Commentary
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 3
The March 6, 1942 issue features magic by Clayton Rawson, Harry Baker, and Frank Taylor. The Rawson card effect, Scrambled Thought-waves, is a delight. Using a few gaffed cards two selections are revealed in a humorous manner. With some arts and craftsmanship, the effect could be updated to today’s sensibilities. The nice thing about Rawson’s… Continue reading
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Revisiting: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Originally published in 2004, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell remains one of my favorite magical fiction books. Its page count is close to 800 which I believe many find intimidating. However it’s a journey I’ve made many times. One may ask why reread books especially when there are many new books published every… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number Two
The second issue of the Phoenix arrived on February 14, 1942. According to the Backroom, the editors were still trying to determine the frequency of publication. They eventually settled on bi-weekly – meaning every two weeks. (The confusion with bi-weekly versus bi-monthly has always been a pet peeve.) The lead effect was Bruce Elliott’s Hard… Continue reading
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Discussing Discussions
One of the most interesting things about the internet and magic has been the discussion boards. It’s seems that there have been boards since the beginning. The longevity proves that no matter what magicians of all kinds have opinions about everything and are willing to share it. Excluding social media platforms and Reddit, there seems… Continue reading
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Minimum Requirements
In the opening essay of Shattering Illusions, Jamy Ian Swiss states: When you fool the audience you indeed fulfill the essential mandate of your job. But you have in no way come even remotely close to completing the job-much less having done the job well.There must — simply must — be some larger end in… Continue reading
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New Year’s Eve
The year is coming to an end. Was it a good year? Yes, all in all. Was it challenging? Yes, at times. In retrospect, all years are a bit of both. I’m sure that there’s a good chance your year was the same. No matter what you plan for 2025, I hope it’s a great… Continue reading
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Astonishment Is Our Natural State Of Mind
In the December 1996 edition of Genii magazine, the cover featured Paul Harris. Paul has been instrumental in changing the state of close-up magic since the mid 1970’s. I wasn’t aware of him until the early 80’s after the release of Close-up Entertainer and Las Vegas Close-up. Since 1984 and the publication of Close-up Seductions,… Continue reading