Go Magic Go down the Royal Road
As a magician, I can't in good conscious tip any methods on my blog because there is no way to tell if my reader is a magician or not. However, I am still a novice myself and I know how hard it is to find good methods to learn magic. So, I will gladly share some of the better ways I find to learn some magic if you too are wanting to learn the arcane arts ;) My JAMM posts are the perfect place to do this on occasion.
Today's JAMM post, as you have probably already figured out, is me recommending the book The Royal Road to Card Magic. But that is not all. I didn't start making my way through this book until I came across an podcast series called Go Magic Go. Unfortunately, this podcast isn't still being created so you have to do a little, technical, leg work in order to find it. I've done the work for you so just point your RSS reader to http://thetrapdoor.libsyn.com/rss.
If you don't know what an RSS reader is, a great online tool is Google Reader. Just click the "Add A Subscription" button and add the URL above. While your at it, do the same with http://ducharme.cc to follow the blog you are currently reading.
Back to the topic at hand. The Royal Road To Card Magic is the book they work through in a special series of podcasts Go Magic Go did for beginners. Even though the book is written well and you can get a lot out of it on your own, what you get from the beginner series podcasts is almost like a virtual magic mentor. You get tips for practicing, things to watch out for and other information that you would only get from making mistakes yourself. I still haven't gotten through the book because I'm going quite slow ( as recommended by the Go Magic Go podcast ) and still was learning some very powerful techniques and tricks almost immediately.
Here is the first lesson to get you started:
For less than $10, this book is a gold mine of magical technique. It goes well with the fact that card magic is a nice inexpensive way to start learning magic theory. The Go Magic Go podcasts are free and come with a wealth of information for anyone serious about magic. So I highly recommend listening to more than just the Beginner Series podcasts. [ad#Ellusionist] If you liked this post please follow me on twitter and/or subscribe to my RSS feed. If you only want to see my JAMM posts you can subscribe to the Just Another Magic Monday Feed.
Read an excerpt of Jericho's new book
The WWE is running one of its most exciting (return) promos ever - The Code. All the buzz says that it is the return of Y2J - the Ayatollah of Rock 'n Rolla - King of the World - Chris Jericho to Sports Entertainment. Along with the buzz of his imminent return, something is missing. Chris "Jericho" Irvine has a new book coming out and there is no press about it on WWE.com. This is understandable, but still unfortunate. ...
It is understandable that the WWE wouldn't promote the book for 2 reasons. Number one, Chris is not an active wrestler with the WWE. With the mystery of his return still remaining a mystery, why blow it with even 1 appearance to promote his book. He can do that after he come back. Number two, and this is a big one, it is not a WWE book. This book is being released by Hachette Book Group, which I believe is a subsidiary of Time Warner.
I say that it is unfortunate that Jericho's book isn't being promoted at WWE events only because there may be some wrestling fans who might miss out on a great book otherwise. It seems to be doing well with whatever promotion is being put into it though. According to ChrisJericho.com it debuted at number 22 on the New York Times best seller list and has been number one in Amazon.com's biographies section as a preorder.
From what I've heard, it is a really good book for wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans alike. But now you have a chance to see for yourself. An excerpt from the books first chapter is available online. I'll leave you with a quote from the excerpt:
Originally posted by Chris Jericho:
Even as I got older, I was a firm believer that wrestling was one hundred percent legit.
Also, make sure to check out the article on Chris Jericho and his new book from What's On. In it he says
Wrestling was my passion and my dream as a kid and it still is. I still love wrestling and I’m still a fan, and I feel obliged to help the business out through trying times.
Does he mean to Save_Us?