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Sticker Shock
An early mentor of mine used to say that certain magic props and books were priced high to “keep them out of the hands of the riff-raff.” He was being facetious but I believe it was based in an element of truth – particularly in the domain of mentalism. Recently a new version of an… Continue reading
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Subscriptions Everywhere
The magic market is essentially a monopoly run by one major distributor, Murphy’s. The sales of magic products are run by essentially two major companies, Vanishing Inc. and Penguin Magic. Sure there’s other online retailers and a few brick and mortar stores around but they’re stuck buying from Murphy’s. There’s also a handful of independent… Continue reading
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Using a Medium
In his 1964 book, Understanding Media, communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase: The medium is the message. McLuhan argued that the medium or the manner with which a message is communicated should be considered and studied. The medium can facilitate and enhance the message or distract from the message. This is one of the… Continue reading
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Mendoza on Practice
John Mendoza passed away almost six years ago in July 2020. He was 73. He was a master of the cups and balls and released two manuscripts on his handlings. He published books and manuscripts of others including a young unknown magician, Chris Kenner. In 1979, he published Close-Up Presentation – a small hardcover book… Continue reading
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Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day to you if you’re a father, a stepfather, uncle or a surrogate. Thanks for all you do. My dad was always supportive of my interests. He didn’t push me one way or another. His support included my magical pursuits. When I was in third or fourth grade, I discovered that there was… Continue reading
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Please Enjoy It Now
We tend to buy things – books, bits of magic, playing cards, Beanie Babies, Star Wars figures, comics, whatever’s -that are supposed to be “collectible”. Flotsam of our vocation and passions. Things that we must have but end up unopened, unused, and on an auction site, a flea market, a Goodwill store or in a… Continue reading
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Eugene’s Birthday
Today would have been Eugene Burger’s 87th birthday. He passed almost 9 years ago. There’s hardly a day that goes by without me thinking of him – especially when reading, studying, or practicing magic. I probably mentioned this before but one of the best vacations we took was to Chicago. Timing was perfect because Eugene… Continue reading