Suggestions, please

[RobertlewisIR]

I've only been doing magic for a short time. Long time fan, recent performer. As such, I'm really not very good at it yet. I do a few simple tricks (a handful of card tricks, a couple coin tricks, etc.) and do them well enough to perform them, but I'm looking for some other stuff, too.

And I'm looking for suggestions. I'd like to find some good instructional books or DVDs.

Specifically what I'm looking for right now is the sort of thing the "psychics" do. I can do some of them, of course, but I'd like to know how to do some of the "bigger" ones, like some of the mentalist tricks (and don't tell me about cold reading, either--that's too painfully obvious).

I also seem to recall something from THE TRUTH ABOUT URI GELLER about driving while blindfolded. I can think of several ways it could be done, all of them too obvious. Does anyone know anything about this one?

Any good suggestions, folks?

Of course, don't post any secrets here. Just point me in the right direction for some books, videos, or send a private message if you want. Whatever works.

Cheers!

~Bob

 

[Brown]

I recommend the Richard Osterlind videos from L&L Publishing. A good start is the "Easy to Master Mental Miracles" series. Richard has a bit of theatrical stuff, a bit of parlor stuff, and a bit of intimate mentalism, some of which is almost improvised (i.e. it requires some preparation, but not much). One of the bits involves bending a spoon when the audience is really focusing in on your hands.

I don't recommend the Banachek videos, as they tend to be geared more for a professional showman.

People say that the Max Maven videos are good, but I've never found Max Maven to be all that mysterious (but this could be because he doesn't perform his best stuff on TV).

As far as I know, none of these videos discusses driving while blindfolded (although the Banachek videos show him doing it, but not explaining it). Osterlind demonstrates the classic blindfold technique, but not in the driving context.

You are right that there are several techniques for driving while blindfolded. Some of them use gimmicked blindfolds, and some do not. Some methods are safer than others (i.e., some methods are suitable for driving around an empty parking lot, but not for driving on a busy city street). If memory serves, some of Bill Tarr's books describe some of the more standard methods.

 

[JonWhite]

The very best books to start out with are:

13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda, &
Practical Mental Magic by Theo Annemann

Between them they cover many major principles and will give you absolutely heaps of ideas to get started with. Required reading!

For DVD's I'd also go with Richard Osterlind's "Easy to Master.." or "Mind Mysteries" series first before going onto Banachek's PSI series.

Jay Sankey also has a few things out there that include some fairly easy effects that can be fun (if you don't mind his humour) such as his "Boris Pocus.." DVD.

 

[Brown]

The very best books to start out with are:

13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda, &
Practical Mental Magic by Theo Annemann

Between them they cover many major principles and will give you absolutely heaps of ideas to get started with. Required reading!

For DVD's I'd also go with Richard Osterlind's "Easy to Master.." or "Mind Mysteries" series first before going onto Banachek's PSI series.

A brief comment about Annemann:

When reading Practical Mental Magic, one is often tempted by two thoughts:

1. This trick is out of date.

2. This trick would never fool anyone, except, perhaps, a complete idiot.

It is true that many of Annemann's effects are presented in the context of a culture now gone. But with a little thought, they can be made applicable to a modern audience.

Also, it is true that some of Annemann's tricks are simple. But the fact that some of Annemann's tricks are simple does not mean that they are obvious to an audience, if properly performed.

Here is where Osterlind can be a big help. He draws on Annemann quite a bit, and when he performs a simple trick, it seems like a genuine miracle. It's one thing to read about a trick in a book, and another to see it in performance.

 

[Senex]

And I'm looking for suggestions. I'd like to find some good instructional books or DVDs.

Specifically what I'm looking for right now is the sort of thing the "psychics" do. I can do some of them, of course, but I'd like to know how to do some of the "bigger" ones, like some of the mentalist tricks (and don't tell me about cold reading, either--that's too painfully obvious).

I also seem to recall something from THE TRUTH ABOUT URI GELLER about driving while blindfolded. I can think of several ways it could be done, all of them too obvious. Does anyone know anything about this one?

Your request is vague. I have some wonderful close up psychic tricks -- I have others that work better at a distance. I have a book by Dunninger that explains driving while blindfolded, but I'll be darned if I ever felt the time was right to try that one out.

My suggestion is to go to LouTannens.com and pick a couple of affects with gimmicks to go along with some books that have affects you can work on. You have to decide what kind of show you want to do and what affects will work for you. I suspect driving with a blindfold is something you will never do -- but I could be wrong.

Now that I think about it, I will become the first videotaped woo driving blindfolded while being serviced. Read the catalogs my newbie friend

 

[dannagain]

first fo all, to avoid you spending vast amounts of money on crap i'd reccommend joining www(dot)magichat(dot)co(dot)uk for lots of free magic.

As far as good videos and books, i dont know if anyones mentioned it yet but you HAVE to get bobo's modern coin magic just because it's genius.

go to magichat and look for the posts i've made about cheap pk rings and m5's (it's in the advice section. these two devices are perfect for pk/mentalist effects but what ever you do, do not buy them from magic shops. buy them from (word deleted due to possible exposure) shops.

although it's pretty old, now fork bending is a must for any mentalist and the best routine i've seen is morgan strebler's liquid metal. he makes uri gellar look like an idiot (not too hard i know but google for morgan's demo video, it's unreal. it is actually quite an easy routine but you do need a considerable amount of finger strength (so if you are a weakling it may not be for you!).

obviously you should invest in some IT or loops or both. you are limited only by your imagination with what you can do with that stuff.

i dont really do any mind reading stuff i'm more into visual mentalism aka pk so i cant really help you with that side of it.

anyway hope i've been of some use.