Little Egypt University
Course Catalog

Children's Literature

Lit 101 The Magic of Micah Lasher (1 cr) A survey of general card, coin, bill, sponge ball, and rope magic by a 14-year-old author, handsomely illustrated by Akemi Yoshida, currently available in public bookstores. This book tips such terms as the Shuttle Pass and Retention Vanish, plus complete routines such as "The Professor's Nightmare." Insets introduce various famous magicians, and the book also features a list of magic shops, a selected timeline history of magic, and an extensive bibliography. The author thanks his aunt and uncle literary agents and his father for spending all those late nights on the computer working on this. Not a bad book to buy for young beginners, but we can't help wondering who does this kid's science projects for him.

Lit 102 Little Giant Fat Books (1 cr) Two more books on the public shelves include The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Card & Magic Tricks and Mark Wilson's Cyclopedia of Magic, weighing in at 504 pp and 683 pp, respectively. The latter is yet another repackaging of Mark Wilson's popular and excellent Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic." Why anyone would want to purchase books in these squat little formats is beyond the minds of this university's finest behavioral scientists, but they are available to you for $9.95 (Little Giant)and $8.95 (Mark Wilson).

French and Italian

French 101 Introduction to Dominique Duvivier (3 cr) Click on the course title for access to the incroyable magic of Dominique Duvivier, including a discussion of both his writings and his wondrous props. Text for this course will be Magie Duvivier, by Jon Racherbaumer from Kaufman and Greenberg. Professor Raucherbaumer is the author of numerous texts on magic, and we predict this will become one of his most popular. Could he have had the "Le Big Mac" scene from Pulp Fiction in mind when he coined such trick titles as "Le Hamman Count," "Le Atfus," and "Le Ascanio Spread"?

Italian 101 Il Sortilegio (3 cr) One of the most popular card tricks that ran in the first volume of The Little Egypt Gazette was "Satan's Monte" in the April 1996 issue. Although you can purchase this and other wonderful card tricks below (see "Educational Supplies"), we are happy to report that "Satan's Monte" has been translated into Italian and appears in the current issue of Il Sortilegio, the beautiful internet magazine published by Giovanni Beani. If you have an Italian dictionary handy and can persuade Mr. Beani to provide you a password, you can still study this card trick for free. Grazie, Giovanni.

Journalism

Journalism 352 Magazine Editing (3 cr) Congratulations are in order to Stan Allen for having completed the first five years of publishing MAGIC, a gorgeous magic journal that exists in the real world and which set from the start, and has maintained, exceedingly high standards for graphic and writing content. All students should consider a subscription to MAGIC a mandatory component of their education. ($35 per year from Stan Allen & Associates, 7380 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 124-179, Las Vegas, NV 89123)

Journalism 354 Magazine Writing (3 cr) Congratulations are also in order to Max Maven on two counts: First, for having concluded five years of his column, "Parallax," in MAGIC. This was an extraordinarily interesting and entertaining column of pure opinion and commentary, and it was the column most of us turned to first. It will be missed. Second, Max contributed a stunning biographical piece in the July 1996 issue of Genii on Jay Marshall entitled "With Jasper in Magicland." A familiarity with Mr. Marshall is likewise fundamental to any student's education, and there is no finer way to start than with this article. (Genii, by the way, is published by Erika Larsen, a younger and far prettier editor than Stan Allen, and her magazine is also required reading. $30 per year from Genii, 929 South Longwood Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019.)

Economics

Marketing 120 Magic Dealer Days (1 cr) Business majors and shoppers are invited to attend Magic Dealer Days in Louisville on Saturday, Nov. 23 and Sunday, Nov. 24. Featured dealers for this two-day shop-a-thon will be Collectors Workshop, Al's Magic, and Stevens Magic Emporium. A great opportunity to get together with Rich Bloch, Nick Ruggiero, Al Cohen, and Joe Stevens. To be held at the Holiday Inn Louisville South, 3317 Fern Valley Road, Louisville. $65 rate, call (502) 964-3311 for reservations. If you would also like to perform and compete for $300 in prizes, contact Rich Bloch at (202) 364-3020.

Mathematics

Math 460 Richard's Stack (4 cr) Memorized stacked decks have long been a secret tool of topflite card wizards, and they have enjoyed a resurgence of popularity thanks to recent books by Simon Aronson and Mike Close. The downside is that they require memorizing 52 cards in a known sequence. Richard's Stack, by contrast, is a stack that allows you to calculate the position of any named card, or, conversely, to calculate the name of the card at any number in the deck. Although such calculations have long been possible with cyclic stacks such as the Si Stebbins, Richard's Stack employs a mathematical conversion that maps a numerically ordered deck into a seemingly random sequence. Note that this is an upper level math course and is therefore not for the mathematically challenged. The department also assumes a nodding familiarity with the Nikola, Ireland, and Aronson stacks along with such cyclic variations as the Si Stebbins and Eight Kings. A minor entrance examination is required. To access Richard's Stack, click on the course title and enter the Userid ron. When prompted for a Password, enter the next word in the mnemonic sequence, "Eight kings threatened to ...". As always, both Userid and Password must be entered completely in lower case. For those who need remedial math help, go to What If I Don't Know the Password.

Math 200 Gaming Theory (2 cr) Although gaming theory should serve the student well in games of legitimate chance, it's sometimes handy to have an equally thorough knowledge of cheating methods. At last summer's edition of Geno Munari's Close-up Classic in Las Vegas, Tony Giorgio demonstrated what he considers to be the real work on the bottom deal, and he sold a manuscript that details this information. The mss contains 25 pages, over 3000 words, and 17 illustrations, one of which is incorrect (Tony will supply the correction). Per a recent mention in his Genii column, he is making a limited edition of 125 copies available. The price is $25 plus $3 postage, from Tony Giorgio at 11225 Magnolia Blvd., Suite 220, North Hollywood, CA 91601.

Psychology

Psych 100 How to Be a (Fake) Kreskin (3 cr) This surprise one-volume course on mentalism, by the Amazing Kreskin himself, is a steal at your local public interest bookstore for only $9.99. Kreskin includes some strong material on suggestion and hypnotism, spirit magic, blindfold routines, predictions, card mentalism, and sundry stunts. This is highly enjoyable reading. Credits are noted to Richard Hatch, David Meyers, and Bob Lund.

Theater and Drama

Theater 400 Magic as Live Theater (3 cr) This class includes a field trip to New York City to attend David Copperfield's new Broadway show, Dreams and Nightmares. Extra fees and a note from your parents will be required. The New Yorker touts the show as follows: "Illusionist David Copperfield and two estimable collaborators -- playwright David Ives and director Francis Ford Coppola -- are bringing 'Dreams and Nightmares' to the Martin Beck." One hopes this collaboration will prove as successful as Ricky Jay's with David Mamet.

Theater 102 Introduction to Magic as Live Theater (1 cr) Much farther down on the show business scale, but continuing the "nightmare" theme, faculty member Steve Bryant recently presented his Nightmare on Highway 54 (aka "The World's Scariest Card Tricks") at The Phil Harris Golf Course in Linton, Indiana. Judging from his ususal figure of merit of not being stoned to death after the show, the program was a success.

Extended Studies (Video Classroom)

Video Classroom 360 Advanced Card Magic (3 cr) L & L Publishing has announced the availability of Volumes 4, 5, and 6 of Daryl's popular Video Encyclopedia of Card Sleights. Each is $29.95, or all three for $84.95. The entire six volumes are offered in a package deal for $160. Give Louis Falanga a call at (800) 626-6572 and enroll in this video course.

Video Classroom 362 The World's Greatest Magic III (3 cr) Professor Gary Ouellet will air the third installment of his popular video class on magic on November 27 (the night before Thanksgiving) on NBC from 8 to 10 P.M. John Ritter will host. This year, the instructional segments by faculty member Mac King will be broken up by entertaining filler from the likes of Brett Daniels, Hans Klok and Sittah, Joseph Gabriel, Michael Finney, Galina, Nathan Burton, David Williamson, Steve Wyrick, Jean-Pierre Vallarino, Dirk Arthur, Bob Arno, Peter Marvey, and the Pendragons (who will vanish 25 showgirls). Following the air date, local students will attend the classroom discussion: "Mac King -- Should he be drummed out of magic?"