• Flesh coloured putty
• Magnet block (PK)
• Portable PA system  
• Take down table  
• Z-fold wallet  

• Blue Moon Talent
• Funny Business Agency
• Gig Salad  
• Gigmasters  
• International Magicians Agency
• Perfect Impressions Entert.  
• Richard de la font

• Mentalist Anton Zellman
• Mentalist Chris Caldwell
• Mentalist Gerry McCambridge  
• Mentalist Marc Salem
• Mentalist Tim Conover

• European Mentalists
• Federation for speakers  
• National Speakers Association
• Psychic Entertainers Assoc.  
• PSYCRETS (UK) UK mentalism group established! Psycrets: The British Society of Mystery Entertainers has been founded by Roni Shachnaey and Dr Todd Landman after a successful meeting of mentalists in London on 7 July 2007. The society aims to provide a formal space for mentalists and mystery entertainers to share ideas and enhance the art of mystery entertainment. Regular meetings will be scheduled to include discussion of effects, methods, tools of the trade, the business side, and to buy and sell mentalism products. Membership benefits include a lapel badge, a members card (with its own 'special' features), a newsletter, access to a 'members only' section of the website (www.psycrets.org.uk), and discounts and other bonuses relating to mentalism events and products. The organisation is purely private, non-denominational, has no association to any organised form of occult practices, and operates a tolerant policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political views, or any other categories of social identity. Membership comprises a £10 start up fee plus £25 per annum membership fee. In the absence of documentary evidence regarding status as a mentalist or mystery entertainer, members will carry the title of 'associate member' for one-year, after which the committee will decide full membership based on contribution to the society, evidence of public performances of mentalism, publications of effects and books, and other suitable displays of a commitment to the art of mentalism. While based in the UK, the society is international and fully welcomes members from around the world. To join the society, please request an application form from Dr Todd Landman, 1 Elm Cottage, Mission Lane, East Bergholt, UK CO7 6XH (Email: drtodd@metaphysical-magician.com). _________________ Dr Todd Landman, MMC The Metaphysical Magician British Society of Mystery Entertainers We are a private association for the specialist performer in the realm of mentalism, bizarre magick, storytelling, readings, spiritualist performance and allied mystery entertaining crafts. Aims & Objectives The Society aims to provide a formal space for mentalists and mystery entertainers to share ideas and enhance the art of mystery entertainment. Regular meetings will be scheduled to include discussion of effects, methods, tools of the trade, the business side and to trade in products. Membership benefits include a lapel badge, a member’s card (incorporating ‘special’ features) a newsletter, access to ‘members only’ pages of this website, plus discounts and other bonuses relating to mentalism events and products. The British Society of Mystery Entertainers is purely private and non-profit, non-denominational , has no association to any organised form of occult practices, and operates a tolerant policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political views or any other categories of social identity. While based in the UK , the society is international and fully welcomes members from around the world.

• Banachek mentalist website Described as the 'Cream of the Crop' when it comes to entertainers, Banachek is the world's leading Mentalist.  His talents are so incredible that he  is the only mentalist ever to fool scientists into believing he possessed 'Psychic powers' but to later reveal he was fooling them. Performers around the world such as the colourful Penn & Teller, 'The Amazing' James Randi and television's unique street magician David Blaine seek his performing expertise. Companies and theatres seek him for his outstanding performing abilities.  If you are new to this performer and his astounding show, we suggest you take a tour starting with 'Articles' Or click HERE for video. [BadPsychics] Can you just tell us a quick history of yourself, where was you born? How you got into magic and illusion etc? [Banachek] I was born the 30th of November, 1960 in Middlesex, England. My father and mother divorced that first year. My mom remarried and had two children. We immigrated to South Africa in 1969. That same year my mom up and left us. My stepfather became an alcoholic. So we were pretty much abandoned in the sense of the word. I therefore pretty much raised my two siblings, a year old and three years old by myself. In 1975 I went to Australia to find my real father at an air force base. We move to the US in 1976, that did not work out quite so well so while in high school, I moved out had my own place, three jobs and finished high school at the same time. During that year I read a book by James Randi about Uri Geller, 'the Truth about Uri Geller!” From this I devised a few ways to bend nails. Now instead of the embarrassed teenager at the back of the classroom with a heavy coat on even in the middle of summer and turning red in the face if the teacher even called on my name. I was the center of attention and even competing in talent shows and winning. I next put some method together for bending silverware, they were so successful that other students were stealing cutlery from the silverware for me to bend, so much so that the cafeteria went to plastic ware. During that same year I wrote a letter to Randi explaining if he ever wanted someone to fool scientists, I felt I could do so. Thus the Alpha Project was born a few years later when the situation presented itself to us.   Do you have any belief in religion? And how do you think life began on this planet? I have a major problem with most organized religion. It is that almost all religions have the 'your wrong we are right' attitude. One that causes war, famine and death. I think life began through evolution. What caused that evolution to take place is certainly open to debate.   How the hell do you drive a car while blindfolded? (Guessing you are not gonna tell us) Very carefully :-)   What kind of satisfaction did you gain out of fooling the scientists at McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, that you had psychic ability, and what do you believe you accomplished in doing so? It was not a question of satisfaction. I would have been just as satisfied if the scientists had used proper protocol, and probably more so. There was certain dissatisfaction if anything that it was so easy to get away with the techniques that we did. For decades many parapsychologist had lamented that the reason for the lack of positive results when it came to series PSI research was due to lack of funding. It was our contention it had nothing to do with a 'lack of funding' but more so the fact that most parapsychologists went in to the testing with a pro-biased opinion. It was this pro-biased opinion impeded proper research; these parapsychologists were too busy documenting their own belief system rather than doing proper testing. To test properly does not cost that much money. Also most of these parapsychologists felt that due the fact they held a PhD they could not be fooled so a second one of our hypothesis going into this was that they would not seek expert advice in this field to detect any possible trickery even if it was offered for free (and it was, Randi offered his and others services for free).      We were able to prove beyond any doubt that their research bias interfered and also that they would not seek expert advice. Keep in mind this was also in accordance with the suggestion of a few other parapsychologists who had even suggested that if Randi and others felt they could fool scientists then they should try to introduce a magician into a research lab and see what happens.      These scientists believed. No doubt about it. Despite the fact they had been given a half a million dollars to do the research. Some have suggested it was unethical for us to do what we did. We took no money for what we did, we actually lost money In other words, we did not get the half a million dollars as some would like to think. I would suggest to those who think this way to ask themselves, is it ethical for scientists to take money for research and then not perform such research properly? They were paid to do a job they were not doing.      What did we accomplish? If anything, at least scientists will be more careful when treading in this area, and maybe we have helped stop some of the ramped cheating that was going on in this area, at least when it comes to testing.   Derren Brown has been quoted as saying that 'Spiritualism was ugly' what are your opinions on spiritualism? I agree 100 percent with Derren. At least in the areas of James Van Praag, John Edward and the others of their ilk. It is very ugly and to me these guys are scum. They are stopping the proper natural grieving process from taking its course. Example: I had a friend whose son died of cancer. His wife went to a spiritualist who was able to convince her that he could communicate to her dead son. As a result she spent all her time trying to communicate to the kid. She avoided her husband, neglected her living children to live in the world of the dead. She almost lost her husband and probably would have lost her living children. Luckily she came to her senses in the end. This is a dangerous game these guys play. Yes they may help some people get through it, but in the majority of times they are hurting not helping in the long run. Heck, I can give crack to a junkie; it might make him feel good today but is it good for him in the long run?   Do you believe that genuine psychic ability may one day be proved? I could not tell you. I really have no opinion either way. And the definition of what is psychic may indeed change due to the lack of evidence of it existing as we define it today. All I can say is I have never seen anyone who claims to be psychic show me conclusive proof they are indeed psychic. This is not to say they are not, just that it does not stand up under tight scrutiny or is not repeatable. The times it has been repeatable it has turned out to be a trick, either by the people themselves on others, by misunderstanding of what was happening by the people making the claim or by self deception. Have YOU ever been fooled by someone claiming to be psychic only to find out later it was a trick? I can't say I ever have. There have been times I have not cared about the method simply because it was blatant they were using trickery. For instance, you might see someone on TV do something; there is no way to explain it because you don't have all the facts. Of course I can probably think of two or three or more ways to accomplish the same effect. I understand that just because I can duplicate does not make it a trick, but after many years of this, when it looks like a duck, it probably is a duck. The responsibility is upon the person presenting the unusual claim to show they are real, not the other way around. And most of these guys and girls stay as far away from any proper testing as is feasible. Other than yourself, who do you consider as history's greatest Magician/Illusionist? Wow, I know you want an answer on this, but this is such a complex question for such a simple statement. It is kind of like stating, 'who is the smartest man in the world' or 'who is the most beautiful women in the world.' When it comes to greatest, there were those who were great showman and terrific at getting publicity, like Houdini or Criss Angel, then there were those who were terrific at technique, like Cardini and again those who were terrific at staging like Thurston or Copperfield. If the question means who has been seen more, definitely Copperfield or Criss Angel. One TV show and either one  has probably had more people see him than saw many of the old greats in a lifetime. Then there are those that influence us by their thinking and creativity, for instance, Scarne, Dai Vernon, Max Maven and so on, certainly these have a position when it comes to greats? Maybe even more so since their work creeps into the masses and influence our art more than the showman in many ways? So the answer really cannot be answered in such a simple way. Each answer would need to be put into context. Probably a better question to answer is 'who is your favorite magic/mental performer of all time.' However, having said that, I could not give a simple answer to that question as it would be like asking me, 'what is your favorite kind of music?' and that would depend upon my mood at the moment as I have a very eclectic music collection from Punk, Hard Rock to Easy Listening and Classical.   Is there any trick that you are too scared to perform, or class as too dangerous? Having performed the buried alive (probably the most dangerous trick I can think of) and the bullet catch, I honestly can't say there is any trick I would not perform. As I get older there maybe some I may not be able to perform to physical reasons though. I would try to talk anyone out of performing the buried alive effect and think very serious about performing any dangerous effect. The real secret to these type of effects is making it look as dangerous as possible when in reality the effect is very safe and there are many backups for anything that could go wrong, at some point, what could go wrong will go wrong. Houdini knew this. Most of the feats were very easy to perform; the real secret was knowing how to make them look impossible and dangerous and the experience of knowing what to do if something did go wrong and not to panic.   What do you think of the stunts performed by David Blaine? And would you ever like to sit in a glass box hanging in London for 44 days? David Blaine is brilliant. Even you guys are asking me about David Blaine a year after the stunt. In hindsight, it was probably not the best effect to perform in Europe when people go on hunger strikes every day out of protest. However, I bet 60 years from now, people will still be talking about the effect and this is the key to becoming a legend. One always needs to think about the future if wanting to leave a legacy people will talk and write about. I doubt anyone outside of Houston and the magic world remembers my buried alive, but they sure remember David Blaine’s. Would I sit in a box for 44 days in London? Probably not. Although due to old time stunts and their success it probably sounded like a great idea at the time. Would I be buried alive for 4 days, I have done that already.   (Bonus Questions - Added 11/8/04)   Was David Blaine's Above the below stunt magic or endurance? I think Blaine's stunt was real, don't see why it should not have been.   A while back we had a series about the secrets of magic, where American magician Valantino exposed the secrets behind many magic tricks. His claim for this was that it brought magic back into the mainstream and that it helped increase peoples interest in magic, as well as forcing magicians to create bigger and better tricks. What are your thoughts on shows like this? As for the Secrets of Magic. I did not see the European show. I do think these type of shows are mean spirited. I am not sure how much they hurt magic as much as the magicians getting so upset about them and increasing the word about them and also the ratings. I don't think these shows help magic in any way. If one wants to help magic, do better magic. Criss Angel and David Blaine did more to promote and create better magic in one show than any amount of revealed shows could ever attempt. Revealing secrets is not a way to cause better tricks to be created, this is a weak argument used by exposers like Valentino to cover the real reason they did the shows, in his case it to pay off the IRS, in Becker's case it was because he could not perform breathtaking magic and this was the only way he could get any attention. I would take a Copperfield, a Derren Brown, a David Blaine or a Criss Angel and so on any day to promote and cause the creation of better magic. Revealing old secrets does not promote, better or do anything positive for our art, it only cheapens it. The Project Alpha Experiment: Part one. The First Two Years What would happen if two young Conjurors posing as psychics were introduced into a well-funded university parapsychology laboratory?  Generous funding doesn’t make scientists smart . . . Nor are they able to detect trickery without help. James Randi When it was announced in 1979 that noted engineer James S. McDonnell, board chairman of McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft and devotee of the paranormal, had awarded a $500,000 grant to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, for the establishment of the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research, it seemed a the ideal opportunity to initiate an experiment I had contemplated for some time. It was designed to test two major hypotheses. Parapsychologists have been lamenting for decades that they are unable to conduct proper research due to the lack of adequate funding, but I felt strongly that the problem lay in their strong pro-psychic bias. The first hypothesis, therefore, was that no amount of financial support would remove that impediment to improvement in the quality of their work. Moreover, I have always been in accord with many others in the field – such as Stanley Krippner, current president of the Parapsychological Association – who insisted that qualified, experienced conjurors were essential for design, implementation, and evaluation of experiments in parapsychology, especially where deception – involuntary or deliberate – by subjects or experimenters, might be possible. So the second hypothesis was that parapsychologists would resist the accepting expert conjuring assistance in designing proper control procedures and, as a result, would fail to detect various kinds of simple magic tricks.   U.K. Parapsychologist Trevor Finch had even directly suggested that skeptics try to introduce a conjuror into a lab disguised as a psychic. Certainly my plan seemed to be in accordance with the expressed needs of he parapsychological community. The director of he McDonnell Lab was physics professor Peter R. Phillips, who had a decade of interest in parapsychology behind him. He had declared in the press that the lab intended to investigate psychokinetic metal bending (PKMB) by children. Accordingly, I asked two young conjurors who had been in touch with me by mail, and had expressed an interest in my work as a skeptic, to write the McDonnell lab claiming psychic powers. Our experiment was to be code-named “Project Alpha.” We learned that the lab had considered some 300 applicants who contacted them in response to notices in the media. Both my colleagues Steve “Banachek” Shaw (herein referred to as his stage name Banachek), an English immigrant hospital employee in Washington, PA, and part time mentalist, and Michael Edwards, a student in Marion Iowa, and well-known there as a magician, were the only McDonnell lab subjects chosen from that rather large group of applicants. They were 18 and 17 years old, respectively when they began the project. We had established well in advance of the beginning of Project Alpha that at a suitable date we would reveal the deception. Also, the subjects agreed that, if they were ever asked directly by an experimenter if they were using tricks, they would immediately answer, “Yes, and we were sent here by James Randi.” They would then answer any and all questions concerning their involvement. Even before the boys were tested at the lab, I sent Phillips a list of eleven “Caveats” concerning tests done with human subjects. For example, I warned him not to allow the subjects to run the experiments by changing the protocol. Similarly, I suggested capricious demands by subjects might well be the means of introducing conditions that would permit subterfuge. He was warned that reports of conditions should be very precise, assuming nothing. Above all, I urged that a conjuror be present. To that end, I offered to attend the McDonnell lab tests at my own expense, without any requirements that I be credited with any participation, or even attendance, in subsequent reports. From the very beginning, the researchers ignored the rules I had suggested. As in other investigations, the “gifted subjects” took over running the experiments. They threw minor tantrums (inspired by similar events reported to have taken place at the Stanford Research Institute when Uri Geller was examined there in the 1970’s) whenever conditions were not to their liking. Though I had specifically warned Phillips against allowing more than one test object (spoon or key, for example) to be placed before a subject during tests, the lab table was habitually littered with objects. The specimens were not permanently marked, but instead bore paper tags attached with string loops. Banachek and Edwards found it easy to switch tags after the objects had been accurately measured, thus producing the illusion that an object handled in the most casual fashion had undergone a deformation. During one type of telepathy test, a subject would be given a sealed envelope containing a picture drawn from a target pool. Left alone with the envelope, the subject would subsequently surrender the envelope to the experimenter, who would examine it for signs of tampering. The subject would then announce his selection for the target pool. This series of tests was quite successful – though not overly so, because the boys realized that 100 percent might be suggestive of trickery. They purposely minimized their success. The method was easy. Since the envelope was “sealed” only with a few staples, they removed them, peeked, and then replaced the staples through the original holes! In one case, Michael lost two staples, and to cover this he opted to open the envelope himself upon confronting the experimenter. The breach of protocol was accepted. The subject had been allowed to shape the experiment. In other ESP tests, significant results were obtained only when on of the subjects was aware of the target drawing and was allowed to watch a TV monitor while the other tried to duplicate the drawing. The laboratory investigators decided, in their official report on the tests, that communication between the two by any means other than telepathy had been ruled out, since “though it might seem suspicious that the most significant scores were obtained under just that condition which might have permitted collusion . . . we feel that any hypothesis of normal communication is very unlikely: even the best of our hits are not consistent with verbal cueing, but rather exhibit consistent resemblances of form without any semantic relation.” What the experimenters could have been told, if they had been willing to listen, was that the best of conjurors’ “mind-reading” tricks are accomplished by a “hot-and-cold” system of communication having nothing to do with actual verbalization. Results obtained therefore appear much more striking in nature, and seem to be what might have been achieved as a result of a “telepathic” transference. No amount of acting can simulate the actual difficulty experienced by the operators of such a system. Though no communication took place during these tests, the lack of “consistent” hits referred to in the quote above would have provided just the required conditions for acceptance, had the experiment been successful. As it was, another common conjuror’s ploy was utilized; giving an edge to the results that caused some excitement among the scientists. That “edge” would be eliminated, however, by proper double blind evaluation of the data. One rather naïve experiment, conducted with Banachek, involved a small slab of clear acrylic plastic in which a shallow groove had been cut. Into this groove was placed a thin (about 1/16”) metal rod a few inches long that fit loosely, flush with the surface. It was believed, and so stated that it was not possible to remove the rod from the groove by hand without either overturning the slab or using a tool of some sort. Banachek was asked to stroke the metal with his finger and cause it to bend. He quickly discovered that the rod tilted up and out of the groove when he pressed down on one end, the flesh of his finger having squeezed into the groove. He simply removed the rod unnoticed, bent it slightly, and re-inserted it into the groove, lying it on its side, since the groove was wide enough to accommodate the bend. Then he stroked and rotated the rod 90 degrees to make it appear to bend up and out of the groove. The feat was deemed impossible by trickery. In another run of experiments, involving an electronic setup, the boys were asked to shorten the capacity of tubular electric fuses. A current would be passed through a fuse and gradually increased until the fuse blew out, and that value would be recorded. They obtained excellent results in this test, seeming to cause premature rupture of the fuses through mental influence. The reason for their success was simply that they were allowed to handle the fuses freely. They were able to re-insert the same blown fuse repeatedly! The circuit had been designed so that if a fuse were “open” – already blown – the instruments did not reveal the open circuit until the current was somewhat advanced. Thus it seemed that the fuse had blown quite prematurely. Also, the boys found that by pressing down upon one end of the fuse in it’s holder, or merely by touching it briefly while passing a hand over it, the instruments recorded unusual results that were interpreted by the experimenters as marvellous PSI effects. Banachek suggested that he might be able to affect a video camera and while seated before one, staring into the lens, he gestured mysteriously over the instrument. The picture twice suddenly “bloomed” brightly, the image swelling and subsiding. This was recorded and subsequently shown in the official McDonnell lab film. It seemed to the researchers that this event was not possible by any but paranormal means: yet Banachek had simply reached forward and turned the “target” control on the side of the camera – twice – unseen by the lab personnel. The McDonnell Lab videotape showed the subjects causing a light-weight paper rotor perched atop a needle-point to turn – in either direction, at their will – while mounted inside what was called a “bell jar.” The terminology was misleading indeed. A bell jar is a piece of laboratory equipment designed to be hermetically sealed to a base-plate, and usually capable of being evacuated of air. The actual item used was a glass dome, the cover of a cheap clock, placed upon a wooden base with a slot to receive the edge of the dome. A layer of aluminium foil that settled in the recess made a further seal. The boys demonstrated that a static-charged comb was not able to cause a deflection of the rotor because of a special anti-static coating sprayed upon the dome. But when they replaced the dome, it was an easy matter to drop a small ball of aluminum foil into the slot, causing the dome to tilt slightly and provide a gap. By simply blowing surreptitiously at the base of the dome, the boys could cause air to circulate within and thus turn the balanced rotor. Changing body position and blowing from a different angle changed the direction of air movement, and thus the direction of rotor movement. Since the small ball of foil matched the layer of foil, it was invisible and could easily be removed after the experiment – especially since the boys were allowed to handle everything freely. One device developed at the laboratory for testing the Alpha subjects consisted of an overturned aquarium bolted and padlocked to a stout table. Objects would be put inside and left overnight. Since the locks on the doors were of excellent quality, and Phillips wore the padlock and door keys around his neck, security was thought to be absolute. It was not. Banachek and Edwards simply left a window unlocked, and returned to the premises at night. There were several way to open the sealed aquarium, and they were free to do anything they pleased with the contents, which were discovered in the morning by lab personnel to have been bent, twisted, broken, and moved about by mysterious paranormal forces. A part of the aquarium test used a shallow box in which dry coffee-grounds were spread in a thin layer. Small cubes and other objects were placed therein, and were found to have spelled out strange cabalistic symbols when examined in the morning. This evoked much wonder among the investigators. Later in the progress of Project Alpha, the amateur magician who originated the sealed-aquarium system, and who even now proclaims himself of being flimflammed in his specialty of designing un-tamperable sealed containers, tried to improve upon the aquarium by providing inviolable bottles. As we shall see, he failed even more spectacularly. There is no question that the lab personnel believed that the boys were psychic. They did. It was this belief that made the deception exceedingly easy, and it was clear that, had the two entered the arena as conjurors, they could never have gotten away with all they did. The lab personnel further crippled themselves by referring to the kids as “gifted subjects,” even inventing the term Psychokinete to apply to them. Simple tricks, performed under very informal conditions of control, were declared PK events, and careless descriptions of circumstances surrounding the performances were written up. These factors certainly added to the sympathetic atmosphere in which the subjects were operating. Another factor that led researchers down the garden path was their total, unquestioning acceptance of, and the belief in, the work of their fellows in the field. Even the most doubtful results, seriously questioned and in some cases thoroughly denounced by colleagues, were embraced by the investigators when it matched their needs. It is apparent that many parapsychological investigators never do house-cleaning to get rid of the obvious trash, and the clutter that results makes it impossible to obtain a clear picture of just what the their problem is. Any minor remark of claim made by the subjects that seemed to fit an outside researcher’s notion of reality or fulfilled some expectation was further evidence to the laboratory investigators that they were dealing with the real thing. For example, Banachek and Mike complained about electronic equipment putting out “bad vibes,” not only to satisfy this established bit of mythology, but also to minimize proper video observation. Also, they were careful to mention that in early childhood both had experienced electric shocks, after which they had become aware of their psychic powers. Though not useable as strict evidence, acceptance of these tidbits further deepened the quicksand into which the researchers continued to sink. All through the three-year period that Banachek and Mike were at the McDonnell lab, I continued to write Professor Phillips offering to attend experimental sessions as a consultant. Phillips seemed quite confident that he could not be deceived, however, and did not accept my offer. Then, in July of 1981, I “leaked” broad hints of Project Alpha at a magician’s conference in Pittsburgh. Eleven days later, I heard that some rumours had reached the McDonnell lab. This had been done in an attempt to alert the parapsychologists. Instead, the rumours were reported to Banachek and Mike at the lab as great jokes. They had not asked if there was any truth to them. Just previous to this event, Phillips had for the first time actually written to me for assistance. He asked if I would be prepared to supply him with a videotape of fake PKMB being performed, along with a revelation of how it had been done. He intended to show it at the forthcoming August meeting of the Parapsychological Association in Syracuse. I immediately agreed to do so, and within a few days and I had excerpted a number of performances from my videotape library in which I was shown bending and breaking keys and spoons as well as doing some convincing “ESP” tricks. I supplied two sound tracks, one the original and another a running commentary describing in detail the method I used. I threw in , for educational purposes, an episode with Uri Geller in which he is seen to use exactly the same method of Spoon-bending performance, and is caught on tape doing so. I felt that rumours of Alpha would reach Phillips at about the same time he had my videotape and that he would be able to examine both his evidence and mine in light of the possibility that the collusion rumour was true. In return for my participation, I asked Phillips if I might have a copy of the McDonnell lab videotape of the Alpha subjects that had been prepared for showing along with my tape at the upcoming PA meeting. He agreed to do so: and, just days before the convention, I received his tape. I drew up a detailed analysis of the tricks shown there, pointing out that positively unmistakable evidence of deception was contained on their tape. At the convention, Phillips showed my tape and his own. An active rumour began circulating that Phillips and I were working together to discredit the PA, and it was widely believed. It was no surprise that the parapsychologists with little enthusiasm received his announced findings – though some of them, Walter Uphoff and William Cox in particular, were ecstatic. Cox, never one to entertain any doubts, had written Phillips a month earlier objecting strenuously to his intention of showing the videotape I had prepared.. He apparently felt that it would not be good to introduce any doubts whatsoever into the proceedings. A formal report on the two subjects, prepared by the McDonnell lab and distributed at the convention, was hastily recalled, and modifiers (“apparently,” “seemingly,” and “ostensibly”) were inserted at the appropriate points in the text. It was reprinted and once again distributed. In somewhat a state of shock, Phillips was cornered by me after the workshop, and I insisted upon showing him and Mark Shafer, his principal researcher, where the tape showed evidence of fraud. Visibly shaken, the two thanked me for my efforts, and I parted from them reasonably sure that they had been impressed enough to change their ways. Upon my return from the convention, I contacted Banachek and Edwards, and informed them that Phillips was now very suspicious, and that Project Alpha was probably about to end. In Part II, to appear in the fall 1993 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, the author will describe the involvement of several other well-known Parapsychologists who were taken in the Alpha net and how they fought valiantly against rational understanding of the trickery that these two boys were using. The conjurors worked side by side with two “validated psychics” whose methods were transparent to them, and their exposure will be detailed. We will follow them to the U.K., where they easily bamboozled the press and psychic aficionados. We will also discuss the outcome, ramifications, and lessons of the Project Alpha Experiment. -ED The Project Alpha Experiment Part 2. Beyond the Laboratory Some scientists learn from their errors, others refuse to. The press makes wild claims, a professed ‘expert’ fails the test, and the hoax is disclosed. James Randi In part 1, James Randi told the story of the first two years of his project Alpha Experiment, in which two young magicians posing as psychics were introduced into the newly created McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research at Washington University, St. Louis, to test the scientists’ ability to detect trickery. During these first two years they were able to pull off tricks nearly at will that impressed the researchers as psychic facts. Our story now resumes at a point after Randi showed lab director Peter R. Phillips evidence of trickery on the video tape of Banachek and Edwards being tested in the lab. –Ed.   Upon returning to the McDonnell Lab, Alpha subjects Banachek and Edwards discovered that there had been big changes in the protocol. They called me in great excitement and announced that conditions were now such that they were unable to use simple trickery. In the fuse test, for example, they were no longer permitted to handle the test objects. In fact, there was now a cover over the fuse-holder, so manipulation had become impossible. Each fuse was marked with a distinctively colored lacquer and, when they tried to locate the source of that lacquer, they found it had been locked up. As they described the changed conditions to me, I realized that Peter Phillips had initiated exactly the precautions I had suggested to him at our meeting in Syracuse. I had suggested, for example, that the marking of the items should be done on both a micro- and a macro-scale. This was the system designed to be used when Chris Evans, David Davies, and I tested “psychic” Jean-Pierre Girard in France for Nature Magazine. The cylindrical metal bars used on that occasion were boldly marked with colored stripes running the length of each bar, applied with indelible felt-tip markers. Thus no substitution of bars was possible, and rotation along the major axis to reveal a previously attend bend – the means by which Girard usually accomplished his trick – would be immediately visible. Final identification of the examples was made by means of very tiny scratch marks made under high magnification, much like fingerprints. Girard completely failed this careful set of tests. Upon hearing this report, I was elated, as were the boys. The McDonnnell Lab personnel had listened to advice, and reformed accordingly. The fuse test was not the only thing that had been revamped. A totally different attitude prevailed at the Lab. The boys felt that from then on they would have a difficult time getting around the protocol. But parapsychologists outside the McDonnell Lab were eager to involve the boys in psi-testing, and we were willing to accommodate them.   Actually, Banachek and Edwards had been visiting other investigators for some time while still involved at the MacDonnell lab. Two of them, Dr. Berthold Schwarz and Professor Walter Uphoff, are known to maintain high profiles in the media espousing any and all psychic wonders. Both were quoted rhapsodizing about Banachek and Edwards in the National Enquirer, while much more sober statements were given by the McDonnell Lab. When being interviewed by the Enquirer Edwards asked the reporter if he was really sure about the phenomenon he was writing about. Said the reporter: “Mike, I don’t have to believe it. All I need is two professors to tell me it’s true and I have a story!” Schwarz produced a 51 page paper for the Journal of the American Society of Psychosomatic Dentistry and Medicine titled “Taming the Poltergeist,” in which he reported on experiments conducted by him at his home and at the National Institute For Rehabilitation Engineering (NIRE) in Butler, New Jersey, using Banachek as the subject. Actually, the experimenter was Banachek; Schwarz was the subject. There was dozens of “experiments” described, laced with psychiatric observations attempting to explain why events occurred the way they did. Every creak, pop, movement, and unexpected event that took place – even after Banachek had left the scene – was attributed to his magical influences. And amid all this, Schwarz kept encouraging Banachek to use his powers to heal the sick – especially a close relative of Schwarz. Banachek tried every thing he could think of to talk that person out of dependence on magic, but to no avail. At one point, Banachek was given an 8-mm motion picture camera and was asked to shoot some film of Donald Selwyn, the director of NIRE. When it was developed, a strange amorphous “swirl” was found in the center of some of the frames, and psychiatrist Schwarz discovered in that swirl: some moving faces, a Jesus portrait, a UFO, a woman’s torso, nipple, breast and thigh, and even a baby being born! “The swirl,” reported Schwarz, “followed Selwyn around the parking lot.” Though no one there was able to figure out how these shapes had gotten on the film other than through paranormal means, Banachek explained to me that he’d simply spat on the lens! It is interesting to quote from that study of Schwarz. Writing of those who would deny the validity of what he was describing and calling for dependable observers of these wonders, he said, “….it would be desirable to have sophisticated conjurors and gentleman . . . like W. E. Cox, [who] in addition to being a highly trained engineer is also a leading parapsychologist and expert conjuror. Consulting conjurors whose probity, ethics, and claims about themselves have not been verified and have seemingly sought publicity with poorly documented sensational charges and challenges should be avoided.” I disagree with that first statement, but agree with the second; if Schwarz can produce such a person for me, I will personally tar and feather the scoundrel. Both Uphoff and Schwarz depended upon William E. Cox, an amateur magician and enthusiastic psi devotee, for design of their security systems. Cox appeared at both the Syracuse (’81) and Cambridge (’82) Parapsychological Association conventions and showed his now-famous “SORRAT” (Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis) films in which a deck of “sealed” ESP cards is seen to emerge from it’s box, shuffle and sort itself, dance about, and return to the box. The whole farce took place inside a “sealed” aquarium (like the one used in the McDonnell Lab tests) that Cox designed and built. At both conventions, most of the parapsychologists were convulsed with laughter upon seeing Cox’s circus. One shouted, “Where’s George Pal?” - reference to the old “Puppetoon” animated films of a few years ago. It seems there is a point beyond which even dedicated para-scientists cannot maintain belief. John Thomas Richards, PH.D., is the man behind SORRAT. While visiting in Phillips’s Lab along with the Alpha subjects, Richards had levitated a small, light, folding table – and photographs were taken. One of the photos revealed a very prominent thumb (attached to Richards) under the edge of the table, a fact that was called to the attention of the lab personnel by the Alpha boys. The researchers mumbled a bit, but said nothing more about it. Richards is fond of producing “spirit raps” with his foot, and the Alpha boys found it a hilarious sight as learned people stared at the floor whereon Richards stood, their mouths agape, while thumps came from a clearly moving foot. On another occasion, a video-tape record shows Richards and his wife as they approached a spoon on the lab table, blocked it with their bodies, and walked away again. The spoon was seen to have developed a paranormal bend while shielded from view. (On march 22, 1982, Phillips sent out a notice disclaiming any validation by the McDonnell Lab of events that took place there involving Richards. The SORRAT book clearly implies support of the McDonnell Lab for “miracles” that occurred within the “sealed” bottles Richards supplied the Alpha boys to work with. He claimed that pipe-cleaners twisted themselves into human figures while Banachek merely stated at them from across the room. Needless to say, Banachek understands quite well just how the twisting took place. The “mini-labs” (bottles) designed and prepared by William E. Cox and declared by him to be foolproof were easily opened and re-closed.) While being tested by another believer, Professor Otto H. Schmitt of the University of Minnesota, the boys had inspiration. Schmitt had supplied them with a few tiny, cheap digital watches – the type that are permanently sealed. He’d asked them to alter them paranormally. Edwards snuck one out of the lab and, while having lunch in a self-service restaurant during a noon break in the tests, he placed it inside his sandwich and stuck it in the microwave oven. As expected, the watch went crazy, displaying gibberish on its liquid-crystal readout. Professor Schmitt considered this to be a wonderful example of psychic force and marveled over it to the press. Preceding the psychic picnic at Madison, Wisconsin, held by Walter Uphoff in the guise of a serous seminar, I received an inquiry from Tony Edwards, a producer for the BBC Science Features Department in London. He intended to conduct on-camera tests of psychokinetic metal-bending (PKMB) during the seminar and wanted me to design a proper protocol for him to use. I did so, and supplied a set of sealed acrylic tubes containing metal targets for the metal-benders to attempt to distort. The subjects were to be Banachek, Mike Edwards, and Masuaki Kiyota, a highly-touted spoon-twister from Japan who was the major subject of Uphoff’s ludicrous book Mind Over Matter (one of three books of that exact title in recent years!) and whose unpsychic talents were exposed by Christopher Scott and Michael Hutchinson (SI, Spring 1979). They were to be filmed at the Channel 21 PBS station in Madison. And I did not inform my two colleagues how I had designed the tests; they had to do the best they could. Producer Edwards followed my protocol exactly, and the results were predictable. So long as the proper controls were maintained, zero mental-bending took place. None of the prepared samples changed shape, and Uphoff derided Tony’s attitude. He complained that the atmosphere was “oppressive” and that psychic events could not possibly take place when conditions were so closely controlled. However, the BBC team was determined to obtain PKMB under the strictly scientific conditions and was not persuaded by Uphoff to relax controls. When the tests were terminated, meal contorted left and right as I predicted it would. (Gerard, in France, had put in a measurable bend the very moment the experiment was officially ended, and video coverage terminated.) This only served to frustrated Tony, who had begun the project convinced not only that PKMB was a reality but that he could capture the beast on film. Uri Geller, the former psychic superstar, was scheduled to appear at that Madison meeting and I wanted to see if he had any new wrinkles in his act. It had been a few years since I’d actually seen him in person, and even then I was usually tucked behind the scenes in a studio, watching a TV monitor in a control room or at the sides of a darkened lecture hall, since Geller has always refused to perform when I am present. I determined to attend his performance in Madison, and to watch my two colleagues, who were also booked to appear there with Kiyota. I sent off my check to Uphoff to register for the meeting. I never saw it again, nor did I receive any acknowledgment. But what I did get was a windy letter from his lawyer forbidding me from corresponding in any way with Uphoff, ever! Now such an injunction is certainly unenforceable – and very presumptions. But I replied that Uphoff would never again hear from me in any way. I have kept that promise: Professor Uphoff has the right not to be informed. But Uphoff did hear from an Adam Jersin of New Brunswick, New Jersey (not far from where I live!), who sent a postal money order to register for the meeting. He was accepted, and soon after that a man with a dyed beard, wearing dark contact-lenses, a reddish fright-wig, dreadful auxiliary dentures, a belly pad, elevated cowboy boots, and a $7.00 suit from the Salvation Army store arrived among the strange assemblage at Madison in the company of a Moses Figueroa – a Punjab-like-companion – and they blended right in. Uphoff could have rearranged the letters of the name and come up with a different one, but the anagram got right by him. He not only greeted Jersin and autographed a book for him, but he continually directed him to various functions, since Adam seemed even more disoriented than the average person at the affair. I must admit that I lost a pound or two during those three days, since the protruding dentures made chewing impossible. I spent most of my mealtimes admiring miraculous anecdotes delivered by my table-companions. I rose early each day at Madison, so as to be assembled in my finery in time to take advantage of the Myriad of wonders offered – all of which was to be culminated with the appearance of Geller himself. But small dramas were played out before that glorious event. During breakfast one morning, I chanced to sit beside my two young colleagues, who were dazzling Tony Edwards’s secretary, a lady named Dee. She squealed in delight as each spoon bent and moved about, and managed to castigate that dreadful man Randi whenever the boys (not by accident, I’m sure) brought up my name. During one spoon-bending session on stage featuring the boys and Masuaki Kiyota, I stood beside and ebullient Teuton who exclaimed, as he watched Michael Edwards stroking a slowly bending spoon, “Dis is de REAL ting! Oh, how I vish dat Randi Vas here – he vould not believe it! He vould laugh at dis!” “Really?” I replied – and laughed. I dared not catch Michael’s eye, or we’d have broken up that session in a hurry. During those few days, in addition to their previous encounters with Kiyota, the boys had ample opportunity to witness his methods. Stocky, with short, strong fingers, the Japanese wonder has developed a method of putting a twist in the neck of a spoon that seems beyond the capability of an ordinary person using only his bare hands. Kiyota is known to have sat with an already-twisted spoon for long periods of time, massaging it and finally allowing the twist to come into view. Finally it was time for the Geller show. Each person was carefully scrutinized at the door (and checked against known undesirables), and after gushing introductions the spoon bender appeared, boyishly effervescent as always. He told the usual endless anecdotes about his childhood, innocence, validity, and indignation at doubters. The audience was enthralled, and I managed to applaud each and every remark, seated as I was in the front row immediately under Geller’s nose. The amateur benders, Banachek, Edwards, and Kiyota, were seated on stage with Geller, who mildly acknowledged them and then dismissed them so the really good stuff could begin. As he brazenly performed his obvious routines I avoided glances that the boys directed at me, shocked as they were at the blatant methods he used. He had lost, so it seemed, much of the smoothness he once had. I will not go into details of how he performed except to say it that it was quite standard and expected. Nothing new appeared, except that he made more excuses and denials than he might have previously. As he finished, I rushed onstage to have him autograph a copy of his book, which I now treasure as a trophy of that occasion. The World’s Greatest Psychic never knew whose hand he shook. Just about that time, I became aware that Berthold Schwarz and a UFO-devotee from New Jersey were looking at me strangely. In the parlance of the trade, I knew that they’d “twigged” me. With a quick word to Moses, who then ran interference for me, I left the area and headed for the hotel, where I doffed the disguise in the room. Meanwhile, pandemonium ruled in the lobby. Moses stated around to hear the scuttlebutt and reported that the consternation was intense. No one was really sure I was there, but they acted as if martin Luther had been seen at the Vatican. Later, Uphoff was to hint that he’d known the truth all along, and I’d fooled no one. And Pigs have wings. Immediately following the Madison Meeting, Banachek and Edwards took off for England. There they were interviewed by that epitome of careful research and reporting, London’s Psychic News, which was bowled over. Miracles flew from their fingertips, and the paper gushed over their abilities – much as it had touted my own tricks as genuine when I’d visited it’s offices years ago and hoodwinked the staff in the guise of a psychic. In their hotel in London, where I joined them while filming, the Alpha boys showed me a small transparent plastic box containing paper-clips. It had been given to them by the McDonnell lab, having been made up by a then unnamed parapsychologist who turned out to be George Hansen of the Institute for parapsychology, in Durham, North Carolina. The object of this device was to see if Banachek and Edwards could bend the paperclips without opening the box. It occurred to me that here was a quality about paperclips that might serve us well. I stepped to the window for a moment and then returned the box to them with the clips linked together. It had been rather simple. Anyone who works with these devices know that they frequently become linked by accident. By jogging them about until one “nested” within the other, then rapping the box against my hand to throw them against the end of the box, I’d gotten them to link. I told the boys to return the still-sealed box and await results. Though the intent of the experiment had been different from the result we obtained, Hansen described it as “quite impressive!” He has since said he solved the mystery himself without having to invoke psychic powers. Back in America, Banachek and Edwards were presented with a new challenge: linking rectangular plywood rings. William Cox had made a set of thee rings and left them with Richards, who then “discovered” they had become mysteriously linked together while in his possession. Though such a trick is quite simple, it was looked upon as evidence of irrefutable psychic power at work – even though the rings, unlike those I produced for the boys to use, showed sizable cracks that rather gave them away. Psychic News challenged me to pay my prize of $10, 000, not knowing that I was daily linking particle board and plywood rings just for practice. Banachek a set off to Walter Uphoff, who had remarked on this sort of miracle, “Here’s something I’d like to see a conjuror do!” Anything to oblige, Walter. Just as the excitement over the linked rings was building, it came time to tip Project Alpha for good. The McDonnell researchers had essentially recovered themselves by reversing rather positive convictions they’ previously held, though personally and emotionally the personnel were still convinced of the validity of what they’d seen. As for the researchers outside the McDonnell Lab, there had been little hope that they would ever change their point of view, in spite of the evidence. Some people have been educated far beyond their intelligence. As and example of just how strongly some self-appointed parapsychologists can rationalize their failures, Walter Uphoff – desperately trying to explain his fumbling following the exposure of Project Alpha in Discover magazine – stated that Banachek and Mike really had psychic powers all along but were now lying in claiming that they had tricked him! To further display his confusion, he asked a reporter, “How do these kids know they’re fakes?” The mind boggles. Perhaps Berthold Schwarz expressed his misunderstanding of the whole affair best when he declared, “Randi has set parapsychology back 100 years!” Not so, Doctor. Banachek, Mike and I brought parapsychology into the 1980’s – and if it cannot stand that atmosphere it must perish. The kind of work that validated the powers of the Alpha kids belongs in the dark Ages, along with other Things That Go Bump in The Night. It is claptrap and deserves to be labeled as such. If Project Alpha resulted in Parapsychologists (real parapsychologists!) awakening to the fact that they are able to be deceived, either by subjects or themselves, as a result of their convictions and their lack of expertise in the arts of deception, then it has served its purpose. Those who fell into the trap invited that fate; those who pulled back from the brink deserve our applause. From within the parapsychological community itself came enough positive, supportive comment to encourage us to believe that Project Alpha had obtained its goal. It was described as, “splendid and deserved.” It was called, “an important sanitary service,” “commendable,” “long-needed,” and “worthwhile.” Said one scientist, “If I were you, I would have tried something like this long ago.” Researchers described their own work as “entirely too lax” and their controls as “not the tightest.” As for Banachek and Michael Edwards, who spent more than 160 hours during the four years of their lives and cooperating in the experiment, I hope that my readers will join me in thanking them for their dedication and perseverance. As one of them said, “It had to be done.   
• Candy Banachek Question:  Why did I make them? Answer:    I was curious to know if it was possible to capture a likeness of someone in sugar-paste, so I tried making Dunninger and I liked how he came out.  When I was making him, I was intending to put him on a party cake for this party we were going to have and let someone eat him!  Then I decided someone else might be hungry and I might need one more on the cake, so I made Kreskin.  Only when we had the party, I forgot the cake!  But they were so cute together it didn't seem right to let anyone gobble them up anyway, so I kept them safe and just showed them to friends, and everyone loved them.  So, like any obsessive artiste, I decided I had to make everybody, and that was that. Question:  Where are they kept? Answer:   They stand in a funny little crowd at one end of my big pine kitchen table, where most of them were made, watching me cook and bake.  They make a very easily amused audience and don't seem to mind a little chocolate cake batter or espresso splashing them now and then, although they seem quite annoyed when the blender is bashing up ice for a frozen blended mocha and they're getting vibrated around.  Every day, inevitably, one falls over backwards with a loud bang, because their heads are rather heavy, especially Joe's.  He's got the biggest head of all!  Occasionally I will be in another room and hear a limb hit the table, which is always good for a laugh.  When there's a bit too much going on and I'm nervous a roast turkey or entire pot of spaghetti and meatballs is going to land on the lot of them, I put them in a little cardboard box in my art supply closet where they make a big naughty ruckus until I let them out again.  Question:  What am I going to do with them? Answer:  Currently they're on a thirty-city world tour, drawing more attendance than the King Tut exhibit, but I expect them back shortly.  They'll probably get sent home for bad behavior any day now, it's a sugar thing, they can't help it.   It's possible they will turn up in person at a PEA convention at some point, although they had to pass on the one in Las Vegas, for fears they would melt getting there, and they didn't go to New Jersey because they were grounded.  There's a good chance they'll show up in San Jose--if they promise to behave. Question:  How do I make them? Answer:  Usually munching chips and guacamole or corn dogs and mustard, wearing a bikini, and listening to music or The Bob Newhart Show.  Oh--also giggling. Question:  Can I buy one? Answer:    The Candy Mentalists are not for sale.  They told me if I didn't say that, they would all hold their breath until they turned blue.  But, if you can't live without one, let me know and we'll see what can be done about it.  You can also find lots of fun Candy Mentalists merchandise in my Cindythings Shop at Cafepress, including greeting cards, mugs, and tee shirts!  If you don't see what you want, let me know!  
• Guest The Magic Café Described as the Cream of the crop when it comes to entertainers, Banachek is the world's leading Mentalist. His talents are so incredible that he is the only mentalist ever to fool scientists into believing he possessed Psychic powers but to later reveal he was fooling them Performers around the world such as the colorful Penn & Teller, The Amazing James Randi and television's unique street magician David Blaine seek his performing expertise. Companies and theaters seek him for his outstanding performing abilities. Wolf Blitzer says of Banachek 'Your one !@8$ of an Entertainer.' Penn & Teller say 'Banachek is brilliant...a magical thinker of deep, deep subtlety.' and Las Vegas Style is quoted as printing Banachek is an astonishing go see.. buy a ticket.' As a tribute to his expert performing abilities Banachek has been awarded the 1998 and the 1999 Campus Performer of the year from Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities and the Year 2000 Campus Novelty Act, beating out all other comedians, bands and other novelty acts. He has also received the coverted Psychic Entertainers Creativity award for his outstanding original contributions and inventions in the world of Mental entertainment. You do not want to miss The mind of the Man Who Fooled the Scientists..Bana   
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• The most anticipated set of DVDs in mentalism! Banachek is known to the world of magic and mentalism for his astonishing ability to keep a room mesmerized. Now comes the chance for you to learn the secrets and insights that have made him a legend! Volume 1 - Mentalism for the Casual Performer - Part 1 Make a pen stand up and write the exact word a spectator is thinking . . . all by itself! Predict a corporate image chosen by a CEO! Reveal the serial number of a borrowed dollar bill. All these and more are included in this DVD. These effects run the gamut from psychokinesis, telepathy, predictions and psychological influence. These effects are designed to be performed from the intimacy and casualness of your friend's living room to the trade show floor or the professional stage. Here Banachek presents mentalism like a home-cooked meal . . . something for everyone and sure to be enjoyed by all. From mentalism to mental magic, Banachek shows how to make mentalism fun and friendly. Meet Banachek in a personal interview and learn how he started in mentalism and how his career developed as he traveled from England to South Africa ultimately immigrating to the United States. EFFECTS & EXPLANATIONS: This 'n That Lorayne's Buck Add A Number ESP Card Opener PK Writing Loco Logo Picture Duplication (Close- Up) Number Duplication INTERVIEWS Career Path - Personal History Volume 2 - Mentalism for the Casual Performer - Part 2 Make the value of a spectator's playing card slowly appear on your arm in blood red . . . anywhere, anytime! Reveal a thought-of number from across the distance separated by phone lines. Engage two people in a fun routine where the performer predicts a page number and a word 'seen' by a volunteer on an invisible Palm Top computer. Become a human lie detector in a thrilling and comical adventure. This DVD continues from Part 1 with close-up, stand-up and stage mentalism and mental magic with additional routines including anywhere, anytime effects plus staggering psychological ploys. Learn a multi-phase routine weaving audience direction and sleight-of-hand into one smooth effect. Also, learn the 'inside' secrets of what Banachek considers one of the most powerful tools in the mentalist's arsenal ... Pocket Writing. This DVD includes Banachek's discussion of his 'Buried Alive' escape, his Bullet Catch illusion now used by Penn & Teller, the difference between mentalism and mental magic plus comical anecdotes about blindfold drives. You will also see a television clip of Banachek's 'Buried Alive' escape hosted by William Shatner and TV footage of one of Banachek's early Blindfold Drives. EFFECTS & EXPLANATIONS: Ring of Truth Phone Psychs Word of the Ring Number Reversal Stigmata Invisible Palm Top Picture Duplication (Stage) Bonus Explanation of Q & A Routine Volume 3 - Psychophysiological Thought Reading - Muscle Reading Do you want to find a needle in a haystack? Using the power of your mind and a little help from your volunteer, you can find anything through your heightened sense of touch. Almost anything you can do in mentalism can be re-enacted using Psychophysiological Thought Reading. This DVD also includes Banachek's first national television appearance. Here he uses the Psychophysiological response to find a playing card hidden in a shopping mall. Additional material included in personal interviews explain how to work with agents, getting booked on the college circuit, trade shows and restaurants, performing on the radio, getting publicity, using disclaimers, accepting challenges and more. EFFECTS & EXPLANATIONS: Poker Chip Detection Finding Your Check Finding Numbers Which Hand? Non-Contact Mind Reading Audience Expectations What If You Are Wrong? INTERVIEWS Radio Magic - College Circuit - Trade Shows Restaurants - Agents - Improvising Publicity Disclaimers - Scottish Girl Terms of the Trade - Challenges Volume 4 - Psychokinesis Learn how to bend cold, hard steel with the 'power of your mind.' Make physical objects move, twist and curl up like a wet noodle at will. In true Banachek style, each move, gesture and psychological subtlety is covered in detail. This DVD stands alone from Banachek's previous work by presenting new, additional details and methods on bending silverware. This also includes methods of bending coins keys, nails, and spikes plus moving objects like pens and pencils. Included is the true story behind Banachek's participation in the Alpha Project, a four-year study that culminated with scientists validating Banachek's 'psychic' powers that propelled him into the national spotlight! EFFECTS & EXPLANATIONS: Nail Bends Key Bends Coin Bends Silverware Bends PK Pen Permission & Warnings for Keys Displays (for maximum reactions) Bending Coins The Volunteer Feels It Why Quarters? Putting the Physical Bends in Coins Where to Bend & Display Coins Silverware & Bag Method Spoon Bending (new method) Switching Spoons Stage vs. Impromptu Who's Silverware To Use? Angles Pencil PK PK Pen About PK Audience Perception INTERVIEWS Alpha Project - Too Much Power
• Psychokinetic Silverware DVD If you really could bend metal with your mind, Psychokinetic Silverware is exactly how it would look. You'll see cold, hard steel melt like butter-bending, twisting, breaking and moving seemingly on its own, even in a spectator's hand! Banachek's metal bending is so amazing and so realistic that he has often been accused of being and doing 'the real thing.' In fact, after studying Banachek's metal bending the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychic Research proudly announced to the scientific community that they had discovered someone with genuine psychic abilities! The National Inquirer and other media have also heralded Banachek's psychokinetic talents. On this videotape, Gerry and Banachek finally reveal the real secrets to these amazing routines. Not only will you get to see how everything looks in performance, you'll also learn the real inside work, the fine points and psychology of metal bending. These are secrets which have have been very tightly guarded...until now. What People Are Saying: 'Wow! This tape has great information on bending silverware, from guys who do it for a living. I just became interested in learning this aspect of our art. Thank you Gerry and Banachek!' - Lance Burton 'This is the best metal-bending tape I've seen. It deals with the psychological touches and misdirection needed to make this effect really work. Too many performers approach it as a magic trick and look for novelties and clever gaffs-but this is the real stuff, discussed and considered in rewarding detail. Certainly of immense interest to the professional as well as the novice. Excellent work, and congratulations.' - Derren Brown 'Banachek is BY FAR the best I've ever seen at bending metal! No one comes close!' - Mac King 'Banachek's work with metal bending is the state of the art. This is the real work, the psychology and the little touches that make for miracles!' - Ben Harris, author of Gellerism Revealed 'I am proud to say that Banachek is definitely one of the top in the field of metal bending.' - Guy Bavli 'Metal bending remains the finest psychic illusion of all, and Banachek remains its finest exponent and teacher.' - Ian Rowland, author of Full Facts Book of Cold Reading 'Banachek is unlike any metal bender I have ever seen. He just seems to be nearby whenever forks and spoons take on an unexpected life of their own.' - Richard Busch, Psychic Entertainer, Master Hypnotist, author of Peek Performances
• Psychological Subtleties 2 Banachek's Psychological Subtleties has been long out of print but remains one of the best selling books in the magic and mentalism community.  It is considered a basic reference source for any complete library on our art. Psychological Subtleties offers ideas, tips and observations of natural human responses that can be inserted into performing situations to make the overall result of an effect much stronger, entertaining and memorable. Several performers incorporated that knowledge into their acts and built whole routines around those clever ideas. Psychological Subtleties 2 picks up where the first book ends. Whereas Psychological Subtleties was not a book of tricks and routines, this book contains complete routines from professionals who understood the value and impact of those ideas in the first book. Here you will find routines from: Peter Arcane, Greg Arce, Lance Campbell, Dr. Bill Cushman, Christian David, David De Leon, Paul W. Draper, Gerard, Jonathon Grant, Patrick Kuffs, Andy Leviss, Rick Maue, Mike Merchant, Ravi Johannes Pazhur, Ian Rowland, Leonardo Silverio, and Michael Sibbernsen as well as routines and more subtleties from the mind of Banachek.
• Videoclip automatic writing
• Videoclip bending silverware

• Mentalist David Berglas
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• Highway to succes The Entertainers Roadmap to Business Highway to success is the essential business system for any artist or independent business person. Written by entertainers, for entertainers, and independent business people, it provides all the information you need to set up, operate, and thrive as a professional. From basic business structures to legalities, advertising to closing the sale, this system will refine your business practices and increase your clientele. With over 45 years of combined experience as professional entertainers and businessmen, Elliott Smith and Ian Quick have put together for you an effective business system that works. Based on tried methods and practical experience, this common sense approach will equip you with the knowledge to successfully operate your business.  
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• Mentalist Paul Pacific

• 13 Steps To Mentalism 13 Steps to Mentalism has become the standard by which all other mentalism books have been judged. In thirteen chapters, it details the workings of nearly every catetory and device useful to the working mentalist. Nail writers, predictions, card tricks, blindfold tricks, muscle reading, billets, publicity stunts, patter and presentation and more are covered within its pages.  
• Act 2 for mentalists When Barrie Richardson's Theater of the Mind was published in 1999, it drew immediate acclaim from mentalists and magicians, professional and amateur alike, and quickly became a bestseller. In it, Richardson, a longtime professional performer and speaker, exhibited an unerring track record for fashioning astonishing effects and routines, dressed in powerful and engaging presentations and supported by ingenious, practical methods. In Act Two, Barrie Richardson shows that he has lost none of his gentle thunder. His new book features 54 tricks, ideas and routines, with all the attributes for which his work has become known and admired. Most include full presentations that use humanity, humor and an unfaltering sense of drama, that culminate in feats that are clearly impossible and thoroughly amazing. Along with some of his most prized routines, Richardson includes valuable examples taken from his professional repertoire of motivational talks for public and business audiences. The scenes in Act Two amount to what might be called a modern 'miracle play.' Here is a scant sampling of the action: Spectators name any card and a position in the deck. They count down to that position in an isolated pack and find their card at the precise number they chose. The performer never touches the cards, there are no forces or switches, and the deck is ungimmicked. Remarkable new billet techniques are applied to ordinary business cards and Post-It notes to create astonishing effects of mind reading. A deck of cards, shuffled by two spectators, mysteriously separates into reds and blacks in their hands, while the performer tells of mysteries experienced on Mt. Kenya at the equator. Various feats of superhuman memory and rapid calculation convince audiences of the performer's extraordinary mental powers - and their own. A strange solid form materializes under an ungimmicked cloth napkin, and then just mysteriously melts away. The true and complete method is revealed for the ancient Jar of Rice Suspension, presented to a tale of training and accomplishment in China. Ground-breaking methods are explained for the divining of one or several mentally selected cards. Also included are three new deck-switches, done while standing, that require no sleights or use of pockets; a deck that secretly unshuffles itself after being mixed by a spectator; and many more mysteries using coins, bills, magazines, marbles, rope and more. Frequently, sequels fail to live up to their predecessors. That is not the case here. You won't want to miss Act Two. A quality hardcover, 382 pages of baffling and practical material, loaded with full presentations.  
• Mind Myth & Magick Over 800 pages full of astounding and diabolic mentalism - all conceived by one man! T.A. Waters has for years been recognized as one of the most original and knowledgeable minds in Mentalism. In the 80's he released 21 booklets of his mental secrets, which sold to a select clientele for more than 300. Mind, Myth & Magick gives you all this extraordinary Mentalism and additional material, revised, updated and extensively illustrated in a fine hardcover edition. This monumental work contains over 200 effects of Mind Reading and Bizarre Magick, along with extensive re-examinations of psychometry, billet work, book and symbol tests, fortunetelling, Tarot and other classic topics.
• Practical Mental Magic Mind reading, thought transmission, prophecy, miracle slate routines and other 'psychic' effects are among the most impressive tricks in any magician's repertoire. Their power to amaze and dumbfound an audience is unparalleled in the domain of stage magic. In this volume, one of the greatest of all mental magicians reveals the secrets behind nearly 200 astonishing feats of mental magic. The included routines encompass 12 major categories: Effects with Billets and Pellets Publicity Effects Dead or Alive Book Tests Thought Foretold Envelope Necromancy Miracle Slate Routines Money Mentalism Blindfold Reading Mentalism with Cards Psychic Codes Miscellaneous Mental Masterpieces Theodore Annemann, through his own performances and editorship of Jinx magazine, probably did more than anyone else to popularize this branch of entertainment. Now, this extensive knowledge, experience and know-how are at your fingertips in this comprehensive collection. Here are the closely guarded tricks of the trade behind such astonishing effects as Pseudo-Psychometry, one of the greatest one-man psychic effects ever achieved; Who Killed Mr.X?-a classic routine that combines both magic and mind reading with a triple mystery and a novel presentation; and the Swami Test, a demonstration of prophecy first popularized around 1920. Annemann himself came up with some 16 variations on this popular and much-practiced effect. My Own Swami Test is one of his best. These and scores of other crowd-pleasers are here, each thoroughly explained and diagrammed, with insider's tips on techniques, staging, patter, plants and confederates, diversions-everything you need to make any trick a fool-proof success. No special equipment is required; just traditional magic props and a willingness to learn from one of magic's legendary figures. Although written for professional magicians, the step-by-step detail, clarity and inclusiveness of this collection, along with the author's intimate knowledge of the stage performer's needs, make this a volume that will benefit magicians at every level of expertise. Paperbound, 310 5 3/8' by 8 1/2' pages, 100 illustrations.
• Prism for mentalists While a sizable literature devoted to mentalism was produced in the past hundred years, little has stood the test of time. Among the scant amount that has is that of MAX MAVEN. Writing under the name of Phil Goldstein, MAVEN has created one of the largest, cleverest and most influential bodies of work in the field, stretching from the latter part of the twentieth century into the twenty-first. His star rose early, with the publication of five slim collections, each packed with innovative and performance-caliber mentalism. These booklets, which have become widely known as 'The Color Series,' contained items such as 'Desire', 'The Spirit is Willing (to Write)' and 'Four-sided Triangle'-items that have become modern classics in the field. MAVEN produced the Color booklets in small quantities and, despite ongoing popular request, refused to reprint them. They have become highly sought after, fetching prices in the hundreds of dollars. At last, after a quarter of a century, the entire Color Series is again available; all 53 effects, newly illustrated by Ton Onosaka, 240 pages in hardcover. Welcome to a classic reborn-Prism 
• Self working mental magic Karl Fulves, one of the most renowned modern writers in the field of magic, presents here 67 new and foolproof tricks-spectacular mental feats that seem impossible, but are easy to perform. None of the tricks require long practice, supernormal dexterity, or complicated apparatus. Mr. Fulves' precise, easy-to-follow instructions and many helpful diagrams lead to quick mastey and effective performance of each. Perform mystifying mental magic in such categories as: Instant ESP Mind Reading with Cards Mind Over Matter Psychic Secrets Slate Sorcery Miracles with Cards Psychometry Many of these tricks can be done with no prior preparation, and all involve easy-to-find materials: a deck of cards, coins, matches, dice, keys, chalk, etc. But while the materials used are ordinary, the effects achieved are truly extraordinary. Magicians who wish to add mental acts to their routines, party entertainers or anyone wishing to give an amazing performance of mental magic will find this book perfect for their needs.
• Theater of the Mind A recipient of the Psychic Entertainers Association award for creativity, and with over fifty years of professional performance behind him, Barrie Richardson has gathered together 53 of his best mental routines, many with complete presentations, for this large volume of baffling experiences. In THEATER OF THE MIND, you will find page after page, of fresh, practical material, tested and perfected before thousands of audiences; astonishing feats that use only ordinary items, and few of them, entertaining mental experiments that involve the whole audience, that pack small and play big, and that exploit a devilish combination of simplicity and cleverness. What you will discover in Theatre Of The Mind is a wealth of professional material at a pauper's price. A 320 page hardbound book with detailed instructions and illustrations!

• Cold reading Wikipedia Cold reading is a technique used to convince another person that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do. Even without prior knowledge of a person, a practiced cold reader can still quickly obtain a great deal of information about the subject by carefully analyzing the person's body language, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. This technique is also called offender profiling.[citation needed] Cold readers commonly employ high probability guesses about the subject, quickly picking up on signals from their subjects as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, and then emphasizing and reinforcing any chance connections the subjects acknowledge while quickly moving on from missed guesses. Performers such as Lynne Kelly, Kari Coleman,[1] Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have used this technique at either private fortune-telling sessions or open forum 'talking with the dead' sessions in the manner of self-proclaimed psychic medium John Edward and his British counterparts. Only after receiving acclaim and applause from their audience do they reveal that they needed no psychic power for the performance, only a sound knowledge of psychology and cold reading.[citation needed] Many famous psychics, on the other hand, claim that their abilities actually stem from paranormal means or intuition, and deny that they are employing cold reading techniques. In an episode of his Trick of the Mind series broadcast in March 2006, Derren Brown demonstrated how easily people can be influenced through cold reading techniques by repeating the famous experiment in 1948, by psychologist Bertram R. Forer. [edit] Basic procedure Before starting the actual reading, the reader will typically try to elicit cooperation from his subject, saying something like, 'I often see images that are a bit unclear and which may sometimes mean more to you than to me; if you help, we can together uncover new things about you.' One of the most crucial elements of a convincing cold reading is a credulous subject eager to make connections or reinterpret vague statements in any way that will help the reader appear to have made specific predictions or intuitions. While the reader will do most of the talking, it is the subject who provides the meaning. After assuring that the subject will play along, the reader will make a number of probing statements or questions, typically using variations of the methods noted below. The subject will then reveal further information with their replies (whether verbal or non-verbal) and the cold reader can continue from there, pursuing promising lines of inquiry and very quickly abandoning or avoiding unproductive ones. In general, while only some of the information comes from the reader, most of the facts and statements come from the subject, and are then refined and restated by the reader so as to reinforce the idea that the reader got something correct. Even very subtle cues such as changes in facial expression or body language can indicate if a particular line of questioning is effective or not. Combining the techniques of cold reading with information obtained covertly (also called 'hot reading') can leave a strong, but false, impression that the reader knows or has access to a great deal of information about the subject. Because the majority of time during a reading is spent dwelling on the 'hits' the reader is able to obtain, while the time spent recognizing 'misses' is minimized, the effect is to give an impression that the cold reader knows far more about the subject than any ordinary stranger could. [edit] Other cold reading techniques The most comprehensive book on how to perform Cold Reading techniques is The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by British illusionist Ian Rowland. In this book he discusses over twenty different techniques including The Rainbow Ruse, Fine Flattery and Barnum Statements. [edit] Shotgunning 'Shotgunning' is a commonly-used cold reading technique, allegedly used by purported television psychics and spiritual mediums: Edgar Cayce, Sylvia Browne, James Van Praagh, Colin Fry and John Edward in particular have all been accused by skeptics of using shotgunning techniques in their stage and television shows. The psychic or reader quickly offers a huge quantity of very general information, often to an entire audience (some of which is very likely to be correct, near correct or at the very least, provocative or evocative to someone present), observes their subjects' reactions (especially their body language), and then narrows the scope, acknowledging particular people or concepts and refining the original statements according to those reactions to promote an emotional response. This technique is named after a shotgun, as it fires a spray of small projectiles in the hope that one or more of the shots will strike the target. A majority of people in a room will, at some point for example, have lost an older relative or known at least one person with a common name like 'Mike' or 'John'. Shotgunning might include a series of vague statements such as: 'I see a heart problem with a father-figure in your family, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a cousin... I'm definitively seeing chest pain here for a father-figure in your family.' 'I see a woman that isn't a blood relative. Someone around when you were growing up, an aunt, a friend of your mother, a step-mother with blackness in the chest, lung cancer, heart disease, breast cancer...' 'I sense an older male figure in your life, who wants you to know whilst you may have had disagreements in your life, he still loved you.' [edit] The Forer effect/Barnum statements 'Barnum statements' named after P.T. Barnum, the American showman, may also be used. These statements seem personal, yet apply to many people. And while seemingly specific, such statements are often open-ended or give the reader the maximum amount of 'wriggle room' in a reading. They are designed to elicit identifying responses from people. The statements can then be developed into longer and more sophisticated paragraphs and seem to reveal great amounts of detail about a person. The effect relies in part on the eagerness of people to fill in details and make connections between what is said and some aspect of their own lives (often searching their entire life's history to find some connection, or reinterpreting the statement in any number of different possible ways so as to make it apply to themselves). A talented and charismatic reader can sometimes even bully a subject into admitting a connection, demanding over and over that they acknowledge a particular statement as having some relevance and maintaining that they just aren't thinking hard enough, or are repressing some important memory. Statements of this type might include: 'I sense that you are sometimes insecure, especially with people you don't know very well.' 'You have a box of old unsorted photographs in your house.' 'You had an accident when you were a child involving water.' 'You're having problems with a friend or relative.' 'Your father passed on due to problems in his chest or abdomen.' If the subject is old enough, his or her father is quite likely to be dead, and this statement would easily apply to a number of conditions such as heart disease, pneumonia, diabetes, most forms of cancer, and in fact to a great majority of causes of death. [edit] The rainbow ruse The rainbow ruse is a crafted statement which simultaneously awards the subject with a specific personality trait, as well as the opposite of that trait. With such a phrase, a cold reader can 'cover all possibilities' and appear to have made an accurate deduction in the mind of the subject, despite the fact that a rainbow ruse statement is vague and contradictory. This technique is used since personality traits are not quantifiable, and also because nearly everybody has experienced both sides of a particular emotion at some time in their lives. Statements of this type might include: 'Most of the time you are positive and cheerful, but there has been a time in the past where you were very upset.' 'You are a very kind and considerate person, but when somebody does something to break your trust, you feel deep-seated anger.' 'I would say that you are mostly shy and quiet, but when the mood strikes you, you can easily become the center of attention.' A cold reader can choose from a variety of personality traits, think of its opposite, and then bind the two together in a phrase, vaguely linked by factors such as mood, time, or potential. [edit] Subconscious cold reading People who are naturally good at personal observations can unwittingly conduct readings demonstrably based on cold reading without a deliberate attempt at deception.Cold reading in this context could also simply be 'knowledge of the world.' Consider the case of a taxi driver in Las Vegas, where innumerable professional conventions have provided him with the opportunity to gauge the characteristic group style and demeanor of entire occupations. Knowing the six big conventions on at the moment, as a party of five enters his cab, he can tell the wound continence nurses from the scuba divers, the phytopathologists from the pilots, the doctors from the police chiefs, without recourse to anything but his personal experience. Former New Age practitioner Karla McLaren said, 'I didn't understand that I had long used a form of cold reading in my own work! I was never taught cold reading and I never intended to defraud anyone; I simply picked up the technique through cultural osmosis.' McLaren has further stated that since she was always very perceptive, she could easily figure out many of the issues her 'readees' brought into sessions with them. In order to reduce the appearance of unusual expertise that might have created a power differential, she posed her observations as questions rather than facts. This attempt to be polite, she realized, actually invited the readee to, as McLaren has said, 'lean into the reading' and give her more pertinent information.[2] After a person has done hundreds of readings their skills may improve to the point where they may start believing they can read minds, asking themselves if their success is because of psychology, intuition or a psychic ability.[3] This point of thought is known by some skeptics of the paranormal as the transcendental temptation.[4] Magic historian and occult investigator Milbourne Christopher warned the transcendental choice may lead one unknowingly into a belief in the occult and a deterioration of reason.[5] [edit] Cold reading in movies and on television The Wizard of Oz (1939). Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan) does a cold reading on Dorothy (Judy Garland) in an effort to urge her to return home. Nightmare Alley (1947). Depicted ex-carny and aspiring cult leader Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) using cold reading and other mentalist techniques to convince people he can communicate with the dead. Although the presentation is clumsy, the technique of cold reading is referred to by name. The film was based on the William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name. Leap of Faith (1992). Early in the film, revival tent evangelist and phony faith healer Jonas Nightengale (Steve Martin) uses cold reading on a police officer who has pulled over his tour bus, to dissuade him from writing a ticket. South Park (2002). In the episode 'The Biggest Douche in the Universe,' the gang encounters famous medium John Edward. Stan is angered at the crowd's willingness to believe Edward has any psychic ability at all, and throughout the remainder of the episode he tries to prove that Edward merely uses cold reading to trick people by demonstrating to Kyle, only to be mistaken by passers-by for a gifted child psychic himself. Stan then faces off against Edward in a 'psychic showdown' on TV to disprove him once and for all, but then Edward is kidnapped by extraterrestrials and given the dubious award of 'The Biggest Douche in the Universe.' Hustle (2005). BBC series about a group of grifters in London. In Series 2 Episode 1, Albert Stroller and Danny Blue mention using cold reading in order to get a mark interested in business. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2005). In the episode 'Pure,' a sexual predator (Martin Short) uses cold reading, as well as the Facial Action Coding System and his inside knowledge of a crime he committed, to masquerade as a psychic detective offering his services to the victim's family and the police. House (2006). In the episode 'House vs. God,' Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) treats a teenage faith healer (Thomas Dekker) who he believes is just cold reading and exciting people into thinking they are cured until the endorphins from the experience wear off. Dr. House himself frequently uses cold reading techniques to diagnose his patients and pry into his co-workers' private lives. Sherlock Holmes can be seen as an expert cold reader, which he uses to find clues.
• Commercial cold reading CD A digitally re-mastered version of the original cassette released in 1986. On this CD you will hear Richard Webster who is one of the world's leading experts on the art of cold reading. Richard Webster is a New Zealander who has been involved with Magic and Cold Reading for many, many years. Richard used to release his own exclusive publications but now that he has achieved international fame he is published by a leading American publishing house. He has written books on a diverse range of subjects from Hypnotism to Fung Shui. Richard not only writes and speaks about Cold Reading but also has, for many years, earned his living from private readings given to his many clients. Contained on the MagiCD is the most comprehensive instruction on cold reading that you will ever receive. Richard provides detailed explanations and clear and precise readings that you can use once you have learned the techniques necessary.
• Guide to cold reading Guide to 'Cold Reading'   by Ray Hyman There are many people who promote themselves as psychics or clairvoyants, and who claim that their powers enable them to read your character, make contact with dead relatives, or provide insights into your life and your future. Despite their claims, there has never been a successful demonstration of these powers in a laboratory, under properly controlled conditions. Indeed, the National Committee of Australian Skeptics offers a cash prize of $100,000 for any PROVEN demonstration of such powers. See The Challenge. By far the most common method employed by psychics who have been put to the test is called cold reading. This method involves the psychic reading the subject's body language etc, and skilfully extracting information from the subject, which can then be fed back later, convincing the subject that the psychic has told them things they couldn't possibly have known! The following is our 13 point guide to cold reading - Study them well, then amaze your friends with your new found psychic powers! 1. Remember that the key ingredient of a successful character reading is confidence. If you look and act as if you believe in what you are doing, you will be able to sell even a bad reading to most subjects. One danger of playing the role of reader is that you may actually begin to believe that you really are divining your subject's true character! 2. Make creative use of the latest statistical abstracts, polls and surveys. These can provide you with much information about what various subclasses in our society believe, do, want , worry about etc. For example, if you can ascertain a subject's place of origin, educational level, and his/her parents' religion and vocations, you have gained information which should allow you to predict with high probability his/her voting preferences and attitudes to many subjects. 3. Set the stage for your reading. Profess a modesty about your talents. Make no excessive claims. You will then catch your subject off guard. You are not challenging them to a battle of wits - You can read his/her character, whether he/she believes you or not. 4. Gain the subject's cooperation in advance. Emphasise that the success of the reading depends as much on the subject's cooperation as on your efforts. (After all, you imply, you already have a successful career at character reading - You are not on trial, your subject is!) State that due to difficulties of language and communication, you may not always convey the meaning you intend. In these cases, the subject must strive to fit the reading to his/her own life. You accomplish two valuable ends with this dodge - Firstly, you have an alibi in case the reading doesn't click; it's the subject's fault, not yours! Secondly, your subject will strive to fit your generalities to his/her specific life circumstances. Later, when the subject recalls the reading, you will be credited with much more detail than you actually provided! This is crucial. Your reading will only succeed to the degree that the subject is made an active participant in the reading. The good reader is the one who , deliberately or unwittingly, forces the subject to search his/her mind to make sense of your statements. 5. Use a gimmick, such as Tarot cards, crystal ball, palm reading etc. Use of props serves two valuable purposes. Firstly, it lends atmosphere to the reading. Secondly, (and more importantly) it gives you time to formulate your next question/statement. Instead of just sitting there, thinking of something to say, you can be intently studying the cards /crystal ball etc. You may opt to hold hands with your subject - This will help you feel the subject's reactions to your statements. If you are using , say, palmistry (the reading of hands) it will help if you have studied some manuals, and have learned the terminology. This will allow you to more quickly zero in on your subject's chief concerns - 'do you wish to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line?' 6. Have a list of stock phrases at the tip of your tongue. Even during a cold reading, a liberal sprinkling of stock phrases will add body to the reading and will help you fill in time while you formulate more precise characterisations. Use them to start your readings. Palmistry, tarot and other fortune telling manuals are a key source of good phrases. 7. Keep your eyes open! Use your other senses as well. Size the subject up by observing his/her clothes, jewellery, mannerisms and speech. Even a crude classification based on these can provide the basis for a good reading. Also, watch carefully for your subject's response to your statements - You will soon learn when you are hitting the mark! 8. Use the technique of fishing. This is simply a device to get the subject to tell you about his/herself. Then you rephrase what you have been told and feed it back to the subject. One way of fishing is to phrase each statement as question, then wait for the reply. If the reply or reaction is positive, then you turn the statement into a positive assertion. Often the subject will respond by answering the implied question and then some. Later, the subject will forget that he/she was the source of the information! By making your statements into questions, you also force the subject to search his/her memory to retrieve specific instances to fit your general statement. 9. Learn to be a good listener. During the course of a reading your client will be bursting to talk about incidents that are brought up. The good reader allows the client to talk at will. On one occasion I observed a tealeaf reader. The client actually spent 75% of the time talking. Afterward when I questioned the client about the reading she vehemently insisted that she had not uttered a single word during the course of the reading. The client praised the reader for having astutely told her what in fact she herself had spoken. Another value of listening is that most clients that seek the services of a reader actually want someone to listen to their problems. In addition, many clients have already made up their minds about what choices they are going to make. They merely want support to carry out their decision. 10. Dramatise your reading. Give back what little information you do have or pick up a little bit at a time. Make it seem more than it is. Build word pictures around each divulgence. Don't be afraid of hamming it up. 11. Always give the impression that you know more than you are saying. The successful reader, like the family doctor, always acts as if he/she knows much more. Once you have persuaded the subject that you know one item of information that you couldn't possibly have known (through normal channels) the subject will assume that you know all! At this point, the subject will open up and confide in you. 12. Don't be afraid to flatter your subject at every opportunity. An occasional subject will protest, but will still lap it up. In such cases, you can add, 'You are always suspicious of those who flatter you. You just can't believe that someone will say something good about you without an ulterior motive'. 13. Remember the Golden Rule - always tell the subject what he/she wants to hear!
• How to cold read
• Mind reading book Knepper If you do any form of readings or mind reading, then 'Mind Reading' is for you. This new work will help you make all of your mentalism far more realistic. Just ask the renowned mentalists in the P.E.A. how realistic this type of material is when Kenton performed for them. With 'Mind Reading' you will: Walk into a room, coffee shop or on to a stage and begin writing impressions. No set-up or pre-show required. No gimmicks or gaffs. No sleight of hand. Write out impressions and have spectators acknowledge your uncanny accuracy. The method? It's mental. Just KNOW things a mentalist ought to be able to know. We give you remedies that will fix a very common problem in mentalism. What is the downfall for most mentalists will become a subtle and powerful strength for you. If you want to be believable, you must know about this principle. We supply you with many options at last. Be able to do very accurate readings with no set-up or inside information. Not just 'cold' reading, but truly different approaches you can combine with standard methods too. Write down thoughts about a person you have never met and know you will always end on a hit. Make deliberate, detailed and secure impressions completely impromptu and amaze onlookers at your accuracy. Expanded and updated classic information you will want if you do readings or mind reading. New routines and tricks plus original physical methods are revealed throughout. More than a few of these effects have been performed on television by various personalities around the world. This material can be performed in a living room, a coffee house, pub, platform, close-up, cocktail parties, informal gatherings and even on the full stage.
• Resources cold reading
• Tricks of the psychic

• Big bucks in magic/mentalism
• Corporate warrior DVD This landmark DVD set by Bill Goldman will instantly become the most important reference for trade show magicians. What makes a Corporate Warrior? Over twenty years of performing thousands of shows for Fortune 500 companies! Bill Goldman has traveled the world performing at trade shows, hospitality suites, sales meetings and after dinner banquets! This special two DVD set documents an incredible Inner Circle trading session between Bill and four working professionals. Bill's conversations with Tim Noonan, Brian Irwin, Bram Charles, and Jason Bird tip it all. You'll learn the real work that only years on the road could teach you. The guys ask all of the right questions that extract every possible piece of information from the center of Bill's brain. It's the stuff nobody ever talks about! With a running time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the two DVD set contains extremely valuable information on scripting, trade show pitches, premiums, length of performance, give-a-ways, stopping traffic, building crowds, marketing, promo videos, payment strategies, and so much more. The presentation is in a refreshing conversational style that is often as hilarious as it is educational and inspiring! Bonus 
• Trade show demo's DVD Learn the real 'tricks' of trade show magic. Dick Ryan-a trusted pioneer in the field-shares his incredible wealth of knowledge and experience with you. You can earn more than six figures a year if you apply what's on this video. And you'll learn it so you'll benefit yourself, the corporation and the art of magic. Ideal for jugglers, ventriloquists, mentalists and magicians. Interview 1 - Learn how performers find trade and association bookings. Understand the different opportunities that await. Interview 2 - Dick discusses how to work with an agent, organize brochures and enhance your marketing skills. Trade Show Demonstrations - Learn by example from seven demos. Dick demonstrates magic and relates it to a company's product. Watch how he handles a crowd and involves them in his magic. Lecture/Questions & Answers - Dick unselfishly reveals the nuts and bolts of how to exhibit at trade shows, demonstrate difficult products, generate traffic, negotiate fees, request testimonials and much more. Role Playing - Dick shows you how to use the telephone to obtain lists of contacts, close a sale, work a charity event and much more.
• Trade show magic DVD On this double length DVD, you'll learn the real work on trade show magic from the legendary figure who literally invented the concept - Eddie Tullock. Eddie has stopped traffic in trade show aisles for more than four decades with nothing more than a deck of cards and some powerful techniques. You'll learn the strong effects he uses to hold audiences spellbound and you'll learn how to weave a client's sales message into your magic - and that's the real name of the game! Then, after the magic, Eddie sits down with guest host Michael Ammar to discuss just about everything you need to know about how to get into the demanding but lucrative world of trade show magic.

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• Fabrice Delauré mentalism
• Labco magic mentalism
• Maaagic mentalism
• Magic Electronics mentalism
• Mentalism Plus

• In which its practitioners Mentalism is considered to be a branch of stage magic, featuring many of the same basic tools, principles, sleights and skills in its performance. Some performers add stage hypnotism to the mix. Mentalism and mental magic often require performers to display an authoritative, commanding and charismatic stage presence. Performers also may undertake rigorous memory training in order to present their effects. Much of what the mentalist does in his or her act can be traced back directly to tests of supernatural power that were carried out by mediums, spiritualists and psychics in the 19th Century. However, the history of mentalism goes back even further. One of the earliest recorded performances of a mentalism act was by diplomat and pioneering sleight-of-hand magician Girolamo Scotto in 1572. Two tests still in general use today are the book test and the living-and-dead test. In the former, a book is chosen at random by an examiner (usually a member of the audience) and opened at a random page. The examiner would then concentrate on a word, sentence or paragraph of his or her choice. If the mentalist can discover the thought-of word(s), apparently using only 'mental powers', then he passes the 'test.' In the living-and-dead test, the name of a deceased person(s) is mixed in with the names of people still living, all written on identical slips of paper. Apparently using mental powers alone, the mentalist must separate the living from the dead. Styles of presentation, and the personal beliefs of the performers, can vary greatly. Some, like Uri Geller, claim to actually possess supernatural powers such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis. Others, such as Julius and Agnes Zancig and C. Alexander have explained the effects they performed on stage as non-supernatural. Many performers, including Millie Lammar (billed as 'The Beautiful Albino Ceylonese Mind Reader'), Richard Osterlind, Banachek and Derren Brown have attributed their results to less supernatural skills: the ability to read body language or voice inflection, or to manipulate the subject subliminally through psychological suggestion, for example. Mentalists generally do not mix 'standard' magic tricks with their mental feats. Doing so associates mentalism too closely with the theatrical trickery employed by stage magicians. Many mentalists claim not to be magicians at all, arguing that it is a different art form altogether. On the other hand, magicians such as David Copperfield, David Blaine and Criss Angel routinely mix aspects of mentalism with their magical illusions. For example, a mind-reading stunt might also involve the magical transposition of two different objects. Such hybrid feats, or magic with a mental theme, are usually classified as 'mental magic' by performers. 
• Known as mentalists Famous mentalists Alexander Theodore Annemann Banachek David Berglas Derren Brown Chan Canasta Bob Cassidy Corinda Joseph Dunninger The Evasons Uri Geller Luke Jermay Kreskin Gary Kurtz Max Maven Gerry McCambridge Richard Osterlind Marc Salem The Zancigs 
• Perform the illusion of An illusion is a distortion of a sensory perception, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people.[1] Illusions may occur with more of the human senses than vision, but visual illusions, optical illusions, are the most well known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice is coming from the dummy since they are able to see the dummy mouth the words.[2] Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception. These assumptions are made using organizational principles, like Gestalt, an individual's ability of depth perception and motion perception, and perceptual constancy. Other illusions occur because of biological sensory structures within the human body or conditions outside of the body within one’s physical environment. In psychiatry and philosophy the term illusion refers to a specific form of sensory distortion. Unlike a hallucination, which is a sensory experience in the absence of a stimulus, an illusion describes a misinterpretation of a true sensation so it is perceived in a distorted manner. For example, hearing voices regardless of the environment would be a hallucination, whereas hearing voices in the sound of running water (or other auditory source) would be an illusion. Mimes are known for a repertoire of illusions that are created by physical means. The mime artist creates an illusion of acting upon or being acted upon an unseen object. These illusions exploit the audience's assumptions about the physical world. Well known examples include 'walls', 'climbing stairs', 'leaning', 'descending ladders', 'pulling and pushing' etc. 
• Precognition Throughout history people have claimed to have precognitive abilities, and prophecy is a feature of many religions. Just as prevalent are anecdotal accounts of precognitions from the general public, such as someone 'knowing' who is on the other end of a ringing telephone before they answer it, or having a dream of unusual clarity with elements of content that later occur. While anecdotal accounts do not provide scientific proof of precognition, such common experiences motivate continued research. [edit] History J. W. Dunne, a British aeronautics engineer, undertook the first systematic study of precognition in the early twentieth century. In 1927, he published the classic An Experiment with Time, which contained his findings and theories. Dunne's study was based on his own precognitive dreams, which involved both trivial incidents in his own life and major news events appearing in the press the day after the dream. When first realizing that he was seeing the future in his dreams, Dunne worried that he was 'a freak.' His worries soon eased when he discovered that precognitive dreams are common; he concluded that many people have them without realizing it, perhaps because they do not recall the details or fail to properly interpret the dream symbols. Joseph Banks Rhine and Louisa Rhine began the next significant systematic research of precognition in the 1930s at the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University.[citation needed] Rhine used card-guessing experiments in which the participant was asked to record his guess of the order of a card deck before the deck was shuffled. London psychiatrist J. A. Barker established the British Premonitions Bureau in 1967, which collected precognitive data in order to provide an early warning system of impending disasters. Barker succeeded in finding a number of 'human seismographs' who tuned in regularly to disasters, but were unable to accurately pinpoint the times. The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab began in 1979 with precognitive experiments have since been done in a variety of formats by various parapsychologists, for example by the remote viewing researchers. This facility is now closed. [edit] Skepticism Common experiences which seem like precognition have motivate continued research in the area. Skeptics think that because the anecdotal evidence does not provide sufficient scientific support for belief in precognition. There is a strong human tendency to selectively recall coincidences and forget all the times where, for example, dreams and other precognitions do not come to pass or the person on the other end of the phone is not who was expected.[4]
• Psychokinesis Terminology Early history 'Telekinesis' was coined in 1890[9] by Russian psychical researcher Alexander N. Aksakof.[10][11][12] 'Psychokinesis' was coined in 1914[13] by American author-publisher Henry Holt in his book On the Cosmic Relations[14] and adopted by his friend, American parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in 1934 in connection with experiments to determine if a person could influence the outcome of falling dice.[15][16] Both terms have been described by other names, such as 'remote influencing,' 'distant influencing,'[17] 'remote mental influence,' 'distant mental influence,'[18] 'directed conscious intention,' 'anomalous perturbation,'[19] and 'mind over matter.'[20] Originally telekinesis was coined to refer to the movement of objects thought to be caused by ghosts of deceased persons, mischievous spirits, demons, or other supernatural forces.[21] Later when speculation increased that humans might be the source of the witnessed phenomena (that which was not caused by fraudulent mediums)[22] and could possibly cause movement without any connection to a spiritualistic setting, such as in a darkened séance room, psychokinesis was added to the lexicon, this done to differentiate between the earlier use of the term telekinesis.[23] Eventually, psychokinesis was the preferred term by the parapsychological community (and still is) and it was suggested that telekinesis become obsolete.[24] Popular culture, however, such as movies, television, and literature, over the years preferred telekinesis to describe the paranormal movement of objects likely due to the word's resemblance to other terms, such as telepathy, teleportation, telephone, and television.[25] Modern usage As research entered the modern era, it became clear that many different, but related, abilities could be attributed to the wider description of psychokinesis and telekinesis is now regarded as one of the specialities of PK. In the 2004 U.S. Air Force-sponsored research report Teleportation Physics Study, the physicist-author described the classification of PK and TK this way: Telekinesis is a form of PK, which describes the movement of stationary objects without the use of any known physical force. — Eric Davis, physicist, Ph.D,  Teleportation Physics Study, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, 2004 page 55 Psychokinesis, then, is the general term that can be used to describe a variety of complex mental force phenomena (including object movement) and telekinesis is used to refer only to the movement of objects, however tiny (a grain of salt or air molecules to create wind)[26][27] or large (an automobile, building, or bridge).[28] Hypothetically, a person could have very profound telekinetic ability, but not be able to produce any of the additional effects found in psychokinesis, such as softening the metal of a spoon to allow its bending with minimal physical force. Conversely, someone who has succeeded in psychokinetically softening metal once or a number of times may exhibit no telekinetic ability to move objects. [edit] Measurement and observation Currently parapsychology researchers describe two basic types of measurable and observable psychokinetic and telekinetic effects in experimental laboratory research and in case reports occurring outside of the laboratory.[29][30][31] Micro-PK or micro-TK is a very small effect, such as the manipulation of molecules, atoms,[32] subatomic particles,[33] etc., which can only be observed with scientific equipment. The words are abbreviations for micro-psychokinesis, micropsychokinesis;[34] micro-telekinesis, microtelekinesis. Macro-PK or macro-TK is a large-scale effect which can be seen with the unaided eye. The words are abbreviations for macro-psychokinesis, macropsychokinesis; macro-telekinesis, macrotelekinesis. The adjective phrases 'microscopic-scale,' 'macroscopic-scale,' 'small-scale,' and 'large-scale' may also be used; for example, 'a small-scale PK effect.' [edit] Spontaneous effects Spontaneous movements of objects and other unexplained effects have been reported, and many parapsychologists believe they are possibly forms of psychokinesis/telekinesis .[35][36] Parapsychologist William G. Roll coined the term 'recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis' (RSPK) in 1958.[37][38] The sudden movement of objects without deliberate intention in the presence or vicinity of one or more witnesses is thought by some to be related to as-yet-unknown PK/TK processes of the subconscious mind.[39] Researchers use the term 'PK agent,' especially in spontaneous cases, to describe someone who is suspected of being the source of the PK action.[40][41] Outbreaks of spontaneous movements or other effects, such as in a private home, and especially those involving violent or physiological effects, such as objects hitting people or scratches or other marks on the body, are sometimes investigated as poltergeist cases.
• Telepathy Within the field of parapsychology, telepathy is considered to be a form of extra-sensory perception (ESP) or anomalous cognition in which information is transferred through Psi. It is often categorized similarly to precognition and clairvoyance.[4] Various experiments have been used to test for telepathic abilities. Among the most well known are the use of Zener cards and the Ganzfeld experiment. Zener cards Zener cards are cards marked with five distinctive symbols. When using them, one individual is designated the 'sender' and another the 'receiver'. The sender must select a random card and visualize the symbol on it, while the receiver must attempt to determine that symbol using Psi. Statistically, the receiver has a 20% chance of randomly guessing the correct symbol, so in order to demonstrate telepathy, they must repeatedly score a success rate that is significantly higher than 20%.[5] If not conducted properly, this method can be vulnerable to sensory leakage and card counting. [5] When using the Ganzfeld experiment to test for telepathy, one individual is designated the receiver and is placed inside a controlled environment where they are deprived of sensory input, and another is designated the sender and is placed in a separate location. The receiver is then required to receive information from the sender. The exact nature of the information may vary between experiments.[6] [edit] Types of telepathy Parapsychology describes several different forms of telepathy, including latent telepathy and precognitive telepathy.[3] Latent Telepathy, formerly known as 'deferred telepathy', [7] is described as being the transfer of information, through Psi, with an observable time-lag between transmission and receipt.[3] Precognitive Telepathy is described as being the transfer of information, through Psi, about the future state of an individual's mind.[3] 
• The clairvoyance Within parapsychology, clairvoyance is used exclusively to refer to the transfer of information that is both contemporary to, and hidden from, the clairvoyant. It is differentiated from telepathy in that the information is said to be gained directly from an external physical source, rather than being transferred from the mind of one individual to another. [3] Outside of parapsychology, clairvoyance is often used to refer to other forms of Anomalous cognition, most commonly the perception of events that have occurred in the past, or which will occur in the future (known as retrocognition and precognition respectively), [4][3], or to refer to communications with the dead (see Mediumship). Clairvoyace is related to remote viewing, although the term 'remote viewing' itself is not as widely applicable to clairvoyance because it refers to a specific controlled process. [edit] Status of clairvoyance Within the field of parapsychology, there is a consensus that some instances of clairvoyance are verifiable. [5][6]. There is also a measured level of belief from amongst the general public, with the portion of the US population who believe in clairvoyance varying between 1/4 and 1/3 over the last 15 years. Year Belief 1990 26% 2000 32% 2005 26% [4] The concept of clairvoyance gained some support from the US and Russian government during and after the Cold War, and both governments made several attempts to harness it as an intelligence gathering tool. [7] Scientific opinion appears divided regarding phenomena such as clairvoyance. As a general rule, while trained scientists may not be as likely to believe in parapsychological phenomena as the general public, they are far from monolithic in their disbelief. Surveys of this group are rare, but in their 1994 paper in the Psychological Bulletin entitled 'Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer', Daryl J. Bem and Charles Honorton quote a 1979 survey: A survey of more than 1,100 college professors in the United States found that 55% of natural scientists, 66% of social scientists (excluding psychologists), and 77% of academics in the arts, humanities, and education believed that ESP is either an established fact or a likely possibility. The comparable figure for psychologists was only 34%. Moreover, an equal number of psychologists declared ESP to be an impossibility, a view expressed by only 2% of all other respondents (Wagner; Monnet, 1979). According to skeptics, clairvoyance is the result of fraud or self-delusion. [4] [edit] Clairvoyance and related phenomena through history There have been anecdotal reports of clairvoyance and 'clear' abilities throughout history in most cultures.[citation needed] These episodes are often reported as being experienced through early adulthood.[citation needed] Often clairvoyance has been associated with religious or shamanic figures, offices and practices. For example, ancient Hindu religious texts list clairvoyance amongst other forms of 'clear' experiencing, as siddhis, or 'perfections', skills that are yielded through appropriate meditation and personal discipline. But a large number of anecdotal accounts of clairvoyance are of the spontaneous variety among the general populace. For example, many people report seeing a loved one who has recently died before they have learned by other means that their loved one is deceased. While anecdotal accounts do not provide scientific proof of clairvoyance, such common experiences continue to motivate research into such phenomena. Clairvoyance was one of the phenomena reportedly observed in the behavior of somnambulists, people who were mesmerized and in a trance state (nowadays equated with hypnosis by most people) in the time of Franz Anton Mesmer.[citation needed] The earliest record of somnambulistic clairvoyance is credited to the Marquis de Puységur, a follower of Mesmer, who in 1784 was treating a local dull-witted peasant named Victor Race. During treatment, Race reportedly would go into trance and undergo a personality change, becoming fluent and articulate, and giving diagnosis and prescription for his own disease as well as those of others. When he came out of the trance state he would be unaware of anything he had said or done. This behavior is somewhat reminiscent of the reported behaviors of the 20th century medical clairvoyant and psychic Edgar Cayce. It is reported that although Puységur used the term 'clairvoyance', he did not think of these phenomena as 'paranormal', since he accepted mesmerism as one of the natural sciences. Clairvoyance was a reported ability of some mediums during the spiritualist period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was one of the phenomena studied by members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Psychics of many descriptions have claimed clairvoyant ability up to the present day. While experimental research into clairvoyance began with SPR researchers, experimental studies became more systematic with the efforts of J. B. Rhine and his associates at Duke University, and such research efforts continue to the present day. Perhaps the best-known study of clairvoyance in recent times was the US government-funded remote viewing project at SRI/SAIC during the 1970s through the mid-1990s. Some parapsychologists have proposed that our different functional labels (clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, etc.) all refer to one basic underlying mechanism, although there is not yet any satisfactory theory for what that mechanism may be. [edit] Parapsychological research Parapsychological research studies of remote viewing and clairvoyance have produced favorable results significantly above chance, and meta-analysis of these studies increases the significance to astronomical proportions. For instance, at the Stanford Research Institute, remote viewing experiments undertaken between 1973 and 1988 were analyzed by Edwin May and his colleagues in 1988, and the odds against the results being due to chance were more than a billion billion to one. The SRI results were replicated at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory.[8] (Radin 1997:91-109)
• The mind control Mind control is a general term for a number of controversial theories and/or techniques designed to subvert an individual's control of their own thinking, behavior, emotions, or decisions. However, rather than mere psychological conditioning, many mind control 'experiments', like the CIA MK-Ultra projects[1], have focused primarily on physical violence or torture as the principal methods to force victims to do what they do not want to do. Physical torture, nevertheless, affects the functioning of the victims' nervous systems including the brain. Forms of torture that may affect the nervous system include beatings, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, asphyxiation, prolonged suspension and electrocution. [2] The feasibility of such control and the methods by which it might be attained (either direct or more subtle) are subject to debate among psychologists, neuroscientists, and sociologists. Also, the exact definition of mind control and the extent to which it might have any kind of influence over individuals are debated. The different views on the subject do have legal implications. For example, mind control was an issue in the court case of Patty Hearst, and in several court cases involving New Religious Movements. Also, questions of mind control are regarding ethical questions linked to the subject of free will.[citation needed] The question of mind control has been discussed in conjunction with religion, politics, prisoners of war, totalitarianism, neural cell manipulation, cults, terrorism, torture, parental alienation, and even battered person syndrome.

• Mentalist Arend Landman  
• Mentalist Ferry Gerats
• Mentalist Joe Pequerrucho
• Mentalist Malchat
• Mentalist Mental Carlo
• Mentalist Rinke Jacobs

• Genii Forum Mentalism  
• Mental List Stuart Cumberland
• Mentalist Asylum
• The Magic Café Mentalism  
• Zauberschrank-forum.de

• Blistered You show your hands and point out how smooth they are. But, you say that you can cause an odd thing to occur! Ask you friend to light a match and to immediately blow it out. Ask him to gently touch the unlit, smoldering match to your left thumb. Nothing happens... But, then you scream! You show your friend the huge blister on your right thumb! OUCH...!  
• Crayon galore You are at a party where you bring out a glass with a bunch of crayons in it. You ask someone to hold the glass and, while your back is turned, to hand you a crayon. You also instruct her to hide the rest of the crayons in the glass behind her back. With the crayon behind your back, you turn to face the audience and through sheer concentration, you divine the color of the crayon you are holding behind you back. This can be repeated several times, too. Color Galore is a great party trick!
• Deadley room A 'murder' is committed in a hotel room. You, the detective, draw a 3 x 3 grid and add room numbers in them. The 'murderer' (the spectator) places a tiny toy gun on one of the squares. You then hand him a card with instructions on how to move the murder weapon and eliminating a room at a time. After the final move, the murder weapon is in one room. The 'murderer' turns over the card and the room number predicted ahead of time is written on the card!
• Dicey trick Effect: With your back turned, you give your friend a pair of dice to roll on the table. He stacks the dice and you write down a prediction on a slip of paper. Then, he totals the three sides not showing. He tells you his total and opens your prediction they match! Simple, and effective!
• Elephant from Denmark You ask someone to think of a special number. Then they think of an animal, a color and a country that corresponds to that special number. You then tell them what they are! It works — most of the time!
• Hypno heat II The original Hypno Heat used chemicals such as mercury that were way too dangerous to use. (In fact, if you are using it now, I would recommend that you stop before you succumb to mercury poisoning.)  This version is quite safe! Effect:  Take a piece of aluminum foil from a stick of gum. You wet the 'gum' side and slap it onto your friend's forehead. Tell your friend to think of 'hot'. You will hypnotize him into thinking that his forehead is burning hot with a fever.  Soon — very soon — he will rip off the foil as it is 'red hot' on his skin!
• It adds up to 1089 You jot down your 'prediction'. Using some number calculations, the spectator arrives at the number 1,089. Your prediction and their number matches! What You Need: A piece of paper, a writing instrument and a straight face. Just jot down the number '1,089' on the paper, fold it up and drop it on the table in plain view.

• Mentaliste Christophe Ambre  
• Mentaliste Didier Chantome
• Mentaliste Erick Fearson  
• Mentaliste Pascal de Clermont  
• Mentaliste serge Arkhan
• Mentaliste Stephen Therien  
• Mentaliste Xavier Nicolas  

• Mentalist Andy Haussler
• Mentalist Carsten Sygusch
• Mentalist Sven Heubes
• Mentalisten Santo & Monique
• Mentalzauberer Er!k  
• Mentalzauberer Possin  
• Mentalzauberer Robert Marteau  

• Encyclopedia stage hypnotism The most comprehensive text ever to be published on stage hypnotism, this book also has widespread therapeutic applications and contains work never previously published, providing new skills for even the most advanced practitioner of hypnosis. The book's structure ensures that the reader fully understands each aspect before progressing on to the next area. Ormond McGill totally demystifies hypnotism, dispels many of the myths associated with it, and reveals its spellbinding secrets. A continued star of our best-sellers list. After reading many many books on hypnosis (most of which are long and boring and put you to sleep), I was a little skeptical about this one but after reading the reviews I thought I would give it a shot. This book left me pleasantly surprised. I already had a basic understanding of how hypnosis worked and what was involved, based from my own experiences and my profession. But reading this truly gave me many more ideas. This is not a book of scripts or inductions. Instead, it is a book of ideas on how to get someone hypnotized. For example - it might say - 'Tell the person they are at the top of an elevator going down' or... 'Tell the person to rotate their head slowly and talk to them very quietly' and that kind of thing. I really like the easiness and usability of this book. It's one of those things that you can pick up in the middle of the book and not be confused. You can put it down, come back, try a different thing. A lot of them really DO work. Trust me on that.
• Forum for stage hypnotists  
• Stage Hypnosis Center
• Stage hypnosis exposed DVD Michael Johns - who performs his hilarious comedy hypnosis show on the Las Vegas strip and has hypnotized tens of thousands of people across the country - will reveal exactly how he does mind-blowing shows night after night, so you can, too! Richard Nongard, - one of the world's most innovative and influential professionals in both clinical and stage hypnosis - co-presents this informative session. Richard will guide you through a deeper understanding of the powerful phenomena called stage hypnosis, so you can do it, too! You WILL Learn: Why stage hypnosis always works How to pick successful subjects for the stage Elements of a successful pre-show pre-talk Elements of a successful stage show induction How to use hypnotic phenomena to create skits How to safely de-hypnotize How and why to use post-hypnotic suggestions
• Stage show induction DVD This DVD is simply packed with trade secrets from America's favorite hypnotist, Terry Stokes! Terry has spent the last 35 years entertaining millions and hypnotizing thousands of people across the globe, and performs nightly on the Las Vegas Strip. He will teach you the ins and outs of creating an effective, entertaining, and successful stage hypnosis show. In this DVD, co-presented by Richard Nongard, you will learn step-by-step how to hypnotize anyone on stage. The Terry Stokes induction is demonstrated with clips from his actual live show in Las Vegas. You WILL Learn: Terry Stokes' masterful stage show induction, word for word How to pick successful subjects for the stage How to do an effective pre-talk and build rapport The right words to use to hypnotize anyone The 13-strategies of induction used by Terry Stokes How to avoid failure and create success How to use the handshake method of hypnosis on stage If you've ever wondered how stage hypnosis works or have thought of doing your own show, you must have this video. You won't find a more qualified instructor anywhere in America!

• Act of imagination
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• Radar Chrystal Pendulum
• Secrets of indirection
• Shells of the Seer
• Twist and Trances

• Birthday Magic Square
• Construct a forcing matrix How to Construct a Forcing Matrix History: The forcing matrix concept was first given magical application by Walter Gibson in 1938 in a strictly informational description. The actual forcing modification was put into print by Maurice Kraitchik in 1942. Other notables who subsequently worked with it include Mel Stover, Stewart James, Martin Gardner, Howard Lyons, Leslie May, Sam Dalal, Paul Hallas, Max Maven, and Richard Busch. The forcing matrix does not have to be a grid of numbers (check out the elegant Quintasense in T.A. Waters’ Mind, Myth and Magick, p. 279), but that is perhaps the most “open” way of doing it. To try it out, circle any number, and then cross out the remaining numbers in the same row (horizontally) and column (vertically). Then circle another number (one not already eliminated), and again strike out the numbers above, below, to the left, and to the right of same. Repeat until all numbers are either circled (there will eventually be five) or crossed out. Add the chosen (circled) numbers together. Now concentrate ... I sense that the total will be ... wait a second ... fifty-seven! There are more deceptive approaches than the above method of choosing the numbers. Max Maven suggested the use of coloured pencils (for a 5x5 square, five colours are needed; draw a differently-coloured line through each column; repeat for the rows; add the numbers where like colours intersect). I have often used the following presentation: pick an interesting word with the same number of (different) letters as the rank of the matrix (say “MAGIC” for the above); write this word across the top, a letter over each column; have the participant rearrange the letters in any order desired, and write them down the left side, a letter beside each row; circle the numbers at the intersection points of matching letters. These alternative presentations avoid the appearance of a diminishing (and thus limited) choice of numbers, suggesting a force. Which, in fact, it is. It’s best if you actually take the trouble to try this for yourself, before reading on to learn how it works. The result is quite elegant and surprising, even to those with some mathematical sophistication.
• Grogono Magic Squares
• Magic square links
• Magic Squares book This illustrated treatise on Magic Squares covers the history of Magic Squares, information about the general classes of Magic Squares, various formulae for creating Magic Squares, detailed analyses of 3 x 3, 4 x 4 and 5 x 5 Magic Squares, variations on Magic Squares, Magic Square routines, puzzles and presentations, including 'one novel contribution by the author which combines origami (the Crossed Box Pleat) with a Magic Square, The Origami Magic Square' (Eddie Dawes, M.I.M.C., in The Magic Circular), as well as references to approximately 40 other works on Magic Squares and mnemonics and over 40 pages of detailed Appendices. Note that many of the magical routines are not explained, since the secrets are not mine to reveal, although the book does cross-reference all of the necessary sources. Comments from reviews by other magicians and mathematicians include: '... the definitive work on Magic Squares for years to come' (Joe Riding, M.I.M.C.) '... a significant addition to the literature of magic squares' (Eddie Dawes, M.I.M.C., in The Magic Circular) '... a splendid piece of work' (Alan Shaxon, M.I.M.C.) 'I wish a book like this would have been available to me a long time ago' (Jules Lenier) '... an excellent reference book ...' (Michael Close in Magic) '... I can honestly say that I have never seen such a thorough treatise on magic squares anywhere ...' (Andrew Jeffrey, Head of Maths, St Aubyns School, Rottingdean)

• 22 blows to the head
• Cabaret mindreading
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• Cassandra deck
• Creative magic Pavel mental
• Desert brainstorm series
• Fundamentalism
• Get Nyman
• Master billet course
• Mentalism teach-in
• Mind stunts
• Pack small play big mentalism
• Skullduggery

• FISM 2009 July 26-31 Beijing
• Mindv. 2007 Oct 7-9 Vegas  

• AFA Clipboard for mentalists
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• Vernet writer boon type
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• Astor Mental
• ESP deck
• Experiments R.B. Rhine  
• Symbolicus
• Symbology deck

• Coin predicting
• Euro banknotes serial numbers
• Jumbo mental jackpot
• Online mental coin test
• Tool for coin bending

• Breakthrough Card System  
• Essay cards in mentalism
• Mind power deck
• Tossed Out Deck
• Ultimate marked deck

• Chan Canasta on TV
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• Luke Jermay pulse
• Ross the mentalist on TV

• Contemplations on Q&A
• Developing a mentalismo act
• Disclaimers for mentalistes
• Fake or real?
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• Less is more in mentalismo
• Use your hands in mentalismo

• A Bob Cassidy website The Message of Mentalism In a culture like ours . . . it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. -Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964) Magic has been a popular form of entertainment for centuries, not because people are inherently fascinated by tricks or because they like to be fooled, but because the figure of the magician remains an unconscious symbol of man's triumph over the relentless and impersonal forces of nature. On a conscious level it can kindle a childlike sense of wonder in the most jaded, and inspire the imagination with its implicit question 'What if?' (Apart from all that, it's always been a great way to pick up women.) The message of magic doesn't lie in the tricks themselves, but in the sense of wonder and control provided by the character of the magician himself. What, then, is the message provided by the mentalist? The answer, I believe, is what determines if he is a charlatan, an entertainer, or an inspirational motivator. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the answer for you; you have to find it for yourself, within yourself. Just as the true illusion of magic doesn't lie in its secrets, the methods and handlings of the mentalist are simply the tools he uses to create his chosen stage persona. Here's a suggestion that might help resolve the ethical dilemma of mentalism: You might consider calling yourself a 'mentalist.' I can't think of a single charlatan working today who calls himself that. Do you want to know why? If you look up the word in a modern dictionary you will find that the word has two definitions - it either refers to a nineteenth century school of philosophy, or to 'A stage performer who pretends to read minds.' The latter pretty much explains why spirit mediums and psychics never refer to themselves as 'mentalists.' Not that you should read the definition to your audiences... just read it to yourself once in a while and you should be okay. ---from The Black Book of Mentalism, available in the mentalists only area. HOW TO ACCESS THE MEMBERS ONLY AREA Access to the main site is restricted to mentalists who have received new username/password combinations. Those who are seriously involved in mentalism may apply for individual usernames and passwords by filling out the application form at the 'For Mentalist's Only' link. Note that the 'For Mentalists Only' page has TWO links. If you don't have a username and password, you will need to submit an application to go any further, so your only options are to click the 'application' link or hit your browser's 'back' button and return here. If you already have a username and password, just stay on the page and wait for a few seconds. A flying saucer will arrive to pick you up. Click on the word 'Enter', climb aboard, and supply your username and password when prompted. You will then be transported to the main site The End of Mentalism As We Know It? There us no question that modern technology poses a problem for mentalism. For example,there are pens available in toy stores that enable kids to draw a calculator and then use it by tapping on the drawn keys. The answers show up on a screen on a pen. Styluses (or is it styli?) on pdi devices can be used to transmit drawings or written words to electronic screens. AUDIENCES TODAY KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS AND WILL SUSPECT A MENTALIST OF USING THEM EVEN IF HE ISN'T. At first glance the dilemma appears insurmountable. On closer examination, however, the very advances in technology that appear to spell doom to psychic entertainment, actually offer the mentalist the opportunity to be more convincing than ever. Before you read further - try to resolve this seeming contradiction for yourself   
• Artful Mentalism Book It has taken more than twenty years, but Bob Cassidy, a founding member of the Psychic Entertainers' Association and one of the most influential and colorful creators of modern mentalism, has finally written a worthy successor to The Art of Mentalism! When the latter was first published in 1983, it was immediately recognized as a classic in the field and is on the 'top ten' lists of many leading mentalists. We predict that this volume will eclipse the acclaim as the first. The first half of the book, reprints his Art of Mentalism 2 (a complete professional performance thoroughly explained), and his four Principia Mentalia volumes. As if that were not enough, the second half gives permanent form to 3 limited distribution manuscripts: Theories and Methods for the Practical Psychic Strange Impressions But Stranger Still
• Black Box Cinema DVD Bob Cassidy is one of the leading mentalists in the field. When he speaks mentalists listen. On this DVD he gives a crash course in mentalism techniques. You will learn techniques using clever subtlety and subterfuge as well as advanced sleight-of-hand. Techniques covered include: The Medium's Switch (2 methods), The Al Baker Switch (2 methods), Annemann Switch (2 methods), The Squeeze, The Moldavian Switch, Switch Blade Switch, Microphone Switch, The Impossible Envelope Switch, The Cajones Shuffle, Henry Hay's False Waterfall Riffle, Gambler's Palm Add-On, Erdnase Bottom Deal, and The Putty Switch. You will also learn Bob Cassidy's ESP Envelope Switch which Bob considers the most undetectable switch he ever came up with. It is devious, versatile and practically works itself. Among the highlights of this stylistically produced DVD are the important tips and advice Bob shares about how to perform mentalism. Bob also discusses the stagecraft and psychology used to convince audiences you can read their minds. Special DVD Features: Access to performances, explanations and commentary Product Previews DVD Trailers Dolby Digital sound Encoded for worldwide viewing
• Mental Miracles DVD Bob Cassidy, one of America's foremost mentalists, has been a professional entertainer for more than 25 years. Author of The Art of Mentalism, a modern day classic, he has the unique ability to convince any audience that he can read their innermost thoughts, while also amazing and entertaining them in the process. On this DVD/Video Cassidy performs his professional show in front of an amazed audience of mentalists and then explains everything. If you ever wanted to make people believe you can read their minds, you must see this tape. Cassidy teaches many of his original routines and discusses how to structure, present and create a mind reading show. Routines Taught: Chronologue: A predicted card matches what is written in a diary on a freely selected date. New work and psychology including stage and close-up versions. Name/Place Routine: A couple of spectators think of a person and a place and you divine their thoughts. Psychomatic Deck: A spectator looks at a card in the deck and you read their mind, telling them what card they are thinking of. Fourth Dimensional Telepathy: You reveal the name of a childhood friend, the name of a pet, and reproduce a previously drawn illustration. Card Memory: A rapid memorization of a shuffled deck of cards. Techniques Taught: Includes dozens of technical and psychological tips, theories and advice about prop management, pocket management, staging, checkpoints, prop construction, mnemonics, establishing actions, taking advantage of coincidence, prop selections, miscalls, billet preparation, covering of errors, precautionary measures, giving clear instructions, deck stacks, making mentalism credible, and much more. Also includes discussions on how and why the show is structured, getting the whole audience involved, presentational ideas, patter and more. All items are easy to execute and are within anyone's reach. After watching this program you will want to be a Psychic Entertainer.
• Videoclip Black Box Cinema

• Brown Derren website Derren was born in 1971 in Croydon. It was a difficult birth: his mother was in Devon at the time. A precocious and puzzling only child for some years, he liked to paint, foster obsessive habits, and once set fire to a neighbour's boat by accident. Later, after his brother was born, Derren went to study Law and German at Bristol University and fell in love with the city. This was still at the time when marriages between man and city were frowned upon, so rather than risk public derision, Derren decided to just live there after graduating and vowed never to leave. During this time he didn't have two pennies to rub together, which was a shame as it was his only way of keeping warm. He began to perform magic in bars and restaurants, and gave occasional hypnosis shows. Meanwhile he continued to paint unflattering portraits of the rich and famous. In 1999 he was asked by what was then Channel 4 to put a mind-reading programme together for people's televisions. Their first choice, Cheryl from Bucks Fizz, had turned out to be shit at it. A year later, Easter 2000, at ten in the evening, Derren and his family gathered round a fuzzy grey picture on the corner of their living room. It was of the once popular actress Nerys Hughes, and this had become something of a festive tradition. Later in the year, at Christmas, 'Derren Brown: Mind Control, with Derren Brown' quite literally aired. It was an immediate success, and gained Derren a cool, underground kudos which he described as 'not enough'. Mind Controls 2 and 3 followed, then a series, then a brief spell in prison, and then in October 2003 Derren caused an international furore with 'Derren Brown Plays Russian Roulette Live'. This secured his notoriety with the public and his big apartment in London. 'Bristol can shove itself', he said. The Seance followed soon after, which was Derren's first look at the area of spiritualism and paranormal phenomena, and the first show where his intelligent scepticism could be expressed. Derren says of the show, 'By now I was properly famous and could pretty much buy whatever I wanted'. Further specials have followed, including 'Messiah', which took him undercover to the US to see if leaders in paranormal belief systems would wrongly endorse him as the real thing. Since then he gets several letters of complaint a week from psychics and Christians. He is sensitive to everyone's objections, but knows that at least the latter group will forgive him. His workload keeps him exhausted and irritable 52 weeks a year, and he continues to live in London with a large collection of taxidermy and two rather fatalistic parrots, where he spends any free weekends painting.        
• Derren Brown Candy What are Candy Mentalists?   They're delicious all-edible confections made of sugar-paste, which is a kind of British marzipan-like fondant icing you roll out and cover cakes with or make decorations with like these.  It tastes just like the marshmallow charms in Lucky Charms breakfast cereal!  It dries hard but it still smells yummy even after two years.     Yes, you could eat any of these boys, if you didn't mind just the tiniest bit of paint or toothpick or metal accessory getting into your system.  Mostly they're colored with food coloring, kneaded in or painted on, and they stand about 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall, weigh about 3 1/2 ounces, and I estimate they're about 400 calories apiece.  Here are a couple of pictures to give you a sense of scale.  One for those of you who think in inches...
• Guest Brown The Magic Café Derren Brown is being talked about as a unique performer in the world of magic entertainment. A psychological illusionist who possesses an audacious confidence and a rare intuition which enable him to predict, suggest and control human behaviour. Born in Croydon in 1971, Derren traces his interest in psychological techniques to childhood. “I was a very good liar and a revoltingly charming child”, he says. Like a lot of solitary children he developed an interest in magic but it was only later at Bristol University, where he studied Law and German that he started to take it seriously. “I found myself developing an analytical mind-set, able to spot the loopholes in anyone's argument very quickly”. After graduating, Derren abandoned a career in Law and concentrated on developing his skills at psychological magic. He was able to pay the bills by combining performing in Cafés and bars with a sideline in portraiture. His big break came in 1999 when he was asked by Channel 4 to put a TV show together. The result, DERREN BROWN: MIND CONTROL, was shown in December 2000, proving an immediate success. The repeat showing rated in Channel 4's top ten. This was followed in August 2001 by another special DERREN BROWN: MIND CONTROL 2, further establishing him as a hit with viewers and critics alike. “Derren Brown has taken the cheese and sleaze out of showbiz magic and restored a sense on wonder…unbelievable stuff” (Time Out), “Astonishing…utterly convincing” (Observer), “Fascinating”… (Sunday Times), Derren returned to Channel 4 on New Year’s Day 2002 with DERREN BROWN: MIND CONTROL 3 - a one-hour special that pushed the boundaries of psychological magic to new heights, prompting the Daily Star to say: “This guy’s powers could seriously freak you out” and the Guardian to speculate: “Clearly the greatest dinner party guest in history…or the scariest man in Britain”. Bizarre Magazine said: “A hundred years ago they would have burnt him at the stake”. Derren returned to our TV screens in Nov 2002 with a Derren Brown night on E4, which premiered his new series. This series went on to become one of Channel 4’s most watched entertainment shows when it was shown on C4 on Friday nights from March 2003. He followed this with a sell-out nationwide tour. Derren, always one to push forward the boundaries of showmanship and magic entertainment, caused an international furore when he played Russian roulette on National TV. DERREN BROWN PLAYS RUSSIAN ROULETTE LIVE was watched by over 3.3 million people when it went out on Channel 4 on Sun 5 October 2003. Ten million people watched him perform on the National TV Awards the following month. Oct 2003 also saw the release of DERREN BROWN: INSIDE YOUR MIND - his first video/DVD through Channel 4. In his spare time he paints portraits of famous icons and an exhibition of his work is being planned. In addition, Derren has penned two books, PURE EFFECT and ABSOLUTE MAGIC, both of which gathered much attention from the magical community worldwide  
• Lecture Derren Brown DVD A radical and new thinker in the world of close-up magic and mentalism. Derren performs forty-five minutes of hardcore mind-reading and close-up hypnosis. Volunteers are slammed into trance-states, achieving bizarre mental connections with each other in some mind blowing routines that are now earning Derren a dynamic reputation. The following effects are performed: LIFT: A spectator's arm is immobilised. Then controlled remotely, by the will of another volunteer. PLEROPHORIA: A deck of cards is thoroughly shuffled by a spectator yet Derren, while facing away, names each card in order. SMOKE: An incredible routine, where a card that has been merely thought of by a spectator, is first named by Derren then disappears from an untouched deck only to impossibly appear...well, wait and see. COIN READING AND BENDING: The date and denomination of a volunteer's coin, unseen and untouched by Derren, is identified. Then slowly bent at the will of another volunteer. REMINISCENCE: A hypnotised spectator merely thinks of a memory, a number and a picture. All are then perfectly described in immense detail by both Derren and audience members. This mind-blowing routine is Derren at his very best. The performance is followed by an explanation of Plerophoria and a demonstration of mentally forcing an imaginary card, plus some extremely valuable discussions on presentation and Derren's philosophy of 'Invisible Compromise'. An immensely useful video for both the budding and established mentalist.  
• Videoclip advertising
• Videoclip chess players
• Videoclip Classical Music
• Videoclip Cold Reading
• Videoclip Pickup Club

• Audio's Dunninger Radio shows
• Dunninger Radio show DVD
• Dunninger Wikipedia Joseph Dunninger From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Joseph Dunninger Joseph Dunninger, 'The Master Mind of Modern Mystery'. Born April 28, 1892 New York, NY USA Died March 9, 1975 Cliffside Park, NJ, USA Occupation magician, escapologist, mentalist. Joseph Dunninger (April 28, 1892- March 9, 1975), known as 'The Amazing Dunninger' was one of the most famous and proficient mentalists of all time. He was one of the pioneer performers of magic on radio and television. He appeared on radio starting in 1943, and on television frequently in the 50s and 60s. Dunninger had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove that he used confederates or 'stooges'. He often said he could raise that offer to $100,000. Through the Scientific American Magazine and the Universal Council for Psychic Research, Dunninger made this offer to any medium who could produce by psychic or supernatural means any physical phenomena that he cannot reproduce by natural means or explain in convincing materialistic terms. He headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of seventeen he was invited to perform at the home of Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay and at the home of the inventor Thomas A. Edison, both of whom were avid admirers of his mysticism. Dunninger was a good friend to many notables in the magic community including Harry Houdini, Francis Martinka and The Shadow author Walter B. Gibson. He is said to have been a model for The Shadow. Contents [hide] 1 Quotes 2 References 3 Works 4 External links 'My magical ability and digital dexterity, I mastered only after tireless practice and acute observation, finding that I have rather an uncanny mind for developing and solving mechanics of the craft. I have made the word 'originality' a foundation for my magical doings.' (Dunninger— An Autobiography) 'There is one primary rule in the fakery of spirit mediumship. That is to concentrate upon persons who have suffered a bereavement.'[1] 'For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice.' (Source: Memorable-Quotes.com) References The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, Atria Books, 2006. Works Dunninger self published many of his works, and others were published by inventor Hugo Gernsback. He also wrote articles in Science and Invention, Mechanix Illustrated, Popular Mechanics, Fate, Atlantic Monthly and other magazines. A large percentage of these articles were ghosted by Walter Gibson. Dunninger's Tricks De Luxe (1918) Dunninger's Tricks Unique (1918) Dunninger's Master Methods of Hypnotism (1923) Popular Magic (1926) Universal Second Sight Mysteries (1927) Houdini's Spirit Exposes and Dunninger's Psychical Investigations (1928) Popular Magic Vol. II (1929) Popular Magic and Card Tricks (1929) Inside the Medium's Cabinet (1935) How to Make a Ghost Walk (1936) What's On Your Mind (1944) 100 Houdini Tricks You Can Do (1954) The Art of Thought Reading (1956) Magic and Mystery: The Incredible Psychic Investigations of Houdini and Dunninger (1967) Dunninger's Complete Encyclopedia of Magic (1967) Dunninger's Secrets as told to Walter Gibson (1974) Dunninger's Monument to Magic (1974) Dunninger's Book of Magic (1979) 
• Dunninger's secrets book
• What's on your mind book

• Bavli, Guy mentalist website Master Mentalist and Entertainer:  Guy Bavli is a master-mentalist and corporate entertainer with thousands of appearances in Caesar's Palace, Carnegie Hall, and numerous other locations in over 50 countries world-wide. Guy has appeared on numerous television-shows and has been featured on national campaign-ads for Microsoft, Volvo, IBM, Delta Airlines, and Coca Cola just to name a few. Planning an Event? Celebrating a special occasion? Need to spice up your corporate event? Convenient and affordable packages are available for corporate events, fund-raisers, private events, hotels, colleges, theaters, or just an intimate gathering at home. Guy Bavli - Master of the Mind - Discover your 7th sense Guy Bavli - Master of the Mind, is an entertainment experience like none other.  A renowned performer and 'mentalist,' Guy Bavli astonishes audiences world-wide with mind-mesmerizing performances that put you in touch with the seventh sense of your mind. The Entertainer One of the world's most popular 'in-demand' entertainers, Guy Bavli has performed at prestigious entertainment venues and casinos including Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and Carnegie Hall in New York and in more than 50 countries world-wide. The Experience Bavli redefines entertainment, as we know it.  Hang on to your seat...you've never seen anything like this before!  With intriguing mystery and superior showmanship, a performance by Guy Bavli is a journey into another realm that will leave you spellbound and speechless. The Talent Bavli's astounding talent and ability combines mystery, humor with psychology, physiology and intuition.  The mystery commences into a memorable evening of belly-laughing, mind-engaging fun.  Leave your logic at the door and venture beyond the imagination where everything is possible.     The Audience With Bavli, the audience is in for a real treat...a true feast for the mind and imagination.  Your experience will never be the same. Immerse your senses in the world that is Bavli.  He dazzles you with unbelievable mind-teasers that defy reason.  Each show outmatches the next as Bavli takes you on an adventure filled with hypnotic excitement, entrancing entertainment, and intriguing fun. The Occasion Guy Bavli is perfect for many occasions!  From large entertainment venues to corporate galas to television shows...Bavli will make your next event one your audience will never forget!  Bavli offers unique marketing alternatives to corporations.  A dream come true for public relations and marketing professionals, Bavli tailors his performance around your product or service to engage your audience. He is pure, perplexing entertainment...mystery and fun all wrapped into one! Guy Bavli - Master of the Mind Unleash your 7th Sense and experience the impossible     Bavli...Destined for the stage... As a child, Israel-born entertainer Guy Bavli was fascinated with mystery and magic, and by the age of five, he began displaying signs of his destiny as a successful entertainer having the extraordinary ability to charm people while he performed magical illusions.   Recognizing his unique talent that captivated audiences, Bavli's family provided him the opportunity to perform his first paid performance at a country club in Tel-Aviv at the young age of eight.  The show became a weekly hit in Tel-Aviv for nearly a year!  While most kids his age were out playing baseball, Guy was mastering his magic skills and perfecting his performances that earned him the reputation of a child prodigy star.   The 'Wonder Kid' Years By age thirteen, Guy Bavli - now dubbed the 'wonder kid' - was the opening act for famous national artists on tour in Israel.  The next year, Guy stepped into the international scene by becoming the first Israeli performer to win an international magic entertainment competition in the United States.  The victory propelled his name into the limelight as he received an abundance of media coverage for the honor he brought to Israel.    Guy continued to receive recognition having been honored with the 'Best Magician / Entertainer of the Year' award for three consecutive years.  In 1990, Guy Bavli was the first ever to receive the award for 'Magician / Entertainer of the Decade 80's - 90's' from the Israeli Society for Promoting the Art of Magic.      Bavli the Soldier They say that becoming a soldier makes a boy a man.  In Guy Bavli's case, it made a magician become a mentalist.  While serving in the IDF for three years, Guy developed his telepathic skills shifting his focus on psychological entertainment.  Guy Bavli became the first and only mind-reading entertainer-soldier.  He also expanded his ability as an entertainment artist by becoming a member of the Air force Performing Group as an actor and singer.  Following his service in the IDF and having perfected his performance skills, Bavli carved a niche for himself as a world-renowned mentalist entertainer and launched the critically acclaimed international tour:  Guy Bavli - Master of the Mind. Making Headlines Across the Globe Publicity and corporate events have become one of Bavli's known specialties leading to astounding performances in many countries in Europe and the United States.  One publicity stunt he performed as part of a marketing campaign for a company in Germany (JAGUAR) involved Bavli driving a car while blindfolded leaving witnesses speechless and creating a media frenzy.     Bavli is also known for his incredible predictions including his ability to predict newspaper headlines. Bavli successfully predicted the election results for Prime Minister and leading parties in 1996, Guy Bavli wrote and sealed his prediction into a safe two weeks prior to the Election Day during a live performance.  In 1997 for the first time, Guy Bavli walked onto the world famous stage at Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas.  As a result of the overwhelming popularity of his outstanding performances at Caesars Palace, Bavli was awarded a contract to perform 400 shows each year for three consecutive years.     The man behind Master of the Mind Guy continues to astound audiences with his mesmerizing performances in English, Spanish and Hebrew in over 55 countries worldwide.   The concept of Guy Bavli - Master of the Mind is to make the audience the star of the show.  He delights audiences with interactive entertainment that delivers a unique combination of mystery, humor, psychology and suspense showcased in an amazing multi-media production of sound, lights, and video…truly an 'un-BAVLI-vable' experience.  Guy Bavli is perfect for any occasion and can tailor his next performance to fit your exact event needs and budget.  Book Bavli for your next event...for an experience your guests will never forget!   
• Bending Minds DVD set Not since Uri Geller has Israel produced such a dynamic performer! Guy Bavli is Israel's hottest magician, specializing in Mentalism and Metal Bending. Guy is a full- time professional, constantly performing on television both in the United States and abroad. Guy is also a three-time winner of the Israeli Gold Cup Award for 'Best Magician.' Effects Performed and Explained: Spoons from Card Case - Produce spoons from your card case - how do they fit? Bending a Spoon in a Spectator's Hand - Bend metal with your mind! Bag Bend - A complete act involving members of the audience; spoons bend and break! Melting a Spoon in a Spectator's Hand - A spoon melts and breaks while in a spectator's hand! Miracle with a Fork - One of the tines on a fork bends, unbends and then breaks! Energy Hand - By simply waving your hand over a spoon, it bends! Perfect Key Bending - A borrowed and signed key is bent using only the power of your mind! Haunted Spoon - The ultimate haunted handkerchief! Effects Performed and Explained: Incredibly Clean - An easy mental masterpiece with cards! Question Mark Mystery - A matching pair of cards is located by a spectator using only the power of the mind! Fan Vision - A thought-of card, the performer names it! The Perfect Prediction - The ultimate book test, near- impossible conditions! Impromptu Card Stab - A card is selected and lost; cards are tossed into the air and the selection is impaled on a knife! The Perfect Clipboard - Guy's ultimate routine for the popular marketed clipboards. Just like real mindreading! Effects Performed and Explained: Bending a Large Nail - Mind power demonstration! Bending a Small Nail - Very devious method! Shrinking Spoon - Visibly cause a spoon to shrink! Spoon through Table - With the handle visible, a spoon penetrates the table top! Stopping a Watch/Time of the Future - A borrowed watch is caused to stop working; then, under a spectator's hand, the time mysteriously moves forward several hours. Headline Prediction - Perform a mental miracle using the day's newspaper!
• Between 2 minds DVD set Between 2 Minds, is the newest and most creative source for today's mentalism. Haim Goldenberg presents his top-of-the-art effects, suitable for stand up, stage performances, and close up. Each effect is performed in front of a live audience, and then revealed and analyzed by Guy Bavli, as well as Haim Goldenberg. For the first time, you will be able to see how 2 of the most creative minds in Mentalism today, are brought together to share with you their experience and creativity taking original effects created by professional working entertainers and delivering it to perfection. 4 hours of presentations, demonstrations, discussion and teaching, all new ideas and effects from the mentalism field. 15 effects that you can perform with ease to create sheer amazement. Actually, you can create more then a whole show, with the top-secret effects presented in the new sensational BETWEEN 2 MINDS (3 DVD set). Effects Video rental You ask a spectator to name a movie. You ask him to call your DVD rental store and ask which movie you reserved. It will be the movie they chose. No force - No hints - No gimmicks. Informa-tech An impromptu tool that enables you, the performer, to secretly transfer information and codes between two people (numbers, letters etc) Expert deck - impromptu version. The performer knows the location of a freely chosen card, after the spectator has shuffled the deck. Stop Smoking The performer causes a smoker from the audience to be repulsed from smoking on stage. Envelope Prediction Performer holds a prediction. He asks a few people in the audience to name numbers. Those numbers are added. The prediction is then opened, to reveal that the total number has been predicted. (No add a number gimmicks, no forces, free choice of numbers) My Precious Four rings are mixed in a small bags. You then know which ring belongs to which person-and mentally describe in detailed the last ring! Color Detector Spectator is asked to freely draw 3 shapes in 3 different colors. You then predict it. Money-Pulation Spectator hides a money bill in one of 10 envelopes. You then mentally know which envelope is the one with the money. Great gambling effect. Switcher A switching tool that will help you create dozens of ideas and routines. Serial Contact The performer predicts a serial number of a borrowed bill from the audience. No switching, the bill is random. Transparent Thoughts The performer predicts a full description of a spectator, freely chosen by the audience. This secret will give you dozens of ideas and effects you can perform. Index Picture Duplication A very clever way to duplicate a picture secretly drawn by a spectator. Perfect for close up!
• Videoclip between 2 minds
• Videoclip performances

• Amazing Kreskin website George Joseph Kresge, Jr., better known as The Amazing Kreskin, (born January 12, 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey) is a mentalist who became popular on North American television in the 1970s. He was inspired by Lee Falk's famous comic strip Mandrake the Magician, which features a crime-fighting stage magician, to become a mentalist himself. From 1971 to 1975, his television series The Amazing World of Kreskin was broadcast throughout Canada on CTV and distributed in syndication in the United States. The series was produced in Ottawa, Ontario at the CJOH-TV studios. An additional set of episodes was produced in 1975, billed as The New Kreskin Show. He is still active as a live performer, and appears annually on CNN to give his New Year's Day predictions for the coming year. One of his best known tricks is finding his check for a performance, which he instructs his hosts to hide before each show. He has failed to find the check 9 times. Kreskin has acknowledged that he has no special powers.[1] Despite this, Kreskin's name has become somewhat synonymous with psychic prediction. Kreskin's reputation was severely tarnished in 1997, when he perpetrated a UFO hoax for unknown reasons. 
• Best Moments DVD Kreskin
• Candy Kreskin
• Mental Marvels DVD
• Secrets of Kreskin book
• Videoclip talkshow

• Guest Becker The Magic Café LARRY BECKER - Internationally acclaimed mentalist, author, lecturer and winner of the prestigious Mentalist of the Year Award. Recipient of the Psychic Entertainers Association Award for outstanding contributions to the Art of Mentalism. Winner of the Milbourne Christopher Foundation Award for outstanding contributions to the Art of Magic. Author of five best selling books on the subject of Mentalism and Magic. A member of The Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame. Awarded the Lederman Award by the Psychic Entertainers Association for outstanding creativity in mentalism. Member of England's prestigious Magic Circle MIMC with Gold Star. Larry Becker is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. Following a 35 years career as the creative partner of a large New Jersey advertising agency, Larry retired to Boca Grande, Florida in 1985. In 1990, Larry and his lovely wife April moved to Carefree, Arizona where they now reside. Larry has extensively performed and lectured for over three decades throughout the United States, Canada, England, Europe and the Far East. In March 2000. Larry was inducted into the Society of American Ma-gicians Hall of Fame in Hollywood, California. The Museum of the International Society has honored stars of Magic from Harry Houdini to David Copperfield. Larry's display features the equipment he used in the worldwide performances of his death defying Russian Roulette. A prostate cancer survivor, Larry currently presents an entertaining program, 'Expect the Impossible' which encourages men at risk to have an annual prostate cancer checkup. Larry and his wife, April are co-founders of the Prostate Communication Resource, a non-profit prostate cancer information and education organization -------------------------------------------------------------- 'I had not seen you perform before and attended because of Bob Brown's high praise. The praise was not high enough. Your effect on an audience is at once electrifying and at the same time subtle and soothing. Your presence, command and graceful humor is as good as the very best in the business. I hope when I get an additional 35 years of experience I can aspire to your level of skill, talent and audience rapport' - J. Scott - Sacramento Super Symposium 'You have gone on to become one of the greatest, if not the greatest entertainer of mentalism in the world today. I am really proud of your accomplishments. Indeed the magicians and mentalists of today, tomorrow and the future will forever be indebted to you for your legacy to the art of entertainment' - Ray Corbin - Past National President, Society of American Magicians., Member of the Magic Hall of Fame 'Your performance was the highlight of the evening. While your effects are excellent, your personality and dramatic presentation were absolutely outstanding! It's wonderful to watch the master at work. Thank you again for an inspiring performance, you per-sonify entertainment' - Society of American Magicians - Tucson, AZ. 'Larry Becker will amaze and amuse you. He'll make you think and make you laugh. Using what he calls, 'heightened sensory perception', he will seem to know what.s on your mind before you yourself know. He will predict with amazing accuracy your actions before you make them. He seems to read with your eyes, hear with your ears and think with your mind. Yet, he shows you that it's all explainable by some of the more obscure principles of psychology. And he'll show you how this can be part of your everyday life. You'll enjoy and remember this unusual and highly entertaining artist' - EUROPEAN TOUR Review by Fergus Roy in Abracadabra #2262-June ' 89 'What is it that makes Larry Becker one of the most entertaining men-talists in the world today? Very difficult to answer as he presents his effects casually without dramatics. While the effects are clearly mind blowing and totally inexplicable, they are entertaining because he keeps the mystery, audience involvement and delightful personality in a con-stant and perfect balance. Often he uses two and even three principles in one effect, but it is the boldness and natural misdirection behind a suave facade that really impress. It was a privilege to have seen this master of mentalism at work' - ARTHUR DAY (Blackpool Lecture in England 'I feel that I must write and thank you personally for the superb lecture which you gave at Blackpool last Friday evening and which I was lucky enough to attend. It was both entertaining and enlightening and an object lesson in itself, on how a lecture should be presented. Everything that you did and showed was professionalism to the extreme' ( Larry.s note: That evening I was honored to have performed before Australia's great magician, 'Murray.' At that time he was confined to a wheelchair...but his kind praise gave me a thrill I will never forget) - SACRAMENTO SUPER SYMPOSIUM - John Scott 'Your seminar was unique, beautifully done, and more generous than any magical event in my memory. In my performing past I have only occasionally and peripherally used mental 'stuff.' Having seen the extraordinary impact of your material, I am going to add at least one feature mental item to my shows. I'm still trying to digest the enormous number of brilliant feats you presented. If the seminar had ended at lunch time I would have felt you gave ten times the price of admission in usable, stunning magic. I also applaud your courage in discussing your cancer and thank you a thousand times for letting us know about the P.S.A. test. I have requested my doctor to arrange one, for I do not want to get sick out of ignorance. Thank you. I had not seen you perform before and attended because of Bob Brown.s high praise. The praise was not high enough. You are the consummate performer. Your affect on an audience is at once electrifying and at the same time subtle and soothing. Your presence, command and graceful humor is as good as the very best in the business. I hope when I get an additional 35 years of experience I can aspire to your level of skill, talent and audience rapport. You turn magic and mentalism into high art. Yes, you entertain admirably, but much more important, you affect people in a deep, wonderful, emotional way. Few performers ever achieve that. I feel fortunate that I got to share in that. Bravo! I must tell you, having seen the very best magicians in the world, I have never, as an audience member actually perspired, as I did during your presentation of Russian Roulette. Larry, I was sweating! That was the most riveting, thrilling demonstration I've seen, bar none. What a tre-mendous pleasure it was to watch you and meet you' - DONALD BEVAN (Editor of Abra. Review of Bristol, England lecture 'For more than ninety minutes, this was entertainment and capital instruction. Everything that Larry Becker does is highly visual, uses audience participation, is often colorful, or amusing, or stunning, or a combination of all three. Currently on a European tour, Larry can be seen at several venues around England for the next two weeks. If you get a chance, see him. He.s dynamite!' - STEVE DUSHECK (Magazine article) 'Do you do mentalism? Then be sure to see Larry Becker, Max Maven and Kreskin. They are completely different. A dumb theory we hear about not using playing cards to do mentalism is shattered by these performers. They make their own rules' - QUINNIPAC COLLEGE LECTURE - Bob Evans 'I attended your lecture at Quinnipac College in Hamden, CT. I.d like to take this opportunity to say that the lecture was one of the most practical I have ever attended. Your presentation proved again that mentalism is the highest, most sophisticated and subtle form of magic' - DESERT FOOTHILLS WOMAN.S CLUB (Margaret Stewart) 'Undoubtedly you could tell by the response of the 107 ladies in your audience yesterday how delighted they all were with your amazing psychic performance. I'm sure it.s a reaction you receive over and over again. In the past we sometimes judge Woman.s Club programs by how many ladies left during the performance. In your case, appointment and urgent errands were abandoned as you kept everyone in the palm of your expert hands. Thank you for providing a sensational opening for our new year. And for delightfully confounding the Desert Foothills Woman.s Clu' - DESERT FOOTHILLS WOMAN.S CLUB NEWSLETTER (Gladys Anderson) 
• Mental Masterpieces DVD Larry Becker is considered one of the most creative and respected mentalists in the field. This DVD features Larry performing a 40-minute show in front of a live audience and then explaining the routines, strategies and techniques involved. Although performed on a stage many of the routines are suitable for parlor or close-up work Contains performances and explanations of: H.G. Wells' Time Machine: An audience member thinks of a year in the seventeenth century and writes it on an envelope containing a modern coin. The coin envelope is held by the audience member and remains in full view throughout. Upon opening the envelope an old pirate coin is found to have the thought of date engraved on it. Proving that the coin went back in time to the thought-of year. Out of Body: A spectator cuts to any card, removes it and places it in his pocket. The rest of the deck is placed back in the box and held by the spectator. With no hesitation you can immediately name the selected card with one-hundred percent accuracy. Casino Royale: One of Larry Becker's most popular and favorite routines where a spectator randomly selects one of fifty casino chips, a handful of bills and two playing cards. A prediction envelope, which has been in full view the entire time, is opened and inside is predicted the name of the casino, how much money was taken and the Blackjack hand selected by the spectator. Kolossal Killer III: A streamlined version of a marketed routine where a thought-of card is revealed by removing a prediction from your wallet that has been held by the spectator the entire time. Clearly Predictable: Prior to the show a spectator is handed a prediction envelope and the classified section of a newspaper. She is instructed to circle any ad and initial her choice. She also removes a bill from her purse and initials it. An audience member then selects a playing card from a jumbo deck. In rapid succession the selection is revealed printed on the newspaper and when the prediction envelope is opened it reveals the exact wording of the selected classified ad and the serial number of the initialed bill. Calendar Caper: A sealed prediction reveals the month a spectator was born and his favorite card. Ultimate Flashback: Larry's Becker's marketed effect where a series of mind-reading feats are performed using books and thought-of words. (performance only).  
• Standing Ovation DVD Larry Becker is an internationally acclaimed mentalist, author and inventor. On this DVD you will have the chance to witness a live show during which Larry performs some of his most jaw-dropping mental magic, including a new version of his reputation making Russian Roulette. You will then be taught the routines that have gained him worldwide acclaim. Contains performances and explanations of: Tri-Coinetic: Three envelopes each contain a different coin. An audience member names what coin he thinks is in each sealed envelope. When the envelopes are opened the named coins are dumped out. Visual Aid: A spectator holds a twenty-dollar bill while you read their mind and write down the serial number of the borrowed bill. Phantasm Supreme: An audience member thinks of one of nine celebrities pictured on a board. A previously sealed wallet is opened to show an electronic voice recorder. When the spectator presses the play button the voice names the thought of celebrity. Here, There & Everywhere: A thought-of card is removed from the deck, signed and sealed in an envelope. A second spectator selects a card from the deck. The selected card changes into a joker, the second spectator's card is in the sealed envelope and the original signed selection is found in the zippered compartment of your wallet. Some Total-Stage: An envelope containing a prediction is handed to a spectator prior to the show. Spectators each name a one-digit number. The six digits are written on a board. The prediction envelope contains a series of four five-digit numbers. The numbers are written on a board, added together and the total matches the random numbers yelled out by the audience. Russian Roulette: Larry Becker's world-renown Russian Roulette routine where he risks his life by allowing one of three guns to be fired toward his head. One of the pistols is empty the others are loaded. (Performance only-not suitable for children).
• Stunners Plus Book Larry Becker's magnificent opus, Stunners! was first published in 1992. In 1993 at the Society of American Magicians annual convention in New Orleans, Mr. Becker received the coveted Milbourne Christopher Foundation Literary Award for this Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Mentalism and Magic. Now, after ten years, not only may you enjoy this original masterly work, you'll also be able to delve into the many variations, improvements and new effects that were created during the decade following the publication of Stunners! In addition, this exciting new book also includes the instructions and presentations for many of Larry's commercially produced effects. Stunners! Plus! contains the more than fifty effects from the original Stunners! including Larry's original presentation of his death defying 'Russian Roulette.' A total over over 100 killer mental routines with books, coins, paper currency, cards, pencils and pens, watches, newspapers, boxes, props, no props, and so much more. Some of the most baffling entertaining, mental effects ever created, all bearing the Becker hallmarks of maximum entertainment potential and simplicity. These inexplicable mysteries, complete with presentations, will catapult you to a higher plateau as an entertainer. Stunners! Plus! is also packed with major improvements to such effects as Casino Royale, Ultimate Flashback, Serial Killer, Sneak Thief and so many other powerful effects created over the decade following the original Stunners! release. And, as if all this wasn't enough, imagine peering into the inner workings of Larry's many commercial effects, including: Chameleon Chest, Versadex, Blockbuster, Incredible, Insight Wallets, Psiclops, Casino Light, Zenneristic and more. The Stunners! material has been completely re-typeset and all of the original art and illustrations have been preserved and upated. Stunners! Plus! is a must-have for mentalists from amateur to professional and for magicians who want to make the transition, there's no better place to start.
• Sunshine Boys Lecture DVD This DVD includes six entertaining routines with detailed explanations presented for a live audience from two camera views! Also included are hilarious out-takes, and extra free performance material in PDF format. Contents Include: Larry's Ace Revisited - Reveal a word from an unprepared dictionary, on a page your audience selects! Lee's Tender Touch - Show an uncanny ability to 'balance' the known and the unknown! Larry's Out of Body II - Disclose all the cards taken from an audience-shuffled deck, then repeat with a single card under test conditions! Lee's Corner Pocket - A classic method updated, predicts the winner in a game of 8-Ball pool. Larry's Cardology - A printed letter reveals a participant's choice of a month, a number, and a playing card only HE is thinking of! Lee's Question & Answer - This is the one he uses when performing for high-dollar corporate audiences; it's quick, effective, and the audience does the work!

• Earle, Lee mentalist website Earle is a platform professional (mentalist) with over 35 years of experience bringing a unique perspective and a new way of thinking to your audience. Highlighting the incredible capabilities of the human mind, Lee's presentations demystify and energize our untapped resources and mental potential. Develop Your Power Memory Spend just 60 minutes with mentalist Lee Earle and be amazed at what your mind can accomplish! Usually, 'bad memory' is just imperfect recall. Learn easy Power Memory techniques to help you organize, visualize, and prioritize. This one-hour seminar presentation is also available in a 2 to 4 hour workshop format. Awaken Your E.S.P.* (*Essential Silent Partner) Recently published research demonstrates the folly of ignoring, denying, or scoffing at one of our most valuable resources. Call it 'hunch', 'gut feeling', or 'an inner voice', our intuition is now being acknowledged by the scientific community as a powerful personal tool. In this keynote presentation, Lee Earle gives examples of intuition in action and supplies a step-by-step program for developing and enhancing this natural capability we all share. Treat your associates to a mind-opening experience which has the potential to literally and figuratively change their minds. Your Puzzling Mind This entertaining program highlights our latent abilities of perception and intuition in an engaging way that audiences will remember forever. Lee Earle blends techniques borrowed from the psychologist, the showman, and the motivational speaker to provide an exciting, topical, and unique entertainment package. You get audience participation, good clean fun, and an experience you will remember forever. Because, you won't believe your mind! Why Don't We Listen to Our Children's Stories? In this motivational keynote, Lee reacquaints his audience with the stories we tell our children and illustrates how we all might benefit from taking their lessons to heart. Revisit: 'The Little Engine That Could' to reinforce goal setting and tenacity; 'Dumbo' for inspiration about self-belief and overcoming obstacles; 'Horton the Elephant' to remind of duty and responsibility; plus many more. Put MAGIC in Your Speaking! A program designed for N.S.A. chapter meetings and speaker academies, this presentation shares the secrets professional magicians use to charm and entertain their audiences.   
• MIND book for mentalists Lee Earle has spent a lifetime in the trade. He has earned his 'chops' as a performer, author of multiple books, columnist for the Society of American Magician's M-U-M magazine, editor of SYZYGY-The Journal of Contemporary Mentalism, publisher of books by authors Richard Mark and Larry Becker, creator and medium for Manifestations-The Ultimate Seance and originator of trademark Mentalism props, routines and concepts. As recipient of the Psychic Entertainers Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Mentalism, Lee Earle is acknowledged as one of the men who have changed the face of Mentalism forever. Now, the bulk of his creativity is assembled in this single, significant book. Over two decades of 'outside the box' thinking from one of the most prolific minds in mentalism plus nearly all of Lee's published writings from the past twenty years-more than fifty routines, including many of his limited release commercial items-are literally within your grasp. Included with each copy is a CD-Rom (Windows and Macintosh compatible) containing the necessary Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF files for producing a number of full-color, professionally designed props and promotional materials on your personal inkjet or laser printer. You get multiple templates for Sun Signs, more ready-to-print masters for the complete SuperScript materials and cards, Topologo's colorful single-page layout, color photographs and enlarged 'newspaper clipping' for Bascom Jones' Dark Memory, celebrity handwriting samples to use with an evocative Pretellus presentation, and full-size color copes of genuine stock certificates for the very contemporary Taking Stock. BONUS: The CD-Rom also contains a thought-provoking interview with Lee Earle, conducted by the esteemed Dr. Juris, in which Lee discusses the distinctions between mental magic and Mentalism, the critical elements necessary for a successful performance, tips on how to present Mentalism to skeptical audiences and much, much more. 
• Introduction Learn the basic premise of the Question & Answer presentation plus classic methods for building your killer routine. One Ahead Explore the ins and outs of this old standby method and discover how to make it fresh and entertaining for your audiences. Pre-Show More professional tips on the psychology of pre-show information gathering and some utility props that make your life easier. Multipliers Discover the secrets of leveraging your information to amaze them by revealing things that they never write down! Presentation A working pro's tips and techniques for helping make your routine more effective by connecting emotionally to your audience. Performance Solid advance for how to get the most out of this dynamic presentation for all audiences, large and small. Running Time Approximately 1hr 9min SuperScript is the ideal solution for performing a Question and Answer routine based on a believable premise: graphology and handwriting analysis. You'll need no clipboards or impression devices nor will you be required to do any 'pre-show' work. The method is clean, can be performed close-up or on the largest stage, and leaves a souvenir brochure in the hands of everyone whose question is answered. Previously, SuperScript has been available only as a premium-priced package of specially printed brochures and a VHS instructional video. With today's ubiquity of desktop computers, those custom folders are as close as your inkjet printer and are easily personalized for your own purposes. This Teach-In includes every second of the original SuperScript video, reemastered and chaptered for DVD, plus access to the necessary files in .pdf format for you to produce your own supplies, as you need them, using 8.5 x 11-inch, ink-jet cover weight paper (index card stock). Running Time Approximately 45min EZ-Q&A's weave of multiple methods is both brilliant in concept and absolutely mind-boggling in impact. First introduced by Bruce Bernstein, this killer idea has been honed to a sharp edge, fine tuned, and polished to perfection by Mentalism's Maestro, Lee Earle. It's perfect for banquet audiences because everything is so delightfully simple. Pencils and little white cards (reproduced from the free .pdf file on your ink-jet printer) are distributed among the audience who are asked to jot down a word, make a sketch, or write a thought. An innocent audience helper gathers all the cards and holds them until your routine begins. You place the packet on his upturned hand, he takes a card, views the hidden information, and you amazingly reveal every detail - plus, you can instantly return that card to the person in the audience from whom it came! Repeat with up to 5 cards, each revelation more impossible than the one before it, with a fabulous drawing duplication finish! This DVD includes (as background) Lee Earle's highly acclaimed Q&A Lecture at the 2005 MindVention (amateur video), an excerpt on Q & A from the DVD The Sunshine Boys, plus new details, handlings, and secrets from his personal repertoire. Running Time Approximately 1hr 10min
• Syzygy book for mentalists Over 200 Routines: Impromptu - Close-up - Platform 80 pages of Professional & Promotional Supplements More than 400 photos and professional illustrations Mentalism has a colorful history of cutting edge periodicals such as The Jinx, The Invocation, and Magick and since 1995, SYZYGY has been the premier publication for Mentalists. Editor Lee Earle screened thousands of potential contributions to give subscribers the very best in Contemporary Mentalism. Now the first five volumes are reproduced in a single, hard cover book! The index alone fills ten pages, listing material by category, contributor, and by title. Includes CD-ROM! CD-ROM contains many images right from the book in full color and high resolution PDF format!  
• Volume One Contents Include: Deep Sea Digits by George St. James: AN impressive demonstration of 'super recall' that is easy to accomplish with no memorization Destiny's Destination by Richard Mark: A triple prediction with loads of laugh potential that leaves 'em scratching their heads! Running the Numbers by Chris Hurlburt: Your audience picks out the winning numbers on a genuine Lotto ticket! Guessin' Gumballs by Jack Bean: Can anyone guess the exact number of gumballs in a huge transparent jar? You bet! Himelrick Maneuver by David Himelrick: Use the power of imagination to draw an image that exists only in someone's mind! Keys Royale by Lee Earle: Intuition finds the one key among seven that opens the ungimmicked Lock - no key switches! Volume Two Contents include: Bold & Beautiful by Ted Karmilovich: Predictions actually written before your performance name randomly selected celebrities, cities, and objects. I.Q. Chart by Earl Keyser: A participant thinks of a word one letter at a time and the performer quickly learns the very same word. Whenever-Anywhere by Ty Kralin: From any book, random words are read aloud and one is secretly chosen and yet the performer spells the word. Dream Design by John Riggs: An image from a woman's recent dream is one of dozens pre-drawn on index cards - and the card bears her name! Quintuple by Dave Arch: Using verbal control, the mind reader influences random choices to guarantee the outcome - even miles away! Picture Show by Leo Boudreau: People visualize 'postcard scenes' and with no forces, questions, or fishing, the performer describes each one. Volume Three Contents include: Deli Delight by Andy Leviss: Performer has a sandwich in a lunch bag. A participant describes his favorite sandwich. They are the same! Option Call by Paul Green: Deal cards in to a person's hands, add or remove cards as directed, until one card is left - it's the one you predicted Par for the Course by Danny Archer: A spectator fills in a scorecard for an imaginary round of golf and adds up the strokes - they are exactly what you foretold. Dowsing Duplicates by T.J. Osborn: Take 6 business cards, tear them in half, spread the pieces face down. Unerringly, audience finds matching halves. Compelling Key by John Riggs: Using a padlock as a pendulum, you locate the only one of 7 hidden keys that opens the ungimmicked lock. Midway Dream by E. Raymond Carlyle: Participants play make-believe carnival games to win plush animals when they duplicate your predicted scores!

• Marc Spelmann website  
• Spelmann DVD Collection Volume One - The Unknown Transmission A drawing duplication that is real time, no impressions, no pre show, no stooges. You send an image to a random volunteer in the hope that they will receive your thought. You repeat the process a number of times matching image after image to an astonished audience and a baffled volunteer. A Card in 52 - A Word in Thousands A direct card divination combined with a triple book test, the books are cheap paper backs, a spectator choses a random page that they do not tell you, next another spectator chooses one of three books yet you clearly divine the words and them of the line they are concentrating on and you don't even know what page or book they are looking at. Sweet Sensation A packet of wine gums is used to manipulate one of the most unexploited senses, that of taste. Five volunteers are to imagine a sour taste, however one will imagine a sweet taste you divine exactly which spectator is imagining the sweet sensation. £1,000,000 Serial Killer A volunteer is asked to take part in a challenge guessing game of which hand holds the prize, they win every time, as a finale not only do you divine the serial number on their £20 note but reveal an incredible coincidence never seen before. Staple Gun Roulette Four ungimmicked industrial staple guns, one genuinely loaded are used in a psychological killer routine where the audience gamble with their choices. Three staple guns are fired over their hands whilst the forth is fired into a block of wood to conclude a seriously tense piece of mental theatre. Who is Marc Spelman? I have known Marc Spelmann for the last eight years and he is one of those real world performers who create pure miracles from conception to completion, no pipe dreams, no fillers, just pure astonishment in every routine. Marc has been invited to perform for the worlds elite A list, from Eric Clapton, Lennox Lewis, George Michael, Jack Nicholson, Hugh Grant, Davina McCall, Gerry Halliwell, Johnny Vaughn and HRH Prince Andrew. His client list is truly extensive with corporate giants such as Sony, Vodafone, Columbia Pictures, Jaguar, BMW, Dyson, The BBC, Carlton Television, Channel 4, Channel 5, Madam Tussauds, Rail Track, Credit Lyonnaise and Amtrak as a mere few of Marcs regular clients. I managed to finally get Marc to release some of his treasured routines for the magic community and I have to say that as a magic dealer I cannot remember a book or DVD set with so many real world routines. Marc has delivered material that knocked everyone out at the filming. I am confident that anyone of any level who purchases these DVDs will use Marcs killer routines and principles. In my opinion Marcs fantastic chair routine One In Thousands, Staple Roulette and his diabolical approach to the bank night theme The Prize Draw are all individually worth the price of the entire set of DVDs to a working professional and could be sold for hundreds of pounds each. On the day of filming a shattering 31 routines I could not decide which routines I wanted to ad to my repertoire, I was spoilt for choice, a rarity for any set of DVDs. The privileged audience who saw the filming firmly believe that every effect was a true performance piece. Marc thinks outside of the box and creates workable real world effects that play huge. I can honestly say that it is an absolute pleasure to be releasing this unbelievable set and the two and a half year process of finally pinning Marc down has been worth every second. All of this from someone who is not really known in magic circles and at a young age for his wisdom, knowledge and maturity with the impossible. Our art will benefit I'm sure - Peter Nardi Volume Two - The Stranger 1 in Thousands Hailed as one of the most incredible chair routines and already in the repertoires of some of the worlds leading mentalists. Marc has held this back for years and still closes with it to this day. Four participants, four chairs, four envelopes and a killer surprise in a routine that literally has a thousand outcomes. The Orifices Marcs variation on an old classic from John Ramsey, taken to a whole new level. Beans are snorted and regurgitated, the final bean travelling from your ear, under your facial skin through to your eye socket. Not for the faint hearted. Free Call An absolute killer routine that has fried some of the most distinguished performers. 20 or so objects are placed into a box, a volunteer is handed a single prediction before choosing one of the objects as an example the 10p coin is chosen. They open the prediction that has been in their possession since the beginning to reveal your office phone number, the number is dialed and the message heard which says 'Hi sorry I'm not here to take your call, please leave a message, if however that is my helpful volunteer you should be holding a 10p coin.'No forces of any kind, no switch of the prediction, the object is freely selected and clearly predicted. Just 15 seconds A real time word memorisation and divination. 40 to 50 Spectators write long and short words on a pad, you take the pad and ask someone to time you for just 15 seconds. You however do not simply call off the words on the pad but instead take it to another level by divining two randomly selected thought of words. Do You Believe? Coins, keys and pieces of examined cutlery are placed into a glass as you demonstrate mass psychokinesis, first by slowly moving each piece of cutlery, then moving all of the cutlery. Finally you get the audience to imagine the glass toppling over at which point it moves eerily before toppling to the floor. A fork is twisted like string, a coin bent almost in half and a key bent at right angles. Untouched Marc Spelmanns unique premise to creating unbelievable psychokinesis with practically any small object. Marcs hands are examined before and after the demonstration and yet he still moves objects apparently with only the power of his mind. Move a fork, pen, lighter, business card etc etc etc. This revolutionary technique has already been adopted by some very knowledgeable performers as the most practical way to mysteriously move objects. Remember both hands are very freely moved around, quick set up and invisible clean up. Volume Three - The Aquaintance The Last Man Standing Marcs approach to the single card in envelope premise, a random volunteer is asked to do the impossible as you tell them that you placed a single card inside of the envelope you are holding. What colour is it? High or Low? Odd or Even? What suit? Believe it or not they get it absolutely right every time. No palming, no complexed system just an easy to do effect that fools the best. What, Where, When? Three volunteers are asked to join you for a demonstration of remote viewing. One is to visualise a simple design, the other a location somewhere in the world and the last a time of year. You divine everything in a very clever routine that you can carry in your pocket yet amaze an entire theatre. Multiple possibilities and different outcomes are possible. The effect can be adapted to any theme once the premise is understood. From Beyond The Grave You introduce a small wallet which holds a single envelope as you tell a participant that this is for them, the envelope is marked with their initials as they are asked to regress to another time, place and even body. Every choice is completely free and comes from the participants own imagination. You open the wallet and remove the initialled envelope which is opened to reveal a letter that predicts every choice with pure accuracy. No palming, forcing or impression devices. No pre show or instant stooging. Mind To Mind Location A group of index cards are written on by the entire audience, they are gathered and one randomly chosen by a spectator. The name of a person comes through, after some thought you announce that it is the father, another name comes through which proves to be the mother, both names are divined clearly even though you have not seen the index card, you next get the exact date written on the index card. Obviously one person in the room realises you have divined their thoughts at which point you go into the audience and locate that very person. The Prize Draw 'This is going straight into my act.' Marcs handling of the famous Bank Night routine is taken to a whole new dimension. Everyone wins but not quite as much as you do. A fantastic routine that uses a principle lost in time but is sure to be used again and again once this masterpiece is seen. This has been one of Marcs most talked about routines by magicians, mentalists and of course the paying public for the last five years. In my opinion the best bank night routine ever. Volume Four - The Initiated In The Shadow Of Geller Marc Spelmanns unbelievable one handed coin bend that has fooled everyone who sees it, incredibly clean and best of all the coin slowly bends at the finger tips. Not just a reveal of a bent coin but the audience actually see it bend at which point it is fairly handed to the owner. Just A Thought A shuffled deck of cards is openly spread for a spectator to just think of one, no forces of any kind. The thought of card is slowly divined and placed on the table for the dramatic revelation. Out Of Sight Just In Your Mind Marc Spelmanns variation of the renowned classic by Dai Vernon, streamlined handling, minimal sleight of hand in probably the most direct mind reading card effect. Marc has made Dai Vernons classic effect easier and more accessible for all to do. No table required, no breaks held, just pure mind reading. Business Confidential A stack of regular business cards are used to demonstrate psychometery and clarvoiance. A volunteer draws a simple image on any business card, it is then mixed and lost into the stack, the performer talks of the old mediums and how they could divine information from an object that is personalised. The business cards are slowly dealt until the performer thinks they have it at which point it is placed sight unseen under the spectators hand. Now the impossible happens as the performer duplicates the drawing down to the finest detail. In The Shadow Of Banachek Marc pays homage to a modern master and inspiration with a direct easy to do visual coin bend that is ready to go in an instant, a reputation maker that creates a souvenir that will be kept for years. The audience see you with empty hand take a coin from a spectator. The coin is held in one hand only and the audience help create an energy at which point your hand is opened and the coin eerily bends at the finger tips, again it is cleanly handed back to the spectator. Clearly Predictable A chosen hour is thought of, a card freely selected and an ESP symbol chosen. Three outcomes from hundreds of possible combinations all of which are clearly predicted in a single photograph in your wallet which has been in view from the start. Direct, strong and impossible for a lay audience to back track. 'Another effect going straight into my intimate act.' Alls Fair A shuffled deck is randomly cut by a spectator who memorises the cut to card. The card is replaced and shuffled back into it's half of the deck. You ask one question and one question only as you spread the upper half of the deck 'Is the mate of your card in this half?' At which point you name the memorised card. Remember, the deck is shuffled by a spectator at the beginning. They cut anywhere, even changing their mind if they choose yet you hit every time. Shade A card is cut to and secretly remembered. Four other cards are introduced as red herrings, all five are placed on the table as you ask the volunteer to place his shadow over each card, after which you capture his shadow. You then run your hand over the cards and stop on his thought of card. A dramatic piece of simple yet astonishing mentalism. N.A.M.D. This alone is worth the price of the DVD, it fooled me badly. Marc Spelmanns killer application with a regular Bicycle deck that he has held back for sometime, fooling all those who have seen him use it. The most invisible of its kind. Very easy to create and even easier to use. Best of all it costs you nothing to put together. Mental Approximation A deck of cards is shuffled and a card thought of, the cards are instantly squared, left in their random order and pocketed. The spectator is to visualise the colour of the card, then the suit, then imagine the card in it¹s numerical position in an imaginary spread. Not only do you divine the card but mention that the card was approximately 23 cards down in the deck at which point you reach sight unseen into your pocket and instantly remove the card, no force of any kind, Marc generates huge impact from something that is easy to do. Perfect for situations when there is no table or spectators hands to use.
• Stealth Assassin Wallet When Peter Nardi created the Mind Spy and Stealth he had a very special wallet made for himself. Peter has used this wallet for the past 3 years, and to this day only one other person has had the pleasure of owning and working with the incredible wallet. This is Peter Nardi's updated version of the best selling Stealth Assassin. The Stealth Assassin V1.1 has all the great features of the original but now with an extra pocket on the SUC side of the wallet and the magnets are now stitched in place! Please note the original Stealth Assassin is no longer in production the new V1.1 is now the standard.   Do no be fooled by cheap imitations! The Stealth Assassin is the wallet of choice for many of the worlds top mentalists! Manufactured in high quality leather with a great attention to detail, the Assassin takes all the greatest elements from its predecessors and combines them to create something new and powerful! This is truly the utility device for the mentalist. Carry the Assassin with you, and you will have a complete mentalism act in your pocket! The Stealth Assassin Wallet V1.1 is a 2-way peek wallet (including the SUC peek with permission from Mark Strivings). The effects one can perform with the Assassin are virtually unlimited. Among them are: -Predict a driver's license number. -Predict a birthday. -Predict a credit card number. -Have a spectator write or draw anything on the back of a business card. The mentalist can then read the spectator's mind and tell them what is on the business card, or the mentalist can choose to simply redraw what the spectator has drawn. Comes complete with wallet and 2 instructional DVDs featuring Peter Nardi and Marc Spelmann. The DVDs include full routines, handling, timing tips, and bonus effects and ideas!
• Unexpected DVD set Disc One Fist Full Of Dollars An incredible opener for any impromptu situation. Give your spectator a chance to win some cold hard cash. All they have to do is guess which hand holds the money! They will never win! As a kicker you prove to them you knew they would choose the wrong hand from the start. Drinks On The Patio A great little performance piece to do when you're in a bar. A lovely lady is requested to help out and as a thank you will buy her a drink. The drink she gets depends on how well she does in the little test. Take Note Your spectator takes part in a little game of chance. 3 notes of different values are placed on the table. You write a prediction on a business card which remains on full view through out. Now using your powers of persuasion you manage to influence their choice of note! Perfect ESP A quick & simple ESP match up routine. Even though your spectator mixes the cards. You always place your card down first and you can even do this facing away from your spectator! No- one a head, marked cards or extra cards involved used! Single Handed Geller Marcs ultra slick one handed coin bend. This is something that you will carry with you always! Underhand Thoughts An unbelievable impromptu drawing duplication that will get you out of trouble! Three For The Money A 3 Phase performance piece which highlights your ability to predict your spectators actions. Each phase gets increasingly more difficult yet you prove your power with 3 correct predictions! Disc Two A Tribute To Mr Kane This is an Impromptu version of Kane's variant. A great gambling effect using only 5 business cards and some money. Feel A spectator holds an imaginary object in their cupped hands. You now concentrate and tell them exactly what they are holding! Serial Killer Lite Your spectator removes a bill from their wallet and folds it up, they then place it under an upturned wine glass. You can then call off the serial number. Three For The Money A three phase performance piece. Each phase gets increasingly more difficult, yet you prove your power with 3 correct predictions! Which coin they will choose, the amount of change they have and finally the serial number on a borrowed bill. Busch Brain Buster No DVD on mentalism would be complete without a book, magazine or newspaper test. This superb 2 phased routine has been used by Spelmann and Nardi even in their paid performances utilises a fantastic subtlety from Richard Busch. Reveal a freely chosen word from any newspaper, book or magazine & describe an item your spectator has locked in their mind! Two's Company A discussion on utilising a friend, partner or family member to code you simple information.
• Videoclip Stealth Assassin

• The Los Angeles Daily News called him 'a master showman.' The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dubbed him 'a master of repartee.' Television's Entertainment Tonight summed it up: 'He's the master mindreader.' Indeed. Using an advanced (and highly unorthodox) set of psychological principles and techniques, Max is able to discern the thoughts of total strangers. Subliminal persuasion and the power of suggestion are pushed to the limit. People magazine hailed his work as 'a new form of participatory theater.' Max Maven has appeared on the covers of over thirty magazines; here are some recent examples from Italy, Austria, Canada and the United States. This is weird stuff--and audiences love it. Max Maven's mysteries transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries: He's performed in over two dozen countries. His full-evening one-man show, Thinking in Person, had a critically acclaimed two-month run at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and he has headlined nightclubs across the U.S., setting house records in over half of those venues. Max has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs, top talkshows and variety specials, as well as acting on comedy and dramatic shows including the starring role on Count DeClues' Mystery Castle for the Fox network, and guest-starring on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and General Hospital. In 1998, Max developed and starred in a new Canadian series, The MAXimum Dimension, an offbeat educational show aimed at younger viewers, involving recreational mathematics. The 26 episodes were a popular success, placing among the top six shows on the TVO network. Other TV credits include hosting eight network specials in Japan (performing in Japanese), and creating a pair of his own specials in Thailand. In 1994 he hosted a 12-part series for HTV in England, Something Strange with Max Maven, a talk-show exploring all aspects of the paranormal. The show set a ratings record, and led to a second series the following year. Max Mystery Show, a 13-part series, was a hit for the CTS network in Taiwan in 1995. He was the only regular on the ten-part Magiskt series for TV4 in Sweden; that show scored great ratings, and two more series followed, one for Norwegian television in early 1996, plus another for Sweden later that year. He has also appeared on shows in Finland, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile, and many other countries. Max is prominently featured on the 1998 PBS documentary The Art of Magic, as well as The Secret World on The Learning Channel. His television work in the year 2000 includes an appearance on Heroes of Magic on Channel 4 in Great Britain, and being the only regular guest on the Masters of Illusion series for the PAX network. Max is particularly well known for his pioneering work in interactive broadcasting. He created the ground-breaking video Max Maven's Mindgames for MCA. His games were a regular feature on the popular Best of Magic series for the ITV network in England. His interactive work was included on The World's Greatest Magic, NBC's highest rated special of 1994, and he was the first artist booked for the 1995 edition, and brought back yet again in 1997. When Landmark Entertainment developed Caesars Magical Empire for Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, they asked Max to devise a set of interactive mysteries that take place between customers and an impish wizard, 'Maximus Maven' eight inches tall, who appears 'holographically' behind the central bar. The wizard is named 'Maximus Maven,' and he bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain modern performer. Max has also devised material for the world of computer technology, creating an interactive game disk entitled Max Magic for the Philips CD-i system; in its first few months of release, it won six industry awards. In 1999, Max was acknowledged in a special 'Interactive Magic' category of the World Magic Awards, broadcast on the FoxFamily network. In 2000, he was brought back to receive the 'Best Mentalist' prize. He has also received multiple awards from the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. In 1988 he was presented with the Tenkai Prize, the highest award in Japanese magic; this was the first time this honor was ever given to a foreign artist. Some years back, Max was named Lecturer of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle) in Hollywood, and in 1998 he was the recipient of a Creative Fellowship from that organization. The late Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has 'the most original mind in magic.' He's published over 1700 creations in the conjuring literature, and been an advisor to over a hundred television shows. As a consultant he has worked with David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, Lance Burton, and many others. He has also directed revue shows for several major American gambling casinos. Recently, Magic magazine, the leading intraprofessional conjuring journal, published a list of the 100 most influential people in the field of theatrical magic during the 20th century. Included on the list is Max Maven, cited for 'entertaining and astonishing audiences with his bizarre brand of mental magic.... [M]ost of Maven's mind-boggling feats are accomplished through psychological subterfuge that he himself has cunningly created... If mystery does indeed give magic its meaning, then the enigmatic persona of Max Maven makes us ever mindful of the art that is hidden in the mystery of magic.' This ongoing exploration of the mysterious side of human nature led to Max Maven's Book of Fortunetelling, published by Prentice Hall in late 1992. He is a Senior Research Consultant to the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research in Michigan, and on the Board of Advisors of the California ScienCenter in Los Angeles, where his interactive material is featured in a new exhibit, Magic: The Science of Illusion, that will tour museums across North America through 2007. Currently in bookstores you can find The Complete Idiot's Guide to Magic by Tom Ogden, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Improving Your Memory by Michael Kurland and Richard Lupoff. Max Maven was the technical advisor for both. He has also created customized 'Maximize' seminars on mental efficiency and non-verbal communication for executives and salespeople from top corporations. Max Maven has a fascinating history. He has been a successful radio announcer, graphic designer, author, pianist, teacher, singer, actor, lecturer, screenwriter, composer, advertising consultant, and chef. He reads over 150 books and magazines each month, and this constant flow of information provides a continual stimulation of new ideas for presenting his uncanny abilities. In 1998, Max Maven spent many weeks in Canada, taping 26 episodes of The MAXimum Dimension,a series of half-hour shows aimed at overcoming math phobia among young kids, using interactive games and puzzles to explore the mysterious and fun side of mathematics. The series has been airing on the SCN and TVO networks. In the Toronto Sun, TV critic Claire Bickley wrote that she was 'blown away' by the show, hailing it as 'an addictive, fun format.' Clearly, viewers agree: The serieshas been placing among the top six highest rated shows on TVO. Recently, Magic magazine, a leading trade journal for magicians, covered the series for their international readership. The article is reprinted here, with permission of editor Stan Allen and reporter Mac King. MAXIMUM DIMENSION GOES TO SCHOOL By Mac King Max Maven has a kid show. Nope, you read that right -- Max Maven has a kid show. Actually it's a weekly Canadian TV series aimed at children seven to eleven years old. So far, they've taped 26, which is two seasons worth of programs. I watched a few episodes, and I liked them. Actually, that's not quite true. I thought they were great. Max was charming and cute (perhaps not words that immediately come to mind when you think of Max), the show was educational without being dry and dull, and it seemed to me that kids would really enjoy it. But, I'm getting close to 40 years old (not exactly the target age the show is aiming for), so what do I know about a show for kids? So here's what I did. I arranged to screen one episode of the show to Ms. Grubaugh's fourth grade class at Selma Bartlett Elementary School here in Las Vegas. I wanted to know what real ten-year-olds thought of the show. I arrived at 1:30 on a sunny Tuesday afternoon (which I believe is the time the class normally spends studying blackjack strategy). I gave them the little speech I had prepared. 'I'm here today to show you a TV program that airs in Canada. Does anybody know what state Canada is in?' They thought I was an idiot. 'The star of this TV show is a magician, and I'm a magician who has been charged with writing a review of this TV show for a magazine for other magicians.' A girl's questioning hand shot up. 'Why are they charging you to write for them?' she asked. (This is completely true.) 'Okay, I'll quit trying to be funny,' sez I, 'and we'll get right to the video. It's about 25 minutes long. When it's over, we'll take about 15 minutes for you to write answers to a few questions about what you thought of the show. Then we'll talk about the program a little bit, and you'll be free to go.' The episode that was shown that day, begins with a 'come up and touch your TV screen ' kind of interactive game that has become associated with Max's many TV appearances in the United States. Having already watched the show, my attention was primarily focused on the kids and their reactions. When Max invited them to come up to the TV and touch the screen they all remained seated at their desks, but extended their arms and hands out toward the television. (top) The first season featured actors Patrice Goodman and Chris Ross. (bottom) The second season featured actors Kevin Robson and Alison Heiberg. It was a pretty cool sight to see this room full of kids pointing together at the diagram of X's and O's on the screen. Max gave them instructions on how to make each move, and I watched as their hands counted and made minute movements across the air. After each step, Max eliminated one or more of the unoccupied spaces. Of course, the idea was for Max to take away only spaces that the kids were not occupying, or in this case, pointing at. Each time there was a elimination of spaces on the screen, there was an audible gasp from the entire classroom. And when Max made the final elimination and every kid had ended up on the same square, they all literally cheered. There are four characters in the show: a boy named Benjamin, a woman named Samantha, a translucent, floating, digitally animated, talking sphere named Pi, and Max Maven. Max is like a kind, but slightly eccentric, uncle who's always dispensing droll advice and brain teaser fun to the other two human characters. Each of the shows is loosely built around a plot designed to illustrate a particular mathematical principle or 'theme.' This show's theme was introduced in that first interactive sequence. The remaining 20 minutes contained brain-teasers and puzzles designed to explore various aspects of this mathematical principle. The kids continued to be riveted to the screen right up to the end of the program. Before Ms. Grubaugh could stop the tape, the beginning of the next episode started. Seeing that there was more than one of these shows on the cassette prompted one kid to say, 'Can we watch one of these every day?' At first, this seemed to be a ringing endorsement for Max's show, but then I realized that watching these programs is simply easier than studying blackjack odds. After the show, I asked the students to write down the answer to four questions. What did you like most about the show? What did you like least about the show? Did the X/O (interactive) game work for you? How do you think the X/O game worked? Their answers were most enlightening. In their answers to my first question, the kids all indicated that they loved Max and Pi. They thought Max was really funny, which I guess makes sense. He's always had a kind of cartoonish quality about him, and his raised eyebrow and bemused look seem strangely suitable here in the kid show genre. The answers to the second question of what did you like least, most of the kids liked Samantha the least. But in this particular episode, she was supposed to be doing something annoying to drive the plot along, so it seems unfair to say they didn't like her. The answers to the third question I found to be very fascinating. When Max seemingly guessed correctly where they were on the X/O gameboard the kids expressed it as 'I won,' instead of 'Max won.' This is, to me, a very important distinction, indicating that they didn't feel themselves to be in an adversarial relationship with Max. As for the fourth question (how the X/O interactive game worked), these answers were my favorites. They ranged from oddly correct, 'I thought it worked because they set it up so you had to move a certain way'; to the not quite as probable, 'He might just have read your mind.' After writing their answers to my questions, I asked the class if they had any questions for me. The most popular question was: 'Are they going to make this show in this country?' Which is all the validation I needed of my assessment -- kids would really enjoy this show. You've read the self-help books and listened to the tapes. You've got the skills and the motivation to take on the world. What's the biggest obstacle standing in between you and success? In a single word, communication. If you can't effectively convey your ideas to others, you can't reach your goals -- get that job, make that sale, close that deal. Now, what if there was a system that would guarantee to improve your ability to get your message across? More than that, what if there was a system that gave you the ability to substantially increase your ability to understand other people? There is. It's called MAXimize. Max Maven has astonished audiences in over two dozen countries with demonstrations of 'mindreading' built upon a thorough knowledge of such techniques as kinesics, proxemics, pupillometrics and metalinguistics. If we get past these fancy scientific terms, we mean non-verbal communication -- what is popularly known as 'body language.' We tend to think of communication as being based on the words we speak, but the simple fact is that spoken language accounts for only about twenty percent of the information we give and take. The rest is covered by a range of non-verbal communications. Each of us has an instinctive ability with this; we've been doing it literally since birth. However, few of us are consciously aware of the process; it just happens. Now, imagine the advantages of learning to apply these techniques deliberately. That's what the MAXimize system is all about. Imagine using these techniques to control the ways that other people perceive you. You can refine and direct your message with a precision that is simply unavailable to the average person. Consider what an advantage this could give you in job interviews, sales meetings, and other important interactions. But there's more, because MAXimize involves a two-way process. Using these techniques will allow you to 'read' another person with astonishing accuracy. With these techniques you will be able to go behind a person's surface messages, and find out what they're really thinking. These communication secrets are not difficult to learn, because they are natural techniques that you are already using. What the MAXimize system provides is a practical and easy way to build your awareness and understanding of these techniques, so that you can use them to their fullest potential. And there's more, because Max Maven can also teach you remarkably easy ways to improve your memory skills, and show you practical methods to enrich your overall mental efficiency. He's put together customized seminars for a wide range of academic, sales and business groups; he can do the same for your group.    
• Candy Max Maven
• The Los Angeles Daily News called him 'A master showman' The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dubbed him 'A master of repartee' Television's Entertainment Tonight summed it up: 'He's the master mindreader' Indeed. Using an advanced (and highly unorthodox) set of psychological principles and techniques, Max is able to discern the thoughts of total strangers. Subliminal persuasion and the power of suggestion are pushed to the limit. People magazine hailed his work as 'A new form of participatory theater' This is weird stuff--and audiences love it. Max Maven's mysteries transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries: He's performed in over two dozen countries. His full-evening one-man show, Thinking in Person, had a critically acclaimed two-month run at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and he has headlined nightclubs across the U.S., setting house records in over half of those venues. Max has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs, top talkshows and variety specials, as well as acting on comedy and dramatic shows including the starring role on Count DeClues' Mystery Castle for the Fox network, and guest-starring on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and General Hospital. In 1998, Max developed and starred in a new Canadian series, The MAXimum Dimension, an offbeat educational show aimed at younger viewers, involving recreational mathematics. The 26 episodes were a popular success, placing among the top six shows on the TVO network. Other TV credits include hosting eight network specials in Japan (performing in Japanese), and creating a pair of his own specials in Thailand. In 1994 he hosted a 12-part series for HTV in England, Something Strange with Max Maven, a talk-show exploring all aspects of the paranormal. The show set a ratings record, and led to a second series the following year. Max Mystery Show, a 13-part series, was a hit for the CTS network in Taiwan in 1995. He was the only regular on the ten-part Magiskt series for TV4 in Sweden; that show scored great ratings, and two more series followed, one for Norwegian television in early 1996, plus another for Sweden later that year. He has also appeared on shows in Finland, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile, and many other countries. Max is prominently featured on the 1998 PBS documentary The Art of Magic, as well as The Secret World on The Learning Channel. His television work in the year 2000 includes an appearance on Heroes of Magic on Channel 4 in Great Britain, and being the only regular guest on the Masters of Illusion series for the PAX network. Max is particularly well known for his pioneering work in interactive broadcasting. He created the ground-breaking video Max Maven's Mindgames for MCA. His games were a regular feature on the popular Best of Magic series for the ITV network in England. His interactive work was included on The World's Greatest Magic, NBC's highest rated special of 1994, and he was the first artist booked for the 1995 edition, and brought back yet again in 1997. When Landmark Entertainment developed Caesars Magical Empire for Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, they asked Max to devise a set of interactive mysteries that take place between customers and an impish wizard, 'Maximus Maven' eight inches tall, who appears 'holographically' behind the central bar. The wizard is named bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain modern performer. Max has also devised material for the world of computer technology, creating an interactive game disk entitled Max Magic for the Philips CD-i system; in its first few months of release, it won six industry awards. In 1999, Max was acknowledged in a special 'Interactive Magic' category of the World Magic Awards, broadcast on the FoxFamily network. In 2000, he was brought back to receive the 'Best Mentalist' prize. He has also received multiple awards from the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. In 1988 he was presented with the Tenkai Prize, the highest award in Japanese magic; this was the first time this honor was ever given to a foreign artist. Some years back, Max was named Lecturer of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle) in Hollywood, and in 1998 he was the recipient of a Creative Fellowship from that organization. The late Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has 'the most original mind in magic' He's published over 1700 creations in the conjuring literature, and been an advisor to over a hundred television shows. As a consultant he has worked with David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, Lance Burton, and many others. He has also directed revue shows for several major American gambling casinos. Recently, Magic magazine, the leading intraprofessional conjuring journal, published a list of the 100 most influential people in the field of theatrical magic during the 20th century. Included on the list is Max Maven, cited for 'entertaining and astonishing audiences with his bizarre brand of mental magic.... [M]ost of Maven's mind-boggling feats are accomplished through psychological subterfuge that he himself has cunningly created... If mystery does indeed give magic its meaning, then the enigmatic persona of Max Maven makes us ever mindful of the art that is hidden in the mystery of magic.' This ongoing exploration of the mysterious side of human nature led to Max Maven's Book of Fortunetelling, published by Prentice Hall in late 1992. He is a Senior Research Consultant to the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research in Michigan, and on the Board of Advisors of the California ScienCenter in Los Angeles, where his interactive material is featured in a new exhibit, Magic: The Science of Illusion, that will tour museums across North America through 2007. Currently in bookstores you can find The Complete Idiot's Guide to Magic by Tom Ogden, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Improving Your Memory by Michael Kurland and Richard Lupoff. Max Maven was the technical advisor for both. He has also created customized 'Maximize' seminars on mental efficiency and non-verbal communication for executives and salespeople from top corporations. Max Maven has a fascinating history. He has been a successful radio announcer, graphic designer, author, pianist, teacher, singer, actor, lecturer, screenwriter, composer, advertising consultant, and chef. He reads over 150 books and magazines each month, and this constant flow of information provides a continual stimulation of new ideas for presenting his uncanny abilities.  
• Nothing DVD mentalism show Max Maven traveled from Hollywood to Lake Tahoe. He brought NOTHING but a nice suit. On the way from the airport to the studio, he stopped at a supermarket for less than ten minutes and spent less than ten dollars. Once in his room, he spent less than half an hour preparing, and proceeded to go on stage and do a 50-minute performance of mentalism. Featuring Eugene Burger, Brandon Combs, Gene Matsuura, Stephen Minch, Jan Rose and Michael Weber. NO Pre-Show Work NO Stooges NO Clipboards NO Nailwriters NO Playing Cards NO ESP Cards NO Billets NO Wallets NO Gaffs NO Gimmicks NO Special Materials NO Muscle Reading NO Hypnotism NO Threads NO Mirrors NO Electronics NO Rough & Smooth NO Gilbreath Principle NO Filler in fact, NOTHING but solid mentalism and great entertainment. Let's be clear. This is not a cluster of 'substitute' stuff to make up for having lost your props. It is a full-length show of top-notch real world material, much of it revealed for the very first time. The complete work, including variations and options, plus discussion of performance structure, scripting segues, audience management, blocking, timing-everything thoroughly explained with an unprecedented degree of detail. Included is the rare 'Para-Sight' routine, out of print for over 25 years; copies of the original limited-release manuscript have sold for as much as $400. And that's something! A two-DVD set (with as much content as most three-DVD sets). Running time: 230 minutes, plus Easter Eggs and bonus material.  
• Videoclip Nothing mentalism  
• Volume One - Parlor Mentalism It's done under what can be the most difficult conditions: performing for a medium - sized audience with no formal stage setting to focus attention. Sightlines are often poor, and people must be drawn into the experience even if they can't see everything clearly. Too, you may be working surrounded, so you'd better be sure there are no angle problems. And, as it's likely to be a social occasion filled with potential distractions, your material needs to be compelling from the very first moment: intriguing presentations that build to powerful conclusions. This video features a range of commercial Parlor Mentalism. No pre-show work, no secret assistance; this is practical material for the solo performer, using subtle and unusual methods that are as fascinating as the effects they produce. You'll learn: The Mockingbird - A sampling from the fabled 'Birds of Prey' series. At its core, an inexplicable demonstration of playing card telepathy - but you'll discover how audience participation and an unfolding plot structure can transform an already strong effect into a full - fledged routine. Autome - An extraordinary book test using plain, ungimmicked props under the fairest conditions. This is a remarkable routine in and of itself, but it also introduces principles for which you'll find a host of other uses. Divine Write - (Previously Unrevealed): Mutual mentalism with built - in appeal. The performer tries an imposing experiment in clairvoyance, working simultaneously with a member of the audience. Despite the overwhelming odds, the outcome is successful for both! Zenvelopes: - A test of intuition using several participants and a number of ESP symbol cards hidden inside opaque envelopes. These are thoroughly mixed by the spectators, who then pair them off by playing their hunches. When the contents are examined, all the symbols have matched perfectly. Kurotsuke - (Previously Unrevealed) An ancient game from the imperial court of Japan is turned into a delightful routine of stand - up mentalism that lets several people get involved. And, best of all, it can be done entirely impromptu using only borrowed materials. The Mind's Eye Deck - A pack of some 40 design cards is used. Each one is different, and the deck is shuffled. While the performer's back is turned, a spectator removes a card. Without turning around, the mentalist starts describing the thought - of design, eventually drawing it on a pad of paper. It's as straightforward as that. Volume Two - Close-Up Mentalism Perhaps the most intimate form of entertainment that can be presented in public. It requires a delicate interplay in order to achieve a balance between the charming and the disquieting. This is material designed for very small groups, or even working one - on - one. This video features a range of commercial Close - Up Mentalism. No pre - show work, no secret assistance; this is practical material for the solo performer, using subtle and unusual methods that are as fascinating as the effects they produce. You'll learn: Shape - Up (Previously Unrevealed) - One card has been removed from as ESP deck. A person is invited to deal through the rest of the pack, turning cards face - up one by one and stopping at any time. The stopped - at symbol is the same as on the card that was previously set aside. Changeling - A pleasingly simple routine using a handful of ordinary coins, in which the mentalist successfully predicts precisely how many coins will be selected by the spectator. Isolation - The participant chooses which of several unprepared magazines will be used. That is opened to a random page, from which a random word is noted while the performer's head is turned away. In a convincing telepathic display, the mentalist extracts the word from the person's mind Key To The Future - An amiable variation on the classic 'Seven Keys to Baldpate' effect using an ungimmicked padlock and several keys, only one of which can open the lock. This time it is the spectator whose psychic abilities are tested. Will the working key be located - and will the performer know the outcome in advance? Symbalance (Previously Unrevealed) - A standard pack of ESP symbol cards is employed along with two participants. The mentalist divines the first person's thought - of design. He then discerns the second person's symbol with an offbeat demonstration of 'tactile intuition.'; Positive Negative - A lesson in spectator management in the form of an engaging bit of prognostic pantomime with a baffling payoff. Better yet, it's completely impromptu - you an do it with a moment's notice, using borrowed items. The Hawk - Another impossible card routine from the 'Birds of Prey' series. Two spectators select and replace cards while the performer's back is turned. They also shuffle the deck. Nevertheless, the mentalist deals through the face - down pack and stops on one selection, then tops that by promptly naming the other. Formal performance conditions: a stage, a schedule, and the obligation to entertain an audience of paying customers. What you need for this type of situation is material that will allow you to connect with a large group; routines that are efficiently structured for maximum impact so that they'll generate interest, maintain a robust energy level, and hold the spectators' attention from start to finish. Goal Mine (Previously Unrevealed) - This is an ideal opener: a routine of mental persuasion that serves to establish the performer's credentials, gets several audience members involved, has a climax that virtually guarantees laughter and applause - and all of the props can fit in your breast pocket. Tossed - Out Tech (Previously Unrevealed) - One of the most valuable techniques of mentalism has also been one of the least understood - until now. This section covers an effect that has been a feature item in Max Maven's professional repertoire for over two decades. This is not a basic 'bare bones' description; it is an in - depth analysis; knowledge developed through years of study, and honed during thousands of performances. The information that is disclosed here constitutes a virtual 'post - graduate course' in mentalism. Khan Artist (Previously Unrevealed) - The performer forecasts how members of the audience will rearrange a set of symbols. The props are so uncomplicated, so innocent in appearance....it's no wonder that this deceptively simple effect has hoodwinked some of the keenest minds in the business. Contimental - Could there be more direct exhibition of mindreading? Consider this: A spectator thinks of an international location; the mentalist reveals it. The end. There's no advance work, nothing is written down, and there are no props required. You can even perform this over the elephone Psign - A prediction, quick and to the point. A large board is displayed, back - out. A spectator selects one of eight different designs, which proves to be the very one printed on the front of the board. The participant can stay seated in the audience - leaving the performer alone on stage at the finish, to accept all of the applause.  

• A Richard Osterlind website Thank you for your interest in world-renowned mentalist Richard Osterlind. If you're interested in retaining Richard Osterlind's services for your event or function, you're invited to visit his online brochure by clicking here. If you're a mentalist or magician interested in Richard Osterlind's books, videos and performance materials for professional entertainers, click here to continue. Richard Osterlind is an entertainer who is considered by many to be the foremost Mentalist performing in the English language. His unique blend of ability, talent and humor create a comfortable and relaxed, yet challenging and stimulating experience for participants as well as members of the audience. The range of his abilities includes ESP, Mindreading, Psychokinesis, and Suggestion. The types of tests in a typical performance can include asking participants to concentrate on subjects they would like to share; names of friends, children, pets, phone numbers, addresses, locations. Basic routine facts of every day life. Richard will focus with them, and tell them their thoughts. He can predict the word an audience member will select at random from a recent TIME/NEWSWEEK type of magazine. He will bend metal, and with certain participants assist them in bending metal. Osterlind possesses a degree of flexibility that enables him to entertain intimate groups, hospitality suites, on the trade show floor, or a stage show in the theater / banquet setting. This flexibility provides the option of a multiple impact opportunity; he can perform in any or all of the formats depending on the structure of the program. Audiences from Beijing to Boston; Monte Carlo to Mexico City; Calgary to Cleveland have been astounded by his work. He has been invited for return engagements by many of the CEO's and event planners he has amazed. The level of sophistication, integrity and humor create an environment that will impress even the skeptics among the audience. Should your entertainment needs require a performer that is unique, flexible, committed to excellence and concerned with your interests regarding the overall success of the function, Richard Osterlind is the best choice. Richard Osterlind has the ability to perform in several diverse, yet complimentary formats. His adaptability, along with his flexibility, allow clients to maximize their entertainment investment, while reaping a tremendous return from the enjoyment and utter amazement of attendees. We will outline the different possibilities and suggest appropriate formats for types of events. Through our many years of working with Osterlind the most prevalent bit of feedback, after his extraordinary talent, has been regarding his sincere desire to entertain in a manner that is most effective for the total enjoyment of the audience. Simply put, he will do what ever is necessary to insure that client and attendee alike are in awe of his abilities. Conferences - Corporate Functions - Conventions - Trade Shows - Fundraisers, Social Functions Walk-Around (Close Up) Osterlind will approach individuals and small groups and perform tests that include having subjects think of names people, places, dates and events, numbers. He may also engage in psychokinetic exercises like having someone loan him a penny, and bending it, without the use of physical force. Stage Show The Stage Show typically follows a dinner. Osterlind will invite audience members to the stage to assist him in several different types of tests. The role of the audience volunteer is basically to concentrate on thoughts Osterlind might suggest or thoughts of the volunteer, and to report to the audience the accurateness of the exercise. He read individual minds of the audience as a whole, either from the stage or the house floor. This is extremely effective. Hospitality Suite Many organizations host hospitality suites at conventions and trade shows, featuring Osterlind performing at specific hours, usually at the end of the business day. This format has proven to be such a benefit several corporations have been using him for over a decade. The most effective types of tests are of the Walk-Around type although, given the circumstances, anything is possible. Trade Show Booth Richard Osterlind has become quite popular as a Trade Show performer. He is termed a 'traffic stopper'. His function is to draw attention to the client booth, bringing potential customers into the booth. Once again, he has clients that have considered him an effective member of their marketing team for many years. The tests in this format are a cross-section of all the disciplines, as well as an integration of client product message. Multiple Impact Opportunities Flexibility and adaptability are constant themes in our discussion of Richard Osterlind. We emphasize his ability to you to maximize your entertainment investment dollar. Organizations that participate in events that occur over several days, venues, and formats,(conventions, conferences, and trade shows),take full advantage of these attributes while minimizing talent costs and related travel and production expenses. Osterlind can perform in any or all of the previously mentioned options, based on the needs of the group and particular function.   If you need entertainment that is unique, fun and absolutely unforgettable, don't settle for that same old song and dance! Use your head - and let your guests use theirs! Give them something to think about - the rare gift of laughter and amazement, wit and wonder, for an occasion they'll be talking about long after the lights are out and the party's over!     
• Guest Osterlind The Magic Café Richard Osterlind has always been a bit of an enigma when it comes to his involvement with the world of magic and magicians. He will release a number of books and effects and then disappear from the scene, sometimes for years at a time, before he’s heard from again. When he resurfaces, however, he always has another batch of strong, straightforward material that never fails to create a sensation among performers who recognize commercial, audience-tested material when they see it. As prodigious as his output has been over the years, however, Osterlind has never made his living from selling books, videos or effects or from prowling the lecture circuit. He’s too busy performing at some of the most prestigious venues in the world for movers and shakers throughout the corporate world. He’s performed three times in Monte Carlo and his travels have also taken him to such disparate places as Bejing, Mexico, the UK, Bermuda, Finland and the Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic. What’s more, he always performs material of his own devising, diabolical secrets that generate spontaneous standing ovations and re-bookings time after time. The only thing more amazing than Osterlind’s creations is the fact that he freely shares all of them with the mentalism and magic communities. Richard Osterlind was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1948. Bridgeport was once the home of another famous showman, P.T. Barnum, so it seems fitting in some way that Osterlind would obtain his first magic trick, a coin slide, at the age of 6 at a performance of the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus under an open tent in Seaside Park. Other magic sets followed, of course, and by the age of 10, Osterlind was performing magic shows for his friends in the family basement. By this time, the family had moved to Ansonia, a smaller town north of Bridgeport, and Osterlind’s interest in magic began to wane during his high school and college years. Music had become his new calling and his skills as a drummer led in exciting new directions. It was during a trip into New York City to play at the Bitter End, one of the Village’s hot jazz and rock clubs, that Osterlind decided, on a whim, to stop by Tannen’s, the legendary magic shop then situated right in mid-town. This brief visit re-ignited his passion for magic and, in short order, he bought a set of The Tarbell Course in Magic and worked at joining the local International Brotherhood of Magicians ring. As a matter of fact, for his initiation show, he learned Dai Vernon’s Cups and Balls routine, practicing endlessly to make sure it was perfect so he would be allowed entrance into the club. He later mused that at the time, he didn’t realize that learning “any old trick” would have gotten him in. However, Osterlind’s skills were not lost on the members who thought he was incredibly gifted, not realizing that the Vernon routine was the only trick he knew at the time! He soon became intensely interested in mentalism and began doing mental effects for interested persons during band breaks. In fact, it was the bass player in Osterlind’s band that got him his first mentalism gig at a local Chamber of Commerce function and as necessity is often the mother of invention, he created his first original effect for that show, an impression device that turned out to be clever, practical and fiercely original. Later marketed as “IMPAD,” this would be only the first in a number of inventions, many of which would go on to be part of the arsenal of mentalists everywhere. By this time, Osterlind was performing shows often, some magic others purely mentalism but it wasn’t long before his love for the latter won out. Even during a lengthy, seven-year sojourn as the house magician at a luxury hotel in Stamford, along Connecticut’s “gold coast,” he was mixing in more and more mentalism. He had also started to study stage hypnotism and began doing hypnotism shows. In the ensuing twenty years, Osterlind became a full-time performer, moving from the college to the corporate market, doing less shows for more money and traveling to places most only dream of. During this time, he’s created an amazing body of work. Besides “IMPAD,” his marketed effects include “CHANGE OF MIND,” “TWO-FACED,” “RADAR DECK,” “APEX STAINLESS STEEL BLINDFOLD,” “INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH LINK,” “JOURNEY INTO HYPNOTISM,” “SEAFIRE SEQUENCE,” “EPITOME BOARD, “ULTRA BOARD,” “THOUGHT SCAN,” and the “S.O.S. BAG,” perhaps the last word on Annemann’s Pseudo-Psychometry plot and his own unique take on the classic “MENTAL EPIC.” Some of his newer effects are “TRANSPARENT FORCES” and “ODDS,” a routine that takes the design duplication effect into new dimensions. His published works include Three Miracle Routines, Two Perfected Routines, Dynamic Mysteries, The Very Modern Mindreader and The Osterlind Breakthrough Card System – 20th Anniversary Edition, an updating of his classic stacking system, complete with new hints, ideas and effects. His “trilogy,” Making Magic Real, Making Real Magic and Essays has gathered widespread critical acclaim. More recently he released The Memorized Breakthrough, The Perfected Center Tear and other assorted routines and The Business of Magic, which contains some of the best advice for the professional performer on how to make money in this business. He’s contributed to many publications including Bascom Jones’ Magick, Apocalypse, The Linking Ring, The Magic Menu, and many of Al Mann’s mentalism manuscripts. Richard is currently working on a NEW book called The Principles of Magic. Osterlind’s work is also represented on video in Challenge Magic, a video released some eleven years ago and the more recent Richard Osterlind’s Mind Mysteries and Easy To Master Mental Miracles published by L&L Publishing. His new video release will be available later this year. Richard moved to Kentucky in 2000 where he lives with his wife, Lisa and his 2 stepdaughters, Megan and Brittany. They recently purchased their new raised colonial house (yes, it DOES have 2 white pillars!) where Richard has his “Magic Workshop.” It is here and at his computer that he creates his new material. Though his presence has ebbed and flowed from the magic marketplace over the years, sometimes due to circumstances beyond his control, this time Osterlind says he’s back to stay. All of his material is safely back in his hands and he’s making it available to the magic and mentalism communities through dealers and also through his own website 
• Master Miracles DVD set Volume One Swami Opener Magic Vs. Mindreading A Question & The Answer Extra-Sensory Perception A Word in Thousands El Numero Syd Bergson Center Read Telephone Directory Seven Keys To Baldpate Marked Thought In this exciting video event, Richard Osterlind, one of the world's top mentalists, opens the vaults and reveals the inner workings of some of the best mentalism ever created. Not self-working, but by no means difficult to do, these classic effects already make up the repertoires of some of the finest mentalists working today. Richard Osterlind has combed the vast literature of mentalism to find the strongest mentalism and mental magic effects ever created by past and present masters of the art and each will astound even the most sophisticated audience. Watch Richard perform them all before an astonished live audience and then go behind the scenes as he, along with host Jim Sisti, explains the diabolical methods. Combined with the Real Secrets of what makes these effects work, this series is destined to become a classic resource for those seeking to learn the art of mentalism. Volume Two Magic Medallion Five Star Prediction Clip Line Hoy Book Test Blindfold Routine Flip Flop Flush Ultimate Matrix The Trick That Fooled Einstein Mental Numbers Headline Prediction In this exciting video event, Richard Osterlind, one of the world's top mentalists, opens the vaults and reveals the inner workings of some of the best mentalism ever created. Not self-working, but by no means difficult to do, these classic effects already make up the repertoires of some of the finest mentalists working today. Richard Osterlind has combed the vast literature of mentalism to find the strongest mentalism and mental magic effects ever created by past and present masters of the art and each will astound even the most sophisticated audience. Watch Richard perform them all before an astonished live audience and then go behind the scenes as he, along with host Jim Sisti, explains the diabolical methods. Combined with the Real Secrets of what makes these effects work, this series is destined to become a classic resource for those seeking to learn the art of mentalism. Volume Three Par-Optic Vision Fourth Dimensional Telepathy The Third Choice Locked Eye Test Locked Hands Test The Abnormal Lift Tervil Impromptu Book Test Slate Writing Living & Dead Encore Card Stabbing In this exciting video event, Richard Osterlind, one of the world's top mentalists, opens the vaults and reveals the inner workings of some of the best mentalism ever created. Not self-working, but by no means difficult to do, these classic effects already make up the repertoires of some of the finest mentalists working today. Richard Osterlind has combed the vast literature of mentalism to find the strongest mentalism and mental magic effects ever created by past and present masters of the art and each will astound even the most sophisticated audience. Watch Richard perform them all before an astonished live audience and then go behind the scenes as he, along with host Jim Sisti, explains the diabolical methods. Combined with the Real Secrets of what makes these effects work, this series is destined to become a classic resource for those seeking to learn the art of mentalism. Volume Four Acidus Plus Magazine Test Pateo Force Pseudo Psychometry Predict-Tac-Toe Synonymental Original Center Tear Viewed ESP Prediction Spoon Bending Key Bending Phantom Artist In this exciting video event, Richard Osterlind, one of the world's top mentalists, opens the vaults and reveals the inner workings of some of the best mentalism ever created. Not self-working, but by no means difficult to do, these classic effects already make up the repertoires of some of the finest mentalists working today. Richard Osterlind has combed the vast literature of mentalism to find the strongest mentalism and mental magic effects ever created by past and present masters of the art and each will astound even the most sophisticated audience. Watch Richard perform them all before an astonished live audience and then go behind the scenes as he, along with host Jim Sisti, explains the diabolical methods. Combined with the Real Secrets of what makes these effects work, this series is destined to become a classic resource for those seeking to learn the art of mentalism.  
• Mind Mysteries 1 DVD set The Act It's a rare thing when one of mentalism's leading minds divulges the secrets to his professional act-the material he's been earning a living with for decades. Yet, on this volume of an extraordinary video series, that's exactly what Richard Osterlind does - sharing not only the methods, but the fine details, of the powerhouse effects he's been wowing corporate and trade show audiences all over the world with. Watch him amaze the audience in performance and then go behind the scenes as Osterlind, along with host Jim Sisti, shows you how it's all done. Bank Night - Osterlind's original, tried and proven version of a classic, complete with a commercial kicker that will endear you to any audience. A great opener for any act! The Perfected Center Tear - Complete instruction in the ultimate version of Osterlind's legendary center tear, which can be done in slow motion and completely surrounded. You rip up the paper...and return all of the pieces! Radar Deck - Four spectators just think of a card and the performer names them all! The full workings and never-before-disclosed handling tips are here, including instructions on how to make your own Radar Deck. Watch Routine - One spectator thinks of a time while another turns the hands of a face-down watch. When the watch is turned over, it's found to display the first spectator's thought-of time. Perform this miracle anywhere, anytime...and with any watch! Thought Scan - Originally marketed for $250.00, Osterlind's version of the classic Q&A routine is an act in itself. If one could actually read minds, it would look like this! Magazine Test - In this never-before-released miracle, the performer predicts the word a spectator will circle on a freely-selected page in a magazine. This was the finale for Richard Osterlind's act for many years. Linking Finger Rings - Wedding bands borrowed from three spectators are linked together in the fairest manner possible. This routine has been called the very best version of this classic effect ever conceived and this is the clearest and most-detailed explanation of the real work. The Osterlind Breakthrough Card System In this volume of Richard Osterlind's landmark video series, he shares perhaps his greatest contribution to magic and mentalism-the Breakthrough Card System, considered by many to be the most ingenious playing card stack ever devised. The spectators could look at the cards for hours and never discover its devilish secret and, for the first time, Richard Osterlind, along with host Jim Sisti, shares twenty years of effects, performance tips, ideas and shortcuts with his inspired creation. Card Calling - A group of cards are removed from a shuffled jumbo-sized deck and the performer names them all. This effect, one that will play to the largest audience, has been a staple in Osterlind's stage show for over two decades. Two Cards in Pocket - A spectator places two cards in his pockets from a deck he's been mixing. Not only does the performer name them but also divines which one is in which pocket. This is a true killer! Challenge Mind Reading - A thought-of card is named without the performer ever touching the deck. Quite possibly the most impossible-looking card trick ever! Corinda Effect - The performer names a card that was reversed in the deck by a spectator while he was holding the deck underneath the table. This is the trick that started it all! Blackjack Demonstration - Your spectators will be convinced that you are the greatest blackjack player ever! You not only know their hole card but also instruct them, quite successfully, on how to play their hands! Assorted Mysteries In the third volume of this groundbreaking video series, Richard Osterlind shares some of his most treasured Mind Mysteries. There are impromptu miracles to perform for friends at the dinner table along with more elaborate pieces suitable for large stage audiences. Watch him as he baffles a live audience and then go behind the scenes as Osterlind, along with host Jim Sisti, shows you how it's all done. Sweeter and Lower - Osterlind updates his classic 'Sweet and Low' effect. A signed packet of sweetener is torn and restored under extremely fair conditions. Change of Mind- This novel routine allows you to predict the coins that spectators will remove from their pockets. Complete instructions are given for making the ingenious gimmick and Osterlind supplies handlings for both close-up and stage. Spoon Bending - Learn how Richard Osterlind bends spoons in the fairest and most visual way. A knockout technique that amazes audiences. Radio Sum Total - Osterlind's version of Larry Becker's basic effect where the audience forms the problem to a mathematical answer that's already on display. Suitable for a live audience and even more amazing to perform on the radio! Uncanny - An ordinary playing card slowly turns over by itself to reveal it's the thought-of card. No threads, magnets or other gimmicks are used! The Nail Writer - Osterlind's personal handling, plus additional tips, for this ingenious tool. Lottery Effect - The performer predicts the winning lottery number that 3 spectators freely form. Cell Phone Effect - An audience member with a cell phone calls anyone they know and asks them to select a number. It matches the performer's prediction. Bill in Cigarette - A spectator's signed bill is destroyed and found inside a borrowed cigarette. An incredibly easy and astounding way to perform this classic effect. More Assorted Mysteries In this final volume of his amazing video series, Richard Osterlind performs some of his most well-known routines in addition to some new, astounding effects that have never been revealed before. You'll see how strong this material is in front of a live audience and then you'll go behind the scenes as Osterlind, along with host Jim Sisti, shows you how it's all done. Glass of Water Production - Osterlind's classic glass of water production from an empty and examined paper bag. Paul Daniels and many other stars of magic have featured this on their television specials. Imp Pad - Duplicate one of Dunninger's Brain Busters! This is the real way to get information before the show. Plus, complete instructions are given on how to construct the ingenious pad. Marked Coin in Bottle - In this version of one of magic's classic effects, the coin is marked by a spectator before being magically passed into a soda bottle by the performer. The spectator's marked coin is actually in the bottle, which must be smashed in order to retrieve the coin. Signed Torn and Restored Post-It Note - An ordinary Post-It Note is signed and torn to pieces. The performer restores and returns the signed Note in the fairest possible way. Spike Bending - Metal bending for a large stage audience! The performer passes out huge spikes for examination and then apparently bends them with the power of his mind in full view! S.O.S. Pseudo-Psychometry Bag - Five spectators drop personal items into a black cloth bag without the performer knowing which person the items belong to. The performer returns each item to its proper owner while giving a psychometric reading for each. Signed Torn and Restored Newspaper - This is the most guarded secret in this video series! Any page is selected from a newspaper and signed by a spectator. The paper is torn in half five times and then restored. The signed paper is then returned to the spectator to keep as a souvenir. What's more, the performer is totally clean at the effect's conclusion. This effect has been fooling the best minds in magic for over 15 years and is finally being released!  
• Mind Mysteries 2 DVD set Richard Osterlind's Mind Mysteries Too Mind Mysteries Too continues on from the high-water mark set by the first Mind Mysteries series, one of the best-selling video sets in magic history. Transcending the boundaries of traditional mentalism and magic, Mind Mysteries Too completes the circle of Richard Osterlind's life work to date. You'll see Richard captivating and astounding a studio audience with his original material and then you'll go behind the scenes once again, along with host Jim Sisti, as he explains every nuance of the inner workings of each effect. What's more, each set of performances is arranged as a mini-show, demonstrating Richard Osterlind's classical approach to routining, an invaluable lesson in itself! If you enjoyed Mind Mysteries, as thousands did, you'll love these Mind Mysteries Too! VOLUME 5 Set One ULTRA BOARD-For the first time on video, see Richard Osterlind perform his classic Mental Epic type effect with an ungimmicked board! SPOON BEND-A totally new bend with an ordinary spoon that looks impossible! This takes spoon bending to new heights! FORK BEND-Three forks just melt over at the mentalist's command! It looks like power shoots from the mentalist's hands! THE VERY MODERN MINDREADER-This is a whole act that uses nothing but a few cards and envelopes. This one can make your reputation as a mind reader! DIGITAL FEEDBACK-This is the best calculator effect ever! You will stun your audience numerous times and leave them with an ending they will remember! Set Two INSIDE THE FOLD-This is one of Richard's most cherished secrets! An audience member calls out a number. He is handed a folded card which has been in the performer's empty hands from the beginning. The chosen number is predicted inside. It is that clean! STAINLESS STEEL BLINDFOLD-This is one of the classics of mentalism. See Richard perform his favorite routine right out of the manual! PENOMENALLY (PSYCHIC CONTROL)-A pen placed on a bottle moves at the mentalist's command! There are no threads and the movement is totally under the performer's control! Set Three STOPPING A WATCH-The actual mechanics of stopping watches and changing the times are demonstrated. Richard discusses the applications to many types of watches. Also included is controlling a compass and how to mentally destroy a hotel room key! VOLUME 6 Set FOUR MIRACLE FLYING CARDS-See Richard do his classic routine in a new updated fashion in front of a large audience. You will see why this has been called one of the best stand-up card effects ever created! SPIRIT WRITING ON CARD-This is a totally new routine! A number of blank and ungimmicked index cards are displayed. One is chosen and a design is called out. When a lighter is run across the card, the chosen design is burned into the card! Richard also shows how to control the flame of a lighter! MULTIPLE KEY BENDING-This is Richard's personal routine for bending a number of borrowed keys in the hands of a spectator! See how Richard uses suggestion to first cause her hands to lock together and how she feels the keys bending! The best method for bending keys on stage! CLIP LINE DELUXE-Once you see this effect, you will really understand what's so special about Richard's thinking! The classic Clip Line effect is performed in such a way as to look totally impossible even if you know the original secret! This is spectacular! Set FIVE AMAZING MEMORY DEMONSTRATION-This may be the most important routine in the series! Not only will you learn one of the most stunning demonstrations you can perform, but the advice Richard gives could change the very way you live! STENO ESP-This is Richard's method of doing the classic Mental Epic-type effect with nothing but a steno pad! Not only is this easy and fun, but you will see how Richard's thinking reverses some of the workings! Set SIX OUT OF HAND-This routine has long been unavailable. It won widespread acceptance when it first appeared on Richard's Challenge Magic. With this, you will have one of the most entertaining Six-Card Repeat-type effects ever invented! INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH LINK-The performer repeatedly links and unlinks a large industrial spring from a coat hanger with ease while the spectator fails every time! The routine grows in impossibility until the spring actually unlinks in the spectator's hand! COIN SNATCH-Richard Osterlind's own way of doing the old classic with a clever new addition which will convince your audience that you have the fastest hands in the world! ORIGINAL INSIDE OUT-This is the first time this effect has appeared anywhere! A single folded card repeatedly turns itself inside out with just a wave of the hand! The effect grows as a paper clip is placed onto it. What's more, the card is given out at the end! VOLUME 7 Set SEVEN QUESTION AND ANSWER ACT-This act is worth the price of the whole series! Questions are written by the audience and collected in open view. Still the mentalist answers them in an impossible way! Not only is this act new and stunning, it is the simplest Q&A act of them all! You will LOVE this! Set EIGHT TEST CONDITIONS II-Remember the Test Condition Card Effect from Richard's first series? This is another effect with the Breakthrough Card System that will floor even advanced card men! You find a chosen card under impossible conditions after the spectator returns the card himself and shuffles the deck! TRIBUTE TO TARBELL-A spectator thinks of a card. Another spectator brings her hand down on the spread deck and finds the first person's card! A killer anytime, anywhere mystery! PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPOSSIBILITY-A mentally chosen card mysteriously vanishes from one half of a deck to appear in the performer's pocket! See how Richard takes a standard effect and turns it into a major mystery! MATCHBOOK PREDICTION-This is one of the most entertaining and mysterious card effects you can do! A chosen card appears on the inside cover of a book of matches not onceâ€'but twice! The audience howls with delight! Set NINE ESP STACK-Richard shows his new ESP stack and how it is used to duplicate the actual tests devised for these cards. This routine looks just like the real thing! OSTERLIND DESIGN DUPLICATION (ODDS)-Richard's revolutionary method of doing the design duplication effect. This routine was developed based on actual laboratory techniques for testing ESP and is the closest thing to real ESP! ASHES ON THE ARM-The classic effect is updated by Richard. A spectator writes the initials of a family member on a piece of paper which is burned. The ashes from the burned paper are rubbed on the mentalist's arm (or hand) and the initials appear in the ashes! This looks uncanny! Set TEN PEN PADDLE MOVE-This is Richard's trademark routine which he uses in trade shows. The writing on a pen repeatedly appears and vanishes. You will be amazed at the effect Richard achieves using this classic principle! DAD'S FAVORITE-The spectator cuts a deck of cards over and over into four final piles. The top cards are turned over and found to be the four Aces! This amazing effect was actually taught to Richard by his father when he was a young boy! HAUNTED KEY-Richard performs the classic Haunted Key effect using the methods from his classic book, Making Magic Real. You will see how the key turns over with no movement of the performer's hands! SOLID GHOST-This classic is one of Richard's favorites! A solid ghost appears inside the dark recesses of a folded handkerchief! It is tapped with a spoon and felt by a spectator before it disappears back into nothingness! Watch how Richard uses this to close the show!
• What magic and mentalism on television should look like! This incredible DVD set features Richard Osterlind as the star of three simulated television shows. Watch Richard dazzle the audience with real-time, mind-boggling mysteries and, as the title of the set implies, there are absolutely no camera tricks, stooges or pre-show work! What's more, this broadcast-quality material can also be used on stage and for close-up performances. These are secrets of the highest quality with everything from the latest innovative ideas from the fertile mind of Richard Osterlind to some of the most cherished hidden mysteries from other masters. Not only will you receive a wealth of astonishing and usable material, but it is presented in one of the most entertaining formats ever attempted in the magic instructional DVD genre. This is Richard Osterlind at his highest performing level! Additionally, you will see the commercial bumpers that feature Richard performing live in a restaurant and other public places - real-time performing under real-world conditions! See why Richard always shines in the numerous other bonuses contained on each disc! Richard Osterlind has been a top corporate mentalist for over three decades. His travels have taken him from Beijing to Bermuda, Monte Carlo to Mexico City, Calgary to Kona. His level of sophistication, integrity and humor create an environment that has impressed audiences around the world. He is constantly invited for return engagements by the CEOs and event planners of the Fortune 500 companies he has amazed! Jim Sisti is a successful East Coast magician specializing in both stage and close-up entertainment. He was the creator and editor of The Magic Menu periodical and has contributed columns and articles to a good number of magic's leading publications. He also has an extensive background in broadcasting. Both Richard and Jim feel that all TV magic and mentalism should be free of camera and editing tricks. This was always the unbreakable rule during the Golden Age of Television. Together, they conceived the idea for this DVD series in order to demonstrate that a television performance can be intriguing, amazing and entertaining without outside help from the special effects crew! Within these shows you will find no camera tricks, no strategic editing, no stooges and no pre-show work. In addition, all of the material was performed live without any retakes. This is truly magic on TV - not TV magic! Disc One Running Time Approximately 2hr 10min Disc Two Running Time Approximately 2hr 6min Disc Three Running Time Approximately 1hr 41min
• Videoclip Mental Mysteries
• Videoclip Radar Deck

• Born to Jewish parents from Hungary and Austria, Geller was named after a cousin who had been killed in a bus accident. According to Geller, he first became aware of his paranormal abilities when he was four, claiming that after a light from the sky knocked him to the ground, his spoon bent and broke. Geller is a distant relative of Sigmund Freud on his mother's side.[7] He served as a paratrooper in the Israeli Army,[8] and was wounded in action during the 1967 Six-Day War.[9] He worked as a photographic model in 1968 and 1969, and in the same year, he began to perform for small audiences as a nightclub entertainer,[10] becoming well-known in Israel[citation needed]. Geller also became popular in the early 1970s in the United States. He also received attention from the scientific community who were interested in examining his claims of psychic abilities. At the peak of his career in the 1970s he worked full-time, performing for television audiences worldwide. He claims that he has accumulated wealth in part by performing dowsing services to find commodities such as oil, gold, and minerals, but that the companies he has worked for are reluctant to admit it. In recent years, he has performed demonstrations such as spoon-bending much less frequently in public. Geller currently lives in Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire, England. He makes various personal appearances, is involved with art and design projects, and contributes articles to newspapers, magazines, and an Internet web column. He is a vegan and speaks four languages: English, Hebrew, Hungarian and German. He owns a 1976 Cadillac adorned with thousands of pieces of bent tableware given to him by celebrities or otherwise having historical or other significance. It includes spoons from celebrities such as John Lennon and the Spice Girls, and those with which Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy ate. Geller designed the logo for popular music group *NSYNC [citation needed] and contributed artwork to Michael Jackson's CD, 'Invincible.' Jackson was best man when Geller renewed his wedding vows in 2001.[11] He also negotiated the famous TV interview between Jackson with the journalist Martin Bashir: 'Living with Michael Jackson'.[12] In BBC television interviews, Geller has since admitted that he has not been in contact with Jackson since this time. Geller says that he has split with Jackson because of anti-Semitic statements he had purportedly made.[13] In an appearance on Esther Rantzen's 1996 television talk show Esther, Geller claimed to have suffered from Anorexia nervosa for several years. Geller is the president of International Friends of Magen David Adom, a group that lobbied the International Committee of the Red Cross to recognise Magen David Adom ('Red Star of David') as a humanitarian relief organisation.[citation needed] In 2002, he became honorary co-chairman of the English Nationwide Conference football club Exeter City, who were relegated to the Nationwide Conference in May 2003. He has since severed formal ties with the club. The same year, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of the British reality TV show, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!. In 2007 Geller hosted a reality show in Israel called 'The Successor' ('?????'), where the contestants performed magic tricks and Geller was accused of 'trickery'.[14] He has also written sixteen fiction and nonfiction books. [edit] Controversy and criticism Geller's claims of paranormal powers receive little support within the mainstream scientific community[15] and his critics see him as a very successful con artist.[16] [edit] Parallels to stage magic Geller admits 'Sure, there are magicians who can duplicate it [his performances] through trickery.'[17] He claims that even though his demonstrations could have been done using trickery, he happens to use psychic powers to achieve his results.[17] Skeptic James Randi, such as in Secrets of the Psychics, has stated that if Geller is truly using his mind to perform these feats, 'he is doing it the hard way'.[18] Stage magicians note several methods of creating the illusion of a spoon spontaneously bending. Most common is the practice of misdirection, an underlying principle of many stage magic tricks.[19] There are many ways in which a bent spoon can be presented to an audience as to give the appearance it was done with supernatural powers. One way is through one or several brief moments of distraction in which a magician can physically bend a spoon unseen by the audience.[20] Then the bend is gradually revealed creating the illusion that the spoon is bending before the viewers' eyes.[21] Another way, if a performer does not bend the spoon with force during the performance is by pre-bending them and thus reducing the amount of force later needed to be applied.[22] Geller claims in 'telepathic drawing' demonstrations that he is able to read subjects' minds as they draw a picture. Although in these demonstrations he cannot see the picture being drawn, he is sometimes present in the room and on those occasions can see the subjects as they draw. Critics argue this may allow Geller to infer common shapes from pencil movement and sound, with the power of suggestion doing the rest.[23] [edit] Disagreements over measuring success Critics note Geller's demonstrations are not always successful. For example, he is not always able during his 'telepathic' drawing demonstrations to define the shape or image drawn. [1] Geller has also at times canceled performances or failed to produce the expected results, sometimes blaming his apparent lack of psychic power on some interference, exhaustion, or lack of cooperation by the subjects. He was paid to investigate the kidnapping of Hungarian model Helga Farkas, and, although he predicted she would be found alive and in good health, she was murdered by her kidnappers [2]. He was reportedly unable to bend a spoon for Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman, as mentioned in Feynman's book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. 1993 TV show Secrets of the Psychics. Geller was unable to bend any tableware during a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show in which the spoons he was to bend had been preselected by Johnny Carson. Earlier in his career, Carson had been an amateur stage magician, as had James Randi, who advised Carson on how to thwart potential trickery. Randi explained in a 1993 Secrets of the Psychics for the NOVA television series: 'I was asked to prevent any trickery. I told them to provide their own props and not to let Geller or his people anywhere near them.' Geller's critics often disagree with him about the degree of success actually achieved during demonstrations. For instance, his television appearances have frequently involved viewer interaction, and among the viewers there are very often callers who claim to have located bent spoons or restarted clocks after Geller appeared on TV. Skeptics maintain this does not necessarily indicate paranormal success, and speculate that about half of all stopped mechanical clocks can be at least temporarily restarted simply by moving them around.[24] In his telepathy demonstrations, Geller reveals his answer slowly while asking whether he is on the right track. This approach is consistent with a stage magic technique known as cold reading, in which a magician tricks a subject into revealing information by suggesting that he already knows it. Geller's approach is apparent in an interview on the Gerry Ryan radio show on February 20, 2002: Ryan: 'Are you getting the image that I'm sending to you? I'm concentrating very hard on it at the moment.' Geller: 'It's very, very hard for me because, you know...' Ryan: 'Just say what comes into your head, what's in your head?' Geller: 'Well the first thing that I drew was a ... it had a triangular shape at the top. Am I very wrong?' Ryan: 'I have sent you an image of the Pyramids. That's it! Are you really? You're not pulling my leg? No!' Geller: 'Gerry, I swear to you I drew a pyramid, and I also drew the stones in the pyramid, but I was not sure, so the first image that came into my mind was a triangle and then I drew the lines in it as the stones.' [edit] Testing Geller's performances of drawing duplication and cutlery bending usually take place under informal conditions such as television interviews. During his early career he did allow some scientists to investigate his claims. A study by Stanford Research Institute researchers Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ concluded that he had clearly performed successfully enough to warrant further serious study, and the 'Geller-effect', was coined to refer to the particular type of abilities they felt had been demonstrated.[25] Geller's 'watch fixing' abilities do not impress 'watch makers' who note 'many supposedly broken watches had merely been stopped by gummy oil, and simply holding them in the hand would warm the oil enough to soften it and allow watches to resume ticking.'[26] In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Randi wrote 'Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, who studied Mr. Geller at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as Stanford Research International) were aware, in one instance at least, that they were being shown a magician's trick by Geller.'[27] Moreover, Randi explained, 'Their protocols for this 'serious' investigation of the powers claimed by Geller were described by Dr. Ray Hyman, who investigated the project on behalf of a U.S. funding agency, as 'sloppy and inadequate'.'[28] Other critics of this 'testing' include Dr David Marks and the late Dr Richard Kammann. They published a description of how Geller cheated in an informal test of his ESP powers in 1977 [29]. Their 1978 article in Nature and 1980 book, The Psychology of the Psychic (2nd ed. 2000) described how a perfectly normal explanation was possible for Geller's alleged powers of telepathy. Marks and Kammann found strong evidence that while at SRI Geller was allowed to peek through a hole in the laboratory wall separating Geller from the drawings he was being invited to reproduce. The drawings he was asked to reproduce were placed on a wall opposite the peep hole which the investigators Targ and Puthoff had stuffed with cotton gauze. In addition to this error, the investigators had also allowed Geller access to a two-way intercom enabling Geller to listen to the investigators' conversation during the time when they were choosing and/or displaying the target drawings. These basic errors indicate the high importance of ensuring that psychologists, magicians or other people with an in-depth knowldege of perception, who are trained in methods for blocking sensory cues, be present during the testing of self-proclaimed psychics. In addition to describing how Uri Geller quite probably fooled the physicists at SRI, among many others, David Marks recorded Uri Geller bending a key on film. This event occurred during Geller's visit to New Zealand in the 1970s. This film actually shows how Geller cleverly misdirected onlookers while gripping the key in both hands and bending it. [edit] Noel Edmonds footage Noel Edmonds was a television prankster who often used hidden cameras to record celebrities in Candid Camera-like situations for his television programme, Noel's House Party. In 1996, Edmonds planned a stunt in which shelves would fall from the walls of a room while Geller was in it. The cameras recorded footage of Geller from angles he wasn't expecting, and they showed Geller grasping a spoon firmly with both hands as he stood up to display a bend in it.[3] Geller later claimed that he knew that Edmonds' crew had been filming, and that he made the shelves fall off the wall with his psychic powers. [edit] 'The Successor' ('?????') footage In late 2006 and early 2007 Geller starred in an Israeli television show to find a 'successor.' During one segment, Geller tried to move a compass with paranormal abilities. However, video cameras caught Geller with magnet-on-thumb (magnets cause compasses to move in the direction of the magnet).[30][31] Geller then forced YouTube to remove the clips that showed the fake thumb.[30] In April 2007 the James Randi Educational Foundation made the clip available.[32] This trick was also done by Geller in 2000 on ABC TV's The View, which was then duplicated by Randi on the same show the following week.[33] On February 9, 2007 Randi posted video of him 'outdoing' Geller on the 2000 The View, and posted the 'secrets' behind making a compass move.[34] [edit] Litigation Geller has litigated or threatened legal action against some of his critics with mixed success.[35] These included libel allegations against Randi and illusionist Gérard Majax. James Randi's 1982 The Truth About Uri Geller. Notably, three lawsuits Geller filed against Prometheus Books, a publisher of sceptical books, which had falsely asserted that Geller had been arrested and convicted in Israel for misrepresenting himself as a psychic, were dismissed in the U.S. as they were filed after the statute of limitations had expired, and Geller was obliged to pay more than $20,000 in costs to the defendant.[36] Upon the final resolution of the Prometheus suit, the chairman of the publishing house, Paul Kurtz, stated, 'It seems Mr. Geller's alleged psychic powers weren't working correctly when he decided to file this suit.' Kurtz did, however, provide Geller with a written apology and acknowledgment of error on behalf of Prometheus Books after Geller agreed to drop an identical suit filed in London.[37] In an interview with a Japanese newspaper reporter, James Randi was reported as saying that a scientist who once had believed Geller's claims were paranormal, 'shot' himself in the head after seeing magicians reproduce the tricks.[citation needed] Randi claimed this was a metaphor, which was lost in translation. In a Canadian interview, Randi said, 'One scientist, a metallurgist, wrote a paper backing Geller's claims that he could bend metal. The scientist shot himself after I showed him how the key bending trick was done.'[38] Since the supposed suicide victim died of natural causes, Geller sued both the newspaper and Randi in the Japanese courts.[citation needed] Randi could not participate in the trial due to high expenses of travelling to Japan. The Japanese judge reduced Geller's action from 'libel' to 'insult', and awarded Geller $2,000. Geller, as part of a later settlement with Randi, agreed not to pursue Randi for collection of the judgment. In 1998, the Broadcasting Standards Commission in the United Kingdom rejected a complaint made by Geller, saying that it 'wasn't unfair to have magicians showing how they duplicate those 'psychic feats'' on the NOVA episode Secrets of the Psychics.[39] In November of 2000 Geller sued video game company Nintendo over the Pokémon 'Yungerer', localized in English as 'Kadabra', which he claimed was an unauthorised appropriation of his identity.[40][41] The Pokémon in question has psychic abilities and carries bent spoons. Geller also claimed that the star on Kadabra's forehead, and the lightning patterns on its abdomen, are symbolisms popular with the Waffen SS of Nazi Germany, and was outraged at the connotations that Nintendo had supposedly made.[41] Although the symbols are derived from Zener cards, the name is a pun; the katakana n (?) resembles the kana ri (?) (the transliteration of Mr. Geller's name into Katakana would be ????? Yuriger?). Geller sued for £60 million, the equivalent of US $100 million, but lost. He also considered a suit against IKEA over a furniture line featuring bent legs that was called the 'Uri' line.[42] Geller sued the Timex Watch Company for millions, and lost.[4] [edit] Copyright claims In March 2007, videos showing Geller cheating were removed from YouTube due to copyright claims by Explorologist Limited.[43] Explorologist Limited is operated by Geller who owns 75% of the company and his long time manager/brother in law Shimshon [Shipi] Shtrang who owns 25%.[43] James Randi noted Geller does not own the copyright to these clips, which includes Geller's appearance on The Tonight Show.[43] On May 8, 2007 the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued Geller on behalf of Brian Sapient for making false claims to force YouTube to remove a video.[44] YouTube eventually reversed their decision to remove the video. The EFF posted the documents pertaining to Sapient v. Geller online.[45] The removals have caused a backlash against Geller.[46] [edit] The Geller Curse Geller is well-known for his sports predictions. However, Uri Geller skeptic James Randi and British tabloid The Sun (among others), have demonstrated the teams and players he chooses to win most often lose.[47] John Atkinson explored 'predictions' Geller made over thirty years and concluded 'Uri more often than not scuppered the chances of sportsmen and teams he was trying to help.'[47] This was pointed out by one of James Randi's readers, who called it 'The Curse of Uri Geller'.[48] [edit] Bibliography [edit] Books about Geller Colin, Jim The Strange Story of Uri Geller. Raintree, 1975 ISBN 0817210377 (48 pages) Ebon, Martin The Amazing Uri Geller Signet 1975. ISBN 0451064755 Harris, Ben . Gellerism Revealed. Micky Hades International 1985 ISBN 0-919230-92-X Margolis, Jonathan. Uri Geller Magician or Mystic?. Welcome Rain / Orion ISBN 0752810065 Marks, David. The Psychology of the Psychic (2nd Ed.) New York: Prometheus Books, 2000. ISBN 1573927988 Gardner, Martin, Confessions of a Psychic. (under the pseudonym 'Uriah Fuller' (an allusion to Geller) that purport to explain 'how fake psychics perform seemingly incredible paranormal feats'.) Karl Fulves, 1975. Gardner, Martin. Further Confessions of a Psychic. (under the pseudonym 'Uriah Fuller') 1980. Gardner, Martin. Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus. Prometheus Books. (March 1990) ISBN 0879755733 Panati, Charles, The Geller Papers. Houghton Mifflin Puharich, Andrija, Uri: A Journal of the Mystery of Uri Geller. Anchor Press / Doubleday Randi, James, The Magic of Uri Geller. (Later editions are titled The Truth About Uri Geller). New York: Prometheus Books, Ballintine, 1982. ISBN 0-87975-199-1 Taylor, John G.. Superminds. Macmillian/Picador Wilhelm, John. In Search of Superman. Pocket Books, 1976. ISBN 0671805908 Wilson, Colin. The Geller Phenomenon. Aldus Books [edit] Books By Geller [edit] Non-fiction My Story. Henry Holt & Company, Inc. (April 1975) ISBN 0030301963 Uri Geller and Guy Lyon Playfair. The Geller Effect. Grafton, Jonathan Cape, Hunter Publishing, (1988) ISBN 0586074309 ISBN 978-0586074305 Uri Geller and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Confessions of a Psychic and a Rabbi. (Foreword by Deepak Chopra) Element Books Ltd (March 2000) ISBN 1862047243 Uri Geller and Lulu Appleton. Mind Medicine. Element Books Ltd (October 1999) ISBN 1862044775 Uri Geller's Little Book of Mind Power. Robson Books (August 1999) ISBN 186105193X Uri Geller's Mind Power Kit. Penguin USA (1996) ISBN 0670871389 Uri Geller's Fortune Secrets. (Edited with Simon Turnbull) Psychic Hotline Pty Limited (May 21, 1987) ISBN 0722138121 Unorthodox Encounters. Chrysalis Books (2001) ISBN 1861053665  
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• Marzipan Uri Geller If you've been immortalized in this gallery of sugary rogues, you'd better be very flattered and relieved.  Because if you're a famous mentalist or one I know and you're not in here, it's either because turning you into a candy novelty just didn't inspire me, or I got hungry and decided to eat you!  In which case, you were delicious! Visiting the Gallery:   Each Candy Mentalist is featured in his own page.  You can visit the ones you want by clicking individual names on the list below, or take the tour of all of them by clicking on Take the tour! and then clicking the next icon at the bottom of each page.   I've included a selection of photos of each one to give you a good look at him, and I've written a little bit about the real-life mentalist who inspired him. 
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• Full deck stacks An Introduction to Full-Deck Stacks This essay discusses two common (but very different) types of full-deck playing card stacks. The first is the sequential stack, which permits one to determine the card following (and, in most cases, that preceding) any given card. Such stacks are designed to be “circular” (indeed, they are sometimes termed “rosary stacks”); that is, the pack may be given any number of single complete cuts without destroying the sequence. Examples include the venerable Si Stebbins (a numeric progression: see analysis below) and Eight Kings (a mnemonic progression: Eight kings threatened to save, nine fine ladies for one sick knave. = 8-K-3-10-2-7-9-5-Q-4-A-6-J) stacks. There are mnemonic sequences other than Eight Kings (cf. Five Trees, Furry Kitten, Hungry Jackass, Jackass Ate, Nine Jacks, etc.), and numeric progressions other than Si Stebbins (see discussion below), but the concepts are the same. The basic versions of these classic stacks exhibit a rotating suit (and thus alternating colour) sequence that is not very desirable, though there are simple schemes for eliminating this. Arguably the best sequential stack, however, is Richard Osterlind’s Breakthrough Card System, which is easily learned and displays no obvious ordering of any kind.   The second type is the memorized deck, in which you simply(!) know the position of every card, and—conversely—the name of the card at any location. Clearly, this is also suitable for anything requiring a knowledge of preceding and following cards, but it enables a much wider realm of possibilities. There is no “secret”, per se ... the stack is simply memorized. There are, however, four alternative approaches to the learning process. The first is simply to do so by rote memory. Decide on the pack arrangement you want to use (ensure that it appears to be random), and just sit down and memorize it. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, but it’s not trivial either. And some people do find it beyond their capacity. The second approach is the use of classical mnemonic tools as a “stepping stone”. The well-known mnemonic alphabet (T/D=1, N=2, M=3, etc.) can be used to devise images for each of the 52 positions in the stack. Similarly, images can be created for each of the 52 cards in the deck. Then scenarios can be imagined, pairing the card images with their corresponding stack position images. So when given a card name (or stack position), one can recall the associated images to reconstruct the relationship, and the corresponding position (or name). This won’t be truly useful/effective, of course, until you have learned the relationships so well that you no longer have to think about the images, but can simply (and instantly) recall the association directly. The most widely-used such stacks are currently those by Simon Aronson and Juan Tamariz, extensively described in their respective books, though this solution can be applied equally to any of the many other published stacks ... those by Steve Aldrich, Laurie Ireland, Bob Klase, Ed Marlo, William McCaffrey, Herbert Newell, Claude Rix, Rusduck, Mike Skinner, Rufus Steele, and Audley Walsh, to name only some of the better-regarded ones. It’s also worth noting that Bob Farmer has devised an easily-learned mnemonic system (not requiring knowledge of the mnemonic alphabet) for memorizing arbitrary playing card sequences. Another useful playing-card-specific mnemonic code can be found in lesson seven of David Roth’s venerable Memory Course. The above two approaches yield a pair of useful benefits: they allow for the most random appearance, and they permit stacks that have been “wired” to perform certain effects (poker deals, spelling tricks, etc.). They are challenging to learn, however, and also have a significant drawback: unless you are regularly doing a lot of memorized deck work, it is easy to forget a particular association in the heat of performance.   A third approach is used in Martin Joyal’s Six-Hour Memorized Deck, and Chris Matt’s Six Kicks stack. In place of a classical mnemonic system, these each employ a set of “rules” (Joyal uses fourteen, Matt thirteen) as stepping stones to enable learning and remembering the necessary relationships. By way of an example, the rule for the four deuces (2s) in the Joyal stack is “even positions containing the digits 2 and 4: 22-40-42-44”. The equivalent rule for the Matt stack is “positions ending with the digit 2: 12-22-32-42”. One can see that these are not precise, specific rules (they are more like clues), and some additional memorization is clearly required. Nonetheless, such an approach makes it significantly easier to get to the stage where you can match card names and stack positions. But there is no magic road to the point where you can instantly recall those associations ... that will take a similar amount of time in any case.   The fourth approach is an algorithmic one, in which a formula of some kind is used to relate card values and positions. This approach is particularly popular among those who want to do memorized deck work, but not make it a life’s work (particularly mentalists and others who don’t do a lot of card work, but recognize the miracles that can be performed with a memorized deck). Its advantage lies in the fact that a single algorithm relates any card name to its corresponding position (and vice versa). This yields two specific benefits: first, it enables one to perform a significant number of “memorized deck effects” without truly memorizing the stack; second, if the memorized relationship is temporarily forgotten, there’s still a reliable (albeit slower) fallback position. Although it’s possible to compute card positions with the Si Stebbins arrangement, it’s not very easy, so few consider using it in such a fashion. Probably the best three algorithmic solutions are the Bart Harding stack, the Charles Gauci stack, and my own QuickStack (I know, sounds a bit self-serving, but many prominent performers agree with this assessment). Each is easily learned (less than half an hour’s effort for most people). Without going into detail (and revealing information that is not mine to reveal), here is a brief comparative summary of the three: The Bart Harding stack (published in 1962) is the most random-appearing, and will withstand the most intensive scrutiny. The algorithm is not completely consistent, having a couple of exceptions. It also requires the most calculation, and therefore takes the longest to convert between card names and stack positions (though it’s still considerably faster than much of what’s out there). Here are the first dozen cards: 10C 7H 4S AD JD 6C 7C 9S 6D AC JC 8H QuickStack (from my book, Mindsights) occupies the middle ground; it’s not quite as random as Harding’s, but will still withstand pretty careful examination. Doing the conversions is notably faster than the Harding system. Here are the first dozen cards: 10H 5S 3C KH 2S 9S 7C QH 6S AD JC 8D The Charles Gauci stack (from his lecture notes, and also sold separately) is the least random appearing of the three, with regular suit rotation (thus alternating colors as well) and clearly detectable sequences, but the conversions are a bit faster than QuickStack’s. Here are the first dozen cards: 3H 6S 9D AC 4H 7S 10D 2C 5H 8S JD 3C Note that the basic concept of Gauci’s stack (published in 2002) is identical to that of two others ... Boris Wild’s (published in 1996), and Jack Yates’ (1978). In fact, all of these are modified versions of the Si Stebbins stack (1612), itself a variation of the Horacio Galasso stack (1593)! Some versions are quite weak ... the Wild stack, for example, is comprised of 13 four-card groups (each in strict sequence, both numerically and with respect to suit), with all the courts cards clustered at the end, and thus unlikely to survive any but the most cursory examination. This is not necessarily a show-stopper (any card arrangement can be hidden by a sufficiently skilled performer), but there are no commensurate benefits: the computations necessary for Wild’s name/position conversions are no simpler than with (for example) QuickStack, which offers a considerably more random presentation. Anyone interested in further details of this “Si Stebbins family” of stacks can explore a spreadsheet that I constructed to illustrate the algorithm.   Occasionally one reads disparaging remarks about algorithmic and rule-based solutions, claiming that they are not “real” memorized decks. This is uninformed nonsense (and a common consequence of confusing the organization of a stack with the issue of whether or not it is memorized). A memorized deck is simply that, and that alone ... one in which the practitioner knows the positions of all 52 cards; the method initially used to learn the card name/position relationships is irrelevant. With any approach, translations made while you are still in “stepping stone” mode will be too slow for some effects (though perfectly sufficient for many others). It’s certainly true that in the case of an algorithmic solution, one can simply learn the algorithm and never actually memorize the stack (this, in fact, is one of the benefits of this approach), but then it’s not really a “memorized deck”. If you want to know the card at position #46 in the Aronson stack, you either just “know” that it’s the eight of hearts, or you apply the various mnemonic rules to work it out: four is an “R”; six is a soft “J”, “SH”, “CH”, or “G”; that suggests a “roach”; that reminds you of a hive filled with roaches; the “H” in “hive” indicates a “heart”; the “V” is an “eight”. In QuickStack, you either “know” that #46 is the seven of hearts, or you use an algorithm to work it out: four is the fourth bank; six is the (+1) seventh card, a “seven”; the natural suit of the fourth bank is the (four-pointed) diamond; the seven is the same colour, or a “heart”. Neither approach is “better” in any absolute sense; they are just different. The tradeoff is that the algorithmic solution can be learned a lot more quickly (a single algorithm vs. a mnemonic alphabet, 104 word images, and 52 word-pair relationships), but constrains the order of the cards, thus limiting (though certainly not eliminating) the possibility of “built-in” tricks. If you use either approach regularly, you’ll find that you soon “know” all the card positions anyway (though it’s nice to be able to calculate them if you forget!).   By way of a summary, here is a brief comparison of the tradeoffs associated with the four different memorized deck techniques:   rote memory mnemonics rule-based algorithmic ease of learning the associations most difficult difficult moderate easy capability for “built-in” effects extensive extensive quite limited very limited backup strategy if memory fails none fairly poor poor good It’s important to understand that “ease of learning the associations” in this comparison refers to exactly that, and not the total time necessary for translations between card positions and values to be performed instantly, without conscious thought. The latter is primarily a function of practice, the acquisition time being roughly comparable in all cases. Many excellent stack effects, of course, do not require this facility. Realize also that there are occasional (very specific) exceptions to these general characteristics. For example, the use of classical mnemonics to memorize a sequential stack yields a good backup strategy when translating from position to value (since, if an association is forgotten, one can recall the previous card and then apply the sequential rule); unfortunately, this also nullifies the “built-in” effect capability.   For the sake of completeness, I should also mention that both Barrie Richardson and Lewis Jones have published clever algorithmic systems that are extremely easy to learn, but cover only half the pack: either all the even cards (Jones), or all those of one colour (Richardson). These can be quite effective for certain effects.  
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