there is nothing in the idea of a 'product' that tells us half as much as when there is mis-direction, and as all great magicians profess and exemplify, we are not to be told. preferably ever. why? because it is actually the least important part of the entire ritual. the immediate demand to know after a trick *appears* to have concluded shows us (mostly about ourselves - although we might insist that it concerns others) that we will not allow awe and suspension of disbelief to rest without disturbance, and the evidence of our senses is not that which we are prepared to trust - always preferring external verification before we can file away the experience. to be able to hold contradictions without resolution is the mark of a certain development, and aids for this practice are few and far between. and here we have one. a world-view presented by the act of setting forth acts of creation into the public arena means a possibility of entering this, and the terms are dictated precisely; because to truly experience the local conditions, a certain amount of letting go of touristic assumptions must take place. any resistance felt is a symptom that indicates where effort must be extended. "SIGN" does not allow ease except on a superficial level, and what seem to be familiar indications of direction and location are at worst obscurations and at best mirages... as well as there being the possibility that they are, in fact, sleight-of-hand carried out right in front of us. not being the place, the labels are disintegrated in a seemingly impossible fashion, and carpets and tablecloths are whipped out from underneath a large collection of objects (again, including ourselves), and disbelief should be the least of our worries. please note that magicians call what they do "effects" and not "tricks," and I have no doubt (even if I should) that this is the case with "SIGN." my favorite magical acts are those a) where the effect happens inside the audience and not outside, and b) when an explanation is given, but it is in fact, yet another part of the effect. but best of all, is when there is no trick but appears to be: after all, the saying goes, that "magicians guard an empty safe." the emptiness in that safe is what we can be granted access to if we meet the designer of the safe on their own terms, and then we may come to realise how valuable that space truly is.