Ricky Jay came to speak at my place of employment today. I brought my old, worn copy of his book Cards as Weapons in, in hopes of getting it autographed. It turns out that he doesn't want to autograph that book anymore--too many pirated copies floating around. But I'm glad I didn't know that, since I had the book with me on the bus this morning, and thus had an excuse to re-read it. It holds up well.
It's a very silly book. There is, as you would hope, a well-researched section on the recent history of card-throwing. There is a good how-to section on card throwing, albeit one with photos of nekkid women in it. The guy next to me on the shuttle bus was kind of surprised to see those, and I hope he doesn't sue. But the serious/useful/p0rnographic sections are sandwiched in amongst other sections that are just plain silly: an ancient history of card throwing featuring photos of the author making funny faces while wearing a viking helmet. Stretching exercises that involve finger-pulling.
Anyhow, it was a good speech. Mr. Jay threw a card into the audience. It hit Val Haecky, who was sitting right next to me. Val even let me keep the card after I grabbed it and stared longingly at it for a few seconds. Sometimes it's good to be the only rude person in a company full of sweetie-pies. (Thanks, Val!) Now Cards as Weapons has a very nice bookmark. A good day.
Tags: book | Modified Thurston grip | rare books |
Labels: book