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Closing photos since 2007: Rotogravure

Check out my Favorite Issues.

And enjoy ...

October 2023: We visit the Magic Castle for three nights to experience a Zabrecky seance, and we briefly endorse the latest publications from Dani DaOrtiz, Mike Caveney, John Bannon, Charlie Frye, and Stsan Allen.

May 2023: Little Egypt Magic is on Summer Vacation, and we say goodbye to Milt Larsen.

March 2023: H&R Magic Books releases Volume 9 of Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations, and the AMA has created a 50-year membership pin.

February 023: tRichard Wiseman releases Hocus Pocus, Justin Willman does Bloomington, and we say goodbye to Robert Orben.

January 2023: thw Magic Castle celebrates the life of Max Maven.

December 2022: John Bannon catches the Queen Spirit, and Ben Harris gets creative with the Svengali deck. Call it Symmetry, Parity & the Chimera Deck.

November 2022: We cbriefly note news from Dustin Stinett, John Bannon, Rachel Wax, Bob Farmer, David Sandy, and Lnace Rich, plus Amy Kimlat's nw picture book,and farewell words to Andre Kole, Earl Nelson, Max Maven, nd Jerry Lee Lewis.

October 2022: We consider the magic that got away, spooky magic from Little Egypt Magic, and Halloween decor here in Indiana.

September 2022: Consider Freedom of Expression by Dani DaOrtiz, extend condolences to magician King Charles III and family, and send love to Mrtin Lewis's wife, Susi.

August 2022: Consider new publicaations The Magic Mind of William W. Larsen, Sr. by Milt Larsen and Carol Marie, Target: Midnight from Abbott's, and Brushstrokes Over Reality by Jim Steinmeyer.

July 2022: Treat yourself to Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist and to card tricks involving a specific quantity of cards. What?

June 2022: Dive deep into Steve Cohen's Max Malini: King of Magicians Magician of Kings.

May 2022: Take a look at Steve Spill'a Assassin, Harapan Ong's Opticks, a forgotten short story, a John Bannon card trick, and bargain dining and ghosts at the Magic Castle.

April 2022: Congrats all around on Randy Pitchford's purchase of the Magic Cstle, and enjoy Theseus by Nathan Colwell, reprints of Seventh Heaven by Lewis Jones, Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 1, and The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chdwick, and Mel Brooks All About Me.

March 2022: We note The Bammo Flim-Flam CONgregation by Bob Farmer, reprints of Subtle Card Creations Volume 1 by Nick Trost and Seventh Heaven by Lewis Jones, Genii and Meir Yedid hit 1000, and Stan Allen sells out another MAGIC Live. Aloha, Jack Clements.

February 2022: Happy Valentine's Day. Enjoy reading How Mgicians Think by Joshua Jay and Paul McCartney The Lyrics, seek out "I Call B.S.!" from David Sndy and Lance Rich, and bid farewell to the Amazing Johnathan.

January 2022: Happy New Year. Indulge in Mike Caveney's Classic Correspondence from Egyptian Hall Mueseum IV and John Graham's Stage by Stage, and congrats to local magi Tori Noquez for her spot on "Fool Us.""

December 2021: Season's greetings as we look back on magic in 2021 and on two Magic Collectors Corner Onlines from David Sandy and Lance Rich.

November 2021: We stay up late reading Eugene Burger: Final Secrets, Jim Steinmeyer's Bewildering Impuzzibilities, Exemplars from The Ricky jay Collection, and David Coppperfield's History of Magic and enjoy Magic Castle perks from Max Maven and Mike Caveney.

October 2021: We look ahead to Eugene Burger: Final Secrets and look back to Eugene Burger: From Beyond, the October 2020 issue of Genii, and a Haunted Key.

September 2021: Mike Caveney's Sawing, Dreyer's English, Richard Wiseman's Hocus Pocus number 4, tthe Kadabra Pokemon card, Dana Sullivan's Dead Max Comix, and a visit with Gabe Fajuri. Aloha to Brad Burt, Bill Taylor, Lewis Jones, and Allan Slaight.

August 2021: Jack Shalom on the Eli Marks mysteries, Simon Lovell's greatest book, the Buck twins on Cardistry in 22 steps, and more AMA Behind the Bookcase episodes.

July 2021: Caleb Wiles lectures for Penguin, Tori Noquez proves shuffle math, Woody Aragon tells your fortune, Mac King has fascinting friends, the AMA talks with Jeff McBride and Ben Roman, and John Guastaferro lectures.

June 2021: Check out a great ACAAN from Dani Daortiz, Vanishing Inc.'s Catch and other cool coin tricks, and more online magic from Jeff McBride, Mac King, and the AMA.

May 2021: We ask 20 questions to enhance our three favorite tricks and enjoy Conjuring in Quarantine part 13. And ... the Magic Castle is now open!

April 2021: Milt Larsen is 90, Larry Jennings is in port, and Conjuring in Quarantine is up to part 12!

March 2021: The Magic Circle celebrates Tommy Cooper at 100, and we enjoy a spooky coin trick, Mac King's Don't Everybody Leave, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?, and the Magic Castle's Virtual Magic Shows, lectures, and and Behind the Bookcase.

February 2021: Valentine's Day gifts: Confronting Magic by Steve Cohen, The Adventures of the Amazing Kreskin by Kreskin and Howie Noel, Addams' Apple by Charles Addams, more from the Magic Dave Show, Lucy Darling in Showtime, and continuing content from Behind the Bookcase.

January 2021: Books Magic Inside out by Robert E. Neale and Larry Hass, unconventional.book from the Toronto Magic Company, continuing content from Behind the Bookcase perks and lectures from the Magic Castle's AMA, the Castle'ss Founders' Day celebration, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?, David Williamson's The Magic Dave Show, and farewell to Al Cohen, David Roth, Siegfried, and Mark Wilson.

December 2020: Gifts from Christmases past, a new Wiseman Hocus Pocus, continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks and MMOMA from the Magic Castle's AMA, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?, and farewell to Walter Blaney, Matt Field, nd Bev Bergeron.

November 2020: Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 8, Tenyo's Magical Honeycomb, continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks from the Magic Castle's AMA, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?, and farewell to Jack White.

October 2020: Genii celebrates Halloween, and we enjoy Charlie Miller's Magicana, Meir's Ouija pin, Zabrecky's Two-Headed Dreams, Mac King's House O' Magic, Max Major's Remote Control, Ben Train's and Jonah Babins' Unconventional, Swing State Magic, and continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks from the Magic Castle's AMA, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?

September 2020: All the news from the AMA awards show, plus More Jaw Droppers! from Harry Lorayne, magic in a box from Max Major, surprise video clips, continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks from the Magic Castle's AMA, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That?, and farewell to Howie Schwarzman.

August 2020: Our silver anniversary issue! Enjoy Dani DaOrtiz: Connected and Hocus Pocus issue 2, favorite tricks I have seen over the years, continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks from the Magic Castle's AMA, dinner magic at the Castle, Harrison Greenbaum's Who Books That? and farewell to Dave Tansey.

July 2020: Enjoy Suzy Wandas The Lady with the Fairy Fingers by Christ and Kobe Van Herwegen and Curious Impuzzibilities by Jim Steinmeyer. Plus take note of continuing content from Collectors Corner online, Behind the Bookcase perks from the Magic Castle's AMA, card tricks from David Solomon, a new book in support of BLM, and the passing of Louis Falanga and Marvyn Roy.

June 2020: Behold a Haunted Key Deluxe, note Lucy Darling and Penn and Teller specials, party online with the Magic Castle's AMA, learn 20 false poker deals, and dive into the math behind the world's lamest card trick.

May 2020: Spend time with Dani DaOrtiz's Collection of Weapons; bide your time with broadcasts from David Sandy, Tim Elllis, and the Magic Castle's AMA; and bid adieux to Norm Nielsen, Roy Horn, and Little Richard.

April 2020: Dive into Morgan and West's Parlour Tricks, bid farewell to Joan Lawton, and thank the magicians who have been sharing on the internet.

March 2020: Enjoy Steve Forte's Gambling Sleight of Hand: Forte Years of Research, Lucy Darling's Indulgence at the Chicago Magic Lounge, and an article on Houdini by David Denby in The New Yorker.

February 2020: Take a look at Voodoo Needle by Peter Eggink and Aeon Sun, and bid farewell to E. Raymond Carlyle.

January 2020: Start the new year with Magi-fest 2020, Pepe Carroll's 52 Lovers Through the Looking Glass, and an epochal birthday is enjoyed.

December 2019: Enjoy the season with a 3-way mirror from Sean Yang, and have a moment of silence for Simon Aronson.

November 2019: Give thanks for Eugene Burger: From Beyond by Larry Hass, Carisa Hendrix LIVE from Penguin, and a rewind of Bill Malone LIVE.

October 2019: The fourth Genii convention in Orlando, David Regal's Interpreting Magic, David Regal Goes Psycho (bonus trick), and Steve Spill's Magic Is My Weed.

September 2019: Annemann's Enigma from The Miracle Factory, a Ricky Jay tribute issue of Gibeciere, Nick Trost's Subtle Card Miracles Volume 7, Mind Tricks with Max Major, and Simon Coronel's Magic Smackdown.

August 2019: Noel Britten's Bizarre Bath, close-up magic at the Magic Circle, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in London.

July 2019: Rob Zabrecky's Strange Cures, a Steve Spill YouTube stream, and farewell to Mad magazine.

June 2019: Free! Two new Amazing Johnathan documentaries and an SAM lecture by Rob Zabrecky. Plus a belated farewell to John Cornelius.

May 2019: We appreciate Mike Powers' new book Tesseract and four more tricks from Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 7, and we introduce a new photo file called Rotogravure.

April 2019: We take a sneak peek at Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 7 and a last H&R peek at The Little Egypt Book of Numbers, we visit Matt Baker's The Buena Vista Shuffle Club, and I bid goodbye to Doc Kobler who gave me Bob Dunn's Magic for All, sooo long ago.

March 2019: Consider the hit Broadway play Network and producer Sandy Marshall, NBA coach Bob Weiss, and bid farewell to Johnny Thompson, Gary Darwin, Steve Dusheck, James Hodges, and Marshall Brodien.

February 2019: We behold The Magic Rainbow from Juan Tamariz and enjoy Victorious Triumph from Jim Krenz.

January 2019: We attend Magi-fest 2019 and delve into Harapan Ong's Principia.

December 2018: At long last, Richard Kaufman's DeLand Mystery and Madness and Jim Steinmeyer's Further Impuzzibilities, and `good-bye to Ricky Jay.

November 2018: Be thankful for Steve Cohen's The Millionaires' Magician, Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 1, Woody Aragon's Fortune Tarot, and Milt Larsen's Halloween radio broadcast.

October 2018: A look at Simon Coronel's play Glitches in Reality, at Geoff Latta's The Long Goodbye, and at Harry Lorayne's And Finally!

September 2018: A look at the goodies from the USPS, at the audience rapport of Pop Haydn and Lucy Darling, at the Decoded DVD from Morgan & West, and at the Allied Arts of top magicians.

August 2018: We attend MAGIC Live 2018, read Steve Spill's and Rob Zabrecky's new books, enjoy Justin Willman live and Danny Cole on the screen, and bid farewell to David Linsell.

July 2018: A look at a John Lovick linking ring routine, a farewell to Brian Gillis, and coming events to Indiana from Justin Willman and Simon Coronel.

June 2018: A look at my 50th wedding anniversary, at Juan Tamariz's "Chan-Tatachan" TV show, and at the script for Harry Anderson's Wise Guy.

May 2018: A look at Main Event: The Knockout Magic of Caleb Wiles, Harry Anderson LIVE, the Jinx tribute in Genii, internet clips of Harry Anderson, and Harry's high school days.

April 2018: A look at The Magic of Johnny Thompson, Harry Lorayne's Jawdroppers! lecture, and aloha to Harry Anderson.

March 2018: A look at Ed Marlo Secret Lecture, Ben Earl's Real Deck Switches, Andy Nyman's Ghost Stories, and a Little Egypt seance in Bloomington.

February 2018: A look at my non-magic book collection and at Lewis Jones's As If By Magic.

December 2017: Ryan Matney writes a great book, the Little Egypt folks are leaving the neighborhood, and Larry Jennings is fondly remembered.

November 2017: Reviews of Eugene Burger's and Larry Hass's Teaching Magic, J.K. Hartman's Card Devilry, Bob Farmer's The Bammo Gaffus Maximus, Jim Steinmeyer's Unexpected Impuzzibilities, and my Halloween seances, plus photos from and a link to the summer conventions 2017.

October 2017: Enjoy a 3/4 review of the Genii convention, a review of Harry Lorayne's Jaw Droppers! Two, a complete home seance, and a farewell to Philip Morris.

September 2017: I attend a Michael Carbonaro magic show, learn from a John Guastaferro download, and enjoy Glenn Morphew, Liberty Larsen, Steve Marshall, and R. Paul Wilson on flat screens.

August 2017: I conduct a book signing and spooky magic show at Barnes & Noble, and we bid and farewell to Eugene Burger.

July 2017: The IBM/SAM convention in Louisville, Magic, Inc.'s A New Angle and Conjuror at the Table, Allan Slaight's art collection in Illusions, Bob Farmer's Bammo Dekronomicon, and farewell to John Moehring.

June 2017: Bob Farmer's The Bammo Tarodiction Toolbox, tempting new magic from The Jerx's JAMM, and Carol Marie's Magic Castle: Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors.

May 2017: John Bannon's Lucky., The Magic Depot's Deck of Slates, and a visit with horror meister Zacherley.

April 2017: Andy's JAMM issue 3, Carol Marie's Magic Castle: Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors, Little Door and other card tricks, and aloha to Chuck Berry.

March 2017: Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 6, John Guastaferro's en route, and Happy birthday, Vixen and Bryant on Cards.

February 2017: Magi-fest 2017, Marty Kane's Card ChiKANEry, Bill Neff in Gent, and a new card trick. Happy Valentine's Day.

January 2017: Classic Correspondence from Egyptian Hall Museum Volumes I, II, and III, Curtis Kam Live, and literary Christmas loot from my family. Happy New Year.

December 2016: The Aretalogy of Vanni Bossi, the books of 2016, and classic books from Magic Inc.

November 2016: An alternate title for The Little Egypt Book of Numbers, The Jerx Monthly, a Horace Bennett four ace assembly, and two books for your Christmas shopping list. Your room is ready at McGrave's Hotel.

October 2016: The grand opening of McGrave's Hotel and Milt's 60th anniversary It's Magic! book, a eulogy for MAGIC magazine, and the bound volume of Jules Lenier's Talisman.

September 2016: A look at Handsome Jack etc., The Jerx Volume One, The Secrets of So Sato, Meir Yedid's Heavy Handed and Forces of Nature, and more images of MAGIC Live 2016.

August 2016: A look at MAGIC Live 2016, Chicago Magazine on Chicago magicians, John Bannon's Mentalissimo, Penguin's Bill Malone Live, and Caleb Wiles in concert.

July 2016: A look at the SAM 2016 convention in Indianapolis, at Raj Madhok's Mysteriouser, Mysteriouser, at Lewis Jones's Top Deck, at Angel Idigoras' Adventures of 51 magicians and a fakir, at Penguin Magic Monthly June 2016, and at Steve Valentine's tricks from the Magic Castle library.

June 2016: A look at John Hostler's Magnum Opossum, Dan and Dave Buck's Art of Magic web site, and Joe Stevens' Gemini archive.

May 2016: A look at new magazines from Karl Fulves, at Gene Anderson The Book, at a Penguin lecture from Eugene Burger, and at the cover for McGrave's Hotel.

April 2016: A look at a youngster starting in magic, at Milt Larsen on stage at age six, at a play about the life of Marc Summers, and at goodbyes to Irene Larsen and Paul Daniels.

March 2016: A look at Lewis Jones's Card Party, my first YouTube magic video, Jeff Baham's The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion, and tearful farewells to Tom Mullica and Irene Larsen.

February 2016: A look Magi-Fest 2016, at Andrew Mayne's magic & mischief, at Eric Leclerc's 3D Sports Paddle from Danny Orleans, and aloha, Jim Patton.

January 2016: A look at Richard Kaufman's Tenyo-ism, Bill Goodwin's Still Waters DVDs, Dan and Dave's "A Tribute to Vernon," a new ruse for Grandmother's Necklace, wishes for 2016 publications, and favorite gifts from Christmases past.

December 2015: A look at 20 years of Little Egypt Magic, at how to move Lucas Mackenzie and the London Midnight Ghost Show up the charts, and at Wladimir's Electric Deck Pro, Jim Steinmeyer's The Affirmative Code, and the Illusionists in London.

November 2015: A look at a streamlined version of Magic 1400s-1950s, Harry Lorayne's Jaw Droppers! and Before I Forget, Patrick G. Redford's Applesauce, the web site The Jerx, Michael Weber's Ten, an Indiana University talk on Sam Loyd, and Martin Gardner's Impromptu. Whew!

October 2015: We attend the Genii convention, The Illusionists/Live from Broadway at Indiana University, and we receive a Neff souvenir from the past.

September 2015: Congrats to Josh Jay and Andi Gladwin for new family members, and a look at Geno Munari's reprint of Advantage Card Playing and Draw Poker, MAGIC Live 2015: The Adventure, and back to Magic Monday with my friends.

August 2015: A retrospective of Stan Allen's first six MAGIC Live! conventions and a set of ebony Jumping Gems from Rich Hill.

July 2015: David Ben's The Experts at the Card Table, Andi Gladwin's Blomberg Laboratories, and Chris Philpott's sexy postcards.

June 2015: The Midwest Magic History Weekend, a wedding in the mountains, and an update on last month's cat illusion.

May 2015: Jim Steinmeyer's Nothing But Mystery and Devilish Impuzzibilities plus a cat illusion from Meir Yedid.

April 2015: Steve Spill's I Lie for Money and Robert Farmer's The Bammo Ten Card Deal Dossier.

March 2015: Lucas Mackenzie and The London Midnight Ghost Show is published, we look at a Scott Wells interview with Shawn Farquhar, a reel magic magazine interview with Brian Gillis, a Jeff Goldsmith podcast with Amazing Randi, and David Regal on YouTube, and Milt requests info for It's Magic! at sixty.

February 2015: Magi-fest 2015 is a winner, as are John Bannon's Destination Zero and Chuck Romano's new edition of Erdnase, plus video of Frank Garcia, Mac King, and Amazing Johnathan.

January 2015: Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 5, Joshua Jay's Big Magic for Little Hands, Rich Hill's Magic and Fun Emporium, and Amazing Johnathan's burnunit.tv Final Episode 1 and 2.

December 2014: Michael Perovich's A Vernon Companion, The Skinner Tapes from Richard Kaufman, a Magicol bio of Paul Fox from David Ben, Eugene Burger as the Grinch, librarian and historian Lisa Cousins, and a peek at Lucas Mackenzie and The London Midnight Ghost Show.

November 2014: A delay in Lucas plus considered: Steinmeyer's Treacherous Impuzzibilities, Aronson's Art Decko, Levit's C4, Justin Willman in Bloomington, Giobbi on Twitter, my podcast on iTricks, and a tour of the Lilly Library.

October 2014: Unearthed: Lucas Mackenzie and The London Midnight Ghost Show by me along with McCombical by Billy McComb, Now You See Them, Now You Don't by Bill Weimer, and a YouTube clip of Cyril and a podcast with a presentation for Luna.

September 2014: David Ben's biography of Allan Slaight, Fitzgerald's Who's Hoo tribute to Johnny Carson, and Milt Larsen's new web site. Aloha to Phil Willmarth.

August 2014: Juan Tamariz's repub of The Magic Way, Tom Stone's Runes of Tomorrow, four books from Bill Abbott, Allan Slaight in a sci-fi novel, Burn Unit takes on Piff the Magic Dragon, and Woody Allen centers a film on a magician.

July 2014: The IBM/SAM Combined Convention in St. Louis, Abbott Magic's Dark Matter Secrets, Norman Gilbreath's Beyond Imagination, Al Leech's The Complete Al Leech, and Simon Lovell's Betcha!

June 2014: Indiana University's Lilly Library launches "Spiritualists, Sorcerers & Stage Magicians."

May 2014: A live lecture by Joshua Jay, a recorded lecture by Rob Zabrecky, Tenyo's Ring and Ribbon, Vanish magazine with an article by Steve Spill, an Amy Shumer video, and an Alex Ramon podcast.

April 2014: An April Fool's issue featuring tricks that have fooled me over the years, a Channel Four sitcom, photos of Tamariz at a Friday night Magi-fest session, a Who's Hoo visit with Todd Karr, and a new book, Playing Cards in Photographs.

March 2014: Steve Mayhew's Mayhew/What Women Want, by John Lovick; Stephen Hobbs' Technical Toolbox; Morgan & West's Transmission of Information; J.C. Wagner's 7 Secrets; and the Little Big Book Chandu, the Magician.

February 2014: Magi-fest 2014 takes over Columbus, John Guastaferro writes Seven Wonders, Linda Ronstadt writes Simple Dreams, and Jeff McBride visits Amazing Johnathan.

January 2014: The year begins with bargains: two Jim Steinmeyer books for less than $20 each, Volume 3 of The Vernon Chronicles for less than $10, a great reel magic event for the usual $5 per month, a free Dodd Vickers interview with David Roth, and a free Amazing Johnathan interview with Scott Land.

December 2013: Hofzinser arrives in two volumes, just in time for Christmas. Also: Jim Steinmeyer's The Science Behind the Ghost!, Ken Allen's Tricky Tray, Lance Pierce's Triple Change, Jerry Andrus's Injogto, Dan Castellaneta's and Deb Lacusta's The Banana Tree, and Scott Wells goes mental over "The Night Before Christmas."

November 2013: Another look at Mike Caveney's The Conference Illusions, at The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy Volume II, at Glenn Morphew's Rub-a-Dub Deluxe Suite, at a James Thurber magic quote, at Brian Anderson's The Conjurers comic strip, and at some more photos from my Champaign trip. Highlight of the month: David Blaine's new special on ABC.

October 2013: A look at a Lego haunted house, at a Fulton deck from Dan and Dave, at Dallas and Co., at My Pet Boris, at a Haunted Mansion hourglass, at Ricky Jay's Deceptive Practice, at Steve Valentine's lecture part one, at a Magic Castle issue of Magicol, at the last issue of Prolix, at the Jim Steinmeyer reel magic magazine, at a Corinda e-book, at the new King-Mellencamp musical, at The Bat's and at Pete Biro's memories of the Francisco spook show, and at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois.

September 2013: A look at Gaetan Bloom's Full Bloom, at John Bannon's High Caliber, at Scott Wells's Magic Word, at Fitzgerald's Who's Hoo with David Williamson and Orson Bean, and at Amazing Johnathan's Burn Unit with David Saxe and Jack Goldfinger.

August 2013: A look at Mike Caveney's magnum opus, at Richard Kaufman's Japan Ingenious, and at David Charvet's Jarrow.

July 2013: A trip back in time to the 2009 IBM Convention in Nashville and to magic from summers past.

June 2013: A look at the Louisville International Festival of Magic, Illusion, and the Unusual and at Neil Patrick Harris's performance as host of the 2013 Tonys.

May 2013: A look at Vanishing Inc.'s Magic in Mind, two new episodes of Amazing Johnathan's Burn Unit, a low-cost e-book of Don Alan's In a Class by Himself, Erika Larsen's Beyond Brookledge, and a return home for Magi-fest.

April 2013: A look at Amazing Johnathan's new talk show (Burn Unit), Lewis Jones's Persona, Roberto Giobbi's The Art of Switching Decks, Alan Watson's Magic New Zealand with Nick Lewin's Remarkable Magic, and farewell to Roger Ebert.

March 2013: A look at Scott Robinson's Pure Imagination, a new reel magic magazine format option, a shaggy-dog tale from Patrick Culliton, and Richard Wiseman's The Grid.

February 2013: A Happy Valentine's Day look at Magi-fest 2013, John Guastaferro's Discoveries and Deceptions, Darwin Ortiz's Lessons in Card Mastery, Dan and Dave Buck's Ultimate deck, nifty magic wands, and Mia's Magic Tricks from Legos.

January 2013: A look at Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 4, Roberto Giobbi's Confidences, Florian Severin's What Lies Inside, and Guy Hollingworth's interview with Derren Brown for EMC 2012.

December 2012: An appraisal of Milt Larsen on the eve of the Magic Castle's 50th anniversary and on the publication of My Magical Journey, a look at the December 2012 issue of MAGIC, and a review of a Magic with a Christmas Theme.

November 2012: Maskelyne and Devant's Our Magic and Simon Lovell's Simon Says as e-books, the 75th Anniversary issue of Genii, Vincent Hedan's Mnemosyne and web site, and issue 30 of reel magic with reviews of Chad Long tricks.

October 2012: The 75th Anniversary Genii Bash, a magic fundraiser for President Obama, Steve Beam's Trapdoor 3, the new Magic Castle playing cards, and Dean Martin does card tricks.

September 2012: Vanishing, Inc. publishes J.K. Hartman's Card Dodgery, The Award-Winning Magic of John Cornelius becomes available as an e-book, and David Ben publishes a stunning issue of Magicol featuring The Joy of Posters.

August 2012: We attend Abbott's 75th Get-Together, and the third Essential Magic Conference, we perform a ton of cool magic tricks, and we install the Jinx Companion on our iPad. Thanks to David Linsell for awesome photos.

July 2012: We attend The False Deal convention in Columbus and acquire digital books from Senator Crandall and Jeff McBride along with a 90-minute lecture download from David Williamson.

June 2012: A look at Walt Disney World, at Daytona Magic, at some favorite Dani DaOrtiz tricks, at recent Genii, MAGIC, and reel magic issues, and aloha, Ray Bradbury.

May 2012: A look at the 43rd Magic Collectors Weekend, at Christiaan Lopez-Miro's Smoke and Mirrors, at Ireland's Yearbook 1961, at Charlie Frye's "The Man Behind the Chip," and at Karl Fulves's Prolix issue 9.

April 2012: A look at Bill Goodwin's Evolution, at Charlie Randall's The FFFF Book, at Illusionology, at Kozak/Inside Comedy, and at the new iPad app from Vanishing Inc.

March 2012: An "all babe" issue with Saratoga Ballantine on Who's Hoo, Tina Lenert with new lecture notes, Erin Morgenstern (author of The Night Circus), and the Mona Lisa.

February 2012: Happy Valentine's Day. Treats include a trip to London's Magic Circle, a trip to Ohio's 81st Magi-fest, a look at John Guastaferro's new e-book, and a happy birthday to Hermene Clarke.

January 2012: Happy New Year, reviewing a Christmas that brought Patrick Page's Magic Page by Page, Tom Stone's Maelstrom, David Acer's More Power to You, and Dani DaOrtiz's Utopia. Wow.

December 2011: We review Joshua Jay's lecture, The Book of Revelations by Lewis Jones, and Hugo by Martin Scorcese.

November 2011: We review Magical Mathematics by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham and Flying Carpet by Tenyo and Lubor Fiedler.

October 2011: We review Dave Buck's If an Octopus Could Palm, Helder Guimaraes' Ontology Project, Steve Beam's The Trapdoor Volume Two, Roger Ebert's Life Itself, Kirk Demaris's Mail-Order Mysteries, and John Lovick on Who's Hoo.

September 2011: We review Woody Aragon's A Book in English, we market The Little Egypt Book of Numbers, we give a lecture in Chicago, and we receive a new Magic Castle card.

August 2011: We attend MAGIC Live! 2011, we love the Mac King Comedy Magic Show, and we perform a whole bunch of magic tricks at "Magic Monday."

July 2011: EMC 2011, Entity's 20 Tips for Seance Workers, Ireland's Trick Talk Spring 1962, and Dani DaOrtiz's Open Triumph.

June 2011: The Jeff McBride Experience in Indiana, Jamy Ian Swiss's Devious Standards, Jack Kodell's Kodell/Do Something Different, and Jim Magus's Unspeakable Acts.

May 2011: David Regal's lecture, Karl Fulves's Prolix Issue 8, Peter Tappan's The Impostress Princess, Ireland's Trick Talk 1959, Craig Conley's, Gordon Meyer's, and Fredrick Turner's Jinx Companion, and David Ben's MCW 42.

April 2011: Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 3; John Bannon's Bullet Party; Steve Beam's The Trapdoor Volume 1; Patrick G. Redford's lecture, booklets, and pass; and Doc Eason headlines the Central Illinois Magic Get-together.

March 2011: EMC 2010 DVDs arrive, MAGIC Live is coming, Paul Vigil kills in a tattoo parlor, Tom Stone amazes, and Las Vegas features terrific magic acts.

February 2011: Derren Brown's Confessions of a Conjuror and his DVD box set Derren Brown Live Collection, Caleb Wiles' Six Pack, Peter Duffie's Card Magic U.S.A., and the Magic Castle's Who's Hoo. Happy Valentine's Day.

January 2011: A look at Andy Nyman's Bulletproof, Roberto Giobbi's Secret Agenda, Dick Cavett's Talk Show, and Stan Allen's app for MAGIC magazine.

December 2010: A look at a dozen top books for 2010, the digital revolution shakes up magic, and aloha, Ron Wilson.

November 2010: John Moehring's Del Ray America's Foremost, Danny Rudnick's Selec-trick Deck, Ian Keable's Magic Shows, and more wands from Harry Potter.

October 2010: J.K. Hartman's CAAN CRAFT, Ross Bertram in Magicana, Tim Burton collectibles, Dennis James accompanies The Bat, and Ring 43's Mentalism Night. Boo!

September 2010: Forty years of contributions to Genii and a visit with Todd Duff in Paducah.

August 2010: Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, the 54th Midwest Magic Jubilee, John Guastaferro's One Degree, Ron Wilson's Tales from the Uncanny Scot, Elspeth Grant Huxley in The Magician Monthly, and Genii goes digital -- for free!

July 2010: We "attend" the Essential Magic Conference and try out some old magic tricks.

June 2010: Here lie three ways to enjoy the creations of Tom Stone, plus a look at the fantastical City Museum in St. Louis.

May 2010: We read Mac King's Campfire Magic, attend the 41st MCA conference in Chicago, cause cards to rise thanks to the genius of Upton/Smith, and watch five great close-up acts on Letterman.

April 2010: Doc Eason sweeps his Magic Castle categories, Josh Jay writes a book about Rune Klan, and Jim Pace lectures in Evanston, Illinois.

March 2010: David Ben's Magicana takes over the MCA, and we appreciate three volumes of P. Howard Lyons' Ibidem.

February 2010: Steve does Magi-fest, Jack White does zombies, Little Egypt Card Tricks returns, and John Lovick does the Buck twins. Happy Valentine's Day!

January 2010: Sandy Marshall writes Beating a Dead Horse, John Kennedy brews up some Mojoe, and we visit Chicago at Christmas. Happy New Year!

December 2009: Fifty years of Genii, Sandy Marshall's Beating a Dead Horse, and The J.C. Wagner Lecture. Merry Christmas!

November 2009: Jim Steinmeyer's and Mike Caveney's Magic 1400s-1950s, Volume 5 of the Bruce Cervon Castle Notebooks, Allan Zola Kronzek's 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker, the passing of Carl Ballantine, John Booth, and Neil Lester, and Cirque du Soleil's Banana Shpeel.

October 2009: Jim Steinmeyer's Technique & Understanding, Richard Turner in Chicago, and reel magic for your iPhone.

September 2009: Bluff controls from Joshua Jay, a Rising Card app from Chris Kenner on iTunes, Harry Anderson's and Jon Racherbaumer's anniversary issue of The Jinx, Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond, Ken Krenzel's Relaxed Impossibilities, Charlie Frye's Eccentricks, and Teller's Macbeth on DVD.

August 2009: MAGIC Live 2009 in Las Vegas, Daytona Magic in Florida, and Ray Witkowski's Tabman products.

July 2009: The IBM convention in Nashville and a look at the six-volume Malone Meets Marlo DVD set.

June 2009: A nostalgic look at influential softcover titles in magic, parodies of and by Debbie McGee, and the Mike Caveney and Chris Kenner issues of reel magic magazine.

May 2009: Martin Lewis lectures in Evanston, Caleb Wiles writes a book, Bruce Cervon notes come to light, the comics teach how to levitate a human being, Boris Karloff parties at the Magic Castle, Don Lawton has lots of friends, and the IBM lowers your parking fees.

April 2009: The Magic Collectors Association Weekend 2009, Mary Poppins in Chicago, online video of Ron Wilson, Slydini, and Doc Eason, and a peek at Mammoth Cave.

March 2009: The World Magic Seminar 2009, Simon Lovell performs and lectures at Magic, Inc., and It's Magic, the 1955 television series.

February 2009: Magi-Fest 2009, the You Asked For It DVDs, Don England's poker chip magic, Indian Conjuring from Project Gutenberg, Nick Trost's Subtle Card Creations Volume 2, and aloha to Freda Powell.

January 2009: Lloyd E. Jones' The Bat and Francis Carlyle on CD, Richard Kaufman's The Collected Almanac and The New Jinx, Harry Lorayne: The Classic Collection 2, Noel Daniel's The Circus:1870-1950, and more podcasts from Dodd Vickers.

December 2008: The black and white issue: A look back at magic in 2008, a few last-minute Christmas shopping ideas, and a wish list for magic in 2009.

November 2008: Christmas ads for The Little Egypt Book of Ghosts, Zarrow by David Ben, MAGIC by Joshua Jay, How Does the Show Go On? by Thomas Schumacher with Jeff Kurtti, and new magic sets from Melissa and Doug.

October 2008: The Little Egypt Book of Ghosts, more from Dodd Vickers' The Magic Newswire, Simon Drake's The Secret Cabaret DVD, his House of Magic, his Iron Maiden Raising Hell DVD, a magic-themed fundraiser for Barack Obama, and Koz's Reel Magic Quarterly, the Mac King issue.

September 2008: Spins and Needles/The Magic of Allan Slaight, Harry Anderson's Wise Guy script, Steve Cohen's Win the Crowd, Dodd Vickers' The Magic Newswire, David Acer's Gotcha, Edward Gorey's Fantod Pack, and Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour.

August 2008: Emergency announcement. Something terrifying is about to be unearthed ...

July 2008: The IBM/SAM 2008 combined convention, Dai Vernon's Revelation, and William V. Rauscher's Pleasant Nightmares.

June 2008: Summer vacation.

May 2008: The Magic Collectors' Weekend in Schaumburg 2008, David Regal's Approaching Magic, Gordon Bean's "Bikers," Bruce Cervon's Castle Notebooks Volume Two, Chuck Romano's The Art of Deception, and news re Stan Allen's next convention.

April 2008: A new dvd on the Long Beach Mystics, Mike Powers' "Diminishing Returns," Gordon Bean's "Timecard," Tomas Blomberg's "Time After Time," Letterman with another magic week, Neil Patrick Harris on Ellen, shakeups at the Magic Castle, and Brett Daniels' amazing new show Wohscigam in Las Vegas.

March 2008: A new edition of Chuck Romano's The Art of Deception, a New Yorker piece on the magic scene, Mathieu Bich's "TnR," and deals such as Out of the Spook Cabinet from Byron Walker.

February 2008: Project F.O.R.K., Lance Pierce's Roger Klause in Concert, Tony Miller's "Pocket Space Plus," Pete McCabe's Scripted Magic, and the 2008 edition of the Columbus Magi-Fest.

January 2008: The Zarrow Shuffle on the cover of Genii, Mac King's Great Big Ol' Book-O-Magic, Dustin Stinett's Catching Up with Milo and Roger, Bruce Cervon's Castle Notebooks Volume 1, Jim Haskins' and Kathleen Benson's Conjure Times, and notes on the internet.

December 2007: Amazing Johnathan's Wrong On Every Level hits dvd, Aaron Fisher vanishes a deck in "Panic," Max Maven becomes the Castle's solo Entertainment Director, Chris Kenner and David Saxe have home spreads in the magazines, magic sets for kids are the in thing, and some great conventions are coming for 2008. Season's greetings!

November 2007: Jon Armstrong lectures in Indianapolis, John Lovick interviews Jason Alexander on reel magic quarterly, Hermetic Press resurrects Juan Tamariz's The Five Points of Magic, and ye ed visits the West Baden Springs Hotel for Thanksgiving.

October 2007: Bill Malone's Here I Go Again! dvds, Mike Close's That Reminds Me, Lewis Jones's The Magic Gourmet, Tom Stone's Flatland Fever, Steve Martin in print and online, and the arrival of Audrey Elizabeth Beverton.

September 2007: Stan Allen's MAGIC Live III, Cardini by John Fisher from Todd Karr, two Paul Daniels performance dvds (An Audience with Paul Daniels and The Magic of Max Malini), David Solomon's The Wisdom of Solomon, J.K. Hartman's Card Dupery, a Mac King Show souvenir photo, and the 51st year of It's Magic!.

August 2007: Big news: The return of The Little Egypt Gazette, in a Special Edition honoring the 50th anniversary of It's Magic!, Milt Larsen's internationally famous hometown magic show. Also noted: an excellent Paul Cummins lecture tour and his and Doc Eason's multiple selection magnum opus, Fusillade.

July 2007: Denis Behr's Handcrafted Card Magic and his Book Index, Patrick G. Redford's Triangle, Mac King's and Peter Studebaker's "The Scorpion Moth," Aldo Colombini's "Draw a Blank," Brett Daniels' Wohscigam, Harry Allen's Daytona Festival of Magic, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Alan Watson's e-zine, and Illini/NBA superstar Nick Anderson.

June 2007: Ian Rowland's Lecture Notes Blackpool 2007, Paul Malmont's The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, Joseph K. Schmidt's New Card Control Systems, summer reading including a closer look at The Little Egypt Book of Numbers, the author will work for food (or celebrity girlfriends), and aloha, Bruce Cervon.

May 2007: The 38th annual Magic Collectors' Weekend, Chuck Romano's The Marshall Brodien Magic Set Collection and Jack Gwynne's Magical Scrapbook, and Chris Wilcox's Sleight Club.

April 2007: The 30th annual Central Illinois Magic Get-Together, U.F. Grant's Presto Clock Vanish, John Lovick's Handsome Jack web site, and the Magic Castle really is for sale.

March 2007: Harry Lorayne's Best of Friends III, the Mix N' Mingle with Shaun McCree dvd, lectures by Andi Gladwin, Tyler Wilson, and Caleb Wiles, Mac King's and Mickey Mouse's selection to lead Louisville's Pegasus Parade, Teller's nightmarish version of Macbeth, the Magic Castle's For Sale rumor, and a look ahead to spring conventions and publications.

February 2007: World Magic Seminar 30, Magi-Fest 76, Thunderstruck by Eric Larson, Andrew Mayne's iTricks, and Brother John Hamman on culling.

January 2007: Darwin Ortiz's Designing Miracles, a Scotty York box set of dvds, Paul Harris's, Bill Goodwin's, and David Jockisch's "Linking Laces," a Genii Blog, and The Secrets of the Zombie Ball.

December 2006: A look back at 2006, Larry Jennings/A Private Lesson, Larry Becker's and Lee Earle's "Postal!," Mark Lewis's The Long and Short of It, hot mathematical card tricks, and Christmas shopping tips.

November 2006: Eric Mead's Tangled Web, Stan Allen's MAGIC Calendar 2007, Amazing Johnathan's Wrong On Every Level, the Magic Castle's Magic Castle After Dark, and Linda Davis's Chas Addams/A Cartoonist's Life.

October 2006: Todd Karr's Essential Robert-Houdin, David Regal's "Sudden Deck II," Andrew Mayne's "Ghost Vision," Brent Braun's decks, lies, and videotape, Louis Falanga's new catalog, three magician-oriented movies (The Prestige, The Illusionist, and Scoop), and web clips of Simon Drake.

September 2006: Six days at the Magic Castle, five ways to have fun there, three act reviews (Doc Eason, Tony Picasso, Woody Pittman), Losander's floating table, decks of cards from Ellusionist, It's Magic! week in Hollywood, an article that could have been better, and aloha to Elizabeth Wilson and James G. Williams.

August 2006: Levent's and Todd Karr's Roy Benson by Starlight, Duvivier's "Deck That Shuffles Itself," a free Palingenesia dvd from Genii, Mac King gets extended, Max Maven gets appointed, and Ursula Martinez gets naked.

July 2006: The S.A.M. convention in Louisville introduces The Vernon Touch, Dai Vernon:A Biography, "Wow," and vent superstar Lynn Trefzger; honors David Goodsell; and welcomes home favorite son, Mac King, among other festivities.

June 2006: Gordon Bean's "Entourage," Richard Osterlind's Guide Book 1 and 2, Charlie Frye's Eccentricks 3, Andrew Mayne's "Gut Buster," Jason Palter's "Third Degree Burn," Joe Russell's "Dis Jointed," Sam Lane's "Can-Tastic," Karl Fulves's Prolix, hello, Fiona Bean, and way to go, Criss Angel.

May 2006: Jim Steinmeyer's The Conjuring Anthology, David Britland's The Mind & Magic of David Berglas, Chuck Romano's The Mechanics of Marvels, Mike Powers' Power Plays, John Lovick's Switch, Bryan Berg's Stacking the Deck, and aloha, Billy McComb.

April 2006: Anna Eva Fay, Jason Alexander, Dai Vernon, and John Moehring rate our attention.

March 2006: Columbus Magi-Fest and World Magic Seminar notes, Harry Riser's Secrets of an Escamoteur, One Hundred by Warlock, and aloha to Channing Pollock.

February 2006: Aloha, Mom.

January 2006: Slydini's As I Recall dvds, the Ultimate Marked Deck, and the Columbus Magi-Fest and World Magic Seminar announcements. Happy New Year.

December 2005: David Solomon's It's All in the Cards, John Bannon's Smoke and Mirrors, Francis Menotti's Prisn, the Off Color Series of Mentalism, and photographer Robert Scott Hooper. Merry Christmas!

November 2005: Summer vacation highlights (Disney/MGM snow, Max Maven lecture notes, Magic Masters, and Chad Long), Christmas shopping ideas, John Carney's Wonder Cabaret, The Protocols of the Elders of Magic, Mac King's magic kit, and a light-up Harry Potter wand.

October 2005: Portents: Criss Angel does Halloween, Princess Tenko does Las Vegas, Milt does It's Magic! edition 49, Minch takes a gamble, Penn and Teller get wet, and Subterfuge makes money disappear.

September 2005: Collections from Bill Goldman, Karl Fulves, and The New Yorker; Steve Forte in Genii; Hank Lee's "Pocket-Lev" and "Pen Thru Arm"; web sites from Mark Edward, David Parr, Jeff McBride, and the Magic Castle; and Google publishes everything.

August 2005: Todd Karr's House of Mystery, The Magic Science of David P. Abbott.

July 2005: Steve Forte's Casino Game Protection, the new magazine Magicseen, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Barrie Richardson's Theater of the Mind Act Two, 10 Years of Steve Spill 1980-1990, and Paul Harris's "Deep Astonishment II."

June 2005: Marvyn Roy's Mister Electric Unplugged, John Bannon's Dear Mr. Fantasy, Pabular issues, a Larry Jennings tribute site, and tv notes (The Takedown and Mindfreak).

May 2005: Aloha to Jay Marshall and Duke Washam, Simon Lovell's Billion Dollar Bunko, Peter Duffie's "Dead Reckoning," and Bill Abbott's Bill Abbott Performs Stand-up Magic for Kids.

April 2005: Harry Lorayne's Lorayne:The Classic Collection, Peter Duffie's The Dave Campbell Legacy, Tabary's The Award-Winning Rope Magic of Francis Tabary, Mike Close's lecture tour, Mike Maxwell's "Toony Angels" and a dvd on how to use it, three Fooler Doolers from Daryl, and the movie Bright Young Things.

March 2005: Steve Skomp's Devious Deceptions, Lynetta Welch's fabric line, "Mastermind" from France, and why you shouldn't gamble in Las Vegas.

February 2005: WMS 2005, Max Maven's Prism, Ron Bauer's The Complete Don Alan's Chop Cup, Dean Dill's and Michael Weber's "A New World," Richard Turner's The Cheat on dvd, and Juan Tamariz's Lessons in Magic on dvd.

January 2005: New books by Bob Cassidy and Bill Goldman, Derren Brown in Genii, cool Harry Potter merchandise, a New Yorker cartoon, and farewell to Johnny Carson.

December 2004:Shawn McMaster on James Burks, Magic Castle news, a gift-giving hint, and a take on a Juan Tamariz card trick.

November 2004: David Copperfield on Houdini, John LeBlanc on whatever, a tour of Amazing Johnathan's house, and wedding bells for Penn Jillette and Todd Karr. The first issue produced with one hand.

October 2004: Michael Finney's Live at Lake Tahoe!, John Carney's On Palming, Steven Youell's "Weapons of Mass Destruction," and Mickey Silver's Retention Vanish.

September 2004: Juan Tamariz's Mnemonica, Lewis Jones's Encyclopedia of Impromptu Card Forces, Nelson's Ultra Perfect Clip Board, and Susanna Yorke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

August 2004: MAGIC Live Two, Frank Zak takes on the Out to Lunch principle, and the passing of Frank Everhart, Sr., and John Novak.

July 2004: A look back at articles on Ricky Jay and Johnny Carson, at Doc Eason's performance video, and at Bill Malone's On the Loose dvds. A new look at David P. Abbott in Genii, at old-time mentalists on the radio, and a special sneak preview of The Little Egypt Book of Numbers.

June 2004: Michael Close's Closely Guarded Secrets, VEGAS on Stuart Townsend and magicians' assistants, Shade, Harry Potter 3, and the return of Jim Krenz with penetrating tips.

May 2004: Allan Ackerman and Lennart Green on cards, Scott Alexander on entertainment, Ken Weber on directing, and the great night clubs of the 20th century.

April 2004: The 27th Central Illinois Magic Get-Together, Steve Draun, a David Stone dvd, Bill Malone's web site makeover, and a vanishing bird cage for sale.

March 2004: Lewis Jones' Seventh Heaven, a Del Ray dvd, Indiana University appearances by Persi Diaconis and David Copperfield, MAGIC Live Lucky 13, and basketball news.

February 2004: Trouble at the Magic Castle, Derren Brown's The Devil's Picturebook and Pure Effect, Martin Lewis's Making Magic, Bill Abbott Performs Close-up for Kids, Jason Latimer in Genii, and Morgan's mom.

January 2004: The 2004 World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, the January 2004 issue of Genii featuring Ian Rowland, and Andrew Mayne's Body Morphin'.

December 2003: Doc Eason's after all these years and a peek at the Little Egypt Magic office. Merry Christmas.

November 2003: David Regal's Premise, Power, and Participation, Dean Dill's Extreme Dean, Shoot Ogawa and Apollo Robbins's CulturalXChange 2, David Roth's Expert Coin Magic Made Easy, Magic Castle fellowships for 2003, Andrew Mayne's Mayhem, Michael Huot's Seven by 1, Ben Harris's Exit51, and Lee Asher's Catch 33.

October 2003: Nightmare on Eighth Street 2003, The Haunted Mansion, Criss Angel's Supernatural, Blaine and Steinmeyer at the bookstore, and John Carney's The Video of Secrets and Carney on Ramsay.

September 2003: Derren Brown's Absolute Magic, Eugene Burger and Jeff McBride's Mystery School, Reed McClintock's The Coin Patriot and "Stars and Hexes," Vincenzo Ravina's Caffeine Rush, Paul Daniels' Highlights of Paul Daniels Master Class and Inner Secrets of Professional Magic, and Melinda is a mom!

August 2003: Geno Munari's The Lost Works of Bro. John Hamman, The Flicking Fingers Present The Movie, Peter Duffie and Robin Robertson's Card Conspiracy Volume 2, Reed McClintock's Coin Ovations, Simon Aronson in the Chicago Tribune, and Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

July 2003: Cellini's Lord and Master of the Rings, Rich Marotta and Twila Zone's Dynamic Duo, Carl Andrews' Magic from Maui, Chuck Hickok's Mentalism, Incorporated, Jason Latimer and Norbert Ferre win at FISM, and Maxwell Diego Bryant sees his shadow.

June 2003: David Britland and Gazzo's Phantoms of the Card Table; Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volume 5; Sean Fields' "Fusion"; Andrew Mayne's Touching Sky; Docc Hilford's "Cassandra Deck," "Fem Fatal," and "Cards of Cairo"; and Jo Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

May 2003: Geno Munari's The Legendary Repertoire of Michael Skinner on DVD Volume 3, Todd Karr's The Secret Ways of Al Baker, and Lee Asher and Paul Wilson's Hit the Road.

April 2003: Ed Marlo's Revolutionary Card Technique, Paul Harris's "LipSmacker," Peter Duffie and Robin Robertson's Card Conspiracy Volume 1, and Roger Klause on the cover of MAGIC.

March 2003: Phil Goldstein's Redivider, Shoot Ogawa's "Ninja Rings," Bill Goldman's Magic Bar & Grill, Docc Hilford's "Atta Girl," Peter Loughran's "Elevator," and Michael Close is Las Vegas Review-Journal's Staff Pick as Favorite Magician.

February 2003: John Carney's The Book of Secrets, Ron Bauer's "Chick Trick," Ross Bertram in Genii, and Melinda is expecting.

January 2003: Money tricks ("Hypno-Bill," Richard Sanders' "Slow Burn," Docc Hilford's "Million Dollar Deck"), creepy tricks (Docc Hilford's Band of the Hand, The Sign of Four, At the Mountains of Madness, The Star Tradeshow Act, and the Lolita System), Paul Harris's "Reality Twister," Edwin A. Dawes' Stanley Collins Conjurer, Collector, and Iconoclast, Andrew Mayne's Shock FX, the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas (including the infamous Amazing Johnathan roast), Harry Potter 5 is announced, and the Magic Castle turns 40, with special issues of Genii (mine), MAGIC (Max's), and the Magic Castle Newsletter (Erika's).

December 2002: Ian Rowland's The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading, David Solomon's Solomon's Mind - The Movie, Darwin Ortiz's Scams & Fantasies with Cards, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (the movie), and my look at the spooky side of the Magic Castle in Genii, January 2003 issue. Merry Christmas.

October 2002: Milt Larsen's Magic Castle ... The Inside Story, Docc Hilford's The Richey Technique Revealed plus Mephisto's Journey, Aaron Fisher's The Paper Engine, Phil Goldstein's "Psi-Con Ruse," Anders Moden's "Healed and Sealed," and Criss Angel Mindfreak appears on tv.

September 2002: James Hodges' Sexy Magic, Paul Harris's "Deep Astonishment," stuff that didn't make it into my Martin Lewis issue of Genii, Mike Close on the cover of MAGIC, and Milt Larsen launches another It's Magic and opens for Amazing Johnathan.

July-August 2002: Bill Malone's On the Loose, David Regal's Constant Fooling, Volumes 1 and 2, Jack Avis and Lewis Jones's Ahead of the Pack, Jack Avis's Vis a Vis, James Lewis Tips Doctor Sack's Amazing Dice Trick, a five-dollar Chop cup, and Hank Lee is a great guy.

June 2002: Karl Fulves's "Nothing Just Happened," Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil, Darren Romeo on the cover of the Stevens catalog, I go to the beach, and aloha to Gary Ouellet, Gloria Marcom, and Billy McComb's son, Sean.

April 2002: John Lovick's What's the Rumpus? (or, earlier, The Skinny Lecture Notes), David Copperfield appears at Indiana University, and Ricky Jay is back on Broadway with On the Stem.

March 2002: Mac King reveals Tricks With Your Head, Geno Munari releases The Phoenix on CD-ROM, and The Penumbra opens its doors.

February 2002: I attend Magi-Fest, Genii features 11 pages from The Encyclopedia of Egg Magic, John Rogers sells fake cigars, the Magic Castle elects its Board, the Nocturnal Trio rock the Castle, and the Kodak Theatre upgrades the neighborhood.

January 2002: Geno Munari's The Legendary Repertoire of Michael Skinner Volumes 1 and 2, Valentine card cookies from Dean & Deluca, Biro posts photos from WMS 25, and J.K. Rowling gets profiled on A&E.

December 2001: Guy Hollingworth's Once Upon a Time, the Mac King issue of Genii, the Castle considers dumb moves, Bill Goodwin is profiled in MAGIC, I skip WMS, Joe Stevens shuts down Gemini, Al Cohen sells his shop, and aloha to Stanley Blumenthal. Merry Christmas (first card with a grandkid on it).

November 2001: Harry Lorayne's Personal Collection, Peter Duffie and Jerry Sadowitz's CardZones, David Remnick and Henry Finder's (eds) Fierce Pajamas , Ricky Jay takes a bullet in Heist, Penn and Teller are scheduled to host The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Harry Potter turns up in Brazil.

October 2001: Ray Bradbury's From the Dust Returned, Peter Duffie's By All Means (especially "Triple Humdinger"), online magazine The Spook , Dr. Jaks' "The Dictionary Trick," Harry Potter in Vanity Fair, and aloha to Eddie Fields.

September 2001: Frank Zak's A Baker's Dozen and On the Boards, Max Maven runs for the Magic Castle Board, The New Yorker praises Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil, and Bunny Wilson does card tricks.

August 2001: MAGIC Live -- a complete review, Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Mac King on the cover of the Stevens catalog, Vixen and I do Vegas (Shark Reef, Steve Martin's art collection, Mystere, Siegfried and Roy, Mac King, and Penn and Teller), and money floats at Houdini's Magic Shop.

July 2001: Bodine Balasco on the cover of Genii, a look at Doug Henning's The Magic Show (DVD), Simon Lovell on VHS, Lewis Jones in print (Cardiograms, Lusions, and Con Sessions), Genii launches The Genii Forum, Kevin King gets married, and aloha to Mary Martinez.

June 2001: Simon Aronson's Try the Impossible, Doug Henning's The Magic Show (DVD), Kevin King's wedding announcement, and aloha to Mike Rogers.

May 2001: Karl Johnson's "The Magician and the Cardsharp" in American Heritage, Bodine Balasco Up Close and Personal, Ricky Jay cooks in State and Main, and aloha to Richard Ross.

April 2001: Lance Burton, Master Magician: On the Road, David Copperfield's Copperfield: Tornado of Fire, Oliver Erens' Concerto for Pasteboards, the Duvivier trilogy on VHS, Bob Kohler's "Ultimate Three-Fly," David Regal on DVD, and David Blaine chills out again.

January 2001: "A Millennium Night's Dream" debuts in Genii's millennium issue, the World Magic Seminar at the Rio, Brett Daniels' Journey into the Unknown, Tom Mullica in Finding Forrester, and a visit to Magic Masters.

December 2000: Milt Larsen's Hollywood Illusion: Magic Castle, Gary Plants' "Rising Cards," The Little Egypt Gazette on CD-ROM, William Goldman on magical lingo.

November 2000: Eugene Burger's Mastering the Art of Magic, David Blaine: License to Chill, Dale Hindman in the Stevens catalog, the Lake Witch/Spirit Cabinet show at Smith and Groves, and a deal on The Little Egypt Gazette on CD-ROM.

October 2000: Nightmare on 8th Street, Invocational 90, Jon Racherbaumer and I lecture at the Magic Castle, and first announcement of The Little Egypt Gazette on CD-ROM.

September 2000: Richard Kaufman and Liz get married, Mac King and Jennifer have a baby, Amazing Johnathan Up Close and Personal, and an Amazing farewell (stuff that didn't fit into the AJ issue of Genii).

August 2000: Mike Caveney and George Daily buy the Egyptian Hall Museum, Marc Salem does Broadway, Monday Night Magic is the greatest, Chris Jackson (from Little Egypt) is Simba, and we update some links.

July 2000: Jerry Andrus's Andrus Card Control, Roberto Giobbi's Card College 4, Melinda opens at The Venetian, and Ricky Jay has a girfriend and a puppy (and a new show in the works).

June 2000: Penn and Teller appear on Broadway and in Disney's Fantasia 2000, Carl Andrews lectures locally, Steel and Silver and Strong Magic are reprinted, and Melinda marries Mark Evansvold.

May 2000: Robert Neale's Life, Death, and Other Card Tricks, I perform in a wrestling ring and see Brett Daniels' latest show, Kevin King starts Reel Magic, Apocalypse 1-5 appears, and Kreskin cameos in the cartoon Nancy.

April 2000: Kevin King's Watch Bandit, Michael Schwabe's "Voodoo Puppet Puncture," Copperfield responds to Claudia bashers and appears at IU, and Chris Kenner does the splits.

March 2000: Mark Edward's Restless Plots, last WMS at the Tropicana, Karl Fulves's latest magazines, and aloha to my dad.

February 2000: Guy Hollingworth's Quartet, Norm Nielsen's mugs, H&R Magic Books' List 22, Peter Duffie's Area 52, Grand Illusions' Shape Memory Alloy spoon, and aloha to Doug Henning and Charles Schulz.

January 2000: J.K. Hartman's Trickery Treats, David Remnick's (ed.) Life Stories/Profiles from The New Yorker featuring Ricky Jay; Ricky Jay in Magnolia, The X-Files, and Court TV; "Executive Decision" briefcase stunner; David Copperfield escapes Moscow; and Brett Daniels launches his third big show in Tunica.

December 1999: Kevin King's Money Morph, James Swain's 21st Century Card Magic, Is It Magic Or Is It Manilow, and throwing knives.

November 1999: Milt Kort's Kort, Cirque du Soleil's Quidam, and Magic Moments opens in downtown Indianapolis.

October 1999: Barrie Richardson's Theater of the Mind, Josh Jay's Magic Atlas, "Ode to Sleepy Hallow," Tinker Bell gets stuck in Nightmare on 8th Street, and McCartney and Lennon track down a chord.

September 1999: Doug Henning surfaces in Genii, Cintra Wilson disses Las Vegas in Salon, Bob Friedhoffer fools Stephen Hawking, and auf wiedersehen to Claudia Schiffer.

July 1999: Lee Asher's Well Done, Joe Stevens' The Egg Bag Teach-in Video, John Novak's The Egg Bag Book, Daniel Stashower on "Margery" (American History), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , and Siegfried and Roy take it all off for Vanity Fair.

June 1999: David Regal's Close-Up & Personal and Michael Finney at Indiana University.

May 1999: Carl Andrews' Making a Living Performing Close-up Magic and Making a Living Performing Magic at Restaurants & Hotels, Brett Daniels in Magique, "Hocus-Pocus" in Entertainment Weekly, and Cintra Wilson profiles David Blaine in Salon.

April 1999: James Hodges' The Great Stage Illusions of James Hodges, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Family Magic Day in Nashville IN, and aloha Don Alan.

March 1999: Le Carre's Single & Single, Mac King in Bloomington, The Great Houdini in Los Angeles, and the Brits storm Genii.

February 1999: Magi-Fest in Columbus, Lance Burton, Master Magician: Top Secret, I pass on WMS, and aloha to Peter Pit.

January 1999: Rene Lavand's The Mysteries of My Life, Milt Larsen's Hockman, the Great Exposes Himself, Pierre Lambert's Mickey Mouse, Gary Ouellet's Champions III on tv, Mike Close's Very, Very Close, the final issue of The Looking Glass with that great Jack Birnman trick, I visit San Diego and Hollywood, and aloha to Hal Hale.

December 1998: The Flicking Fingers' The Book, or Don't Forget to Point and Bill Simon's Card Magic for Amateurs and Professionals. Merry Christmas.

November 1998: Gary Ouellet's World's Greatest Magic V, Richard Kaufman takes the helm of Genii, MAGIC changes its format (with the "Card Tricks of the Rich and Famous" issue), and Melinda at Branson.

October 1998: Tim Harkleroad's The Complete Haunted House, Joseph Pfeiffer's Give Them a Real Scare This Halloween, H&R Magic Books' List 20, Steve Fearson's "Final Cut," gratuitous babes (FHM skewers magic and David Blaine predates John Edward in Detour), and nine (!) items from The Ron Bauer Collection.

September 1998: Mike Close's Very, Very Close, Roberto Giobbi's Card College 3, John Northern Hilliard and Stephen Crane, and two magic books make Steve Martin's (comic) list of "The 100 Greatest Books I've Ever Read" in The New Yorker.

August 1998: Martin Gardner on the Kruskal and Gilbreath Principles in Scientific American, I visit Bill Malone's Magic Bar and Tim Glancey's Historic Hauntings seance, Bill Malone's cruise ship is smoking, and Amy Stevens marries Barry Gordemer.

June 1998: Jay Sankey's Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy, David Parr's Brain Food, and The Little Egypt Book of Numbers begins on Gemini.

May 1998: Chazpro's magnetic spirit slates, neat stuff on Gemini.

April 1998: Eugene Burger's Solomon's Mind, Doc Eason's Doc Eason's Bar Magic (video), Don Alan's Don Alan's Magic Ranch, Nick Lewin in Las Vegas along with the Desert Magic Seminar, and David Copperfield's Dreams and Nightmares.

February 1998: Milt Larsen's Magical Mystery Tour, Gary Brown's The Coney Island Fakir, Martin Joyal's The Six-Hour Memorized Deck, Richard Kaufman's Jennings '67, Jon Racherbaumer and Ed Marlo's Arcade Dreams, Owen Magic Supreme's Catalog No. 12, and, a surprise Christmas gift, Chuck Romano's The Art of Deception.

December 1997: Season's Greetings 1997 (the Christmas poem).

Special issues ...

 

Little Egypt Magic sort of serves as my magical diary, and I have favorites among the various issues. Here are a few I frequently return to.

 

Allied arts of top magicians ...

September 2018: A look at the goodies from the USPS, at the audience rapport of Pop Haydn and Lucy Darling, at the Decoded DVD from Morgan & West, and at the Allied Arts of top magicians.

 

50 years with Maleficent ...

June 2018: A look at my 50th wedding anniversary, at Juan Tamariz's "Chan-Tatachan" TV show, and at the script for Harry Anderson's Wise Guy.

 

Appreciating Milt Larsen ...

December 2012: An appraisal of Milt Larsen on the eve of the Magic Castle's 50th anniversary and on the publication of My Magical Journey, a look at the December 2012 issue of MAGIC, and a review of a Magic with a Christmas Theme.

 

40 years of writing for Genii ...

September 2010: Forty years of contributions to Genii and a visit with Todd Duff in Paducah.

 

50 years of Genii ...

December 2009: Fifty years of Genii, Sandy Marshall's Beating a Dead Horse, and The J.C. Wagner Lecture. Merry Christmas!

 

Favorite softcover magic books ...

June 2009: A nostalgic look at influential softcover titles in magic, parodies of and by Debbie McGee, and the Mike Caveney and Chris Kenner issues of reel magic magazine.

 

50th anniversary of It's Magic!

August 2007: Big news: The return of The Little Egypt Gazette, in a Special Edition honoring the 50th anniversary of It's Magic!, Milt Larsen's internationally famous hometown magic show. Also noted: an excellent Paul Cummins lecture tour and his and Doc Eason's multiple selection magnum opus, Fusillade.

 

20 false poker deals ...

June 2020: Behold a Haunted Key Deluxe, note Lucy Darling and Penn and Teller specials, party online with the Magic Castle's AMA, learn 20 false poker deals, and dive into the math behind the world's lamest card trick.