November 17, 2007
Here's what's in this edition of
Jheff's Marketplace of the Mind Newsletter
*** INVISIBLE TOUCH - Lior Manor
*** FREAKEY - Gregory Wilson
*** INSTINCT - Matthew Mello
To make a purchase of any item in the JMOM newsletter,
please go to http://www.MarketplaceoftheMind.com
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the recent past newsletters are archived there.
*********
For those of who have ordered something within the past
week, or visited my website, you know there was a problem
with my shopping cart service. They've been busily
upgrading all their clients to a new version of their
software. Now they do have some great new bells and
whistles to make things easier, but it seems they haven't
worked out all the kinks. And, of course, because of the
way I have the shipping prices computed, I was one of those
to be affected by one of those little glitches in the new
system. They still haven't fixed it to my complete
satisfaction, but it seems to be functional now, at least.
The shipping prices are what I'd like them to be. So now I
can stop spending my time bugging them or trying to find a
workaround in their new version and get back to talking
mentalism. So here we go. . .
The first thing you probably noticed in the list of items
featured in this issue is Gregory Wilson's Freakey. And you
probably wondered why I included it. It's simple. The
gimmick can be used for mentalism. And it's an item that
requires no moving parts, can easily be carried around, and
is easily justified being in one's pocket. They're keys!
I've been having great fun with them lately. For more
details read below.
I've got quite a lot of other stuff that I've added and will
be adding shortly. Enrique Enriquez has a brand new e-book
called Looking at the Marseilles Tarot: Notes on Tarot's
Optical Language. And if you order by Thanksgiving
(Thursday, Nov. 22), you'll get an additional discount.
Details on the site.
Jay Sankey has released a new DVD featuring mentalism,
Hemispheres. I'll be getting my review copy early next week
so expect my comments to be up by next weekend.
Also, due out soon (probably next week) is Richard
Osterlind's Trilogy, a very nice bound edition of his most
important e-books: Making Magic Real, Making Real Magic, and
Essays. There is a new item by Devin Knight called
Retro-Sight, which is coming soon. And December is also
supposed to see the release of new items by Docc Hilford and
Luke Jermay.
I will post my comments soon on Real Ghost (see below), The
Devil of a Bar and Pub, and Black's Magic's School Daze
(which I will not catalog and you'll find out why in an
upcoming issue of this newsletter). I'm hoping to have
another newsletter out tomorrow or Monday.
Finally, about NBC's Phenomenon, I don't think you'll be
surprised if I tell you that I've thought it's gotten worse
and worse. Criss Angel's comments have gotten better, but
his comments are not what the show should be about. The big
lesson for mentalists with this show is to learn how to
connect with your audience, both the live audience and the
TV audience. Remember that in mentalism, the mentalist is
just as much a star of the show as the participants. This
is why Mike Super will probably win. He is the best
performer for this format, even though he may not be the
ideal "phenomenon" we hoped for and the show quests to find.
If he doesn't win, it will be Angela, because she's the only
female and basically challenged all the female viewers to
vote for her to show that women can do the job, too. We'll
find out Wednesday.
On to the rest of the news . . .
**** CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR'S REAL GHOST
Real Ghost, which is a pretty nifty device, is now sold out
so far as I am concerned. I will not be able to obtain any
more for resale. Should you want one, you'll have to order
direct from Christopher Taylor. And I'll probably add it to
my Friends of the Marketplace soon.
However, I do have one left. Just one. If you want it, and
I will definitely give it to you at the discounted price
(about 10% off), inquire immediately. It won't be sitting
on my shelf long and it may be gone by the time you read
this.
**** PAST NEWSLETTERS NOW ON-LINE
Finally, I broke down and just decided to be plain lazy.
Instead of taking the time to re-format the newsletters and
make them all pretty looking for the blog, I decided I'd
rather spend the time on other more important things like,
oh, keeping the website up to date with the current
mentalism products and my comments. Right now, I'm only
posting the 2007 newsletters. Perhaps, in time, I'll put
more up.
So, there's a whole new section where you can see all the
past newsletters. If you subscribed and aren't receiving
them, either check to make sure that the newsletters aren't
being considered spam by your Internet provider, or
re-subscribe (which is the easiest).
***** MARKETPLACE MEMBERSHIP CLUB
The new issue of Jheff's Journal of the Mind spotlights
Mark Strivings, one of mentalism's most prolific creators
and most famous as the creator of the SUC case, which
pros use. To get this issue, 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.
Patrick Redford's unique TRIANGLE has been recently added as
well as more than a dozen of Bob Cassidy's e-books.
Also new to the section are Ron Martin's THE TAROT READER'S
NOTEBOOK, a must-have for Tarot readers; Enrique Enriquez's
incredible book on readings, INVISIBLE READINGS; 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
*********
LIOR MANOR
THE INVISIBLE TOUCH DVD
JMOM Price: $32
Suggested Retail Price: $35
THE BLURB:
The Invisible Touch was invented by Lior Manor around 1987.
A volunteer on stage feels the mentalist touching her
lightly, while the audience sees that the performer was not
even close. In the DVD you will learn all about the
performacne of the effect. In addition, you will learn:
* Two spoon bending routines
* Himber ring routine
* PK Time idea
* Enhance the PK Touches routine (By Banachek)
* The Invisible Touch itself
The Invisible Touch was performed on TV by Derren Brown,
Alain Nu, Gerry McCambridge and Lior Manor.
Bonus: the 10 poker deal for trade shows and emcee work with
the special extra idea that make it stronger and fun for
your audience.
MY COMMENTS:
Lior Manor created this effect and now you get a DVD
featuring Lior teaching it. That alone makes this a
worthwhile investment. Unfortunately, I must admit that you
won't find much new as Lior's effect is widely known by now
(if Phenomenon hasn't completely ruined its uniqueness and
mystery). Experienced performers really won't find that
much new, but I value it in my library just to be able to
have the creator explain it. And there are some very nice
subtleties that are included. I wasn't impressed by Lior's
bonus poker deal routine. I've seen much better (Bruce
Bernstein and Aldo Colombini publish my favorites, not to
mention the incredible one published in John Bannon's Dear
Mr. Fantasy). His new wrinkle, involving dollar bills, adds
some magic to the routine, and though it's quite
entertaining, may not be for most mentalists.
The DVD comes in a cardboard sleeve and the running time is
less than hour. The production values aren't great, but
everything is clear and explained satisfactorily. This is
certainly recommended.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
I did have difficulty playing it in my DVD player, but had
no trouble playing it on my computer. I can't guarantee
that you'll have the same problems with this, but if you
experience difficulty playing this disc, you may want to
switch types of players, if you can. If not, let me know
and I'll definitely refund your money.
*********
FREAKEY
GREGORY WILSON
JMOM Price: $86
Suggested Retail Price: $95
THE BLURB:
Finally, a Copper/Silver that really makes sense.
How many people carry an American half dollar or English
penny—especially at the same time? Exactly! Get FREAKEY and
you'll be ready with a miracle in your pocket anytime,
anywhere.
Two distinctly different house keys switch places repeatedly
in a flashy five-phase, fast-paced, in-their-face,
Monte-type routine—finishing clean in the spectator's
tightly-clenched fist.
FREAKEY also includes a dozen more clever and captivating
bonus routines by some of magic's key players:
* Paul Harris
* David Acer
* Max Maven
* Mark Jenest
* Danny Archer
* Michael Weber
* Thom Peterson
* David Gripenwaldt
* and John "This-Product-Wouldn't-Be-The-Same-
Without-Him" Kennedy.
Freakey comes complete with everything you need: a
precision-crafted gimmicked key, an elegant easy-to-open key
fob and an instructional DVD with numerous over-the-top,
on-the-street performances. Put FREAKEY in one pocket and
Hundy 500 in other, and you'll be ready On-The-Spot and
Off-The-Cuff.
Leave Your Playing Cards At Home. This Is The Perfect
Opener...Or Closer.
Get Freakey and you’ll never leave home without it.
Running Time Approximately 116min
MY COMMENTS:
Gregory Wilson has created a unique "Why-didn't-I-think-of
-it?" gimmicks that is highly recommended. I've been having
so much fun with this that I realized I'd be remiss if I
didn't offer it on my website. Basically, this is an
alternative set of props to use for the standard copper and
silver routines. As pointed out in the blurb, the
difference is that it uses different colored keys instead of
an American half dollar and an English penny. The
half-dollar is rarely found in people's pockets and will be
discontinued and I've rarely met a layman who can identify
the English penny. However, everyone has keys and everyone
has gold and silver keys and that includes people outside
the U.S.
But how is this mentalism? Danny Archer actually provides
the basis for the routine that I use, but it's an old idea.
I hand two keys to a participant and ask them to tell me the
difference. It's a sneaky way of getting them to examine
the keys and note that one is gold and is silver. (This is
on the DVD, actually.) I take the keys, put them behind my
back, and bring out one in a closed fist. I simply ask the
participant to name a colored key and then after providing a
faux explanation of how I knew, I open my hand to show the
named key. This is repeated as often as I like. This is
kind of like Gauci's "Eye to Eye" except the participant is
doing the "guessing," not the performer.
Then, there's Docc Hilford's Nightmare Coins. This is a
wonderful effect and I used to carry around the gimmick for
that, but I've now altered my presentation to use the keys.
I actually have a third and different key, which is not
difficult to get a locksmith to make. After handing them
out for examination, I put them behind my back and bring out
one. The participant names one and I open my hand to reveal
that I have the selected key.
This is one of those gimmicks that can be used for mentalism
and magic, depending on your creativity. For those who do
both mentalism and magic, this is a perfect pocket prop with
which to do whatever you feel the situation calls for. You
get the set of keys, a very nice key ring, and the DVD which
includes Gregory Wilson's magic routine, plus many other
ideas for routines.
*********
MATTHEW MELLO
INSTINCT
JMOM Price: $32
Suggested Retail Price: $34.95
THE BLURB:
From the co-creator of Bullet, comes a revolutionary
approach to the Russian roulette. This has been claimed by
many to be the end-all of Russian Roulettes....find out
why!!!!
A nail is hidden under 1 of 4 cups. The mentalist turns away
as the spectator mixes. He turns around and slams his hand
down on 3 of the cups leaving the nail cup UNTOUCHED.
Imagine being able to perform this effect with:
* No Gimmicks!
* No Peeks!
* No Forces!
* No Equivoke!
* ANY small object can be used!
* Magician/Spectator NEVER marks the cups!
* Everything can be Borrowed!
* COMPLETELY IMPROMPTU!!!
* IMAGINE NO MORE!!!!!
As a bonus, you will also be learning Matthew's signature
truth teller/liar routine...Impulse.
WARNING: This effect should only be purchased/performed if
you are over the age of 18. By purchasing/watching this DVD,
you are taking full responsibility for yourself and others
if you decide to perform this effect.
"Great for Impromptu...Good Thinking"
-Andrew Gerard (Consultant for Criss Angel)
"This will serve the magic community and workers long after
we're all gone. There is nothing to ever carry with you,
except the know how. You will keep the method etched in your
mind f o r e v e r."
-Nick Verna
"I think the concept is excellent and the method is quite
clever."
-Marc DeSouza
Running Time Approximately 31min
MY COMMENTS:
Assuming that you want to perform a "Russian Roulette/Smash
& Stab" (personally, I'm sick of seeing new variations; it's
getting worse than book tests), this one certainly has
merit. For experienced mentalists, you might recognize this
principle. For instance, Docc Hilford mentioned it in his
Book of Numbers series as he used this principle with a
Hummer routine. But this is the first time, I think, it has
been applied to this plot. What's nice about this version
is that there is nothing extra you need besides the
styrofoam cups and whatever goes inside. If you're familiar
with other versions, you know that sometimes the props are
gimmicked and sometimes you have to wear some jewelry, if
you know what I mean. This version uses none of that. It
can truly be done impromptu.
The only concern is the styrofoam cups. The method relies
on using these. Those in the U.S. and Canada will have no
problem, but I'm not certain if performers in other
countries will be able to. I could be wrong and these cups
may be around in all parts of the globe, and manufactured in
the necessary way to do this effect, but since I'm not sure,
I had to mention it.
With Instinct, the principle is everything. I didn't find
Matthew Mello's routining or performance anything more than
amateurish and ordinary. And I hesitate to credit Matthew
Mello with this principle as Docc Hilford mentioned it in an
earlier published work. If you're not familiar with this
ingenious principle, it's worth getting just for that,
as this is something that you can definitely use in
impromptu situations where styrofoam cups will be used. And
you can definitely use this principle for other types of
routines that call for the use of styrofoam cups.
*********
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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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