Dustings of Woofle #26
/There’s a new trick coming out called Initial Shock.
On Vanishing Inc., the ad copy says:
“Powerful, visual magic that ends in a unique souvenir your spectators are sure to keep and cherish forever!”
Wow! That sounds awesome! I wonder what this “unique” souvenir that the spectators are going “cherish forever” is? It must be something really special. Let’s see… if I had to guess… hmmm… I’d say it’s a small hand-painted pewter sculpture of the spectator’s first pet. No, that’s too prosaic. Unless they really loved the animal they probably would only cherish that for a few years, not “forever.” So maybe it leaves them with a short audio recording of their most beloved deceased relative sending them a message of love from the afterlife (and revealing which European country they’re thinking of). That’s probably something more like it. Something they would definitely cherish.
Hold on, let me read the ad a bit further to see what it is.
Oh, here it is.
It’s a playing card with their initials on it. How wonderful.
Joshua Jay has an interesting new project for younger kids.
Here’s part of the ad copy:
The book itself is a "magic" mailbox that lives on the child's nightstand. Every night before bed a letter "appears" inside the mailbox teaching the reader about a fascinating place around the world (thirty letters are included in total). The letters contain cultural information, geography lessons, and of course, a little magic. Magic Mail includes a giant fold-out map so that the reader can tick off the places they've "visited" through this magic mailbox.
To be clear, there’s no real “magic” here. You, the parent, would have to slip the letter in at some point so it will be there when you look at night. But still, for $20, I think it could be a fun thing for the right kid. And definitely better than reading the same dumb book to them every night.
Josh has encouraged kids to write him back when they reach the end of the month-long project. He’s posted some of those letters on his Instagram. It’s great to see everyone having a lot of fun with this.
I used to think the perception of magicians as losers was a more modern day phenomenon. But then I was watching The Lady Eve, from 1941, and they make a big point early in the movie of explaining that Henry Fonda’s character is kind of a dork because he does card tricks.
Here’s Barbara Stanwyck, early in the film, describing her ideal mate.
Naturally.