Seventeen secrets

Prior to Ring 17's annual banquet, this tweet came through the stream:

We have Seventeen Secrets to share at our Banquet on June 7th. Hope to see you there: bit.ly/nXk5mm
— Hat & Rabbit Club (@IBMring17) May 31, 2012

What could that possibly mean?


There was a good sized crowd at the banquet and I very much enjoyed the company at my table.  Paul Wildbaum did a wonderful job of entertaining us -- I always look forward to watching him perform!

Lifetime membership to the club was bestowed by Gordon Precious:

Congratulations to Sig Kusatz, our newest Lifetime Member.
— Hat & Rabbit Club (@IBMring17) June 8, 2012

Congratulations Sig!  Well deserved!

Apparently, this was also the 70th Anniversary of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club!  Happy anniversary to us!

But what about the Seventeen Secrets?

Since last September, the executive complied secrets from the talent that had particpated in this year's calendar and published them under the title Seventeen Secrets*.  Here is the table of contents:

• James Alan - Psycho Psychometry
• James Biss - Password Projected
• Matthew DiSero - Hold the Prosciutto
• Richard Forget - Fear and Loathing in Hong Kong
• Murray Hatfield - Musical ESP
• Will Houstoun - Guestimation
• Joshua Jay - Inflated (Canadian) Transposition
• Michael Weber - Band-Aid
• Tyler Wilson - That's What Key Said

From James Alan:

There is a mix of tricks ranging from informal close up magic, to close up, parlour and stage material for formal performances. The tricks use cards, bills, iPads, and SpongeBob Band-Aids. (Seriously!) There are also true stories from life on the road with performing professionals. The material is eccentric, irreverent annotated with credits unusual and obscure.

The book is 8.5" x 5.5", 56 pages with photos, saddle sewn. It was printed in a limited edition of 100 numbered copies which are available for sale through the Hat & Rabbit Club.

The proceeds of the book are being put to good use. With the assistance of David Ben and Julie Eng at Magicana, we were able to acquire several sets of the Ibidem Reprints which were gifted to the junior members of the club so that they can spend the next several years devouring their contents and learning about Toronto's rich magic history. 

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*Seventeen comes from IBM Ring 17. There aren't actually seventeen items in it. It just sounded nice.

I haven't read it cover to cover yet, but what I've read I've quite enjoyed!