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Book Notes: Out of this Furnace
Originally published in 1941, Thomas Bell’s historic fiction novel detailed the life of three generations of Slovak immigrants who settled in the steel town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Braddock is about 10 miles up the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh. Many know it as the home of Senator John Fetterman who started his political career as the… Continue reading
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Reflecting on the Structure of Magic Effects
In the Mystery School book, Eugene Burger published an essay On The Structure of Magic Effects. Fortunately it was reprinted in the first posthumous book written and published by Lawrence Hass. Unfortunately I believe both are only available on the secondary market. It’s only a few pages long however there’s much to consider and contemplate.… Continue reading
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Quotes of Note
Whenever I read a quote that speaks to me, I put it into a file that I keep in a text editor app that syncs to the cloud. I’ve been doing this for many years so you can imagine it’s a long list of mostly random quotes. Here’s a few recent on the performance of… Continue reading
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Book Notes: Lesser Magic
I don’t believe I’ve spent as much time reading 68 pages as I have with John Wilson’s Lesser Magic. I have read and reread it several times since acquiring it a few months ago. “Reading a second time leading to a different shift than the first, the coordinates having shifted, the perspective experiencing them having… Continue reading
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Strange Phenomenon
Recently I’ve noticed a trend of magic effect trailers where the workings are exposed. I became aware of a small independent creator that has all of their tutorials posted on their website to view whether you purchased an item or not. I find this to be a curious decision. In the days of magic shops,… Continue reading
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Al Leech on EDC
How many times have you been to a party and had someone thrust a deck of cards upon you with the breathless request to “do a trick”? Not very often, probably. But when it happens, the shock is likely to drive from your mind all your painfully accumulated knowledge of pasteboard skullduggery. Al Leech, Cardmanship,… Continue reading
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The Mystery School Book
In my recent post on books that aren’t just effects or just theory and philosophy, I neglected to mention one of my favorites. It’s such a favorite that I happen to have two copies: one pristine for reading and one with printing errors but filled with signatures and inscriptions from the various contributors. While Eugene… Continue reading