Pagliacci

E-mail me at i_am_pagliacci@hotmail.com.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Rest in Crap / Surviving Crap

Just to give you an idea about where the current magic blogging community is heading, here's a list of magic blogs that have folded (I define folding as "haven't posted in at least a month or two if not longer/declared dead by the blog's author"):

- A Magician's Journey
- Cardopolis
- Comrade Conjuror
- Escamoteurettes
- Freely Mental
- High on Magic
- I Saw Scott
- Magic Circle Jerk
- Magic Hurts
- Magic Interviews
- Magia Libre
- Magic Mafia (3 times)
- Magic Meta Belog
- Magic Monitor
- Magic ReBlog (oh wait... just wishful thinking)
- Magic Watch (which, coincidentally, started out as an anti-Pagliacci blog)
- Magic Whack (2 times)
- Magician X
- Man in a Boy's World
- Phantom Notebooks
- Public Access Blog
- Real Magic Reviews
- Ruses
- Sarcastic Magician
- Wizards Ball

Here's a list of the blogs that are still around (I'm not including commercial blogs like those run by magic stores):

- Coming Through the Haze
- Glenn Bishop's blog (although he's folded 3 of his own blogs already)
- I, Magician (although it died briefly when Andy joined Magic Mafia, but was resurrected after Magic Mafia's 2nd death)
- In My Opinion
- Intensely Magic
- MagicEnigma (although if you read the last few posts, the blog is approaching death)
- MagiCentric (which was formed after Magic Rants was folded)
- Magic, Illusion, and Data Management (does it count on this list if a third of the blog is supposed to be about "Data Management"?)
- Magic Spank
- Magic Unlimited
- Magic Utopia
- Pagliacci
- Peacelove's Musings
- Phantom Notebooks
- Why Am I Stuck in Magician Hell?

So, out of the 40 magic blogs created since the beginning of the blogging revolution, only 15 remain. In other words, about 2 out of every 3 magic blogs started has folded by now.

[Quick note: the percentage of blogs that have survived - 37.5% - may actually be higher than it should. I was able to create a list of folded blogs by looking at blogs' blog rolls and seeing which links were dead or linked to dead blogs. However, this method relies on bloggers not updating their blog rolls enough. Also, trying to find things that no longer exist can be difficult. Therefore, the real number is probably more like 10-25%.]

Why did I compile such a list? First, it's time somebody acted as a sort of magic blog historian - this list is a tiny first step in the right direction. Second, it's to show you how crazy this fickle world of magic blogging is. I've been around for longer than any blog on the living list (except for MagiCentric and Coming Through the Haze), so I'm really thankful to all of my readers who have stuck around this long. As I've said before, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Juggling...Err...Crap Still?

Check out what juggling in the 3rd dimension really looks like here. It's a video of juggler Greg Kennedy juggling in an 8-foot transparent cone. This is like the Zombie. Except without the *wink* special something *wink*. And with five times more balls.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

End of Crap

This is not a post declaring that my blog is over, although you were a little scared there for a moment, weren't you? (Admittedly, though, the magic blogs that still are around are quickly becoming an endangered species.) In fact, if the number of my posts will be changing at all in these coming months, they probably will be increasing (watch out d-bags of the magic world!). I'm contemplating switching up my practice of using the word "crap" in the subject of each post. To be honest, it wasn't (at least at the beginning of this blog two years ago) supposed to be that way. My first three posts just happened to have "crap" in their titles and I thought it would be funny to keep it going. Over a hundred posts later (actually, I have no idea how many posts I've made - it's probably over two hundred at this point) and I'm still using "crap" in the headline for every title. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I've found a way to fit "crap" into almost every title. I'm getting a little bored though and would like your help - what's the new word I should use? Use the comments section to enter your idea - you just may help determine part of the title of my next hundred posts. (And don't say "shit" or "poop." At this point, enough magicians on the 'Net are speaking out of their ass that I don't need to add to the problem. Oh, and for the love of Mary Magdalene's alleged husband, please don't suggest "Magic.")

Monday, May 15, 2006

Magic Special ReCrap

In case you missed David Blaine and Keith Barry's magic specials (or want to relive some of the best moments), I've assembled some of the best clips from each right here for your viewing pleasure:



David Blaine - Bends Jail Cell Bars


David Blaine - Roulette


David Blaine - The Tooth Trick


David Blaine - The Breath-Holding Record Attempt


Keith Barry - Blindfold Drive


Keith Barry - Spike




What did you think of these clips? What did you think of these specials? Use the Comments feature!

Curb Your Crap

This is one of my favorite clips about magic from one of my favorite television shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm. So, what makes someone a magician?

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Blaine Crap

Comedian Ben Gleib tries to top David Blaine's stunt...

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1689423/

Friday, May 12, 2006

Bible Crap

What does the Bible say about magicians?

Check out this link to see it all explained...in Lego: The Brick Testament: The Occult.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Penguin Crap

Oh Penguin. Check out this post. I had to stifle a chuckle when I read, "You're the man, Ehrich." Funny thing is, "Ehrich Weiss" is most probably not a real name, considering that it was the name of a performer who eventually became famous under the stage name of "Houdini." Yeah, that Houdini.