For readers of Mystery Magazine

I've just received my copy of the October's issue of Mystery Magazine. The gremlins were at work with the typograpy and lack of space (it was an issue covering the British Ring Convention and so I was lucky there was any room for my article at all) meant that the explanation to the illustration was dropped. So, for those, wondering what the heading to the second paragraph was, it was meant to read "Dice In the Ancient World."

And here's the illustration again and the explanation that was dropped for those readers who are interested (if any) what the numbers on the illustration mean.

(1)    Acetabulum/Acetabuli. There can be ornamental handles on these; it was the handles that prevented stacking. This vessel was a small dipping bowl, usually filled with vinegar.
 

(2)    & (3) Examples of micras paropsidas. These were small dishes that held sweets on a dinner table. (2) could sometimes be no more than 4cm or 5cm high. Note the similarity of (2) to a Hindu cup and (3) to an oriental rice bowl; both of which have a lengthy history of being used for cups and balls routines.
 

(4) A boxwood cup. Around 5cm high.
 

(5) Knuckle bones. These are the basic, unpolished type. They were sometimes carved and polished into better shapes.
 

(6) A miniature dice set with cup/container. From base to lid the cup might only be 2cm to 2.5cm high. Only three dice are shown but occasionally ten or more might be in the set. The material the container could be made of varied from leather to metal. The dice, like larger dice, would be made of wood, ivory, stone or metal.
 

(7) Dice. The length of one edge might be up to 1cm. They could be bigger but it was unusual.
 

(8) Calculi made of polished stone.
 

(9) Calculi/calculum or stroggula lithidia (in Greek). A natural pebble. There were no industry standards on calculi and so a board game might have the shapes of both (8) and (9) making up the game pieces.
 

(10) Ivory calculi. The size could be about that of a penny or a little larger, say of a 10p piece. The smaller kind appear to be more common.
 

Seneca the Younger mentions (1) and (9) when referring to the cups and balls being performed.

Alciphron mentions (2) or (3) and (9) when describing a performance of the cups and balls.

Martial mentions (5) and (7).

Ovid mentions (7), (8), (9) and (10).

Juvenal mentions (6).

Paul Daniels Interview in Mystery Magazine

In the latest issue of Mystery Magazine, there is an interesting interview with Paul Daniels (and I'm not saying that because I was the interviewer). The magazine, as ever, has plenty of news from the UK magic scene, including reports on recent conventions.
The magazine, if you're not already a subscriber, is available as a download or in printed format from
http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

John Archer Interview

In April's issue of Mystery Magazine you will find an interview - by Walt Lees and myself - of one of the winners of Penn and Teller: Fool Us, John Archer.

Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

Mystery Magazine for January

The third issue of the new British magic periodical, Mystery Magazine, was delivered this week. Editor Walt Lees and publisher Paul Cooke are certainly pulling out all the stops to provide us with an all colour extravaganza on a monthly basis.

This month the president of The Magic Circle, Jack Delvin, discusses his career and the present status of modern magic in a six page interview. There is also a lengthy review of the International Magic Convention which took place last November. If you have never attended a magic convention, then this article will provide you with a taste of what one is like.

The magazine is, for me, a welcome return of what was best about Abra (Abracadabra magazine) which closed down last year. Paul Cooke, owner of Magic Books By Post, has updated the Abra style of the magazine with an all colour format. The magazine even has its own website with an easy online method of purchasing single issues or a full subscription. While not Abra, it is apparent even after only three issues that it is becoming something more than that and I look forward to seeing what it is like by the end of the year.

January Updates.

The book The Art of Iugling by Sa Rid, 1612, has been delayed. This has been because I found copies of Sa Rid’s other book Martin Mark-All and I’m including the text in the book to be published. The delay is not a long one. The publication date is now in February. The publication of Hocus Pocus Junior will be not be that long thereafter.

Publication of the first book, and any other book, of the Ancient Greek Drama Series has been suspended for an indefinite period. One of the plays was converted into a film script and I await an answer regarding the option being taken up by someone. I personally do not see it happening but with agents being what they are I am patiently doing as I am bid (for a while) before inevitably forging ahead with my own plans.

I’ve neglected uploading more videos to You Tube. This has simply been down to lack of time. The winter months kept me busier than I expected. The promised videos will begin to be uploaded soon but not at the rate I hoped. I have some academic research which begins in February and which continues through to the summer and this will mean focusing my time on what is absolutely essential. So editing and uploading videos has to take second place for a while.

Mystery Magazine

Today I received a copy of the first issue of a new British magic magazine, Mystery Magazine. The editor is Walt Lees - magician, author and editor of well earned renown - and it is published by Magic Books By Post.

There are a number of things that I like about Mystery Magazine. I guess each of us will discover our own individual reasons for liking it. Mine include its quality of not clashing with or competing with other non-magic club periodicals. It is different enough from Magicseen and The LaBaL to justify my subscription to all three and not once have an overlap of articles, views or magic tricks. I am not going to go into depth about this issue's contents; you will just have to buy a copy and at a price of £2.50 that will hardly break the bank.

The magazine is monthly. It's full colour throughout and contains tricks, articles, reviews and news. Its format and contents is the result of Walt talking to people in the magic community and listening to what they would like. Walt's editorial clearly justifies the final result and so does reading the magazine.