It’s not enough that the world of mentalism is so much smaller than that of magic. No, some of those who are ostensibly in the higher echelons of its practitioners — to hear them describe themselves, anyway — are of smaller minds, too. I’ve already mentioned the upcoming, highly anticipated set of DVDs by Richard […]

Shameful. Just shameful. In a conversation with a close friend not so long ago, I found out he isn’t a James Bond fan. (For the more reasonable among you, I’ll give you a moment to settle down and recover from the expected, and perfectly understandable hyperventilating.) Now, to be clear, it’s not that he’s specifically […]

I love obvious contrasts. The greater the difference between two things, the easier it becomes to embrace one over another. Given the choice between two items that are nearly identical, wouldn’t you choose the less expensive one? Given the choice between two methods of completing two tasks, isn’t it human nature to choose the easier […]

I got my start in the world of advertising and marketing when I was fourteen years old. This was before the Internet. It was before MTV. In fact, it was before desktop computers. I was a runner for an ad agency which immediately led to a part time gig at the local radio station. My […]

Actually, I don’t think mentalism sucks at all. I happen to love mentalism with the same degree of feeling I do close-up magic. Mentalism appeals to a higher order of entertainment, to be sure, and it’s in that stratosphere that sometimes bad things happen. Like magic, some presentations of mentalism reek. Generally speaking, that’s not […]

I’m not sure where is the best place to begin this quotation, so this is as good as any to begin: But lacking some larger substantive goal, the audience is left watching trick after trick after trick, each time receiving this most dreary of messages loud and clear: See, I fooled you. See, I fooled […]

“But it’s not fair!” (And in these cases, the word fair is generally pronounced as a long, annoyingly drawn out, “fay-yerrrrrrrr.”) You know someone has exhausted any semblance of a reasonable, rational argument when their answers become, “But others are doing it, too.”, “Why are you ganging up on…”, “No one can prove this wasn’t […]

There are many, many examples of good coming from horrific bad. I think it’s a testament to human nature to find some good in a bad situation. Sometimes that comes in the form of a phrase that otherwise would seem crass, as in the example I used for the subject of this post. In the […]

How many of these books do you have in your library: Stanyon, Magic (periodical, 15 vols., complete) Tarbell, Tarbell Course of Magic Stanyon, The Stanyon Serials, (l-21) Downs, The Art of Magic Hilliard, (Sequel to above now being published) Sachs, Sleight of Hand Maskelyne and Devant, Our Magic Hoffmann, Modern Magic Hatton and Plate, Magician’s […]

Twinkies, the epitome of junk food, may be on its deathbed. At least that’s the possibility suggested Dr. W.C. Douglass upon word that Interstate Bakery filed for protection under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy laws. (Interstate Bakery is the nation’s largest wholesale bakery.) Interstate blames it’s money woes mainly on the Atkin’s Diet craze, while analysts suggest […]