Richard Osterlind - Mind Mysteries Guide Book 3

VOLUME 3: ASSORTED MYSTERIES •

Written by

RICHARD OSTERLIND Text & Layout by

JIM SISTI

www.osterlindmysteries.com

© 2006 by Richard Osterlind All rights reserved. Reproduction or utilization of this work in any form by any means now known or hereinafter invented, including, but not limited to, xerography, photocopying and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission from the publisher. First E-Book Edition August 2006

Foreword Richard Osterlind is a musician who happens to read minds and create wizardry. He noticed that, with only twelve notes, an infinite variety of music (good and bad) has and will be played. So he looks at basic human psychologyand the classic workers of magic & mentalism. He observes what combinations of those notes, at what pitches, cause specific responses. And he produces routinesthat which arepeople so realistic, which like harp strings, some accused his pluck videosemotions of being staged with stooges. I was one of those people who called Richard’s audiences “the L&L Professional Audience.” Smug though I was, I found the routines impressive and used a few. And I got the sort of responses which we’ve seen on the Mind Mysteries DVDs – including not a few Jon or Janelle type reactions. So maybe this Osterlind fellow knew what he was doing...

Mysteries Really, on the third of Mind (which willthe beroutines all but dissected in volume this book) sound awfully simple. A card turns over in your fingers. A torn sweetener package is restored. A spoon bends. Simple. A short clause describes each one. So simple, in fact, that an audience has absolutely no trouble following what seems to be happening. So simple that the impossibility of it strikes like an uppercut. How did we get from music to boxing? Mysteries The psychic title of the DVD isMind we two expect “mind power” material. Yet there are atand least routines which definitely fall in the sleight of hand category, and he makes it work. Have you ever heard a piece of classical music which uses

Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries

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conflict to create an impact? Didn’t it seem like a musical version of a punch? Yet it wasn’t unpleasant, though it set up conflicting feelings in you, and you were hopelessly caught up in “What how we next?!” got from music to boxing – and maybe to That’shappens mystery. It may surprise you, as it did me, to learn some of Richard’s mysteries are of less recent vintage than we thought. It seemed to me that I’d seen magicians doing a vanishing sugar packet all my life, so I srcinally thought this was a new version of an old standard. Not until I read this section, did I remember that there were no sugar packets until the late 1960s or early 1970s – and were they what weren’t until wellpackets, into theuntil 1970s. Sugar cubes onecommon found, not sugar then. May I strongly urge you to study the autobiographical “How I Create” chapter? It is, so far, the most significant thing which I think Richard has written, and it applies to a lot more than “just” magic and mentalism. No, you’re not going to get an easy-to-follow checklist – that would defeat the entire purpose. What you’ll learn is how Richard learned to create and how his methods of creation still work today. You’ll find real secrets in this chapter, real secrets which have been openly available to anyone who wants to expand their thinking. And you’ll learn how to look at something old, something borrowed, and find something new. At the end of the DVD, he comes right out and asks the audience if they’d like to see a little magic trick, even though “everyone” knows you can’t mix magic and mentalism. To really disprove this common misconception, he actually uses the politically incorrect phrase of “magic trick.” And he still

stillif not blows away! They’re sure there, if he’s even not using some mentalthem powers on them! And we were though we know how he does it, we’d still be blown away. Remember a key moment on the video when someone blurts out the “answer” that the bill’s not in the burning envelope? And how did

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MindMysteriesGuideBook

Richard, far from denying it, use that to increase the tension? You’ve probably seen the DVD; that’s why you’re here. You learned how these effects worked. You’re about to find out

why they work. Chet Cox Farmington, MO August 2006 P.S.: On the video, Richard says, “No matter where you are, people drink coffee.” Obviously he’s never been to a Mormon party, so Cherie and I extend an invitation to him, his talented wife, Lisa, andprovided their newatgranddaughter, Green Jell-O the door! (Yes,Kadence this P.S.Raine was anWalton. excuse to introduce Kadence to you.)

Introduction This edition begins a new phase in the Guide Book series. Whereas Mind Mysteries 1 dealt with The Act and Mind Mysteries 2 with the Breakthrough Card System, the remaining videos each contain diversified material from many categories of magic and mentalism. The composure of each was not structured for the purpose of reaching as many performers as possible, as has been suggested, but rather represents those effects I have developed and used constantly over the last thirty years. I perform in diversified situations and create for those environments. Each of these videos is not some type of category , but rather part of the whole of the accumulation. Neither was the sequence of these individual effects chosen for any particular reason nor the spanning of the two-part series, Mind Mysteries and Mind Mysteries Too. It was only logistics and my availability that created the series as it finally finished out. Interestingly enough, there Too are more effects on the four final three videos of Mind than on the srcinal Mysteries of Mind Mysteries. With a little investigation, the reason becomes clear. The first video, The Act, had to stand on its own. (This single video, by the way, has become one of the best selling in all magic history!) The second video, The Breakthrough Card System, also needed its own entity. This left the remaining material, recorded at that time, to be dealt with. There was far too much for one video so the Mind decision was made to was break it into two it worked fine. When recorded, weand followed the Mysteries Too same procedure and simply divided up the material as equally as possible. There are always critics and some have suggested that there

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are effects in the series that are filler. This has always struck me as an easy way for those with an agenda to attack the series without having to put themselves on the spot by explaining

which ones filleris ! not a single item on the Mind Mysteries The factare is there series that can be considered a lesser or minor effect nor is there any material offered that was not totally audience-tested and used professionally over many years. I have written about the necessity of variety and emotional diversity extensively in my trilogy (Making Magic Real, Making Real Magic and Essays) and in The Principles of Magic. The material on Mind Mysteries illustrates these principles in aless practical way.than Nor in was material in Mind Mysteries Too significant thethe initial offering. There is, in fact, much more of my classic material (i.e. that from the discontinued Challenge Magic, Dynamic Mysteries, etc.) on Mind Mysteries Too than Mind Mysteries. The entire series is meant to be viewed as a nearly complete representation of my output up to 2004. Finally, there needs to be some discussion concerning srcinality versu s derivation. L et me draw an analogy . There are t welve in the musical scale notes! (Western music) andonly yet look whatnotes has been done with those It is mindboggling to consider how much music has been created down through the ages and what continues to be shaped. Those inexperienced will write songs they think are new and revolutionary, but which are really simply minor variations of what has come before. The truly gifted, on the other hand, will create new themes and sounds that startle us with their depth of emotion and srcinality. Yes, it all comes from those twelve notes, but somewhere in the bination has crossed over onto newcreational ground. process the comThat is what I have always strived for with my magic and mentalism. In an effort to sound analytical, not egotistical, I would like to think there is something ver y “Osterlindish”

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Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries about the effects I create. I would like to think there is just something a little bit different about what I do and the effect it achieves. Richard Osterlind Falmouth, KY August 2006

MIND MYSTERIES Volume 2 Assorted Mysteries

SWEETER AND LOWER

History I have no idea when I first created the effect Sweet and Low . I know it was long before I recorded my Challenge Magic video and that was a long time ago! I do remember that my first impression was that someone else must have done this before. It seemed so logical that I couldn’t imagine it was srcinal. I did lectures, asked other magicians, and investigated it thoroughly and still no one claimed ownership. Finally I put it out on the video and no onebeen ever came forththirty and claimed as their invention. Since it has well over years, Iitam now officially claiming it as mine! As I recently told a fellow performer, the hard part of creating magic is to come up with a simple idea that is new. It is easy to make up a long and complicated routine based on previous works. The majority of the new books and manuscripts being offered contain such material, whereas the older tomes are where you find the basic ideas that form the backbone of magic. To come up with material that is of this genre is the highest achievement. I am not suggesting Sweet and Low is of that caliber, but it certainly is beautiful because of its simplicity. And, as I will show in the bonus chapter of this book, Sweet and Low creates a new effect. That is rare. I have always studied Max Malini. Much of what I try to do comes from my own interpretation of his methods and mindset. If you examine the effects Malini performed, they were almost always Whenever younot have to pull out aa special with propordinary to do an articles. effect, and here I am talking about pad or pen, but rather some little metal box or tube or something like that, the audience will assume the magic is in the prop. But if you can do magic with things just lying around


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which the audience can keep later, the effect is tremendously enhanced. In Dai Vernon’s Malini and His Magic, there is a nice story

Tornfar and Restored Straw Cover about the on page 51. Malini would prepare ahead of time for this effect and have duplicate straw covers for every hotel in town. He knew the value of doing a standard effect, i.e. the torn and restored cigarette paper, in a novel and different way.Sweet and Low falls into the same category. It is an effect that you can always perform no matter where you are. As per the opening patter I use on the video, no matter where one goes, there is always a coffee pot. Whether you are in a fine hotel, a greasy spoon, a factory, a person’s home or apartment or an anyoffice otherbuilding, place where people spend any amount of time, there will always be coffee! And wherever you find coffee, you will find a container of sugar and sugar substitute. I have never found it a challenge to swipe a packet of Sweet and Low (or whatever brand there is in the dish) while at the table. If you wish, however, you could do as Malini and have a few of each type with you. This is really not much of a problem as there few brands. packet you switch in are andonly out isa never visible In for addition, very long the so, even if your packet differs slightly in the printing, it will never be noticed. Personally, I usually just take whatever is in my hotel room with the in-room coffee maker. That usually covers me wherever I go. It was over twenty years from the time I first demonstrated Sweet and Low on Challenge Magic to the time I put it on Mind Mysteries. It was inevitable that certain changes would

Sweeter and Lower be made. Weitdecided to call , but I still prefer to call magicians do as well). To Sweet and Lowit(most keep consistency with the video, however, it will be referred to as Sweeter and Lower here. I can offer no bigger accolade for Sweeter and Lower than

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to tell you that of every routine I have ever created, this is the one I am told that is most used by other professional magicians.

Analysis The beginning of Sweeter and Lower is a bit artificial as I bring out the packets. This routine would usually occur at dinner with a bowl of sweeteners sitting on the table. Although a minor point, I think you can see how much stronger it would playSpeaking if it seemed impromptu Malini’s strawisroutine. of Malini, I havelike to tell you there a lot to learn from watching me get that thumb tip on in the beginning of the routine. Notice that after I toss the packets on the table and ask Jon to choose and sign one, both of my hands go into my pockets and come out adjusting the flaps. The right hand, of course, has copped the tip. But the point I want to stress is that the move is done right out in the open and goes by without anyone paying attention to it. There are reasons for this. I havearticles made it a habit of often goingthe into myand pockets for different and also just to adjust flaps the way the jacket is hanging. Putting my hands into my pockets has become a normal tendency for me now and I always do it whether or not I am performing. It is an entirely natural motion and it has become my standard method for getting and ditching such things as thumb tips, nail writers, etc. Since the movement mea ns nothing to me, it means nothing to the audience. I truly believe that Malini worked with this same mindset, enabling him tosmall vanish and objects at will. the notorious size ofproduce his hands. He had to We relyall onknow this type of misdirection to be constantly so successful. Another factor that makes these kinds of moves invisible comes from years of experience in doing them so many times your subcon-


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scious mind puts no importance on them. Truly, a performer can get away with murder if his attitude while doing the dirty work is nonchalant and innocent. A small that should is when I place pick up the packet, I do point so with theIleft handmention and immediately it into my right hand. It is difficult to pick things up while wearing a thumb tip. You have no feeling! I make a big deal out of the fact that my sleeves are nowhere near my hands and even push my arms forward to cause them to slide back further. This is a type of the cancellation principle where it is implied that nothing can go up or down the sleeves and that’s the only place trickery could come from. It seems could impossible that a duplicate packet ortouch some that kindthe of gimmick be introduced. It is also a nice top of the packet has to be torn off. This makes it mandatory for the hands to come together without a wasted move. I have rewound the video at the point where the packets are switched over and over. There is really nothing to see that looks out of the ordinar y. After the top is torn off and the right hand takes the packet proper, you will see that I stand up a bit straighter and stay away from Jon. It is would be the nextpacket, to impossible for him no-a tice his signature not on but I don’t give to him chance. The packet is crumbled, covered by my fingers and far enough away from him to cover any problems. In truth, in all the years I have been performing this, no one has ever asked to see the signature at this point in the routine. I would like to mention a moment that occurred during this taping. As I was pouring the sweetener into my right fist, I used my standard line of, “How do you like it so far?” That

sweet!” always gets a laugh. Then Jon topped methought by saying, I was totally surprised that I had never of“It’s saying that myself! It is a great line and I have used it ever since! This is a perfect example, caught on video, of how routines and all the little niceties grow over the years from audience feedback and

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them writing the funny lines for you! As I have mentioned in my previous Guide Books, the actual method of an effect is only a small part of the presentation. It is the finished produc-

tion , withdetails, all those facial expressions and finished thatlittle makejokes, for a asides, totally polished performance. I like the nice close-up work the camera did when I was pouring the powder into my hands. The routine is just about angle-proof and that is so important in close-up performing. Even if someone were to look into the top of my fist (my view) while I am pouring in the sweetener, they really could not see anything. The only time the routine is not totally angle-proof is when the thumb tip is angled down, behind the fingers, after the is put slighttakes twistcare of the wrist The and bringing in the torn handtop closer to in. theAchest of that. benefits of doing the routine in this way far outweigh the slight problem of angles. The new finish of Sweeter and Lower uses a flash restoration. This, I believe, is far better than the srcinal method of just opening the hand and showing the packet restored. Besides being more visible, it has another advantage. The right hand can be shown completely empty just before the climax. If you watch the video again, you willThe see finger that I movement rub my right fingers together as I say, “Watch.” is meant to look like I am getting ready to work the magic, but the secondary reason is to draw attention to the empty hand and show its innocence. I never design any of my routines to fool magicians, but this move does have that effect for anyone looking for a thumb tip. The blowing at the hands at the flash restoration also has a twofold reason for taking place. It looks magical, but it also scatters powder into the air. It’s almost a little puf f of smoke! Now, over the years, I have had somelike magicians criticize the routine because there is some powder left over on the hands and the table. I never could understand the logic of the criticism. If you really tore open a packet, poured the contents into


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your hand and then restored it, it would be entirely natural for some of the sweetener to be scattered in the process. It only proves that the packet was really opened and the powder dumped out. is also a perfect one. The restored packet comThe ending pletely covers the thumb tip and the hands can be shown very freely. If you look at the faces of the audience members, you can almost see their thought process as they shake their heads. First is the obvious look of astonishment at seeing the packet restored in such a clean manner. The second rush of astonishment comes when they realize that Jon’s signature is still intact! I would never even consider doing this routine without having the packet signed. That is what puts it into such a miracle category. I want to make a very important point here. Notice how at the end of the routine I hand the packet back to Jon and say, “Check it out. Is that your name on it? Is it all sealed up?” I use questions, not statements. If I had said, “There is the packet all sealed up and your name is on it,” it would not play nearly as well. By asking the questions, I am causing the spectators to admit that the miracle has happened. Even if they don’t ver-

mentally balize theythe arefocus it. It also subconsciously impliesit,that is onadmitting the miracle and not me. It comes back to me, of course, but that is not the main focus. I write about this in The Principles of Magic extensively. To sum it up here, ego is never recognized as a desirable trait. You don’t want to come across as, “Look what a great man I am.” Instead it should be, “Look at this wonderful thing that has happened!” I’m sorry for being blunt, but if you get nothing more out of this book than that, you will have spent your money well. Notice at thumb this point thewhen routine am in to nomy rush to get rid of the tip. in Even mythat handI drops side, I don’t make an attempt to pocket it yet. I wait until I see the audience attention has dropped before going south with it. Let me finish by saying I am always leery about routines

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that need to be reset or cannot be repeated immediately. I actually wrote about this in my book, The Principles of Magic, where I stated that a routine should be so good that you should be repeat and it instantly. I still hold that ruleItand don’t feelable thattoSweeter thatby principle. could be Lower violates repeated before the same audience with the same results, but just as in stage performances, there are feature effects and the same holds true in close-up magic. Sweeter and Lower is one of them. It is a mini-illusion. I always give it a good build up and even invite people at other tables to come over to see this. I let them know before I begin that this is going to be very special and I don’t want them

This alsoyears implies that I am not goingand to do it again! to miss I can tellit.you from of performing that Sweeter Lower people realize they have seen an event that will not be repeated that night!

CHANGE OF MIND

History This routine actually consists of two inventions. I have always been enamored with the one-ahead principle and Mental Epic type effects. I must have owned a dozen different versions over the years. Additionally, as of this time, I have put out the Ultra Board, the Epitome Board, two versions of Steno ESP (there is actually an improved, no-force version on my new videos to be released in 2007) and the method I use here

Padmanufacturer which IEpic call effect the Turnover . (I also havewill invented a new that a noted be making in Mental the near future.) So I have given a lot of thought to the effect. The Turnover Pad was developed about a year before I came out with Change of Mind in the 80’s. I used it for other purposes before that, but it seemed to go perfectly with the COM gimmick. I recently had a friendly debate with another mentalist who asked, “How can you say you own the idea of turning over a pad?” The fact is, up until I developed and published the idea,effect no one else he had. That’s why! Yes, Max had number where used the move to switch a setanofadd-anumbers, but no one had thought of using the idea for a one-ahead routine. It is the very simplicity of the idea that makes it so good. To be complete, I should also mention there are versions of the Himber Wallet that have pads in them. You could use one of these in the same way. You will, of course, have to work out a handling where you have to open and close the pad for each prediction. That should really not present too much of a problem thinking mentalist. Therefor is the a version of the Change of Mind gimmick in J. G. Thompson’s, My Best. It is called Ghost Coins by George Starke on page 188 of that tome. The truth is that I had not seen that prior to inventing COM. It was brought to my atten-


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tion by another magician. I still would have put out the effect, however, as the effect in the book had nothing to do with my own. The purpose of that gimmick was to vanish a handful of coins Onsilently. the video explanations, we happened to have used a Vermont quarter. At the time, these state quarters were relatively new. Now, they are very abundant and that only helps the routine. Instead of just predicting the coin and the date, you can also predict the state if the chosen coin is one of those. Additionally, if you notice a mark or any dirt or discoloration on the coin, you can add that to your prediction. Finally, you don’t have to stick to coins. You can keep the money theme by predicting last of four numbers a bill’s serial the last fourthe digits a credit card,ofand finally the number, coin. Youthen can also dispense with the money theme completely and predict anything. Although this works, it is a bit harder to justify using the coins at the end. Finally, I would like to add that the stage coin prediction has been widely overlooked. Looking back, I almost wish I had performed that routine on one of the videos to show how strong it plays. There seems to be no apparent way for you to control the whenafter they areread standing on might the other side spectator’s of the stage.actions Hopefully, you this, you give it a try.

Analysis Although I had to rely on Scotty to produce some coins to use this routine, reviewing performance, I don’t think thatin detracted. Thein whole thing the looked very normal and everyone could see the coins were all different. When I asked Jon and Janelle to put the coins in their pockets, I said to Jon, “In your own pocket! I just read Jon’s mind!” This got a nice laugh.

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This is about as far as I would go in using this kind of humor. It was just the slightest bit risqué, but not offensive. I only mention this because the biggest blunder I see some magicians make is too familiar with ladyyou volunteers over of becoming double entendres. Whenever perform,and youthe have to use assume the lowest common denominator of prudence in your audience. What might seem mildly offensive to one person might be hugely offensive to another. Once you cross that line, it is hard to ever go back. To some, placing the pad on the table and walking away while Janelle signs her name might seem a bit risky. You might think there is too great a chance someone might pick up the pad andin turn over.years Oneof ofperforming the most valuable lessons have learned myitmany is that you can’tIthink that way. If you go into a routine worried about what things might go wrong or who might try to mess you up, you will have problems. But, if you are confident and put those thoughts out of your mind, they simply never happen. This, perhaps, is one of the hardest lessons to learn in magic. Let me quote Edwin T. Sachs from one of my favorite books,Sleight of Hand: “If to this delicacy of manipulation is added a suavity of

manner, accompanied never-failing cool daring, then the perfection of a conjurerbyisaattained.” As soon as Janelle is finished and I pick up the pad I say, “Did you even look at the coins as you put them into your pocket …?” I really don’t care here what she will say. It is the question that is important! When you ask a person a question, they immediately look into your eyes and think about it. That takes all the heat off the pad immediately. If you review the video, you won’t find one person looking at the pad. “I don’t know whether thisuse is going to work or then say,my I write first prediction. I often this ruse. I really not”I as want the audience to believe I am unsure of myself and might miss. If you take out the element of the possibility of failure, you destroy much of the punch of the climax at the end.


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When she brings forth the coin, a quarter, I look at it, but do not mention the date. I just slide it over next to the prediction I just made. That is important. Although later I will separate coins from theseright papers asto I open them, I am careful here the to put each paper next its coin. This forestalls anyone from thinking there is any funny business going on. I have to tell you my eyesight is not all that good. I had to ask Janelle to call out the date on the penny Jon chose because I couldn’t see it! If you have better vision that me, then please just note the date and do not announce it yet. When I get to my own prediction, I try to make it sound as if I just got the idea to use one of my coins. I say, “You know

what I’m going to do since havedoing somethis coins in my Ipocket?” It’s almost as though I am Ionly because do have some coins and wouldn’t if I didn’t. At least that is what I hope they are thinking. I have developed a style of working where I sometimes seem unsure of just what I am going to do. This is my personality and how I work, but I would never tell you to do the same. If it is natural for you, let me tell you it is very effective. The idea that you are creating the conditions of each test as you go makes it all seem ver y fair. Again, you will have to decide if this is have the right approach forhow your ownof style. You probably already noticed I sort jiggle my hand when I display the gimmick and loose coins. This, as per the explanation, is what really makes the coins all appear separate. Then I had one removed from my own coat pocket. Please, please, please do not do what I saw one magician do that used his pants pocket, thinking he was clever. That is not acceptable! As soon as the coin is selected and handed to me, notice how I immediately slide the coins in a line and say, “So this

was of the order things happened” leaving the papers kind untouched. The audience attention iswhile momentarily on the coins. Then, in one motion, I sweep up all the papers together and say, “Each time you signed the paper, I made a prediction and then you removed a coin.” This is the only time there is a

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move of any sort. Please rewind and watch this section again and notice how quickly it all goes by. If anyone suspects how the papers are now bunched together, they are immediately reminded each paper was signed ahead of time before the coins werethat chosen. As I open them, I also say, “OK, and this last one was mine.” Let me tell you a little subtlety I did not mention in the explanations. I always give my own billet a special little twist so that I can tell it apart from the other two. Then I make sure I open it last so that I can use the above line and make it all seem so fair. Here is another subtlety. As I open the three papers, I turn to the girl on my right and say, “You keep an eye on me. Make

sure I don’t switch anything!” Again, using the allow cancellation principle. By suggesting that only Ia am switch would me to cheat, I am canceling out the true solution! Now I recap. I tell Janelle, for about the third time, how first she signed the paper, then I wrote a prediction and finally she selected a coin. I am trying to lock in the order of events. When I get to Jon, I even add, “You signed the paper. There’s no way I could have switched this prediction!” Again I am using the cancellation principle. I recap with end theabout demonstration. YouFinally, might notice the lastCassandra thing I sayand is, “Think that one!” I say this because, after years of performing this routine, I have learned that people do go back and retrace the steps. I often have spectators come back later in the night and say, “That was totally impossible what you did with those coins!” It is almost as though they had to think it through thoroughly to really grasp how impossible it was!

SPOON BEN DING

History There is so much to say about this subject. It has been many years since Uri Geller made his appearance. His metal bending demonstrations made him famous and controversial. To this day, he is still well known and talked about whenever things psychic are discussed. It was about 17 or 18 years ago that I did a lecture tour that started in New Orleans, ran through Texas and Okalahoma and ended in Philadelphia. on the in road for overHea month. While on this tour, IWe metwere Banachek Houston. had already been one of the Alpha Kids and I had been bending spoons for years. We had a great time showing each other what we had developed and this is where I learned how to twist a spoon. Later, I became friends with one of Japan’s top performers, Mr. Maric. While having dinner, I showed him how I bent a spoon. He used a variation of this method on his next TV special fooled me Ibadly with it! Ion then changed that and is the method demonstrate this video. it further and What one has to remember when it comes to spoon bending is that even a slight change in angles or methods can make the effect look totally different. It is amusing to read on the Internet how different posters think this person or that person can do it better. Another person who I have to give credit to for giving me great inspiration for this bend and others is Meir Yedid. It has nothing, however, to Finger do withFantasies! spoon bending. I was him do his amazing He later toldwatching me that many magicians believed he was double-jointed and could bend his fingers in all manner of contortions. In reality, he said, it was angles! He told me that getting the perfect line of sight


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made even a simple move look like a miracle. I applied this same logic to my metal bending. One thing I can promise you is a fact is that almost no other effect hard asI ahave goodtalked metalabout bending tion. In my hits otherasbooks, the demonstrapower that magic should demonstrate. It should somehow reflect an idea that has meaning. When you just wave your hand over a metal object and it bends, the audience sees pure power! It can almost look a little scary at times and certainly thoughts come into the spectators’ minds such as, “ What else can this guy do with his abilities?” When working close up, I will often approach a table that is very and always begin by bending spoon and thenoisy result is loud. alwaysI almost the same. A hush falls over theacrowd and I gain instant respect! Since it is so different, people don’t automatically assume you are just a magician wanting to do a few tricks! Additionally, other tables can see what is happening and soon everyone in the room wants you to come to their table. That is why I always do the Matrix bend, which I demonstrate later on the video. It can be seen from everywhere and tells the house who you are and what you do. I often hear

at table, what that there is doing!” remarks like, “Look Then, when I approach their theyguy areover all set to listen and watch. This routine has to be the most powerful of all those on Mind Mysteries.

Analysis When I begin Ithis I sayshow, that IFox am and goingFriends to demonstrate something didroutine, on the TV and later picked up by the E Network’s Talk Soup. Please understand how diabolical this is. Television is seen in many people’s minds as the supreme test of whether or not you are famous

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and important. In reality, it means little unless you have a sitcom that pays you a small fortune or a public performing venue, i.e. David Copperfield, where your appearance may bring in bigger crowds. For–most entertainers, being on television able to say you were on television. That’s about means it. Still,being saying it can mean a lot as to how you are accepted and what kind of prestige you have. Tell them in the wrong way, however, and you come across as a braggart. If, for instance, you say, “I am famous and have been on television!” most people would look at you and think, “Who cares?” regardless of whose show you were on! There is a technique to talking about your past accomplishments. This includes not only television, but anything prestigious thatalways you might want this yourkind audience to know about. You should mention of event in a manner that applies to what you are going to demonstrate. I did this here by explaining that I was surprised the guy on the show Talk Soup did not make fun of me when they put my performance, srcinally done on Fox and Friends, on their weekend edition. I made an interesting little prelude while talking about a national TV show I was on! Let me give you a few other examples I use all the time.

“Let me show youhe something I was performing it for President Ford, told me itthat, was when his favorite!” Or … “I use this large deck of cards because sometimes the crowds I work for are quite large. Last year I did two shows at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake city for 4500 people each.” Or … “When I was in Beijing, I did this for 600 Chinese businessmen who didn’t speak English! I had to use an interpreter!” Throwing in one theseinstantly little asides cando boost your acceptance level 500% (or of more) if you it the right way. When I get to the spoons, I toss out four of them and offer a choice as to which one I should use. Let me elaborate on a very important point here.


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In this instance, I to use my own spoons as we were shooting a video. For real shows, there is always a question as to whether it is better to bring your own silverware or use what is on the table. story of Malini a card through an antique table The comes to mind. The stabbing hostess was appalled at the knife marks, but Malini told her she should be thrilled as it was the Great Malini who did it! This makes for a good story, but I would hesitate to offer that as good advice. I always bring my own silverware. If no one objects, I can always use what’s present. I buy large tablespoons very cheaply at a local dollar store or Wal-Mart if they are carrying the right type. I also use a small vinyl pencil case that will hold about 15 spoons. By bringing out atletting least four or five atchoose a time,the having them examined and then the spectator one to use, I never have a problem with anyone suspecting trick spoons. Additionally, I always let the spectator keep the spoon once it has been bent. It’s amazing how many people hang on to them as souvenirs! I always take the chosen spoon and hold it up next to another one to show it is exactly the same shape. That is important as, later, I will demonstrate how much the spoon has bent by repeating theI movement. Notice that explain that what I am about to show them is

different. I tell them that whenever this has been done before, people never see it happening. They just see the results. Then I tell them they will actually see bending take place. Again, I have to stop here for a second and talk about another technique I often use. It is the technique of making what I do special! You have to be able to do this without openly putting down another performer, but you certainly can make it others sound likeYou you are become miles ahead of what do! think This you is a business. don’t successful unless people are the best. There is nothing wrong with promoting your individuality while performing. You don’t have to do srcinal material to talk like this. You just have to have srcinal presenta-

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tions! I used to do the standard Linking Rings. I used it as an opener and would say, “Although you have probably seen this before, most magicians do it very fast and try to fool you with

speed. Tonight am the going to do itperformed for you very and demonstrate theI way Chinese this slowly over 5000 years ago!” The technique not only accomplishes a very important purpose, but also gives the necessary misdirection to make the first bend. Since the conversation is interesting, and apparently necessary, people listen to me and don’t watch my hands. Some magicians think that just talking will provide misdirection. It won’t if you don’t say something interesting. Then some magicians a big joke or causes gag is the to of go.a That is OK, but if think the gagthat is too large and too way much commotion, people will know they missed something later after the effect is over. That is when you always hear: “Do that again. I wasn’t paying attention!” You have to divert attention, but you have to do it without the audience knowing you did it! I now need to talk about angles. The camera angle on this effect was not the best for the first bend, but I was playing it for the audience. You can still see it, but not as well as they could. This is what was talking about that in theisHistory section.inItspoon is the the spectators so important line of sight Iof bending. You can certainly see the reactions on the faces of the audience as it bends and see they are impressed. Later, in the explanations, you get the full effect. You can also see it better in the bonus sections. Now I do the comparison with the unbent spoon. This is more important than you might first think. First, you get another moment! Please think about this and understand why I think is holding so important. have spoon, alreadythey reacted the bend, this but by it up toThey the other reacttoagain without me having to do anything! Not only do they react, but applaud! It is during this applause that I am able to put in the next bend! So not only is the first effect reinforced by this ma-


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neuver, but I can get one-ahead for the next effect! Here I do two things I want to bring to your attention. I talk about the accusation that I have strong fingers and disprove I could bending spoon tion at one at another. Dobe you se e thethe cancella pripoint nciplebya tholding work? it I am suggesting that the only way the spoon could bend by force is if I apply force it during the bending process. They will be looking for that next time and it won’t happen since it’s already bent. That brings me to the second point. The wonderful thing about bending items it that it is nearly impossible to compare the degrees of a bend. At this point in the routine, I am holding a spoon that to I have put another bend thenthat I am going to pretend bendjust it some more and thenin,show it has bent some more. That is three effects even though they only see two! Let me explain. When I talk and show the spoon after the second secret bend, I am still showing it as having the same degree of bend as after the first bend. That’s the first hidden effect. Next, I pretend to bend the spoon a second time. That’s the second effect, which is open. Finally, I show the spoon to have bent more. That’s the third open effect even though the degree ofso thewonderful bend is the same as before I did anything. That’s what’s about spoon bending! The next two bends, the Karate bend and the Matrix bend, both get their additional bends through the wider use of movement. Since I don’t want to overuse the ruse of putting in a bend and then talking, I prefer to openly hold the spoon while the dialogue is going on the put the bend in at the last minute. For the Karate bend, I swing my arms left to right and get the bend in just as the spoon goes under the tabletop. The spoon immediately comes up take into aposition ready forofthe of the karate chop. Please look at the faces themotion audience in the background shot as this is taking place. You can see their obvious reactions. This is the bend I use in restaurants while standing to attract attention to myself from other tables and

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areas of the room. When I want to do that, I make sure I stand on the side of the table that allows most of the other tables to see me as I stand there. I actually think about this kind of thing first walk over andrest always choose allowswhen me toIbe best seen by the of the room!the side that For the Matrix bend, I actually place the spoon on the table while talking to subtly imply that I am not even touching it ahead of time. I then pick it up and put in thebend as I move it upwards to my face. This is the only place on the video where I felt a bit restricted. Since I normally stand when I work, I had to adapt to my seated position. This worked fine for everything except this last bend. I was forced to almost lean backwards to get the best angles and maximum When look at the just video, I can see that strained position.effect. For your ownI edification, know this is usually done standing and there is no such cramping. An important point I have not mentioned before is to make sure to swivel the spoon around after it bends so that the entire audience can see how much it has bent. If you don’t, those who are sitting in less ideal positions won’t get the maximum effect. This applies to any effect where the audience has to see something. I have watched other mentalists do prediction effects and

everyone sometimes to turn prediction to the time to they makefailed sure the wholethe room sees what you are. Take doing! Notice how Cassandra jumps when I hand the spoon to her! This is not an uncommon reaction and I get it often. It shows how strongly this type of effect plays. And, also notice how I give away the spoon to her at the end. This tells everyone, not only her, that the spoon is normal. That, I should mention, is the most often expressed explanation of how the spoon bends; that it is rigged! You must give it away at the end. One of the companies I workfound for onout a steady basis of is made up of engineers. I have recently that some them have actually taken the spoons back to their laboratories to test them! How I love this work!

RADIO SUM TOTAL

History Larry Becker is a good friend who I have known for many years. When his World of Super Mentalism came out, I fell in love with Some Total. I loved the idea of reversing the addition process so that you begin with the problem and the audience provides the answer! That was a stroke of genius! I immediately saw the potential to use the effect on the radio. Over the years, I must have used it over a dozen times and it always got adrive tremendous response. would leaveand thelisten building to home, turn on the Iradio to always the station to the callers raving about it. Many years later, I got a call from Larr y and he asked me if I could give him something for his new book, Stunners! I told him I would be happy to, but it would be one of his own. He laughed, said, “OK” and we hung up. After he got my write-up, he called me back and told me he loved it. Later, when I did Mind Mysteries, I called him again and asked if I could in-

“Sure. It’s yours anyways!” I said, “Well, of clude it.not, Hebut said, course thank you!” I made only a few changes in the effect. I used cards instead of the wallet with the window and I changed the positioning of the numbers. Since people at home would be writing this down, and therefore studying it later, I wanted to make sure there was nothing to find. There isn’t as the way the numbers are situated, even if you knew the math and tried to say the certain numbers at those positions are always one less than the would only be ahappen guess. In a really random the total, same itsituation would normally. No one,problem, in fact, has ever come up with the solution. Larry deser ves 99% of all the credit. He even added a very nice point to the routine by adding the drawing of the line just


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before making the switch. That was the finishing touch and I don’t know if this could be improved anymore. You have to think it out to appreciate it. From the home listener’s point of table view,since the card with numbers on it has been laying on the before youthe begin. You apparently never touch it. The listeners actually take part in the whole procedure by just listening or by calling in. Usually, in this kind of routine, the audience has to take the host’s word that everything is on the up and up and that what the host says is written really is. In this case, however, they can see everything! They write the problem, write down the total, and then do the addition themselves. They take an active part! theya won’t do theshow work,with either How many times haveDon’t you think watched television a .touch-the-screen effect and someone goes up to the TV and does it? Someone always has to! Likewise, if you set this up right, people at home will really go and get a pencil and some paper. How many other effects can you think of that can do that? I have found that in almost any magician’s career, at one time or another, they will be asked to come onto the radio and do something. This is perfect! Even if you are a magician, this will workonfor you. And unlike the effects over performed TV, the audience can touch-the-screen back track this routine and over again and never see the work. It is the perfect radio routine!

Analysis save awe bitbegan of time I passed out Isome pencils enceTobefore this segment. decided not to to the passaudiout the cards until we began, thinking that maybe some people would think that some cards had writing or instructions on them. This is a minor point, but one which I went into in great

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detail in my new videos which will be released in 2007. As I begin, I mention how often I have performed what I am going to show them on radio stations across the country. This is done for exactly the same reason as radio I pointed in a previous chapter. Although not television, still out denotes importance and makes you look good. My silent script sometimes goes beyond just a script. Sometimes I find myself assuming a silent personality! I remember sitting at the table as we filmed this and acting like David Letterman on The Late Show ! I also remember letting myself go with it as that happened and, if you study my mannerisms and speech pattern, you will see I really did do that! Asthird I show the card withis,the numbers, cover the numbers at the position. This of course, notI necessary if you do the routine on the radio, but I wanted those watching this video to have no clue as to any changes. When I mention that the problem has over 100,000 possibilities, I just tell them to write the number 1 on their card. I don’t offer further explanation, I just do it. I explained this technique in my earlier Guide Books. If you just tell the audience to do something, without trying to get fancy and justify why,You theymay willnotice just dothat it. I glance over to my right just before the second number is called. This has nothing to do with this routine, but let me tell you why I did that. We were being video recorded and there were three cameras. Because of my experience on TV, I am always leery of a potential camera shooting over my back when I have something I need to hide. If you ever work on television, be aware of the fact that often cameramen, tired with just shooting a straight on shot, will look for waysThis to capture thatdifferent shouldn’t be seen! Just for the routinesomething requires five responses. record, you could ask for a 2-digit number and a 3-digit number to speed things up. I wanted to use five people, however, for maximum effect. I knew that could get tedious. So, after


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the third number was called out, I turned to the gentleman sitting next to me and said , “You didn’t get a card, did you?” I’m sure the audience expected me to give him a card. Then I

“Well,isyou’ll just to have to when watch!” said, Thatmay got abegreat laugh. The lesson you have learn things dragging a bit. Some mentalism routines are a little longer. By putting in a few jokes or clever asides, you break it up into smaller segments that don’t seem to be overly long. Notice how perfectly the card switch works. I am talking and making sense in what I am saying and that distracts any attention from my hands. In the radio station format,you would most likely have only the one host to fool, but the move is so good that it goes bythe even a roomful of people. mentioned in the explanations, idea of drawing the lineAs was Larry’s and it is the perfect compliment to the switch. When I ask Cassandra to call out the numbers on the card, I realized she has a slight accent. That is why I began calling out loud the numbers with her. Although it was not a major concern here, let me advise you that whenever you need to have a spectator reveal some information out loud, be prepared to call it out with them in case they have a weak voice, are timid or just areIunable to speak clearly. Notice how get more and more excited as the numbers come together. When I finally call out the total, I almost shout , “164,728 – the same number you folks just formed!” Then, if you listen carefully, you will hear me yelling, “Isn’t that crazy? How could that be?!” I am building up as much excitement as I can muster. The final line, “Man! Sometimes I spook myself!” is not only very funny but also portrays me as a regular guy who is sometimes startled by these things as my audience. That provides a just niceaswarm feeling to the audience and denotes a feeling of humility and fun. If you ever do this in a radio station you will miss all that great audience feedback. It is a funny feeling. But, when you

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get into your car after the show and start driving, it is wonderful to listen to callers going crazy over how it worked for them right at home. This is a wonderful routine and is possibly the best radio magic/mentalism ever!

UNCANNY

History I grew up with Frank Garcia’s Million Dollar Card Secrets and Super Subtle Card Miracles. Those two books contain enough great card material for any magician to make a living the rest of their life as a close-up card worker. Jim Sisti, my business partner, knew Frank well and they were good friends. Time and time again, he has expressed the highest admiration for Frank’s incredible skills and remarkable character. The books mentioned were released in 1972 and, Volumes 1973. Ten years2,later, 1 and were The Close-Up Magic of Frank Garcia released. Within the pages of the first volume is the effect, Uncanny. In its srcinal dress, a card is selected and lost in the deck. The magician shows that neither the top or second card is the selection. That top card is taken and held face-down by the fingertips. Suddenly it turns over and it is the selection! For a card worker, I would not suggest changing a single thing. It is perfect for the purpose of showing off one’s skill with a deckapplication. of cards. ButI Idiscovered am a mentalist andcarefully immediately saw a different that by applying less and less pressure, I could cause the card to turn over very slowly in a very eerie way. The effect looked more like one of telekinesis than magic. I used it for many years and then forgot about it until I wrote the book, Making Magic Real. In that book is a chapter called The Magic State of Mind which deals with effects that work using your own ideo-motor reflexes. The idea was to just think theThe effect to happen without any muscles. result is the magic feelsconsciously real becausemoving you simply will it to happen! I chose to use the Haunted Key and Uncanny as examples. When planning the contents ofMind Mysteries, I decided to includeUncanny to show those who had read


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the book how real it could look. Hopefully, my point was made. Some changes had to be made to the srcinal routine for this routine. I decided to discard the srcinal idea of an indifferent changing the selection since is a mental effect. Icard decided to useinto a just-think type of cardthis selection which is explained on the video. It alone is very powerful as can be seen from the first effect (mistake!) with Cassandra. Next, I altered the grip so that the card is held from beneath instead of above. I found this looks much better for my purpose. Finally, I had the card turn over very, very slowly to enhance the apparent psychic nature of the effect. I am very pleased with the results.

with thefor Million Frank GarciaI was known consider himasa “The geniusMan responsible some Dollar Hands.” of the greatest close-up magic ever created. I encourage the reader to look up the srcinal routine for Uncanny to understand how clever it is. The opening proving sequence is remarkable for its simplicity and effectiveness. As a matter of fact, everything Frank Garcia did was remarkable for its simplicity and effectiveness!

Analysis The analysis of the first part of this effect should be titled: What to do when things don’t go the way you planned! As you will see, you have to stay on your toes all the time. Some people are much better spectators than others! In the opening of Uncanny, I begin the effect with Cassandra. I spring the cardsand in front of her haveI done sands of times, I am sure sheeyes, had which seen a Icard. followthouwith my standard line of questioning which is, “If I took these cards like this, and went in front of your eyes like this, could you think of a card that quickly?” She says, “Yes” and I am sure

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she has the one I saw. The ruse at this point is supposed to be that I say, “Do you have one already?” She is then supposed to say, “Yes” at which point I act surprised that she already thought of one and nowcan I am fix!video, That she is what is supposed happen! As you seein onathe says “No.” So I doto it again and the second time, she tells me she is not sure and wants to do it one more time! Finally, on the third attempt, she gets a card. At this point, it suddenly dawns on me that if I just continue, it might look like I am trying to force a card on her and failing. After quickly thinking that out, I say to her, “Did you think of different cards each time?” and she says, “Yeah!” This gets me out of that fix and makes the routine look even fairer than planned. So,I so far so good. Now I am thinking better play it safe and I ask her, “Is it a lower card?” She says, “Yes” and I am OK. But my plan goes wrong again! I meant to spread the cards, keeping the selection under my finger, appear to get a feeling about one card and pick it up. In the process of spreading the cards however, the selection sticks to my hand and accidentally flips over! But it flips over in a very elegant way. I say, “Was that your card?” and Cassandra screams out, “Oh my God!” The audience goes

“Man, two in good, a row!” nutsI and I am decide to thinking, try it again, but that’s elect to use old faithful Janelle. Let me tell you, Janelle is the perfect spectator! She is so good that I have heard magicians accuse her of being a plant or set up. She is neither of those, just someone who instinctively has fun with magic and knows how to react. I do the riffle in front of her and ask her to think of a card. I know exactly what the card is at this point, but decide to ask her if it was another black card. Besides the fact that this mimics what I did earlier withitCassandra, I will Isometimes in a question just to make look as though am unsurethrow of myself. As I have said before, if the audience doesn’t feel any suspense that you might miss, you won’t have even half of the effect. I now am getting my confidence back and am thinking


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clearly again. I say, “Let me try something a little different with yours,” as though everything I have done so far was planned! this want tojust impress audience with the thatAt this is point, specialIand not a cardthe trick, but I don’t wantfact to say it that way and sound like I am degrading magicians. So, instead, I say, “This is different. I’m sure a good card magician could do something better than this.” Do you see what that accomplishes? It takes away any comparisons with card tricks and yet makes me sound humble at the same time. If something miraculous does happen, it certainly can’t be the result of sleight of hand!

“Keep As I pick the Icard and begin I say, thinking of theupcard. don’t know if Ithe caneffect, do this. It’s been a while since I did something like this.” This may seem as though I am overanalyzing, but you have to know that I really do think out these things. Notice I didn’t say,“It’s been a while since I did this,” but rather, “something like this.” The wording implies that I am talking about moving objects with my mind, not this particular card effect and that I am unsure of whether or not it will work. This is immediately enhanced when I say, “Look. Is itand starting Please turn upasthe volume of your video listento to move?” the background voices I stare at the card and it begins to turn over. You can hear the gasps of amazement. I get the audience reacting vocally by asking, “Is it moving?” and then saying, “This is kind of weird, isn’t it?” This requires a response from them. The effect here is not one of finding someone’s card, but moving an inanimate object with the power of the mind. I keep saying, “Come on!” as though I cannot let my own mental willing of the card to move to overmy flow When Janelle finally screams out, it’s almost an anticlimax to the effect of the“That’s animation card!”verbally. of the card. It certainly looks more psychic than magical. I love this kind of effect. The ability to move something is as fascinating as bending something. Please don’t restrict your

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thinking to just using playing cards. This method will work equally well with a business or index card. I’m sure, with a little thought, you can think of at least one of the myriad of effects using such cards whereso this principle could be applied as an adjunct. There is really much in magic waiting to be found!

LOTTERY EFFECT

History I really cannot claim any credit for either this effect or the one that follows, the Cell Phone effect. The Swami Gimmick has been used to predict just about anything imaginable. I can tell you that I have been doing the Lotter y Effect for as long as I can remember. It always seemed so much more logical to predict something of value, i.e. the lottery number, than just any three numbers called out. It also gave me the perfect excuse to use three instead ofmoving one. In that could do the writing onspectators the off-beat when fromway, oneIto another and addressing them. Even though it is a thoroughly contrived situation, people do really wonder if you can predict the actual lottery numbers! This is fascinating to me and just proves how your audience wants to give real world value to your powers! You should always bear this fact in mind. Corinda gives many great routines in the opening chapter of 13 Steps. One of them is the Living and Dead Test which he credits to Al Baker. Like Corinda, amI couldn’t not a fanbelieve of this kind of effect, butwith one this day I decided to tryI it. the reaction I got simple test. Again, because it has real world meaning, i.e. picking out who has passed on, it strikes home with ten times more effect than simply predicting a number or color. Please read this step. I remember sending away for an effect where newspaper reproductions of famous events in history were shown. One was freely chosen and, when your prediction was checked, it matched! arrived, I was upset first.been The taught methoda was a nailWhen writer!it Then I realized that at I had valuable lesson. There is nothing you can’t predict with a nail writer and do it effectively! Besides, the newspapers really were worth the price of the effect.


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This little gimmick is “The Greatest Little Gimmick in the World” as Eric Mason says of the Boon Gimmick and Corinda about all Swami Gimmicks. Corinda also states, “The impact

of the itSwami Gimmick is so strong at As the that reader times appears that youused mustin beMentalism using a stooge.” may know, the use of stooges is something I feel very strongly about. Here we have a single gimmick that can do anything a stooge can! So why even go there? There are a lot of different types of gimmicks being produced these days. I read of them on the Internet forums. That is great and I hope, in time, to explore them all. But I am reminded of when I first started playing the drums. Even though Icould keptplay getting better and I was always much better if better I had adrum reallysets, professional set. Itsure tookI years to learn the real truth. Rather than spend all your time looking for that perfect Swami, may I suggest you put in as much time practicing with it. I know on the video I talk about how even getting close to the word will pass, but the fact is, the better you get at writing, the more relaxed you will be and the better you will present your mysteries. I always have a gimmick on me and am ready

go for it at anythe to time. And here’s ainlittle hint: they will even make it through metal detector the airport!

Analysis This is going to be a real interesting comparison between this effect and the Cell Phone Effect which follows. Both are really one inis the samesomewhere and yet they are different night and day. There an idea in The effect. Jinx for aascard You either learn the card taken (stack?) or force a card. The spectator thinks of the card. You pick up the pad and write something. When the person announces the card, you turn

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over the pad and show you have drawn a picture of the card! Now is the really the most basic card effect you can do, but dressed up in a way that has tremendous appeal and presenta-

anti-thinking tional value.seem It is the of most (Sorr if I sometime harsh with magicians, butmagici I haveans. known a ylot of them!) Many magicians look at a new effect and say, “That’s really just the so-and-so routine done a bit differently.” Instead of seeing what makes magic so great and what is important, they are always just looking for new secrets. The truth is there are only so many basic principles in the art of magic. That by no means limits the possibilities. There are only twelve notes in the scale and less than that many colors in the spectrum, yet look at what has been donein with them. I have recommended the Tarbell as the bestalways place to learn Course Magic magic’s basic principles. I could show you how my entire act comes from variations of ideas from those pages. There certainly is nothing new in these two effects, but they hit home like dynamite! Normally I stand when I perform. When shooting a video, things are a bit more restricted. Because I had a number of people up close, if I stood while performing these effects, the camera angles would have been atrocious and close-up shots next to impossible. Because of this, I had my Swami Gimmick inside my jacket pocket instead of my pants pocket (my preference). This is why it took me a bit longer to get the gimmick on. The opening spiel about gambling and Connecticut serves as both a set-up for the effect and as a means of allowing me to get my gimmick on. Notice how long I have my hand in there and how no one is paying the slightest bit of attention to that. Instead, they are listening carefully to me talk. Afterthe I pretend write I make a point of putting pencil attothe far my endforecast, of the table. I doitthis not to prove that it is too far away for me to sneak it back, but to draw subtle attention to it so that they will remember it was out of my hand. I have always used the patter here when I do this


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effect. Talking about them being in my living room has a kind of feeling of intimacy about it. I always notice a slight change in facial expressions when I do this. Perhaps people think of a performer asmy a distant of individual. When Iof talk coming into house, type it changes the complexion theabout relationship ever so slightly. I try to make the spectators actually visualize the lottery ball container. People really do try to see a picture like this in their minds if you ask them to. By not just naming a number, but seeing a number on an imaginary ball, their minds are more occupied and less likely to try to look for some trickery. I don’t write the first two numbers down as they are called out, but rather one-behind, the sometimes first number as I actually tell the secondwork person to see the writing ball. Note: I will be holding the card in my left hand when the first number is called and then transfer it over to my right as I turn to the second person. It is interesting to note that I again unconsciously look over my right shoulder to make sure there is no camera as I talk to Jon! Here is something I didn’t mention in the explanations. After it in andIdrop hand to my the lap.third Thatnumber is whenisI called, ditchedI write the gimmick. just my placed it on my lap and then leaned forward to show the card. Look at how clean the ending of this effect is with both hands obviously empty. Also notice how I retrieved the gimmick immediately and actually was putting it back on while I displayed the card. The reason was that I didn’t want to leave it in my lap too long and take a chance that it might move. It is easy to find a nail writer in your pocket, but not so easy to find one in your lap As if you can’t look! I talked about on the video, the reason this plays so strongly is that it is about gambling. It is about making big money using the abilities of the mentalist. Who would not like to be able to know the winning lottery number ahead of time?

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I can remember from my childhood, magic books talking about the Miser’s Dream having so much appeal because it shows the magician producing money. If a crowd can relate to seeing a few beingmore pulled out of the as that silver seems,dollars how much pertinent is itair, to as seefar-fetched someone actually predict a lottery number worth a lot more than that? You may be wondering what I say if someone comes up to me afterwards and asks me if I can really predict the lottery number. Here is the secret of handling that! I tell them, “I was able to do that because I was working with peoples’ minds. The real lottery numbers are chosen by stupid machines that don’t have minds!” That always gets an understanding nod and then they walk away.

CELL PHONE EFFECT

History I was on stage, nail writer in place, ready to do a prediction effect, when someone’s cell phone went off in the audience. I immediately decided to use the person on the other end of the phone instead of picking a volunteer. Since then, I wait for the opportunity. There is not much to be said here that I haven’t already covered in the Lottery Effect section. Perhaps I should use this opportunity point out that in magic, as in music, there is such a thing asto improvisation! You should always be on the lookout for opportunities to apply a magic principle to something new and on the spot. Malini, who I mention often in these pages, was renowned for just that. A quote from Malini and His Magic reads: “Malini was undoubtedly a magical opportunist – he was always on the look-out to surprise people when they least suspected he was going to work an effect. Many of the effects or

miracles attributed to Malini were performed by him only once or twice in his lifetime.” The Swami Gimmick is tailor-made for this kind of work. I was doing a show a while back in Palm Springs, California for the Betty Ford Foundation. I had the honor of having dinner with President and Betty Ford. We were discussing his early years at Yale, close by to where I used to live. I asked the President if he ever had a dog as a child. He smiled and said he had. It was his first dog. I asked him thefrom namethe of table the dog he told me. Then I picked up a napkin andand handed it to him. On the back was the name of the dog he had as a child over 80 years ago! That is the kind of thing that makes a reputation!


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Analysis This effect is exactly like the previous. So is the method. And yet, it looks totally different and has a completely different effect on the audience. This, I feel, makes my claim that knowing a basic principle is far superior than chasing around after all the latest books and props. The idea of doing any effect over the telephone is an old one and I have countless books in my library with different methods of guessing cards using mathematical principles, stooges, etc.a The alwaysmore beendirect. sound and doing the effect with nail premise writer is has so much A nice factor with this effect is, by asking who has a cell phone with them and who has someone they can call, you are actually getting a volunteer in the audience without having to actually pick one out. The routine allows them to stay in the audience and gives them little chance to try to mess you up. There are no props for them to touch or any other liberties they can take advantage of that might be harmful to the effect. have totoask and keep things moving you ask You the person getquestions out the phone and turn it on. Thatastakes a bit of time and you don’t want the routine to drag. Luckily, she says her boyfriend’s name is Rex and that gives me the opportunity to make a joke about it and get the audience laughing. Go back and time out how long it takes her to get that phone out and turn it on and think about the tremendous dead time there would have been if there had been no conversation and jokes. Then look at how long it took her to actually get someone on the phone. All along I was saying things and making little remarks to both her and the people around me. Whenever you do a routine where the spectator has to do something, assume it will take them twice as long as you think is reasonable and be pre-

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pared to talk through it all while they are doing it. The “Hi Luke” thing is always funny and I have never had an audience who didn’t want to scream that out. It is fun! I talked continuously about this in remarks my first Guide , butand go back and listen to all the funny in thisBook routine how I am chattering almost constantly throughout. This kind of effect can go very badly if you aren’t prepared to do so and it can seem like hours before you actually get the number called out. Also, because the ending is so killer, the joking causes a relaxing of the tension of seeing a mystery until the end when they get hit right between the eyes! I say, “OK, we have Luke on the phone. Let me write some-

thing Luke!” so important! I am putting theundereffect on thefor other end This of theisphone ! Please don’t with Luke estimate this concept. The verbiage is vital! It is the fact that I am controlling his response on the other end of the line that puts this effect 1000 times above a simple one-on-one nail writing effect. Proof of this is in the reaction of the audience at the end. You must make this effect happen onhis end, not yours! Re-read that last sentence ten times! Look at the way I toss the pencil aside. Who could miss that? Look at1Cassandra’s I have him name a number between and 1000. Ifeyes. you Then are going to learn to nail write a number, at least practice enough to make it a 3-digit number. There is something that just sounds so much more impressive by asking someone to name a number from 1 to 1000 rather than from 1 to 100. The number chosen is 420, which has a drug-related connotation. Whenever I get something like that, I play dumb. The same thing goes with the number 69. I just don’t go there. IAlso, would seem prudish to fallof into mindset. if Irather pretend I don’t knowthan the try meaning thethat number, it is much better for the finish than if I acknowledge the reference and then have everyone think,“Oh, yeah. Everyone must say that!” Now before I tell you, are you looking at the video and


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wondering where the Swami is at the end? Again, I was forced to improvise on the set. I usually am standing and can ditch the Swami in my pants pocket or use a ruse that I teach later in the here,Sohowever, I know this is going myfloor, last nailseries. writingOn effect. when you see my hand droptotobe the that’s when I ditch it! I just drop it on the floor right behind my right foot! I want to be as clean as possible for a finish I know is going to be spectacular! And spectacular it is! The reaction is what makes it all worthwhile! And no, no one is coaching the audience. They are just hit that hard and are showing it. I am delighted! The final bit of fun happens right before the cut when someone asks me how I knew whatI number woulda say. of some of lame reason, just say, he “I took shot!Instead Sometimes youkind just have to take a shot!” That is a great line, is funny and discreetly tells the audience, “Don’t ask!”

BILL I N CIG ARETTE

History I mention in my final chapter that there came a point in my career that I made the decision to risk losing my magic shows and become a mentalist. I had devised the Bill in Cigarette routine and had used it for about a month. It had been my opener and it was about to be replaced with my Bank Night routine. A close friend of mine, Peter London, was doing a ton of magic I offered it to him. promised that up as long asshows he wasand doing it, I would neverI do it again.him I typed the whole thing, gave it to him and kept my word. For many, many years, he used it in every show as his opener and it was his trademark. He was a very funny comedian and had a million lines in the routine. It was hysterical! He retired from show business over fifteen years ago and so I felt I could now demonstrate it on the videos. I could never understand why so many advanced magicians disdain thetip! useItof is perhaps magic’s greatest gimmick– the thumb is what an invisible gimmick so there should not be any way for someone to see it: that is, if it is used in the right way. Still, I see magicians who think they are more sophisticated if they do the Bill Switch without a thumb tip, eventhough they now have angles to worry about. I have even heard of one mentalist who thinks he has improved on my Bank Night routine because he holds the bill behind the envelopes instead of using the gimmick. I suspect thisThe person never inperfect front ofinstrument real audiences! thumb tipperforms is the most for vanishing anything that will fit within it. A bill is perfect. When I decided I wanted a Bill to Cigarette routine, I never even considered another method. Why complicate things when the simple ap-

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proach works so well. I wanted everything to be straight forward with no spots in it so that someone could look back and say, “He must have done something when he went into his coat for aThat penisorwhy some such itthing.” I make a point to keep both the cigarette and the bill as visible as possible at all times. I also wanted something that was easy to do. That is another point that bothers me about some magicians’ thinking. They would rather do something the hard way instead of the easy way! There are enough sleights and moves in magic that are inherently hard, like writing with a nail writer, so why make other moves hard when you don’t have to? I knew thethe cigarette needed to be place farfriend, away and in plain sight that before bill was burned. My good Chet Cox, who wrote the Introduction to this book, sent me an email and said: “Your positioning of the cigarette far from you has even those who saw such an effect, and (somewhere in their minds) must have realized that XXXX had the lemon in his possession all that time, he could have done something – well, their thought processes seem entirely short circuited at that

point. gettingfar them anticipate the climax, while keeping theBy cigarette fromto you, you effectively cancelled out the method. I am positive that, because the cigarette was far from you, you cancelled the thought that you brought the bill with you to the cigarette. That’s how it affected me when I saw it – and, thanks to Bank Night , I already was certain that’s what you were going to do. It still made me mi s-remember that you had to approach the cigarette at all – one actually remembers, ‘ Heisdidn’t .’ cigarette allrealized.” This routine bettertouch than the I think evenatyou The smallest things make the biggest differences! It is easy to pass over what can be the crucial factor that makes something work. That is why I write these guide books.


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Analysis “Would you like to see like a magic trick? Would that be cool?” As a mentalist, would you expect those lines, based on what the cognoscenti of mentalism advise, to be ever spoken? And yet, here they are, at the end of a lot of strong mentalism, from a guy with a big sign right behind him that says, “The Power of the Mind.” Let’s see how it plays out! The question of smoking and cigarettes can be quite touchy these I try toScotty get a brings laugh out getting someone to admit days they and do. When out of a cigarette, I try to do everything I can to impart the idea that it will never leave anyone’s sight or be touched at all. There are two things here that are important points to follow. First, I always have the cigarette placed in the audience somewhere near the spectator who loaned it, and second, I never have any kind of special container to place the cigarette into. I always find someplace there, on the spot, to put it on or into even, as is the case here, to have it just floor. You not suggest want, inyou any way, shape or dropped form to on do the anything that do could switched the cigarette. This is vital! There are lots of jokes that have become standard when borrowing a hundred dollar bill and having it signed. These are very funny…the first eight or ten times you hear them. Then, after seeing every magician who does this kind of routine run through the same ones, in the same order, you begin to lose interest. The only joke I use here is to acknowledge

“Yes, is I think signing name on the is illegal.” that,There an idea here your on the video thatbill I came up with many years ago and want to talk about now. I remember demonstrating this on that lecture tour in Texas. It is a major improvement over the way this kind of thing is usually handled

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and is the type of suggestion I have tried to put in these Guidebooks that is worth its weight in gold. The problem: I have always disliked having someone in the write down the serial a borrowed Youaudience have to pass out the paper andnumber pen andofhope they getbill. the number right. You probably even have them repeat it to be sure. Since the audience knows someone is writing the number down, they don’t even bother to try to remember it. At the end of the routine, at the very moment the serial number is most important, the only person who knows for sure you are right is the one who wrote it down. Then, as often as not, they spoil everything by saying, “Nope, that’s wrong!” or some other nonsense, trying to be funny. The whole climax is killed and you look like an amateur. The solution: It is common knowledge among mentalists that to memorize the serial number on a bill, just break it down into two dates. That is the idea I use, but applied to the whole audience. I give half the group the first four numbers as a date and the other half of the group the last four numbers as a date. Then I give the person who loaned the bill the letters. All this causes the whole audience to pay attention. They, in fact, usually than theirtoo! ownSo, date, butvery theend other date remember as well andmore usually thejust letters, at the of the routine, when this information means everything, the entire audience knows it and can react! There is no way to be messed up and no way can anything go wrong! Besides the specific idea above, I really want to impart to you how this kind of creative thinking can completely change the polish of your show. Look at how the major problem above is completely eliminated while, at the same time, the whole procedure is streamlined. is imperative tothere striveistoathink this way even when you mightItnot even realize problem. Constantly examine your performance and reexamine everything you do to see if there might not be a better way to put things together and get where you need to go. Now, let’s get


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back to the routine. After I fold the bill, I hand it to Cassandra while I get the envelope from my pocket. I want to make sure it stays in sight with noput monkey going on. Thenhow I take it back and openly it intobusiness the envelope. Notice I keep asking, “OK?” until the audience repeats, “OK!” Even though there is a lot of humor in this effect, I still am going to play it up for maximum mystery and I want to use the principle of getting them to admit everything is fair (see my earlier Guide Books) to lock that thought into their heads. I have always hated the idea of pretending to light the envelope on fire in the Bill to Wallet routines. If you are not a master it usually across so fake! That is like whyTerr I asky Seabrooke, if they can see the billcomes through the as envelope. When they say, “No,” I borr ow a lighter and hold it behind the envelope. Then, instead of pretending it is a mistake, I very openly light the envelope on fire and say, “You can see that, can’t you?” That move comes as a bit of a shock as it is so deliberate! As it starts to burn I say, “Do we have a fire alarm in here?” Now comes a very interesting moment that needs discussing. As fun, I amone walking the audience andI having of thearound ladies bantering says, “It’swith not really in there!” was a bit surprised and this should go a long way in showing that an L&L audience can sometimes be trouble and say things you wish they wouldn’t! I decided that to try to argue with her would be pointless. So instead, I stare at the envelope and say, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not in there. I hope it’s not in there!” Please learn something from this. See how what could have been very big problem just turned and around? Instead of being aconfrontational, I take hergot statement go with it. When I hear another audience member agree with me and say, “I hope it’s not!” I know I am home free. The whole thing is now simply part of the routine!

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As the envelope burns and I put it into the ashtray, I have some fun by talking about a card trick. This gets a laugh. Then I make a reference about helicopters! Let me explain here what was going The Tahoe. day of Helicopters our shoot, there number to of forest fireson. in Lake were were flyingaoverhead drop chemicals on them. Every time one flew over, we had to stop shooting and wait for things to quiet down. Since I was playing with fire, I thought that would be a funny inside joke for the group! After all the byplay, I just say, out of the blue, “Your cigarette has been sitting there that entire time. Just sitting there, right like that on the floor, hasn’t it?”This is the part I love! Listen carefully to “No,” the comments I walk to the cigarette. You can hear, “No way,”as“Get out over of here,” “That’s impossible,” all before I even open it! Everyone knows what is going to happen, but no one can believe can it possibly happen! This illustrates a misconception I wrote about in The Principles of Magic. You don’t always have to surprise your audience. Sometimes it is much better if they know exactly what is going to happen and they still can’t believe it! This is the case here. You can see in their faces as they are re-thinking what theyAs just saw.walking over to the cigarette, they are trying to I am remember if anyone approached it. They are seeing if there is any way that bill could have gotten from the envelope or the ashtray over to the cigarette in the middle of the floor. The “No way!” comments tell you they are realizing that the cigarette was never approached. They have already been convinced they have seen a miracle before they have even seen it! “Does the serial number 5158 1964 ABU …” was spoken

not alone by me – but ! Listen forwith the me! audience most the audience – saying it right along And – not justoftheir numbers – but all the numbers! Do you now see what a significant improvement this is over having the number recorded and read back? The whole audience now has an emotional attach-


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ment to the finish and can feel the same degree of mystery! What an amazing thing the thumb tip is!

Bonus Chapter HOW I CREATE

How I Create I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on March 6, 1948. My first house was a multiple story apartment building on Columbia Court which has since been torn down. It was just blocks from Seaside Park, home of P. T. Barnum. My father took me down to the park every Sunday to play ball or swim at the beach and, when it came to town, to the circus! In the 50’s, the Barnum and Bailey troupe didn’t set up in the local arena; it used a real Bigdoing Top, his a huge tent, in the park. When theathigh wire artist was thing, you could stand right the bottom of the line where the rope was staked into the ground. You could walk right up and touch the cannon that shot the Human Cannonball into a net that seemed miles away. And, if your parents allowed you to, you could go to the sideshow and see the Lizard Lady. You could also buy revealing pictures of her if you were an adult! Besides the freak shows, there were other acts such as magicians and fortune I have to admit, I never did see Beany of the latter – I wastellers. too young – but I did see the former. sides the shows, there were booths where they actually sold incredible items including real magic secrets! My first purchase was the Chinese Handcuffs and the Coin Slide Box. The handcuffs proved to be a disappointment as my friends could escape easily, but the Coin Slide was a wise investment. Put in a penny, close up the slide, open it and it was gone! Just like that. Slide it closed again and, if you did it right, the coin rematerialized whendead, it wasbut opened. off vaudeville and running! Vaudeville was not allI was of the artists were. The Bridgeport Police force sponsored an annual Vaudeville Show at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, a few blocks from my home. My dad and I went every year until we moved

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away. I patiently sat through all the singers, dancers and comedians waiting for the magician, who was sure to be on the bill. I have no idea who the magic men were who I saw back then,

names but I bet some of them werebeen . They were too good, or so I remembered, not to have famous. My grandma worked in the srcinal Reads Departme nt Store on Main Street in Lady’s Fashions, on the second floor. If, however, you got on the elevator and told the lady wearing white gloves to take you to the top floor, she would close up the steel gate and then the heavy elevator doors and move a big brass handle. At the top of the building, when the motor stopped and the doors were opened, stood the Toy Department! I remember it totally decorated thebicycles Christmas and th ere, in the midst of erector sets, for dolls, andseason chemistry sets, was not a Daisy Red Ryder air rifle, but an imported German Magic Kit which I wanted more than anything! I could see metal rings, silver boxes and other arcane objects inside the black box and it was the only one left. I got it that Christmas! The only objection I had with my wonderful present was the lack of any instructions to go with the props. Still, it really didn’t matter much. I figured out some of and made up the the rest.directions I was onlyprobably about seven years old theit time and having wouldn’t haveat changed a thing. That wasn’t the only Christmas that was magical. A year later, I got a Sneaky Pete’s Magic Show set made by Remco. Although mostly plastic, it was good stuff. The yellow cabinet would allow me to vanish and reproduce anything that would fit inside, and I could saw a little lady right in half. I could read your mind with the Talking Dice or make spirit writing appear on a slate. write on it!Actually, it was black cardboard, but you could still My dad got a veteran’s loan and we bought a house in Ansonia to get away from the slums of Bridgeport. I didn’t know at the time that we had been living in a slum, but that’s


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what they said. In Derby, the next town over and Ansonia’s biggest football rival, was a United Cigar Store, something you don’t see much anymore. In the back was a small magic department! The stuff in there was expensive. It cost for a genuine metal Walsh Appearing Cane. I never did$12.50 get enough money to get that, but I was able to save up for Chinese Rice Bowls, the Vanishing Quarter in a Glass and a very special clipboard that, when you took off the clip, revealed…well, I think you know what it revealed! All in all, I had a lot of magic. I could keep going on like this, but I am starting to bore myself so I can imagine your own feelings. Let’s jump ahead a few years. By the time I was in my 20’s, a friend had told me

Tarbell the was a necessity and I That took him his word. At the time,Course that included six volumes. had at a profound influence on me which I will get back to. It took me about four months to get them all and it taught me the value of the classics. After that came Sachs’ Sleight of Hand, Our Magic, The Fine Art of Magic, Modern Magic, Greater Magic,Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic, Stars of Magic, etc. I had, by this time, joined the IBM and Ring 59. The members were extremely helpful in recommending books and I soon had a small library. I have always been a voracious and read I bought! As my knowledge of reader magic grew, I waswhat attracted more and more towards mentalism. It just seemed to fit my style. The final push was the Kreskin TV series and his numerous appearances on all the talk shows. I already had Practical Mental Effects and Corinda’s 13 Steps, but now I made it a crusade to get every book on mentalism I could find. Frequent trips to Tannen’s (then on Broadway), Flosso’s and Hank Lee’s in Boston netted me quite a library. I also met Al Mann and he was another great influence. One could spend a fortune just buying his books! I had been doing magic shows since I was a kid. I had also learned hypnotism while in college. Yet I still continued to work primarily as a magician. I was unwilling to take the chance to

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switch to a mentalism show and lose all my work. Finally, one day, I decided it was now or never. I immediately got some literature printed and started calling myself a mentalist. When Ishow turned upsomething for a show, I would just say that I was to them a bit ! Then I just did going it! I also different made it a point to find those types of magical effectsthat worked in a mentalism context, such as the Linking Finger Rings and Coin in Bottle, and interject them into the show. This made the transition smoother. It was easy to do since I had already studied Dunninger, Al Koran, Kreskin, Annemann and Al Baker. They all did some magic in their shows. In 1980, I was approached by the Landerman and Jarvis Entertainment to manage me exclusively. It was a choice Agency I have who neveroffered regretted. Paul Landerman and Tom Clark set out to introduce me into the corporate market. Paul later retired and Tom has been my manager and friend for over a quarter of a century. Working corporate shows required a very careful selection of material and presentation. I didn’t want to take any chances so I went straight to the classics. I knew this was tested and proven material that I could rely on if I did my part. I analyzed my choices and on practiced them relentlessly. Many people thinkcarefully the material my video series, Easy To Master Mental Miracles, was compiled just for those videos. In truth, when Louis Falanga of L&L Publishing approached me with the idea, I knew I had the material already! Everything I performed on those DVDs was from my repertoire of those early years. That is not to say I didn’t change things a bit from the written word. Sometimes it was minor and sometimes I personalized it crib to a greater extent. example, I never, liked the slate pencil notes for so I just ExtraFor Sensory Perception memorized them and stacked the cards in reverse order so that I didn’t have to work backwards. I didThe Modern Mindreader the way I published it in my book, The Very Modern


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Mindreader. I used a corner short for Magic vs. Mentalism and divided the envelopes over justtwo pockets instead of six. These may seem like minor variations, but to me, who looked on these routines with thought reverence, they were bold moves because I really it suited me better. This ismade how Ionly started to invent – by just making minor changes because it made sense to me, not for the purpose of change for change sake. A big move forward in my creativeness came when I decided to work on a new center tear. Here is how that happened. I had just gotten hold of Al Mann’s Lexicon Phenomena. It was a wonderful dictionary test using a very clever principle. My friend, Nelson Nicholson, was having a party. We set it up that I would comeIin his friend, The an incredible mentalist, he would suggest doassomething. dictionary would beand on the shelf and I would grab it as though it were just one of his books laying there. Then I would perform the test. That day, at home, I decided to also add in the center tear as I wanted to make the routine a bit longer. That night, at Nelson’s house, I began the performance. First, I had someone write a name, then I tore it up and stole the center, stuck the pieces in my pants pockets while I ditched the center in another Then I didtest, the Idictionary test. As Ithe wascenter writing on a pocket! clipboard for that secretly retrieved and read it. Then, after the finish of the Lexicon Phenomena, I revealed the name. Everyone was stunned, including Nelson! I didn’t know that until the next day when I went over to get my book. “How did you get that name?” he asked. I told him and he said, “I thought that somehow you had read it while you were tearing it!” That’s all it took to get me going on the quest! I figured that if it looked that good, reading it while tearing would toof go.development So I began working on what would turn outbetothe be way years starting with the Ultimate Center Tear, then The Slow Motion Surrounded Center Tear and finally The Perfected Center Tear! As you can see, it was developed from an idea that was already proven, not just

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from wanting something new. After seeing Kreskin perform live a number of times, and after reading about the workings of Dunninger’s act, I knew I wanted do something I must havemade madebyaadozen differenttoDunninger Padssimilar. and even had one book binding method. I never was happy with any of them. I tried different vinyl folders, but they never were quite what I wanted. In my mind, I could see the perfect design. My cousin had his cabinet-making shop in the basement of my father’s tool and die business. I took my idea for the ThoughtScan board, drew up a blueprint and had my cousin make it up for me. It came out beautifully and worked perfectly. I was happy even though he mycharged cousin! me $200.00, and that was in the 80’s! And he was The same thing happened with the Ultra Board. I was using the Mental Broadcasting slate, but it always jammed. It also looked quite gimmicky. I had Syd Bergson’s Eclipse. I thought the principle was clever, but wanted to improve the clips and make the idea work with an ungimmicked blackboard while using no force. I went back to my cousin and, for another $100, I had it! So, in this case, the creation came from fixing a problem, looking for something for its the own sake. I havenot already written about hownew I created Breakthrough Card System many times.Card Calling was already in my show, but I wanted a better stack to use for it. I understood how important a mathematically-stacked deck, which looked completely random, would be for mentalism. I wanted no exceptions to the rules and I wanted it to be cyclical so th at it could be cut. I knew whatI wanted and wouldn’t stop until I found it. Sometimes my creations stem from entirely different reasons. theout early days of digital clockswhich and watches, BlochIn came with some great effects Kreskin Richard used on TV. I wanted something like that myself, but wanted it to be different and simpler. By this time, my show was coming together and I wanted a watch routine that would fit the feeling


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or genre of what I was already doing. I had a watch I had gotten from Richard Mark and liked the simplicity of the method. I was also working on my own handling of Acidus Novus. One day, theTo two thoughts together inismy there had it! this day, thecame stillmind one and of my mostI Watch Routine popular pieces. I could go on and on, but that is not necessar y. Everything I have created is on the Mind Mysteries series and the hist ory of each one has been or will be discussed in the Guide Book series. The point that I wanted to make clear in this article, however, is nothing was ever created just for the sake of invention alone. There was always a reason, whether it was to solve atoproblem, make aperforming routine better or find an entirely new effect fit a particular agenda. Along with that, I need to point out that no Osterlind material has ever been offered that was not field-tested for a great deal of time. One of my pet gripes is the number of new magicians who, when they think they have a new idea, want to publish the routine immediately! I have seen them openly admit they have never performed the material and that the invention was only a few weeks old! You cannot offer material to the fraternity this how manner. Even years of performing, I never in know a new ideaafter willover play40 until I use it over and over. Even if it plays strongly for ten shows, if it bombs in the eleventh, it needs fixing! In my book, The Principles of Magic, I quoted the following: “I’ll tell you what the problem withthe magical power you’re using here. It didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves so you didn’t take any re-

sponsibility for it. Youasstood onyou thecould shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something fast as and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on the Internet and now you’re selling it.” – Jeff Goldblum from the film Jurrasic Park (paraphrased).

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This, to me, hits the mark exactly. Magicians have to have respect for that which has gone before them and try to earn that knowledge themselves before building on it. All this brings me The to myopening final point. lines of this commentary were to show you a short history of my life in magic. I have loved the art since I was a child and that love has never diminished. I have great respect for it and always want to honor it. I have also, to my complete surprise and amazement, become known as a sort of teacher. I accept that responsibility with pride and commitment and wish only to pass on whatever small knowledge I have earned in this field to those who are interested. You can see from brief overview of myOf lifeevery that bit I place great importance on this books and knowledge. of advice I have ever offered, the most important is for you to obtain and study the Tarbell Course in Magic. I have been talking about this my whole career, but let me now show you why it is so important in learning how to create. If you read the chapter, The Science of Magic, in Tarbell Volume One, you will understand what I am about to say. Tarbell teaches you the principles and fundamentals of magic. To para-

you learn tricks, principles, you phraseishim, know fiftyIftricks. But fifty if you learnbut theno rudiments ofall magic and why they work, you become a real magician and can always create new magic! What I love so much about Tarbell is that he clearly proves he is not talking pipe dreams. Each chapter not only teaches the fundamentals, but then goes on to show actual routines created from that knowledge. But there is far more that has never been talked about and is what I want to reveal here! A common phrase today is to “think outside the box.” This, of course, refersdo tothis using srcinalTarbell thinking solveinproblems. Tarbell doesn’t because wastonever the box in the first place! If you take a volume and randomly open it to any subject, let’s say Card Stabbing in Volume 3, you will find nine different versions of that effect, each one of which is to-


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tally different! Unlike current magic books which will give you page after page of a magic problem with a slightly different variation for each one, Tarbell offers solutions that come at you from all different out Volume 4, chapter 51 – Card , or angles! chapterCheck 57 – Slate , each one Transition Mysteries offers a multitude of effects using entirely different methods. It is amazing how many principles this course touches upon within its eight volumes. Tarbell forces you to see magic from a scientific viewpoint. If you study his words with diligent attention, you can’t help but become a creator! I firmly believe that because I grew up with this course and studied it my whole life, I have learned to think according to Dr. Tarbell’s advice. I have a magic I never feel hemmed in by what When has been done before.problem, I don’t try to solve it by trying to slightly change what others have done, but rather consider the problem matched against all the principles Doc has taught me! When I created ODDS, I thought, “Why do I need to use mirrors or impression devices or stooges to duplicate a design. What if I just know what the design is?” This led to a totally new concept in design duplication. When I created my Miracle Flying Cards, I thought, “Why

do I need istolooking? get the actual into cards my pocket when everyone Why signed not usecards dummy and switch them back when they think it’s over?” This effect, before I explained it, fooled some of the best card magicians in the country. I always loved the Torn and Restored Newspaper , but wanted it to look even better. I first got the idea to give it away at the end. Then I thought it would be good to have it signed first. Finally, I got the idea of having any page chosen to do it with. I never let the word impossible enter into my thinking and didn’twith stopthis trying until I solved the problem. I floored magicians effect for over ten years before I decided to share it on my videos. The method is based on principles I learned in Tarbell. But, more importantly, it was Tarbell who taught me to think that way!

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Even now, I still have a few effects I won’t part with. One of my favorites is my coin bending. Everyone keeps arguing how it must be done and I like to keep doing it right in their face! is so magicians good to bethink truly they amazed andit to real mystery. TooItmany know all.see When they get there, they lose the wonder and that is sad. You can’t create wonder if you can’t feel wonder. I like to knock them back a notch for their own good! And yet, I don’t want to be only on that side of the fence. I want to see miracles myself. I want to be so badly amazed that I am stunned. I want to see magic that I can’t even begin to understand! I hope I am hitting on some dormant emotion within you. Ibegan hopestudying I am sending a few when you first magic you and back thought thatyears eachtonew book would bring you miracles that would stun the world. I hope I can bring you back to that frame of mind that didn’t put boundaries on what you thought could be done with magic. How absurd is it to think that magic could have limitations? I live in a magical world filled with miracles. It is my hope and prayer that you will see the magic in yours.

Richard Osterlind - Mind Mysteries Guide Book 3

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