Ben Harris
SILENT RUNNING
$25
THE BLURB:
FOREWORD BY INNOVATIVE UK MENTALIST - LOOCH
POSSIBLY THE MOST AMAZING "THINK OF A CARD" METHOD IN YEARS!
You'll use this for the rest of your life. No props, just
what appears to be pure mind-reading!
A stunningly produced book with 3 full routines and amazing
bonus contributions!
So, what is SILENT RUNNING?
Briefly, it's a "Think Of A Card" concept that requires no
props at all. You don't even need a deck of cards. A
spectator is asked to merely THINK of a number from 1-10 and
to NOT TELL YOU. Once she has done this, she is asked to
think of a suit and again to NOT TELL YOU. Then, ENTIRELY IN
HER MIND she combines the suit to the number to create a
visual image of a playing card. Again, SHE SAYS NOTHING!
Once she has confirmed that she is thinking of a card that
NO ONE CAN KNOW, you then proceed to reveal the card in any
number of ways. THREE ROUTINES ARE INCLUDED:
DIRECT MIND READ
You ask the spectator to concentrate. You then reveal her
thought-of card with 100% accuracy. It's that simple. Once
you know the method you'll be able to do this at ANY TIME.
In fact, you'll be doing this for the rest of your life. It
is that strong and so simple!
THE DISSOLVING CARD
You discuss cold war exepriments in which psychics were
tested to see if they could make enemy maps become blank and
useless. The spectator is handed a deck of cards BEFORE YOU
BEGIN. She is NOW asked to think of a card WITHOUT SAYING
ANYTHING. When she has confirmed that she has a card in her
mind, you ask her to imagine it "fading way" slowly. When
she confirms that her mental image is gone, she is asked to
take the deck and to remove her thought-of card. She
attempts to do this, and counts the cards. However,there are
ONLY 51 cards and her though-of card IS NOT THERE! The
amazing thing about this is that she NEVER REVEALS THE
IDENTITY OF HER CARD AT ANY TIME!
SPIRITED CARD STAB
This is my favourite handling and what I'm using to CLOSE my
professional shows. A deck is shuffled face up and face down
by a spectator, spread upon the table and covered with a
sheet of newspaper. A knife is introduced and the spectator
is asked to THINK OF A CARD. Once she has done this, she is
asked to imagine the spirit of the card flowing down her
arms, through her wrists, into her hands and finally into
the knife. AT NO TIME DOES SHE REVEAL HER THOUGHT OF CARD.
The performer now takes the knife and lunges it through the
newspaper. It stands proud for all to see. Now, for the
FIRST TIME, the spectator announces her thought-of card to
the audience. The knife is ripped from the newspaper and is
seen to be IMPALING THE VERY SAME CARD. There are no
switches, the thought-of card is genuinely stabbed, each
time.
PLEASE NOTE:
Nothing is EVER written down -- this is strictly a verbal
procedure
There is NO dual reality. The spectator and audience of ANY
SIZE experience the same effect
There are NO GIMMICKS used at all, no nail writers,
electronics -- NOTHING
No muscle-reading is used. The effect is EASILY learned
Perform for a single spectator or a thousand
BONUS SECTION FEATURING: BOB CASSIDY,PAOLO CAVALLI, DEVIN
KNIGHT, JASON MESSINA and STEVE SHUFTON
WHAT THE PROFESSIONALS ARE SAYING:
"This is so much more than just an effect. It is a powerful
subtlety that is a must have for your mentalist toolbox."
-- Banachek (USA)
"Crystal clear and absolutely mindblowing!"
-- Martin Adams (UK)
"If you are seeking the holy grail of truly prop-less
mentalism then you NEED to get this routine. Ben's thinking
has always been unique and here he excels himself!"
--Marc Paul (UK)
"Silent Running describes a very clever principle that
enables the performer to almost instantly ascertain the
identity of a card merely thought of. The Card Stabbing
routine made possible by the principle is the most powerful
I have ever seen. I highly recommend Silent Running to
serious students of the art as well as to professional
workers."
--Bob Cassidy (USA)
"F*#%ing Brilliant!"
-- Nathan Kranzo (USA)
"The Silent Running approach takes things into the realms of
real mind reading. I love the newspaper card stab as it has
the perfect combination of drama and impossibilty. Great
stuff."
--Peter Duffie (Scotland)
"This is going to become the best effect of 2010 and
possibly of the decade...The genius magic engineer Ben
Harris has done it again."
--Chris Wasshuber (Lybrary.com)
"The perfect effect for those times when someone says,'Do
Something,' and you have nothing with you. With this effect,
you need only your mind."
--Devin Knight (USA)
"I'll definitely be working this, Amazing stuff."
-- Dee Christopher (UK)
"Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!"
-- Marc Spelmann
MY COMMENTS:
I really had very high hopes for this because of the hype
and the testimonials of some high-powered
performers/creators. Banachek, Spelmann, Knight, and even
Cassidy (who contributed some ideas), all said they like it.
I was impressed by Ben Harris' Crossroads, though admittedly
it's not something I use. Basically, this is Crossroads but
with the addition of a new method to have the suit selected,
which involves calling out suits and holding up fingers.
The main problem with this is that the whole raison d'etre
for this was because some folks seem not to like the whole
equivoque business in Crossroads that dealt with the
selection of a suit. I think that professional mentalists
can all agree that equivoque is quite powerful and
eliminating that is a pretty sorry and naive excuse for
being a poor performer. Replacing equivoque with a
procedure that's somewhat unusual is magician-think.
And if you remove that, you're left with Crossroads.
The question then becomes: Is this of any use to mentalists
at all?
If one wants one of eight particular cards chosen,
Crossroads is actually better. Besides the switch to a
different procedure, the only major difference (and it's one
advantage) to Crossroads is that the entire choice (number
AND value) is thought-of and apparently not known by anyone
other than the participant. As a "think-of-a-card-and-I'll
-reveal-it" trick, it is certainly interesting, but not
nearly as practical or direct as other methods. (I'm sure
we can name at least a dozen that are more direct and
effective.)
However, would one care to have a completely thought-of card
chosen, and the need to have it chosen from a bank of eight
different cards, the procedure laid out does work and may
fit one's needs. I do think it fits perfectly with the
"Dissolving Card" and "Spirited Card Stab" effects that are
mentioned. The former requires a special deck of cards.
To me, this is just an interesting supplement to Crossroads
and example of magician-think. I do think there are
probably some very cool applications for this principle for
mentalists, but this book doesn't contain them (unless you
like the Dissolving Card or Spirited Card Stab plots).
There's no question that I think this is overhyped. But is
it worth it? If you're a fan of Crossroads, intrigued by
the dissolving card and card stab ideas, and you have the
extra cash to spare, then, yes, you'll find the concept
worth reading about. On the other hand, if you don't have
Crossroads, and this interests you, then you should get this
because you get the Crossroads principle, plus the Silent
Running extras. You just won't get the effects that are in
the Crossroads booklets. Silent Running is a 64-page
downloadable e-book. It is also available as a booklet.
FOREWORD BY INNOVATIVE UK MENTALIST - LOOCH
POSSIBLY THE MOST AMAZING "THINK OF A CARD" METHOD IN YEARS!
You'll use this for the rest of your life. No props, just
what appears to be pure mind-reading!
A stunningly produced book with 3 full routines and amazing
bonus contributions!
So, what is SILENT RUNNING?
Briefly, it's a "Think Of A Card" concept that requires no
props at all. You don't even need a deck of cards. A
spectator is asked to merely THINK of a number from 1-10 and
to NOT TELL YOU. Once she has done this, she is asked to
think of a suit and again to NOT TELL YOU. Then, ENTIRELY IN
HER MIND she combines the suit to the number to create a
visual image of a playing card. Again, SHE SAYS NOTHING!
Once she has confirmed that she is thinking of a card that
NO ONE CAN KNOW, you then proceed to reveal the card in any
number of ways. THREE ROUTINES ARE INCLUDED:
DIRECT MIND READ
You ask the spectator to concentrate. You then reveal her
thought-of card with 100% accuracy. It's that simple. Once
you know the method you'll be able to do this at ANY TIME.
In fact, you'll be doing this for the rest of your life. It
is that strong and so simple!
THE DISSOLVING CARD
You discuss cold war exepriments in which psychics were
tested to see if they could make enemy maps become blank and
useless. The spectator is handed a deck of cards BEFORE YOU
BEGIN. She is NOW asked to think of a card WITHOUT SAYING
ANYTHING. When she has confirmed that she has a card in her
mind, you ask her to imagine it "fading way" slowly. When
she confirms that her mental image is gone, she is asked to
take the deck and to remove her thought-of card. She
attempts to do this, and counts the cards. However,there are
ONLY 51 cards and her though-of card IS NOT THERE! The
amazing thing about this is that she NEVER REVEALS THE
IDENTITY OF HER CARD AT ANY TIME!
SPIRITED CARD STAB
This is my favourite handling and what I'm using to CLOSE my
professional shows. A deck is shuffled face up and face down
by a spectator, spread upon the table and covered with a
sheet of newspaper. A knife is introduced and the spectator
is asked to THINK OF A CARD. Once she has done this, she is
asked to imagine the spirit of the card flowing down her
arms, through her wrists, into her hands and finally into
the knife. AT NO TIME DOES SHE REVEAL HER THOUGHT OF CARD.
The performer now takes the knife and lunges it through the
newspaper. It stands proud for all to see. Now, for the
FIRST TIME, the spectator announces her thought-of card to
the audience. The knife is ripped from the newspaper and is
seen to be IMPALING THE VERY SAME CARD. There are no
switches, the thought-of card is genuinely stabbed, each
time.
PLEASE NOTE:
Nothing is EVER written down -- this is strictly a verbal
procedure
There is NO dual reality. The spectator and audience of ANY
SIZE experience the same effect
There are NO GIMMICKS used at all, no nail writers,
electronics -- NOTHING
No muscle-reading is used. The effect is EASILY learned
Perform for a single spectator or a thousand
BONUS SECTION FEATURING: BOB CASSIDY,PAOLO CAVALLI, DEVIN
KNIGHT, JASON MESSINA and STEVE SHUFTON
WHAT THE PROFESSIONALS ARE SAYING:
"This is so much more than just an effect. It is a powerful
subtlety that is a must have for your mentalist toolbox."
-- Banachek (USA)
"Crystal clear and absolutely mindblowing!"
-- Martin Adams (UK)
"If you are seeking the holy grail of truly prop-less
mentalism then you NEED to get this routine. Ben's thinking
has always been unique and here he excels himself!"
--Marc Paul (UK)
"Silent Running describes a very clever principle that
enables the performer to almost instantly ascertain the
identity of a card merely thought of. The Card Stabbing
routine made possible by the principle is the most powerful
I have ever seen. I highly recommend Silent Running to
serious students of the art as well as to professional
workers."
--Bob Cassidy (USA)
"F*#%ing Brilliant!"
-- Nathan Kranzo (USA)
"The Silent Running approach takes things into the realms of
real mind reading. I love the newspaper card stab as it has
the perfect combination of drama and impossibilty. Great
stuff."
--Peter Duffie (Scotland)
"This is going to become the best effect of 2010 and
possibly of the decade...The genius magic engineer Ben
Harris has done it again."
--Chris Wasshuber (Lybrary.com)
"The perfect effect for those times when someone says,'Do
Something,' and you have nothing with you. With this effect,
you need only your mind."
--Devin Knight (USA)
"I'll definitely be working this, Amazing stuff."
-- Dee Christopher (UK)
"Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!"
-- Marc Spelmann
MY COMMENTS:
I really had very high hopes for this because of the hype
and the testimonials of some high-powered
performers/creators. Banachek, Spelmann, Knight, and even
Cassidy (who contributed some ideas), all said they like it.
I was impressed by Ben Harris' Crossroads, though admittedly
it's not something I use. Basically, this is Crossroads but
with the addition of a new method to have the suit selected,
which involves calling out suits and holding up fingers.
The main problem with this is that the whole raison d'etre
for this was because some folks seem not to like the whole
equivoque business in Crossroads that dealt with the
selection of a suit. I think that professional mentalists
can all agree that equivoque is quite powerful and
eliminating that is a pretty sorry and naive excuse for
being a poor performer. Replacing equivoque with a
procedure that's somewhat unusual is magician-think.
And if you remove that, you're left with Crossroads.
The question then becomes: Is this of any use to mentalists
at all?
If one wants one of eight particular cards chosen,
Crossroads is actually better. Besides the switch to a
different procedure, the only major difference (and it's one
advantage) to Crossroads is that the entire choice (number
AND value) is thought-of and apparently not known by anyone
other than the participant. As a "think-of-a-card-and-I'll
-reveal-it" trick, it is certainly interesting, but not
nearly as practical or direct as other methods. (I'm sure
we can name at least a dozen that are more direct and
effective.)
However, would one care to have a completely thought-of card
chosen, and the need to have it chosen from a bank of eight
different cards, the procedure laid out does work and may
fit one's needs. I do think it fits perfectly with the
"Dissolving Card" and "Spirited Card Stab" effects that are
mentioned. The former requires a special deck of cards.
To me, this is just an interesting supplement to Crossroads
and example of magician-think. I do think there are
probably some very cool applications for this principle for
mentalists, but this book doesn't contain them (unless you
like the Dissolving Card or Spirited Card Stab plots).
There's no question that I think this is overhyped. But is
it worth it? If you're a fan of Crossroads, intrigued by
the dissolving card and card stab ideas, and you have the
extra cash to spare, then, yes, you'll find the concept
worth reading about. On the other hand, if you don't have
Crossroads, and this interests you, then you should get this
because you get the Crossroads principle, plus the Silent
Running extras. You just won't get the effects that are in
the Crossroads booklets. Silent Running is a 64-page
downloadable e-book. It is also available as a booklet.
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