4 leggs good 2 leggs bad....

I'm an atheist/agnostic (can't b bothered into getting into the many long and tiered arguments over wther you can be a true atheist or that atheism is a faith etc etc). Why do I mention this? well I'm not particularly crusading over it, I don't mind what anyone else believes (unless it leads to them harming others or forcing their beliefs on people without their consent).I get rather frustrated when people bleat out their beliefs and slogans like sheep but when I heard a girl who had been a strong Christian and had since become an Atheist bleat out "Religion is for the weak minded" my blood run cold. I've never liked to hear people who chant things without really thinking about them. Too me the greatest villains in literature are the sheep in Animal Farm who let them selves be led into the chorus of "Four Legs good, two legs bad"

So why bring all this up. When reading the words of magicians I admire I sometimes find them saying things which I always say. This always makes me feel like I'm copying them blindly even though I thought of it independently. Such examples include

"Go enough is not Good Enough" said by me years ago and then read in "Our Magic" by Devant and Massklyn
"don't use the word spectator, but participant" Paul Daniels.
Ironically though I did fall into this trap in one regard. I was somewhat dismissive of the Magic Circle. I knew very little about them BUT Derren Brown doesn't rate them. I looked into joining up anyway seeing as the paying public treat any magician who is a member as some sort of speciality. I'd allways put off joining as I feard the examination but looking at thier notes them seem really cool. It's not about complicates slieghts but about performance mainly and they seem to have a very constructive attitude. So i'm going to bite the bullet and join up soon. I'm already going through thee paper work to join Equity (for the insurance if nothing else) and intend to pop down to a public open show in November for the circle. Once there I'll see about how I can join without knowing anyone there :)