In late June, the Harry Riser Assembly #31 joined forces with IBM Ring 10 for our annual magic picnic proving once again that a group of magicians have no difficulty making large quantities of hot dogs disappear.  

In honor of Independence Day the theme for the July meeting was Red White and Blue magic. Your humble scribe started off the evening with a brief video presentation of his recent pilgrimage to the House of Robert-Houdin in Blois, France.  Robert-Houdinâ??s genius still shines forth when seeing his automatons over 150 years after their creation.  Our newly installed President, Taylor Martin, kicked off the magical portion of the evening with a brief history lesson on phlogiston, an invisible substance which alchemists believed was released when there was heat and fire. Taylor entertained the group with the â??Green Purple Orange Mysteryâ??, an effect originally described in The Discoverie of Witchcraft in 1584.  One red, one white and one blue rope (the mystery is why is the effect called â??the Green Purple Orange Mysteryâ??) were tied together.  The ropes were sprinkled with phlogiston  by a willing spectator and mysteriously fused into a single red white and blue rope.  Tom Winterrowd continued the festive spirit by producing red, white, and blue silks from a â??church collection bagâ??, transforming them into white, blue and red silks.  He  then mixed things up by producing a psychedelic silk with a mixture of all three colors.  Tom capped it off by producing an American flag to thunderous applause.  President Taylor next explained the origin of the phrase â??two bits, four bits, six bits a dollarâ??  and dramatically demonstrating the concept with the help of his little black money bag.  The evening concluded with a presentation by Taylor of â??coin through the back of the handâ?? and â??coin through legâ?? from Boboâ??s Modern Coin Magic.

Submitted by Steve Spence, Scribe