Another major donor, Gene Naftulyev, sent his drone over the campus so that you could get a bird’s-eye view. Extremely very cool.

Craig Arthur lives in Australia so he doesn’t often get to hang out with Roy and the other Wizard of Ads Partners. Craig finally said, “I need a break,” and flew to Austin. Other partners flew in to meet him here. A rambunctious week. It was the first time Craig had seen Santiago of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and […]

“Friends began arriving with champagne, and the party began. That afternoon I finally reached my mother. I wanted to tell her to stop sending me articles about DNA since I had now won the Nobel Prize for my expertise on that subject. My mother often mailed me articles from Reader’s Digest about advances in DNA […]

Hi Roy – So, I’m in Washington state producing/shooting the second season of a show about the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife for Animal Planet. Between a day in the mountains going up, down, sideways and diagonally across a variety of rocky, densely vegetated, and/or very steep terrain, with palpable tension as the guys manning […]

This week’s Frank is Erik “The Golden” Church, COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. (We call him “the Golden” because he’s very bright and he lights up a room.) Here’s the email and newspaper clipping Erik sent in: Hi Roy, Always good to see you make an appearance in Canada’s national newspaper. Best, Erik

The more we are proud that the Bethlehem story is plain enough to be understood by the shepherds, and almost by the sheep, the more do we let ourselves go, in dark and gorgeous imaginative frescoes or pageants about the mystery and majesty of the Three Magian Kings.” – G.K. Chesterton, Christendom in Dublin, Ch.3

Claudia Elsner Gallery                                  In 2008, the Dysfunctional Zebras were an early class on the new campus of Wizard Academy.

These were found at Distractify.com

These dudes are singing an old Scottish funeral song. It’s very beautiful. You’ll like it, I promise.

Da Deife wui mi ned by Schorsch Hampel Schorsch Hampel is a famous blues singer in Bavaria whose dream was to tour the famous Blues capitols of America and to record a song in each one. When he came to Austin, he sought out our own vice-chancellor Whittington. This is the song they made together. […]

The Wisdom to Know the Difference Whiners, blame shifters, indignant people, people with victim mentalities, online trolls, people who demand things and cheerless givers of “constructive criticism” are all herded into one decrepit old corral in my brain. That corral is a category in my mind. As the unhappy cows moan “moooo” I walk sadly […]

Bridget Arthur, Angel Skater, broke a wing while her Daddy was creating a worldwide organization with his partners in Austin. Daddy Craig flew home the next day. It takes about 24 hours of flying to get from Austin, Texas, to Townsville, Australia, in Queensland. You’ve got to fly over a lot of water. Texas to […]

Gideon, Hollister, Cash and Jackson chillin’ with some chow by the creek at Jack Allen’s. That creek is finally full of water because of the rain.

Daniel@WizardAcademy.org is feeling generous toward people who step up to become major donors. Let him know what you’d like to happen and then donate $5,000 or more. It’s fun. And it will make you feel good. Our campus is magical because our students make it so. 512-720-8801

Okay, on the previous page we saw Marianas Trench making fun of contemporary Pop songs. But that’s not the first time it’s been done. Nope. Not by a long shot. The first time was 43 years ago (1972) when an Italian, Adriano Celentano, made up a song of complete gibberish, which to him sounded like American pop […]

The water is deepest over the Marianas Trench. But you already knew that. What you didn’t know is that “Marianas Trench” also explains how to write a pop song.

 

The Rev. John Rock of Michigan sent an email that said, “Maybe it was this commercial or maybe I am just a sucker for scotch but I now want it. See this two minute commercial.” So I watched it. Hey! It’s that uptight dude from Parks and Recreation!

An amazing 6 minute short film for Johnnie Walker whiskey featuring Robert Carlyle walking the hills of Loch Doyne in Scotland recounting, in full detail, the story of how the Scottish farmer turned his product into the world famous brand it is today. Other than being great story, it was filmed in one continuous shot. […]

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forget?’” – Howard Ikemoto “I heard a […]

Dyslexic agnostic insomniac: a person who lays awake all night wondering if there really is a dog. “You know me; I find a crowd all headed in the same direction and call it my parade.” – Roy Laughlin on the phone with the wizard, April 26, 2012 “I wonder who wrote the phrase ‘candy ass?’ […]

Start the Video before you begin reading, okay? – Indy Wizard of Ads partner Steve Rae – the builder of Wizard Academy’s Steve Rae Plaza, Where Music Fills the Air – sent us the link to this story and video posted by Barbara Diamond. IN A NUTSHELL: Led Zeppelin attended the Kennedy Center Honors. In this […]

“If one has driven a car over many years, as I have, nearly all reactions have become automatic. One does not think about what to do. Nearly all the driving technique is buried in a machine-like unconscious. This being so, a large area of the conscious mind is left free for thinking. And what do […]

Most people won’t remember that the original version of this song was dominated by the jazz saxophone of Stan Getz, or that it never sung as a duet (although it obviously should have been,) and don’t you think the melody and lyrics work just as nicely without the Bossa Nova rhythm? I love the original […]

The concert begins with anxious drumsticks behind a lazy summer-afternoon guitar, giving us the feeling of a racehorse yearning for the starting gate to open. This divergent tension between rhythm, melody, instrumentation and lyrics continues throughout the song. And then the song ends… just as the starting gate opens. If you don’t remember the original…

“I’m rockin’ the suburbs, just like Michael Jackson did. I’m rockin the suburbs, except that he was talented.”

This week’s goal is to write a verb avalanche and send it to Daniel@WizardAcademy.org If it’s awesome, there’s a chance Frank will send it and then you’ll be, like, famous. – Indy From The Dictionary of the Cognoscenti: Verb Avalanche – a style of writing that slaps the cheek of the imagination and jerks open […]

All the way from lovely St. Petersburg, Russia, William Hackett-Jones sent this. It’s awesome.

Just click this link to download the PDF “Dictionary of the Cognoscenti of Wizard Academy” DictionaryOfTheCognoscenti_WizardAcademy

This is the song that wrapped up the concert. It’s not on the album, but it clearly demonstrates that Brother Whittington and his band are, in fact, professional musicians. But 18 years on the road is long enough, don’t you think? We’re happy to have him at Wizard Academy. Listen to this song. See the […]

This is longtime Cognoscenti Wen McNally with her son. You really need to read her blog post about weirdness and fitting in.

This is the jacket worn by young Harry Grove during the annual Montem ceremony at Eton school. Harry was born in 1803 in Waddon House, Dorset, the home of the Chaffyn-Grove family since 1226. Eton held the Montem each year between 1561 and 1847.  In it, young scholars were sprinkled with salt on top of Montem Mound, […]

Twelve year-old kids have goals. Always. One 12 year-old boy had a very unusual goal in November, 1940. Read the letter. Notice the goal. Learn the identity of the boy. Santiago de Cuba Nov 6 1940 Mr Franklin Roosvelt, President of the United States. My good friend Roosvelt I don’t know very English, but I know as […]

 

Three Versions of History. Pick the one you like best. Be happy with it. 1: America was born when religious-freedom-hungry Pilgrims disembarked the Mayflower in 1620. 2: America was born when a group of rich white guys who didn’t want to pay taxes threw a shipload of tea into Boston Harbor 153 years later, in 1773. 3: America was born […]

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” ~Albert Camus   BELOW: 72-year-old singer Art Garfunkel reads a letter to his younger self; a look at the highs and lows of fame, the joys of family, and the struggle of losing his singing voice.

Time, time, time… See what’s become of me While I looked around for my possibilities. I was so hard to please. But look around. Leaves are brown And the sky is a hazy shade of winter. Hear the Salvation Army band. Down by the riverside is Bound to be a better ride Than what you’ve […]

ABOVE: The Bangles in 1988, (22 years after Simon and Garfunkel released A Hazy Shade of Winter) BELOW: The Bangles 23 years later at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin during SXSW. (March, 2011)

Tim Miles, a highly successful Wizard of Ads partner, sent this fun video with warm wishes that each of you should have a great week. Tim is like that. Here’s a simple video-memory of a happy day at work, from our rabbit-hole buddy Greg van Riel

       

A wonderful storyteller tells a fascinating story, brought to our attention by Vice Chancellor Whittington, definitely worth the 6 minutes. As a matter of fact, it may be the quickest 6 minutes of your life.

“Talent hits a target that no one else can hit. Genius hits a target that no one else can see.” – Adrian Van Zelfden

“La Familia” Lot 1583, will open at $2,500.  Just thought you might want to know.

      This one opens at $1,900. Vallejos Jorge has a distinct style, no?

Remember what the wizard said? “Something is wrong, but it fits.”

“Pescador” is a large, original painting by the Peruvian master Vallejos Jorge that will be auctioned on June 4th at an opening bid of just $1,850. The wizard isn’t going to buy it because he has nowhere to hang it. By the way, you have to get approved to bid before the auction starts, so don’t […]

          Sent to us by our buddy Rich Mann. The video was sent by “TSO” (Tracy See?)

Here’s the music of King’s Ridge Pinot Noir; taste the song, hear the wine. – Indy

I thought Indy could use this for a Goal or a Frank Sent This…or well, just an FYI. Most of the dogs used for animal testing are beagles because of their good-natured disposition; you know this to be true because you’re a pal of Indiana’s. Beagle Freedom Project works to free the beagles (and other […]

This Frank Horvat photo is an excellent example of using 1. frameline magnetism to call upon the imagination to fill in what the photographer left out: the rest of the woman. 2. an interesting angle of view 3. layers – (A.) foreground, shoes  (B.) midground, people  (C.) backdrop, Eiffel Tower

1. Lengthen the left leg of the W to echo the inverse W inside the triangles. 2. The first A in Academy is capitalized and the crossbar has been removed. 3. The top of this A is at the same height as the long leg of the W. The bottom of the A extends slightly below […]