IBM Singapore Ring 115’s November meeting was held on Wednesday, 15th April 2026, in Function Room 2, Level 3, of the National Library building. Vice-President Ng Kah King was the host. The total number of attendees was 52, including 9 guests and 1 patron. The theme for the evening was a special lecture by Jeremy Tan.

The meeting opened with a welcome to all attendees. A large number of guests had joined specifically to hear Jeremy Tan’s lecture.

The Ring prides itself on the active participation of its members, and this evening was no exception, with performances preceding the lecture.

The first performance was an induction test by Rob Newberry. He kicked off with 3 coins and a finger ring using Rick Holcombe’s “Concealed Carry.” From a parcel that had just been delivered, he unpacked the trick, an emergency pack, and a QR code, which he scanned on his phone to switch on the music and audio instructions. He made the magic look effortless as he followed the audio instructions to vanish, produce, and transpose the coins. The so-called ghost coin penetrated through various objects, while the transformation from silver to copper and back again was impressive. His act was further enhanced through clever use of AI.

John Teo performed “Stegosaurus Pro” by Phil Smith. A spectator selected one out of 150 five-letter words. The spectator then used letter cards containing multiple letters and arranged them to spell the chosen word. By studying the arrangement of the letter cards, John was able to identify the selected word. Even after the spectator rearranged the cards and turned some face down, John correctly identified the chosen word every time.

Kai Emmanuel Kuah performed a mentalism routine inspired by “Find the Lady.” Cards eliminated during the routine were notionally burnt, and the chosen Queen of Hearts was later produced from his lighter inside a card case.

James Pang used a marked diary, a deck of cards, a paper bag, an empty black envelope, and gift vouchers to present his version of “Happy Birthday.” Volunteers were rewarded with gift vouchers as he magically matched selected cards with their birthdays through a combination of drawing cards from the paper bag, placing them in the envelope, and counting cards from the deck.

Xuande Tan warned the audience about the dangers of gambling with him since he could apparently cut to a high card every time. In his “Fabulous Four Aces,” he expertly produced the four aces while making the feat appear impossible through extensive shuffling and mixing of face-up and face-down cards. The finale ended with the last ace appearing as the only face-up card in the deck.

Chad’s performance also featured the four aces. He began by asking for a number between 10 and 20, then confidently produced the first ace after dealing the selected number of cards from the deck. His fast and clean handling in producing the remaining aces left the audience wondering how it was done.

Pambudi made a surprise return appearance as a former member of the Ring who now resides in Indonesia. He started by asking for a number between 1 and 4 and magically revealed that number from a prediction envelope. He then selected volunteers by throwing a ball into the audience and proceeded to locate the Queen cards they had chosen.

He later introduced four magazines, one each in English, German, French, and Indonesian. He successfully predicted the top word found on random pages torn and cut from the selected magazine. His final act was Max Maven’s “Kurotsuke,” performed using 1 Chinese coin and 4 American coins inside a bag.

A 10-minute break followed, during which members visited the dealers’ booths at the back of the room.

After the break, Jeremy Tan took over the floor. Jeremy, a member of the Ring, has been a professional magician for 26 years and has performed on cruise ships for more than 15 years.

The first part of his lecture focused on performing magic on cruise ships. He shared how he first entered the cruise ship industry and recounted stories and testimonials about both the benefits and challenges of performing aboard cruise ships.

The second part of his lecture focused on social media. Jeremy’s advice was simple: just start. He explained that beginning the process creates momentum and encourages improvement over time. Social media also gives him an opportunity to be creative. He shared that performing on social media can be more challenging than performing on stage because of the wide reach and the permanent nature of content on YouTube, which can attract public feedback indefinitely.

Members had submitted questions for Jeremy before the lecture. The final segment was dedicated to answering these questions, including how to break into cruise ship entertainment and his thoughts on people copying his content on YouTube.

A lucky draw for five winners followed the lecture. The remaining time before the room had to be vacated was spent networking and browsing the dealers’ booths.

Reported by
Kogi