One of the questions we receive often from those who seem earnest is why we
call the newsletter The Inside Magic Daily News when in fact; it comes out three times a week. That is
a good question. We look at the adjective “Daily” as a goal to attain rather
than merely a modifier of the noun “News.”
Which brings us to Fathers Day.
For
many, “father” is a goal to be attained rather than a descriptive noun used to
identify the biological or adoptive male influence in a family situation.
As it is used in the phrase “Fathers Day” it modifies (albeit
ungrammatically) the day we are to celebrate. It is similar to Mothers Day or
Ladies Night or Kids Eat Free Day.
(Hallmark has wonderful cards celebrating the
last two events, by the way. One of our favorites has a cover picture of a
red-headed lad eating a massive amount of pasta and cheese. On the inside of the
card, the script reads, “‘Kids Eat Free Day’ leads to ‘Parents Don’t Sleep
Night.’” Ironically, this same inscription is found in the Ladies Night card).
In the Hardy family, however, we are reminded of Aunt Louise Hardy’s
definition. In the same manner children are taught about Santa, seven sons and
daughters learned about a “father.”
There were truly fathers for them; they knew
that from their schooling and the blunt accusations from family members at our
annual reunions. Their poor mother tried to shield them from the reality of her
life in the series of carnivals she worked to support her “litter.”
(Aunt Louise always referred to her kids as “kitties” and so the group of
them became her “litter.” She also went so far as to pick them up and move them
to places by biting the back of their necks and carrying them. This became
embarrassing for my cousin Tomasina during high school and is likely the subject
of many of her court-ordered counseling sessions).
The children would ask, “Mother Cat, was that our father who came to visit
last week?”
Aunt Louise would shake her head slowly and with understanding eyes and soft
voice offer, “No, Kitty. You know how when we go to shopping plazas we see men
dressed as Santa? They are Santa’s elves representing and reporting back to
Santa. When you sit on their knee and tell them what you want for Christmas,
they pass the information on to Mr. Santa back at the North Pole.
“It’s the same thing with fathers. The men you see around are just
representatives of the real father. They fill a need and leave to represent what
a father is to another family. A father is someone more than a man who lives in
the same house for a short or long time.
Tears would well in the slit-eyes of my aunt as she continued, “A father,
like Santa, is special and worthy of believing in. Like Santa’s elves at the
department stores that take off their costumes at the end of day and become just
normal men, the men who leave here remove their father-costumes but your real
father never changes.”
One of the questions we receive often from those who seem earnest is why we
call the newsletter The Inside Magic Daily News when in fact; it comes out three times a week. That is
a good question. We look at the adjective “Daily” as a goal to attain rather
than merely a modifier of the noun “News.”
Which brings us to Fathers Day.
For
many, “father” is a goal to be attained rather than a descriptive noun used to
identify the biological or adoptive male influence in a family situation.
As it is used in the phrase “Fathers Day” it modifies (albeit
ungrammatically) the day we are to celebrate. It is similar to Mothers Day or
Ladies Night or Kids Eat Free Day.
(Hallmark has wonderful cards celebrating the
last two events, by the way. One of our favorites has a cover picture of a
red-headed lad eating a massive amount of pasta and cheese. On the inside of the
card, the script reads, “‘Kids Eat Free Day’ leads to ‘Parents Don’t Sleep
Night.’” Ironically, this same inscription is found in the Ladies Night card).
In the Hardy family, however, we are reminded of Aunt Louise Hardy’s
definition. In the same manner children are taught about Santa, seven sons and
daughters learned about a “father.”
There were truly fathers for them; they knew
that from their schooling and the blunt accusations from family members at our
annual reunions. Their poor mother tried to shield them from the reality of her
life in the series of carnivals she worked to support her “litter.”
(Aunt Louise always referred to her kids as “kitties” and so the group of
them became her “litter.” She also went so far as to pick them up and move them
to places by biting the back of their necks and carrying them. This became
embarrassing for my cousin Tomasina during high school and is likely the subject
of many of her court-ordered counseling sessions).
The children would ask, “Mother Cat, was that our father who came to visit
last week?”
Aunt Louise would shake her head slowly and with understanding eyes and soft
voice offer, “No, Kitty. You know how when we go to shopping plazas we see men
dressed as Santa? They are Santa’s elves representing and reporting back to
Santa. When you sit on their knee and tell them what you want for Christmas,
they pass the information on to Mr. Santa back at the North Pole.
“It’s the same thing with fathers. The men you see around are just
representatives of the real father. They fill a need and leave to represent what
a father is to another family. A father is someone more than a man who lives in
the same house for a short or long time.
Tears would well in the slit-eyes of my aunt as she continued, “A father,
like Santa, is special and worthy of believing in. Like Santa’s elves at the
department stores that take off their costumes at the end of day and become just
normal men, the men who leave here remove their father-costumes but your real
father never changes.”
Carl Jones in Dallas sent along great news of Tiffany Riley’s summer offering
for young people. Ms. Riley, the creative and talented staff of Slappy’s Puppet
Playhouse are set to provide their Summer Circus Camp July 11th through the
15th.
The program is designed for three to five year-olds (“Pee Wees”) and five to
twelve year-olds (“Roustabouts”) to teach the essential skills necessary for
today’s modern young man or woman.
Students will get a chance to learn juggling, plate spinning, classic clown
routines and all about physical comedy. They will even get to discover their own
clown face.
In keeping with the raison d’?tre of a location called “Slappy’s
Puppet Playhouse? to top it off, each student will make their very own puppet
and even learn some magic tricks. At the end of the week, our brand new circus
artists will present their new skills and talents to an audience of adoring fans
(mom & dad), on the stage at Slappy’s Playhouse.
Ms. Riley comes to clowning with a prestigious and helpful background. She
attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, started performing at
age six in musicals and TV commercials. Ms. Riley’s stage credits include Sesame Street Live, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and The Muppet
Show on Tour.
Tiffany has choreographed for Ringling Bros. And Barnum &
Bailey Clown College, The L.A. Circus and with Anita Mann Productions. She
performed in the New York Fringe Festival in Clowning the Bard, become a
member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and co-founded The New York
Goofs.
With the Goofs she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Farm
Park, and in New York at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall (with the Little
Orchestra Society), Carnegie Hall, and at the Flea Theater in Goof productions
of Hopped Up on Goofballs, Noses Off, and The Goof Family
Christmas Special, all of which she also served as co-producer and
choreographer.
There are not many places where one can learn from such experienced and
dedicated instructors. The Pee Wees and Roustabouts of Dallas are very
fortunate.
We’re up late watching infomercials and so the idea of getting something for nothing seems possible. Imagine you hear the following: What would you say if I told you a way where you could get thousands of dollars to follow your dream? What if I could tell you how take a vacation from your work, travel where ever you’d like, do what you want, and get paid for it?
The Sunday Times of London reports on the latest winners in the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (“NESTA”) — a program too good to be true.
Here’s the skinny: In an effort to encourage the development of new ideas, the NESTA funds innovative projects it believes have some chance of producing new concepts to be marketed to fund more dream scholarships.
The fund began with an ?200,000,000 endowment in 1998 and has thus far produced only a few hundred dollars in royalties. Beneficiaries include hip-hop artists, psychologists, moody people and even magicians. (You knew there had to be some relationship to Magic).
So far the fund has paid more than ?1,000,000 to “thinkers” and inventors.
NESTA funded one woman’s plan to stay home from work so she could “monitor her moods.” Melody Stokes worked with Lotus Cars until she received the grant. Now she monitors her moods and looks for some relationship with lunar or solar cycles.
“It is very easy to make fun of people who try to think in ways that challenge existing ideas ? the history of science, art and technology is littered with examples. The most frequent criticism I get is, ‘What a waste of money’.”
Shocking. We think we will follow on Ms. Stokes’ ground-breaking research to study why people would view a grant used to stay home and see how you feel as “shocking.” Ms. Stokes makes a good point, though. It is very easy to make fun of people who think in different ways. We note, however, just because it is easy to make fun of someone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If you can’t make fun of people you don’t know for doing things you understand only on a surface-level basis, who can you make fun of?
Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at Hertfordshire University and a former professional magician, used part of his ?36,890 grant to travel to Las Vegas to see Jeff McBride, a magician, perform at the Sahara hotel and casino. He intends to bring Mr. McBride to London to lecture on psychology of magic.
Mr. Wiseman’s academic study produced something called a “wow box.” This device will actually allow science teachers “perform tricks in classrooms such as sticking skewers through balloons without bursting them.”
As if!
How can there be such a wondrous device as a “wow box”? How is it possible for any mortal push pins through a balloon — perhaps even an inflated balloon — without popping? We may be gullible and sure, there’s a reason why it’s 4:10 am and we’re still watching infomercials but that reason isn’t our gullibility; our willingness to accept every crazy… Continue reading What Would You Do with Your Dream Time Grant
We’re up late watching infomercials and so the idea of getting something for nothing seems possible. Imagine you hear the following: What would you say if I told you a way where you could get thousands of dollars to follow your dream? What if I could tell you how take a vacation from your work, travel where ever you’d like, do what you want, and get paid for it?
The Sunday Times of London reports on the latest winners in the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (“NESTA”) — a program too good to be true.
Here’s the skinny: In an effort to encourage the development of new ideas, the NESTA funds innovative projects it believes have some chance of producing new concepts to be marketed to fund more dream scholarships.
The fund began with an ?200,000,000 endowment in 1998 and has thus far produced only a few hundred dollars in royalties. Beneficiaries include hip-hop artists, psychologists, moody people and even magicians. (You knew there had to be some relationship to Magic).
So far the fund has paid more than ?1,000,000 to “thinkers” and inventors.
NESTA funded one woman’s plan to stay home from work so she could “monitor her moods.” Melody Stokes worked with Lotus Cars until she received the grant. Now she monitors her moods and looks for some relationship with lunar or solar cycles.
“It is very easy to make fun of people who try to think in ways that challenge existing ideas ? the history of science, art and technology is littered with examples. The most frequent criticism I get is, ‘What a waste of money’.”
Shocking. We think we will follow on Ms. Stokes’ ground-breaking research to study why people would view a grant used to stay home and see how you feel as “shocking.” Ms. Stokes makes a good point, though. It is very easy to make fun of people who think in different ways. We note, however, just because it is easy to make fun of someone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If you can’t make fun of people you don’t know for doing things you understand only on a surface-level basis, who can you make fun of?
Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at Hertfordshire University and a former professional magician, used part of his ?36,890 grant to travel to Las Vegas to see Jeff McBride, a magician, perform at the Sahara hotel and casino. He intends to bring Mr. McBride to London to lecture on psychology of magic.
Mr. Wiseman’s academic study produced something called a “wow box.” This device will actually allow science teachers “perform tricks in classrooms such as sticking skewers through balloons without bursting them.”
As if!
How can there be such a wondrous device as a “wow box”? How is it possible for any mortal push pins through a balloon — perhaps even an inflated balloon — without popping? We may be gullible and sure, there’s a reason why it’s 4:10 am and we’re still watching infomercials but that reason isn’t our gullibility; our willingness to accept every crazy… Continue reading What Would You Do with Your Dream Time Grant
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