If you didn’t know Andrew Musgrave, formerly the proprietor of Ye Olde Magick Blogge, has returned with a new blog. The new one is called The Burnaby Kid. I can’t tell you how happy I/M is to see him back. Andrew is passionate, intelligent, a good writer and he has balls! This makes for a wonderful combination. He also has more energy than I/M and produces a LOT of good stuff. Just spend a little time with his Annotated Royal Road To Card Magic or read some of his reviews. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
Is he right all the time? Hardly, but his writing is always well reasoned and he gives you deep insight into his thought processes. Something very, very rare in magic writing.
I’m glad to have him back on a number of counts, most of them selfish, but most of all I hated to see that ass hole, His Holiness, win. I know, I know he takes pills and we must forgive him – just ask Tom Fucking Frame. Anyway, for the time being things seem to be righting themselves and the blogging world feng shui is again in order.
Andrew, and others, has spent a great deal of time recently talking about Real Secrets. This is a monthly trick produced by unknown persons. It seems to appeal to those that want to be on the inside and smell the jocks of name magicians. From what I’ve seen it’s a waste of money, but it wouldn’t be the first money that most of us have wasted on bad magic. It seems that some disgruntled subscribers have begun publishing what the tricks are in violation of the terms as dictated by the proprietors of Real Secrets. It’s a pleasant respite to see the screwees fighting back.
In some respects this reminds me of Microsoft’s requirements for reviewing software. A reviewer must sign an NDA and under threat of having an army of Microsoft lawyers sit on their head they cannot publish the results. This way, Microsoft can continue to produce absolute shit and nobody knows it – at least until they fork over their hard earned money for the product!
I guess I’m somewhat surprised that anyone would fall for this. So much of the doubletalk and restrictions stated when this project first began, including mandatory renewal, just stunk. Every time I think magicians can’t be dumber, I’m proved wrong. The last paragraph in Andrew’s most recent editorial said it best: Because magicians are idiots.
Some years ago I wrote an article here entitled Fuck Me I’m A Magician. The subject of that particular post doesn’t matter, but the principles have stood the test of time. I’ve never seen a group more willing to take it in the ass and say how much they enjoyed it. I’ll never understand!
