On the Cover By Karl Rabe

Magic Messenger February 2025

Tara McAllister links some rings at our January meeting.

President's Corner By Sean Howell

My fellow compeers,

I apologize for missing last month's meeting; we had a family emergency here at the homestead. All is well now; Tracy is doing better and the doctors took great care of her. We appreciate all of the heartfelt well wishes and positive vibes sent our way.

I will not be at this month's meeting for a much different reason. Mirf and I are headed to Dade City, Florida for the Bay Area Renaissance Festival or more affectionately referred to in the RenFest community as BARF. I will miss all of you but have no fear, you're in good hands. Mike will emcee the meeting with Karl and Tara's help. If it wasn't for Mirf not being there you probably wouldn’t even notice I'm not there ;-)…just kidding, I know you'll all be sobbing…missing Mirf.

Our goal for this year is to increase attendance of our members at the monthly meetings. How we plan to do that is by offering you and our guests the best content available. We just had our annual in person planning meeting for the year and there are some exciting developments. Moving into the future with a constant eye on being the best magic club we can be. We have the greatest members that have so much to offer, Karl Rabe has implemented an electronic sign-up system for educational spots, feature performers, and upcoming contests in an effort to make it easier for you to volunteer.

We are going to have another club close up competition and we are adding a club parlor competition. In the spirit of competition, and since the close-up competition was such a hit last year, we decided to add a parlor competition for members to bring their best parlor act to the club stage. This is separate from the Parlor Show but that doesn’t mean if you're in the Parlor Show you can't use the same act in the parlor competition, in fact I encourage it.

The slate is set for the next Parlor Show May 24, 2025. In an effort to be more family friendly we have moved show times from 4 and 7 PM to 2 and 5 PM. We are also going to make tickets available again for members to be able to sell to friends, family and even strangers. This springs lineup is going to be incredible. Zoom rehearsals will Begin March 6 from 7:00 PM until 8:08 PMish when the Sterlini auction begins. If you're asking yourself: "Self; what's the Sterlini auction?" I'll tell you in a minute. First, Zoom rehearsals are for those that are performing in the show. I ask performers to attend at least one Zoom rehearsal so that I can see what the act is so I can arrange the order of performers in a way that offers the most success to the performers and maximum entertainment for the audience. Some performers need more than one session to prepare so I make sure I'm there to support in any way that I can. The Zoom rehearsals are open to all club members that would like to watch the performances and give positive helpful critiques or just enjoy the show and conversation. I always seem to learn something from every parlor show we do from our members and I love to see that continuing. While I will not be there in person, I will be there virtually as much as possible.

Lastly, Sterlini's Auction. Is every Thursday evening around 8:08 PMish on a Facebook Live session in the Sterlini's Magical Mayhem! Group. Live at the Magic Capitol of the World, Colon Mi. It's an online auction. Up for bids are all kinds of things from the old common, unusual, rare and funny items auctioned almost every week. It’s a very laid back, no pressure auction. No fees but some reserves on some expensive and rare items. If you're interested in attending. You must be a Facebook member and join the group. John and Tam Sterlini host.

Editor's Note

Find and Join Sterlini's Magical Mayhem! Facebook group here.

There will be a live video feed where you watch John and crew display different items up for bid. Those watching bid by making a comment in the chat. Payment and shipping is settled up after. Typically Sterlini will "hold" items for you in a box with your name on it and you can accumulate purchased items over time and then pick them up when you are able, have another member pick them up for you, or have them shipped. I have joined many times and so far have not bought anything. It is fun to watch and see the comments.

If you've read this far, Thank you. I look forward to seeing you all in the future.

Cheers,
Sean

Secretary's Report By Karl Rabe

All photos courtesy of Mike Palko.

We kicked off our meeting with our featured performer Dan Jones. Dan performed a great Milk and Cookies for Santa routine. Milk poured into a hank miraculously transformed into Oreos and the milk re-appeared in a glass inside the Oreo box. Then Dan performed an old favorite… the first trick he ever learned… Dan Harlan's "Hold it, Buster"… a four jumbo card Monty style routine with a story relating to his Dad "Buster" and chores that Dan failed to do.

Then it was on to some bits of club business. Our former President Dan Jones called the board members up and they were sworn it. After a bit of tomfoolery around "state your name", the task was finally completed with the appropriate pomp and circumstance. Our 2025/2026 board consists of Sean Howell (President), Mike Bogdas (VP), Karl Rabe (Sec), Rob Krozal (Treas) and Tara McAllister (Sgt at Arms).

Then two board members, Karl Rabe and Mike Bodgas presented the 2024 Top Contributor awards which is to recognize club members that frequently and consistently contribute their time and talent to further the mission of the club. Over the course of the calendar year, members accumulate points for engaging in activities such as performing in a club show, volunteering for an event and even performing at a club meeting. At the end of the year, members who have at least 25 points, are awarded a Top Contributor Ace of Spades lapel pin. This year we recognized 11 members: Mike Bogdas, Robert Goodwin, Sean Howell, Kaylin Janiczek, Dan Jones, Phil Mann, Tara McAllister, Charlie Palko, Bill Rabe, Karl Rabe and Mike Thornton. Honorable Mentions went to Alex Heath, Rob Krozal, April Barrett and Ming Louie who accumulated between 20 and 25 points.

Watch the presentations for Sean and Kay. Sean was not able to be present.

Then it was on to Member Performances.

• Mike Bogdas performed a quick routine making a silk appear in a crystal box.
• Kinetic Kay met the challenge presented by Phil Mann to juggle three light-up pom-pom type balls.
• Phil Mann lured Dan Jones onstage and made his head disappear via a Fab Magic Light Head box and LED illuminated swords.
• Tara McAllister shared the linking ring routine she is working on.
• Johnny New York performed a great Tour Of Italy Wine Tasting routine. After producing a bottle of wine, he allowed a number of members to choose a bottle of wine off of different menus. The total cost of the members selection added to a number found on a piece of paper inside the bottle.
• Our youngest member Lincoln Stone after proclaiming he was eleven years old and had been performing magic for 15 years went on to shared several effects including an floating apple (Ala zombie) routine, a card trick and a card warp routine with a borrowed dollar bill and a playing card.
• Karl Rabe performed a bit of silliness claiming he couldn't find the trick he planned on performing but discovered while searching his pockets a small Waldo Statue and then a small Nemo fish.

Then members spent the rest of the evening socializing, jamming and generally having a great time.

Around the Town By Karl Rabe

Other Calendars

• Check out John Luka's Magic page and his well maintained list of Michigan Events
• All AAMC Events and details can be viewed on the website calendar.

If you attended our November meeting, you experienced a great lecture by Dreygon. Dreygon recently appeared on Penn and Teller. Congratulations Dreygon! Watch it here.

Around the Town By Karl Rabe

Other Calendars

• Check out John Luka's Magic page and his well maintained list of Michigan Events
• All AAMC Events and details can be viewed on the website calendar.

If you attended our November meeting, you experienced a great lecture by Dreygon. Dreygon recently appeared on Penn and Teller. Congratulations Dreygon! Watch it here.

Spotlight By Karl Rabe

As a reoccurring feature of the Magic Messenger we will highlight a member and ask them to answer

 a few questions about themselves. This month the "Spotlight" is on Jeff Boyer.

Where did you grow up / where have you lived? 

I grew up in Chelsea and have lived in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Lansing, Redford, and Stockbridge.

How did you get started in magic? 

I got started in magic in 1971 when my mom bought me a pair of PF Flyers (shoes) at Dancer’s Department store in Chelsea. It’s now The Common Grill. PF Flyers had a promotion where they gave a free magic trick when you bought a pair of shoes. The trick was the Devils Hook. It was made of metal, but now it’s made of plastic. I wish I still had it. I was so intrigued by this trick that I asked my parents to get me a magic kit.

What type of magic do you perform? 

I perform comedy magic.

What is your favorite magic book? 

The book that has the most impact on my is George Schindler’s Magic With Everyday Objects. When I realized Magic could be done with anything, that opens up my eyes to create unique routines.

Who is your favorite Magician of all time? 

There are too many great magicians to name one.

Do you have any words of wisdom for newer magicians?

My words of wisdom for newer magicians is to find your stage personality and build off of that. Also, to get good, you need to do a lot of magic shows. Greatness comes from experience. Keep getting experience and learn from each performance.

Funny Business By Karl Rabe

Funny Bones

What do you get a magician for his birthday ?
Nothing, just pick a card, any card.

Rings of Yore

Select excerpts from the IBM Ring Reports archive...

Ten years ago some dude named Sean joined the club… (Secretary Jim Folkl)

Our February meeting opened with election of officers and formal acceptance of eight new members. The board for 2015 is: President John Russell, Vice President Scott Kindschy, Secretary Jim Folkl, Treasurer Dan Jones, and Sergeant-at-Arms Bob Waite.

The new members are Brody Jamieson, Molly Larson, Carl Massie, Jr., Scott Mitchell, Sean Naes, Paul Nielsen, Mark O’Brien, and Richard Triemer.

40 Years ago Paul Gertner lectured… (Secretary Jack Savage)

When 1985 is written into the books, the highlight of the year will be the February meeting. That's the one where we had none other than PAUL GERTNER in a rare per­sonal appearance.
The meeting was held at the fine facility in the Detroit Edison Building in Ann Arbor. The uniqueness of the appearance of this star per­former drew attendees from Detroit, Flint, Toledo, and Lansing.

Paul was appearing at the Society of Auto­motive Engineers show in Detroit and, after some persuasion by Tony Chaudhuri, our Special Events Chairman, he agreed to do a show and lecture for our Club.

This format was a little different than the usual lecturer's presentation. Paul did a very entertaining one-hour show which included fantastic card and coin effects and bits and pieces of the stuff he uses in his trade show act. After a brief intermission he went into the "how to" portion of this enjoyable evening and concluded with advice and anecdotes about trade show performing. The comments afterward were most enthusiastic, both about Paul and the "show'Vlecture format.