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drezmagic Regular user 161 Posts |
Just thought I would post one of my favorite quotes. It is as inspirational as it is funny and I think it is something that many of us need to hear every now and then. It is an excerpt from Derren Brown's brilliant book, "Pure effect":
"Let us all roll up our collective sleeves and reach past the steaming turds that are billet switches, past the fecal nuggets that are sealed envelopes and past the "gaps left for a nail writer", and especially deep below that dead otter - that single stinking stool that is the standard book test or the "sealed prediction." Let us together suppress our communal gag reflex and reach far below these vile grotesqueries and feel for the true treasure: a glittering alchemical prize that screams to all those with ears to hear: "No one cares about your predictions! Put away your nonsense wallets! You are a tiny, ridiculous man!" - Derren Brown . |
pearljamjeff Inner circle Ann Arbor 1247 Posts |
I have it on good authority that DB uses almost all of those methods that he was dissing.
But I do agree that we should refuse to be complacent in our thinking.
Jeff Travilla - I own an advertising agency to help finance my magic addiction.
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Sid Helkule Inner circle Australia 1481 Posts |
My favourite DB quote was during one of his shows:
"Speak up, I'm not a !@#$%^& mind reader!" However the above quote was hilarious as well. Luke |
drezmagic Regular user 161 Posts |
Another great DB quote from his lecture DVD:
"Don't you hate it when you are in a department store and you go into an elevator filled with other people, and you press the ground floor, but the elevator keeps going down past the ground floor and past the basement and into the center of the earth and right before the lights go out, everyone turns to you and says WELCOME" - Derren Brown :) |
psychicJeff New user 26 Posts |
I love Derren Brown.
The "speak up I'm not a f*****g Mindreader" line had me on the floor laughing just because it was so unexpected. His show is so great. I wish I will have the chance to see it live one day. (If he ever comes to the states! ) |
rickreation Veteran user 343 Posts |
I have to admit the quote eludes me a bit, as Derren uses most of these methods, albeit with his own creative and personal variations.
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Garrette Special user 926 Posts |
Allow me my own humble take on the DB quotation, which I also like:
He is not dissing those methods at all. He is dissing those methods, and their immediate effects, as the goal of the entertainer. In short, he is saying: "Don't stop at effect; go for experience." But I could be wrong. |
Pete Legend Inner circle Ireland 1401 Posts |
Ha I just means we should stop taking ourselves so seriously.
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Garrette Special user 926 Posts |
Well, yeah, that, too....
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Mike Ince Inner circle 2041 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-08-12 08:40, Pete Legend wrote: And so we should. It's alright to take one's craft seriously, but oneself? Do we really need to be worshiped so badly? The dullest mentalism I've seen repeatedly bludgeons the audience with the same humble message: "I'm a god... I'm a god... I'm a god." No. "You are a tiny, ridiculous man." With wallets. And a NW'er. And wee bits of folded paper. And delusions of grandeur. The audience doesn't care about you anyway, they care about themselves and about having a good time. They didn't come to worship you. A recent, private conversation with a "big name" in mentalism proved just how desperate he was for validation. There was no room to praise him; he was too busy boasting of his own recognition in the field. He reiterated his importance a truly countless number of times. He doesn't even know how dull and self-absorbed he seems to his audience; I doubt he recognizes polite applause for what it is. But he surrounds himself with other "pros" who slap him on the back instead of in the face where he needs it. It makes me sad, because he needs honest friends to help him grow, like we all do. "You are a tiny, ridiculous man" are words I need to remind myself of. Forbid we should be nothing more than glorified magic-nerds.
The secret of deception is in making the truth seem ridiculous.
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Sting New user 73 Posts |
Some people have already pointed it out but he isn't really completely dissing those methods (or that's not the point of the excerpt). I don't really recall the context of the passage but I guess the "alchemical prize" referred to is something like the experience of the spectators.
I also love the "not a f@$king mindreader" quote from Evening of Wonders... Much of his writing makes me giggle |
Alel Special user Bay Area 668 Posts |
After doing something magical:
"I know you are thinking: 'So far, so what?'" - Aldo Colombini |
psychicJeff New user 26 Posts |
Another funny derren brown thing: This video is so funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8uN-eTL6Q |
drezmagic Regular user 161 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-08-12 19:15, psychicJeff wrote: :) |
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