Ring Report
November 15, 2009

Minutes for this meeting.

The theme for the November meeting was Turkeys, highlighting bad ideas and inferior products in magic. Dr. Wilson showed a Bicycle Eco Deck, which starts off promisingly, with a drab brown card box that appears to be made of recycled materials, but the color scheme on the cards seems to carry the message that saving the planet involves abandoning attractive colors. Perhaps it will compost well? The Magical Popcorn Box performs as advertised, but handles a very small load compared to its size.

Danny Baker showed a bottle production from silks that allows the silks to be shown almost freely before a bottle is produced. A plastic bottle is best, because the magic involves considerable fumbling and the occasional drop, which Danny demonstrated. Danny demonstrated a production box that requires loud music to cover its operation, despite the very limited load that it will carry. Danny also displayed a floating glass advertised as being usable with any bottle. While that part of the ad was true, the device is loud, awkward to use, and carries a substantial risk of injury to the performer. Now that's a turkey!

Professor Miller showed his Chen Lee Water Suspension, which suffers from a number of manufacturing shortcuts designed to reduce the cost. These really mess up the handling of a fine effect. He went on to demonstrate a version of the Floating Butterfly, a venerable classic in which a pair of tissue-paper butterflies is kept aloft by a fan. This version is most generously described as being a starting point for research. Professor Miller then demonstrated his frustration with a commercial Blendo, which although attractive, does not handle well.

Dayton Salisbury used a Raven for a coin vanish, complaining about the noise. Well, Dayton, if it were really quiet they would have called it an Owl! Alan Drew demonstrated a magical Coloring Book, a lame enough effect even when it works. With this one, Alan brought forth gales of laughter from an audience of magicians, wondering what was so funny. It seems that due to a manufacturing error, none of the transformations take place, and the pages remain blank no matter how the book is handled.

Prashant Srivastava, who is perfectly capable of executing a color change using sleight of hand, showed a silly mechanical card that changes from the Four of Diamonds to the Six. If the device is held close enough for the audience to see clearly, it is all too clear how it works. They can also see that the card index does not change. If it is held far enough away so that these flaws are not evident, it is barely possible to see anything happening at all.

With the Turkeys out of the way, it was time for some good magic. First-time visitor Logan Rouse restored a chewed Lifesaver, drawing it through the flesh of his throat with a piece of dental floss. He also had a card selected and returned to a red-backed deck. He found the card easily enough, as it was the only red card in a deck whose backs were now all blue! Prashant Srivastava and Dr. Wilson also performed some magic that they liked.

Full details of the business meeting and photos can be found at www.ibmring362.org.