Dear Forumites,

The last gathering was a success - it was an informal, come meet the folks kind of session. One of the greatest successes in those meetings is that ANYONE who has been in magic - regardless of age, experience and profession - can join in and have a good time!

Before official gatherings, we had the following focus sessions:

1) An Uplifting Gathering - This first ever session concentrated on taking your multiple lifts to a greater level of understanding. A small group of people turned up for it and some of the material covered were:
- principles in a multiple lift
- types of multiple lifts
- some methods of get ready
- automatic lifts

It was a amazingly fruitful session for a first.

2) Smc Mis-presents: 03 Feb 07, A Gathering of Misdirected Miscreats -
Uncle Bob put up a tremendous session at Macs in TPY. This was one of the first huge events we tried to put up and it was a resounding success! You can read all about it at this thread:
Misdirection Workshop by Bob Chua

3) Shuffle Around - Another focus session in March which concentrated on shuffle work. We went through the following ideas on shuffles
Overhand Shuffle
- proper use of jogs
- Control of singles and slugs
- f***e using overhand Shuffle
- retaining top stock
- retaining bottom stock
- retaining top and bottom stock

Zarrow Shuffle
- handling
- using multiple card cover
- as a simple f***e shuffle
- red/black true-f***e shuffle
- f***e shuffle variation

As a bonus, the attendees also learnt how to do overhand run-ups (stacks).

With that in mind, we are proud to present the next focus session!

Session @ a Steal

Venue: *** To be Disclosed at a later date ***
Date: 28 July 07 (Saturday)
Time: 2:30pm till LATE
Cost: Depends on Venue


Focus: The Side Steal
If you know what it is, you should know how powerful this sleight is. I am not providing a discription of it here, just a quick vid of how it looks:
SS Demo
The actual work is performed with the card face down of course. ;P

As with most focus sessions, I aim to keep the numbers small or it would be difficult to learn anything. Since the SS is not a beginner's move, there are some pre-requisites you will need to qualify. Don't sign for this unless you meet them. This is not for the starting card worker.

Pre-Requisites - You must have:
- attended at least 1 previous SMC gathering.
- performed at least once in a Charity event (hair for hope, etc)
As this is a special session where knowledge is imparted, it is fitting that priority goes to contributing forumites. :)
- basic card handling skills (comfortable with Mechanics Grip; can perform competent DLs, able to perform a variety of F***e shuffles, cuts.)

Some of the items that will be covered:
- SS grip
- Simple SS
- Standard SS
- SS variant grip
- SS & Kelly
- Applications of the SS
* SS as a control - to top/to bottom
* SS as displacement
* SS from Spec Peek
* SS from standard insertion
* SS from jog
* SS from fan jog
- Misdirections applicable with the SS

If you're interested, do add your name to the list.

Shade

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)
2)
3)
4)

Will definitely join the Session if I am free.

Uncle Bob

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)
3)
4)

Ahh..I have my company chalet on that day. Count me in but i will be coming after 6pm. :rolleyes:

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)
4)

Great to have you with us Gallen. :) We're starting the session proper at about 3pm or so (give or take some time for guys to turn up). But if you want, we'll be happy to go through the stuff with you after you arrive.

Shade

Thanks Shade...keep me updated on the venue. :)

Count me in!


0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4)

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome


ME TOO!

The Side Steal is one of the best card sleights that has ever been created. Kudos to Nate Lepzig for his creation and also to Marlo for bringing this fantastic sleight to a much higher level. This will be a very interesting session. Count me in Shade and Thanks for organising this gathering ^_^

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)

Cheers
Jerome

It's good to have Uncle Bob on board... :) Look forward to catching up with you again soon!

Remember - you should have at least come for one of our gatherings AND performed at one of the SMC organised charities (check out the PAY IT FORWARD section).

Contributors have privileges! :)

Shade

Hey Shade. why is it on the 21 and not the 28? i thought it's usually the last saturday of the month? Anyway, im only saying this because i meet all the pre-requisite, but i won't be in Singapore on the 21st. Haha.

But nevertheless, i hope this session would be a fruitful one for all those that are going. Can't go wrong with Shade and Uncle Bob around.

ZiAn

Too bad.. won't be there.... celebrating gf's birthday.

Hmm i did a few charity shows but all of them not through the pay it forward section. My recent show was for the blood donors programme organised throught the singapore buskers festival.


Will i still be able to come?

I'll be there! ;) I bet this is gonna be a fruitful session! =)

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)

ARAARGGHH!! gotta miss another great gathering!! grr! got some conference on on that day man... sigh...

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy

Sorry everyone, I have to change the date of this meeting to another day because of an earlier commitment to my class of students in school which I almost forgot.

Hence, I have to shift the date to the 28th July. Still a Saturday. :)

I apologise for the inconvenience and the change in date; hope to see you guys.



Shade

Aww. I cant come already, im working on the 28th =(

Hmm... if it's on 28th, I can make it....

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl

hehe...so can i..

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An

The second point for me is kinda ambiguous for me.. but i somehow met it... can i go? :P

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin

You're welcome to join us Justin; you've been a really regular attendee of gatherings... :) These special sessions are meant to help regulars and maybe provide a little 'special' treatment to our regulars. Heh.

Just my own way of saying 'thanks' for your support!

Shade

Isn't there another lecture on that day? anyway i can't come because I am out of town. Will be in Vegas catching Lance Burton show. wahhhhhh

Adrian

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin
11) Syafiq

Just tell me if you think I cant go then I'll take my name off there

YAY lol thx will be there. Just need ta wait fer the location to be confirmed. Cheers! :D

Ok guys, any more sign ups? I'll be sending a PM to all the attendees on Friday morning regarding the venue for this session.

This is one of the first closed-doors sessions we're conducting, so I hope all attendees will be punctual - I would like to start on time and end in time to attend the gathering we're having at Delifrance. ;)

What to bring? Just take a deck of cards with ya - that's all I never need anyway. At the end of this session, you'll be wondering why you ever need another control man. It is one of the most powerful utility moves you will EVER learn. Admittedly, the learning curve is somewhat steep - you can't learn it through brute force (much unlike the pass - where repetitions will make it perfect). You will need finesse and a keen sense of feel for the deck for this one; and a LOT of practice. BUT - YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Shade

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin
11) Syafiq
12) Timothy

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1)SUFi
2)Invisible
3)Matthew
4) Jerome
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin
11) Syafiq
12) Timothy
13)hihs

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1) SUFi
2) Invisible
3) Matthew
4) Jerome (working, not going)
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin
11) Syafiq
12) Timothy
13) hihs
14) zomaziz

0) Shade
0) Gordon (dry_gin) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
0) Adrian Lee (AdrianLee) ** Volunteered to help as usual **
1) SUFi
2) Invisible
3) Matthew
4) Jerome (working, not going)
5) jeromefang (Jerome)
6) Incarneto (Paul)
7) pph3cy
8) muscleaxl
9)Zi An
10) Justin
11) Syafiq
12) Timothy
13) hihs
14) zomaziz
15) Jazz

Hey guys, in order to attend this one, you must have:

1) Performed in a charity gig organised by SMC in the PAY IT FORWARD section (OR contributed on special scale to SMC).

AND

2) Attended at least 1 of our SMC official gatherings.

The following people who've indicated interest qualify:

1) SUFi
2) Invisible
3) Matthew
4) jeromefang (Jerome)
5) Incarneto (Paul)
6) muscleaxl
7)Zi An
8) Justin
9) Syafiq
10) Timothy
11) Baha

My information might not be complete, so do sound me out if you do meet the conditions but I am unaware of it. This needs to be a SMALL group so that everyone who attends will learn the SS. I will be capping the attendance at 15 max.

And again, I apologise for the exclusivity, but this is for the guys who've done MORE than just turn up to learn a few 'tricks' every now and then. This is for people who've been actively giving back to SMC in more than just attending gatherings. You guys are the reason SMC's still standing.

I also hope that this'll be the first of many to come - more focus sessions that'll take your skills up a notch.

SHADE

1) SUFi
2) Invisible
3) Matthew
4) jeromefang (Jerome)
5) Incarneto (Paul)
6) muscleaxl
7)Zi An
8) Justin
9) Syafiq
10) Timothy
11) Baha
12) Jlowhy (Jonathan)

Hey ya, hope this is not too late. I'll like to join in the session too. Thanks. =)

1) SUFi
2) Invisible
3) Matthew
4) jeromefang (Jerome)
5) Incarneto (Paul)
6) muscleaxl
7)Zi An
8) Justin
9) Syafiq
10) Timothy
11) Baha
12) Jlowhy (Jonathan)
13) extremer (Calvin)

Do count me in. :P

Dear all,

The location of the session has been sent to you via PM. Please check your PM folders. If you did not recieve the message even though you're on the confirmed list of attendees, do drop me an SMS or call me at 94314170.

Shade

Just a reminder to those attending the closed session, please refrain from disseminating the venue of the session to others as there is limited space catered for only a small group and keeping the session small will also help to facilitate better learning and sharing. Thanks!

Gosh it's been a crazy day - I had some really snazzy fun!

The day started off with the SS session - the turnout was good in spite of the moody weather. Traffic and rain held everyone up - Enrico had to tolerate insufferable traffic to get to us (his cab was crawling along the expressway); Uncle Bob also braved the wet weather to be with us, his shirt evidence of the bombardment from above.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the support. I hope that all of you took something valuable home with you today. The basics of the SS were covered, but it will take a good deal of practice (maybe some habit breaking even) before you will get confident enough to perform it in your act. But believe me - it's truly worth the effort. The rest of the ideas I threw in are meant to - hopefully - spur you on to study this highly under-rated sleight more.

The end of the SS Session saw us gathering at our usual haunt, where our MR SMC was having a nice cosy lunch by himself. Though it seemed to have started pretty slow, things soon picked up when Uncle Bob started performing his usual routines for the newcomers.

We had quite a number of new sign ups today - including Keng, Shawn and Hasif. Paul (incarneto) and Shawn were true performing whores (pardon the language... :P) and actually went out into the main dining area in Delifrance to perform for two guys who were watching us through the window seats. I think they got a great kick out of it! HAHA. Excellent job guys - you make us proud!

Matthew and Jonathan were swapping pointers throughout the day and I seriously had some trouble telling them apart at first. I remember meeting Matthew at Novena Square last time during the Hair For Hope event and I was trying to figure out if he were Matthew or Jonathan. Fortunately he solved the dilemma for me by reminding me who he was. LOL

After dinner at the usual Kopitiam place, we adjorned to our favourite Macs at the Entertainment Centre. Jack and his GF Joyce joined us (thanks again for the tea Joyce...) and we had an excellent session with tons of lame stuff (our tribute to the missing Adrian Lee). Hasif showed us his awesome Gypsy Thread and Aloy kept making inappropriate references to blowing. It was such a hoot! LOL.

Once again, my sincerest thanks to everyone today. They say that a family that plays together stays together. Well, it looks like SMC'll stay together for a LONG LONG LONG LONG time. :)

Shade

Thanks Shade for organising the SS session for us and all the moderators for the SMC 4th official gathering. Well, it was a fruitful session for me to learn the SS. I also find that it is a good utility move to use it in a routine where you do not necessary to do a pass.

Although the technique is not easy to master (Arghh..still struggling with my habit), I find that it is good to learn it and you will need to put in serious practice in order to perfect this move. Well, hope to see you guys on the next gathering soon. :rolleyes:

Cheers
Invisible

Yea.. It was definitely fun to be sharing and performing with you guys. =)

*UNDERGROUND*? I was a little lost when matthew, johnathan and this guy - sorry I always forget your name - was talking about it.. But hope you guys enjoyed what you saw?

Shade.. I remembered you suggesting to show the 2 guys something cos they seems so interested.. =) Well, I wanted to have fun.. Thus the enthusiasm! They were great spectators!

i was so paiseh dammit lol