Well, I am back in Dubuque now and things are starting to get back to normal. I start my soccer season on Monday and along with that get back into the swing of things with school. I was so blessed to have an opportunity to go live in Arizona for 2 months and I really think I grew from the experience. I definitely want to go back and visit sometime, hopefully sooner rather than later so that the kids I taught will still be there. However, whenever I can go back I will jump at the opportunity! I will try and post some of the pictures I took while I was there soon!
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Monday, March 6, 2017
My last post while in Arizona: The Roaring Twenties
I am winding down on my time here in Arizona, and I am also finishing up my school work. I have been plowing through history a lot while I was here, I started in the late 1800s and am finishing up the 1920s. I have been reading a maginzine called Learning Through History. One story that I really enjoyed reading was about Harry Houdini and his war against all the fraud mediums that were tricking people and taking all their money.
As far as illusionists go, Houdini was the best of the best. And he didn't want to see people falling for tricks that he found very easy to spot. Houdini had gone to mediums before in hopes that maybe, just maybe there was some truth in spiritualism and he could contact his mother who had passed away. But to his disgust, Houdini was able to see through every single medium and realize that there were a lot of people being taken advantage of. So he set out on a war against spiritualism, he had performances that he used to show how these mediums did their tricks. He also was working with reporters who would publish his opinions.
Because of his work against spiritualism Houdini lost a friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who's wife was a well known medium. Houdini was able to prove Lady Doyle false and that caused a big gap in his friendship with the Doyles. Doyle would go on to defend all the mediums that Houdini uncovered.
Overall I thought it was very interesting how one illusionist would be so hard set to uncover others who were using their abilities in illusion to trick people, not to entertain them. Perhaps Houdini was so against the mediums because none of them were able to hep him contact his mother. I could be that his reasons were much more personal than just wanting to save people from losing their money.
As far as illusionists go, Houdini was the best of the best. And he didn't want to see people falling for tricks that he found very easy to spot. Houdini had gone to mediums before in hopes that maybe, just maybe there was some truth in spiritualism and he could contact his mother who had passed away. But to his disgust, Houdini was able to see through every single medium and realize that there were a lot of people being taken advantage of. So he set out on a war against spiritualism, he had performances that he used to show how these mediums did their tricks. He also was working with reporters who would publish his opinions.
Because of his work against spiritualism Houdini lost a friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who's wife was a well known medium. Houdini was able to prove Lady Doyle false and that caused a big gap in his friendship with the Doyles. Doyle would go on to defend all the mediums that Houdini uncovered.
Overall I thought it was very interesting how one illusionist would be so hard set to uncover others who were using their abilities in illusion to trick people, not to entertain them. Perhaps Houdini was so against the mediums because none of them were able to hep him contact his mother. I could be that his reasons were much more personal than just wanting to save people from losing their money.
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