Mad about Magic

I picked up this great Mad Magazine pocket novel "The Mad book of Magic and other Dirty Tricks" by Al Jaffee (1970) at a local thrift shop the other day. Bing a huge fan of magic and Mad, I was thrilled to find this amongst a bunch of romance novels and out of date computer books. Well worth my 65 cents, as this book is filled with great magic tricks, and other dirty tricks.
The forward to the book reads: [If there is one word that is the byword of all magicians that word would have to be SECRECY. In the foreword of every book ever written by a magician, the reader is always constrained never ever to reveal a trick's secrets. The reader is told that this is some sort of unwritten but nevertheless inviolate magician's code. And somehow, this code is honored by millions of readers of millions of books that show how millions of tricks are done.
But as far as we are are concerned, this is all nonsense. Our tricks do not need to be kept secret. Our tricks do not have to be hidden. Our tricks do not have to be reserved for a chosen few. Why...? Why do we fly in the face of tradition? Because our tricks do not work, that is why.
Anyway, we just don't go in for sill codes and restrictions. Go ahead and tell anyone whatever you want from this book. Tell them all you like to your heart's content. Just one little thing we ask you not do do with this book. Don't lend it. Lending means not buying. Not buying means that not only won't the tricks in this book work, but the author of the book won't work either.
And now on this entertaining, engrossing, fascination, and ofter diverting volume about which one reviewer said, "Once you've started reading, you'll certainly want to pit it down."]
Ok, I know what they just said, but I don't want to get in trouble with the Secret Magic Society, so do me a favour and don't tell any one you just read this blog.

My New Blog

If you are a fan of Disney Records, then you will want to check out my new blog, the Disneyland Records blog. Check out my most recent blog about the great Sleeping Beauty album I picked up and the great little extra I found inside!

Let's All Do the Bunny Hop

Here is another recent thrift shop find. I am always digging though the old LPs hoping to find something to add to my collection. This one was actually inside a banged up copy of a Winnie the Pooh LP. I didn't end up buying the Winnie the Pooh LP, but couldn't resist this great Peter Pan Records 45 of the "Bunny Hop". I have not listened to it yet, but I'm sure it must be good, as it is sung by Vicki Dale with the Peter Pan Orchestra. The record is from 1952 and manufactured by Synthetic Plastics Co., of Newark, NJ, and should last forever, as it states right on the record, "NON-BREAKABLE (with Normal use)."

Little Golden Book Monday #32

Today's Little Golden Book is Walt Disney's Peter pan and the Pirates, the 1969 (Seventh printing) edition. From the Motion Picture "Peter Pan" Based on the story by Sir James M Barrie, Illustrations by the Walt Disney Studio, Adapted by Bob Moore. I absolutely love the cover, it has such a great retro look. The quality of this copy is pretty good, but like many of the older LGB's I have, the spine is in bad shape, with pieces of the shiny coating starting to peel off.
This book also has a different back cover from what I am used to seeing. Here is a scan of the back cover which shows many of the LGB characters around the edge and the following text; "MORE THAN one billion Golden Books have gone into home of children of all nations. They are far and away the best-known series of books for young people ever published.
The Subjects of Golden Books are chosen to entertain and delight children. Many of them are about the young child's own environment, giving him a feeling of belonging. Others begin to acquaint the child with the lives of people around him and extend his awareness of the world.
Although their gay and colorful appearance does not always immediately show it, a number of Golden Books are packed with information. And behind the amusing stories in many of them is the serious purpose of helping the child prepare for difficult adjustments.
The Golden Books include versions of modern children's classics told for young listeners and, of course, a good share of the beloved fairy and folk tales.
So look closely at the Golden Books you choose from they have many imitators. You will find a listing of some of the books in the Little Golden Library on the reverse of this cover."
Here is the list from the inside back cover: "How many of these LITTLE GOLDEN BOOKS have you read?
21. Tootle
25. Taxi That Hurried
42. Little Red Riding Hood
45. Words
47. The Three Bears
101. Little Golden ABC
205. Prayers for Children
282. Animals of Farmer Jones
285. How to Tell Time
301. Five Little Firemen
305. White Bunny and His Magic Nose
309. Three Bedtime Stories
319. Little Red Caboose
337. Numbers
352. We Help Mommy
361. Counting Rhymes
369. Picture Dictionary
381. Three Little Kittens
384. Happy Birthday
385. Saggy Baggy Elephant
393. Happy Little Whale
414. Little Cottontail
415. Lassie Shows the Way
428. Home for a Bunny
343. My First Counting Book
436. Color Kittens
437. Gingerbread Man
456. Golden Egg Book
460. Manners
463. Wait-for-Me Kitten
464. Baby Farm Animals
468. We Help Daddy
473. Nurse Nancy
480. Tommy Visits the Doctor
481. Smoke the Bear
487. Golden Goose
491. Hansel and Gretel
493. A Child's Garden of Verses
498. Rumpelstiltskin
504. Seven Little Postmen
505. Peter Rabbit
506. Poky Little Puppy
511. A Visit to the Children's Zoo
512. Chipmunk's ABC
514. Thumbelina
517. Baby Animals
519. Little Red Hen
521. Fun for Hunkydory
523. Bow Wow! Meow!
528. My Kitten
534. First Golden Geography
538. Bedtime Stories
543. ABC Rhymes
548. The Little Engine That Could
550. Good Humor Man
551. Lively Little Rabbit
552. We Like Kindergarten
558. Hop Little Kangaroo
559. Betsy McCall
560. Animal Friends
561. Tom and Jerry
567. Play With me
568. Where Is the Bear?
569. Little Mommy
570. Things In My House
573. Animals On the Farm
574. So Big
576. Animal Daddies
577. Sleepytime
578. When I Grow Up
D3. Dumbo
D63. Scamp
D66. Snow White
D67. Seven Dwarfs Find a House
D78. Three Little Pigs
D79. Mother Goose
D90. Bambi
D110. Peter Pan and Wendy
D115. Cinderella's Friends
D116. Whinnie-the-Pooh, The Honey Tree
Only Golden Books bring you all these famous characters. Ask to see the newest Little Golden Books"
I own, and have read 27 of these books... How many of those have you read?

Little Golden Book Monday #31

Tonight's Little Golden Book is the Sesame Street, The Together Book from 1971. When I saw this one at the junk store, I immediately loved the cover. I have always loved Sesame Street and the Muppets, and this cover has a certain charm about it. It's so simple and yet so familiar.
Upon opening the front cover we see that this book features Jim Henson's Muppets. There is a large text box with the following words; "The Sesame Street Together Book was created to entertain your child as he (1) tests his logical thinking by choosing the object that will prove useful in each set of circumstances, and (2) discovers that things go more smoothly when we cooperate with each other.
This educational product was designed in cooperation with the Children's Television Workshop, creators of Sesame Street. it has independent educational value, and children do not have to watch the television show to benefit from it.
Workshop revenues from this product will be used to help support CTW educational projects."
So what did we learn from that... (1) that only boys are ready this book, (2) that we were being tricked into learning while enjoying Sesame Street as kids, and (3) that luckily for those unfortunately few souls without televising sets in the 70's, they could read this book and enjoy it, even without watching the Sesame Street TV program.
I'm not sure, but I bet I owned this book as a child.

Little Golden Book Monday #30

Today's Little Golden Book is Jim Henson's Kermit, Save the Swamp! from 1992. Any book with Fozzie Bear on the cover has to be part of my collection! I happen to think Fozzie Bear is the funniest bear ever, even if Statler and Waldorf give him so much grief during his comedy routines.
The story finds Kermit and Fozzie heading on vacation to the swamp, just in time to find that it is being turned into Swamp World, a big shopping mall and amusement park. Kermit aranges a Good-Bye Swamp party for the friends of the swamp, where Kermit reminds all the animals who live there that they are about to lose everything including their homes, as the whole thing gets paved over to make way for the mall and amusement park.
"Well, there's just one thing to do," Fergus the beaver says in his loud growly voice. "tell them we don't want Swamp World here after all!"
"Kermit, you did it" said Fozzie as everyone cheered. "You saved the swamp. But I still feel bad about one thing."
"What's That? Kermit asked.
"I really like amusement parks," Fozzie replied.
"Well, Fozzie," Kermit answered, "look at it this way. There are lots of amusement parks. But a good swamp is hard to find!"
That may be true, but you usually don't have to worry about getting eaten by an aligator while ridding the merry go round!