The not-for-profit organization was established in 2003, “dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of magic and its allied arts.” It was started by William Kalush, who developed a love of magic from the card tricks shown to him by his father, a Marine wounded in World War II. This love of card magic turned to a love of collecting magic books, which now form a wondrous collection of over 15,000 books—some dating to over 600 years old—housed in this hidden location.
Author: Douglas McLennan
Bestselling Authors Who Are Thriving WIthout Ever Being On The Bestseller Lists
A handful of writers who top the Kindle charts, including LJ Ross and Rachel Abbott, have defied rejections from publishers and agents to knock out seven-figure sales for their brand of crime and thriller writing. This, in a market where it only takes around 3,000 sales to top the hardback charts.
How The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Is Catching The Attention Of America’s Theatre World Elite
“Among the 600 professionals annually employed by OSF are the 100 actors who make up its repertory acting company — the largest repertory troupe in the country, ranging from new faces to actors who are 20-year veterans. (Among its alumni: Denis Arndt, nominated for a Tony this year for “Heisenberg.”) With diversity a major concern for Broadway and the theater industry at large, 61% of this year’s OSF ensemble are actors of color.”
The Legendary Strand Bookstore At 90
Now the shop boasts an advertised “18 miles” of new, used and rare books, many of which Fred Bass himself has procured through private estates and overseas sales. “Part of my job is going out to look at estates — it’s a treasure hunt,” Bass told NY Mag in 2014, describing New York as “an incredible source — a highly educated group of people in a concentrated area, with universities and Wall Street wealth. The libraries are here.”
Can A Podcast Save A Near-Extinct Native Alaskan Language?
“Recently, advocates who have been establishing means of revitalizing Alaska Native languages have created new opportunities for the preservation of Tlingit. Perhaps the most creative effort has been that of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, a non-profit based in Juneau that promotes understanding of Southeastern Alaska Native cultures. In late 2016, it produced two phone applications and a podcast that aim to teach users the Tlingit language.”
Big Aztec Temple Found Under Downtown Mexico City Streets
“The discoveries were made on a nondescript side street just behind the city’s colonial-era Roman Catholic cathedral off the main Zocalo plaza on the grounds of a 1950s-era hotel. The underground excavations reveal a section of what was the foundation of a massive, circular-shaped temple dedicated to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a smaller part of a ritual ball court, confirming accounts of the first Spanish chroniclers to visit the Aztec imperial capital, Tenochtitlan.”
How You Know You’re Probably Being Fired As Artistic Director
Greg Miller, who has worked at the theater for 27 years, said he was blindsided by the decision. But in retrospect, he should have have predicted changes were afoot — especially after he was told he no longer had to attend the annual board retreat. “I found it that odd since I’m the head artistic officer in an arts organization [and] I was no longer required to come speak at board meetings when my job description states that that’s required of me.”
How Times Square Was Reinvented
“In today’s America of drastically reduced civic expectations, Snøhetta’s quietly brilliant reconfiguration of Times Square is an exemplar of how much can be achieved in city planning without the gigantic financial outlays and dire social displacements that typified American postwar urban renewal projects.”
Venice’s Guggenheim Collection Appoints New Director (With Personal Ties)
Not only is Karole Vail a Guggenheim stalwart — she has been on staff since 1997 and organized the sweeping retrospective “Moholy-Nagy: Future Present” last year — but she also has personal ties to the institution: Peggy Guggenheim was her grandmother.
Welsh National Opera Offers First Virtual Reality Opera Experience
Created by Welsh National Opera, the project will allow visitors to step inside the worlds of The Magic Flute and Madam Butterfly, including performances from WNO productions. Called Magic Butterfly, the production will combine motion capture, animation and music to create an “immersive experience using responsive animation and sound”. WNO claims this is the first time an opera company has used VR in this way.