I am not sure if anyone is intersted in my comments on this issue but I thought I would share my thoughts and hopefully see what other people thought as well.

Firstly, I enjoyed this issue a lot more than the first one. In particular, I really enjoyed columns by Paul Green, Paul Gordon and Diamond Jim Tyler. Christopher Lyle's column was in my opinion quite good too.

Although I have a lot of Paul Gordon's material already I still really enjoy his writing. He shares some great tips and worker material. Great to see Diamond Jim Tyler and Richard Osterlind on board too.

There were a few sections that I didn't enjoy as much, mostly because they seemed to be "rants". Personally, I don't really feel like I gain anything from reading these types of columns, but that is just my opinion. I much prefer reading about "in the trenches" type stuff. I would have perhaps liked to have seen a few more items reviewed as well. I am always keen to hear reviews from people who actually test it out in the real world.

Looking forward to the next issue.

AM

I really enjoyed the Winter edition of the Magic Menu. Lots of great articles...very thought provoking. As far as tricks go, "the eight of diamonds" by Paul Gordan is a winner. "Point of Arrival" re-discovered by Danny Doyle is a keeper. The main reason I like it is that it can be done completely in-the-hands...which worked out great last weekend when I had a two hour walk-around private party with no useable tablespace.

I really like the concept of James Prince's column. Featuring in-the-trench close-up workers is awesome. I tire of seeing the same more "well known" magicians month after month being featured in the other magazines. It's good to see "one of us" being recognized. Hhhhmmm, I use "quotation" marks alot....lol.

My one and only critique...a couple of the articles left us hanging with the "more on that in the next issue" thing. I'm sure it's a factor of keeping the page count down, but I'd like to have an article come to a completion in that issue. I suppose it wouldn't be a factor if this was a weekly or even a monthly magazine. Waiting 3 months to have a thought or a concept completed, in my opinion, is a bit much. From my perspective, it's too bad because the articles I am referring to were really interesting.
All in all, a really wonderful effort by Jim and his staff. I can't wait for the Spring issue.
patrick