Hey, listen up!

If I'm driving somewhere, chances are , I'll have a podcast (or perhaps an informative audiobook) playing on my car stereo.

Here's a list of a few things I enjoy listening too. Perhaps you'll enjoy them too?

"Magic Newswire"
Linking page.com
Great source for news &
Some REALLY outstanding interviews.
Every single podcast on that site is worth your attention.

"Magic on the Side"
Seuss & Eric have really hit a great stride in this funny magic podcast "for the average joe"
Magicontheside,com

'Magic Rush'
I'm a magic geek. So are Larry & Mike. This show is a bit on the tame side... Not the strongest podcast, but, Beats the radio.

Theres more... But that's a top 3

I also keep a bunch of audio books on the iphone (a great tool for the aspiring magi.)

I'm currently listening to Tony Buzan's interesting "In search of Genius" series.

Dominic OBriens "Quantum Memory Power" & Josh Foer's "Moonwalking with Einstein" were both great audio-reads (that lead me to the Buzan stuff.)

Next post, I'll note a few video casts I watch on a regular basis...

Art-load

This two fold post is
A: to try out this new blogger app on my iPhone
B: to show off my kid's supreme art (& a lil oft own craftsmanship)

My Rubik Muse

After a month of (lackadaisical) practice, I can finally do the Rubiks cube. My self imposed goal of learning it in a month was met, but I'd hazard a guess that you could learn it in a week (spending bout an hour a day on each of the 7 basic steps.) 

Takes me about 4-5 minutes. My goal is to get it under 2 minutes. 

Considering the following I think my goal is attainable.

It really boils down to memorizing some 'algorithms' (there's bout 100 basic sequences... though you only need to learn about a dozen of those to solve the cube... easier said than done... but easier than most would think) Now that I've got it down... Next step = learn some of the other moves to speed it up... then I can/will do it blindfolded (and onward to the 'magic square' cube.)

FYI: there's some great apps for the cube. For .99 the official Rubiks app can't be beat: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rubiks-cube/id361231506?mt=8 this app includes a virtual cube & a nice tutorial on how to solve it. If you're interested in Rubiks cube (and own an 'app phone') search around... it's surprising what's out there. Everything from a cube-cheat-solver, to timing &/or algorithm apps.

Last but certainly not least:
This page was lots of help & also includes a bunch of links to other cube solutions & stuffs.
http://peter.stillhq.com/jasmine/rubikscubesolution.html

Connjure up a blog

Welcome to my blog.

Perhaps an introduction is in order: My name is Doug Conn. I'm a professional magician. No, I'm not one of those guys with a glittery coat that bought a few easy tricks & makes balloon dogs. I'm a lifelong practicing, performing, creator & student of the arcane arts. I prefer close-up sleight of hand, but on any given day, there's no telling what I might be working on. My material has been critically acclaimed and (among many other things) includes a 200 page hardcover book of my original magic. It was authored by Paul Cummins & his FASDIU press: http://www.fasdiu.com/tomt.html "Tricks of My Trade - The Magic of Doug Conn" (now available only on CD Rom: the hardcover run sold out.)

If you'd like to see / learn more bout me... perhaps a visit to my YouTube channel will do the job:
http://www.youtube.com/connjure here's an example of what you'll find there:

This space will be used as a 'notebook' for all the interesting stuff I run across on the internet (and the occasional rant/ramble &/or thought provoking things.)

I've also been playing / using Tumblr & Zapped (to produce & post on/from my iphone) and  it's likely that I'll continue doing so & combine the three into one big blogging experience... stay tuned

You can expect posts bout prestidigitation, legerdemain & the related arts: puzzles, mnemonics, math, psychology, etc. There will most likely be lots of links to pages, posts & videos.

I've started other blogs  (and will likely continue them as a I see fit)
but, this is gonna be the space I 'bookmark' all the cool stuffs I think are worth seeing (& re-seeing)
I'm thinking / hoping that this process will make these things more memorable to my grey matter. At the very least, it should provide a way to review the web-finds I enjoy.

Speaking of Grey Matter... lets start there. Great website
http://headinside.blogspot.com/
go ahead (right) click & check it out... scroll down a bit to the 'topics' on the right side... droool.

a semi-related site that I visit & revisit is Ron Hale Evan's "Mentat Wiki"
http://www.ludism.org/mentat Ron Evans is the author of the wonderful "Mind Performance Hacks" (great book that will make your life better.)

alrighy... that's a start.
Cya on the flip side.