At least they didn't burn him...

[lederhosen]

Substitute teacher Jim Piculas does a 30-second magic trick where a toothpick disappears then reappears. But after performing it in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land 'O Lakes, Piculas said his job did a disappearing act of its own. "I get a call the middle of the day from head of supervisor of substitute teachers. He says, 'Jim, we have a huge issue, you can't take any more assignments you need to come in right away,'" he said... "I said, 'Well Pat, can you explain this to me?' 'You've been accused of wizardry,' [he said]."

But it's okay:

Tampa Bay's 10 talked to the assistant superintendent with the Pasco County School District who said it wasn't just the wizardry and that Picular had other performance issues, including "not following lesson plans" and allowing students to play on unapproved computers."

So he's guilty of wizardry AND, um, some other stuff. Glad we got that sorted out!

Meanwhile, the Texas Triffid Ranch offers us a shining example of print-on-demand publishing.

Comments

[manna]

it wasn't just the wizardry

From the safety of several thousand miles away, this is really funny.

[fluffy-cloud.livejournal.com]

Bah. He's not a wizard. I very much doubt that he can do a single cantrip.

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

If he can't do 'Dancing Lights', I call foul.

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

They'd best go after those alchemists who are turning uranium into plutonium and back again as well.

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

You have to remember that in that part of Florida, any magic trick that doesn't involve some iteration of "pull my finger" is going to be seen as a trick of Satan.

[mdsteele47.livejournal.com]

There's a reason that Fark has a Florida tag.

[tenner.livejournal.com]

Heh... actually this story was posted to Fark today under said tag. linky-poo.

[mdsteele47.livejournal.com]

If he appeals, I hear there's a guy on the school board who has a crack wizard test. It involves water and tiny little pebbles a duck.

[malloc1024.livejournal.com]

I'd just like to point out that many Floridians are very nice people. I even graduated from High School in a county similar to Pasco. The religious are particularly strong in local politics and must be appeased with blood. Other than that perfectly OK.

[scascot.livejournal.com]

As I commented over on WitchVox: If the little one was traumatized by a mere disappearing matchstick, they'd better not take the child to church, where he'll definitely be traumatized when the priest/minister says some mumbo-jumbo and transubstantiates mere bread and wine into flesh and blood...

Also: At $150.00 a copy, the author has a pretty high opinion of herself. I'm tempted to buy based solely on her exquisite use OF THE CAPS LOCK KEY AND HER *SINGULAR GRASP OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUATION! ESPECIALLY THE EXCLAMATION POINT!