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It is both a duty and a privilege, as editor of a magic magazine, even one so ethereal as The Little Egypt Gazette, to attend magical social functions. The New Year's Eve bash at the Pyramid Club was no exception, and, given the minimalist roster of this year's office staff and the fortuitous situation of Columbine's boyfriend being in Jamaica on urgent business, it was an easy decision to make it a threesome. I should establish that, in the few months she has proven so helpful around the office, the waif-like Columbine has exhibited a fashion sense that tends to post-Apocalyptic chic, running to baggy sweatshirts, an Army surplus jacket, oversized black slacks, and Nike hightops. Her mop of dark hair has kept her eyes in perpetual shadow, and her personality seems predicated on her outright fear and loathing of Golem and her deep-seated distrust of editors. Against this expectation, the vision that appeared before Golem and me on the last night of 1996 must be measured. Much of it can be summed up in the dress, a daring wisp of strapless black velvet. The hemline fell barely low enough to prevent one from seeing stuff, exposing long stockinged legs that put one in mind of Liv Tyler, while the plunge of the neckline showcased unexpected cleavage of which even Miss Farnsworth would have been proud. The girl's normally unruly black hair was pulled back high on her head, unveiling luminous green eyes. A quiet authority displaced her former jumpy temperament. I felt very old and very young at the same time. "Ah, just how old are you, my dear?" She regarded me. "I'll be 20 in February," she said. "Or is it 33? Or 16 again? It depends on my mood. Right now I'm in the mood for dancing. And magic. Are you guys ready, or what?" Golem couldn't breathe. I socked him on the arm to arouse him, and we headed out to hail the cab that would take us to Egypti Tower. The Gazette, I thought as the lights of the city sailed past us, is going to look good at this party. The girl's perfume cast a spell throughout the interior of the vehicle. Pretty good indeed. * * * Well, there is usually some tie-in between the Columbine-Golem stories and some more real-life incident. All I can plead to here is (1) the desire to stick with the New Year's Eve theme and (2) an assessment that the Gazette has looked pretty good for the past few issues. As to the sexy dress part, I was no doubt heavily influenced by watching the first episode of The New Adventures of Robin Hood Monday night on TNT. If you guys out there haven't seen this yet, tune in. This is not your father's Maid Marian.

But to magic: The Golden Scarab Awards in this issue were, of course, simply a means of looking back on 1996. As to Book of the Year, another book we reviewed in 1996 ranked up there with the Paul Harris trilogy, but its 1995 publication date kept it out of the running. The book is Darwin Ortiz's Cardshark, and if you somehow managed to get through the past year or so without buying it, think about it again. I recently looked back over all the books I've read recently with an eye toward some repertoire development, and virtually all the items I want to add can be found in Cardshark. Darwin comes up with more blockbuster plots than anyone else in the field. * * * A couple of special things came to an end in 1996, Max Maven's five-year run of "Parallax" in MAGIC, and The Wizard's Secrets, the magic show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Both will be missed. * * * Regarding last month's Christmas poem, it is always troubling to me to have to leave anyone out, yet there has to be a cutoff. I was recently tossing out the notecards from this year's rough draft, and it reminded me that sometimes names are left out because the rhymes are so unspeakably bad. If your name was omitted, perhaps it is to your benefit, as it might have been included in such snippets of doggerel as: Serve a plate of teriyaki To David Williamson and Rocky or Procure a date for Alex Elmsley (Cuter than Leona Helmsley!) or Speaking of Diaconis, mercy! What the hell kind of name is Persi? I think that's enough of that. * * * I had pondered including here a list of Wishes for 1997, such as wishing Stephen Minch and Richard Hatch enough free time to work on Giobbi 3. What I really wish, I realized, is for Stephen and Richard Kaufman and Louis Falanga to take a year off from their publishing careers (how about a performing sabbatical?) so that the rest of us can spend some quality time with the books we already own. It's difficult keeping up with all the great stuff. * * * Although I don't like to use cheesy clipart, such as the Penn and Teller image in "Words from the Sphinx," it's nice to note that the act has become such a household word that the boys have attained the status of cheesy clipart. The clip is from the Corel Draw file. * * * We always look to Stan Allen's "Inside Magic" column in MAGIC for the latest on where and when magicians are performing. We were pleased to note in Stan's January column that Disney's Melinda, First Lady of Magic is scheduled to air on CBS sometime in January. As soon as we know more, we'll post it on the Welcome Center page. Scanning the Winter Preview issue of TV Guide, the section on "Specials/Music and Magic" lists two upcoming specials, David Blaine Magic Show ("The street performer hits the road to perform his sleight of hand for passersby in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities") on ABC, spring, and Lance Burton: Out of This World on NBC, February 17. * * * Finally, some important thanks are in order. Thanks first go to Louis Falanga of L&L Publishing for the Dai Vernon photo used in the cover. The photo is from The Vernon Chronicles, Further Lost Inner Secrets Volume 3, by Stephen Minch. It depicts Dai Vernon performing the cups and balls at the Kit Kat Klub, 1936. Thanks also to Jay Marshall of Magic, Inc. for the Bert Allerton photo used in the cover. This Irving Desfor photo is from Bert Allerton's The Close-up Magician, and it shows Bert Allerton performing at the Hotel Pierre, in New York. And a huge thank you to Richard Kaufman for letting me use "A Two Billet Test" from the new Harry Riser book. As we indicated in the book review, it's a terrific book and you should have it.

That's about it for January. If the current ice and snow storm outside my window continues, the next issue may deal with what Columbine and Golem and I had to do to keep warm when cut adrift in the snow, but I'll try to spare you from that. Stay warm.