Had another lovely evening at The Magic Castle, which is still the only good reason I've ever found to put on a tie. Featured this week in the Close-Up Gallery is maybe the best close-up magician I've ever seen…a gent named Johnny Ace Palmer, who is kind of the Picasso of Misdirection. I love it when you see a guy who (a) has obviously practiced for zillions of hours and does what he does to perfection and (b) genuinely enjoys performing. You know how great it is when you take friends to a terrific restaurant you've found and they love it so much, you feel as proud as if you'd cooked the meal? Carolyn and I took our friends Gordon and Donna to see Johnny and received some of that "contact pride." We sat in the front row and watched the guy make things appear out of the oxygen, right before our orbs. Even when you know where they come from, he's pretty amazing.