Hello:

Yes, it has been awhile...as I have noted elsewhere I tend to go in huge waves of activity in what some would find an almost Bi-Polar manner. I'm not. Bi-Polar that is.

This is almost a kind of short note. The subject occurred to me as I wrote an reply to another topic.

Here's the basic idea: It was MUCH more common in years past for magician's to put hard and dedicated FOCUS and STUDY on to one source of magical knowledge.

For instance, you would find someone that had learned to do ALL or most all of the material in something like Royal Road to Card Magic or in my case the Amateur Magician's Handbook by Henry Hay. In other words you would take a book and totally max out what it had to offer.

In thinking about this I honestly, truly believe that all magicians should attempt to recapture this technique. Select a product you like: The new True Astonishment DVD's by Paul Harris and friends, Royal Road the book or DVD's, Stars of Magic (a great favorite of mine!). Take that one source and really go through each and every item offered. Learn them. Study them, etc. You will probably NOT end up using every item therein, but that's not the point really.

The point is simple: You WILL be a better magician. You WILL have a better overall knowledge of the craft. You WILL use muscles that you didn't know you had and much more. Each item learned will add to the overall skill set you will gain.

The more you learn, the easier it will be to learn more. I'm actually thinking of doing this again.

A book I have loved for years is a little booklet that Harry Lorayne wrote a zillion years ago called Dingle's Deceptions with Cards and Coins. It is HEAVY going stuff, but it's all just wonderful magic. I knew about half of it at one time..... I think that I will take a trip back in time and revisit an old friend. Best,