Can anybody give me some ideas on effects that would fit in to a close up routine that already consists of predictions(S.U.C), watch stopping, pulse stopping,PK pen,Sense Of Touch,fork or spoon bending & Brainwave deck.
Regards

Damien

First thing would be to get rid of the brainwave deck!
PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

It's too much of a magic trick, and not a piece of mentalism. The dif. color back is something only a magician would do.

Even an invisible deck, though, is too much for a mentalist if you get down to the logic of it. Why would you reverse the card as your prediction instead of writing it down, especially if you've already used other written predictions in your show. It's like that old bit on Sesame Street--"one of these things is not like the others, one of thse things does not belong..."

I don't know about the brainwave, but I think the invisible deck is one of the most powerful effects/tools in mentalism. I just wish I could get mine to work well enough to use it. I mean, you knew what they were going to think before they thought it, or they were able to pick up on what card was facing the opposite way while it remains in the deck. Very powerful if you don't object to using cards.

Jonathan Grant

I'm not familiar with the Rosini routine but
the best routine for the Brainwave, that I've seen, is the presentation by Dr. Jaks titled "One is Face Up". The verbal misdirection is excellent and in this routine it appears as if the audience member reversed the card and the mentalist is simply facilitating the process.If I recall correctly, the routine was published in one of the Nelson books many years ago.

Best thoughts,
John Smetana

If you want to retain the 'flavour' of the Brainwave, without actually performing The Brainwave Deck as such, I would suggest you make up a version of Nick Trost's Eight-Card Brainwave that uses something else other than regular playing cards. YOur own ideas will be better thananything I canoffer here, but for example you could use 8 blank cards with faces bearing 8 symbols, 8 colours, 8 famous people or whatever you like. Spec selects one, all the others have (for example) a CROSS on the back and the selection has a TICK on the back.

Readers who know this superb trick will know what I mean when I say that the patter can "run either way".

This is a SUPERB trick, and it can be adapted to suit almost any theme you like. It's also quicker and cleaner than a standard B'wave presentation, easier to carry round, and the spec herself can pick up the selected card to discover the awesome surprise about what's one the back.

Nice of you to mention Sense of Touch. Thanks! Try out 'Self-ESPression' from the booklet and see if you don't get one of the biggest reactions of your performing life.

You may be aware that the brilliant Mark Strivings has a book on walkabout close-up mentalism 'Mobile Mentalism'. You'll find some great material in there. Likewise David Britland's book, 'Psychomancy'.

If you choose a slim paperback book to carry round you can do the Val Andrews Book Test wherever you go. I've used this for corporates and it usually played well.

Why not go with a mentalism standard like Premonition or The Thought of Card routine? I use both (and have for years) and they slay the public... heck, they tend to fool magicians half the time (not bad for "antique" magical thinking...)

I am not familiar with the Rosini routine, so I obviously can't comment on that. The Jaks routine does sound intriguing.

As the Brainwave or ID effects stand, however, I'll reiterate the point I initially made that some of the folks who've responded seem to have ignored: WHY the reversed card?

It's much more straightforward to write down your prediction (or the target card you're going to influence on them) than to reverse it. Or even remove it from the pack so you have one card as your prediction. But why would you reverse it?

The only reason you would do that is if it's key to the working of the effect, which, I'll be darned, it is! You can get away with it as a magician, perhaps, but as a mentalist, it just doesn't make sense.

Andy,

There are two logical uses of the "Invisible Deck". The first one is one suggested by T.a. Waters which involves the apprent demonstration of automatic writing. The other is a Stanley Jaks idea whihc uses both the Invisible deck, a Ted Lesley Marked Deck and a scarab.

Both of those are logical uses of the deck and make for perfect routines. (I have used both at times). You are very correct about the rest though, especially the brainwave deck's use. These are mental magic tricks and are NOT mentalism.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

I have seen an excellent invisible deck routine that works extremely well for the mentallist, overcoming all the objections raised thus far. For the life of me, though, I can't recall where I read it. I want to say AM/PM or The Altar Flame, but, if so, I can't lay my hands on the correct issue. More evidence that I have to get better organized.

It involved a box and a participant's visualization, making the participant the star rather than the performer. Brilliant brilliant, thinks I. Does anybody recognize it? Can you help me give the proper credit and point others to the source?

Steve

I am not going to get into the BW ID or no discussion. But I would suggest karmic to consider the implications of his act. And I would do it as follows:

You are suggesting you can a) predict future events, b) utilize psychokinetic forces to influence both worldly objects and your own body) and c) read with your fingers.

I would suggest you trim that list of claims down to two at the most. And I think the predictions fit in the worst with the overall feel of the act (in the sense there is some kind of relation between SoT and PK, although I cannot express it well).

Also, if you are doing an SUC prediction, why water it down with a BW which is limited compared to the infinite number of possibilities for the first one?

And I'm not trying to sound negative.



/bamba

Wow! Bamba just sparked a thought...

I believe it's a Stinemeyer routine... I do it in one of my evening programs from time to time and it's very cool... could be adapted to a close-up setting (though more appropriate to parlor & stage)... a routine known as "Dinner With The Borgia"... it gives you many of the manifestations you've outlined plus tons of room for dark comedy. Might be worth a look!

Brainwave again

there are some really excellent and also "non -gimmicked" brainwave routines in the red Apocalypse Compilation( Harry Lorayne). It works!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Darmoe, what goes IN it then?

You made me curious, then dropped me like an anvil. No fair...

:hrmph:

/bamba

Craig, unless you're speaking of a different "Dinner With The Borgia's" than the one I know of, it's by David Parr, from his book Brain Food. It's a brilliantly written theatrical presentation of a brilliantly simple method for a sort of acid test/poison monte type routine. But that description doesn't do it justice; go track down the book, you won't be sorry. It's a lesson in true magical theatre.

As far as the invisible deck goes, something fairly close to the Don Alan presentation is emminently logical as a demonstration of psychological influence. After all, it requires you to guide a spectator through a process of imagination similar to one you, yourself have presumably carried out not long before.

--Christopher Carter

Hello there,

I think you should include a reading in your close up routine. It would look cool.