I.B.M. Ring 362
Dr. James William Elliott Ring
Bangor, Maine

Ring Report
October 15, 2006

The October Meeting was held at the Friars' Bakehouse in Bangor, Maine. The theme of the meeting was Houdini Night.

The Ring's newest member, John Cushing, opened the performance by Twisting the Aces, escaping from Crazy Man's Handcuffs, and divining a thought-of name, with the first initial of that name appearing on his arm. Professor Miller performed A Dream of Aces to music, showing an uncanny ability to cut to the aces, and to make the aces travel from one pile to another.

Brother Don Paul told a story of a relative who had been an assistant to Houdini. The man was a gambler and had wagered all in a poker game, hoping for his lucky card. After an volunteer selected a card, Brother Don let someone else read his relative's letter describing the wager and naming the lucky card, the Seven of Clubs. Sadly, the letter revealed, he had missed getting the lucky card by one and lost all. The selected card was revealed as the Six of Clubs.

Wes Booth followed with the Trick That Fooled Houdini, Thurston's Card Rise. Not only did the selected card rise from the deck, but it also floated in the air as Wes stepped away from it. Scott Grassette performed Houdini's Favorite Close-up Trick, making a pair of matches held in each hand penetrate each other. Alan Drew performed a daring escape from a rubber band, then performed a card effect with three cards. The Jack, representing Houdini, was picked and "escaped," leaving a volunteer with a blank card.

Danny Baker had his hands tied behind his back, but was in and out in a flash, using his free hands to guide audience members so smoothly that they hardly noticed his hand was free. He then pulled a rope through someone else's neck. Conjuring Carroll had two people tie him to a chair with 100 feet of rope, then escaped dramatically to music.

Dr. Wilson performed the Chrysalis escape. After being searched with a handheld metal detector by a security professional, he was bound in a slave collar, padlocking manacles, twenty-five feet of chain, and nine padlocks. He was then blindfolded, had his head covered with a capture hood, his body draped in a cowl, and bound with twenty feet of heavy chain secured with five padlocks on the outside. He escaped.

Brian-Keith Taylor shrank a die by sucking the air out of it, then reinflated it to its original size. Wes Booth showed his stuff with a comedy card revelation. His missed the card. After the Insurance Policy failed him, he showed his Can't Miss Card Revelation, a board with the entire deck glued to it. When we were done laughing, he turned it around to reveal the selected card. He also demonstrated and sold a Poker Chip Prediction. Brother Don closed the show. First, he managed to produce the impression of a particular card on a volunteer using only his voice and a deck of cards with blank faces. Then, an audience member told their birthday. A card was written by that day in Brother Don's day planner. The selected card matched the one held in a sealed prediction envelope.

Full details of the business meeting and photos are available on the Ring's web site (www.ibmring362.org).