june 2011 ring 50 magi-gram

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M M A A G G II -- G G RR A A M M Official Newsletter of IBM Ring 50 -- The National Capital Ring Volume 65 No. 6 June 2011

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New president Danny Selnick opened the meeting andintroduced director MikeTaggert, who presented outgoing

president Arnold Fuoco with theIBM appreciation plaque and the

past-IBM president medal for hisservices as president in 2010-2011( page 7 ). Territorial Vice PresidentDwight Redman led the EightPoints of Light ceremony for installation of the new Ring 50officers ( page 7 ).

A Magi-Whirl donation wasgiven to Bishop Ireton HighSchool representative ( page 2).The 50/50 drawing was won byCassandra Rogers. Then theWinton Carroll contest began.

Despite hot and humid daysthrough the Washington area, anannual contest for the MostHumorous Magician generatedloads of laughter at Ring 50s Junemeeting. Thecompetition isheld annuallyin honor of Winton Carroll,a former Ring50 president,who served asour leader in 1962-1963. He

provided humor in his own magicact. Winton Carrolls widow,

Emma Carroll, bequeath Ring 50$500 to conduct the contest eachyear for five years. This was thefifth year for the competition. Inhonor of Winton Carroll TheMagical Major this was acomical evening that wont beforgotten. More than 50 audiencemembers enjoyed the comedy andmagic of the performers. TheWinton Carroll Comedy contestwas kicked off with Arnold Fuocoas emcee. Louis Meyer wasdeclared the winner in an openmembership vote.Previous winners:

2007 Reggie Rice;2008 Reggie Rice;2009 Hugh Turley,2010 Theo Rushin.

(Continued on page 4)

International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 50

The National Capital Ring

PresidentDanny Selnick (202)-250-3834

[email protected]

Vice PresidentKevin McGuire703-675-5323

[email protected]

SecretaryArnold Fuoco703-521-6286

[email protected]

TreasurerBob Patterson

(703) [email protected]

Sergeant-at-ArmsScott McDonald

[email protected]

Magi-Gram EditorBob Patterson

[email protected]


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Coming Events

Sheraton Hotel - Dallas, Texas June 28 - July 2, 2011

FOUR big evening stageshows! You also get a fun andexciting banquet included withyour registration. Learn from the

best in the business with a stellar line-up of lectures and teachingsessions. Youll see great close-upshows, cabaret shows, fantasticnew youth activities and eventsare in the works, and some greatnew activities for spouses, and theOrder of Merlin. Were redefiningthe dealers room experience!And youll see the Gold Medaland Gold Cups Contests - oftenregarded as the best-run contest inmagic! Register at I.B.M. websitewww.Magician.Org.

S S S ... A A A ...M M M ... P P P iii t t t t t t s s s bbb uuu r r r g g g The Society of American

Magicians will be hosting the North American Championship of Magic as an integral part of itsannual four day convention to beheld in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

July 13-16, 2011. The conventionwill be holding up to six contestsof magic to accommodate the 50contestants who will be selected tocompete for the title of NorthAmerican Champion of Magic.Multiple winners across sixcategories of magic will beguaranteed a position if they wishto compete at the FISM WorldChampionship of Magic to be heldin Blackpool, England, in July

2012. Future S.A.M. Conventionsare scheduled for: 2012 Las Vegas NV, 2013 Arlington VA .

IIIBB M M M RRR iinn gg 555 000 SS cc hh ee dd uu ll ee 2011July No Meeting in July Aug 3 .Wayne Houchin LectureSep 7 ...The Great ZucchiniOct 5 ...Magical Teach-In

Nov 2 ..TBA

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We have had a very goodrelationship with the Managementof the Holiday Inn. They give usthe meeting room free in return for our members eating at theEisenhower Station Restaurant inthe hotel. The restaurant

justifiably expects those to whomit gives meeting space to USE itsdining facilities.

Over the last few months hotel

management has noted the Ring50 attendance at the dining roomhas dwindled. This may

jeopardize our relationship for thefree meeting room. The people atthe Holiday Inn have been morethan courteous to us. Members areencouraged to make a concertedeffort to eat dinner at theRestaurant. So come to themeeting at 6:30, have a nice mealin the dining room, chat with the

other members, and then attendthe Ring 50 meeting.

MMee mm bb ee rr ss hh ii pp Have YOU brought a

prospective member to the meeting?They must beinterested inmagic and be amember of theInternationalBrotherhood of Magicians.Applications are available from theTreasurer, Bob Patterson.

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The MAES 2011Convention will

be, September 1-3,2011 at theCrowne PlazaCherry Hill, 2349West Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill,

New Jersey 08002. Seewww.maesonline.org for moreinformation.

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I.B.M. Ring 50 meets the firstWednesday of each month(except July) at the HolidayInn I-95 at Telegraph Rd.,

Alexandria, Virginia.

- Easy access from all parts of the DC metro area.

- Across a parking lot fromMetro (Yellow Line -Eisenhower Ave.)

- Full service restaurant withentrees from $7.00 and up -The hotel has added a one -

price buffet for our convenience

- Full bar that welcomesmembers to perform beforeand after the meeting. (Wecan perform in therestaurant, too.)

AUGUST MEETING

Wednesday,August 3, 2011HOLIDAY INNAlexa nd ria , VA6: 00 Co c kta ils

6:30 Dinner8 :00 Meeting


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Magician Bert Udovin

Magician Danny Selnick (c)

Magician Theo Rushin

Magician Eric Henning

Gooood d Humoor r Pr r eevaai i l l ss aat t

Wi i nnt t oonn C C aar r r r ool l l l N N i i g g hht t aat t R R i i nng g 5 5 0 0 (Continued from page 1) By Arnold Fuoco

Congratulations to all those who entered the contest. The tencompetitors this year were: Bert Udovin, Danny Selnick, Theo Rushin,Eric Henning, Louis Meyer, John Roberts, Arnold Levin, Reggie Rice,Avi Littky (from the Counts of Conjuring), and Geoff Weber.

First up was Bert Udovin who started his performance by mentioning

that Winton Carroll was a close friend and mentor. Then Bert had threeassistants each select a card. Bert failed to find the three cards but presented a double sheet of newspaper to assist him. Succeeding cuts onthe newspaper amazingly revealed the 8H, 8S, and the 4Dthe selectedcards. Lots of wows when the paper was opened.

Danny Selnick introduced a violin case and told us he would play astring for us. He then pulled a string (rope) from the violin case and thenumber two was selected by a spectator. Magically two knots appearedin the string. Danny then showed us a poster of himself as an escapeartist. When revealed the audience laughed at a poster of Dannys headon a Houdini body with the title HOUDANNI. Danny moved on to a

daring escape titled the underwater escape-but without water. Withassistance from Cassandra Rogers and Jason Goldberg, he washandcuffed, dressed in a scuba diving mask and snorkel with backgroundwater noises-a priceless sight gag. He soon escaped and the audiencewitnessed a very humorous routine

Next up was Theo Rushin . Theos creative talents emerged with askit that had him playing a frustrated doctor with a goofball assistant

played by Brian Garner. The first patient was Mrs Pops-a-lot, a balloon.Dr Rushin was assisted by Carlos in trying to get Mrs Pops-a-lot over her fear of needles. With lots of comedic byplay, Dr Rushin finally got theneedle through Timmy Pops-a-lots head. The last patient was Mr Dogsapoplis (a balloon dog) brought in by assistant Brian. A frustratedDr Rushin chased his assistant out of the room with needle in hand. Awitty routine with lots of laughs.

Eric Henning walked on to the sound of some great Memphis soulmusic and amazed everyone with a five card repeat. He performed this athis first ever magic shows and at the end he had everyone shouting thatwas amazing. For the finale he removed nine cards and still had fiveleft. Next he brought up Clair from the audience to help him with hisentertaining and humorous egg bag routine. The egg appeared,disappeared and reappeared. Finally, Clair held the bag and magically

produced the egg. Another comedy gem from Eric.



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Magician Louis Meyer

Magician John Roberts

Magician Arnold Levin

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W W i i nnttoonn CCaa r r r r oollll N N i i g g h htt aatt RRi i nng g 5500 (Continued from page 4) By Arnold Fuoco

Louis Meyer was accompanied by his English SheepdogWoofer. Woofer performed his first trick by blowing up a balloon.He did this by blowing in Louis ear and to everyones delight hemade the balloon disappear. Next was a hilarious routine whereWoofer kept producing a red ball from his mouth. Finally Woofer was able to magically find his favorite food (a bone) from anassortment of other foods while blindfolded. A unique and clever act by Louis Meyer.

Upon opening, the audience was in suspense as John Roberts moved a heavy table across the room. That is, until they realizedthey were being teased. Then John commenced with an excellentNight at the Improv skit using a deck of jumbo cards. The storytold through the cards, involved a handsome man named DiamondJack. He was a ladies man and an Ace in the war. He entertainedladies at lunch but wound up in court. Jack said he wasnt a joker and his mind went blank. Lots of puns had the audience sharing agood laugh.

Next up was Arnie Levin . Arnie performed an excellent stand -up act using magic as a tool to get his jokes across. He opened witha Chihuahua joke and then moved on to card trick. Then he

produced a giant spike and quick ly penetrated it through the headof a stuffed bunny. He had the audience howling when hedemonstrated his rabbit and hat trick by pulling a hat from the

bunnys rump. He then moved on to a three card Monte where thequeen disappeared and wound up on a c hair. Finally he displayed alarge manila envelope and explained that he has just one predictioncard inside the envelope. He had a spectator find a card on a 52 onone card. He asked the audience if they would be amazed if HIScard was inside the envelope . He brought out the card out. There,in big letters are the words HIS CARD. A big laugh! He asked thespectator to name his card. Arnie flipped open HIS CARD toreveal his selected card!! There were lots of stand-up laughs fromArnie Levin and a great finish!



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Magician Reggie Rice

Magician Avi Littky

Magician Geoff Weber

GGooood d H H uu m moo r r P P r r ee v vaai i llss aatt

W W i i nnttoonn CCaa r r r r oollll N N i i g g h htt aatt RRi i nng g 5500 (Continued from page 5) By Arnold Fuoco

Reggie Rice also had an outstanding stand -up comedy routineusing magic props and assistants as support. With his first assistanthe performed a sponge ball routine loaded with lots of ethnic jokesand sight gags. Next he brought up a lady assistant and did amarriage sketch. He engaged his marriage partner in a few dancesteps that had the room rocking at the end. He ended his routine by

producing a watermelon from a briefcase. A superlative skit byReggie!

Succeeding Reggie was Avi Littky . Avi had Cassandra Rogersselect a card but could not find it. He tried various methods but hadto resort to a rubber chicken. He snapped the chickens head off and tried to use it to find the card but to no avail. To everyonessurprise, the selected ca rd was removed from the body of thechicken. Next he used a pencil, his shoe and his fingers to performan interlocking ring routine. Avi continues to amaze especially for someone in his age group.

The last performer was Geoff Weber who introduced a pictureof a pepperoni pizza. He put the pizza close to his face and ittransformed into a photo of himself. Next he took a sketchbook of different beards and had one selected. When he lowered the book,there stood Geoff with an amusing full beard resembli ng the one

beard that was selected. Geoff then moved to mindreading by predicting a playing card, the Ace of Diamonds , and was a photo ina large frame. When the prediction failed, he removed the Ace of Diamonds and it morphed into the selected card, the Queen of Diamonds . Finally, Geoff had a slice of ham selected from multipleslices; then had it signed using a label that he stapled onto the sliceof ham. After the slices were shuffled, the selected slice magicallyappeared in a French roll that Geoff cooked in his shoe. Lots of comical gems in Geoffs performance !

Ballots were marked by all members and adult guests inattendance and the votes counted. The result was a win for LouisMeyer with his novel and funny Woofer routine.


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ooo f f f RR iii nnn gg 55 00 f f f ooo rr 22 00 11 11 -- 11 22 Danny Selnick was sworn in as the new president of The National

Capital Ring at our June meeting. He stepped up from the vice presidents position to assume the leadership role.

Washington, D.C., Territorial Vice President Dwight Redman conducted the candlelight Eight Points of Light installation ceremony.Others taking their oaths of office were Kevin McGuire as vice

president, Bob Patterson returning as treasurer, Arnold Fuoco assecretary and Scott McDonald as Sergeant-at-Arms. Outgoing Ring50 President Arnold Fuoco , joined by former Ring 50 leaders Michael

Taggert and Louis Meyer , will serve as directors.

WWW aaa rrr rrr iiiooorrr iiinnn TTT rrr aaa nnn sssiiittt iiiooonnn PPP rrr ooogggrrr aaa mmm The U.S. Army established Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) at

major military treatment facilities located around the world. WTUs provide personal support to wounded Soldiers who require at least sixmonths of rehabilitative care andcomplex medical management. WTshave one missionto heal. All WTUsdevelop a Comprehensive TransitionPlan with personalized goals that allows

them and their Families move forwardtoward life post-injury. Ring 50 member Capt Bert Udovin (USN Retired ) has

been performing and teaching magic for the program. The magic taught is

provided to the soldiers to allow them toshow their children some magic and helpthe healing between parent and child.

The "Warrior in Transition" Program is held on the East Side of FtBelvoir south of the Base Chapel in an auditorium next to their Theatre. It is held at 9:00 AM each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.If you would like to participate in the program with a little magiccontact SFC Nathaniel Harvey III, Operations NCOIC, Office: 703-805-5199. Contact Bert Udovin 703-494-4842 to get some informationabout his experience with the "Warrior in Transition" program.

Summer break planned with nomeeting in July

There will be a summer break with no Ring 50 meeting plannedfor July. It has been a tradition tohave a recess when theInternational Brotherhood of Magicians holds its annualconvention. This year the I.B.M.Convention is in Dallas, June 28 July 2, 2011. Several members of Ring 50 plan to attend the event.

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Arnold Fuoco (l) accepts award from Board member Mike Taggert (r).

Ring 50 Board member MikeTaggert presented Arnold Fuoco with an I.B.M. plaque in

appreciation of his leadership for the 2010-2011 year as president of the National Capital Ring 50.During his tenure he brought theRing Alain Nu Lecture , Magic byFirst Time Performers, KenTrombly Lecture, Linking RingReviewers Performed, Ask theExperts panel, Andrew MayneLecture, Past Ring 50 PresidentsPerformed, Auction Night, WayneAlan Lecture, Dan Lacey Contest,

and the Winton Carroll Contest.Looking back it was a great year for the members of Ring 50.

june 2011 ring 50 magi-gram

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