Hope your Thanksgivings were filled with magic. A special Thanksgiving greeting to Peter Duffie and Bruce Cervon, who sent out individual greetings. Their card tricks are among the many things we have to be thankful for in magic.

MYSTERY -- Many protest, and the Professor was among the loudest, the "smoke and lasers" look of many modern illusion shows. In many cases, these special effects detract from rather than complement the magic. In others, the effects are simply cheesily wrought. In contrast, a perfect synthesis of fog and light and music and dance and emotion is achieved in such Cirque du Soleil shows as Mystere, where the effects wonderously complement the acrobatic performances. For this reason I've long considered Mystere to be the best magic show in Las Vegas. New at your local video store is Quidam, filmed in Amsterdam, and a fully successful forerunner to Mystere, O, and other modern Cirque productions. The Headless Man alone would be the hit of any magic convention. Very reasonably priced, in VHS or DVD format.

BACK IN SESSION -- One of the favorite books of my childhood was the Magic, Inc. production of Kort Is Now In Session. That book contained a dozen effects by a Detroit pharmacist name Milton Kort, handsomely illustrated by Steranko. The tricks were lovely. Milt Kort, who, the book tells us, likes to be called merely Kort, is back, in a whopping 366-page book from Hermetic Press, Kort/The Magic of Milt Kort, by Stephen Minch. Although you'll find much of interest among the 46 card, coin, dice, and other small apparatus tricks, I found the interstitial essays and casuals that form an informal biography of this "confirmed amateur" magician even more fascinating. Illustrated this time around by Sandy Kort, who had inside connections. $43 pp from Hermetic Press.

YUMMY -- Opening December 1st in downtown Indianapolis is Magic Moments, an upscale dining establishment that looks out on Monument Circle and the Pacers' new Conseco Field House. Perched in its 13th-floor penthouse, Magic Moments will provide diners a sense of magic and dining in the clouds. Best wishes to Dan Dygert and Jim Tucker on this exciting new project. Call (317) 822-3400 for reservations.