mikemaginot.com

Magic Times (mikemaginot.com) is the personal blog and journal site of Mike Maginot, described on the site as "Blogging Before There Were Blogs." It collects long-form personal writing and commentary across memoirs, film and video, film school, book reviews, and presentations, with content copyrighted from 1999 to 2022. It is a reading site, not a service or store.

What you'll find there

The site's own navigation and headings point to these content areas:

• Magic Times Journal and 2020 Vision — journal-style entries
• Nouveau Blog — a newer blog section
• Mark Time — a recurring column or series
• Projects: In a World of Menus and Sidebars — a project page
• Memoirs — personal recollections
• Film and Video Views, Film School, and Short Takes — film criticism and film-school material
• Book Reviews — reading commentary
• Presentations — talk or presentation material
• Give It Your Best Shot and Film vs. Reality: Depression Era Theatre In the Foothills — standalone essays or features

The site also links out to a YouTube channel, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account, so video and social updates may live off-site rather than in the blog itself.

Who it's for

This is a good fit if you want to read personal essays and film writing from a single author over more than two decades, or if you're looking for a specific piece you remember from the site. It is not a news outlet, a database, or a subscription product — the page evidence shows no pricing, login, or payment signals, so treat it as an open reading archive rather than assuming any paid tier.

Practical notes

• Start with the section that matches your interest. If you came for film writing, go to Film and Video Views or Film School; for personal writing, the Journal, Memoirs, or Nouveau Blog.
• Expect an older-style layout. The site describes itself as predating blogs, and the navigation reads like a hand-built index of sections rather than a modern feed.
• Check the off-site channels for newer material. The copyright line ends at 2022, and the YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter links are the places to look if you want activity beyond what's archived on the site.
• Cite with the date range in mind. If you reference a piece, note that the archive spans 1999–2022, so undated pages may be old.

The Magic Times site lists three external channels you can use to follow Mike Maginot's work beyond the journal itself: a YouTube Channel, a Facebook Page, and Twitter. These appear on the mikemaginot.com homepage as links alongside the site's own sections, so they are the author's own stated extensions of the journal rather than third-party fan pages. The site remains the primary home for the writing; the social channels are where the same author points readers for updates in other formats.

The External Channels Listed on the Site

The homepage of Magic Times presents its navigation in two groups. The first covers the journal's own content — "Magic Times Journal," "2020 Vision Nouveau Blog," "Mark Time," and "Projects: In a World of Menus and Sidebars," followed by "Memoirs," "Film and Video Views," "Film School," "Short Takes," "Book Reviews," and "Presentations." The second group is the outbound set:

Because the site does not print the handles or full URLs in its text, the reliable route is to start at mikemaginot.com and use these three labeled links. That guarantees you reach the accounts the author actually intends to promote, rather than a same-name account run by someone else.

What You'll Find on the Site Itself

If your goal is the writing rather than social updates, the site is where the bulk of the content lives. The page describes itself as "Blogging Before There Were Blogs" and organizes material into a journal, a blog ("2020 Vision Nouveau Blog"), memoirs, film and video commentary, film school notes, short pieces, book reviews, and presentations. There are also named projects, including "In a World of Menus and Sidebars," "Film vs. Reality: Depression Era Theatre," and "In the Foothills." The site's own notice states that original content is copyrighted 1999–2022, which tells you the archive spans more than two decades — useful context if you are looking for older essays rather than recent posts.

Choosing Where to Start

• If you want the essays and reviews: stay on mikemaginot.com and browse the journal, blog, and review sections. This is the primary collection.
• If you want video: use the YouTube Channel link from the homepage.
• If you want short updates or to follow along casually: the Facebook Page and Twitter links are the site's designated channels.
• If you want to verify you have the right person: confirm you arrived via a link on mikemaginot.com before following, since the site does not display the account handles in its text.

One practical caveat: the page evidence shows the links exist but does not show their destinations or whether each account is still actively updated. Treat the site as the stable, long-running archive and the social channels as extensions that may change over time. If a social link no longer resolves, the journal content on mikemaginot.com is unaffected.

Magic Times is a personal blog by Mike Maginot that mixes memoir writing with film, video, and theatre commentary. Its content is organized into named sections rather than a single chronological feed, so you can go straight to the type of writing you want. It is a good fit if you enjoy long-form personal essays and film-school-style analysis; it is not a news site or a general film database.

Sections You Can Browse

The site's navigation lists these content areas:

The site also labels itself "Blogging Before There Were Blogs," and its footer notes original content copyright spanning 1999–2022 — a signal that the archive is long-running and personal rather than professionally edited.

The Mix: Memoir Plus Film and Theatre

Two strands run through the site. The memoir sections (Memoirs, and the journal-style "Magic Times Journal") are first-person and reflective. The film and theatre sections are more analytical: "Film School" suggests instructional framing, while "Film vs. Reality: Depression Era Theatre" points to a comparison between what films show and what theatre of that era was actually like. "In a World of Menus and Sidebars" is a project piece whose title suggests commentary on interface and layout conventions.

Is It Worth Browsing?

• Yes, if you want personal essays with a film and theatre bent, and you don't mind a site built as a personal archive rather than a polished publication.
• No, if you need current reviews, release news, or a searchable film database.

Where to Start

Begin with Memoirs for the personal writing, then Film and Video Views and Film vs. Reality: Depression Era Theatre for the film and theatre material. The site also links out to a YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter, which may be the easiest way to see recent activity beyond the archived pages.

On mikemaginot.com, “Magic Times” is the name of the site's journal/blog, and “2020 Vision Nouveau Blog” appears as a labeled blog section or project within it. Both labels come from the page's own headings and menu text, so they identify parts of Mike Maginot's personal site rather than separate products or services. The page gives no further explanation of either name, so anything beyond that—such as a stated theme, launch date, or purpose for the “2020 Vision” label—is not documented on the page itself.

What the page shows

The site presents itself as a personal journal and archive. Its visible structure includes:

The footer reads “Magic Times Original Content Copyright 1999-2022, Mike Maginot,” and the site description is “Blogging Before There Were Blogs.” Together these indicate a long-running personal blog and writing archive.

Reading the two labels

“Magic Times”

This is the umbrella name for the site and its journal. The menu item “Magic Times Journal” and the page heading “Magic Times” both point to the same thing: the blog/journal itself, not a distinct feature. The copyright range (1999–2022) suggests the journal spans decades of entries.

“2020 Vision Nouveau Blog”

This appears as a separate labeled blog item next to the journal. On the page it functions as a named blog section or project. The wording suggests a blog introduced around or themed to 2020 (“2020 Vision”) with a “nouveau” (new) label, but the page does not state a start date, theme, or relationship to the main journal. Treat it as a labeled section of the site whose specific purpose isn't spelled out in the available page text.

Practical takeaway

If you're trying to understand the site's organization: “Magic Times” is the journal/site name, and “2020 Vision Nouveau Blog” is one labeled blog section within it. To see what each contains, open the corresponding menu items—the page text alone doesn't describe their contents. For the site's broader subject matter (memoirs, film and video, book reviews, theatre), the menu categories are the more reliable guide than either label.

Magic Times carries a single, site-wide copyright line: "Magic Times Original Content Copyright 1999-2022, Mike Maginot." That notice covers the site's original writing and tells you the archive spans roughly 23 years of personal publishing by one author. The site also describes itself as "Blogging Before There Were Blogs," framing its material as original personal writing that predates the modern blog format.

What the Copyright Notice Covers

The notice is specific in two ways worth noting:

• "Original Content" — the claim is attached to Mike Maginot's own writing, not to any third-party material the site might reference or review.
• "1999-2022" — a continuous range rather than a single year, which is consistent with a long-running personal archive rather than a one-off publication.

The footer text appears alongside the site's navigation and channel links, so it functions as the blanket rights statement for the whole site. There is no separate per-page or per-section copyright language visible in the site's own description.

What the Content History Suggests

The 1999 start date and the "Blogging Before There Were Blogs" tagline together imply a few things about the archive:

The site's navigation points to recurring categories — a journal, film and video views, film school notes, book reviews, presentations, and projects — which is the structure you'd expect from a long-running personal archive built up over years rather than a themed single-topic site.

Practical Takeaways

• If you want to quote or reproduce material, the notice identifies Mike Maginot as the rights holder and 1999–2022 as the claimed period. Treat the original writing as copyrighted and seek permission rather than assuming open use.
• If you're dating a piece, the copyright range gives you the outer bounds of the archive but not the date of any individual entry; the site's own description doesn't break the range down further.
• If you're checking whether the site is still active, the notice stops at 2022, so it doesn't by itself confirm publication after that year.

The copyright line and the "Blogging Before There Were Blogs" description are the two pieces of self-reported information the site gives about its own history; anything beyond that — exact posting dates, whether all sections are still updated — isn't stated in the site's own materials.