Quote Me

I’ve been working on reading all of Nelson Algren’s books, most for the first time. I ran across this little golden nugget, which I would call, Advice to the young dice cheat. It is the real deal. As magicians, we tend to romanticize the world of cheats and cheating. In reality, as this piece shows, it is much more crude and cruel.

If you wanted to use phony dice, slip them to a sucker and let the sucker make the passes. Ride with him for a half dozen passes, then grab your hat and let the sucker try talking his own way out. Let the suckers take the beating. That’s what suckers were for.

--Nelson Algren, The Children, Published in the short story collection, Neon Wilderness

Mess-terpiece Theater Quote Me

Edwin Booth, son of the previously mentioned Junius Brutus and brother to the reviled John Wilkes, is considered by some historians to be American’s greater theater actor. Edwin help usher in a new era of naturalistic acting as a reaction to his father’s more histrionic style. Mostly he performed in the works of Shakespeare, as the most literate works of the time.

The writer George Plimpton, in an interview, told a story in which he believed Edwin uttered the greatest ad-lib in theater history.

It seems that the play required Edwin to be shot from behind. Except, his costar could not get the prop gun to fire. After an agonizing minute or two, the anonymous actor strode forward and kicked Edwin in the ass. To which Edwin replied, “My God, the shoe is poisoned!” and he fell dead.

Quote Me

"There's no money in poetry, but then

there's no poetry in money either."

--Robert Graves

Book Quote Me

This may be my new favorite theater story.
From Low Life, Lures and Snares of Old New York, by Luc Sante.

The subject of the story is Junius Brutus Booth. He was a renowned English actor. Father to John Wilkes Booth, Edwin Booth, and Junius Brutus Booth Jr., all celebrated actor in their own right. Walt Whitman described him as "the grandest historian of modern times."

"Booth, increasingly a drunk, was noted with hilarious approval for his insistence on really fighting the staged duels, on at least one occasion refusing to die even though his part clearly called for it."

Luc Sante’s wonderful book is a terrific view into 19th and early 20th century New York and Victorian society. I recommend it highly to any historian looking to write about that era.

Quote Me

Life is full of unlimited possibilities, but limited opportunities.
--Anon

Procrastination is the thief of time.
--Edward Young

Time goes by so fast; people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.
--Anon

An opportunity is found with difficulty and easily lost.
--Anon

Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.
--Anon

Catch the opportunity while it lasts, and rely not on what the morrow may bring.
--Anon

There are only so many tomorrows.
--Michael Landon

Quote Me

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy:

They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

Quote Me

Found in Studs Terkel's remarkable new biography, Touch and Go ...

"History does not only refer to the past.

On the contrary, the great force of history comes

from the fact we carry it within us,

are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways,

and history is literally present in all that we do."

--James Baldwin

Quote Me

This quote is sometimes attributed to poet Sekou Sundiata and it may be a matter of simultaneous invention. I found it in a book about dreams...the nightime kind, not the aspiration kind. But, still, it works for both.

"Everything in the Dream

is the Dreamer."

--Wilson Van Dusen

Soapbox, Shut up

It is an old oft-repeated adage or an old oft-repeated aphorism or, maybe, neither. I am sure it can, at least, be called an old oft-repeated saying, perhaps aspiring to be an adage or aphorism.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Oh sure, a fine bit of verbiage, a solid enough sentences as far as sentences go, I guess. The thought best suited for the slow-witted and consistently foolish who wish not to be spoken ill of and yet probably deserve it.

Yet, just think about how disastrous it would be if we all ran around not saying un-nice things. It’s 1860, “Those slaves down in the south? Well, if you can’t say anything nice...” Or how about 1935, “I say, that Hitler chap just invaded Poland. Well, if you can’t say...”

Extreme? Nevertheless, certainly valid. This is taking the thought to its logical conclusion. It is a sentiment that has permeated the magic world and editorialized as recently as a couple months ago in Magic Magazine. This kind of thought has helped keep magic in the dark ages for practically ever.

Nay, I say. Do speak ill. Don’t hide your distain.

There are signs of it changing. The internet has helped, Tim Ellis’ wonderful blog and Magic Fakers website for example. Honest and, in the face of the sniping magic world, brave writers like Jamy Ian Swiss are exerting influence in the magic world. Although too often, the criticized attack back with little reason and personal attacks.

To keep those who treasure truth over lies and pursue perfection over mediocrity in a safe zone, I offer up a correction to our insidious thought.

“If you can’t say anything nice, have evidence.”

Previously, I wrote about my dislike of a couple of big shots in the magic world. This was not just random name calling. I believe I had a reasonable argument. That is the most important point. It is not just enough to say some one sucks. There must be a why. Like Tim Ellis, it is not enough to say that some is a rip off artist, show where they stole from.

There are two other variations of this theme.

“If you can’t say anything constructive, don’t say anything at all.”

“If you have nothing to say, don’t say it.”

Both should be heeded by those denizens of the message boards. I have no vested interest in what people write. I lurk. I see how people treat and react to others. It is embarrassing.

Repeatedly I see people post honest questions only to be attacked:
“I am working on a new show. A complete mentalism show under the theme of Water.I am writing something very different and, in my opinion, interesting.All kinds of effects, will be presented, and I was wondering if you know of one effect that is done with water ...I would be interested in your opinions and ideas.”

Answer: “I think that this would have a limited appeal to an audience, and would seriously limit the scope of your performance options.”

Was that what the poster asked? What do you care? Answer the question.

I saw another response to a post, the answer to the poster’s request was, “I don’t know, ask someone else.”

What the fuck? I am too annoyed to write any more about it.

Another saying to remember is, “It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." (Thank you, Mark Twain.) Alternatively, try this, “It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to type online and remove all doubt."

So let us review the rules. Write them down, paste them above your computer, and before you type, review.

1) “If you can’t say anything nice, have evidence.”

2) “If you can’t say anything constructive, don’t say anything at all.”

3) “If you have nothing to say, don’t say it.”

PC Bastards

Those of you looking for a rant about Apple vs. PC, look elsewhere. This is a rant about a group of out-of-touch, power mad public “servants”, Chicago’s Aldermen.

First, a word about the so-called PC movement.

While I do agree that we should not discriminate against those that may be different from us, this movement has created an atmosphere of over sensitivity. Every I turn I see imagined slights and transgressions causing offense. Neutral language and equivocated statements are rendering our interactions beige, bland, and, at times, incomprehensible. Worse yet, boring. Look at the first sentence of this paragraph. I have to equivocate or else I know the PC fools will be on the attack. They want to impose rules onto other people.

I am not a smoker. I hate when I come home and my clothes smell from smoke. I would never date anyone again that smoked. My father had a horrible decade long battle within his body because of what smoking unfiltered Camel cigarettes did to it. Nasty things happened to my father. It finally killed him two years ago. Yet, I am against this smoking ban fad running rampant through America right now.

Smoking, while personally distasteful, is a legal act. You can buy cigarettes. You can pay the taxes on them. You just can’t smoke them. Prohibition, that worked out well, didn’t it? How about that war on drugs, glad we stamped them out. Whew!

My main complaint is that the free market should decide whether a particular business should be smoke free, limited smoking, or smoke filled. If enough people complain or refuse to patronize a business, the business must adapt. This is a time honored successful capitalist tradition. We do not need it to be legislated.

I don’t like Burger King’s French fries. I don’t eat Burger King’s French fries. I go to McDonald’s or Wendy’s. I do not go to Burger King. If enough people feel the same as I do then either Burger King will change or go out of business. No laws are required to change the fries at Burger King. The system we created, we depend on, works.

But, the Chicago City Gestapo has not only banned smoking, it has banned food and wants to further limit the free market by limiting the choices of how our food is made.

On May 4th, the City Gestapo’s Buildings Committee voted to reject an exemption that would have allowed actors on stage to by-pass the city ordinance that bans smoking in public places. So, if a play requires smoking, say to re-create a period or as an important metaphor, you can’t do it. A court in Colorado has already rules that an actor doesn’t have a First Amendment right to light up.

To a magician, this means the death of cigarette tricks. Violence and sex are protected on stage, but not cigarette manipulation. No, no, no.

Perhaps, this isn’t a battle I should be fighting or caring about, but I believe this is a chip knocked off the Constitution. This slow erosion of our rights is frightening. The process is so small that we hardly recognize that we are ceding the control of our lives to a political machine, bought and paid for by the highest bidder.

I’ve not performed my cigarette act in years, but I would like the option. I would like my audience to have the option of whether they want to see it or not. I want the system created by our founding fathers to be allowed to work.

The problem is one ban always follows another.

The real question to ask is, what’s next?

Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.
-- Albert Camus

Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. Freedom is violence.
-- Norman O. Brown

If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.
-- Noam Chomsky

The condition every art requires is, not so much freedom from restriction, as freedom from adulteration and from the intrusion of foreign matter.
--Willa Cather

The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.
--Edmund Burke

For the article that inspired this entry please read Perform Ink.
http://performink.com/Framesets/2frmBody.html

Quote Me

"To write a diary every day is like returning to one's own vomit."
-Enoch Powell

News and Quotes

I have to apologize to my regular readers; I’m way behind in my writing.
Too many projects, too little time.
Keep your eyes open this week for the bizarre story of the many legs of Santa Ana. Also, there will be a review of last weeks opening of Chicago’s newest weekly magic show, The Magic Cabaret.
For now, here are a few choice quotes about Chicago:

It used to be a writer’s town, and it’s always been a fighter’s town. For writers and fighters and furtive torpedoes, cat-bandits, baggage thieves, hallway headlockers on the prowl, baby photographers, and stylish coneroos, this is the spot that is always most convenient, being so centrally located for settling ancestral grudges. Whether the power is in a .38, a typewriter ribbon, or a pair of six-ouncers, the place has grown great on bone-deep grudges of writers and fighters and furtive torpedoes.

--Nelson Algren, (Chicago’s greatest writer)

Here’s the difference between us and Dante. He wrote a lot about hell and never saw the place. We’re writing about Chicago after looking the town over.

--Carl Sandburg, (Chicago’s 2nd greatest writer)

Chicago is the glory and damnation of America all rolled up into one. Not to know Chicago is not to know America.

--Neal R. Pierce and John Keefe

Eventually I think that Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.

--Frank Lloyd Wright

I find the whiskey unexpectedly good.

--William Butler Yeats, (visiting Chicago during prohibition)

I wish I could go to America if only to see Chicago.

--Otto Von Bismarck

Loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose.

--Nelson Algren

Quote Me

Keep this in mind when writing and routining:

"tanto nadar para morir en la orilla"

(So much swimming only to perish at the shore)

--Arthur Plotnik, from The Elements of Expression,

Putting Thoughts into Words

Quote Me

"One should not be nostalgic about too many things,

because more often than not, the memory takes the

form of a wish rather than a fact.

Sort of a soothing or a bitter deception."

--Stanley Crouch

Quote Me

"Let us be thankful for the fools,

but for them the rest of us could not succeed."

--Mark Twain

"Nothing is foolproof,

because fools are so ingenious."

--Mark Twain

"That's the penalty we have to pay for our acts of foolishness,

someone else always suffers from them."

--Alfred Sutro

"However big the fool,

there is always a bigger fool to admire him."

--Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux

"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.

Let's start with typewriters."

--Solomon Short

Happy Birthday Chicago

On March 4, 1837 Chicago incorporated as a city. Happy 170th

CHICAGO

HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

--Carl Sandburg's "Chicago"published 1916 in Chicago Poems

Where is the Chicago of Carl Sandburg and Nelson Algren?

I am afraid it been lost to the generic homogenization engineered

by corporate gluttons and the PC mafia.

Is the city that has been bought and paid for by the blood and sweat

and money of its citizens been bought out, sold out by the politicos?

Players at politics, who try to erase the history, forgetting it is the past

that made us, them, who we are; got us where we are.

But they better learn to love it, because they are it,

and it ain't going away--Bill

Quote Me

"The rich, the professional idlers, desire only the peculiar, the sensational, the eccentric, the scandalous in today's art. And I, myself, since the advent of cubism, have fed these fellows what they wanted, and satisfied the critics with all the ridiculous ideas that have passed through my head. The less they understood, the more they admired me! Through amusing myself with all these farces I became celebrated, and very rapidly. For a painter celebrity means sales and consequent affluence. Today, as you know, I am rich. But when I am alone, I do not have the effrontery to consider myself an artist at all, not in the grand old meaning of the word.

Giotto, Titian, Rembrandt, Goya were great painters. I am only a public clown...I have understood my time, and have exploited the imbecility, the vanity, the greed of my contemporaries. It is a bitter confession, more painful than it may seem, but at least, and at last, does have the merit of being honest."

-- Picasso, 1954, to Giovanni Papini

Quote Me

"Planning to write is not writing.

Outlining...researching...talking to people

about what you're doing, none of that is writing.

Writing is writing."

--E. L. Doctorow

Quote Me

The Magician’s Vulnerability

“It is human nature to want to believe in the wizardry of the magician,

but also to turn against him and to scorn him the moment

he commits the slightest error that reveals his trickery.

Those in the audience are embarrassed to be so easily astonished

and they blame the performer for their gullibility.”

--Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas, Random House 2003

Soapbox Quote Me

Hey, it has been a while since I got up on my soapbox, but I wanted to make sure we all started 2007 correctly. Much of my thoughts this coming year will center on not only magic history, but responsibility you have when you live as a magician, and what makes good, good. Two places to start:

1. Eric Mead's book Tangled Web (especially his essays)

2. The Jon Stetson interview, Magic January 2007. Use this quote to start your year and restart the way you approach your magic. If you don't want to listen to me. Listen to him.

"Magicians who think the show is all about them are wrong.

It's not about you, it's about the people who come to see you--your audience."

Have a safe and happy new year.

(And for you non-magicians, I hope to have some stuff for you also.)