Folks due to a serious case of rhuematoid arthritis that aint gettng any better I am forced to switch the focus of my act to more mentalism...

I have osterlinds mind mysteris vol 1 and some sankey mentalism... looking for good books or dvds on perfromance ideas and also on some good mentalism theory,,,, I have some good books like Ortiz Strong Magic, Designing Miracles etc but I am looking for Mentalism. Looking for stuff that is suitable for table hopping, strolling and walkaround with a little bit of stage...


Thanks in advance...

Sorry to hear about your RA.

This set has all kinds of things that are strong including table hopping, strolling and stage http://www.alakazam-usa.com/product/Defa......tid=3653

Thanks for the suggestion... 95 views and you are the only one... thanks again...

In the book you have Strong Magic there are many things you can do that have a mental theme to them. Check out pages 110 to 117.

Keep adding Osterlind material.

Robert

Mind Myth and Magik

SeaDawg,

Being exclusively an Internet dealer of mentalism products, I get questions from folks like you all the time. Unfortunately, you don't really ask a specific enough question. Do you just want to study mentalism? Do you want to add a little more mentalism, but stay a magician, in other words, do mental magic?

Do you want a list of the best effects in mentalism? (This is virtually impossible to provide as everyone has different styles and different effects work better for different styles, but there are many lists on MC). Do you want a list of the best books in mentalism? This place has many, many lists and suggestions.

My interpretation of your question is that you're looking for something that's technically easy to do with your unfortunate situation. There are many, many tricks that you can do that require little to no sleights and are practically self-working. Check out Aldo Colombini's stuff, for example.

Also, it's hard to recommend material when one is not familiar with your style and needs.

But if you truly want to get into mentalism, Annemann and Cassidy are the ones whose work you want to start with. Osterlind would be the third. Within the works of these three, you'll have enough material to last a lifetime or twelve. Feel free to PM or e-mail me with more specific questions, if you like.

-- Jheff

I know you don't mean it this way, but there's kind of an implied insult in your post, Dawg. After all, everyone knows mentalism doesn't require any chops...

Still the 13 Steps by Corinda is the book of books on mentalism. (And check out the mentalist trick I invented: http://tinyurl.com/1-2-3-card , which doesn't come to the socks of Corinda, but I thought I'd mention it. Between brackets.)

Sorry if I implied mentalism requires no chops... mentalism is even harder since most of it is intangibles.... I will put the effort in, it is just that using my hands can be a real hurtful process and some times the pain is so bad that it distracts me from the business at hand....

I have added Osterlinds "radar deck" to my repetorie and have a number routine using a centre tear...

I also have Corrinda's 13 steps...

Trilogy is a good mental trick. Although the thin cards may be useless when your hands hurt. But you don't need sleights with Trilogy. My 1-2-3 trick is inspired by Trilogy, but truly different and can be done with normal cards. Anyway, Trilogy is a very good trick.

Max Maven's Video Mind series has some great effects on Volume 2 you could use, like, Shape-up, Changeling, Symbalance, also routines like Kurotsuke, Tossed-out Tech (a tossed-out deck routine), and Contimental.

For walk-around you could also use Andy Nyman's Killer Elite Pro.

"No Chance" DVD from Inner Mind Productions.

B.I.P. 2.0

How about the Dracula Book Test, the original one. It's very cool.

System 44 (a kind of psychological reading, rare! But if you can find one, you can play one of the games with a participant for a fun change of pace)

And you can check out a number of Phone Effects that have been discussed here on the Café. Do a search. There are some real interesting things available you could adapt to perform live with the phone effects.

There are a couple of my things too, you can look in the Lybrary.com link below and if you're interested, send me a PM.

I don't think SeaDawg was implying that you don't need chops for mentalism, just that you need different chops. He has advancing RA, and that makes a light of sleights difficult or painful. There's a lot of walk around/close up that can be done without sleights, but I would say that the best of that kind would be more mental in direction.

Good luck, SD. BTW, you might look at acupuncture for the RA. Lots of people have reported success. I don't know if it will work for you, but as my mother's MD once told her, "It couldn't hurt."

SeaDawg,

I have been coping with RA for nearly 30 years, during which time I have gone up the ladder of medications from analgesics like aspirin, through gold injections, to a current combination of methotrexate (technically a form of chemo), sulfasalzine and celebrex and have had three major surgeries on my hands to restore ruptured tendons (the most recent some 10 years ago) yet still perform both platform/cabaret, stage and even close-up magic as well as mentalism. Since I have never been into heavy duty "mitt work" the impact on my ability to perform has been minimal -- even most of my close-up material -- despite the hand surgeries and a couple of fused joints in my fingers. I've only had to abandon a couple of effects and adjust the handling of a couple of others.

As long as I take my meds, I remain pain free. The key is to be under the regular care of a qualified rheumatologist -- not a GP -- who can monitor the condition and prescribe the proper medication(s). Self-treating such a chronic condition with over-the-counter meds won't hack it. While alternative treatments like acupuncture may not hurt, I'd use them only as a last resort after exhausting the standard treatments (of which there is a very large range) that have been PROVEN to at least control or slow the advance of the disease (which is the best anything can do as there is as yet no known cure).

Dawg, here's something I've used for years. You're welcome to it, if it can work for you.

In a nutshell, I put each of the keys for a 7K2PB effect on a cord. I let each member of the group choose one, and the one that pendulumizes the most is the one that has instinctively chosen the magic key.

Chuck Hickok's Mentalism Incorporated books would be perfect. It is well written by a guy who understands how to write a book and communicate his thoughts. His thinking on the ways to structure and build your act are invaluable.

Barrie Richardson's Theater of the Mind is also excellent.

Gregg Lancaster
Mental Masterpieces
College Station, Texas

KBLV-
That's really good! Takes it away from a mental magic thing and lets it play real. Also allows you to slow up the presentation.

Thanks, Tom. It also invloves a bunch of people, simultaneously, in a way not many other mentalism effects do.

I lock it onto a K**** Envelope. In one c********** is a prize. In the other, is a prediction that describes in detail of one of the people to whom I've given the keys. It's worth a shot.