Fredrick
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Learning Magic
There’s an assumption in many areas of life but especially in magic. It’s that we know how to learn. We assume that since we attended school and graduated with a degree from high school or college that we learned how to learn. After a corporate education career, I would argue that perhaps some but not… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 10
Number 10 opens with a card effect designed for magicians who perform for magicians. It’s a two part selection that will fool your friends at the club. It does involve a setup as well as a gaffed deck. It would be greatly improved by those who have read Giobbi’s deck switching book. J.G. Thompson’s Silver… Continue reading
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Nightmare Alley
One of my favorite novels of the golden age of noir is William Lindsay Gresham’s Nightmare Alley. Gresham, like many mystery writers of the time, was magic adjacent. He was one of the many authors to write a biography of Houdini. His was published in 1959. Additionally he published a clever torn and restored tarot… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 9
All of the magic in May 15, 1942 edition is “Chinese” themed or as Chinese themed magic was in the mid-twentieth century. This was the time of slapping some pseudo characters on a prop and calling it a mystery of the east. Magic dealer, U. F. Grant was infamous for his spray painted characters on… Continue reading
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Sharpe Comments
The popular journalist knows practically nothing many subjects on which he writes, but he disguises the fact from those who are equally ignorant under an interesting style of writing. Advertisers, salesmen, and politicians puff and discourse on any and every matter with the least possible backing of facts, if they think it to their advantage.… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 8
May 1, 1942’s issue features an unusual layout as write-up’s don’t flow as one would expect. For example, the Gibson submission, Soothsayer, starts on the right hand column and ends on the left. One would expect the other way around. The opening effect is L. Vosburgh Lyons’ Call It A Puzzle is a bit of… Continue reading
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Not For Me
I always considered myself fortunate that I fell into a career that I enjoyed and found fulfilling. I hadn’t intended to pursue training and development as it just sort of happened. I did other jobs over my life. Some successfully and others not so much. I realized recently that there’s one job that I don’t… Continue reading