Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. This has been nothing short of a wonderful week. Aron flew in on Tuesday night for a week between summer courses. No matter how hot it gets here in Boston, it’s still a lot cooler than Gainesville. For sure. Lucas returned from his triumphant European tour Thursday afternoon. Last I checked, he was still sleeping. I know he has a ton of pictures, and I can’t wait to hear all of his stories. At least the stories he is willing to share, if you know what I mean. Bonnie, Bones and I spent a really relaxing weekend on Martha’s Vineyard. She didn'’t even have a honey-do list for me. What a girl! The weather was just perfect. So, we hung out on the deck and watched the sailboats go by. We spent some time at the Oak Bluffs Waterfront Festival, where Bonnie bought tickets for every raffle available. She’'ll win one someday. But, it will be for a lifetime supply of Spam, not that handmade quilt she had here eye on. Saturday night we
watched the fireworks over Vineyard Sound. Bang, ooooo, Bang, ooooo, Bang, oooo and on and on. She is a fireworks fanatic. I can get by with looking at the photos of the fireworks. We were home Sunday in time for the late news. Is this too much information? Sometimes I feel like my family adventures might be boring. Tell me if you think so,
OK?
Text-Only Or html? Are you still getting the weekly email Newsletter in text-only format? Why? Drop me a quick note and I will be happy to hook you up with the far-superior html version. This week, an experiment in html. The folks at Topica who handle our weekly mailings, tell me that if I send the email Newsletter as a mult-part document, then those people who have html capability will get it in html and those who have text-only capability will receive it in text only format. I’ll give it a shot, but you need to let me know how it works out, OK?
Jokes of the week: We just received a shipment of Mike Close’s book of jokes, “That Reminds Me.” Bob and Steve have been reading jokes from the book aloud during lulls in the shipping action. These are really funny jokes. Some you can tell your kids, some you can’t. But they will all make you laugh. Trust me on this. Order a copy.
And, now to this week’s excitement.
The Reward Points Program is growing like wildfire. People are collecting their points and already using them to buy new magic. It’s such a good program, like having a sales event 365 days a year! Last week we offered Triple Points, which allowed you to collect an unbelievable number of points in a very short time, This week, have lost our minds. Really, we have!
QUADRUPLE POINTS: As you know, for every retail dollar you spend with us at Hank Lee’s, you will get one Reward Point. Twenty Reward Points can be redeemed for one dollar in merchandise. Two hundred Reward Points gets you $10.00 in free merchandise. And on and on. The points are automatically added, and your point balance will appear on the invoice that comes with your order. There is no limit to the number of points you can collect. The points will not expire, so you can use them any time. All you need to do is tell us how many points you want to redeem when you place your next order (if you are ordering online, just put the number of points you would like to redeem in the Customer Notes Box and we will deduct the proper number of dollars from your order total). The perfect way to save for future orders! What could be better?
I’ll tell you what’s better. Quadruple Points! That’s right, for the next seven days, until July 3rd at midnight, we are giving you Quadruple Points! So, for every dollar you spend, you will get four points! You'll be able to get a ton of free magic much sooner than you thought!
The sifting goes on. I promised you that we would no longer be carrying marginal items just because other dealers are carrying them. Well, this week, we did some serious sifting, and I think you will find the offerings in this week’s Hotlist absolutely top quality!
Miser’s Delight: The Miser's Dream done with D'lites! What a great idea! What a concept!
Produce up to ten bright spots of light, using your D’Lite gimmick.
One by one, toss the spots of light into a paper bag. The audience sees the lights fall into the bag one at a time! The lights become stacked until the audience sees ten bright lights shining through the bag! Whoa!
This wonderful effect takes the D'lite concept to a much higher level. Big enough to play in the largest theater, yet it works really well in a living room!
$95.00 (60.1530)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9492&cat=0&page=1)
Happy Birthday Waistcoat: Tired of the old Cake Baking Routine? Looking for a new Magic Painting effect? Want to add some Quick Change to your act?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Because Lee Alex’s Happy Birthday Waistcoat totally fills the bill!
A plain white satin vest, buttoned at the front and showing out from underneath an open jacket becomes emblazoned with a beautifully illustrated black and white picture of a birthday cake. After some comic byplay, the cake on the waistcoat becomes colored in an array of bright colors! The waistcoat is now a multi-colored display!
Furthermore, the candles on the cake light up after everyone has sung “Happy Birthday!” Specially placed ultra-bright LEDs make this possible! The birthday person gets to blow out the candles on the cake.
The Happy Birthday Waistcoat is not just for birthdays. It’s perfect for all kinds of celebrations: Anniversaries, Retirements, Bar Mitzvahs, Bris. You name the occasion, and the Happy Birthday Vest should be there!
If you don’t wear a jacket when performing, no problem. You can perform the entire routine using just the vest, and no jacket!
This is the most original “party” effect to come along in a very long time! $435.00
(60.1528)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9490&cat=0&page=1)
Close Up - The Real Secrets of Magic - David Stone:
Become a first-rate close-up performer with this indispensable guide.
A goldmine of hints for the pros
The real secrets of professional magicians are not their routines! If you want to be a pro, you don’t need another book of tricks; you need a guide through the world of professional close-up magic!
Do you want to make more money as a close-up magician with higher pay and bigger tips? Within these pages you will discover how to:
Perform your opening trick with maximum impact
Establish yourself as an authority of any event.
Get spectators to ask you for your business card.
Instantly spot the most lucrative tables.
Hundreds of Tips, Hints, and Tricks of the Trade
How to approach a table – Set the stage for a great performance – The perfect moment to cut in for the best effect – 6 steps to making a classy exit – Strong lines designed to elicit applause – The best time to promote your magic – What to do about a request for an encore – how to get tips
Learn the Real Secrets of Magic with a book full of concrete advice, funny anecdotes and pointers!
397 pages – Softbound. $30.00 (BK01586)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9489&cat=0&page=1)
Lightning: With Lightning, you’ll be able to make a light bulb spontaneously light - blurring the lines between science and the supernatural.
The light bulb can be in your hand, or far away from you.
And, Lightning doesn't just cause bulb to turn on and off. It's been specially designed to realistically flicker and grow in intensity as your psychic energy builds to a climax.
Perform Lightning in close, intimate living rooms, all the way up to large stages.
Use Lightning on its own, or in combination with some of your favorite effects. It,s the perfect lead-in before you shatter a bulb - as in MagicSmith's Big Bang and Mesika's Exploding Bulb.
Lightning is 100% self-contained, tiny and very powerful. It’s completely custom designed. There's really nothing else like it. There’s virtually no sleight of hand, no set-up, and it resets automatically after each use.
Comes with the Lightning gimmick and an instructional Video CD.
$60.00 (60.1527)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9488&cat=0&page=1)
Zone Zero II: Next to the Linking Safety Pins, Zone Zero II is perhaps Jerry Andrus’ most famous effect!
Show an 11” x 17” board with a hole near the center. Show it on both sides. Nothing to hide. In addition, show your hands empty.
Reach through the hole in the board with an empty hand and produce a brightly-colored two and a half inch rubber ball! Bounce the ball on the floor to show it is an actual, solid ball.
Put the ball back through the hole. Back into Zone Zero II. Immediately, the ball is gone! Show the board on both sides. Show your hands empty. The ball is gone!
Explain that the ball does not exist when it is in Zone Zero II. Reach through the hole and bring the ball back out! Put the ball through the hole and again it completely vanishes. Show the board on both sides and your hands empty. It seems impossible! It is impossible!
No body loads. The principles involved can be utilized for a variety of effects. You can also utilize the Master Move with objects other than Zone Zero II.
Comes complete: Zone Zero II board, rubber ball, instructional DVD that cover the Master Move, Zone Zero II routine, plus the Perfect Package Routine and Moves With A Paper Bag. (Imagine showing a folded and flat paper bag, opening to show the inside empty, and producing a solid ball) plus footage Jerry performing and explaining this classic of magic! The DVD also includes footage of Jerry performing his Table Act , and home-movie footage of Jerry demonstrating his Nutty Nut & Bolt Illusion. All this for $49.95 (60.882)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=3674&cat=0&page=1)
Startling - Wayne Dobson:
Start by showing nine small solid brass engraved lettered tiles that when assembled make the word STARTLING. You then offer to show something STARTLING with a deck of cards.
A card is chosen by a spectator and placed face down on the table the brass tiles. Attention is then drawn to the brass tiles and the word STARTLING. One by one a single letter is removed, and each time another word is formed. This continues until just the letter ‘I' remains.
The discarded letters are then rearranged and amazingly, they spell the name of the chosen card.
Comes complete with nicely made props & carry pouch and is 100% self working.
$60.00 (30.1347)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9487&cat=0&page=1)
Golden Oldies: David Goodsell’s Golden Oldies is a great prediction routine combining the fun music of the fifties and sixties with memories of juke boxes, fast cars, poodle skirts and Beatle hairdos. Seniors will love recalling the memories of their youth, and their children and grandchildren will be caught up in the nostalgia as well.
Three colorful posters advertise a collection of "top hits" of the fifties and sixties, and samples of a few tunes are played. A free selection is made of just one song on any one of the three CD set. That CD is loaded into an ungimmicked CD player and the spectator pushes the number of their selection. The selected song plays as the performer calls attention to a long-play record cover that has been on display the whole time. That cover is turned face toward the audience. It is a cover for the very song that is playing on the CD player!
This has it all: Mystery, Nostalgia, and Music!
You receive: Four full-color, 12 x 18 inch posters, three CDs, each in its own jewel case, three large cloth car dice, each measuring 3 inches square, the full-size, long-play, prediction record cover, an instruction booklet with complete script filled with '50s and '60s nostalgia that can be easily adapted to your own style. This booklet is a lesson in performance! Supply your own CD player.
This wonderful routine will be the hit of your show. It is ideal for family audiences $149.95 (60.1529)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9491&cat=0&page=1)
Twister Continuum DVD (With Gimmick) - Stephen Tucker:
The routines taught on this DVD make use of an ingenious hand-made gimmick constructed from Bicycle cards, which is unlike anything you have ever seen before. It will allow you to simulate FISM level, award-winning magic, but without any sleight of hand.
Stephen Tucker and Owen Packard even teach you how to build your own variations of the original gimmicks for use with other routines.
The Twister gimmick can expand to full poker card size, or diminish itself to half-card size. When expanded, you can perform the following routines, and at the conclusion of each and every one, everything is examinable!
Twister - one at a time the four Kings flip face down, then they change into the four Aces!
Twisted Nerves - after 'twisting' the Kings face up, their faces jump to your pocket, leaving you holding four blank faced cards!
Tongue Twister - four signed selections are set aside. After 'twisting' the Aces, they change into the four signed selections. Those cards set aside earlier? They're now the Aces!
Tornado Twister - in this bizarre mathemagical routine you 'twist the four Fives, then try to make them vanish and reappear in your pocket. You are almost successful, as the four Twos travel to your pocket - leaving you holding the four Threes!
Wild Twister - a version of the late, great Peter Kane's Wild Card routine. After 'twisting' the four Kings, you introduce a Joker and use it (as the Wild Card) to change the Kings into four Jokers.
Plus - Twist Again, Royally Twisted, Technicolor Dream-Twist and Additional Twist.
That's eleven superb routines, plus tips, ideas and nuances, all using Stephen Tucker's incredible Twister gimmick. And remember - they are all accomplished without any sleight of hand!
Includes precision made gimmick on Bicycle card stock! $29.95 (DVD00890)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9494&cat=0&page=1)
Magnetic Jumbo Coin With DVD (US Half Dollar) - Anton Corradin:
The perfect ending to your coin routine!
As its name indicates, this is a magnetic coin that is 7 inches (17.75cm) in diameter and that sticks on any metal surface no matter what size it is. This feature will allow you to leave the coin stuck under a chair, on a table leg, etc. and load it at the moment you need it.
You will also receive a gimmick to place on any part of your body in order to achieve the quickest, easiest and precise loads and unloads ever.
It includes a DVD with 3 clearly explained routines and many ideas on how to use it.
Precision manufacturing and handmade finishing.
Don't miss the opportunity to add this effect to your close-up or stage routine. 110.00 (20.392)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9486&cat=0&page=1)
Con-Fused – Zane:
A most novel card trick with more twists than a tornado!
The effect starts off as a normal 'Ambitious Card Routine', but then gets darn right crazy, but crazy in a good way!
A card is selected and placed into the center of the deck. The magician, (that's you!) then tells the spectator that their chosen card will rise to the top of the deck, but when the top card is turned over, it's not their card! So you say "Well since this card likes to be on top of the deck, we'll use this card instead."
The card is signed and unmistakably placed into the centre of the deck. You now ask the spectator to turn over the top card, and 'Success'!
To everyone's surprise and amazement, the card has risen to the top of the deck, except for the pips! But get this! It's still the same signed card! But now, with all the pips cut out & missing! "The pips must still be in the deck somewhere!"
No sooner than this is said, the deck is spread face-down and one card is face-up in the center, which proves to be their originally selected card - but now with all the missing pips fused into it! The pips have somehow found the spectator’s chosen card!
As if that wasn't amazing enough, for the real kicker finish, you say "Actually it was easy for the pips to know which card was yours because your card is the only one in the deck with a different colored back!" The spectator turns over their card and discovers this indeed to be so. Leaving them in a totally Con-Fused state!
* Easy to do! No Sleight of Hand!
* Very Quick Re-Set!
* You End Clean, So You Can Use the Deck Immediately Afterwards!
* Comes Complete With a Bicycle Deck and Gimmicks, Plus You Get Zane's Full Routine in the Comprehensive Instructions!
* Bonus Alternative Ending Idea - Where the Entire Deck Becomes Blank!
$29.95 (30.1347)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9493&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s the whole enchilada for this week. I never knew what that meant, but I do like encahiladas, so it must be good. Any-hoo, as always I hope you will find some time to spend with us online at www.magicfact.com or live and in person in our user-friendly showroom at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company, especially if you bring the enchiladas!
Hank
