Bryce Moore's Blog, page 11

Stranger Things: Should We Like Mike?

This semester, I’m helping to teach a seminar on Stranger Things. Yes, I get to do cool things like this and get paid for it. Yes, I am very grateful for that opportunity. I get to watch a show I’ve really enjoyed, this time with a critical eye to see what’s happening, how it all fits together, and why. As I’ve rewatched the episodes for the third, fourth, and sometimes fifth times, I’ve been very impressed with how well it’s put together and how successfully it works, with only a few plot lines or episodes falling flat. (We shall not speak of The Lost Sister, until class, when I’m very much going to speak about The Lost Sister.)

As an aside, I’m sure some of you are wondering why, exactly, it’s worthwhile to study a Netflix show in college. Insert snide remarks about how it’s a waste of time and indicative of what’s wrong with higher education. My answer is that analyzing anything gives you great practice in analyzing other things. If you can make an argument about something and then back that argument up with evidence, you get that much better at doing it in other areas. By starting with something fun and entertaining like Stranger Things, you have an easier onramp to repeating the process with more complicated issues. In another area, if you’re looking to become a storyteller, parsing a show out helps you to see what they creators are doing that makes it work, which in turn helps you do the same thing. In the course, I’m specifically taking time to discuss “College 101” elements like how to succeed in college, what sort of support structures exist for students, and how they can learn skills like time management. But anyway.

As I’ve rewatched the show, one of my least favorite characters has definitely become Mike. (He’s Eleven’s eventual boyfriend, if you’ve forgotten.) He is consistently whiny, self-centered, and obnoxious to everyone around him. True, he does go through some difficult experiences, like thinking his best friend is dead, and that justifies some of his actions, but many other characters in the show go through much worse and come through shining. (Dustin and Steve are two great examples.) Mike, on the other hand . . . pretty much stays Mike. But we’re clearly not supposed to dislike him. He’s not handled like Billy or the bullies. He’s clearly one of the Good Guys, and yet any scene he’s in, I’m automatically less inclined to like it, just because he gets so annoying.

Note that I don’t think this is any fault of the actor at all. Finn Wolfhard does a great job portraying the character as written. My question, then, is whether Mike is intended to be a likable character, but the creators failed at their intent, or if he’s intended to be a dislikable character on purpose.

As I’ve watched the show, I currently believe in Season One, the intent was for Mike to be a likable character. He’s the equivalent of Elliott in ET. He believes in Eleven when others don’t. He faces down the bullies in the gymnasium. But he still ends up being dislikable. The way he lies to others but insists on everyone else telling him the truth. The way he so quickly turns on Eleven when he thinks Will is dead. The way he treats Dustin and Lukas. He just, overall, doesn’t come across as a kid I’d like to spend any time with. So in the first season, I’d say it’s more a case of we were supposed to like him, but the writers/creators failed at the goal.

That said, I think in the later seasons, they purposefully lean in to Mike being an annoying twerp, even though he’s still on the side of the good guys. Hopper’s interactions with him in the first half of Season Three show this very well. Mike’s reduced to a punch line of sorts, and it’s clear the constant Eleven/Mike liplocking is supposed to be annoying. So the creators took what wasn’t working in the first season and turned it into something that works somewhat better in later seasons. (Even if I still dislike Mike almost every time he’s on the screen, and I would have preferred they . . . just make him a more consistently likable character.)

But I realize that’s just my thoughts on the matter. Those of you who have watched the show: do you like Mike as a character? Why or why not? I’d really like to hear your thought processes.

Book Review: Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

I lived in former East Germany for two years, less than a decade after the Wall fell. (1997-1999) At the time (as a 19 year old), the Wall felt like a very long time ago. 8 years? That’s forever! These days, I realize that 8 years is much less time. (I mean, we’re talking about stuff that would have happened in 2016. That’s like yesterday.) So while I thought at the time the experience I was having was already mostly “German” and not “East German,” I realize now how wrong that was. How all the people I was speaking with and interacting with had all lived under the East German regime for decades, and how that had really changed all of them.

At the moment, I’m in research mode for another book I’m working on. This one takes place in East Germany in 1979, 18 years before I lived in the area. While much of what I know of the area can help me, it’s still a far cry from the details I really need to know. One of my biggest knowledge gaps is around the Stasi. How exactly the East German government kept tabs on its populace, and what that looked like in practice. I had spoken with many people about this tangentially, but never full on. For a historical fiction book set in East Germany, however, that’s not going to be enough. I really wanted to delve into the details and see what I might come out with.

So I did the natural thing for a librarian: I looked for a solid book about it.

Anna Funder’s Stasiland was the perfect answer. She uses the framework of the time she spent in former East Germany tracking down stories from people whose lives were affected by the Stasi to really illustrate how how big of an impact that organization had on the country. If you’re not aware, the Stasi was essentially the secret police of East Germany. They were quite literally Big Brother, keeping tabs on everything their citizens were doing: reading their mail, listening to their phone calls, reviewing their job evaluations, and more. But what made them even more nefarious was the penchant for pressuring common, everyday citizens to become spies for the Stasi. To turn on their friends and neighbors.

Yes, some people became “informal informants” voluntarily, whether due to patriotism or a dislike of the people they were informing on. But many of them only did so because they were blackmailed into it. Threatened with prison for themselves or their family, or with losing their job or their freedoms. And so they were left with felt like no other choice but to go along with it. At the height of the Stasi’s power, 1 out of every 65 citizens in East Germany was either a member of the Stasi or an informant for them.

And they kept records of everything. Transcripts of phone calls. Copies of letters. Notes on secret meetings. Each citizen had a file, and those files were thick.

Beyond simply keeping tabs on the populace, they did unspeakable acts against them. Full blown torture. All in an effort to keep everyone controlled. Reading over Funder’s book, you see example after example of people whose lives were ruined and warped by the regime. She also speaks with members of the regime themselves, some of which are still convinced that what they did was the right thing to do.

It’s a fantastic book, and I very much recommend it. It gave me such a better understanding of what happened back then, which in turn helped me understand many of the interactions I had with people back when I lived there in the late 90s. And of course, it gave me much better information to use to frame my book. 9.5/10. Check it out.

The Debate Tonight

I don’t want much out of politics these days. My bar for “things are going okay” has gotten much lower since Trump’s presidency. Yes, that’s a sad state of affairs, but I’m just saying how it is. And so when it comes to the debate this evening, I really just want a couple of things.

First and foremost, I would for someone–anyone–to call Trump out when he flat out lies, and to do it in a consistent manner. Of course, the problem with trying to do this with Trump is that he doesn’t care. He will gleefully reiterate the same lies time and time again, knowing full well that people who support him are going to take anyone questioning him as just another instance of him being “persecuted” by the media.

But hey, it doesn’t just have to be when Trump lies. If Harris or any other politician is lying or misleading, they should be called out as well. With AI these days, it wouldn’t be hard to have ChatGPT listen to the debate and to fact check everyone involved (debaters and those asking the questions). You could even tie it to a little thermometer graphic for each person, where it goes higher and higher depending on how many lies have been told.

Part of the trouble is that people can’t agree on what the actual facts are. You can watch news coverage of the exact same events and have the newscasters interpreting those events in an almost polar opposite manner. And then, depending on which one you believe, you walk away thinking entirely different things. This means people end up living in different realities. I’m doing research right now for a book I’m thinking about writing that takes place in East Germany. It’s disturbing to see the parallels between how the media was run under that regime and how some of our media is run today. How does having a free press really help us, if that press chooses to censor itself in order to make more money? It’s the capitalist version of censorship that ends up in the exact same place as the communist flavor did.

There is such a thing as true and false. There are objective facts, and if you can’t support your statements with actual evidence to back them up, it’s not unrealistic to be called out on that. Terrorists are flooding over the border along with the refugees? Prove it. Where are you getting your data to support that statement? Specifically. If you can’t provide it, you’re either delusional, misguided, or lying.

The bottom line is that I would love for truth and facts to be put back into an esteemed position. They should matter. How likely do I think it is that this will happen? Not. I fully expect Trump to lie and then just keep beating that lie as long as his mic is on. It worked for him in the first debate.

Which leads me to my other hope/wish for the debate this evening. I don’t think Harris has to do much. I mean, don’t be a bumbling, mumbling wreck of a debater, ala Biden in his last debate. But more than that, just sit there and point out all the falsehoods Trump is spouting out. Ignore his base, because they won’t believe you no matter what. Speak to the independents, and point out how ridiculous and one-note Trump is. Be reasonable and matter-of-fact. Don’t call names. Don’t take any cheap shots. That sort of thing just plays to his game. It’s what he wants.

I just want someone there to take a stand for truth and stick to it. Whether that’s possible or not remains to be seen, but I’d love to see a valiant attempt at it.

Tomas Update: September 2024

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you all on what Tomas is doing these days, so I thought I’d rectify that issue today. First, yes, I’ve asked him now and then if he’d be up for writing another letter or two to fill everyone in on the details himself, but he’s been flat out busy for the last long while, and I just don’t see it in the cards. So instead, you get me. We still talk to him as a family each week for an hour or so, so while I may not know everything he’s up to, I at least know the general points.

A question many keep asking me is when he’ll be home. His release date is November 20th, so it’s coming right up. Yes, he officially started his mission September 19th, which means that this will end up being a 26 month mission, not a 24 month. It turns out release dates are a bit more restrictive than you’d think. He had a choice between coming home September 5th (so . . . last week) or in November. After a fair bit of mulling it over, he went with November for a few reasons. First, if he were to have gone home earlier, his mission would have needed to close an area. Second, he realized that the number of things there are to do in western Maine for four months are “limited” to say the least. So when it came to which choice would actually have the best impact on him and others, he decided to go with November.

Our plan at the moment is for him to come home and then we’ll all head down to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. That means he’ll likely be talking in church on December 8th, if you’ll be in the area. I’ll see about whether we can get a Zoom link for that as well. He’ll then be home with us until he heads out to BYU in early January. He still wants to major in Mechanical Engineering, though he’ll have to apply to the program first.

But that’s all in the future. What’s he up to in the here and now? For a week, he was back in Żilina, the city he started in. At the time, he figured that would be where he’d end his mission as well. But a week later, he was transferred again to Banska Bystrica. That was actually the site of the Slovak National Uprising back in 1944, one of the largest anti-Nazi events in Europe. He was there for the 80th anniversary of it, and saw a huge military parade and a bunch of Slovak bigwigs.

He’s been called as the Zone Leader, which in his mission means he and his companion (also a Zone Leader) are in charge of training and overseeing the efforts of all the missionaries in a specific region. In his case, the zone is all of Slovakia. As part of that, he goes to visit the different missionaries in their areas, which means he also has the only car missionaries get to drive in Slovakia. It had been well over a year since he’d driven, so it was a slight learning curve getting used to it again, but he’s doing well. Overall, being a ZL has made him much busier than before, but it also involves a lot of different sort of work, and I think he’s enjoyed the shift as well.

Anyway. That’s all that comes to mind at the moment. We’re definitely very much looking forward to having him come home, but also very proud of all he’s accomplished (and is still accomplishing) over in Slovakia.

Book Launch/Reading and Review of A Family of Killers

Now that I’m back from my “vacation” to Scotland, and out of the hospital here in America, I can finally start turning my attention to some other things. Things like my new book, A Family of Killers, that came out in August.

If you’re local, I’ll be doing a public reading and signing on Thursday, September 19th, at 6pm at the Farmington Public Library. Copies will be available for purchase from Devaney’s. If you’re not local and would like a signed copy, you can order one at Devaney’s and tell them you’d like me to sign it. I’ll walk on down to their store and get that done before they ship it off.

If you’d like a non-partisan overview and review of the book, do I have good news for you! The School Library Journal just came out with theirs, and I’m really happy with it.

Gr 9 Up–Warren Bullock is haunted by a voice telling him to do horrible, unspeakable things to anyone and everyone. Growing up on the frontier of Missouri in the l870s, Warren has seen a lot of difficult things, but life really takes a turn when his father, who set out on a trip across the nearby border of Kansas to find a family friend who had gone missing, never returns. Determined to discover the truth about his father’s disappearance, Warren quickly silences his inner voice as he inadvertently stumbles upon a family of serial killers, the Bloody Benders. Staying in their house but unaware of their true nature, Warren finds a family that is stranger than even his inner voice could imagine. From the parents, to the son John whose laughter can be heard for miles, to the enchanting and clairvoyant Kate who may just be attracted to Warren, the Bender family will surely come for Warren if he’s not careful. After discovering their true nature and the extent of their crimes, Warren sets out on a quest to bring the family to justice before they disappear forever. Based on the true story of the Bloody Benders who were ultimately never caught or brought to justice for their crimes, this historical thriller offers teens a true glimpse of life on the frontier 150 years ago as Moore expertly integrates his research. 

VERDICT Teens will appreciate the attention to detail and will relate to the inner turmoil that Warren feels about his direction in life. A recommended purchase.

Book Review: The Silence of the Lambs

There are few movie/book combinations out there where both are equally excellent, but Thomas Harris’s Silence of the Lambs most definitely ranks among them. Think of it like this: the film is ranked #23 on IMDB. It’s got an 8.6/10. It swept the 5 “big” Oscars: Best Film Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. It did all this as very much a genre film, something the Oscars traditionally ignore. It’s a fantastic movie.

And the book is just as good. It grabs hold of you right from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the end. It does this by blending great characters with a fantastic plot, which makes the transition from page to screen much easier. You’ve got the FBI agent in training main character who’s sharp and promising, but still untested. You’ve got an absolute monster of a serial killer in both the way he kills and the skill in which he evades detection. And then you’ve got one of the best villains ever written in Hannibal Lecter, and he’s not even the Big Bad. The interplay between him and Clarice is just electric.

There’s a debate as to whether it’s a Thriller or a Horror, and I think it’s a great example of why insisting on categorizing everything can be a useless effort at times. It’s both thrilling and horrific. If someone’s a horror buff, I’d pitch it as a horror. If someone hates horror, I’d emphasize the thriller aspects of it. Ultimately, a good movie or book is a good movie or book, regardless of genre, though obviously some people prefer some genres to others. It’s not as if someone’s a huge regency romance fan, then they’ll love Silence of the Lambs, simply because it’s great. But if you’re into thrillers or horrors at all and you haven’t seen or read this one, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

As a writer of thrillers and horrors, it makes me insanely jealous. It’s so well done, from the concept right through to the execution. It holds up to repeat viewings and watchings, and makes me wonder how Harris came up with such a great set up. Part of me thinks Faustian pact might have been involved, but who knows.

In any case, I can’t recommend it enough. 10/10. (And if you want to have a deeper cut, check out Michael Mann’s Manhunter. It’s an adaptation of Red Dragon, the first book in this series. Lecter has a big role in it as well.)

Hospital Face Off: Scotland vs. Maine

Just as fast as I was back blogging, I was back to not blogging. A week ago on Saturday, I was back to experiencing pain and had a low fever, so I went to the ER to have them take a look at things. It turns out I had complications from the appendicitis which ended up keeping me in the hospital for another 6 days. That was . . . not a pleasant surprise.

But I’m out now, hopefully for at least the next long while. And I’m here to report out on how the two different health care systems stacked up. Because why not at least get a good blog post out of the ordeal?

First off, I’m not going to say anything as to price. I still don’t know what either visit will cost me, though I do have very good insurance. I will say that the ER in Scotland (known as A&E (accidents and emergencies, not the TV channel)) is free. They don’t charge a thing for people to use that. Even non-Scots such as myself. I also know from experience that the ER in Maine is definitely not free . . .

But beyond price, how did they stack up?

Rooms: In Scotland, i was always in a shared room. They had curtain partitions, but they weren’t fond of them at all. I tried putting mine up a few times, and the nurses would come in later and put them away again each time. I had 2 rooms with 6 people and 1 with 4. I didn’t mind the shared rooms as much as I thought I would. People were kind and respectful and none of my roommates were obnoxious. All the rooms had nice beds and windows. In America, I was in a private room while I was in the ER, but it was very small, with no windows. The bed was very much not great for the first night, but they brought in a hospital bed the next day, and then that was fine. There was a TV (none in Scotland), but I generally didn’t use it. I just had no desire to sit and watch television. There were more outlets available for patients in Scotland than in either hospital in America. Charging stuff was easier there than here.Doctors: They were about the same in both countries. All doctors seemed to know what they were doing, and they were happy to answer any and all questions I had. I felt like I knew what was happening to me and why. That was helpful. I appreciated that they would ask me why I thought I was there, the first time they met me. That was a good way for them to ascertain that I knew what was going on. Good job, docs!Nurses: Also very reliable and kind. It was interesting to get to know each and see how their different personalities affected how they worked. Some of them were very no-nonsense, some were chatty and laid back, some were fond of checklists, but they all did a good job. Food: This is no contest. The food in Scotland was terrible. The food in the two hospitals I was in in Maine (the ER and then Portland) was fine. Not great, but at least edible. About like cafeteria food from grade school, from what I recall. Roommates: I already went over how the Scottish ones were. In Portland, I was in a shared room with one other person. He was an obnoxious, cantankerous 91-year-old man who was absolutely horrible to nurses. Always complaining, never grateful, and it drove me up the walls. The good news is that the curtain was up between us the whole time, so I didn’t have to sit there staring at him every day. Ambulance ride: I only went on one in America, so I can’t compare it to the taxi ride I took to the hospital in Glasgow. I’d never been in an ambulance before. Driving backward on a stretcher the whole time is less than fun, but they were all nice, and it was a fine experience. Could have been much worse.Equipment: All hospitals seemed to be well-equipped, with the latest devices necessary to provide good care. Socialized medicine in Scotland didn’t seem like it resulted in a bad situation. Other than the food. The hospital in Glasgow did seem older than the American ones, but since it originally opened in 1794, I think there’s good cause for that . . .Quality of Care: Again, I saw no real difference between the two systems. Staff were attentive and thorough, and I had no complaints. I’ll say that the experience in Scotland felt more like a shared one with all the patients in it together, whereas in America it was more I was on my own, if that makes sense.

So to sum up, I would go to either again, though I would do my darnedest to have someone bring me in outside food in Glasgow. Other than that, they felt comparable. It’ll be interesting to see the final bill for each. My guess is there will be a stark difference, but what do I know. I do know that all the warnings about how much socialized health care would end up with worse health care seemed, in my limited experience, to be unfounded.

And that’s all I’ve got time for today. Glad to be back. Hope it sticks this time. Thanks for reading!

Feeling Discouraged

I try to be as open as reasonable (maybe even more open than reasonable) on the blog, mainly because I think too often all everyone talks about is how sparkly their lives are, and that can leave many people wondering why their life just seems to have the occasional glimmer. Solidarity, folks.

And right now, I’m feeling pretty darn sparkle-free.

I had my surgery 17 days ago today. I’ve talked with numerous people who said they were up and at ’em after their surgery after just a couple of days. I am most definitely neither up nor at ’em. The incisions are mostly healed, but my insides feel anything but. Still hurts when I move the wrong way, and my digestive track feels like it’s decided to give its two week notice. Sometimes it’s a pretty sharp pain. Less than right after the surgery (that was almost unbearable, though I’ve found it’s surprising just what you can bear when you have literally no other choice). Now, it’s maybe half that, which seems like it should be easy peasy, except maybe I did a bad job explaining how bad things hurt right after.

Energy levels are low, but I’m struggling to sleep consistently. Some of this might still be jet lag, but I think it’s more due to the fact that I’m uncomfortable enough that I just wake up at night. I’m lucky if I can sleep until 5:30am, and falling to sleep takes some time as well. I used to sleep on my stomach, but I would be a complete idiot to do that now, because it would just hurt.

I’ve talked to my doctor, and I’m going in to be seen as soon as they have an opening (Tuesday). They’ve said the fact that I have no fever and that my digestive track is working are all great signs. I’ve got an appetite. No nausea. No signs of infection. All good. They’ve said that sometimes this kind of surgery can take a while to get over. It didn’t help that my appendix had ruptured. That makes the recovery time longer.

Meanwhile, I’m here at home with Ferris. I’ve gone in to work some, on the theory that getting back into a routine would be helpful. It hasn’t really worked. I’ve gone home each day, and I’m just tired. Ferris needs to be walked, so I’ve been doing that (something the doctor also recommended). I generally go pretty slowly, but it all makes me feel old. Worn out. It would be really nice to have Denisa and the fam here, but they’re in Slovakia for another nine days. This appendicitis pretty much couldn’t have picked a worse time to come.

And now I feel like I’m just moaning and complaining, and I guess I am, but I think I’ve earned a bit of that. I’m trying to keep in mind how I felt before the surgery, and then right after the surgery, and I am most definitely better now than I was then. So that’s progress.

I just wouldn’t mind if the progress chose to speed itself up a fair bit . . . I love watching movies and playing video games, but I’m discovering there are limits to that love, especially when there’s little else I can do.

Anyway. Thanks for listening, and wish me luck.

Movie Review: Totally Killer

There are some movies out there, as I’ve mentioned before, that seem tailor made for certain people. Movies that are just matched perfectly for someone’s interest. When I heard the premise of Totally Killer, I was pretty sure I’d found another match for me: “Thirty-five years after the shocking murders of three teens, an infamous killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. When 17-year-old Jamie comes face-to-face with the masked maniac, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar culture, Jamie teams up with her teenage mother to take down the psycho once and for all.”

I mean, you don’t get much more Bryce than that. Maybe if they somehow managed to add a time loop into it, it might up the stakes a tad more, or if John Cusack were in it, or it were a Coen Bros. movie, but you can’t have everything.

I downloaded it and watched it on the plane ride home from Scotland. I was not disappointed. Take Back to the Future and add in Halloween, and you’ve pretty much got the film ready to go. I particularly liked the way it riffed on all sorts of other movies, sometimes overtly, and sometimes subtly. They had some great social commentary about how different teenage life is now versus how it was in the 80s.

It’s pretty blood and has plenty of jump scares, so I get that it’s not for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It hits above its weight class, and I gave it an 8/10. Is it a movie I’ll rewatch time and time again? No, but that’s not really what it’s trying to be. It knows its lane and it sticks to it.

If it sounds at all interesting to you, you should check it out on Amazon Prime.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Before I bought my tickets for Scotland, I had no real idea what to expect there. I didn’t know much about the country other than kilts and bagpipes. I soon discovered that going to Scotland in August–anywhere in Scotland–is somewhat problematic, because everyone and their brother comes to Scotland in August due to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For three or four weeks, the city is filled with performers: actors, comedians, magicians, musicians, street performers, and more. Anyone who wants to come and can find a spot somewhere to perform is welcome, and many (many) do.

Since we were accidentally going to be in Edinburgh right in the middle of all that insanity, we figured it would be best to lean into it. We bought tickets for five performances.

The first was one on the history of the Scottish fiddle. I was unable to attend, due to that pesky appendectomy, but Denisa and the girls went and had a good time. One of the performers discussed the history, and a fiddle player performed songs to illustrate that history.

The second was for a performance of “The Importance of Being . . . Earnest?” In it, a group of not-very-good actors are performing Oscar Wilde’s play. It all goes swimmingly until the actor who’s supposed to play Earnest fails to show up. Frantic, the troupe lands on the idea of having one of the audience members play the part, instead. (This isn’t a gimmick: they literally chose a regular audience member from the crowd). From there, more and more actors end up needing to drop out (laryngitis, broken arm, etc), and by the end of the show, every single “actor” on stage is actually an audience member recruited for a different role. It was hilarious, and the whole family loved it.

Third up was a sort of interactive scavenger hunt designed to take the participants around the city on a quest to find out all about mythical creatures. I had really been looking forward to it, as it sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, I had to admit to myself that hiking all around the city wasn’t something that I was going to be able to do, so once again, Denisa went with the girls. Sadly, it was not right up their alley, and they didn’t have as much fun with it as they might have had I been there to help.

I was able to go to the fourth show, however: an organ recital in St. Giles’ Cathedral. I’m not sure MC was really up for 1.25 hours of organ music, but the whole family came, and I at least really enjoyed it. I’m a sucker for organs (note my ability to refrain from making an appendix joke here), and I love to hear the ones in cathedrals actually put through their paces. This one had some great numbers, and it ended with the volume turned all the way to 11. Fantastic.

Finally, we travelled out to Lauriston Castle, a big mansion-esque building on the outskirts of town. It felt kind of like I was going to the Clue mansion in the movie. Normally, you can tour the estate, but for Fringe, they had three different magicians on hand, and we got to see each perform in a different room. There were two card magicians and a mentalist, and it was thoroughly entertaining.

After having been in Edinburgh during Fringe, I can see how easy it would be to spend a whole ton of time seeing all sorts of shows. There are people out and about promoting just about everything, and it would be simple to just go to the city and buy tickets the day of the performances for whatever interested you. They’re not expensive, for the most part, though I imagine particularly good shows might sell out. (But there are soooooo many shows . . . ) All in all, I’m very glad we were there for it.