Episode 13 – Magic in Storytelling

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Show Notes:  

• Ben and Josh talk about pizza, Cyberspace, prison, magic systems in storytelling, and the suitable application of high explosives 
• Intro (0:00-0:42) 
• Bad at Parenting (0:42-6:34) 
  • Carter’s Amazing Jenga move 
• Ben vs. Bureaucracy (6:34-11:57) 
  • Donate to the Chicago Lighthouse 
  • AFCEA Rocky Mountain Cyberspace Symposium 2020 
• Bad at English (11:57-16:14) 
  • Living at Her Majesty’s Pleasure: a ‘legal term of art’ (situational jargon) meaning: in prison 
  • What is the British Commonwealth?? 
• Use of Magic Systems in Storytelling (16:14-1:42:20) 
  • Hard Magic vs. Soft Magic 
  • Brandon Sanderson’s Laws of Magic 
    1. An author’s ability to solve a conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic 
    2. The limitations of a magic system are more interesting than its capabilities 
    3. Expand on what you have already before you add something new 
  • Mysticism 
    • Harry Potter 
      • Josh Recommends: The White Mage Omnibus by Ben Hale ©2013 Ben Hale 
    • Star Wars 
    • Avatar: The Last Airbender 
  • Pseudo-science 
    • Back to the Future 
    • Star Trek (pre JJ Abrams) 
    • The Matrix 
      • Neo takes the blue pill 
    • Edge of Tomorrow 
  • Unexplained phenomena 
    • Groundhog Day 
    • Stranger than Fiction (6 unrelated films by this title!) 
    • Frozen 
      • How Frozen Should Have Ended 
• Teaser for next time (1:42:20-end): 
  • Episode 13.5? Evaluating the magic systems of the… 
    • Marvel Cinematic Universe  
    • Disney Cartoons 
  • Josh builds a new computer – check it out on YouTube
  • Give your vote on our next Book Review on Facebook or Reddit 
    • Ben’s nominations 
      • How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen 
      • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 
    • Josh’s nominations 
      • The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell 
      • Legion: The Many Lives of Stephan Leeds by Brandon Sanderson 
  • The Bad At Magic version of the British game show Mastermind 
    • Josh: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan 
    • Ben: Come Unto Christ 
• Thanks to our listeners!  
  • Check us out on Facebook 
  • Rate us on iTunes 
  • Bad At Magic on Reddit 
  • Our YouTube Channel 
  • Now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic 
  • Tell your friends!