July 27: Learning opportunities

 One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received came from the late American magician, Harry Anderson, who urged his fellow performers to "consider everything they do to be half done."

Great advice. If you think that something is perfect, you won't work on it. If you don't think it's perfect, you will.

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Another magician, Gene Anderson, tape records every show he does. He says that this is one of the big secrets of being a better magician. Record the show, listen to it later, and take note of the long pauses, the silences, the moments when your audience is disengaged. Try to eliminate them.

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As a young acting student, I believed that the professional actors onstage were masters of their craft, that they were there only because they learned everything in the studio first. But that's not the case. School is never done. Everytime an actor steps onstage, it is another learning opportunity.

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I didn't do any magic today, but I still had several opportunities to learn something. One of the things I learned was to hide my kid's meat packets far back in the freezer. That way, he won't eat them all in one evening and have nothing for his lunch the next day.

I also learned that milk will usually spoil a long time before the expiration date that's stamped on the carton.

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I am also learning that my body will not allow me to do the things I could do 10 years ago. There were times when I could pull all-nighters at the newspaper, staying until 3 in the morning to make sure everything was done. I can't do that anymore. When midnight rolls around, my brain refuses to do any heavy processing. About all I can do is veg in front of the TV and watch Columbo.

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Seriously though, everyday is a learning opportunity. Here are some things I learned today (and yesterday):

- Volkwagen Jettas have tonnes of trunk space.

- Drivers are growing more impatient with farm vehicles on rural roads.

- That Christians like Batman because it has the correct view of human nature.

- That I am considered a regular at Popeye's in Cornwall.

- That my kid really likes mascots at baseball games.

- That it's hard to find Eat More bars in grocery stores.

- That two campgrounds around Kingston are interested in hiring me to do magic shows over the Labour Day weekend.

- That there was a sale on pork chops on Save on Foods today.

- That my kid still loves splash pads (and probably always will.)

- That if I eat a Big Turk bar at 4 in the afternoon, I will taste it when I belch at 10:30.

- That the schism between Calvinism and Arminianism is still prevalent in Western Christianity.

- That Kelsey is going to the Highland Games with me on Friday. 😀I'm think a picture of her might wind up in the newspaper too. She will pretend to be embarrassed. But she won't be.