learned pigs and fireproof women - ricky jay

I have just re-read Ricky Jay's 'Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women', and a damn fine read it still is.  Dealing with the history of old time magicians, contortionists, illusionists, high divers and masters of the flatulence (I'm surprised l wasn't mentioned), there are colour reproduction posters, and the odd explanation of how tricks and stunts were performed.  I've always been interested in magic and illusion, as l love trying to work out how the deceptions are done.  It's amazing how many times you can argue with someone who describes a trick to you, only to take offence when you explain the ways the illusions could have been achieved.  "But they didn't do that" they scream, all spittle mouthed and incandescent with rage, despite the only other option being that the performers are true magicians who can make solid objects disappear, which l very much doubt.  Probably the one trick that really would have bamboozled me at the time, was the one involving Johnny Eck and his brother.  You'll have to look it up as l don't want to give the game away, but if l had seen that when it was first performed, especially as a member of the audience, l wouldn't have believed my own eyes.
 I've now got a hankering to rip open some boxes and dig out some of my other magic books (wherever they are).  Maybe they have disappeared and are trying to fox me. Bastards!

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my alternate future

Further to yesterdays post,  if l can just keep things reigned in and organised, the future could be more like the above (but with better albums in the picture frames).
Here's hoping!

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my future is staring me in the face

Oh oh!!  Left to my own devices at home, l can see where l am heading.  These pictures are not from my house, but it's only a matter of time......
The thing is, l'd love to have a root amongst those records, but l know l'd want to bring a load back if l did.

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8th grader test from 1912

Think you are smarter than a 13/14 year old in 1912 America?  Then try this test and be amazed. Obviously l know all the answers, but l doubt many others will.
It's from Bullitt County, Kentucky, and there is more information about it here.

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franz xaver messerschmidt

 

Now here is a man  that l would liked to have met, but sadly for me (and him) he died in 1783, and not even l'm that old.  Ladies and Gentlemen, l present to you the one and only Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. He was a German / Austrian sculptor who ended up making character heads of himself pulling various faces.  I first heard about him through Boing Boing, but if you want to see a lot more of his faces, look here.  What a character.

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over used movie poster ideas

Movies.  Don't you just love them?  It's bad enough that so many movies follow the same kind of formulas, but it's even worse when the posters for them also follow suit.  Here's some fine examples, but more can be found at this excellent imgur page, plus the meanings behind the artwork.

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bitter sweet (the life and death of apollinaire) - christopher daybell

When l was in Dublin over 20 years ago, l bought this self made, poorly printed and slim poetry leaflet from Christopher Daybell himself, who was selling them in the middle of the street.  I like a bit of poetry myself, and as l also admire anyone who follows their muse and stands on the street to publicise and promote their calling, old Christopher couldn't go far wrong when l approached him.  Talking to him, it turned out he had packed in his job to produce poetry works and follow his calling, and trust me, as he was no spring chicken at the time, it must have been one hell of a serious calling.  I don't know much about him, but l am aware that he produced a fair amount of work over the years, but died in about 2000.  Dublin has lost one of its characters with his passing (and my absence!).

Here's one of his other works

Marcus Aurelius

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I, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius,
Have seen with my two eyes,
Know in this head on which the helmet weighs,
That there is nothing new under the sun.
As a man and a stoic I am of the universe,
But since I am Antoninus I am Rome.
According to the mask I wear
I could build A temple reflecting blood or mercy,
But blood flows and has always flowed.
I have decreed that gladiators use blunted swords,
But this new sect who have the symbol of the fish
Are dangerous to the state, so I feed them to lions.
I follow the strictest personal rules:
When a man drops a false construction in his speech
I will never correct him to his face,
But I repeat the proper phrasing afterwards.
During these endless frontier wars
As I sit in my tent at night writing
These meditations no one will read,
I am not happy.
I was not called For happiness when Antoninus adopted me,
A simple life on a farm would please me more.
But the skeins of my life were ravelled Before my birth,
and I follow them to my death.

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when l was a runner (a long time ago)

A long, long time ago, l used to play football a lot, and to keep fit for it, l also used to do a lot of running. I had always been pretty good at long distance running, so as a bit of a laugh, l used to enter some organised runs with mates.  These included the two Richmond / Swaledale James Herriot runs above, one of which l couldn't be bothered finishing, as it went near my home at the end, and l was going to get a bad time as l had to stop a couple of times due to my shoelaces malfunctioning. Therefore l walked of to my flat, got changed, and went to The Hildyard Arms, not completing the run and missing out on my medal and t-shirt (not that l cared).
The Great North Run ones l did for at least 5 years, and have a mixture of medals and programmes from them lying around.  Before one run, myself and a mate called Rocker went to a late night reggae disco in Newcastle, and were the only white people in there.  We still had a great time, got back in the early hours to my ex girlfriends house in Newcastle, then cracked on with the run the next morning.  I was fine, but Rocker felt like being sick all the way round it.  Now it would kill both of us (especially me with my bad knee).

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passports of the famous

 Some iconic stars passports in all their glory, and if you want to see more, go here.

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how to breathe underwater - julie orringer

Another book l picked up on a whim at a charity shop.  I had no idea who Julie Orringer was, and it seemed as though it might be a bit 'girlie', but 'How To Breathe Underwater' was a fine selection of tales, all featuring youngsters as they approach adulthood, who have to deal with various crisis' and events.  My favourite tale involved SCUBA diving and a car crash, but dig it out and read it yourself, it's worth it.

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the wine bar on monday

Part of the mayhem and carnage from Monday night in The Wine Bar with Paul and Linda.  This was still early doors, and we ended up being the last ones to leave JT's with Eleanor and Billy (who had been hilarious earlier on, sellotaping some tampons to his ears to drown out Jimmy's swearing).  There should be a photograph up of it in the pub now, as Stella Steve snapped one, and said he's arrange it.
A fun night for all the family.

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manchester united photograph saved just in time

I saved this photograph / poster of Manchester United from the garage a couple of weeks or so ago, and it was just in time, as it has been chewed on the left hand side by mice or rats. Luckily, with a bit of trimming, it will look as good as new.
Back from when football was old school.  Although l can't wait for the new season to start, l still preferred the game years ago.

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me as a young kid in kenya

A young me in Kenya, from a photograph my brother bought up at the weekend. Sadly, l don't have any recollection of living there, but l think my earlier experiences of living in places like Africa and Singapore and mixing with other nationalities, made me into the non racist lad  l am today, and probably encouraged my love of sunshine and good weather (and fear of spiders).
By the way, I'm the blond haired one.

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richmond live and my brother stopping

It's been non stop madness since last Wednesday, as my brother has been up from Leeds for Richmond Live, but decided to come up early and didn't set off back until today.
My ears are now getting used to the quiet again as he never stops talking, and the house is emptier without all his stuff spread about.  We have had a good time over the last few days, but there certainly has been a lot of ale taken on board.
As for Richmond Live itself, we went through for Friday and Saturday, but stayed in town for a bit on Saturday with other lads, but lost everyone pretty much straight away when we got into Richmond live.  Dazzer ended up heading to the Holly, and Robbo must have gone home early (or he's still walking home now) as he disappeared as well.  Then again, everyone was pretty drunk by then.
Yo El Rey were my favourite band of the weekend, but From The Jam were pretty good as well.  It's a shame my Flip video camera gets distorted sound if stuff is too loud, but there's few videos from it below.
Now it's back to normality (or what passes for normality in my life).







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impressive magic tricks by kevin james on america's got talent

A pretty smart trick trick or two by Kevin James on 'America's Got Talent' (where he won the best comedy illusionist award), which l nicked from Baron Harkonnen's 'The Afterword'  post here.
I'll let you know how it's all done for the right price.

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first of the true believers 'the autobiography of theodore hennessy' - paul charles

A romance story by Paul Charles set in Liverpool at the same time as the rise of The Beatles?  Count me in for some of that.
Theodore Hennessy falls in love with an unavailable woman (guess if he gets her in the end), while he plays in (and promotes) bands, chats to his sister, and closely follows The progress of The Beatles, and their meteoric rise from The Cavern and Hamburg to superstardom, marveling at each new release by them, and their advancements in sound and lifestyle, changing his own as he goes along in their slipstream.
The book was a fine way to while away a sunny day, but it actually went on slightly too much about The Beatles chart positions, and the romance stuff was sometimes sickly. Then again, it was a novel l had never heard of before, and as l picked it up at a charity shop for a pittance, l can't complain that much, especially as l am a fan of The Beatles and there are enough hints about the contents on the cover.

It reminded me of the good old days kicking around Bootle, but despite both being from Liverpool, my parents never owned any Beatles records. It was all Dean Martin, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley in our house (not literally), so it wasn't that bad.

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the sky on the way home from work

The rather impressive sky during my drive home from work this evening.  It's the end of days!!!!

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wonder - r.j palacio

Read on Sunday while chilling out a bit in Nunthorpe, R.J Palacio's 'Wonder' stars a young boy narrator called August, who goes to school for the first time, as he had previously been home taught by his mother. He then has to fit in at middle school and make friends, while feeling like he is an outsider, and not like everyone else.
You may think there is nothing strange in that, but there is something else, and no, he is not a vampire (for a bleeding change).
He does however, have a badly disfigured face, which he does not describe himself as 'whatever you can imagine - it's worse' (although other narrators do).
There was a part with the family dog that made me cry, and the book was well written and engaging, but l thought slightly too sentimental and life affirming in parts, despite some cruelties. Then again, it's probably aimed that way to teach children a lesson about kindness.
Still well worth a read, and l wouldn't be surprised to see it made as a film.

Wow, got through all of that without once referring to Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time'
DAMN!!

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batman looks worried

Are they trying to hint at something here?  Batman certainly looks worried, and l think he may be getting a call from Operation Yewtree pretty soon. I bet he's praying Robin keeps quiet.
Originally featured here.


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the gravity trailers

I am looking forward to Alfonso Cuaron's  'Gravity' movie soooooooooooo much.  Even though l suspect it will be a lovey dovey weepie with a nice ending (starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock), the CGI images of the Earth and space look amazing, and a total trip (in more ways than one).  It should also rabbit on about The Kessler Effect / Syndrome, which, unless we find a way to get rid of the debris orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit, will prevent us going into space in the future (at least for a long time).
Splendid and interesting stuff, and it had better not let me down.

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the stockton weekender

Well. l'm now back from the Stockton Weekender 2013 (as it is now called), and had a splendid old time. I stayed at Robbo and Kerry's house in Nunthorpe as they were away at a wedding on the Saturday, and even caught a bus into Middlesbrough town centre, as one was just about to set off when l was heading towards the train station (due to the anticipated drinking, driving for me was a no no). The journey to the venue was staggered as it was broken up with visits to some fine and upstanding hostelries along the way, along the mainly very deserted streets, and The Don pub overlooking the far end of the venue became a second home in between bands. As for them, Spiritualized were better than l hoped for, and Primal Scream had the crowd a rockin' (even with some new songs thrown in).  However, for me, Dexy's Midnight Runners (now just Dexys) were the highlight, as l thought there new material might not go down so well, and was half expecting items to be thrown at them, but the crowd loved them. There was a lot of love in the audience that's for sure. Pleasantly surprised that the taxi back to Nunthorpe on both nights was cheaper than it is from Middlesbrough itself, and l now have some nutty drinking buddies in The Don (scarily enough). I recorded some music, but the sound on them is crap, as l was too close to the front. However, if you want to check them out, go here, or just YouTube other peoples videos.
Next up, Richmond Live this weekend - bring it on!

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