November 2020 Sad News - James Randi, famous for breaking Harry Houdini’s submersion record, dies aged 92 Via AP News Wire Thursday 22 October 2020 James Randi, a magician who later challenged spoon benders, mind readers and faith healers with such voracity that he became regarded as the country’s foremost sceptic, has died, his foundation announced. He was 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation confirmed the death, saying simply that its founder succumbed to “age-related causes” on Monday. Entertainer, genius, debunker, atheist ̶ Randi was them all. He began gaining attention not long after dropping out of high school to join the carnival. As the Amazing Randi, he escaped from a locked coffin submerged in water and from a straitjacket as he dangled over Niagara Falls. Magical as his feats seemed, Randi concluded his shows around the globe with a simple statement, insisting no otherworldly powers were at play. The magician’s transparency gave a glimpse of what would become his longest-running act, as the country’s sceptic-in-chief. In that role, his first widely seen exploit was also his most lasting. On a 1972 episode of “The Tonight Show,” he helped Johnny Carson set up Uri Geller the Israeli performer who claimed to bend spoons with his mind. Randi ensured the spoons and other props were kept from Geller’s hands until showtime to prevent any tampering. The result was an agonizing 22 minutes in which Geller was unable to perform any tricks. Randi had bushy white eyebrows and beard, a bald head, and gold-rimmed glasses, and bounced his 5-foot-6 (1.6 meter) frame energetically, even in his final years. He sought to disprove not just those who read palms and minds, but chiropractors, homeopaths and others he saw as predators seeking innocent people’s money. Randi targeted those he saw as frauds with a tenacity and dedication he admitted was an obsession. His efforts were reminiscent of those of his great predecessor Harry Houdini, who devoted large portions of his time to debunking spiritualists and their seances. “I see people being swindled every day by medical quackery, frauds of every sort, psychics and their hot lines, people who claim to be able to find lost children or to help them invest their money,” Randi told The Associated Press in 1998. “I know they are being swindled be- cause I know the methods being used.” There were other coups for Randi: He once showed the messages television faith healer Peter Popoff claimed to be getting from God about his audience were actually coming from his wife through an earpiece. But the vast majority of those he aimed to show as frauds were lesser known, lured to prove their abilities by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Through that organization, Randi was guardian of a $1 million prize he promised to give anyone who could prove either their own supernatural powers or the presence of a super- natural being. His loudest detractors said they didn’t believe the money even existed, but Randi had the bank documentation. No one ever came close to collecting. Randi gave up the day-to-day operation of his foundation in 2009 and retired in 2015. Born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge in Toronto on Aug. 7, 1928, Randi had a nagging desire to question from a young age. Academically, he said he was bored in school and teachers acknowledged he was prodigy far ahead of his peers. He never earned a high school diploma or went to college but in 1986 was awarded a prestigious MacArthur fellow- ship, often known simply as a “genius grant.” He spoke with certainty. While he said he never really questioned his beliefs, he acknowl- edged there was always a chance he was wrong. “I am probably right. But I’m always only probably right,” he said. “Absolutes are very hard to find.” For all the analysis Randi put into seemingly everything, he still found delight in observing magic he knew was a stunt or watching a film that was just fantasy. He talked about the crushing feelings of watching a friend die and spoke of the magic of love. In 2010, he an- nounced he was gay. In 2013, he married his long-time partner, Deyvi Pena, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. He was the subject of a 2014 documentary, “An Honest Liar.” Penn Jillette, a magician in the mould of Randi, mourned his friend on Twitter on Tuesday night, writing: “We will never forget that without Randi, there would not be Penn & Teller. Randi said he couldn’t help feeling angry that his targets always seemed to perform escape acts of their own, continuing to win new followers and earn checks he said were cashed at reality’s expense. He wanted to see frauds punished, but he recognized most people wanted to believe. “The true believers,” he said, “will not pay any attention to evidence that does not show what they believe to be true.” It was frustrating to Randi and fuelled an underlying anger toward those he labelled frauds. When he let his displeasure slip out, though, it often was mixed with wit, as when asked about his final wishes and how he’d like his ashes disposed. “My best friend is instructed to throw them in Uri Geller’s eyes,” he said. “I’d like him to get an eyeful of my ashes. I think that would be appropriate.” POLITICALLY INCORRECT CORNER CORONAVIRUS PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT COUGHING NEAR TO ANOTHER PERSON IS ILLEGAL AS FROM TODAY. YOU SHOULD ONLY COUGH WHEN FAR AWAY FROM ANYONE. SO, IF A PERSON COUGHS NEAR YOU, PLEASE TELL THEM TO . FAR COUGH! A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT Hello one and all, once again I hope you’re all keeping safe and well! So what’s been happening? Our club meetings are still being held online and will do until further notice. Nevertheless a great helping of magic has been shared over the last few months by means of notepad lectures and performances by our very own members. 6th October - Not the presidents night Our October meeting is traditionally ‘Presidents night’ however as we have not been able to meet in person this year, committee decided we’d re- brand and have ‘Not the Presidents Night!’ This was an evening of entertainment provided by yours truly and some of our very own fantastic NWMC magician members! Part 1 The evening was opened with myself performing a short, but fun piece of card magic by John Bannon called ‘Spin Doctor.’ This multi-phase routine begins with 4 aces turning over one by one followed by the 4 aces then all turning over altogether. For a kicker ending, the backs of the cards they’ve seen throughout the entire trick now change to four cards from four completely different decks! Nick Marshall Our first performer was by our very own Nick Marshall. Nick specialises in close up magic providing entertainment for Birthdays, corporate events, engagement parties and weddings. He is also house entertainer at Cruise nightclub in Chester where he makes a weekly evening appearance providing party and club goers with stunning and visual effects sure to leave them astounded and speechless! On the night Nick treated us to some card and coin magic. Part 2 My Second performance was a very unique and visual routine called ‘The Charming Chinese Challenge’ by Troy Hooser. In this routine you present a piece of red ribbon and 3 Chinese coins which (traditionally) have holes in their centre. You ask a member of the audi- ence to thread the coins onto the ribbon. You then one by one take the coins off the ribbon by making them penetrate through the ribbon right under everyone’s noses! For a final kicker ending, two of the coins have been taken off which are tabled and the final coin is seen still on the ribbon which gets wrapped around your hand. Just a magical gesture later and the coin has vanished from the magicians hand and has joined the other two coins on the table! Chris Williams Chris is a stage performer, children’s entertainer and founder of ‘The Magic Bar’ in Llandud- no. On the night, Chris entertained us all with a very fun and comical show. He showed us 2 sets of cards side by side which he dealt through simultaneously. On their faces were socks, but not in matching pairs. As he dealt through them, showing socks of diffi- cult colours and designs, a member of the audience was asked to stop him dealing through the decks at any time they liked. Once they called stopped the two cards at that point were put to one side and the rest of the decks were quickly dealt through to show all the different none-matching pairs. The 2 selected cards were turned over and to our surprise they didn’t make a matching pair! In a funny and surprising twist, Chris came to stand in front of his table to show us him in his finest underwear and odd socks on which matched the cards that the spectator stopped at! Part 3 Back but not by popular demand I performed a third trick! This time, keeping with the here and now, tech. was involved. A prediction was presented and left in full view throughout. A member of the audience uses a sketch pad on their smartphone. They are asked to choose any colour they wish and then asked to draw a shape. This is repeated until their page has various shapes of various colours on it.