I.B.M RING #250 FT. COLLINS, CO
VOL.19, Number 8 August 1998

The next planning meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September, 2, 6:00pm at Coopersmith's Pub in Ft. Collins. If you have any interest in helping out in some way (big or small) with Magic in the Rockies or any aspect of the Presto-Digitators magic club, please feel free to attend these planning meetings or contact one of the officers. Fresh input from members is always welcome.

Thursday, October 22nd, our own Barry Femenlius will present a lecture of practical magic. There's a pretty good chance at least some of it will have to do with playing cards.

Friday, October 23rd, the Mile High Magicians Society will host a performance by members of the Presto-Digitators at Metro Manor.

In early December we will be presenting a lecture by Michael Close. There may be an additional workshop with Mr. Close on the same day, if there is sufficient interest in this possibility~ More details to follow.

The July meeting of the PrestoDigitators, Ring 250 was our annual President's picnic. This year's picnic, held on July 18, was at Byron Ferguson's house in Golden, Colorado. The palatial 27 acre estate was host to the second largest barbecue ever held in the United States. In addition, many well known luminaries of magic attended; Penn and Teller, David Copperfield, and the Spensers.

Okay, in reality Byron's tiny abode was just big enough to accommodate the crowd of roughly half a dozen. There was in fact, barbecue, though. Byron cooked up a couple briskets on the grill and slathered them in his super secret sauce. The real attendees; Larry Davis, George and Virginia Febinger, Bill Futrell (Dr. Wonderful), and Denver's own-Jerry Stoll (whose guest I must sadly admit I failed to introduce). Dr. Wonderful brought a clever contraption consisting of a square wooden tube open on the front. Various blades could be inserted in the tube, but blocks dropped in passed completely through the blades. It seems Bill had been looking for exactly this device for some time. While at a convention, and visiting a magic store, Bill spied a much older, and somewhat the worse for wear device, taking up space on a high shelf. After rescuing it from its lonely perch, Bill executed a beautiful restoration with new parts and new paint.

The incredibly hot weather that day topped 99 degrees (a new record in Colorado for that date), forcing the crowd to stay inside in the relative coolness of the house. The shaded, but un-airconditioned interior provided a small measure of relief. Magic, as is usually the case, was the topic of conversation. Everyone attending had a swell, if not sweltering time. My personal thanks to everyone who made the out of the way trek to Golden to attend!

In July, I attended the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Los Angeles, CA. Colorado attendees included" Danny Archer, Duane and Mary Laflin, dealers; Larry Campbell, Dave Neighbors, Bill Oberg, Shawn Popp, Earl Reum, Steve Spangler, and John T. Sheets & Corrine; and from Wyoming Bill (Dr. Wonderful) Futrell.

There were four shows, twelve lectures, the Big Three Event (Peter Pit lecture, Close-up, and Cabaret Show), and sixty dealers. My favorites were: Dana Daniels (MC),

Jay Marshall (and Lefty), Darren Romeo, Trevor Lewis, Shimada, Mark Nizer (juggler), Johnny Ace Palmer (close-up & lecture).

At the annual IBM meeting two Colorado members were recognized: Bill Oberg, Order of Merlin (25 years) and Dr. Earl Reum (35 years). In addition, John Bryan, Michael Diekman, and Ned Nedbalski have each earned his Order of Merlin. Congratulations!

I attended Mark Strivings' "Mental Connections" dealer lecture. There were several "one of a kind" items for sale (Owens' Floating Table), Larry Becker's Nostradamus Chest, and Jeff Busby's Versa Table) as well as many other effects, books, and items from Bruce Bernstein, Bob Cassidy, Herb Dewey, Al Mann, John Riggs, Steve Banachek, Richard Webster, and Mark Strivings.

The July Psi-Clones meeting featured Dr. Ron Dutton (assisted by your TVP) leading a discussion of "Psychological" and Other Forces for Mentalists. There were eleven presenters (including Mark Strivings). Dr. Dutton's "Experiments in REMOTE VIEWING" measured the participants level of reciprocal telepathy.