Fredrick Turner

Reflections


Magic dealers

  • 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

  • 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

  • Revisiting: True Astonishment

    I expect that there will be many Revisits in 2026 as I’ve declared this to be a “no-buy” year and that the majority of new releases are crap that’s pushed into production to try to satisfy the demand of a market jonesing for the endorphins of clicking “buy now.” January has been focused on revisiting… Continue reading

  • Parasocialism

    Parasocial refers to a one-sided relationship where a person feels a strong connection to a media personality, such as a celebrity or influencer, despite having no personal interaction with them. This phenomenon often occurs through repeated exposure to their content, leading individuals to perceive these figures as friends or confidants. Parasocial was recently selected by… Continue reading

  • AI in Magic Advertising

    I don’t know if this story had much traction in social media as I’m not a participant. There’s been no discussion on the Genii or Magician’s Forums. Erik Tait and Nick Locapo discussed it briefly on the Penguin podcast and UK magician, Caven Booth, posted a YouTube video. It’s strange that there hasn’t been more… Continue reading

  • Giobbi on Dealer Magic Tricks

    Roberto Giobbi is one of my favorite magic artists and writers. His bibliography is amazing. Like many I discovered him from his encyclopedic work, Card College; however my favorites are Sharing Secrets and Stand Up Card Magic. I was recently gifted Confidences which I haven’t fully studied yet. Roberto has maintained a blog, Magic Memories,… Continue reading

  • Brooks’ Baffling Bra

    One of the most maligned magic effects has to be the Baffling Bra or simply, the bra trick. Fortunately it seems to have faded from popularity as it’s terribly inappropriate. If you’re unfamiliar, two silk handkerchiefs are tied together and placed into the top of an unsuspecting woman. Sometimes a third handkerchief is shown and… Continue reading