Philip David Treece
@philiptreece.bsky.social
I run the magic bookshop collectingmagicbooks.com, the joke shop oldjokes.co.uk and write about the history of magic, jokes and novelties. He/him.
There were already too many novelty “premium” decks being made, but now with AI we can make them quicker and even worse!
April 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
There were already too many novelty “premium” decks being made, but now with AI we can make them quicker and even worse!
It never fails to amaze me how bad google’s AI search is. This is an unambiguous question with the answers clearly indexed many times on the web. Hamish Blake has not even been on the show.
April 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
It never fails to amaze me how bad google’s AI search is. This is an unambiguous question with the answers clearly indexed many times on the web. Hamish Blake has not even been on the show.
There is no tax on importing American books into the UK so a 10% tax on Americans importing British books is not “reciprocal”, it’s just a new tax (on Americans, not on the UK). A small point, more expensive books are a drop in the ocean, I feel very sorry for American businesses and citizens today.
April 2, 2025 at 10:55 PM
There is no tax on importing American books into the UK so a 10% tax on Americans importing British books is not “reciprocal”, it’s just a new tax (on Americans, not on the UK). A small point, more expensive books are a drop in the ocean, I feel very sorry for American businesses and citizens today.
Just bid farewell to this #magicbook once owned by #Houdini. Lasted 14 mins on the site before someone snapped it up! Most of these were stamped after HH’s death, but this one was presented by HH to his friend Will Goldston, probably in 1911, for The Magician’s Club library. #magichistory
March 29, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Just bid farewell to this #magicbook once owned by #Houdini. Lasted 14 mins on the site before someone snapped it up! Most of these were stamped after HH’s death, but this one was presented by HH to his friend Will Goldston, probably in 1911, for The Magician’s Club library. #magichistory
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Ai guys have re-invented the Mechanical Turk, but the twist is it's really bad at chess.
March 21, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Ai guys have re-invented the Mechanical Turk, but the twist is it's really bad at chess.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Reposted by Philip David Treece
i see wes streeting has reached Phase Two.
March 16, 2025 at 2:22 PM
i see wes streeting has reached Phase Two.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Jay Chester, 42, has always loved baking as fun, low-pressure hobby, made the inexplicable decision to turn it into a not-fun, high-pressure job.
Autistic person ruins special interest by trying to monetise it
An autistic person has managed to suck all the joy out of their special interest by attempting to make money from it, reports have indicated. Jay Chester, 42, has always loved baking as fun, low-pres...
thedailytism.com
March 15, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Jay Chester, 42, has always loved baking as fun, low-pressure hobby, made the inexplicable decision to turn it into a not-fun, high-pressure job.
Fallen into the “Eurovision stand-in rehearsal” YouTube wormhole. Amazing to see session singers and dancers often do better than the real entrants for no audience. Glorious surreal nonsense.
March 8, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Fallen into the “Eurovision stand-in rehearsal” YouTube wormhole. Amazing to see session singers and dancers often do better than the real entrants for no audience. Glorious surreal nonsense.
Imagine trying to flog a “book” about how AI can improve your magic act with a cover demonstrating quite clearly how limited AI is. It can’t even draw aces without getting confused between a club and a spade.
March 8, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Imagine trying to flog a “book” about how AI can improve your magic act with a cover demonstrating quite clearly how limited AI is. It can’t even draw aces without getting confused between a club and a spade.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Something I wrote back in April (just after BBC’s The Assembly aired with Michael Sheen) about autistic people on screen melting people’s hearts. And how it’s all a bit nuts.
medium.com/@elsalwillia...
medium.com/@elsalwillia...
Telly is weird. As an autistic person, I’ve never felt ‘wholesome’
The microphone is passed to a young man sat along the row. He laughs a little, avoiding all eye contact, and suddenly struggles to speak…
medium.com
December 23, 2024 at 7:11 PM
Something I wrote back in April (just after BBC’s The Assembly aired with Michael Sheen) about autistic people on screen melting people’s hearts. And how it’s all a bit nuts.
medium.com/@elsalwillia...
medium.com/@elsalwillia...
This pod is great.
New sleep podcast - was continuing my bedtime drinks experiment while on tour in Canada with help from Carmen Christopher, back pain expert (please be skeptical of medical or any other advice given by comedians).
Beautiful visuals by Rosa Sawyers - watch on YouTube for full audio/visual experience.
Beautiful visuals by Rosa Sawyers - watch on YouTube for full audio/visual experience.
March 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM
This pod is great.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
To heck with AI and Cybertrucks. They stink.
Did you see we launched Opera Corn?
Opera Corn is the future we were promised as kids.
youtu.be/34djG5GX7Ro?...
Did you see we launched Opera Corn?
Opera Corn is the future we were promised as kids.
youtu.be/34djG5GX7Ro?...
Opera Corn - Archie McPhee
YouTube video by Archie McPhee
youtu.be
February 10, 2025 at 10:59 PM
To heck with AI and Cybertrucks. They stink.
Did you see we launched Opera Corn?
Opera Corn is the future we were promised as kids.
youtu.be/34djG5GX7Ro?...
Did you see we launched Opera Corn?
Opera Corn is the future we were promised as kids.
youtu.be/34djG5GX7Ro?...
If you use AI to produce the cover of your magic book I’m going to assume you’ve used it for the contents and I’ll be reluctant to stock it. Everyone judges books by their covers, despite the saying.
February 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
If you use AI to produce the cover of your magic book I’m going to assume you’ve used it for the contents and I’ll be reluctant to stock it. Everyone judges books by their covers, despite the saying.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Chinese Ai vs US Ai - feels like an appropriate time to share this scene from the show (2018)
January 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Chinese Ai vs US Ai - feels like an appropriate time to share this scene from the show (2018)
Reposted by Philip David Treece
now that DeepSeek has completed AI, we hope that Silicon Valley will turn its attention to the next best thing: investing in rural history museums
January 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
now that DeepSeek has completed AI, we hope that Silicon Valley will turn its attention to the next best thing: investing in rural history museums
Reposted by Philip David Treece
You should be able to take your dad to an autism assessment for Father’s Day. A bit like how you’d treat your mother to a full body massage, or an afternoon tea
January 26, 2025 at 9:00 PM
You should be able to take your dad to an autism assessment for Father’s Day. A bit like how you’d treat your mother to a full body massage, or an afternoon tea
Two separate AI answer bots are convinced that because I’ve got a weird surname and I’m a writer I must be a combination of two relatives who were more successful writers (both long dead). Will be very handy to see if anyone attributes their books to me in the real world now!
January 23, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Two separate AI answer bots are convinced that because I’ve got a weird surname and I’m a writer I must be a combination of two relatives who were more successful writers (both long dead). Will be very handy to see if anyone attributes their books to me in the real world now!
Reposted by Philip David Treece
I see we're Neville Chamberlaining this whole thing then (real ones know)
January 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I see we're Neville Chamberlaining this whole thing then (real ones know)
Finally got a 1st edition good enough to reprint properly.
January 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Finally got a 1st edition good enough to reprint properly.
Lots of new and vintage jokes and associated ephemera lined up to be added to oldjokes.co.uk in the coming days! #jokeshop #ellisdons
January 13, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Lots of new and vintage jokes and associated ephemera lined up to be added to oldjokes.co.uk in the coming days! #jokeshop #ellisdons
Love how low-energy the first adverts for balloons were. He couldn’t look less excited.
January 11, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Love how low-energy the first adverts for balloons were. He couldn’t look less excited.
It’s frustrating how quickly running a magic business becomes whack-a-mole for people stealing your work. Considering going full Will Goldston and just naming them in my weekly newsletter.
January 9, 2025 at 2:03 AM
It’s frustrating how quickly running a magic business becomes whack-a-mole for people stealing your work. Considering going full Will Goldston and just naming them in my weekly newsletter.
Reposted by Philip David Treece
Hello! It's David. I live in Seattle and I've worked at Archie McPhee for 30 years. I write all the copy and work on the creative team developing products. I love hanging out with my wife and crows and researching weird topics. Special interests include cults, historical copywriting and psychology.
January 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Hello! It's David. I live in Seattle and I've worked at Archie McPhee for 30 years. I write all the copy and work on the creative team developing products. I love hanging out with my wife and crows and researching weird topics. Special interests include cults, historical copywriting and psychology.