Do you remember when you first realized there was something funny going on with magic?

Magicians still seemed amazing and magical but seemed strangely constrained in their use of powers.

Magicians, you discovered, were apparently somehow limited by physical restraints — perhaps not as completely as you — but restrained nonetheless.

The Connecticut Post reports today on a physics teacher showing the science of magic to his students.

Some would quibble with the teacher's choice of tricks — no one appreciates the unnecessary exposure of commercial magic — but the aim is admirable and the exposure is limited.

The Post reports:

Marlee Figueroa, 9, pierced a balloon with a thin, foot-long needle. As Marlee pulled the needle and its tail of string through both sides of the latex orb, she and her Long Hill School classmates were stupefied when it did not pop.

Then Mr. Fish – part mad scientist, part circus clown, whose real name is John Lepiarz – let kids in on the secret.

During a program to demystify physics last week, he revealed that a barely visible piece of tape that the needle was inserted through circumvented the balloon's air pressure.

Mr. Lepiarz toured with the Big Apple Circus for seven years as a performer before touring the world with his two-person show, The Funny Stuff Circus. He has appeared on ABC and HBO but appears to really love the life of "mad scientist."

He also lubricated the needle with butter to reduce friction, another scientific concept he demonstrated and defeated during the 45-minute show.

"Mr. Fish" explained the interaction of momentum, inertia, and friction with a non-commercial effect.

Slowly moving a tablecloth caused the plates and water pitchers atop it to move with the cloth. Then, he yanked the cloth out from under the items, which remained stationary on the table.

He successfully did the same with student Matthew Stoll, 10, sitting in a chair on top of the table, telling students that they could remove a table cloth from underneath an elephant if they pulled the cloth just the right way.

"If I can pull the cloth fast enough, I can defeat friction," Lepiarz said, warning children that the trick is dangerous and should not be tried at home. "It was scary because it was high up, but it was fun," Matthew said.

The reporter overheard young Tyler Tice expressing surprise to learn "magic is science." Mr. Fish's desire is to teach students on a different level. "Our whole idea is to provide students with a visual image of a scientific concept," Mr. Lepiarz said.

"The whole idea is to break down the barrier that 'science is hard and I can't understand it.' The fundamentals of science are all around us in our daily life. "We can't, in 45 minutes, teach in depth scientific principles to a group of pre-K through sixth-grade students, but we can create an excitement for science."

Do not miss the very impressive web site featuring Mr. Fish and his partner Lisa Lou(a/k/a Lisa B. Lewis).

The two veteran but high-energy performers offer several programs suitable for schools or community gatherings.

Ms. Lou trained in clowning at the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College, toured as an advance clown for the circus.

Her clowning and talent has taken her from Nagasaki, Japan to Atlantic City, NJ. She also worked to entertain hospitalized children as a member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit.

Their work is impressive but not only because of their talent but also the effect had on their audiences. Congratulations to these remarkable performers and educators.

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Chance and Shelley at Wolf's Magic report their latest hand-made masterpiece, Run
Wolf Run is in very limited supply. 
Their presentation of the classic kid-show effect was released to the
buying public seven days ago but may already be out of stock.

So if you want to buy this effect, you need to head to their
web site, www.wolfmagic.com, now. 

You can take the time to read this entire review before
placing your order but don't.  You will
want this effect and you don't want to be shut-out.  Order your own Run Wolf Run now, then come
back to read the review. 

This review will be here
but the first run of this great trick may not.

Run Rabbit Run or its ilk such as Run Dragon Run earned a
place in the kid-show trick line-up years ago. 
Some magicians swear by it, others swear about it.  Played properly, it is a fine sucker trick
along the lines of the Sucker Sliding Die Box or Hippity Hop Rabbits.

The kids will scream, point, get bothered, become agitated,
and hopefully fooled. 

Perhaps because the effect is considered a classic, several
manufacturers have produced their own versions over the years.  The dealers all produced essentially the same
trick; differentiating their version based on price alone. 

Price competition does little to foster innovation or
encourage high quality construction.  The
versions on the market ranged from average to poor quality in construction, and
equipped with a merely functional gimmick.

The effect, after all, is just another sucker trick for
kids.  How much effort, innovation, or craftsmanship
is needed for kid-show props?  The likely
audience will not notice (or if they notice, probably won't complain) the
differences between the character running and the one produced as a finale. 

Similarly, who cares if the audience knows
how you control the rabbit character's running? 
It's a sucker trick, after all. 
It's a sucker trick for a bunch of kids. 

Apparently not everyone received this message.

Wolf Magic apparently made a conscious decision to produce a
version of this industry standard, charge substantially more than its
competition and to invest a considerable amount of time, creative talent, and
thought in the production.

Why?

Why would Aston Martin, Ferrari, or Rolls Royce offer their
high-quality vehicles in a market flooded with cheap cars?  

It is not a stretch to claim Wolf Magic is the Rolls Royce
of our industry.  Their products are not
for everyone.  They are high-quality,
well-built, and expensive in comparison with offerings from the mass-marketers.  But their props will last through generations
despite being used in every show.

Wolf Magic's Run Wolf Run carries on in the young company's
proud tradition.  The graphics are
professional and attractive, the prop is built with the highest quality workmanship
and materials, and the routine actually makes sense.

Forget your experience performing or watching Run Rabbit
Run.  Run Wolf Run is related to Run
Rabbit Run in the same way an Aston Martin DB9 is similar to a Yugo. 

Let's look under the hood:

The prop itself is machined from an aluminum finished
material with the colorful graphics protected with an enamel baked finish -
hardly the Masonite construction used by competitors.  Mr. Wolf says the aluminum/nylon material
costs about ten times more than the conventional material.

Mr. Wolf created the mechanism at the heart of Run Wolf
Run.  His pivot arm mechanism causes the
Wolf to move back and forth wonderfully. 
Really.  The gimmick gives you
complete control over the character's movement without tell-tale hand
motion. 

The pivot arm is enclosed in a nylon
sleeve to make the motion smooth, silent and easy to control with ever so
slight thumb input.

The star of the trick, the Wacky Wolf, is beautifully designed and built to last.  Mr. Wolf's experience in graphic arts is
evident and exploited fully in the characters and the background piece.  He hand silk screened each of the 27 colors
on each prop.

The imagination and labor used to produce each Run Wolf Run
will make your show stand-out from the other magicians in your market.  It looks custom-made because it is
custom-made for a select few. 

The trick even comes with "surprise and delight" items such
as a method to make the Wolf pop-up from the roof of his shack – not seen in
any other version; and very cool 3-D cut-out rendition of the chickens in the
neighboring home.    The
doors all open and shut securely thanks to cushioned magnets and a very clever and
precision design. 

Granted, secure and
operational doors should not be considered a "surprise and delight" item but
given the quality of other versions, it is unique and appreciated. 

But does the trick hold up? 
Does it make sense to produce the Rolls Royce of Run Rabbit Run? 

The world of magic does not need a re-work of
the traditional sucker trick.  Run Wolf
Run is a new routine worthy of such high-quality equipment.

Mr. Wolf describes the routine:

The classic plot has been changed (a
Special Thanks to Marcus Eayres for the Plot Concept! :) and now Stars our very
own "Wacky Wolf" as the mischievous "Egg Bandit" who raids
the Chicken Coop trying to steal eggs to pay his back rent!

How else do you think a Wolf pays
his rent?

With the help from the kids, the
Wacky Wolf can never seem to catch a break as he is caught by the kids running
back and forth, popping up and down and peaking out from the side of the Coop!

All along the magician never seems
to see the Wolf and his antics. Eventually, all four doors are opened as the
magician tries to find the Wolf only to find he has vanished!

After the kids have settled down
from laughter and screaming, the Wolf is finally found hiding in the magicians
pocket or any other location.

The routine works because it has something other versions
lack – a plot.  Why would the Wolf want to
run back and forth? He doesn't want the magician or any of the audience to
catch him stealing eggs. 

Now the kids have a reason to shout when they see the Wolf
sneaking into or around the chicken coop. 
They're helping you find the culprit; they're assisting in an ad-hoc
neighborhood crime watch. 

Wolf Magic's Run Wolf Run is not for everyone but that is
the attraction.  The graphics, and
construction combine to make this a new classic suitable for a special place in
your home as a piece of art. 

But only
after you've retired from a long career of successful shows using one of the
best kid-show effects available.

Inside Magic Rating: Five out of Five – Our Highest!

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DC Military news service had a great story about a great use
for our skills.

Master Sgt. Bryan McDaniel (Retired) served in the Marine
Corps for 23 years before retiring in 2003. 

He told reporters he attended many Safety Standdown
presentations in his time but recalled very few of them. 

<b>"I understand the intent of them, but most of
them appeared to be a 'check-in-the-box'' said the Akron, Ohio
native. "I developed this presentation so the Marines can enjoy themselves
but also get a powerful message."</b>

Mr. McDaniel's skills as a magician and hypnotist combined
with experience as a Marine leave his audience with a message they will not
likely forget.

The statistics are daunting:

According to the Washington Regional Alcohol
Program's review How Safe Are Our Roads, after a half-decade of steadily
increasing alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the United States, the number
of drunk driving deaths in the region decreased by nearly ten percent in 2004,
yet the percentage of alcohol-related fatalities is still at 45.5%.

Two out of 10 of those fatalities were people under the age
of 21.

These statistics are staggering by any standard, yet many
people still choose to ignore them and the laws which were meant to protect
citizens or, at the very least, minimize fatalities, accidents and injuries.

The magician helped 17 volunteers get ready and in the
suggestive mood. He asked the Marines to "imagine they were in a very cold
environment with only shorts and a t-shirt.

Within seconds, they were shivering, and rubbing their arms
to keep warm. Afterward, while still in a trance, they were told they were in Death Valley, Calif.,
and the temperature outside was 120 F. Some wiped their brow, while others gasped
for air."

Mr. McDaniels took the subjects to the horse races (they
lost money), to trick-n-treat (they got yummy candy), and to dance like the
Village People (yikes).

These amusements were prologue to the true message of the
evening. 

The Marines were directed to imagine they were at a party
getting drunk.

Four of the Marines shot down about three drinks each and
agreed they were "intoxicated."  The
volunteers had to decide who was going to drive them home.

"I'll drive!!" said Sgt. Orville Williams,
in slurred speech. "I'm the designated driver!!"

He proceeded to
stumble to his makeshift car, and sat behind the wheel. The other volunteers
followed suit. The driver, nor the passengers, wore their seatbelts.

After driving a short period, Williams slammed his brakes to
avoid an obstruction on the road. He lost control of his vehicle, crashing it,
and ultimately killing his 4 comrades. He sobbed, stating his sadness.

"I never meant to take the wheel," said Williams.
"I didn't mean to kill my fellow Marines!"

The volunteers on stage were moved by their involvement, and
their emotion drove the point home for the vast audience.

"You need to make the right decisions before you go
drinking," the magician said.

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