Monthly Update #37 (January 2026)
🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆 Getting my ducks in a row & the silent epidemic of SHAME.
Welcome to the first monthly update of 2026. I’m pleased to report that my thumb is healing well and the injury doesn’t appear to have caused any permanent damage. However, it is still a little uncomfortable to handle cards. I expect it to be fully healed in two or three weeks.
As I’ve not been able to practise and perform magic this month, I’ve been concentrating on improving the way I capture, store and organise my thoughts on magic. Or, put another way, I’ve been getting my magical ducks in a row! 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆
So far, I’ve created a new “magic tricks” database in Notion, a popular note-taking and productivity app, to keep track of all my ideas. I’ve done this to have a single central location for my magical notes and ideas. I was prompted to do this because I’ve been getting frustrated with all the half-formed ideas whirling around in my head, and the random notes scattered across multiple note-taking apps (including Trello, Google Docs, Google Keep, and Zoho Notebook). All these tools are great, and I like them; however, Notion lets me keep all my ideas and notes in a central database I can search, filter, and reorder as I see fit—basically, it’s better for my purposes because it is more customisable (the downside is that it’s a little more complicated to learn how to use the platform). There are 260 entries in the database so far! And that’s not even everything (I still have some ideas in electronic documents and physical notebooks to add).
In addition, I’ve decided to migrate my GTD lists to Notion. GTD (Getting Things Done) is the “stress-free” productivity system I use at work to manage my tasks and projects; you can learn more about how I use it for magic-based projects in Monthly Update #29.
A few of the notes I transferred are not much more than a trick title accompanied by a few words, and, unfortunately, I can’t remember how to perform the effects they describe. For example, “Aristotle’s Prediction” and “The Curse of the Dead Man’s Hand!” both sound like great tricks, but I’ll be damned if I can remember anything about them beyond their intriguing titles! I assume the latter involved the black Aces and Eights in some way; I have a misty memory of it being a pseudo-gambling demonstration that began with the four Aces, and I think the former was a self-working prediction effect. Hopefully, using a single database to capture, clarify and organise all my magic ideas and notes will avoid such problems in the future.
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Learn Algorithmic Love 🤖💖
Even though writing has been a little tricky since my accident, I managed to publish another edition of Easy Does It (this one is for paid subscribers). In the article, I share a cute card trick called “Algorithmic Love” in which the “Aussie Algo” is used to locate the King and Queen of Hearts (and the rest of the Hearts, in sequential order, as a surprise kicker).
What a SHAME!
Recently, I’ve been pondering the problematic way magic tricks are marketed, promoted, and sold to amateur (or hobbyist) magicians. If you’re a regular reader of the Ruseletter, you’ll know I often get a little grumpy about such things. This quote from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, neatly explains exactly why the current magic marketplace bothers me so much:
“The more you create, the more powerful you become. The more you consume, the more powerful others become.”
— James Clear
There’s nothing wrong with buying magic tricks regularly; I enjoy doing it myself. It can also fuel creative thought and activity. However, if that’s all you do—buy tricks, barely practise them, and seldom perform them—what’s the point of keeping magic, a performance art, as a hobby?
Now, if you’re content collecting tricks and hoarding secrets, then that is, of course, a legitimate way to enjoy magic as a hobby (I’m not convinced it’s the most rewarding, however). You’re a “Magic Enthusiast” or a “Magic Fan”, and there’s no shame in that (see my Taxonomy of Magic Engagement for more on this topic). And, as far as I’m concerned, you’re welcome to call yourself a magician.
This behaviour becomes a problem only when buying and collecting hinder your personal progress, resulting in a severe case of SHAME (Secret Hoard of Abandoned Magic Effects).
A recent video by The Underperforming Hobbyist captures this dynamic perfectly. In it, Fred describes himself as a “collector of possibilities” surrounded by “unused miracles” that he bought but never performed. It is a relatable, honest admission that highlights the trap many of us fall into. (I’ve embedded it at the bottom of this newsletter, if you want to watch it—I recommend that you do.)
But a modern magic marketplace that almost exclusively caters to this “collector compulsion” has created a toxic environment for those of us who also want to study, practise, and perform. Much like the modern food industry, which surrounds us with highly palatable, hyperprocessed—yet nutritionally bankrupt—food products, the magic industry surrounds us with tempting tricks that look amazing in the trailer but are often disappointing, of poor quality, and, worst of all, artistically shallow.
This situation brings to mind Neil Postman’s warning in Amusing Ourselves to Death. He argued that while George Orwell feared those who would ban books, Aldous Huxley feared that no ban would be necessary—because no one would want to read one in the first place. Huxley feared that “what we love will ruin us.” 💔
In the magic community, we’re not starved of secrets; we’re drowning in them. We risk becoming a culture of “trivial amusement” rather than meaningful art, distracted by the shiny novelty of the latest release while our fundamental skills wane and, in some cases, waste away completely.
This toxic environment creates additional friction, making it even harder to “eat healthy”—to study, practise, and grow as a performing magician. As James Clear notes:
“Success is often found by practising the fundamentals everyone knows they should be doing, but find too boring or basic to practice routinely.”
— James Clear
The ever-increasing cost of magic is also a growing concern for me. We often hear magic creators argue that high prices prevent magic from “falling into the wrong hands”, becoming a “cheap consumer product”, or diluting or even damaging the “art of magic”—I disagree.
High prices don’t protect the art; they simply turn magic tricks into a luxury commodity. When a single effect costs £65 and relies on FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) marketing, it restricts access to that magic, reduces diversity, and contributes to the ongoing hyperconsumerism of magic as a hobby. In short, it just makes matters worse.
Of course, consumers of magic products, myself included, must share some of the blame. We have to stop succumbing to the “sugar rush” of the next secret and start investing in the more “nutritious” behaviour of learning, practising, and performing the tricks we already own.
Three Videos Worth Watching
Finally, here are three more videos I recommend.
Is Anyone Else Just Collecting Magic?
Duration: 9 minutes
This candid video perfectly captures the concept of CUPS (Compulsive Uncontrollable Purchasing Syndrome), resulting in SHAME (Secret Hoard of Abandoned Magic Effects). In it, Fred offers a brutally honest look at how easily the quick thrill of a purchase can replace the actual work of performing.
Danny Goldsmith on “Angle-Sensitive” Coin Magic
Duration 52 minutes
If you’re looking for that “nutritious” content I mentioned earlier, look no further than this video. Instead of pitching a new trick, Danny Goldsmith—a phenomenal coin magician—shares some of the “real work”: the nuances of angle management. The best part? In a market obsessed with premium pricing, this almost hour-long masterclass is completely FREE. Thanks, Danny!
Buatier de Kolta’s Vanishing Lady Explained
Duration: 6 minutes
If you think the “cheapening” of magic is a modern phenomenon, then think again. In this beautifully produced video essay, the Art of Impossible channel explores the tragedy of Buatier de Kolta’s “Vanishing Lady” illusion. It’s a fascinating case study on how a masterpiece of intellect and precision was copied, commodified, and ultimately ruined by hack performers who treated it as a product rather than art. Sound familiar? 😉
That’s all for another month.
Yours Magically,
Marty
P.S. I’ll try my best to be less grumpy in my next update, but I’m not promising anything!
Thanks for including my video!