I.B.M RING #250 FT. COLLINS, CO
VOL.20, Number 11 November 1999
November Meeting
OK now, see if you can stay with me on this one. The cumulative thought process of your
illustrious board of club meeting planners took a "free associative, stream o'
consciousness" approach for this month's regular meeting. This month's theme is
"One Handed Magic" in honor of the incomparable Rene Lavand. As you know, Mr.
Lavand is the world renowned Argentine magician who has taken creative, entertaining ,
close - up magic to a new level, only partly, because he performs all of his amazing magic
with only one hand! Mr. Lavand lost the use of his right hand in an accident as a young
man. We don't really expect many or you to show up with a one - handed magic trick to
perform (unless you've got one you've been working on) or even to discuss the genre of one
- handed magic with much authority (unless you can). So, in order to expand our topic a
bit, we shall perform and/or discuss any magic that is performed without one of the 5
senses. Not broad enough? How about magic performed for a sense deprived or foreign
language audience? Still confused? Well, don't worry, so are we. come to the meeting
anyway. It promises to be an interesting evening. Rm. 210, Colorado State Office Bldg.,
3842 S. Mason St,. Thursday, November 18th, 7:30 pm.
Election Time
Its that time of year again. The time when we ask, "doesn't anyone else want this
#@!$ job?" The slate of new (slightly used) officers having been proposed, we have
enclosed the year 2000 ballot to those who are IBM members and ask that you give us some
input on who is running the asylum. For those who are not IBM members, we'd still like
your input so here, FYI, is the current lineup.: President : Bob Blea Veep (w/ no
intentions of ascension): Lew Wymisner Money Fondler: Byron Ferguson Secretariat: Larry
Davis rotidE retteL sweN: Geoff Thompson Surgeon with Arms: Tim Pendergast Web Meister:
Byron Ferguson
Upcoming Events
Darwin Ortiz is scheduled to lecture in Colorado Springs on Saturday, November 20th.
Contact Ken Simmons at Onyx Publications, 5265 N. Academy Blvd., Suite #3300, Colorado
Springs, CO. 80918 , for more information. The next planning meeting is scheduled for
Wednesday, December 1st, and will be held at the State Office bldg. at 6:00 pm. As always
any & all club members are welcome to attend to assist or observe the decision making
process. As an added incentive, we usually continue our discussions afterwards at
CooperSmith's. On Friday, December 3rd from 8-10 pm, several members of the
PrestoDigitators will be making their sophomore appearance at the Rocky Mountain Coffee
Connection, 2555 S. Shields. Close up magic, cabaret magic, fun & laughter all the way
around. If its anything like the last time, it should be a blast. Tell your friends.
Traditionally we do not have a regular monthly meeting in December. This year however we
have decided to scoff at tradition (mostly because someone came up with a darn good reason
to have a meeting). On Thursday December 16th, at 6:00 pm, we will be meeting at the Hunan
Chinese Restaurant, 731 E. Harmony Rd. (next to Red Robin). The purpose of this meeting is
to celebrate Hudson Grotzinger's birthday and, secondarily, as a Holiday Party. If you
would like to attend please contact Lew Wymisner at (970)484-7014 or email -
lew@thegreatloudini.com , so that he can get an accurate dinner count. Spouses,
significant others and friends are welcome. Members of the PrestoDigitators will once
again be performing for First Night Fort Collins on December 31st, in Old Town, Ft.
Collins. Anyone interested in performing should contact Lew Wymisner. The PrestoDigitators
Annual Banquet will be held on Saturday January 15th, 2000, at the Lincoln Center
Columbine Room. More info to follow. Mark your calendars now. Magic in the Rockies 2000 is
already in the works for September 8, 9, 10 of 2000.
November 1999 ring report
| The Presto-Digitators braved ghosts and goblins for our
October meeting themed- "Halloween and Houdini." Special guest and club member,
Dr. Ron Dutton, kicked off the meeting with a thoroughly informative and entertaining
lecture on Houdini memorabilia. 
Dr. Ron Dutton. |
Ron brought a number of pieces of Houdiniana for the club to view. Dr.
Dutton's presentation included posters of Houdini's metamorphosis, photos reprinted from
original negatives- including a piece with Bess featured as prominently as Houdini.
|
Creative repackaging of a Houdini Magic Book Page
|
Houdini's Favorite Photograph of Himself
|
Equal Billing!
|
A Houdini Ticket
|
Also included in Ron's collection were
reprints of a Dresden Germany ticket, a Soviet "challenge" poster. The prize in
Ron's collection, however, interested all the Houdini buffs in the audience. Dr. Dutton
purchased at auction an actual challenge flyer. Dr. Dutton's story of the auction and his
missed chance at an earlier pristine copy visibly made some members wince.
Russian escape challenge |
An actual challenge flyer
Ron also showed off an actual key from Houdini's collection, beautifully
matted with a reproduction Houdini escape tin sign that almost all magicians have, and a
picture the sign was created from. Thanks to Ron for bringing his varied pieces and making
our Halloween meeting particularly appropriate!
|
Closeup of the challenge
|
An actual key with tin poster and matching repro photo
|
Closeup of the key
|
A known fake but still quite collectible
|
An unusual "In Memory Of" "Poster"
|
An "off-off" broadway production poster
|
| Following Ron's lecture, the more intrepid members of the club
braved the ire of evil spirits with a bit of Halloween themed magic. Bob Blea began the
festivities with a miniature skull and candle, invoking spirits to reveal a selected card.
Bob's Candle
|
The "Skull"
|
Bob reveals the chosen card!
|
Larry Davis
adapted a magic trick from the most recent I.B.M. Linking Ring through the use of
Halloween clip art to create a baffling show stopper mentalism trick. A member spelled the
object on their card as Larry randomly navigated a circle of the face down shuffled cards
to end on the very same selected card! 
Larry's Clip-Art Cards |
Finding the card randomly
|
Byron Ferguson weaved a yarn
of his wife's ancestor- Mike Anthony, and his fateful meeting with legendary Old West
gunslinger- John Wesley Hardin. As the tale unraveled, Mikes final breath's revealed the
cheating Hardin's hole card on a "ghost glass" used to confirm Mikes passage to
the everafter. 
Byron's Wife's Ancestor |
The last dying breath...
|
Lew Wymisner continued the
haunted theme with a story about a man who had died and left behind a photo of his pocket
watch. A member of the audience named the time they thought the world might end, amazingly
matching the time the world end for the story's protagonist. Turning the photo over
revealed the PICTURE of the pocket watch revealed the very same time. Believe it or not! 
Lew Wymisner weaves a ghostly tale
|
A frozen moment in time
|
Virginia
"Ginger the Clown" Febinger exhibited a skeleton key that had been passed down
in her family and that was now in her possession. Eerily, as the key was held in
Virginia's hand it began to turn- as though an unseen hand were turning the key in a door
to the unknown. (Insert Twighlight Zone music here...)
Virginia shows a haunted key
|
The key turns- unassisted!
|
The spooky
evening was capped off with some humorous old video clips of a few "club"
appearances. One video featured a much younger Eric Mead performing with Lew Wymisner for
a cable access news show at Halloween. The two could be seen visibly cracking up in
numerous outtakes. Finally, the last few members gave up the ghost and hit the haunted
highway with an evening's entertainment now just a ghost of a memory.
A clip of a "slightly younger" Lew Wymisner and Eric Mead...
|
TVP THOUGHTS
I am pleased to report the following news release prepared by David Sandy, I.B.M.
Publicity Committee, Public Relations Director: A settlement has been reached in the
lawsuit filed against the International Brotherhood of Magicians by Glen Weissenberger,
Ken Klosterman, and Scott R. Meyer, all members of the organization. Jerry Schnepp,
International President of the I.B.M. and Glenn Weissenberger, one of the plaintiffs and
an attorney for the co-plaintiffs, jointly announced the settlement. The lawsuit was filed
in Hamilton County, Ohio on May 28, 1999. As a result of the settlement the suit will be
dismissed. Terms of the settlement include: confirmation of the policy on the inspection
of the organization’s books and records which was adopted earlier this summer by the
Board of Trustees of the organization; retention of the policy adopted by the organization
in January 1998 requiring the use of membership numbers on nominating petition signatures
as an authentication device; and payment by the organization's insurance carrier to the
plaintiffs of the sum of $5,000. For additional information regarding the settlement (and
many other topics) please check the I.B.M. website: http://www.magician.org [click on the
"latest news".] I would like to ask everyone to consider to volunteer for one of
the many leadership positions (officers, committee members, and people who just want to
help) that will be needed next year. Our local Colorado organizations really need your
help. Please contact one of your representatives today, you may be surprised to learn how
easily your skills can be utilized. Thanks. Lastly, please check the I.B.M. Ring 250,
Presto-Digitators website: http://www.byrini.com/presto/ to see the wonderful highlight
pictures (Byron Ferguson's work) from Magic in the Rockies 1999.
Ed Hurtubis IBM TVP Colorado/Wyoming
I.B.M. RING 250
Information
I.B.M. Ring
250 is the
Presto-Digitators of Fort Collins, CO. Meetings are on
the third Thursday of each month, at 7:30 p.m. in the Colorado State Office Building, at
3842 South Mason St., Ft Collins, CO. 80525
President: Byron Ferguson (303) 277-0323
(byron@byrini.com)
Vice-President: Tim Pendergast (970) 225-0708
Treasurer: Bob Reed (303) 651-3196 (rgreed@uno.com)
Sergeant-at-Arms: Monte Haines (970) 224-0446
Newsletter Editor: Geoff Thompson (307)635-4306 (mckthomp@worldnet.att.net)
Secretary: Lew Wymisner (970) 484-7014
Presto-Digitators website: http://www.byrini.com/presto/