Wednesday 23 January 2008

Updates - Blogging in '08

Bibliophiles Delight
Well , I've been a little remiss posting over Christmas and New Year, but I've got my focus back. Having been tied up with study for so long, I treated myself to a heap of new books, and have been distracted while I immersed myself in them.

I'm a bibliophile from way back, and it was a relief to throw myself into the fray with books that weren't tied to research. There were and are books like Hofstadter's I am a Strange Loop, Wiseman's Quirkology, the latest entries in the Temeraire, Dresden Files, and Discworld series. On the other hand, this is a magic blog, and certainly I went nuts adding to my magic library.

I spent time happily reading new releases such as Peter McCabe's Scripting Magic, and Tobias Beckwith's Beyond Deception. I read reprints of books that I somehow missed the first time around, such as Kaufman's Five by Five Japan, and Racherbaumer's A Class by Himself: The Legacy of Don Alan. Yesterday Magic Inc's reprint of Marlo's Revolutionary Card Technique arrived for me, and I will probably order the reprint of Steranko on Cards in due course, also from Magic Inc. I've been enjoying Miracle Factory books such as Benson by Starlight and the Miracle Ways of Al Baker. I'm also hoping to see The Kingdom of Red turn up any day now.
I think you can see how easily I became disracted...On the other hand, I will review some of these on the blog. Expect to see A review of McCabe's Scripting Magic very soon.
More on Creepy Clowns.
When I speculated in a previous post about the creepiness of clowns and attributed it to the Valley Effect, the only evidence I had that clowns might be perceived in such a way was anecdotal. Now it seems that a study by University of Sheffield (UK) researchers on 250 hospitalised children between four and 16 reveals that most of the children disliked clowns, and many, even the older ones, found them frightening. Assuming the results are true, it might be worthwhile considering ways of making clowns a little less odd in ways that might frighten children.
Magic Wife Swap.
Well that sounds kinkier than it actually is. The TV show Wife Swap apparently has an episode involving a couple who are performing magicians. I was just wondering if anybody knew whether or not said episode had screened in Australia yet.
Be Seeing You,
Escherwolf.