My fingers are stupid.  I came to that conclusion as I was practicing some card magic last night.  Actually, I'm flattering myself; all I was really doing was shuffling the deck.  It was just a simple overhand shuffle - the first shuffle you learn playing cards as a child.  Yep, a child can do it.  Then why did half the deck end up on the floor?  Stupid, fat fingers. Now, since I started this blog with the intention of full disclosure regarding my journey back into magic, I must admit that I was trying to do a little magic "move" as I mixed up the cards.  Still, it was disheartening to see it all fall apart, again, for the 22nd. time in a row. Dai Vernon said, "Practice does not make perfect.  Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect."  My first instinct is to take that to mean that I'm practicing the move wrong to the point of never being able to do it correctly, but that's my own self-doubt talking.  Maybe it...

                                                          Some background for the non-magicians reading this... Dai Vernon was one of the greatest magicians you've never heard of.  Born in 1894, he was a "magician's magician," spending the 98 years of his life perfecting his craft to a level rarely (if ever) matched.  His work and influence changed the landscape of modern magic, and today the work of Mr. Vernon is still revered and studied by serious magicians. Legend has it that he began his magic journey at age 5, absorbing "The Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase - a slight, but heady piece on the methods used by professional card cheats, which also included a section of magic tricks.  Complicated stuff for even an adult who works with cards, yet at 5 the child who would become known as the "Professor" made the...