Caller ID

THE BLURB:
A breathtaking NEW CONCEPT from the minds of Larry Becker
and Lee Earle!

A different type of telephone book routine.
Two years in development and worth the wait!
Expensive and worth every penny!

What would make the perfect telephone routine? Since the
vast majority of your mentalism presentations are for
corporations or at the very least for people who work -
everyone is familiar with business cards. And, everyone has
seen multi-page business card organizers in office supply
stores. Chances are you have one on your desk right now!
It's the perfect solution for keeping all of your contacts
in one neat, organized area.

Now, it's the perfect solution for the perfect telephone
routine that kills audiences and eliminates any and all
suspicion. In a nutshell, Caller I.D. sets you apart from
anything else out there! Don't be like every other mentalist
who pulls out a phone book from the hotel room. Been there,
done that. They've all seen that one. Toss out a collection
of business cards and use anyone's phone? Now that's
different! Want to be unique? Get Caller I.D.

Every piece of information seen on every card, by anyone who
wants to look, is different.

The selection process is open, fair, and uncomplicated.

Each business card is different; information, papers,
colors, fonts, graphics, sophistication of design, and even
businesses and industries are in area codes across the
country.

This one-man routine is so easy you can focus on
entertaining your audience; no mental gymnastics.

There are multiple revelations with no pumping, peeking, or
procrastinating.

The finish is kick-*ss and perfect in every way; and it's
different if repeated an hour later.

We are thrilled to be able to offer this extraordinary
combination of premise, props, and practicality. There's one
more 'P'. Perfection!

"In the sea of telephone routine sameness, Caller I.D. is
truly memorable! I've seen all the others and this is the
Godfather of telephone routines! They say it's expensive; I
say it's priced far too low. What a small amount to pay for
something that will launch your reputation into a new
dimension!"
-- Scott Deming, Corporate Mentalist and Motivational
Speaker

Start with a deluxe, zippered, personal planner and binder -
the 'DayRunner' type that has pages retained with snap-open
rings. Inside are a dozen clear vinyl pages, each holding
six business cards in 3 pockets, back to back, for a total
of 72 cards. Every card is unique - no two have similar
businesses, names, images, logos, addresses, etc. Hand the
binder to a participant who is encouraged to browse through
the impressive variety of top quality business cards. You
don't touch the binder again until the routine is over.
Then, out of your view and from anywhere in the binder, he
removes two cards.

After verifying they represent different companies, cities,
& phone numbers, he hands one of them to a person close by.
The binder is tossed to a third, completely random person of
his choice.

That individual opens the binder, again - while you cannot
possibly see, and takes out any full page, removes all six
business cards from the page, and looks them over to satisfy
himself that each is unique - no duplicate information. Then
he discards all but two, using his own, unannounced
criteria. Perhaps he prefers color printing over black and
white; maybe he doesn't like round corners; it could be he
is attracted to double-sided cards. You truly have no clue
about his process of elimination; you don't even know which
cards he holds.

To avoid 'dead time' as he is narrowing his selection, you
turn to work with the first two persons, each of whom holds
a single, freely and randomly selected business card that
has been kept hidden the entire time. One of them
concentrates on his card's telephone number, digit by digit,
including the area code. You openly write numbers on a
drawing pad and then ask him to read aloud the phone number
on that card. The audience can clearly see that you have
successfully identified all ten digits!

Turning to a fresh page in your drawing pad, you request the
second helper to visualize the graphic elements on his card
- colors, shapes, photos, etc. - while you doodle on your
pad Then he tells everyone what's printed on the card and
your sketch matches his description of the card he holds -
in explicit detail!

Finally you ask anyone with a cell phone to dial the number
on either business card that the third participant has
randomly selected - his choice. He is to repeat whatever the
individual on the other end of the call says. As the
connection is being made on his own cell phone, you write
furiously on your pad - turning pages like a whirling
dervish as you fill up each sheet with words, sketches, and
numbers. When the call is answered - the participant repeats
everything he hears from the other end of the connection.

Simultaneously, you show page after page on your pad -
detailing an almost word-for-word precognition of names,
replies, comments...and even if the call is automatically
answered you can still reveal info from that number's voice
mail announcement!

Caller I.D. comes with a quality, DayRunner-style zippered
binder, the pages to hold more than six dozen professionally
designed and printed business cards, full DVD instructions,
and the awesome 'secret something' that makes it possible.

You supply the pad, pen, & audience - they supply the
standing ovation.

MY COMMENTS:
As usual, Larry and Lee have come up with a brilliantly
thought-out routine that has the potential of being a very
powerful, reputation-making performance piece for the
working pro. And I'll happily report that the blurb above
accurately describes the performance and the props you'll
get.

I'm not going to rehash what was said in the blurb. I know
you want me to get straight to the info that isn't
mentioned. First, there is some memorization involved.
Larry and Lee have it covered though and have a diabolical
crib sheet and its use is ingeniously woven right into the
routine! There is quite a bit to learn. However, it's a
pretty easy bit of memorization, and after a few uses you
may not need to look at it. If you already know things like
"one is a gun," "two is a shoe," "three is a tree," etc.,
then this should be a piece of cake, memory-wise. There are
no sleights, just some moves which are very logical and very
open. This is very easy to do and can be re-set rather
quickly for the next performance (although this is not
really suitable for walkaround).

There are a couple of important considerations. To begin
with, the number being called is a toll-free 800 number.
Unfortunately, that number is NOT toll-free outside the U.S.
That means that this routine, regrettably, is not
recommended for non-U.S. performers. And, due to the other
phone numbers being U.S. based, it would take quite a lot of
work to adapt this. That's also assuming that business
cards like the ones in the U.S. are common in that part of
the world.

The second, and far more important, consideration is that
there is a possible limited time in which you can use this
effect. For now, at least, that time ends June 2009. At
that time, Larry and Lee will determine if the technology
and demand still warrant its use. By then, they may have an
updated method or set of props. By registering Caller I.D.,
you'll be kept up to date with this info.

However, one also needs to look at it this way: If you buy
this now, it's like you're paying less than fifteen bucks a
month to perform this routine. To the working pro, that's
spare change and more than worth it. Heck, there are items
on the market which sell for the same or more than this and
which will break down in a shorter period of time. (Oh, I
think we can all name some of those, right?)

Caller I.D. comes with a 16-page instruction booklet, a DVD
(which, disappointingly, does not include a performance of
this), the 72 business cards, and the elegant dayrunner
zipped binder. Also, the DVD is somewhat choppy on the
instructions. I would have liked to see a run-through of
the entire routine and then chapters expaining each feature
and each step of the routine. As it is, I recommend you
read the booklet first, then watch the DVD instruction
manual. Oh, you also get a link to their website to
register and receive some extremely important info regarding
some errata to the products.

This is very highly recommended if you are a regular working
pro in the U.S. If you don't plan on using it right away,
then be aware of the time factor in its use. You may not
get the chance to use it when you finally decide on it.
This is certainly one of the best routines I've ever seen from
Larry Becker and Lee Earle, two of the most creative minds
in mentalism.