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prof-peach · 5 years

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I'm trying to set up a grass type gym in Cherrygrove city, Johto but I'm unsure on how to create a suitable environment for grass types so close to the ocean. What could I do to make a good environment for my pokemon without going against the local ecosystem?

Ok! Well this entirely depends on your team, and the Pokémon who will reside inside. Each species has specific needs and wants, and some do not respond well to salt air at all.

So let’s run through the basics. For your delicate jungle species (Tropius, Bounsweet, Lurantis ect), carnivorous kinds (victreebell, carnivine, vileplume ect) and sensitive to the cold types (Maractus, cacturne, sunflora ect) youll need a protected indoor space.

Carnivorous kinda need bog conditions, humidity and full sun to be happiest, using rain water to keep them at their best, not tap, as it contains too many other nutrients that could make them sick. They will sometimes be fine with the winter cold, some have developed a tolerance to it, though they lose their leaves and root into compost suited to their needs, and almost ““Die back” for the cold seasons. Having a greenhouse for them means you can battle them through the winter, and they won’t sleep through it half as much. They need to catch and feed on their own prey, so allow a window to open and let the bug types come on in, so your Pokémon can feed. These species should be fine without daily food, unless a doctor states otherwise. Their catching of prey and rain water combination means they don’t tend to want Pokémon food, for up to 2 weeks; this is normal and you shouldn’t worry. Their compost is specifically designed to be low nutrient, as too much can make them quite sick. It’s very quick to drain and very sandy almost in consistency. Buying this compost can be expensive and damage natrual bog’s where humans collect this resource, so consider making your own compost from other materials. A quick google will certainly help you choose if you go down this route.

Ok so jungle types need slightly different conditions. High humidity is key here, and actually a lot of them prefer half sun conditions, so a greenhouse for them would need a space with shade netting, so they can choose to get out of the blazing sun. Unlike carnivorous species, they love rich and well drained soil. Leaf mould is your best friend when it comes to feeding these species, and when given shelter from the cold, they don’t tend to go dormant half as often as an exposed Pokémon of the same type. They do enjoy a liquid feed as well as Pokémon food, so once a week give them a good soak with either a high nitrogen feed (for lush green growth) or high potash feed (for fruits and flowers), and one good Pokémon food meal. These species don’t tolerate the cold as much, but some species have developed ways to combat it, for example Tropius has a mountain variant that can withstand the ice and snow quite well if they have shelter. They often find a cave or nook for winter and only feed when the snow stops. Average Tropius do not like it though so just observe them, see what they can handle.

You may like to use desert or dry soil condition species, so a different space needs to be made up with sandy free draining soil, and a low humidity. Too much water for these species can rot their body and cause great damage. They feed quite happily on berries and Pokémon food, and don’t mind an occasional liquid feed, but you’d have to find a desert species feed, all good garden centres carry organic varieties, so take a look. This space should have full sun, and plenty of space for activities, these species can be wanderers so regular exercise is more important here. In winter reduce watering to half the amount of the summer, and try to keep the temperature at about 20-25 degrees C (not too sure what that is in F, sorry bud). I manage this by simply putting my toarkoal in the desert house over winter. His ambient heat keeps them all very happy. You could use any docile fire type for this, to save electricity and cut your bills down.

this all excludes grass types that can not only survive in winter conditions, but are happy outdoors even in snow. Having a space where you simply replicate a garden, with fairly good quality soil, no heating or cooling in place, and average water levels and humidity will cover these. There are endless variants of Pokémon that can tolerate unusual conditions, but I will speak only of the pure breed species for ease, as I could go on for hours otherwise haha. This basic grass space is easier to maintain if you install a watering system on a timer. We have them in every greenhouse on the island, and it saves us a lot of time. You should provide spaces with shade, so those who burn easily can take shelter, and also open areas for sun bathers, who feed off the light. A pond installed means you can allow some Pokémon to just come and go from the moist soil conditions, and it will encourage a natrual eco system to develop even indoors. Flowers and trees will replicate their natrual habitat and give them things to interact with and enjoy, and there’s of course the area to battle, which I would advise planting sparsely, as battles can easily destroy decorations or plants close by. You’d be paying a lot to replace them, it’s not worth it.

I would suggest to have an isolation unit. When a plant Pokémon gets sick it can infect others of its kind, so have a space to pop anyone who’s got any questionable symptoms while you wait for them to get better. Plant perry trees about and let your Pokémon eat what they want, unless you notice they start to get a little overweight or sick from it, then take action. Normally grass types have the most well balanced diets, and their low calorie intake means they tend not to have this problem, but always keep an eye on everyone, just in case. We once discovered a oddish with a citrus allergy, simply because he was eating Oran berries and soon after was struggling to breathe well. We overlooked it because he came in with a respitory infection, and soon after we figured out the Pokémon centre diagnosed him all wrong.

Things to watch for are discolouring leaves, blemishes, colour changes, wilting, crisping, shrivelling and dieback. These can all lead to an unwell Pokémon and are your ‘tells’ in this type group.

The indoor spaces will be protected from the ocean air, just a simple glass house for daily activity will do, and battling in that air won’t bother them long term, so long as they can retreat to their preferred greenhouse. The species that can tolerate ice and snow, tend to also be fine with sea air. Planting a tall hedge around your gym will certainly help, as it gives you a good wind break and you won’t get the brunt of it. Yew is a wonderful option for hedging as it’s great for wildlife, produces berries, is evergreen, and doesn’t suffer the dreaded box-blight that other species get. It’s basically a die-back issue and you’ll just have to cut bits our and replace them. A lot of hassle if you’re a busy gym leader.

This should helps you start, there’s so many specifics to each species, just test things out. Make a note of where your Pokémon is from and replicate it as best you can.

Species I would avoid having by the ocean are lurantis, and lilligant. Two very fussy species that need specialist care.

#pokemon #prof.peach #peach talks

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titusreno · 6 years

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titus and reno

new first chapter draft idea

Reno

The sun was in my eyes as Benja launched his elbow into my solar plexus. His mask was sagging down the side of his face with sweat, the nylon snake eyes staring unnervingly at me, hollow with shadows. Behind him, the trees rose up from the swamp that had swallowed the old neighborhoods of Cypress Hills. I could hear the cry of seagulls and the thrum of cicadas. I stumbled backwards, trying to catch myself before I fell against the rough pavement of the road. I wrapped my arms around Benja’s neck and shoved hard with my knee into his stomach. He hadn’t expected it, and he lost his footing enough that I was able to hook my arm under his throat and spin him backward, moving fast enough that my momentum carried him. Benja was bigger than I was, but I had enough leverage that it just barely worked. I kicked him again in the chest as he fell backward, landing on his ass. I followed him down, grabbing for his mask and just barely getting it up over his eyes. I tried to let out the kind of howl that Benja did when he was competing, deep and guttural. I bent over him with my knee in his chest, pressing his face into the pavement. I could feel his breathing, fast and ragged. Benja coughed and looked up at me.

“Okay, fuck, time. Uncle. Whatever.”

Behind me, I heard Pancake laugh. He and Rustler were sitting at the edge of the practice ring, smoking, their legs extended just over the yellow line on the pavement.

“Was that your frog yell, Reno?” Rustler asked.

Benja laughed. “He’s learning from me, he’s gonna yell. I’m gonna teach him to yell. It’s cool.” He sat up, rubbing the blood from under his nose with the back of his hand.

“You aren’t mad that he’s stealing your thing? Your whole trademark?” Rustler let out a long puff of smoke. The smell carried over to me, pungent and green.

“You might wanna work on a kind of loud ribbit,” Pancake said. He snorted and tried to approximate the noise a frog makes.

I helped Benja up.

“I’m gonna get you back next time,” he said, reaching up to yank the frog mask off my head. “But that was pretty fucking good. You stepped it up since last time.”

I laughed. “That’s because you nearly killed me last time. I had to protect myself.” We walked over to where Rustler and Pancake sat. Overhead, the clouds moved faster and faster over the edge of the horizon, leaving the late afternoon sky a thin, dirty blue. The double electric fences at the edge of the facility reflected the light back in large flat gleams of yellow. I had to squint to see anything. “When am I going to fight you, Rustler?” I thumped him on the back as I sat down.

Rustler grinned, in the slow, half-lidded way he has. His eyes are darker than most other people’s at Auxie Mautlin, and his hair is almost as long as mine. He’s strong and about as beautiful as any of us here get. His legs are half the size of my torso. “You may need to wait a little. You get a little bigger or I get a little sicker. One of the two. If you wait about six months you’ll be able to pulverize me.”

“Don’t say that,” Pancake said. “You have at least a couple years.”

“Dude,” Rustler said. “Don’t bullshit. I’m eighteen already.” His voice was still measured, but his tone shifted a little. “You know I don’t have that long.”

“I bet you’re still gonna be the strongest Fore for a little longer, though,” Pancake said.

“Well, let’s hope.” Rustler offered me his joint, avoiding Pancake’s eyes. I took a hit and passed it to Benja, whose nose was still bleeding.

It isn’t a total taboo to bring up the worms when you’re hanging out with friends. Obviously, we all have them. But talking about death is something else. I remembered Rustler’s friend Foz, who was the biggest Fore when I first came to Auxie Mautlin with a selection of other piggos from my work camp. He had won sixteen matches my first year in the dorms, before the boils under his skin got larger and he started having seizures and was removed to the late-term infirmary. We don’t know how long he lasted after that. We aren’t allowed to visit the hospice units—they’re three miles away.

I got infected when I was two or three, which means I probably have longer than Rustler and definitely longer than Pancake, who had the worm in him already when he was born. They take about sixteen years to start affecting your central nervous system in a serious way, though some piggos start getting headaches at age fifteen.

“Do you guys wanna go take some K-po with me in Caldegot?” Benja asked, after a couple minutes of silence where the only noise came from the seagulls and the sound of the distant gymnasium, where the letlets were still having their phys-ed class.

Pancake laid back on the pavement. “Nah, I hate the stuff it makes me see. It’s all like, purple dripping. Like every time. And those weird stars. It makes me feel all weird and out of it.”

Benja looked at me.

“I haven’t ever taken it,” I said, which was true. I’d had hits off joints that Rustler got from the truck driver that brought the cricketbev and frozen chicken, but never anything else. K-Po was newer, rarer. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. “It’s like LSD, right?”

Rustler laughed. “It’s just fertilizer.”

“No, man, it’s real,” Pancake said. “You do really see shit.”

“No, I know,” Rustler said. “But it really is just fertilizer. Potassium, you know. Potash. It only works because potassium makes the worms in our guts release weird chemicals. It does it to anyone with the worm. If we were healthy, it wouldn’t do anything.”

“Is that true?” Pancake said. “I for sure thought it was like, a party drug someone snuck in.”

“Pancake, you’re a dumbass,” Rustler said. I couldn’t tell what his tone meant. Pancake looked a little hurt, but he might have just been out of it.

“I wish I knew where they got it,” Benja said. “I guess it’s from the garden sheds. But those are locked down. It’s some girl in Caldegot. She’s got like a total monopoly.”

“It can’t be Kacky,” Rustler said. “I thought she got sicker.”

“No,” Benja said. “Her name’s Jenny.”

“Huh.” Rustler stretched and stubbed the joint out on the pavement. “Well, you know, whatever. I’ll go over there with you if you’re going. Reno, you wanna see some weird purple stuff with us?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to eat fertilizer. “Does it do anything to like, hurt you? Do you get like hungover or strung out or anything?”

“If you take too much,” Benja said. “But we won’t. You have to stay in top shape if you’re going to be able to beat Fib.” He punched my shoulder hard. I flinched a little, but less than I used to when I first was training with him. Benja tries to act tough and rowdy all the time, like he’s so strong he doesn’t know his own strength. I guess sometimes I do too.

As we walked over to Caldegot, I felt the sweat prickle uncomfortably down my back and run down my face. My hair melted against my ears and the back of my neck with sticky intensity. January isn’t the hottest season, yet. That’s still July and August, when temperatures can get into the middle hundred-forties and we all have to stay in the underground dormitories where the air conditioning gets pumped in through dry metal vents. But January is hotter than it was when I was born. I’ve heard that in the part of the country where Auxie Mautlin is, it used to get down to ten degrees in winter just a hundred and twenty years ago. There would have been snow. In the history classes we take, they show pictures of it. Once Mrs. Y showed us a picture of Queens, New York during a blizzard in 2015, the old cars buried in feet of snow, a bicycle completely cemented onto the sidewalk by mounds of shellacked ice. Now, January is hot, and it gets hotter every year, but they don’t let the older piggos go inside for gym because it is still supposed to be winter. When we ducked into Caldegot through a side door, the rush of cold air made me breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

The old dorms at the edge of Auxie Mautlin are different from the ones on the south side of the facility. The south dorms used to be a community jail, so they’re built with thick, bunkerlike cement and heavy doors. The Caldegot and Armistad dorms are just big brick buildings that used to be warehouses, and are almost three hundred years old. They remodeled them inside with the same fabric walls and florescent lighting as the other dorms, and they still have checkpoints and cameras, but they’re lower security than the Bertol or Musk buildings that the letlets live in. I was lucky to get in Armistad when I moved last year. It’s easier to get out to the roof or sneak to matches. I’ve heard older Fores say that things used to be stricter, but the facility is getting harder to staff and the older minders care less and less what we do. I guess that’s good luck.

Jenny’s room, a triple on the third floor, was already full of people when we got there. At least three of them were girls I knew from class. I hadn’t seen Jenny before except from a distance. She was oddly sinewy and sharp-looking, with long hair plaited into two braids that fell across either collarbone. Her uniform was opened to her belly, and I could see the faint sweat gathered at the top of her stomach. She was wearing one of the regulation bras, but pulled down a little, and I could tell that some of the boys were looking at her chest. She sat on the edge of her bunk bed, counting out small packets of something wrapped in brown paper towel. It felt so shady that I almost left then, but Benja moved to sit down next to one of the younger Caldegot girls and raised his eyebrows at me, so I moved inside the door and stood there.

Jenny looked at me. “You with Benja?” Her eyes were as black as Rustler’s. I figured she must be from the Arizzy worktown. I didn’t know any of those piggos very well.

“Yes,” I said.

Jenny nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the bunk above her and craned her neck. “Titus, get three more sets going,” she said. For the first time I noticed the scrawny boy in the bunk above her. He was hunkered down, portioning powder out into the paper packets. His dark hair was almost as long as Jenny’s, and fell across his face. His uniform shirt was open in the same way Jenny’s was, exposing an expanse of pale brown-pink skin that went down to his belt line. He grunted in response to Jenny’s command. Then, in a single long, lazy motion, he wrapped what looked like three packets of the orange powder. He tore each packet off after pouring the fertilizer—or whatever it was—onto the paper, and folded them into little squares. He licked the edges of the squares to make them stick, then looked up directly at me with a strange, unreadable glare. He was so delicate-looking that for a second I wondered if I was wrong about him being a boy.

“Here,” he said, and tossed one of the packets at me. I caught it and looked to Benja, who reached his hand up for his packet. Rustler, who still stood next to me, laughed, maybe at my expression. He ruffled my hair. I would have bristled if we hadn’t all just smoked together. I knew he was trying to be friendly.

“Reno here is going to be taking K-po for the first time today,” he said to Jenny. “Let him know what to do so he doesn’t make a fool of himself.”

Jenny looked at me closely, then nodded. I felt like I was being assessed. She stood up and brushed off her pants briskly. “Do you know what I do here?” she asked me.

“Um,” I said. “I guess I’m not really sure. You give people fertilizer to eat?”

One of the Caldegot girls snickered. The scrawny boy on the top bunk tensed, and I wondered if I might get myself in trouble if I sounded like I was insulting her business model.

“Well, yes,” Jenny said flippantly. “It’s fertilizer. But it is very important, cool fertilizer, because it lets the worms in our bodies show us things.” She smiled at me. Her canines were sharp, like Rustler’s or Pancake’s. Fighters do that to make themselves scarier. “The hallucinogens that the worms release are remarkably consistent. Right, Pozzlin?” She looked at the girl next to Benja.

“Yeah,” Pozzlin said. “You always see the purple planet.” She turned to me.

“The purple planet,” I said. I had heard people say it in classes. I assumed it was an in-joke in some clique that I wasn’t in on. There were a lot of those kinds of things. Everyone had their groups, their own special language.

“It’s like, a theory, right, that we all see the same waterfalls and birds and stuff—the stars and the sky with two moons and all that. And it’s a theory that that’s because it’s the planet the worm comes from. And it looks like it does because it’s an alien planet. It’s not just an acid trip. And sure it’s all like wavy gravy and you see like paisley and stuff too and colors move and distort, but you always see the same kind of cliffs and oceans and always two moons in the sky.”

Pozzlin let that sink in, smirking smugly at me. Benja was playing with a strand of her hair, and she didn’t seem to mind. I looked around the room for confirmation. People nodded.

“It’s like, maybe crazy,” Benja said, “but it’s like, it is sort of interesting. It’s true that you always see the same stuff. And it looks alien.”

“And we know the worm is alien,” another girl with long tight braids said. “It came here on a UFO.”

“A ship,” Benja corrected her. “A ship with a dead mummified humanoid alien on it. If you’re gonna say it, you gotta say the full crazy thing.” A few people laughed. When the doctors first announced that they were able to confirm the thing about the dead humanoid, back when I was still a letlet, everyone had taken bets on whether or not it was true. It was accepted fact now, but it still sounded crazy. Especially because the pharma companies and the state agencies had been insisting for years that the worm was a mutation of a tapeworm that had been bothering pigs for eons on Earth.

Jenny nodded and looked back to me. “So, it’s fun, right, and it is fun. But the real reason I do this is to get as many people as possible to document, to write down, what they’re seeing. Because I think it really might be the world that the bug came from. And if that’s true, it’s data. Important data.”

“Question,” I said. “How would that work? The hallucinations being like, a message. That’s like. Telepathy, right?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Jenny said.

“Do you think the worms are trying to send it to us?”

Jenny shrugged. “Fuck if I know. That’s why we’re out here. More data the better.”

“Hey Jenny,” a boy I didn’t know said from a corner. “You could get more data if the stuff was free, you know.”

“I have to make a living,” Jenny said. Her voice was mild but firm. “I don’t see you guys sneaking into the garden sheds at night to get this shit, so I can charge whatever I want. And it’s more affordable than it was when Kacky was here.”

I looked over at Benja inquiringly. I didn’t have that much to trade for shit. He shook his head and waved me off as if to say I have this one.

A girl laughed. “Bottoms up for science,” she said, and tipped her orange powder back into her mouth.

“Not yet,” said another girl. She looked at Jenny. “Is it okay to start?” The orange sun filtered down through the window and I felt for the first time how warm the room was. I was sort of thirsty.

“Cheers,” Jenny said. “I’m going to put out the paper and markers in the middle of the floor. When you come back up, draw or write what you saw, okay? Nobody leaves without at least one detail.”

“How long does it last?” I asked. “Like twenty minutes,” the boy sitting on the top bunk said. I looked over at him and he stared back, unblinking, for a second, before he gave a small grin, as if he had just remembered that it might be a nice thing to do.

I saw Rustler raise his hand and dump the powder into his mouth. After a couple seconds, I did the same. I felt someone watching me and looked up to see the scrawny boy on the top of the bed staring me down. When he caught me looking, he looked away. I noticed that he wasn’t taking any K-po. For a second I thought about saying something to him, to try to ask a question or seem cool. But I wasn’t sure what to say. And then my vision started to swim. It was so instantaneous that I sat down against the door heavily, in shock.

At first it was just colors, and this sense of weird peace bubbling up in my stomach. I felt for a second like looking at the scrawny boy on the top bunk and telling him that I wanted to kiss him—which was weird, though I realized that I sort of did. But then I sank deeper, and the colors started to condense and drip and I started to see real pictures. The room in front of me completely vanished, and my hands and arms felt dense and numb and like they were made of fragile glass.

I saw four figures walking on a moonlit landscape, tall and strangely stretched. I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew they weren’t human or piggo. I felt a cold sensation in my gut at the strange trancelike way they walked, and I tried to turn away, but I couldn’t. I was stuck watching them until they vanished over the edge of the horizon. Then my vision danced again, dissolved into colors, and melted into a new scene. I was on a hill, looking out at a sky of strange stars and a red sun. There were flat plains of weird plants, and spires stretching up that might have been stone or vegetable. I couldn’t tell. Spinning above me were two flat blue moons, and under my feet was an ocean of clear water. When I looked at the ocean, I moved toward it, into it, falling down from the hill so fast that I stretched out my hands to catch myself, sure that I would be dashed against the ground, that the pink rocks at the shore would tear me apart. But they didn’t, and I landed in the water. Worms swam around between my toes, the light shimmering off their opalescent bodies. The sensation was still peaceful, sensual. It took several minutes before occurred to me that these were the worms inside me. The ocean rose up under me and I got cold, as if it were really there. The sky went yellow, blue, deep pink, red. I felt a little nauseous, but somehow was having a really good time.

And then I started to come out of it. The ocean stopped feeling cold and I could feel the hot sweaty dorm room and the bodies on either side of me. The moons above me splintered and vanished, and I felt the floor under me for several minutes before I opened my eyes. As I did, I realized that the boy –Titus—was still staring at me from the top bunk. I felt too dizzy to sit up, and closed my eyes until I felt the world settle. When I sat up again, Titus was gone. Around me, other people were already awake again. They were writing and drawing with the markers that Jenny had provided. As the light stopped hurting my eyes, I looked around and realized they were all drawing basically the same things I had seen—everyone focusing on different aspects of the scenario. Jenny approached me and gave me a pen and a marker and a piece of paper that I realized was someone’s old medical form.

“Draw on the back,” she said. “Emotional woo woo stuff is fine for writing but try to draw as literal as you can.”

I’m not a very good artist, but I tried to draw the hill and the two moons. I tried to describe what I saw. I didn’t want to put any more effort into it than anyone else, but I felt profoundly changed and—I guess disturbed—by the whole thing, and suddenly it felt very important that I be honest and try to actually talk about what it had been like. I thought, well, maybe this is a real thing, a real project.

#titus and reno #writing

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westletter · 4 years

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Summer 2018

Dear Friends, It saddens me deeply to report that The West Letter has lost its canine correspondent and assistant editor, Maximilian West, aka Max. The picture above was taken at the corner of Ave. Melville and Blvd. de Maisonneuve in Montreal, bordering Westmount Park, last June 2nd. He had been visiting friends and clients with his master. A day later he was back in Kingston. It was a lazy Saturday. Max began this last day as he always had, going for the morning walk -- albeit at a very sedate pace, befitting his 15 years -- and accompanying his master on the usual errands about town in the back of the Maxmobile. It was warm and sunny and he spent most of the afternoon snoozing contently in the yard. That evening he struggled getting up the porch steps. But he still tucked into his supper gamely and lay at his master’s feet for the duration of a postprandial movie. When It came time to call it a day, for the first and only time in his adult life, Maximilian West was unable to mount the stairs to the second floor. His master picked him up and carried him like a baby, setting him down by the bed on his favourite sheepskin rug. And that is where he was the next morning, in perfect repose. Alas, too perfect.

WHO?

Who came into this world in the winter of 2003 and was abandoned as a defenceless puppy along with his beautiful mama and brothers and sisters in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts?

Who, as a teddy-bear-sized ball of fluff, caught his master-to-be’s eye at the shelter on the banks of Riviere du Nord, and soon won his heart? Who was dismissed by the Napoleonic obedience school director as “damaged goods; untrainable; you should ask for your money back”? Who graduated summa cum laude at that same school? Who, nonetheless, for the first years of his life had a chip on his shoulder, and needlessly terrorized more than one lovely hostess, up to and including physically blocking her from entering her own home? Who, with German Shepherd and Border Collie bloodlines, was fiercely loyal to, and protective of, his family, no stranger at the door avoiding the big bowwow treatment? And herded the children and other dogs like sheep? Who teased the boys -- Allen, Harry and Pablo -- endlessly, loving nothing more than a game of piggy in the middle or hey-I-have-your-mitten-now-try-to-catch-me? Who had an astonishingly extensive mastery of English and Spanish commands, and even a smattering of French? Who was equally adept at interpreting his master’s hand signals and body gestures … even the wink of an eye or a nod? And who had his own repertoire of canine language commands and gestures – a flick of the leash, a rattling of a dish, a cold nose protruding into an early morning bed? Who could leap tall fences in a single bound? Who wandered off into a farmer’s field and upon encountering cows for the first time, calmly proceeded to herd them back to his startled master … And decided there was no better way to celebrate his new-found talent than to dive ecstatically into a fresh green cow pie? Who had a morbid fear of water and apart from the cow pie incident, never had a bath in his life? Who famously said to his Piscean master: “If I had been meant to swim, I’d have been born with webbed toes, n’est-ce-pas?” Who, despite his fear of water, was quite at home on many a sailing or canoe voyage, always with the proviso that his master was at the helm? Who slept at the side or the foot of his master’s bed every night of his life, no different than the dogs of English knights memorialized in brass? Who, as a puppy, devoured half the furniture in the apartment, including Great Grandmother’s sumptuous Victorian settee (it being retrieved with an extravagant reupholstery job)? Who could sniff a treat-bearing lady at a hundred paces, and invariably seduce her of her bounty with a sly charm? And as a corollary, who was far too well-mannered to beg, unless you count infinitely patient, beseeching eyes? Who was the dog world’s pickiest eater, a true gourmet, not a gourmand, perfectly content to walk away from a partially eaten bowl of the tenderest vitals? Who was so well trained, he didn’t need a leash and would never waste his time or effort chasing a squirrel across the road or a seagull along the shore? Who greeted a parade of innocent mailmen over the years with a reception worthy of Attila the Hun? Who, ever the jealous lover, begrudgingly accompanied his master in and out of bachelorhood, often in the beginning barely tolerating female competition in his domain? And as an instance of same, who, with a chaperone’s reproach, would busily park himself between a romantic candidate and his master, and if that tactic failed, would go into a high dudgeon for days, sulking under the table? And yet, who came to adore his mistress of the past six years, and shower her with loyalty and devotion? Who accompanied his master in the Maxmobile on nearly all his road trips … to Montreal, Chicago, Brantford, Toronto, New York, Prince Edward County and Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, not to mention daily errands, always supremely comfortable and happy at his command post in the back of the wagon? Who never got up on the plush living room furniture, except for those few thousand times that his master wasn’t looking? Who, for the past 13 summers was the adoptive mascot of a group of swimmers known as the Mermaids, and attended to their immersion into, and emergence from, Lake Ontario nearly every day of each of those summers? And who, in particular, was befriended by and doted on and spoiled by Mermaid Peggy, and even enticed by her siren wiles and treats to enter the water up to his withers?!! Who, from youngest days, had Latin rhythm and loved to dance (bailar!), up on his hind legs to cumbia, salsa, merengue, son cubano y mucho más, until in old age those legs began to give out? Who was a contributing editor to an investment newsletter (The West Letter) and cultivated a following that rivaled his master’s? Who was also surprisingly well-read and the creator of Canada’s Canine Lit List, top picks including Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time? Who was the face that launched a new pet food company in Montreal, and complained that celebrity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? “My master negotiated what seemed like an OK contract at the time. I was paid in the new product, of course, not royalties. So … sigh … retiring to the stud farm is still looking like a distant proposition.” Who, once he knocked that chip off his shoulder, was his master’s superb four-legged ambassador … not only on walks, but when receiving visitors, hosting parties and as a grateful houseguest, making friends wherever he went? Who took demented cousin Bob at the Helen Henderson Care Centre under his wing on Saturday morning visits, quickly learning to heel to Bob’s erratic wheelchair progress up and down the hallways? And along the way became the unofficial therapy dog of the residence, sitting patiently at their sides as affection-starved souls petted and stroked and asked if they could give the doggie a treat? Who wagged his spectacular blond tail from side to side like a regal fan? And left a hole in his master’s heart? Who is Maximilian West.

YEAR-END REPORT CARD Class of 2018: No Surprises, Steady Performance “Neat but not gaudy” is the Headmaster’s summation of the Class of 2018′s year over year (July 1 ‘17 to June 30 ‘18) average gain of 6.6%. Over the same period, the TSX and S&P 500 were up 7.2% and 12.1% respectively.

The Headmaster says there is no reason for class members to take umbrage and commends them for their cautious, no-drama progress in choppy seas. The worst performer in the class, Enbridge, was only down 9%. To add perspective: over the past five years, the class annual return has averaged 10.3% versus 6.1% for the TSX and 11.1% for the S&P 500. If some class members are temporarily out of favour with the market, it is not a concern of the Headmaster. “Value will always out.” As for the sizzle this year ... Information Technology stocks once again went to the head of the class, with outstanding performances from Apple, Open Text and Visa. For all the sector by sector details, please read on. Financials - B TD Bank, Royal Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia produced an average return of 3.6%. With double digit earnings growth and handsome dividend increases, averaging 9%, you’d think they might have received more market recognition. Ah well, all the more reason to keep them in the class for the return of that swinging pendulum. Promoted. Resources - B plus Class veterans Vermilion Energy and Nutrien (the former Agrium, merged with Potash Corp) more than made up for Enbridge’s travails. The threesome posted an average 9.8% gain, fueled by rising commodity markets in energy and agriculture, and excellent execution of their business plans. Nutrien, in particular, is to be commended for being well ahead of schedule in wringing massive savings out of its operations as a result of the merger. They go right to the bottom line. Enbridge is at last emerging from the cloud it has been under since its purchase of the US pipeline company Spectra. Worries of unsustainable debt and potential dividend cuts have been put to rest with a string of non-core asset sales that have delivered balance sheet and investor relief. The stock has been on a tear since it bottomed in April. The Headmaster expects more of the same to come. All promoted.

Infrastructure - C plus Brookfield Instructure Partners Limited took an expected pause this year, having disposed of some Brazilian assets, the temporary lack of which, have put the brakes on cash flow growth. Happily however, the excess capital is being redeployed and CEO Sam Pollock sees no reason to stray from Brookfield’s stated long term target of 12 to 15% returns on invested capital, not to mention a generous distribution increasing at about 8% per annum. The company’s Class of 2018 performance was -4.9%. The Headmaster is far from perturbed and has full confidence in the medium and long term prospects for Brookfield. Promoted. Retail - B minus Class bench-mates Alimentation Couche Tard and Metro are perfect examples of how sometimes the markets can be out of synch with reality on the ground. To wit: this pair had earnings per share growth of 17.5% and 4.8% respectively and boosted their dividends by 10 and 11%. Their track records and prospects are exemplary. Yet their average stock performance over the past year was -3.4%. Once again the Headmaster notes: “The pendulum will swing back to value.” All promoted. Industrials - B plus Class seniors CNR, John Deere and global packaging player CCL, each produced admirable, double-digit earnings and dividend growth over the school year, despite various headwinds in their respective businesses. The trio’s average stock gain, 4.5%, would have been more in line with earnings growth, but for CCL taking one of its familiar breathing spells, pending the next transformative acquisition. The Headmaster is sanguine and sees much promise ahead. All promoted. Healthcare - A The Headmaster’s continued faith in his unloved healthcare class members was borne out in spades. Amgen, Johnson and Johnson and Express Scripts racked up earnings gains in stellar fashion, and were rewarded commensurately by the market with an average stock advance of 19.8%. Bravo and promoted! Telecom - C minus There is no room for sentiment in managing a class of stocks. The Headmaster can no longer justify the anemic returns of that friend of widows and orphans, BCE. True, as long as its generous dividends are sustainable, there will be a place for BCE in many portfolios. But the Headmaster wants more than dividends. The evidence for same just isn’t there. BCE, by the kinds of industry measures that count -- e.g., customer “churn” (turnover rate), average annual revenue and lifetime revenue per customer, and resultant cash flow growth -- is falling consistently short of its rival, Telus. The market recognized this disparity last year, awarding Telus with a 4.3% gain, and punishing BCE with an 8.8% loss. While acknowledging yeoman’s service in years gone by, the Headmaster has asked BCE to leave the class, based on current and projected performance. Conversely, Telus is promoted. Information Technology - A plus Apple, Visa and their Canadian desk mate Open Text knocked the ball out of the park last year with average earnings per share and stock price gains of 27%. Add to that heroic stock buybacks at Apple and Visa, and significant dividend hikes for all three, and you have a recipe for rare Headmaster contentment. All three promoted. To replace BCE, the Headmaster has ushered Microsoft into the Class of 2019. There are a number of reasons to like Microsoft: the dependable cash flows spun off by its legacy Office and related software products; the successful move it has made into cloud-computing (second only to Amazon); but what really catches the Headmaster’s eye is CEO Satya Nadella’s determination to make Microsoft a major player in artificial intelligence (AI). Nadella calls AI “the defining technology of our times” and wants to make sure that Microsoft is in line for more than a fair share of what prognosticators estimate will be a $4 trillion market by 2022. Microsoft currently has 8,000 scientists and engineers working in this strategic sector, and has already begun to incorporate the fruits of their labours into each of the company’s lines of business. “Smart move,” says the Headmaster, who values intelligence, artificial or otherwise. Entertainment - B minus Disney over the past year continued to do exactly what one would expect of a one-of-a-kind leader in media and entertainment. It delivered the goods; i.e., growth in all the right places. Well, okay ... just about in all the right places. To Disney and the Headmaster’s frustration, there is still a knock against this class member for failure to make the transition from cable delivery of content to “streaming” fast enough. The stock languished with a return of -1.3%. “Pshaw!” says the Headmaster. “I have full confidence in Bob Iger and the Disney management team. The pending takeover of the television and movie assets of 20th Century Fox only reinforces my view!” He may have a point. The stock is up 9% since the end of the school year. If you would like further information on any of the investing ideas raised in this issue, or a complimentary consultation, please call or email. CW § AQUATIC UPDATE

Photo credit: Kingston Whig-Standard On July 28th, a certain Merman and Max’s favourite Mermaid, Peggy, dove and jumped off the newly christened Gord Edgar Downie Pier to celebrate spectacular improvements to Kingston’s waterfront along the shore of Breakwater Park, including a sandy beach. Overheard at the proceedings: “This is my new best, favourite place in the world!” Hear, hear! Happy days to all and may your summer be endless!

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restmark22-blog · 5 years

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The Bear’s Den, January 8, 2019

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS

Wiedman: Full Chicago meltdown after heartbreaking loss in Wild Card Game - Our Turf Football - OTFB’s Wanda Wiedman goes over the loss to the Eagles. Despite the loss, she’s still proud of her team.

5@5: Has Cody Parkey Played His Last Game With Bears? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

Emma: Bears Doomed With 10 Men On Eagles’ First Touchdown - 670 The Score - ”It’s just a hard deal,” Bears safety Adrian Amos said of the mishap.

Pompei: Observations From Bears-Eagles - 670 The Score - The Bears’ loss wasn’t an ending. It was a beginning.

Hughes: Five Thoughts on 2018’s Final Game From Inside the Building - Da Bears Blog - Sunday’s loss to the Eagles is going to be discussed for a long time and Cody Parkey will remain the centerpiece of that conversation. But here are five (I think) unique observations from inside the building.

Dickerson: Matt Nagy - Bears ‘lucky’ to have Mitchell Trubisky - ESPN - Mitchell Trubisky took major steps in his first season with Matt Nagy, who is excited for the future with his young quarterback.

Under Center Podcast: Wrapping up the Bears’ season after locker cleanout - NBC Sports Chicago - JJ Stankevitz, John “Moon” Mullin and Cam Ellis report from Halas Hall after Bears players cleaned out their lockers on a somber Monday. Where do the Bears go from here?

Stankevitz: Trey Burton explains how his injury happened and why he didn’t play vs. Eagles - NBC Sports Chicago - Trey Burton said he initially felt stiff after Friday's practice, and then his groin was "completely locked" on Saturday.

Stankevitz: Stunned Bears struggle to grasp abrupt end to such an enjoyable, successful season - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears didn't expect the season to end so soon and now head into an offseason trying to regroup and build on 2018.

Hoge: In The Toughest Of Defeats, Nagy Shines Bright Light On Bears’ Future - WGN Radio - The head coach — the man who preaches “Be You” — was himself all the way to the end, even as a promising and successful Chicago Bears season came to a crashing halt on the foot of its biggest weakness

Mayer: Burton sheds light on injury that sidelined him - ChicagoBears.com - Speaking to reporters Monday, Bears tight end Trey Burton provided details about the groin injury that prevented him from playing in Sunday’s wild-card game against the Eagles.

Mayer: Tough playoff loss will motivate Bears players - ChicagoBears.com - A day later, Sunday’s bitter 16-15 wild-card playoff loss to the Eagles didn’t hurt any less. But it will serve as motivation for Bears players who enjoyed a resurgent 2018 season.

Mayer: Bears teammates support Parkey after miss - ChicagoBears.com - There’s no better evidence of the culture that coach Matt Nagy has created with the Bears than what transpired after Cody Parkey missed a potential game-winning field goal in Sunday’s wild-card loss to the Eagles.

Inside Slant: Nagy vows Bears will learn from loss - ChicagoBears.com - Sunday’s 16-15 wild-card loss to the Eagles at Soldier Field will sting for a while, but coach Matt Nagy vowed that it will help the Bears in the future.

Medina: Eddie Jackson Wanted to Play – And Could Have in an Emergency – But Just Wasn't Healthy Enough - Bleacher Nation - The Bears missed Eddie Jackson's playmaking ability in the secondary.

Medina: Well, Hey … Robbie Gould Is a Free Agent - Bleacher Nation - The best kicker in Bears history is scheduled to be a free agent in March.

Biggs: Vic Fangio interviews with the Broncos. Could the Bears soon have to contemplate who will run the defense in 2019? - Chicago Tribune - With Vic Fangio meeting with the Broncos, the Bears could soon have to search for a coordinator to take over the league's No. 1 scoring defense from this season. Other changes are possible at Halas Hall as secondary coach Ed Donatell is coming out of contract.

Wiederer: Trey Burton on groin injury that kept him out of Sunday's playoff loss - 'It's just my body trying to protect itself' - Chicago Tribune - Bears tight end Trey Burton was a surprise scratch from Sunday's playoff game against the Eagles, declared inactive after a groin injury popped up earlier in the weekend. Burton is now ultimately left to cope with his unfortunate absence from a season-ending loss.

Kane: 10 things we heard from Bears players on locker clean-out day, from Allen Robinson's view of 2019 to Adrian Amos' free agency - Chicago Tribune - As Bears players packed up their lockers Monday afternoon at Halas Hall, they still were trying to make sense of a 16-15 loss to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Here are 10 things we heard from the players.

Greenstein: NBC's Al Michaels on Cody Parkey's tipped kick - 'Someone must have done some forensic accounting on that one' - Chicago Tribune - The Bears’ 16-15 loss to the Eagles drew a massive TV rating for NBC — 35.9 million viewers. It was television’s most-watched show since Super Bowl LII.

Haugh: Tough playoff loss could spur a Super Bowl season - like it did for past Bears teams - Chicago Tribune - Sunday’s setback against the Eagles will make the Bears better. They just scratched complacency from their 2019 schedule. The anguish all over players' faces after Cody Parkey’s miss steeled a team that will report to Bourbonnais in July with high expectations.

Brad Biggs' 10 thoughts on the Bears' season-ending loss: Did the Eagles deflect Cody Parkey's kick? What will the coaching staff look like next season? - Chicago Tribune - Brad Biggs' 10 thoughts after the season ended with Sunday's 16-15 loss to the Eagles in the wild-card round. Some of this kicker stuff is mind-boggling. Mitch Trubisky played well enough to win. The coaching staff could have some changes, including a name you had not thought about yet.

Wiederer: Just like that, an unbelievable and crushing climax ends the Bears' special season - Chicago Tribune - No way. There’s just no way. There’s no possible way Sunday’s playoff game at Soldier Field ended the way it did. There’s no way the Bears’ magical season and an electric afternoon by Lake Michigan ended with a struggling kicker trotting out to either salvage or torpedo a city’s Super Bowl hopes.

Biggs: 'One of the worst feelings in the world' - Bears' season ends in cruelest way with Cody Parkey's missed field goal - Chicago Tribune - Cody Parkey did what has become an impossible trick turned nightmare for the Bears, something that has been a joke for weeks, a very bad one for the organization. His 43-yard field-goal attempt clanked off the left upright, banked off the crossbar and bounced back toward the field of play.

Stankevitz: One day after double-doink disaster, Bears’ attitude toward Cody Parkey hasn’t changed - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears remained supportive of their embattled kicker even as they cleaned out their lockers at Halas Hall on Monday.

Bears grades: Evaluating Mitch Trubisky's playoff debut against Eagles - Sun Times - Mitch Trubisky had a game of extremes, throwing for 300 yards but taking too long to get going in a one-point loss.

Morrissey: Trubisky's up-and-down playoff loss a lot like his season - Sun Times - After the quarterback's up-and-down game and season, Bears coach Matt Nagy and others are trying to win the PR battle over the Trubisky narrative. Ken's Note: No, it's more like three quarters full and one quarter empty... My Morrissey glass is 99 percent empty.

Finley: Can Cody Parkey return after miss? 'Glad I'm not the one making that decision' - Sun Times - The Bears owe Parkey $3.5 million next year whether he plays a down for them or not.

Finley: Bears TE Trey Burton - Had tough time walking Saturday after groin 'locked' - Sun Times - Trey Burton tried to explain how he woke up Saturday with a groin injury so severe that it forced him to sit out of his his team’s biggest game.

Eagles fans are sending money to 'Cody Parkey' via Venmo after Bears' loss | Chicago Sun-Times - In an attempt to thank Cody Parkey for missing the Bears' game-winning field goal, Eagles fans are sending the kicker money through Venmo. Ken's Note: I guess batteries were too hard to ship?

Kenney: Dwyane Wade, others come to defense of Cody Parkey after Bears' loss - Sun Times - What started as a good night for Cody Parkey took a drastic turn during the last play of the game.

Price: Robbie Gould and his kids were in the stands for the Bears' playoff loss - Sun Times - The former Bears kicker brought his game to the playoff loss that ended on a missed field goal attempt.

Good, bad and worst: How the Bears fared in playoff loss to the Eagles - Sun Times - Some weeks are better than others for the Bears. Here’s how the Bears fared in Sunday’s season-ending 16-15 playoff loss to the Eagles:

Finley: Why did the Bears' Tarik Cohen get the ball only 4 times on offense? - Sun Times - “Four touches is not enough," Bears coach Matt Nagy said.

Finley: ‘It seemed like it was meant for us’ - Bears' defense comes up one play short - Sun Times - But the final drive and coming so close to a goal-line stand that would have been celebrated in franchise history left an empty feeling.

Kane: As NFL changes Cody Parkey's missed field goal to a blocked kick, the Bears are left to ponder the ending that went awry - Chicago Tribune - The social-media storm swirling around one of the most infamous moments in Bears playoff history rumbled all day Monday. But in the Bears locker room at Halas Hall, it was quiet.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Bruce Arians’ Tampa interview included a physical – ProFootballTalk - As the Buccaneers prepare to potentially hire coach Bruce Arians, more details are emerging regarding his weekend interview in Tampa. Via JoeBucsFan.com, Jay Glazer of FOX explained on Colin Cowherd’s radio/TV show that the Arians interview included a trip to a local hospital.

Potash: Despite heartbreak, Bears’ arrow pointing straight up heading into 2019 - Sun Times - But while the pain is real, so is the optimism for a Bears team that took a big first step in Matt Nagy’s first season ... from 5-11 to 12-4.

Morrissey: Bears’ wonderful season leaves a sudden, jarring void - Sun Times - The most jarring part of their playoff loss to the Eagles was the abruptness of it, the lasting emptiness. There was supposed to be so much more.

Kenney: Make Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt and you can get beer for a year - Sun Times - Think you would’ve made the Bears’ game-winning field goal? Well, now’s your chance.

Jahns: Bears 2018 season: Five takeaways, including a look at Mitch Trubisky’s development - Sun Times - From Mitch Trubisky’s development to Matt Nagy’s culture, here are our final takeaways from the Bears’ turnaround season.

Patra: Cody Parkey’s missed field goal officially ruled block - NFL.com - Video footage shows the Eagles’ Treyvon Hester deflected the missed field-goal attempt by the Bears’ Cody Parkey that sent Philadelphia to a 16-15 win on Wild Card Weekend.

KNOW THY ENEMY

The Packers compounded their early timeout problem by being awful on the following play - Acme Packing Company - Green Bay found an entirely new way to fail with their already-poor use of timeouts early in games.

Packers not expected to receive compensatory picks in 2019 NFL Draft - Acme Packing Company - This should be the first time in a decade that Green Bay does not receive any additional picks.

Packers hire Matt LaFleur – ProFootballTalk - And then there were seven. Eight days after the conclusion of the 2018 regular season, the first of eight head-coaching jobs has been filled. The Packers, PFT has confirmed, have hired Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.

Packers to hire Titans OC Matt LaFleur as head coach - NFL.com - Green Bay has found its new man. The Packers are hiring Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as their next head coach, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

Detroit Lions not projected to receive any 2019 compensatory draft picks - Pride Of Detroit - Looks like the Lions won’t have any additional picks in 2019.

Detroit Lions continue to shake up coaching staff, front office; fire VP of football operations - Pride Of Detroit - Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn are making some serious changes.

The Lions knew they weren’t contenders when they turned down Patriots’ offer for Golden Tate - Pride Of Detroit - Why choose an NFC contender over an AFC team?

Report: Kevin Stefanski not returning to Vikings; Mike Mularkey atop wish list - Daily Norseman - Not sure what to read into this

Packers 'zeroing in' on hiring Matt LaFleur as New head coach, per report - Acme Packing Company - The former Titans OC appears to be the pick for Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst.

A disastrous 2018 was exactly the season the Packers needed to make necessary changes - Acme Packing Company - When Brett Hundley struggled and it was clear Green Bay lagged behind in talent, Mike McCarthy shook up his coaching staff and Mark Murphy made a GM change. But it took another year of failure to bring us to this important moment.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Snap counts, stats, and more - Windy City Gridiron - We’ll list out the complete playing time breakdown, and spotlight a few individual and team statistics from the Chicago Bears in their 16-15 playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Schmitz: Trubisky Then, Trubisky Now - The Growth of Chicago’s QB - How Chicago’s Quarterback has Grown In The 2018 Season - Windy City Gridiron - In lieu of the season’s end, Robert S. takes a look at the struggles Mitch Trubisky endured in his first three weeks of the season and investigates how he’s grown since.

Infante: Notes from a heartbreaking 16-15 loss - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears’ season has come to an unfortunate and ironic end.

Wiltfong: Cody Parkey’s field goal was blocked - Windy City Gridiron - The Eagles got a finger on Cody Parkey’s last second field goal.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

2 Minute Drill - Website - iTunes - Andrew Link; Steven’s Streaming – Twitch – Steven Schweickert; T-Formation Conversation - Website - iTunes - Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; WCG Radio - Website - iTunes - Robert Zeglinski

THE RULES

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments. No personal attacks, politics, gender based insults of any kind, racial insults, etc.

The Bear’s Den Specific Guidelines – The Bear’s Den is a place for Chicago Bears fans to discuss Chicago Bears football, related NFL stories, and general football talk. It is NOT a place to discuss religion or politics or post political pictures or memes. Unless otherwise stated, the Den is not an open thread, and profanity (including profanity only stated in pictures) is prohibited.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter:

WCG Contributors: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Aaron Lemming; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Whiskey Ranger; Robert Zeglinski; Like us on Facebook.

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/1/8/18173117/chicago-bears-den-offseason-links-news-information-nfc-kings-north-fangio-nagy-pace-trubisky-fuller

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mrmichaelchadler · 5 years

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Ricky Jay: 1946-2018

The problem with writing an obituary about Ricky Jay, who passed away yesterday at the age of 72, is that he’s perhaps the only person truly qualified to sum up his life. Even someone trying to make up the wildest and most improbable resume imaginable would be hard-pressed to top Jay’s achievements: He was a sleight-of-hand magician whose illusions startled and amazed audiences throughout the world; a student of the history of magic who used his extensive knowledge to pen several books, and put together a number of museum exhibitions and lectured extensively on the subject; an actor whose cagey screen presence made him a favorite with such filmmakers as David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson; a crucial man behind the scenes who helped create a number of the screen’s most celebrated illusions. Jay was a raconteur of the highest order, and a perennial talk show favorite. Oh yeah, he was so deft in his handling of an ordinary deck of cards that he could take one, fling it through the air and sink it into the rind of a watermelon at a distance of ten paces.

He was born Richard Jay Potash on June 26, 1946 and grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As Jay was as tight-lipped about his early years as he was the magic tricks he become famous for, little is known about that period in his life. He clearly demonstrated a flair for magic tricks at an early age as he performed a full magic act on the television show “Time For Pets” in 1953 at the age of four. He eventually began doing it professionally and achieved a number of accomplishments in the field—he is said to have been the first magician to play comedy clubs and was also to first to open a rock concert when he appeared on a bill with Ike & Tina Turner and Timothy Leary. At a time when more flamboyant performers like Doug Henning and David Copperfield were attracting big audiences, Jay’s act, in which he pulled off any number of seemingly impossible illusions while offering up banter as entertaining as the tricks themselves, soon developed a cult following. Jay even developed a trio of one-man shows, “Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants,” “Ricky Jay: On the Stern,” and "Ricky Jay: A Rogue’s Gallery," which were directed by none other than David Mamet.

Mamet would also be the catalyst for Jay’s move to the big screen, though not as an illusionist. Magic tricks of the sort performed by Jay do not translate very well to film because even if they are done before the camera in a single take with no cutaways or edits to speak of, most viewers just assume that there is still some kind of fakery going on behind the scenes. However, Mamet recognized that Jay’s gregarious personality and the sly manner in which he delivered the stories his tricks were based on could be deployed successfully in a non-magical context, and began casting him in a number of his movies, including “House of Games” (1987), “Things Change” (1988), “Homicide” (1991), “The Spanish Prisoner” (1997), “State and Maine” (2000), “Heist” (2001, pictured above) and “Redbelt” (2008). Jay never had a leading role in any of these films but when he did come on the screen, he would almost always command attention, sometimes stealing the scene right from under the noses of his costars with the same kind of ease of his illusions. He soon found himself popping up in other films such as the James Bond epic “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), the con woman comedy “Heartbreakers” (2001) and the magic-related productions “The Prestige” (2006) and “The Great Buck Howard” (2008). Other than Mamet, Jay’s most fruitful screen collaborations were with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who cast him as one of the loyal members of Burt Reynolds’ pornographic filmmaking family in “Boogie Nights” (1997) and had him serve as the narrator for his epic “Magnolia” (1999), where his opening monologue about chance and coincidence proved to be the first of that film’s countless pleasures. On television, besides his numerous talk show appearances, he also turned up as card player Eddie Sawyer during the first season of the acclaimed Western series “Deadwood.”

With his incredible skill set, Jay carved out a second Hollywood career working behind the scenes as a consultant, devising some of the magic tricks on display in “The Escape Artist” (1982) and teaching Robert Redford how to perform a coin trick for “The Natural” (1984). In the 1990s, he and partner Michael Weber created Deceptive Practices, a company dedicated to helping create workable solutions to seemingly impossible visual tricks for the stage and the screen. One of his best-knows illusions was found in “Forest Gump,” where he helped create the specially designed wheelchair employed to hide Gary Sinise’s legs from view. Other projects that he worked on in this capacity included “Sneakers,” “Wolf,” “The Illusionist,” “The Prestige,” “Ocean’s Thirteen” and the Broadway production of “Angels in America.”

Jay orchestrated any number of spectacular illusions but, unlike a number of current magicians, he never succumbed to the urge to show audiences how he pulled them off. However, as a student of the history of magic, con games, gambling and frauds of all sizes, he would prove to be both a collector and historian of this particular area of study and conveyed that knowledge into a series of books that took care to protect the secrets of how they did it but offered up such a wealth of information that one didn’t mind. His 1986 book on oddball entertainments, Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, is such a delightful read that even those without any working interest in the subject will find it fascinating. In 2012, he lifted the curtain on himself slightly by serving as the subject of the compelling documentary “Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay,” in which he talks at length about his mentors in the field and how they would help shape his own efforts.

The best way to commemorate Jay’s life and mark his passing, of course, is to revisit his work and observe his singular genius in action. The aforementioned Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women deserves a place of prominence on the bookshelf of every home. On the big screen, the choice films include “House of Games,” “The Spanish Prisoner” (still my favorite Mamet film), “Magnolia” and the “Deceptive Practice” documentary. Of course, YouTube is chock full of his numerous television appearances over the years that allow you to watch him do everything from impossible-looking feats of prestidigitation to slicing pencils in half with a thrown playing card. To say that there will never be another performer like him is a massive understatement—the fact that someone like him existed in our timeline in the first place is a bit of magic to rival any of his own tricks.

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