July 21, 2007
Here's what's in this edition of
Jheff's Marketplace of the Mind Newsletter
*** IMAGINE by Rick Maue
*** X3 BOOK TEST by Black & Cherry
To make a purchase of any item in the JMOM newsletter,
please go to http://www.MarketplaceoftheMind.com
and use the shopping cart. If you're unable to do
this, you may respond to this e-mail.
To make sure you've not been missing any newsletters, check
out my blog, which is accessible from the main page. All of
the recent past newsletters are archived there.
*********
Okay, before the Harry Potter book arrives at my doorstep I
have a little bit of time to get out some info on some new
products and update the site. By the way, thanks to all
those who responded to my comments on Book 7 and my
theories. From what info I can gather from the Internet, my
thinking on the saga's ending is not that far off.
Hopefully, I'll have time to construct one more newsletter
this weekend and that is for three of Bob Cassidy's e-books
(See below) -- Universe, The Hanussen Proof, and
Fundamentals. By the summer's end, I'll try to catch up and
provide comments on all the titles that are available so far
on www.Lybrary.com.
*** BOB CASSIDY'S E-BOOKS
Chris Wasshuber at www.Lybrary.com will be making available
almost all of Bob Cassidy's e-books, the exceptions being
the most recent half dozen or so. So I will be providing
reviews to them. Right now, a little more than a dozen are
available. More will be released over time. If you haven't
checked out Lybrary.com, you should. There's some great
stuff for mentalists (including a lot from Annemann and Leo
Boudreau's stuff, too!), and great stuff for magicians and
performers in general.
*** AUTOMATIC SHIPPING CHARGES UPDATE
I have to apologize to non-U.S. customers as the automatic
shipping charges were pretty wonky until I figured out what
I did wrong. But they seem to be fine now. So I'll be
updating all the shipping charge info to reflect that. If
you still are getting shipping charges which seem way out of
line, then please let me know. Do remember that the last
price hike (a few months ago) sent prices pretty high,
especially for shipping out of the U.S.
As those who've ordered from me know, the shopping cart
service I use has not been accurate. This means that the
shipping and handling have had to be added by me after the
order has been made. Paypal users had to be billed
separately for this charge.
Now, my shopping cart service has assured me that
everything's ok and to try it again. Unfortunately, data
for many of the products had to be updated. That's mostly
done. And now things seem to be working.
So let's try this out: All U.S. based orders will be
shipped by Priority Mail. All non U.S. orders will be
shipped by air mail. Since I manually input credit card
info, if you pay by credit card (NOT Paypal), then I reserve
the right to change the shipping and handling price if I can
get it to you in the same amount of time and for less money.
For non-U.S. customers, if the shipping charges exceed $40,
use the Flat Rate Priority Mail option (about $40, and not
available in all countries).
Hopefully, (I'm knocking on wood really hard now), this will
work. I will say that not all the products' data is updated
and so there may be some shipping prices that are out of
line. If so, I'll definitely spot it and it'll be worked
out.
*** HOLLYWOOD MAGIC SQUARES
The 2nd volume of "From the Private Files of Jack Kent
Tillar" has just been released. Jack has tackled the flaws
in most magic square methods and come up with a brilliant
solution.
Hollywood Magic Squares, a 24-page downloadable e-book,
takes a classic, yet complicated, method for accomplishing
the magic squares and applies some simple, subtle, and
sensational touches to make it a powerful new method for
this popular effect.
*** SUMMER SPOTLIGHT: MENTAL ACTS
Here's a new feature that will call attention to products
that I feel shouldn't be overlooked by the working
mentalist. The following products are or can be complete
mental acts by themselves.
DOUBLE COINCIDENCE -- This three-phase book test is one of
the most powerful book test routines I've seen. Though one
book is prepared, it's the routine that is strong, not the
props. The first phase involves picking up images from a
selected passage; the second, the performer draws the
thought-of word; and the third phase involves an impossible
prediction of a freely chosen word.
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Double_Coincidence.html
CRUISE CONTROL -- This routine involves many elements of a
cruise being freely chosen and all of them being predicted
by the performer at the routine's finish. I've always gotten
great response from this routine and feel that this is one
of Larry Becker & Lee Earle's most underrated creations. If
you do a travel themed set, you certainly want to check this
out. Heck, I'd recommend it just for the special traveler's
cheques which are ingenious.
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Cruise_Control.html
QUESTA -- A professional Q & A routine that blends a trio of
principles together so that anyone "in the know" wouldn't be
able to backtrack. This is not a routine that is
recommended for mentalists with little experience, but they
can certainly purchase this and know what to work on and
towards.
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Questa.html
***** MARKETPLACE MEMBERSHIP CLUB
The latest issue of Jheff's Journal of the Mind spotlights
Maurice Fogel, the subject of the new book by Christopher
Woodward and Richard Mark entitled Maurice Fogel: In Search
of the Sensational. To get it, you need to buy a membership
in the Marketplace of the Mind. For the $37 cost you get a
subscription to the 2007 issues of Jheff's Journal of the
Mind, an all-new e-zine for mentalists, and an additional
5% discount off merchandise from the Marketplace of the
Mind. There will also be specials and other stuff
throughout the year. Check out the preview edition
of the Bonus #0 issue featuring Jack Kent Tillar. Go to
the website and click on the banner at the top. Or use
the link below.
Check it out here:
www.marketplaceofthemind.com/jmmc.html
***** THE FRIENDS OF THE MARKETPLACE
Don't forget to check out the new Friends of the Marketplace
section. This is for those creators who are producing
wonderful products that I don't carry. This is because, to
save overhead, I order as needed from my distributor, and
these creators aren't mass distributing it. If you'd like
me to review your product and help you sell it, then you'll
find details about the Friends of the Marketplace program on
the website. There's a button on the left hand side for you
to click on.
I've just added the third and the most important of Enrique
Enriquez' Invisible series, INVISIBLE READINGS. This is
definitely an e-book that every mentalist should check out.
Also new to the section are Ron Martin's THE TAROT READER'S
NOTEBOOK, a must-have for Tarot readers; Craig Browning's
CRITTERS, an animal-themed collection of mentalism; Loren
Tindall's beautiful new THE DELPHI PORTAL, which is a
must-have prop for anyone who is a reader; and Gene
Nielsen's THE MAGICK YEARS, a jam-packed e-book filled with
over 70 professional and varied routines.
Remember, I don't make a dime on this stuff. I do this
because I think the stuff is very good and worth it.
http://www.jheff.com/friendsofthemarketplace.html
Until next time. -- Jheff
*********
RICK MAUE
IMAGINE
JMOM Price: $27
Suggested Retail Price: $30
THE BLURB:
Imagine.
A very simple word, and yet, such a powerful one.
Just Imagine that a volunteer from the audience can merely
think of any item from a list that has been entirely created
by the rest of the audience. She concentrates upon her
selection as the you run through all of the named
possibilities. When you get to the end of the list, you will
be able to tell the volunteer exactly what she is thinking.
Just Imagine that a person can merely think of any one of
the five standard ESP symbols—and you will be able to tell
them which one.
And all of this (and more) can be accomplished on the spot.
Nothing ever needs to be written. There is no advance
preparation. No secret assistants. No gimmicks. No forcing.
No pumping. No equivoque. And everything can be done without
the performer ever touching anything—so there is obviously
no sleight-of-hand. Simply put, everything here can look,
and feel, like real mind reading. And everything can be done
100% impromptu.
But, there is a catch…
If you are the type of person that often reads something
that is a bit different, and immediately believes that it
will never work, then this manuscript will not be worthwhile
for you. The material found between these covers is unusual,
powerful, and certainly not for everyone. So be forewarned.
Pages 42 - Soft Bound
MY COMMENTS:
Let's begin by restating the warning that the "material
found between these covers is unusual,powerful, and
certainly not for everyone." I'll say right up front that
inexperienced or insecure performers may not benefit from
this, and that's because it takes experience and confidence
to pull it off. It's not difficult, but the techniques are
certainly advanced. They are along the same level as, oh,
contact mind-reading, though perhaps a bit easier.
Like most of Rick Maue's material, Imagine, a 46-page 8.5" x
11" booklet, has a quite unusual format. Though it contains
five effects, the one that really counts is the title
effect, and it is the last one in the book. What Rick has
done is presented four other effects so that you can see the
evolution and thinking behind the fifth and main effect.
Though the other effects are fine, it is Imagine that is the
most incredible effect in the book and the one that most
performers will want to use.
In the first effect, Target Practice, a participant merely
thinks of one of four cards. The performer names that card.
Sensing Symbols is the next effect, which is virtually the
same, only it uses five cards, or the five ESP symbols.
This one is the first in the book to use the basis of the
actual technique that Rick Maue teaches. There is a
discussion on that technique and subtleties such as
participant selection. The third effect, Merged Thoughts,
one participant thinks of a value and the other thinks of a
suit of a playing card. The performer reveals the chosen
card. In the fourth effect, the participant thinks of a
single digit in the serial number of a dollar bill and the
performer reveals it.
Imagine, the title effect of the book, takes all of this
thinking and uses the technique for a fun and powerful
effect. It is the first effect described in the blurb. The
audience creates a list of five things. They can be lists
of anything, so long as they are all related (cars, flowers,
movie titles, etc). The participant merely thinks of one of
those things. As the performer goes through the list of
five things, he (or she) is able to name the thought-of
item.
Certainly, Rick Maue has developed a technique which all
mentalists should be familiar with, if not using. It is
truly remarkable and certainly looks like real mind reading.
As you might surmise, it can be done impromptu and for any
size group. Like contact mind-reading, there are no gaffs,
no set-up, no stooges, no pre-show work, and no sleights.
You need only some paper, a pen or pencil, and your
participants.
Rick Maue is another creator who has yet to put out
something that is not highly recommended by me. My only
quibble with this book is that there are no page numbers, so
I have to dog-ear the key pages I want to come back to.
It's a minor quibble, true. The important thing is that
this Rick Maue product, too, is highly recommended.
*********
ALEXANDER BLACK & TROY CHERRY
X3 BOOK TEST
JMOM Price: $72
Suggested Retail Price: $79.95
THE BLURB:
X3 ~ Hoy Book Test Revisited
David Hoy (who performed as Dr. Faust) was a wonderful man
who started out wanting to be an evangelist but turned to
the world of magic and mentalism instead. Hoy believed that
the best effects could be achieved by the most simple and
direct methods, and we agree with him. In fact, many of
today's top mentalists have been greatly influenced by Hoy's
bold approach to the art; his contributions are legend.
So, we wanted to pay homage to the late David Hoy by
revisiting his work—enter our newest creation for the magic
community, X3. Similar to two of his time-honored creations,
X3's genius lays in its simplicity too; it is so simple that
you'll have a blast coming up with wonderful ways to use it
in your act; it is that powerful.
Effect
Three books (Volumes I, II, and II) written by Sir Charles
Eliot about Hinduism and Buddhism—certainly a topic no
mentalist or magician would have difficulty building up into
a wonderful effect—are sitting on a table.
Two people are asked to participate. The first is asked to
choose one of the books and hold on to it; they are welcome
to look through it if they like. Then, a second spectator is
asked to choose from the remaining books and to randomly
open up to any page in the book she likes. Once she is
there, she announce the page number and you instruct the
first person to begin reading the text of their book found
on the page chosen and announced just moments ago by the
second person.
After a suitable build up, the contents of the book are
revealed...
X3 takes Hoy's ideas to the next level!
No stooges are needed, you don't have to announce the page
number, there are no forces of ANYTHING, you don't have to
memorize any words, anagrams, or codes. It really is a very
easy to perform even if you have no experience.
Pages 127 for each Vol. - Softbound
Comes complete with the 3 Volume Book Test set and 16 page
instruction booklet.
MY COMMENTS:
The basis for this effect goes back quite a way. Though it
claims to be inspired by the Hoy Book Test (and there's a
tongue-in-cheek anecdote about trying to obtain rights from
Hoy which is sad because the principle pre-dates Hoy), it
really has its roots elsewhere, perhaps in Annemann. I'm
not sure. I do know that Annemann used this principle with
magazines. Check out the Magazine Test (which is presented
on Osterlind's Easy to Master Mind Miracles, volume 4).
This product, then, takes that principle and applies it to
books. The difference is that the three books are not
separate titles by three different authors. They are three
similar-looking books by the same author and in a series.
Like some of the other Black & Cherry books, I'm not
necessarily satisfied with the interior layout, but
audiences don't seem to notice, so it's a minor, but
important quibble. However, there are two other major
gripes I have with this. First, I thought it would be cool
to use the Sherlock Holmes Book Test with the X3 set and be
able to do a tossed out book type of routine.
Unfortunately, the X3 books are 127 pages long. Those who
have the Sherlock Holmes product will know what the problem
is.
The second problem is the instructions. It's clearly
written by someone who is not knowledgeable about book tests
or mentalism. See, these books are utility devices that can
be used for many uses. Sure, you can do the old Hoy routine
with the books. But why? I know there are quite a few
other stunning routines that can be used with special books
such as these. Why do you need playing cards to choose a
page number? Or use the 1089 ploy?
The best routines in here are the One Ahead and the Riffle
Book Test. The One Ahead routine is somewhat of an obvious
application, but the routine described is mundane in both
handling and presentation. As for the Riffle Book Test,
there is not much description because the author states,
"I've never seen a magician or mentalist specifically use a
riffle force in combination with the book test, but it
wouldn't surprise me a single bit if someone has already
done it and even published it somewhere." If Mr. Black had
done a modicum of research, he would have found that he was
correct and could have cited several very good examples and
perhaps even used them to create and include a solid routine
using it in the instruction booklet.
At this point, Black & Cherry's Dracula Book Test is the
best thing they've put out. It seems like they continue to
want to publish material without consulting the mentalism
community or wanting to do the research into making fine
products. Come on, all they have to do is send out a few
e-mails. I know they got Richard Osterind's input for a few
products, but this one looks like they slapped together
something quickly. The books, in and of themselves, are
definitely useful and the price is fair. But I cannot
recommend these books to the inexperienced performer. The
routines described are bare bones routine and it will take
an experienced performer to know what to do with them. The
bottom line is that if you can use this set of books, they
will serve you well.
*********
To make a purchase of any item in the JMOM newsletter,
please go to http://www.MarketplaceoftheMind.com
and use the shopping cart. If you're unable to do
this, you may respond to this e-mail.
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