Apologies in advance for the long post. You may be wondering what this new project of mine is all about, so here's an excerpt from the opening of the first issue which should help clarify things:

"Welcome to Skeletons from the Closet - a series whose main objective is to try and kindle interest in what is old rather than "what is new?" through the exploration of effects from years long past.

Some of my fondest memories are those of nights spent poring over old books and periodicals until the wee hours of the morning. There is a great wealth of effects with serious potential hidden away in old books that have been overlooked or forgotten entirely. Many of these can be greatly strengthened or taken in entirely new directions by applying more recent thinking and advancements in the art. The results can often be quite profound.

In 2001, I was fortunate to study with the late Eugene Burger as part of the Mystery School program administered by both he and Jeff McBride. During the time I spent with Eugene, he once commented:

"For every book you read that was published during your lifetime, read THREE that were published BEFORE - and especially those published prior to 1950".

That was 17 years ago.

It is my sincere pleasure to be able to share with you now some of the effects that I have discovered to be of personal value and the advancements and refinements I made with each. Many of these are little-known or used. My goal is to change this and give them a new life.

While the main focus will be on effects from old books and periodicals that are now in the public domain, there will be occasional forays into more recent routines that are not. When this is the case, I will simply direct the reader to which book where one can find the effect in question - without giving away the original's method - and then discuss my own work on that particular effect. These books are generally in most Magicians' library and are easy to obtain if one doesn't have them already. In other cases, there may not be a reworking of a method at all - simply a presentation given for an effect that brings meaning and relevance when it is in desperate need of it. One often finds a marvelous effect but the procedure or very nature of it makes it difficult to find a way to present it in a fashion that is neither tiresome nor uninteresting.

In the end, these are routines that are tailored and crafted to suit my personality and tastes. I know them to be strong in impact and would like to think that others will find them to be of value as well - but ultimately, this is something for each reader to decide for themselves. At the very least, it is my hope that I might help to foster an appreciation and renewed interest for the effects and routines of old, and that your journey with me along the way is a pleasant one".

In discussing this privately with a few others, I was often asked if I had a release schedule for each issue - I don't. As many people here know, I suffer with mental health issues as well as personality and mood disorders. While I am (finally) getting professional treatment and help with those issues, the fact is, that it would be foolish for me to commit to a timeline for a regular release schedule. In conclusion, each issue will appear 'when ready'. Ideally, I'd like to do a weekly or bi-weekly release - but don't hold me to it.

The good news however, is that each issue is *free!* I flip-flopped back and forth quite a deal on this issue, but I have always been a believer in "sharing for sharing's sake". If folks wish to support this project through paypal donations I would be more than happy to accept what people find this to be worth to them, but I'm not asking outright. I leave that up to you guys.

This first issue contains a mental card effect which, in my opinion, is something so deadly and strong that I think in a short matter of time, many guys are going to be using this full-time. If you could REALLY read minds, this is about as close to 'real' as it gets - for a card effect. I can honestly say that it leaves people speechless.

Issue One is ready to go. As always, if you'd like a copy just send me a PM.

Enjoy your weekend.

Sneak peek at the cover. This project has an interesting art direction - inspired by the "Pallbearer's Review" - but taken to a different level.

Pretty darn cool! And free? Based on what you've published in the last few years? I would certainly subscribe to something like this. Perhaps x amount for x amount of time.

This is a fantastic idea! And, obviously a labor of love.

Really looking forward to it Sudo!

Thank you for being so generous to our community

Sudo:

Looks like an ambitious and useful venture. I wish you well with it.

George

Sudo,

This looks great. It sounds like your experience with the Mystery School served you well. Now, I need to go find something old to read.

Sudo, I am interested in another effect of yours called En Passant.
Have send you a PM in January and reacted in the original thread.
Still hoping you could help me any further.

Thanks for all the kind thoughts and well wishes - appreciate it.

@ Marc O: Yes, sorry that I didn't reply to your PM about "En Passant". I took a break from the Café for a spell and stopped speaking to nearly everyone - it's not personal. I posted that I would share "En Passant" freely on the thread regarding it - but *only* if there was enough interest in it to justify all the time it takes for me to write it up. I didn't receive many responses - though I suspect this was probably due to the fact that when I said I'd freely share it, it was buried further on in the initial thread, so it's likely most missed that...

Either way, you'll be happy to know that "En Passant" will be featured in a future issue of "Skeletons From the Closet".

Just read through this. Unsurprisingly, Sudo has added some lovely extra devious touches to this old card effect. Anyone who is familiar with his thinking will know that he doesn't put any muck out, ALL of his thinking and his material is top notch. It is a very professionally produced document with some very intersting history (unbeknownst to me) regarding the original creator.

All in all, it is well worth the read, and also well worth sending him whatever you can afford. I know he is not asking for that but fair is fair.

I am very much looking forward to the remainder of the series.

Hi Sudo, thank you for your reply.
I hope the time taken of from the Café has done you well!

I have received my copy too, thanks Sudo! The method is clever, another one of those "why didn't I think about that?" moments. Thankfully, Sudo is there doing the thinking for us but it should also be a source of inspiration, how can you get an old effect with so many 'unattractive' conditions and streamline it to something very practical.

I have not had time to study the text yet, but I must say that the presentation style of the PDF is beautifully done.

Thanks for the kind words - and I'm pleased that the visual presentation of the pdf is noticed. I spent a lot of time in nailing down the art direction for this series.

On another note: I hide 'easter eggs' in a lot of my work to see who will find them. There is a MASSIVE easter egg hidden in this issue.

I think this one is clearly obvious, but let's just see...

I have received - Skeletons from the Closet - Issue one“. I must say thanks for your great work. I love it very much. Thank you! Sudo!

You're quite welcome Franky.

As for the 'easter egg' hidden in this issue, I'll give you a clue: 1+1 = 3.

Let's see who figures this one out.

Just to make this even more fun - the first person to find the easter egg will receive a free copy of "Pendultimate" - normally $30 USD.

Read through it today. I both enjoyed the insight to Hummer, as well as the updated methodology.

This is a simple set of methods that will be great for anyone. It's straight forward and will allow plenty of room for personalized presentations. I've already thought up some applications that are more appropriate for my style (as I don't use playing cards).

Looking forward to the next installment of Skeletons from the Closet.

Hmmm... Must be a very popular manuscript.

Tried to send a PM just a moment ago and got this message:

ERROR: The user "Sudo Nimh" has run out of space.
All users are limited to 60 total topics.

Hoping to get a copy.