Hello Everyone:

Just wanted to alert you that there will be no July or August SAM#12 meetings. Its summer vacation time. Have fun!

We will be back with a great lecture (free for SAM#12 members) on Tuesday, September 18th at 7 pm featuring Steve Marshall who is well know for his skill with dice. He was trained by Jim Zachary (who wrote the book on Dice Stacking). The lecture will be held at the Regency Woods Apartments Community room in Minnetonka.

Our next official meeting will be on Friday, September 28th (moved back one week to not conflict with the Houdini Club of Wisconsin Magic Convention) at 7 pm at Eagle Magic and Joke Store in Burnsville. Have a great summer!

SAM #12 meeting

at 7 pm 6/15/2018 

The theme will be “Dice.” Do a dice stacking routine; show how the numbers on opposite sides of the dice can magically change; cause the dice to shrink or change colors. Or how about a dice box effect? Never say die. See what you can up with! And remember if you perform at the meeting you will be eligible to win a magic trick donated by one of the gracious dealers who have contributed to the SAM 12 “Performance Award!”

Summer finally arrived in the Twin Cities with scorching temperatures over 90 degrees but that didnt hinder a good turn out for the May meeting. Discussions about magic activities during the month included a report on Steve Daly’s AbraCornDabra regional convention in Des Moines which featured Gene Anderson, The Other Brothers, Tim Sonnefelt, Jonathan Burns, Bill Smith, David Charvet, Keith West and company and Rudy Coby!

President Tom O’Lenick also reported on his trip to the Knights of Sleights Magic Flea Market in Chicago just prior to AbraCornDabra.

Upcoming events announced at the meeting: Steve Marshall Lecture on September 18th (free to SAM members); Ben Trainer performance/lecture on June 10th for Sunday Night Magic.

The group also chose the theme for the June 15th meeting. It will be “Dice.” You know, those little square cubes in various sizes with colors and numbers on them. See what you can come up with that will qualify to win a performance prize.

MagicBrad Gudim began the performance portion of the meeting with a clever variation on the “Ramsey Stack of Coins” using a time shift story and a “magic crystal.” Adam Moore shared a trick that David Copperfield did on an early television special called Room Service created by Jonathan Neal Brown. Adam also asked for patter/presentation tips on the Penney to Dime trick and Coloring Book which his son is doing for a school performance. To qualify for the drawing, Drew Hanson then did a nice vanishing finger ring that kept reappearing on his finger. Drew also show his leather crafting skills to some members. He made leather cover tubes for the Ramsey Coin Routine. Finally, Larry Kahlow did a colorful Stiff Rope and won the performance prize drawing donated by Steve Goshman (www.MagicbyGosh.com).

Sandwich snacks provided by Paul Ladig, popcorn by Tom O’Lenick and cookies by Adam Moore were presented by host Jennifer Kahlow. Everyone mingled and chatted about magic until much later in the evening. On the subject of food, we are planning a fun picnic event for our July gathering. Keep an eye open for the details.

Friday, May 25th
Incomprable, unequalled, distinctive, different, unique, eccentric, silly, fun, clever or just plain unparalleled. That’s how you may describe the tricks you’ll see at the May 25 “Freeform” meeting of Society of American Magician’s Assembly #12 of Minnespolis/St. Paul. It will be held at Eagle Magic and Joke Store on 11995 County Road 11 in Burnsville at 7 pm. Practice up and bring a trick that fits one of the adjectives above. See you then! By the way, we will once again award a special prize to someone who performs for the group. 

Paul Ladig gets ready to perform

a miracle for the group.

Magic Brad Gudim and Manny Betinis look on. 

Prior to performances, we paid tribute to Bill Von Stocken who recently passed away. Bill, aka Darnay, mentored Justin Flom (as a young magian) who created a brief video tour of the theater, pictures of magicians, props and books that Darnay kept in the basement of his home. It was a very sentimental memory.

We then discussed creating a “Tribute Page” of deceased SAM members to add to our website. Even though the idea was enthusiastically embraced, there were a lot of questions about how to handle the information and what should be included. So a committee headed up by Greg Broder was created to explore details and how to proceed. Steve Peer, who first suggested the idea, Adam Moore our web administrator, and Larry Kahlow will also be members.

Tom O’Lenick and David Stahl reported on their recent trip to work as Stage Manager and Production Supervisor for the 50th Annual Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle) Awards Show. David Copperfield was named “Magician of the Decade.” Numerous Showroom and Fellowship Awards were presented by Dick Van Dyke, Paul Reubens, John Gaughn, Mike Caveney, Michael Carbanaro and others. Notable recipients included Richard Turner, Johnny “Ace” Palmer, Shoot Ogawa, Collector Ken Klosterman, Historian Peter Lane and Shimada. Comedian and television personality Larry Wilmore was the host and Erika Larsen, Past President of the AMA was the Executive Producer.

The group also approved a lecture by Magician Steve Marshall on Tuesday, Sept. 18th. Steve, a former MUM columnist has appeared on Penn and Teller’s Fool Us and now lives in Japan. Mark your calendars. This will be a free event for SAM members. For all others admission will be $20.

“Rising cards and other ways to cause a card to magically leave the deck,” was the theme for our April Assembly meeting. Larry Kahlow started the performances by showing a technique for making a card rise from the deck using his little finger. Then, Paul Ladig showed a clever trick using a plexiglass holder with a rod penetrating the center. When the rod was removed, the deck “plopped” down and left the selected card rising out of the deck. David Stahl performed a Devano style rising cards finding two selected cards. Tom O’Lenick demonstrated Cardiographic Lite by Martin Lewis.

Treats were provided by Paul Ladig, Jerry Martin, Tom O’Lenick and Jennifer Kahlow. Magical socializing followed for about another hour.

Chatting after the meeting with Larry Kahlow, Brad Gudim,

David Stahl and Tom O’Lenick.

Despite a heavy snowfall early in the day, a small but vital group of magicians attended the February SAM Assemble #12 monthly meeting. We also welcomed two guests. Jason and Carter Moore, the sons of our Treasurer Adam Moore who attended with their Dad. They saw lots of magic up close and personal.

Thanks to the magic vendors that provide gifts to the group. MagicbyGosh.com ; PaulRichardsMagic.com and Hocus-PocusMagic.com

The January meeting, our annual magic auction, was very well attended with more than 25 magicians and a few guests all looking for great deals on tricks, props, cards and kits that others no longer wanted. Assembly #12 benefited by receiving 10 per cent of all purchases and by encouraging that the member’s dues was current. Guests paid $5 to participate. We had 23 buyers and sellers who generated sales of almost $650. Many popular items sold for as little as $1. The most expensive trick sold for just over $40. There were even some surprise free give aways (instructions not included-figure it out yourself). I’m sure every one took something new home and are practicing right now. I hope they’re getting ready to perform an the next SAM #12 meeting.

Special thanks to Adam Moore who was responsible for coordinating the financials of the auction and to former Minnesotan Geoff Williams for creating the computer program that tracks all of the sales.

Monthly refreshments were thoughtfully provided by Paul Ladig (sandwiches); Tom O’Lenick (popcorn) and, of course, hostess Jennifer Kahlow (soda, brownies and cookies). Please remember that members are encouraged to bring a snack to share with the group at each meeting.

Also, as a reminder, The Assembly #12 February meeting date has been moved back one week to Friday, February 23 at 7pm because of a travel conflict with our hosts, Jennifer and Larry Kahlow of Eagle Magic and Joke Store who will be on an anniversary cruise at the time of our regular meeting. Be sure to put the new date in your calendar and be sure to attend. The theme will be “Paper Money and Coin Magic Tricks.” There will be a drawing for magic provided by our magic dealer friends ( MagicbyGosh.com, PaulRichardsMagic.com and Hocus-Pocus.com ) if you perform for the group!

Pictured: (clockwise from upper left) – Tom O’Lenick, Larry Kahlow,

Paul Cook, Kevin Smith and Paul Black; (center) Jerry Martin.

A June meeting was added to our regular meeting schedule (Sept to May). To make it special, we started off with a social hour and picnic/bbq prior to the magic. Thanks to President Tom O’Lenick who provided brats/dogs and buns which we grilled outside our Eagle Magic Store meeting location. Other members brought various chips, soda, water, adult beverages, deserts and ice cream that were graciously shared.

Following a brief business meeting, we debriefed about recent local lectures (Ken Dyne and Eugene Burger) and the regional AbraCORNdabra convention that many attended. The group also was reminded of the upcoming free lecture by Max Krause sponsored jointly by the SAM and IBM groups.

The theme for the month was “Newspaper Magic.” The performers included:
Paul Cook and Steve Peer who each did clever variations of a newspaper clip line effect. Kevin Smith (with the help of Paul Black) identified the selected card by ultimately snipping four diamond shapes from a small piece of newspaper. Using a folded sheet of newspaper, Larry Kahlow was able to tear silhouettes of three chosen cards from the paper. Greg Broder shared a paper tear that created a Christian message using the word “Hell” and formed a “Cross.” Finally, Paul Ladig showed a comic newspaper headline that he uses when he performs the Wrist Chopper.

For “Teach-a-Trick,” Tom O’Lenick demonstrated another Newspaper Test (clip line type effect). First, the newspaper column was cut at the point chosen by Jerry Martin. He then picked a word from a few lines near the “cut point.” That thought of word was revealed by O’Lenick, as well as the sentence that contained the word. Historical reference: The original idea of a “Newspaper Test” was first published in 1964 by Albert Spackman in the British magic magazine “The Gen.”

Now a message from our sponsors! Greg Broder won the drawing for a performance prize donated by Steve Goshman of MagicbyGosh.com; Jerry Martin won the attendance prize donated by Paul Gross of Hocus-Pocus.com.

SAM Assembly #12 will be on hiatus through the summer months. Our next meeting will be on Friday, September 22. If your travel brings you to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, please attend the meeting. Until soon, best magical wishes, TomOL

Following the SAM business (committee reports, upcoming conventions, lectures, Good and Welfare updates); during the Teach-a-Trick portion of the meeting President Tom O’Lenick showed a drawing pad effect appropriate for children’s shows. The assistant selects an image from a small note pad containing about 50 images of easily recognized colored designs. When the prediction was opened it contained a duplicate of the chosen design. A utility prop know as a “Sven Pad” was used and the method is variation on the well know Svengali Principle.

Tonight performers each showed tricks related to the theme “ESP, Mentalism and Mindreading.” Paul Ladig demonstrated “Future Mental” where one of three chosen colored balls vanished from a closed wooden box and end up in his pocket. Larry Kahlow used a Color Vision Cube in a different way that fooled many. Adam Moore chose a volunteer that somehow knew exactly what he had on his mind. Then, Drew Hansen demonstrated how he could find the card a person was thinking of.

Sandwiches that were provided by Paul Ladig and snacks, soda, water and coffee by others were prepared by Jennifer Kahlow and enjoyed while everybody talked about magic with each other for the rest of the evening.

Before everyone left, we conducted the drawing for this month’s attendance prizes. The “give-aways” were donated by Max Krause of InnovativeDeceptions.com; And, Andi Gladwin of VanishingIncMagic.com. Congratulations to the winners, Kevin Smith, Paul Ladig and Drew Hansen.

The group also voted to hold an additional monthly meeting on June 16th (third Friday of the month). We will get together earlier than usual (6 o’clock) and grill brats outside the store for supper. Join us when the theme will be: Your favorite trick with a Newspaper. I wonder who will perform Gene Anderson’s Newspaper Tear?

Upper Left: Drew Hansen. Upper Right: Larry Kahlow
Center: SAM members (left to right): Tom O’Lenick, Steve Peer, Paul Black, Drew Hansen, Kevin Smith, Brad Gudim, Larry Kahlow, Paul Ladig, Paul Cook, Jerry Martin, Adam Moore. Bottom: Kevin Smith and Adam Moore.