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http://pittandpendulum.blogspot.com/2012/03/learning-styles.html From my blog, an article on the different learning styles and what they actually mean. If you've ever hesitated or refused to buy a book because you think you're a visual learner, or have met someone like this, then you need to...

http://pittandpendulum.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-self-working-mental-magic-by.html Re-posted from my blog, The Pitt and the Pendulum. Today we're going to do the first official review for the blog. I thought a good place to start would be to bridge the gap between magic and...

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the nature of art, where magic fits into that, and what kind of statements are being made in the modern zeitgeist. And yes, I did type all of that while sipping a cognac, stroking my goatee, and wearing a mortarboard. I've been thinking about...

I recently read a small essay by Jeanne Cavelos who said that when he teaches creative writing classes, most of his students list creativity as a strength, but never a weakness. They believe that by the very act of writing they're being creative. But this seems to be a bit incongruous with the...

'Tis the season for miracles. So I figured I'd stop being a bastard long enough to put this up before I retreat back to my own egocentric microcosm. "To me, 'practicing' is something you do when you're fiddling around, not taking it seriously. I 'train,' which means I take it as seriously as...

I recently got back from the Bruce Bernstein lecture. If you haven't seen the man before, he's quite a character. Among the material he demonstrated, one can see a strong emphasis on creating personal bonding while also creating spectacle. Not an easy thing to do with mentalism. I was...

Since the thread I was going to comment in has been closed due to religion-based bickering and general myopic mother****ery, I'm just going to pose the question to the boards here. The general attitude seems to be an abandonment of scripting, personas, characters, and context with a...

You know me. I'm a bitter, cranky, miserable Slav (in other words, a Slav) with a chip on his shoulder and an axe to grind about some new pet cause every couple of months. I seldom if ever pull a punch and I don't suffer fools gladly. Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of the popular web series "Zero...

Honestly, I do not expect anybody to actually take this. I will explain why in a moment. Once again, I'm not participating because I have neither the time nor the resources immediately available to do this. Anyway, I've remarked now and again that the constant attempts to shut down...

Last night Deceptions Unlimited hosted Banachek himself for a lecture in Pittsburgh. I'm a little embarassed to admit that the first time he addressed the audience, I was trying really hard to place his accent. A mixture of South African, English, and... Jersey, perhaps? Anyway, the lecture...

I wrote one of these almost a year ago. Since then, so many have come up that I've started to hate the concept, but nevertheless... I'm going to be going on hiatus from this and many other sites for the foreseeable future. I'm experiencing a rather pressing financial crisis at the moment...

More inexplicable crap that will kick your head in. I'm a love of pursuing Fortean phenomena and the unexplainable. In much the way Lovecraft did in his storytelling, it adds an air verisimilitude to the theatricality of magic. Consider that article an idea machine. And oh yeah...

It's late and I'm very sick to my stomach, so I'm going to do something to amuse myself. In the poll above you are ten names. You can select multiple options. Without using Google, check off the ones you actually do know about and list in a post. Do not describe who they are and what they...

Some of you may recall recently a plea from magicians in China not to support this year's FISM because of their affiliations with the CAA who have shown a certain amount of contempt for the magic community that seems to surpass even Fox Entertainment. You can read about the details here...

Yes, another one. Once again, I want to see two people compete with manipulation acts set to some great music. This time around, it's Money by Pink Floyd. Everybody knows that infectious bass groove and that wailing saxophone solo. What will you be using? I want to see a manipulation...

Fresh new challenge, droogies. Later this month, I'll be releasing my second ebook and my first treatise on the performance of bizarre magic, Exalt of the Weird. The intent is to inject some different thinking into the genre while also bringing it up for a breath of commercial fresh air...

I was inspired by this thread, which I killed by being in it: http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?t=16695 Comedy is ridiculously difficult to do correctly. Along with horror, it is exceptionally difficult to invoke the correct emotions, mostly because people have no idea how to construct...

Give this another go. I want to see some performances that are more than just showing off one move, so here's the chance for you to show us what you're really capable of. I want to see a fully choreographed performance set to Somewhere in the Between by Streetlight Manifesto. Since this...

Again, I'm not battling, but I do want to see something interesting in the battle system. I can't stop people from specializing in cards. And come to think of it, it would be kind of pointless to try doing so anyway. The problem is that card manipulation is very seldom all that interesting...

No, I'm not battling. I'm issuing a challenge to anyone who wants to show they can rise above the general mediocrity of endless TiVo variations and Queens battles. Here's what I'm looking for. I want to see two videos using mythology as the script to a routine. I want to see some fresh...