June 18, 2008
Here's what's in this edition of
Jheff's Marketplace of the Mind Newsletter
*** MAX MAVEN: A FABULOUS MONSTER - Pre-Release Sale
*** SOLO - Jack Kent Tillar
*** SMART ASS - Bill Abbott
*** POETRY READING - Alvo Stockman
*** MIRACLE PREDICTION - Steve Shufton
*** CONVERSATIONS OF THE MIND - FINALLY!
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.
*********
Tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time will be
the official launch of the Conversations of the Mind. This
will be an audio series that explores mentalism and the
performance of it with some of the best minds in the
business. Sometimes it will be a roundtable discussion and
sometimes it will be an audio lecture, or a mixture of both.
For more details about the topic and instructions on how to
get on, see the section below.
Lots of people e-mailed me earlier this year inquiring about
the Max Maven documentary that was glowingly reviewed in
Genii magazine. I did obtain a copy from Max about that
time, but could not get quantities at wholesale. Next
month, probably around the middle of July, I've learned that
this exhilarating documentary will become available to the
general public and be available from your favorite magic
dealer.
Here's the important part: Until it's released, you can
pre-order it now at the usual discounted price, PLUS FREE
SHIPPING! Yep, that's not a typo! FREE SHIPPING!
Unfortunately, the FREE SHIPPING offer is ONLY available to
U.S. customers.
To take advantage of this offer, simply go to the webpage
and click on the Special Offer banner. Here's the link:
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Max_Maven_fm.html
**** CHAPTERS OF MARC SPELMANN
A few years ago Marc Spelmann took the mentalism world by
storm and released a four volume DVD set. The big complaint
was the price. Now this set has been re-released in a new
package with all four discs in a single package and at half
the original price. That makes this an absolute bargain,
because Marc has some incredible thinking. Since this is
essentially a re-release, I'll simply refer you to my
webpage which does have updated comments to reflect this new
packaging and price.
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Marc_Spelmann_Collection.html
**** PSYCHOKINETIC TOUCHES
For some reason, this booklet which has been available for
many years was never added to the catalog. Since Kenton
just came out with his version of the effect (which I'll be
commenting on next week), I quickly added it. If you don't
have this classic, it's incredibly cheap for what it is and
a must-have for your collection. You can check out my
comments here:
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Psych_Touches.html
**** THE CICARDI PROJECT, VOLUME 1
I sent out a separate newsletter with my thoughts on this.
Loren Tindall has informed me that the incredible
introductory special will be extended until June 21.
Already I've seen several threads on forums that debate the
value of this disc. Unfortunately, most of them are arguing
about the effects' value. Two of these effects could easily
be sold for $50 apiece or more. And then there's Dr.
Scott's (Cicardi) insight into the creation of these
routines. Certainly, there's fair value here. Even moreso,
if you take advantage of the offer.
Here's the link:
http://www.mevproshop.com/cicardi-project-vol-one.html
**** PRODUCT UPDATES
Other new items that will be discussed in upcoming
newsletters and/or added soon to my catalog are Jerome
Finley's THOUGHT DIAL, Bill Cushman's MIND INDEX, Menny
Lindenfeld's PSYCHIC CREDIT CARD, Sean Field's EXPLICIT
FOOTAGE: TOME and EXPLICIT FOOTAGE: BENZ, Kenton Knepper's
TIME MACHINE AND TOUCHES and KENTON'S DUCT TAPE BLINDFOLD,
John Sheets' NAILED IT, Haim Goldenberg's INSIDE THOUGHTS
and MY PRECIOUS, Dr. Charles Scott's THE CICARDI PROJECT
DVD, Rachel Colombini's WORDS OF WISDOM, and a bunch of cool
stuff from Craig Browning. Some of this stuff is already on
the website with comments. Some of this stuff I will not
catalog.
**** CONVERSATIONS OF THE MIND
-----
To access the live Conversations of the Mind,
phone 218-486-1300 and the usercode is 468646
When prompted, and if you wish to make a comment,
or make a question, press 5 and * to "raise your hand."
You may call up to 10 minutes earlier than the
scheduled Conversation time.
------
Time has flown by and, among other projects, I've been
working on getting a schedule in order for Conversations of
the Mind. Finally, I've set the first conversation to take
place on Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. PST. There's more on
the topic of that conversation below.
For those who are new to my newsletters, this is an all-new
feature that consists of conference calls discussing various
subjects and also to converse with top performers in the
field. These conversations, which will be recorded and
available for download, will be accessible only to those who
have Marketplace Memberships. However, the very first one
will be available to all newsletter subscribers as that one
will be available later for everyone as a preview edition.
So, here's the topic:
Jheff's 10 Secrets to Making Mentalism More Effective,
Entertaining, & Successful.
Basically, I'll be online to chat and answer any questions
that you may have starting a few minutes prior to that and
then there will be a question and answer session following
my talk on the topic. The instructions to join in to this
session are below and I'll send out a separate reminder
tomorrow as well with just the instructions and the info
about this session.
-----
To access the live Conversations of the Mind,
phone 218-486-1300 and the usercode is 468646
When prompted, and if you wish to make a comment,
or make a question, press 5 and * to "raise your hand."
You may call up to 10 minutes earlier than the
scheduled Conversation time.
------
**** 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.
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 FOR 2008 AVAILABLE NOW!
The new issue of Jheff's Journal of the Mind spotlights Paul
Brook, who just recently published an incredible new book
which is featured in the issue, The Alchemical Tools. To
get this issue, you need to buy a membership in the
Marketplace of the Mind.
For the $47 cost you get a subscription to the 2008 issues
of Jheff's Journal of the Mind, an all-new e-zine for
mentalists, an additional 5% discount off merchandise from
the Marketplace of the Mind, and many other very cool
features. If you want a taste of what you get, 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 ILLUSIONS OF INFLUENCE by Samuel Catoe, a
wonderful exploration of the art of equivoque. Two other
recent additions are THE SAFWAN PAPERS by Bryn Reynolds and
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS by Jerome Finley, both solid
collections of memorable, mentalism material. Also, new to
the section are BILL MASON'S SENSATIONAL by E. Raymond
Carlyle, which is a wonderful Q&A act, and Dr. Bill's
MIRABILL, an elegant update on a Stewart James classic.
Outlaw-Effects have a beautiful new aged book called THE
WITCHES' ALMANAC and it is their best aged book yet. Enrique
Enriquez has a wonderful new e-book on the Tarot, LOOKING AT
THE MARSEILLES TAROT, which is suitable for both beginners
and experienced readers. Also new to the section are Ron
Martin's THE TAROT READER'S NOTEBOOK, a must-have for Tarot
readers; Joshua Quinn's DUPLICITY, which takes your favorite
drawing dupe routine to the next level; 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
*********
MAX MAVEN: A FABULOUS MONSTER
JMOM Price: $18
Suggested Retail Price: $20
THE BLURB:
One of the world's most astonishing mentalists, Max Maven
lives in a world of mystery and ambiguity. His seeming
ability to read minds cannot be fully explained, even by
other magicians. Max's vast array of interests, from Harpo
Marx to kabuki theatre, provides the foundation for a
persona and performance style that is uniquely his own.
MY COMMENTS:
This is a 48 minute documentary about Max Maven, by Canadian
filmmaker Donna Zuckerbrot. It was filmed on the occasion
of Max receiving a special tribute from Magicana. There are
plenty of notable guests in this film, such as Eugene
Burger, Stephen Minch, and Michael Weber. And, as you might
suspect, no secrets are revealed. This is not the next
Videomind or Nothing.
However, since mentalists require a thorough knowledge and
mastery of stagecraft in order to be effective and
successful, this film provides performers of all levels with
invaluable insight from one of mentalism's masters of the
art. Of course, I always find it a joy to listen to Max
talk about the art of mentalism, so I may be a bit biased.
Besides the conversations with Max, this film also provides
a generous amount of glimpses into Max's current one man
show, Max Maven: Thinking In Person, An Evening of Knowing
and Not Knowing. It's a show that many may be surprised
about because his stage persona has evolved into something,
that so far as I noticed, is different than what I had seen
before. I saw one of the early performances of the show a
year or so ago, and though that performance was still a bit
rough, it was an amazing experience.
Now, this is a documentary that's designed for laymen. So
this is a great piece of film that the whole family can
enjoy. Because of that, much of the valuable information
you'll get will be simply by watching Max and seeing just
how he handles certain effects and situations. His handling
of the Seven Keys to Baldplate, for instance, is sheer
genius. You won't get an explanation and experienced
mentalists don't really need one. They know. It's his
presentation that will have you grinning with delight. The
real quibble that I have with this is that it's too short.
That, of course, is not a drawback, just an indication of
how good it is and how much more you'll want. It's still
one of the best mentalism DVDs to come out this year, or in
the past few years.
*********
JACK KENT TILLAR
SOLO
JMOM Price: $45
Suggested Retail Price: $49.95
THE BLURB:
“You are about to be drawn in by my friend (film composer
and mentalist) Jack Kent Tillar. I expect it will be a
harmonious experience.”
-- Max Maven
SOLO: THE WALK-AROUND MENTALIST
This is required reading for the mentalist who wants to do
corporate or high-end social party mentalism. It’s filled
and brimming over with brilliant and original routines!
• Over 30 new performance pieces tailored for walk-around
performances
• 8 concise essays on how to get started
• Original approaches and opening gambits
• How to create and use business cards that guests will keep
• A bonus “Design Duplication” master routine by Michael
Weber
• Essential insider information for special events
• The best advice on what to do and what not to do at
corporate and social events!
“Jack’s presentations are built upon concepts that are
appealing and intriguing . . . the methods are relatively
simple. . . As an example . . . the routine “Mr. Lucky’s
Hook” . . .has a splendid frame of reference, which leads to
an utterly charming closing line.”
-- Max Maven
from his introduction
144 pages, softbound
MY COMMENTS:
Jack's books are always packed with loads of ideas and
practical effects which get your creative juices flowing and
your excitement itching to perform them. This is the next
released book in his Collector's Edition Series (TRIO was
the first) and it focuses on mentalism that can be done in
walk-around situations.
Obviously, there are a variety of effects in here and some
you'll use, some you'll be intrigued with, and some may give
you an itch because the methodology bothers you. That's par
for a book like this which is filled with solid ideas and
routines. There are four sections, including one that
contains routines from performers besides Jack, and the
sections contain effects using a variety of props. Also,
Jack has included quite a few essays about performing
mentalism and getting started in mentalism.
Oh, to be fair, I should remind everyone that you're more
than welcome to take what I say with a little bit of salt,
since I've been helping Jack format and edit his books for
mass publication. So, I may be a little biased towards this
material, but I'm fairly certain that if I was to read this
and not have worked with Jack, I'd say the say thing and
still highly recommend it.
*********
BILL ABBOTT
SMART ASS
JMOM Price: $54
Suggested Retail Price: $60
THE BLURB:
You place a jumbo card face down on a chair without
revealing it's identity.
A participant is invited to sit down on the mystery card and
is shown a deck of shuffled playing cards. You explain that
they will use their subconscious to deduce the identity of
the jumbo card they are sitting on. The spectator cuts the
deck into two piles and places them in either hand. They are
asked to toss one half away and keep the other. After they
do this they cut the remaining cards into two piles, holding
one in each hand and they once again toss one pile away and
keep the other. Down to the last few cards, the participant
chooses one card, having the opportunity to change their
mind several times. They make a final selection. With their
final choice in hand the spectator stands and picks up the
jumbo card, to find it matches their selection EXACTLY!
SMART ASS Considerations:
Perform SMART ASS close-up and surrounded.
Perform SMART ASS for large audiences.
SMART ASS packs small and plays big.
SMART ASS happens in their hands.
SMART ASS takes seconds to reset.
Perform SMART ASS naked (if you need to).
SMART ASS can be suitable for all ages.
SMART ASS uses no equivoque or magician’s choice.
SMART ASS uses no switch of the jumbo card, deck or final
selection.
SMART ASS uses any borrowed chair.
SMART ASS Package Includes:
Deck of specially constructed Bicycle brand playing cards.
Jumbo Card for final revelation.
A DVD that features...
Performance of the routine.
In-depth instruction of the routine and method.
Professional scripts in PDF format that can be accessed by
any PC or Mac.
MY COMMENTS:
The Card In Seat effect is one of my favorite stage card
effects because it plays big, has great participant
interaction, and provides some great humor. However, it's a
magic effect. So is this, mind you, but it certainly can be
done as a mental effect because the card does not magically
vanish and appear underneath someone's seat. The performer
openly puts it there at the beginning. You can do this
seriously as you cause the participant to choose their own
card, or you can do it comedically as a
"you-be-the-performer" effect as Card-In-Seat effects
usually are.
Here's what I saw in this effect that I like: It plays big
(and the sight of having someone throw cards up in the air
to eliminate them is very visual), it packs small, and can
be done surrounded. After the routines ends, it's pretty
much just a matter of picking up the cards to re-set.
The one thought that occured to me while I watched the DVD
instructions was whether I could do this without the
supplied gimmicked deck. You could, but it wouldn't be as
clean. With this deck, you can show all the cards to be
different. When the cards are thrown up in the air (one of
the key advantages to this version), the cards can be seen
to be different.
The only drawback is that Bill Abbott is choosing to keep
secret the construction of the deck. In throwing the deck
around, there is no danger of the gimmicked deck being
discovered, but there is very real concern of the cards
wearing out pretty quickly and the deck will have to be
replaced with continued use. It would be nice to know how
to easily construct a new deck.
Along with the gimmicked deck and jumbo card, there is an
instructional DVD which contains a performance, plus some
PDF files of different presentations to get your creativity
flowing on how to use this. If you're looking for something
fun to add to your repertoire, and you don't mind using
cards, I recommend looking into this.
*********
ALVO STOCKMAN
POETRY READING
JMOM Price: $18
Suggested Retail Price: $20
THE BLURB:
Imagine you're sitting at a local coffee shop, steaming
drink in your hand, contemplating life when you strike up a
conversation with a friendly stranger.
"What are you working on?" she asks.
"Oh, just writing some poetry in my journal." You reply.
"Are you a poet?" she inquires.
"It's just a hobby of mine, actually. Would you like to hear
some?"
"Of course!" she exclaims excitedly.
And so it begins. You read a few short poems to her before
asking, "Would you like me to write one for you?"
"Sure!" is the response.
As you write, you look up once or twice but never ask any
questions. "While writing, I made some wild guess about your
tastes. Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite color?"
"Green"
"And your favorite flower?"
"Lilies"
"Oh REALLY? I think you're going to like this poem…"
You immediately show her the poem you've been working on
right in front of her which turns out to be quite
inspirational, personal, and specifically about her! No nail
writing here, these facts are embedded with a poem, complete
with rhyming verse!
Introduction
As an art form, poetry has been around for thousands of
years. From as far back as Gilgamesh over 3,000 years ago,
to Homer, Virgil, to Shakespeare and Dylan, poetry is the
oldest known form of written fiction. It has moved and
touched people for centuries and is to this day a popular
form of expression.
Something about poetry gives its message a strong presence
and impact. Perhaps it is our evolution as a musical and
story-telling species that explains why poetry and song
resonate so well with us.
Poetry is synonymous with emotional beauty. Only when
performances are particularly beautiful or moving are they
referred to as “poetic." Dancers, actors, painters, only
when having reached the pinnacle of their form are they
themselves referred to as “poetic."
Magic is an art form centered around amazement, emotion,
desire and in rare cases, beauty. It is not, however a
strictly defined set of tools or props. Instead, it is an
experience. Magic lives in the mind, not in the physical
world. It is therefore necessary to weave magic into our
lives it is to be fully appreciated. Magic in the form of a
“show" is an extremely limited opportunity. Even for
magicians who perform regularly, the amount of time one is
“on" is limited to the small fraction of a day. To live as a
magician is to share this beauty of wonder wherever and
whenever the opportunity arises. It is therefore important
to be ready to introduce magic into the fabric of your life.
To propogate a myth, a legend around being someone with
special powers requires more than a stage persona. Being
true and being yourself on and off stage is the only way to
catch those precious opportunities. Underneath the super
power abilities, the real “magic" is sharing a piece of
beauty with your audience. WIth that perspective, the world
becomes your “stage", and every minute of every day your
“showtime."
Ok, back to the poetry! We have a great opportunity here. In
keeping with our primary goal of sharing beauty, it would be
perfectly reasonable and appreciated to simply write a
beautiful poem and give it to someone. Tried and tested, the
poem has proven itself for thousands of years before the
first recorded magic trick. In the epic poems carved in
stone thousands of years before Christ, gods and men
performed magic for those early audiences. These writings
created a sense of wonder, of mystery, and painted colorful
pictures of the unknown. Precisely what magic aims to do
today.
Magic does not exist in a vaccuum. It is a part of life.
This is why it must incorporate elements of life to be
important. To have a point of reference. In the same way
that motion is relative, so too is magic! The further from
reality your plots and props get, the harder it is to relate
or care.
Perhaps more importantly, magic must tell a story in order
to matter to people. Consider modern marketing. When selling
anything from roses to running shoes, marketers use stories
to make people invest emotion into things. Politicians use
similar strategies when campaigning.
Combining your magic with something else that already
matters is a great way to enhance both.
Imagine how much value must have been placed on the earliest
people for them to have been painstakingly chiseled into
stone. Their raw simplicity combined with stories about
fundamental human emotions allows us to appreciate them
thousands of years later. Can the same be said about magic?
As it turns out, yes! Well, sort of. Before the popularity
of magic for magic's sake, shamans and religious figures
throughout history have used magic to change civilizations.
If you had called them “tricks," you probably would have
been killed, but their methods were based on many of the
same methods used by entertainers today. The point I'm
trying to make is that the most affecting magicians have
used skills and arts beyond isolated “tricks." They coupled
their magical perspectives with issues that mattered to
people. Always planting their abilities just beyond what's
humanly possible. Close enough to be believable but just out
of reach. Obviously, what is believable has varied greatly
over time, but the principle remains the same. It's no
surprise then that the most popular magical shaman today is
Derren Brown, who cleverly combines cutting edge
psychological research with a bit of conjury and a healthy
dose of showmanship.
My goal with Poetry Reading was to create a magical
experience in a casual environment that takes all the
inherent power of poetry, and combines it with the impact of
personal and emotional stories that when shared not only
amazes and mystifies, but motivates and inspires.
BENEFITS of POETRY READING
Souvenir
Unlike the long list of magic tricks that give "souvenirs"
to spectators, POETRY READING gives them something intended
as a gift from the beginning. It's unique, personal,
inspirations and will potentially be saved and re-read for
many years. It's a memento that will make its recipient
smile, feel good and remember their magical experience with
you.
Inspiration
I touched on this above, but what gives POETRY READING real
value is that it gives back to the audience. They are paying
you their attention, after all and it's always nice to get
something when you pay. When you tear a playing card and
restore it, you've had zero long-term effect on the world
around you. It's a neat trick, but it ends there. POETRY
READING has real poetry potential to help people have a
improved outlook on life and to cause real, positive change
in someone's life.
Surprise
Because of the highly casual and natural interaction
involved in performing POETRY READING, your spectator never
needs to know that you've performing a magic trick. If you
follow it up with more magic, they may get a clue, but leave
them wondering about your incredible ability to read
people's emotions. Think about it. It creates a lot more
wonder if a poet read minds than when a magician does. We're
"supposed" to be able to do "that stuff" and it's sometimes
easy for folks to dismiss. By the time you're done, they'll
never be expecting the twist ending!
Escalator Principle
POETRY READING was designed form the beginning as a natural
and casual interaction between two people In the off-chance
your predictions don't hit spot on (they will 99% of the
time), you've merely given your friend a nice poem which can
be appreciated on it own without any magic. This safety net
is something I call the Escalator Principle as it similar to
how an escalator never really breaks down completely but
simply turn into stairs which are quite useful on their own!
Pages 44 - Saddle Stitched
MY COMMENTS:
The plot is ingenious, but there is a huge consideration
with its method. I really doubt that this will be performed
a lot and this is due to the construction necessary. Most
won't take the time to do this. You must first spend the
time to create the poetry notebook and then after each
performance you must spend time setting it up again. The
initial book will take a couple of hours to set up and that
involves writing stuff on a majority of the pages in a
standard coil-bound notebook. After each performance, you
must remove the notebook's coil, insert new pages, and then
put the coil back on. This is not difficult, but it is time
consuming. Stockman claims that you can repeat the effect,
but you're taking a risk that the previous combination of
choices will not be chosen.
So, this effect is most practical to do only for special
occasions and when you really want to impress someone. And
it will impress. Once set up, this method is not difficult
to perform, but it's certainly not an effect that you can
perform "right out of the box." What you purchase is a
44-page booklet that explains how to perform the effect and
make the props. For that, the price is certainly fair and
worth checking into if this interests you.
*********
STEVE SHUFTON
MIRACLE PREMONITION
JMOM Price: n/a, special order only
Suggested Retail Price: $150
THE BLURB:
An open prediction like no other...
A pack of cards has been spread on the table. Next to the
pack of cards is a matchbox containing a miniature playing
card. The spectator is now asked to choose any one of the 53
cards in the pack and to name it aloud so that there is no
possibility that he can change his mind.
Wouldn't it be an absolute miracle if the little playing
card in the sealed matchbox is an exact duplicate of the
playing card that has just been freely named?
An absolute KILLER that will fool the best of them and
utterly amaze the rest!
No close-up psychic prediction test surpasses this one in
impact, simplicity of execution and believability...
As I describe this little miracle to you, without any
exaggeration, keep in mind that presentation and revelation
possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Here is
an example of the type of powerhouse routine Shufton's
Miracle Premonition will provide for your arsenal:
Effect
The performer, while making no claims, explains the idea of
psychic premonition - that it might actually be possible to
accurately predict an event that has yet to take place. To
demonstrate, the performer shows a mini playing card (just
the back!) to be used as the prediction of a card the
spectator has yet to select. (Instead of a mini playing
card, the performer may openly write a prediction on a slip
of paper to be folded and left in full view). The prediction
might be put in a small envelope, or a rubber-banded
matchbox (my favorite) or simply left in full view face down
on the table. One way or another, the prediction is left in
full view on the table (or a spectator's pocket!), and the
performer emphasizes that it will not be touched again.
A deck of cards is removed from the card box and ribbon
spread on the table, or spread between the hands. The cards
are initially spread face down, as the performer explains
that a magician will typically ask a spectator to select a
card from a face down deck, and that this approach is hardly
fair! After all, without seeing the cards, the spectator has
no way of knowing if it was a free selection. The cards
might all be the same, or the magician may be able to use
some sort of trickery to influence the spectator in his
choice!
The cards are scooped up again and re-spread FACE UP. The
performer explains that by doing it this way, there is no
conceivable way that the spectator could be lulled into
selecting any particular card. He emphasizes that as the
spectator can see, all 52 cards are there, and even a joker,
so the spectator truly has a free choice of absolutely any
card in the deck. The performer states that he will indeed
try to influence the selection, but only by sending a mental
picture of the card he has predicted. The images of the
cards spread on the table are very helpful for that. He asks
the spectator to very carefully look over all the cards, and
whenever she feels that she has arrived at the card she
wants to select, she should simply name it.
The spectator indicates a decision has been made and the
cards are gathered up. The spectator is asked to name the
card and look at it once more so there can be absolutely no
mistake that the card she names and the card she saw are
definitely the same card - she can still change her mind one
last time! The cards are boxed and set back on the table.
With hands in full sight and no false moves of any kind, the
matchbox is picked up and the rubber band removed. The
spectator admits that the box has never been out of her
sight. The hands are shown empty BEFORE the drawer is
removed. The drawer is pushed open, and the miniature card
is shaken out onto the table - the performer never touches
it. The spectator verifies that nothing else is in the box
and nothing went in or came out of it since it was
originally sealed.
The spectator is invited to turn the card over with no
interference from the performer. Guess what? The miniature
card PERFECTLY MATCHES THE RANDOM AND FREE SELECTION!
OK. Isn't this one of the most cherished scenarios amongst
us who do these mystical things? YES! But this amazing
effect has some advantages worth considering:
This effect is completely self contained. It can be done
anytime, anywhere, in short sleeves, and NO POCKET WORK. The
hands and props NEVER LEAVE the SPECTATOR'S SIGHT. The
spectator truly has a completely free choice of any of the
cards, and the deck is full, including a joker with no
duplicates. The choice is really free! NO FORCES of any
kind!
Nothing extra is needed or used. Resets in a few seconds. No
memory work. Easy to do and an absolute killer that will
fool the wisest ones! Use a matchbox, an envelope or do it
with no cover at all! Many revelations are included in the
32 page booklet!
Shufton's Miracle Premonition has been in development for
over three years. No expense has been spared to furnish the
highest quality product. Each takes hours of painstaking,
meticulous work - so much so, that you will not find
anything else like it, anywhere at any price!
Comes complete with everything you need, including that very
special "something," and a 32 page instruction manual,
featuring many routine ideas to get you started! Due to
manufacturing constraints, this unique stunner will be
released on a very limited basis.
Put a unique stunner in your arsenal that will give you that
deceptive edge for many years to come!
MY COMMENTS:
Another magical Kolossal Killer? Okay, Marc Oberon
presented his magician's version of it with his Bang On,
which I didn't look at favorably. This version is slightly
better, but not by much. Like Marc Oberon's effect, this is
a no-sleight, sans subtleties, gimmicked to the hilt version
of a plot to which experienced mentalists know a variety of
versions, most of which are cheaper and just as effective,
if not more so.
Now, if you're the type who wants a really cool trick that
you can do right out of the box and with little practice so
that you can fool the guys at the magic club, this is for
you. That is, if the price doesn't bother you. As a
magician's trick, it does the job and fries laymen. And it
is easy to do. If you're a working mentalist though, you
won't find anything new in terms of principles, techniques,
or subtleties. And you can buy at least two tanks of gas
instead of this. As I alluded to above, check out Kenton's
Kolossal Killer, Heirloom, or a bunch of other products if
you want an Any Card Named to Secure Place effect. Since I
honestly can't recommend this to the serious mentalist, I
won't be carrying this.
*********
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