Once again another year has rolled past and it is time for our Annual Banquet (Saturday, January 16th is the date). Tim Pendergast will be taking reservations for the Banquet. If you don't make a reservation we won't have a meal for you. People planning on attending need to call Tim at (970) 225-0708, to make reservations, by no later than Wednesday, January 13. Dinner will cost $12 per person, $7 for kids. (The actual cost is somewhat higher than that, but the club will be subsidizing the difference.)

There are three choices for dinner. These choices must be made in advance, when you call Tim for reservations. Choice # 1 is, Savory Baked Stuffed Chicken in a light cream sauce, served with Rice Pilaf, side of fruit, roll & butter; choice #2, Great Western Smoked Beef Brisket, barbeque on the side, Pasta Ribbon salad, corn, roll & butter; or choice #3, Vegetarian Option (low fat). All entrees include coffee and a light dessert. The shindig will begin with a cocktail hour at 6 pm, with dinner to follow at 7 pm. Entertainment following dinner is TBA. The venue is the Colombine Room of the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, 417 West Magnolia Street.

This is also, traditionally, a good time to pay your club dues to renew your membership in the PrestoDigitators magic club. The dues are $15 for regular membership ($2 for an associate membership).

The theme of the November meeting of the Presto-Digitators was "Stripper Decks." Actually, attendees were encouraged to bring any and all types of gaffed decks. Geoff Thompson displayed and discussed a regular stripper deck and belly strippers. Geoff covered various uses for both props. Bill (Dr. Wonderful) Futrell demonstrated an effect which utilized a bizarre looking device whose actual purpose was to measure barometric pressure. Bill used it to discover the name of a thought-of playing card. Byron Ferguson demonstrated several effects using the rough and smooth principle. Byron inadvertently dropped one deck and as it cascaded to the floor, Hudson Grotzinger was heard to say, "That deck must have been smooth and smooth!" Hudson's quips are few and far between but when he comes up with one, it's worth waiting for.

Lew (Loudini) Wymisner used this meeting to rummage through his collection of seldom used props. He demonstrated the Invisible Coin card trick, Paul Harris' Screwed deck, Tony Curtis' Vanishing Deck, Devano Rising Cards, Mental Photography (not on the seldom used list), and several more trick decks including an Electric Deck. Larry Davis coincidentally brought some of the same effects Lew had just demonstrated. Larry also showed a miniature Brain Wave deck and a diabolically marked deck where one had to defocus to see the name of the card in 3-D. Jack (Shifty) Shirey did a nice job performing Dan Harlan's Hover Card. Jack had just purchased this effect from Aldo Colombini at September's Magic in the Rockies.

"Chris the Balloon Guy," who was an invited guest of Monte Haines, demonstrated his craft with some interesting balloon objects d'art. He would like to learn some magic to accompany his twisted creatures which he produces at the local Golden Corral restaurant. Chris was invited to come to future meetings and to consider joining the club. The meeting finished with some excerpts from the Don Alan Magic Ranch video tapes which the club had recently purchased from Fred Baisch's Twin Cities Magic booth at Magic in the Rockies. The segment shown included a performance by one of Don's junior magicians, which for some club members was like looking into a "Pleasantville" mirror/time warp of their youth. Next up was, for many in attendance, the highlight of the meeting, the segment of Magic Ranch featuring the Coney Island Faker, Al Flosso. A huge "thank you" to William H. McIlhany for releasing these priceless moments to the magic public.

The monthly custom continued, as several club members traveled downtown to Old Town Fort Collins to CooperSmith's Brew Pub for more conversation and fine refreshments.

Lew Wymisner

Although the Presto-Digitators have no formal meeting scheduled in December, due to the holidays, this December we did meet early in the month for the special purpose of a lecture by Mike Close. He was on the last leg of a 57 city tour which was winding up in Colorado. After Fort Collins and the Presto-Digitators, Mike was scheduled to lecture in Denver and in Colorado Springs. A review of his lecture would be somewhat superfluous, since Mike told us he was, in effect, going back to the drawing board and wouldn't be doing any more lectures for at least the next ten years. He was going to re-concentrate his efforts on performing and working on new routines which he would then publish and lecture on somewhere down the line.

His lecture contained some wonderful effects but of equal importance was his philosophy about magic, practice, routining, and performing. Luckily, most, if not all of what he espouses can be culled either from his "Workers" series or from his newly released videos (with more to come). Suffice it to say that anyone who chooses to be tutored by Mike Close, through his books or videos, is on track to become a better magician. His time in Fort Collins will be long remembered. Order of Merlin member Hudson Grotzinger was overheard to say, "That was the best lecture I've been to in 20 years!"

After the lecture, several club members moved the proceedings downtown to Old Town Fort Collins and CooperSmith's Brew Pub. There, they had time to absorb more than just the information that had been imparted to them earlier that evening

Lew Wymisner

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We were very fortunate to have Michael Close visit Colorado to present "The Farewell Lecture Tour". I was personally motivated by his challenge, "find something and fix it!" An example of this kind of thinking was "Renaldo the Great" which certainly elevated the Royal prayer vase to new heights.

To end the year, the Presto-Digitators will present ten shows for the First Night Ft. Collins celebration.

Please mark your calendars for "Magic in the Rockies '99", to be held at the Ft. Collins Marriot, 350 East Horsetooth Rd., Ft. Collins CO., on September 10, 11, and 12, 1999.

Congratulations to Steve Kendall who is a new member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Ed Hurtubis

Happy New Year everyone! As we mentioned in the last newsletter, the club is sending out a questionaire this month. Your names are optional, and I promise that the information gathered will only be used by the club and your responses will be kept confidential. If you do put your name on the survey, you will be eligible for a drawing to reward those who respond. [Complimentary dues for 1999. - ed.] Please return these questionaires, either at the January banquet, the February meeting or mail them to me at the address below:

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GENERAL INFO

Your Name (optional):

What year were you born?

What is your occupation?

Do you own or have access to a computer?

If yes, do you have email?

Can you access the Internet?

MAGICAL BACKGROUND

How long have you been involved in magic?

How did you get interested?

Who would you say is your biggest influence or favorite performer?

What are your favorite tricks?

What is your favorite book(s)?

What is your favorite video(s)?

How often do you work on magic?

If yes, how often? If no, why not?

Do you perform?

What type of magic do you perform?

How would you describe your performance style?

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLUB

How often do you go to club meetings?

What do you like about club meetings?

What do you dislike about club meetings?

Are there any changes or improvements you would like to see at club meetings?

What types of magic would you be interested in learning more of?

Would you like to have workshops on specific subjects?

If yes, what subjects?

Would you like to see more performances of magic, by members, at club meetings?

Do you enjoy the lectures put on by the club?

What type of lectures would you like to see in the future?

Would you be interested in a Trick-of-the-Month raffle at regular meeting?

Would you be interested in more magic content (tricks, performance ideas, e

tc.) in the newsletter?

If yes, would you be willing to contribute to it?

If the club could provide you with most or all of the suggestions you have

made above, would you be willing to pay a few dollars a year more in dues?

Why or Why not?

If yes, would you be willing to perform?

Would you like to see the club have a book library?

Any comments?