Society of American Magicians Assembly 12We will meet on the 15th at 7:30pm at St. Mark’s in Bloomington. We will be meeting in the lounge due to a garage sale. First order of business is election of officers. Please bring magic and food to share. Dan Witkowski’s presentation originally scheduled for this month has been postponed.
We will not meet in June, July, or August. Starting in September our regular meeting place will change from St. Mark’s to Eagle Magic in Burnsville.
Our April meeting will take place on the 17th of the month. The theme is magic from M-U-M. Next month we will have Dan Witkowski as our guest.
Reminder: Twin Cities Assembly 12 begins meeting at the new location of Eagle Magic Shop, Burnsville starting Sep, ’09 (same day/date).
The past presidents of Assembly 12 representing 27 years of leadership joined us for a special evening where the leadership performed for the members.
William VonStocken (72-73,93-95) opened with a version of “cut here” as a newspaper prediction.
Jack Nordin (74-75, 76-77), in tux, presented Gospel stories using the juggling ball transposition and Chinese rice bowls.
Jerry Martin (86-88; 99-2001) opened with comic juggling. A humorous rendition of the 3 rope trick including a shoelace conundrum.
Bruce Colton (88-90) entertained us with a three card illustration of the classic story of the wool sweater, a party, and an emaciated Mexican Chihuahua. Bruce closed with a dual, any card at any number routine.
Mike Arazi (95-99) performed a great poker routine.
Current president Adam Moore performed the teach-a-(teach-a)-trick version of the vanishing silk (& egg).
Jim Kostick (04-05) had us laughing with his giant (hula hoop) linking rings.
Dave Taylor (05-07) complete with stripping music, performed the classic Hank Moorehouse straightjacket routine.
Theme: Magic I saw/learned from Television
The assembly moved that we accept the gracious offer of Larry Kahlow to host the meetings at Eagle Magic. It was decided that (with Larry’s final approval) we would start meeting there in September, after the three-month summer hiatus.
Adam and his lovely wife (and capable assistant) Lisa performed a wonderful version of metamorphosis. Don French used two chairs and a rope to illustrate a story about a one-semaphore town in the 1940s.
Jack Nordin (left) demonstrated his latest moves in the now-infamous rope routine.
Darnay “took us home” (literally) with video of a complete performance from his home-theater during a SAM Assembly-12 meeting in the mid 1980s. In that Halloween-themed performance, Darnay performed death defying illusions and a levitation with (then teen-age) Suzanne.
Justin Alan was our featured guest.
Prior to Justin’s lecture, we applauded the success of the November meeting held at Eagle Magic. We voted against having meeting-locations rotate between member-homes.
The obituary that Darnay had graciously prepared for Jerry Johnson was read aloud.
It was agreed that the March meeting will feature and acknowledge past presidents of SAM Assembly-12.
Then it was time for Justin. In addition to a delightful sampling of his routine, Justin also shared some of his observations and rules on restaurant magic. We saw a here, then there signed-card routine, a card-to-wallet using his preferred “Real Man’s” brand wallet, and a vanishing tissue sucker routine using a roll of toilet paper (one-ply). We also were entertained with a teathered-folded card illusion and the “Instant M.C.” routine. Justin closed with a tic tac toe prediction. Thank you Justin.
March 20th is the date of our next meeting, and we will be honoring past presidents; most of whom will be performing. This should be a memorable event. Pizza will be served.
Our February meeting will take place on the 20th of the month. The theme has to do with TVs. Perform something you’ve seen on TV and bring a tape for comparison purposes. Or think more outside the box so to speak; so be creative — how about linking TVs or TVs and balls or even floating TVs. Remember March is our toast a past president party.
Our Jan meeting will be held on the 16th of the month. Justin Alan will be our guest. He is one of the more prominent restaurant workers in our area. He will share some of his work with us. Hopefully chili will also be provided by Sandy and her wonderful husband. Feb. will be TV magic.
Minneapolis, MN This month’s meeting took place at the new location of the oldest, continuously-operating magic store in the U.S.A. — Eagle Magic.
Owner Larry Kahlow shared with the members some of the rich history of the store since it’s inception in 1899 including visits by Houdini and Thurston. On this night he performed two knots-on/off rope trick. Jack Nordin followed with a different kind of rope trick; that of a cowboy, swinging and twirling a lasso. Darnay shared a bent-nail puzzle similar to one that fascinated him as a small boy. Aaron Timmerman flashed all of us with a wad of bills that changed from ones to hundreds. Geoff Williams entertained with Hart’s Link and Adam Moore performed a thumb-cuff escape and vanish. Bob Miller closed with an entire routine he has been developing that included versions of Feeling Flushed, Shuffleboard, and a BAM method of tracking five cards. Thank you Larry for opening your doors to us.