I seldom seem to have the time anymore to just sit down and enjoy a magic book – at least that is what I tell myself. As my oldest son is fond of saying, people make time to do the things that are important to them. He’s dead ass right.

Anyway, I spent a couple of hours today with Jim Steinmeyer’s The Conjuring Anthology. This is a compilation of the series that ran in Magic Magazine from 1992 to 2004. There are 85 effects in 75 chapters. It’s a big book of over 500 pages.

Jim Steinmeyer is considered a genius by many that know him. I don’t personally know him, but his writings reflect a great intellect.

I pulled out the April 2006 Magic interview with the author and particularly looked up the items he pointed out as his and his readers’ favorites. What a treat. The Piano Trick with apples and oranges is worth the price – and I SELDOM say that.

This is good stuff! 

Take care……… 
 

I don’t know if this thread on Stalag Fat is true or not, but the thought scares the Hell out of me. 

I think these threads are generally started to bring up some of the old venom for past transgressions, but they seldom seem to work. I’ve left no doubt what I think of this clown and the return of his holiness, would not be a good thing.

Take care……… 
 

How to tell it’s time

Today is my birthday and the older we get, the more these occasions are sad affairs, causing us to reflect on our own mortality and realizing that the time someone mercifully throws dirt in our face, is drawing ever nearer.

It’s a fact, that the men in our family tend to go totally nuts before the body gives it up. It’s damn ugly for those around them. There’s NO doubt in my mind that my father would have killed himself if he would have known the pain he caused as his mind rotted away. Not a pretty prospect at all…..

Anyway, I’ve tried to give my boys some clues to know when my time is near. Here’s the current list:

• I’m driving a Winnebago
• I’m spending time in a mall
• They hear me say, That George Bush is one clever son of a bitch
• They hear me say, those illegals are just doing jobs Americans won’t do
• I laugh at Henry or Nancy
• I listen to rap and / or Hip Hop and am not puking my guts out
• I invest in the stock market
• I think CEOs shouldn’t roast in the hottest pits in Hell

I trust they will take the necessary steps when that time comes.

This is just too easy

I generally stay away from the easy stuff, but I can’t pass this up. Here’s the latest from the infamous MagicChris:

It would be nice if the Café had a gift shop where we could buy things like a Magic Café logo sharpies,Steve Brooks bobbleheads for our cars, etc. Just a suggestion.

Write your own material. I’m not going to do all the work!

I know many of us belong to and regularly attend magic clubs. Personally, I enjoy most of the meetings and the Dick level at most clubs is fairly low, even though we must admit the government mandated minimum, I guess.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting a club and it was member performance night. To put it bluntly, many of them stunk up the room. A giant fart in a contained area. They got the requisite applause and encouragement from the other members.

I know it is damn tough to perform before other magicians, especially for the newbies, but are we doing them a disservice by encouraging terrible performances and choices of material.

I haven’t got an answer. Criticism can be so cruel, but at the same time I hate to let these people loose on the public, denigrating the word magic. 

Thoughts?

Take care……… 
 

….and an apology.

Either Blogger’s notification system or my SPAM filter wasn’t working properly and I missed approving a series of great comments. I would suggest you look back over the past few weeks and check them out. A blog will never be totally interactive, but input from readers is valuable beyond estimation.

I’m REALLY careful about false positives and I manage all SPAM locally and don’t depend on ISP level controls and I can’t believe I would have missed this many. Anyway, I removed moderation and your comments will immediately post. I monitor the site closely and can remove unwanted SPAM crap very quickly.

The only reason I originally did this was I got really pissed off at some pompous ass and put the restrictions on. A bad decision on my part.

Take care……… 
 

Should We ReBlog the ReBlog?!?!

A little more housekeeping – Speaking of being pissed off, I’m not real happy with this reblog poaching, Fortunately, this little diary was not found worthy, so i/m is not affected at this time. I have looked into establishing my own reblog and it looks like I can save myself a lot of work by just reblogging the reblog(s).

All of the defenders seem to rely on the fact that RSS allows this, so it must be OK and puts the onus on the bloggers to prevent the complete capture of the articles. Pardon me fellers, but kiss my ass! Don’t give me a lesson on RSS, I’ve been working with it longer than any of you apologists could imagine. Spare me the details.

Anyway, for a few weeks I’ve limited the feed here, but that makes if very difficult for those using readers (and I would hope most do). I’ve reverted to a full feed and will deal with any issues if, and when, they arise.

President John Kennedy is credited with the following statement:

….As they say on my own Cape Cod, a rising tide lifts all the boats..

Does the success, notoriety and exposure of David Blaine and/or Criss Angel help you as a magician?

Personally, I couldn’t be further from either of them. I’m fat, white, old and bald. However, even I get questions and comments regarding their recent TV shows and people seem a little more receptive to magic. The worst possible thing I could do would be try to imitate either of them. It would be a pitiful and pathetic sight, but it does give me a fresh stage to perform.

I think all magicians are better off because of their success.

Take care………