith and SAM12 Scribe Paul Sedler) performed for an 8-year-old’s birthday party, with 16 kids and a handful of adults in attendance. Good show! Manny Betinis has been performing at various parties…for free. He’s just there. Might as well perform, right? The Amazing Hondo lecture is happening this weekend at Eagle Magic.

Peter Grendle joined us from the Minnesota Jewish Community Center. He’s hoping to put together a Houdini celebration in June and is looking for some help. That got us all talking about Houdini and things that can be done to help celebrate Houdini’s 150th birthday.

On to performances and show and tell: Eagle Magic owner and SAM12 Vice President Larry Kalow performed the Deception Paddle. Colored pips on a metal paddle. Larry says Eagle is the only place you can buy it right now. SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore shared an old cigar box with some vintage magical treasures he got from his dad. Really cool! Paul Ladig performed a coin-in-glass vanish combined with his Mullica Wallet. The evening ended with the usual refreshments and socializing.

Next month is our annual auction! Sell some of your unwanted magic to other fellow magicians. Join us in person at Eagle Magic. More info at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the March 2024 issue of M-U-M