Linked List: November 24, 2018

Saturday, 24 November 2018

Ricky Jay’s Magical Secrets 

Mark Singer, writing for The New Yorker in 1993:

Ricky Jay, who is perhaps the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive, was performing magic with a deck of cards. Also present was a friend of Mamet and Mosher’s named Christ Nogulich, the director of food and beverage at the hotel. After twenty minutes of disbelief-suspending manipulations, Jay spread the deck face up on the bar counter and asked Nogulich to concentrate on a specific card but not to reveal it. Jay then assembled the deck face down, shuffled, cut it into two piles, and asked Nogulich to point to one of the piles and name his card.

“Three of clubs,” Nogulich said, and he was then instructed to turn over the top card.

He turned over the three of clubs.

Mosher, in what could be interpreted as a passive-aggressive act, quietly announced, “Ricky, you know, I also concentrated on a card.”

After an interval of silence, Jay said, “That’s interesting, Gregory, but I only do this for one person at a time.”

Mosher persisted: “Well, Ricky, I really was thinking of a card.”

Jay paused, frowned, stared at Mosher, and said, “This is a distinct change of procedure.” A longer pause. “All right — what was the card?”

“Two of spades.”

Jay nodded, and gestured toward the other pile, and Mosher turned over its top card.

The deuce of spades.

A small riot ensued.

What a loss. Great magician, great actor, great author.

Mezzanine Lost Its Lease, Will Close in October 2019 

Peter Lawrence Kane, reporting for SF Weekly:

First it was the Elbo Room, then the Hemlock Lounge. Storied SoMa venue Mezzanine announced this morning that the landlords have declined to renew the lease, and the club will have to close its doors in October 2019. At least 35 employees are expected to lose their jobs when San Francisco’s largest female-owned, independent space shutters for good. […]

In a statement, Mezzanine owner Deborah Jackman said, “I was disappointed that the owners of the building didn’t give me an opportunity to renegotiate a new lease. I was further disappointed that my request for a three-month extension, so that we could close out 2019 was rejected. What I find most disturbing is that Mezzanine, like so many other cultural institutions, has fallen victim to corporate greed and commercial development.”

What a shame. Mezzanine is the venue where we held The Talk Show Live From WWDC from 2013-2016, and it was a fantastic venue with a wonderful staff. Maybe we’ll fit one more live episode from Mezzanine in before they close doors.