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Optical illusions have long been a key part of the magician’s toolkit. Here’s a really good illustration of how and why they work. BBC Academy trainer Mark Blanc-Settle hit the Twitter jackpot with a tweet on the “Jastrow Illusion” —… Continue Reading →
I was walking through Place Dauphine on Île de la Cité when a bookstore display caught my eye — it was this book of “stupefying but true” prisoners’ last words before they ascended the steps of the “national razor.” Its title… Continue Reading →
Here’s about as chilling a lede* as you’ll see in an American newspaper these days: A hundred years from now, humans may remember 2014 as the year that we first learned that we may have irreversibly destabilized the great ice… Continue Reading →
There’s a neat new feature in Apple’s MAPS app under iOS – Flyover. It’s available for several major cities, but of course I think the Paris one is the neatest. Open Maps on the iPhone or iPad and search for… Continue Reading →
Paris has one of the most advanced public transit systems in the western world. Subway trains (the métro) run every one or two minutes during rush hours, and only slightly less often at other times. Buses on the busiest lines… Continue Reading →
I’ve just learned that my Paris novel Treasure of Saint-Lazare has been chosen as a finalist in two categories of the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest – Historical Mysteries and General Thrillers. Needless to say, I’m really pleased about… Continue Reading →