Title: UNLEADED

CREATOR: Txema Gico

WHAT YOU GET: 5 pages of type written instruction and comes with one special gimmicked pad

INITIAL THOUGHTS: Okay this is an okay pad. I did find out that this effect is not new by any means and that previous versions of this pad have been made but supposedly this is the best and highest quality pad available. I was first excited to use this instead of a nailwriter but unless you file your nails to a point it just doesn't show up clear enough.
Multiple ideas for effects are given throughout the instructions and you are provided with four routines using the pad. 3 from Txema and 1 from Devin.

Effects:

NUMBER 2THPICK: The magician shows a deck o' cards and a pad of paper. The performer claims that the last sheet of the pad has a prediction he made on it. The performer has the spectator select a card and leave it face down. He then shows the last page and there is nothing there. He forgot to write the prediction! He then claims to make a postdiction. He turns the selected card over and says you picked the ace of spades or (insert card name here). Not impressed by the postdiction the performer states that he will write down the card on the paper to make his postdiction legit. During this unfortunate series of event you realize you don't have a pen or pencil. You improvise by taking a toothpick saying here will use this and we need just a bit of ink. You touch the tip of the toothpick to the black pips of their card to "get some ink" and then you write on the paper with the toothpick and writing appears. Your postdiction is correct.

THOUGHTS: This is a pretty cool use of the effect. Im not to fond of the postdiction idea because it takes away from the effect of determining their selected card and just uses the effect of the toothpick writing. You could just as easily force a black card on them and as you show that the prediction isn't there you say here Ill write it with this toothpick. You then hand them the toothpick and say I want you to dip it into the ink on the pips of your card then use it to write the card they selected, this way you get both effects instead of one. But the idea of using the ink on the card to ink up the non writing object is a nice touch. There is also included in the manuscript the idea of using an inspector gadget type presentation were you write with your finger instead of a toothpick.

COLOR MY WORLD: This is a kicker ending for th previous effect to where after you write the postiction you turn the pad over and written on the other pages are their selected card written in different colors on different pages.

THOUGHTS: Now I have not performed this ending to Number 2thpick. Just doesn't make a lot of sense as to why writing would appear on the top three sheets in different writing. Devin states that he has seen videos of Txema doing this and the reactions are great and that he has incorporated this ending into his routines because specs think after the effect is over that you wrote in four different colors with one toothpick. This just doesn't seem to fly in my head so I havent taken the chances to do it to a live audience but maybe it does work as they say but I guess Ill just miss out.

UNWRITTEN IMPRESSIONS: The magician has one spectator think of a card, one a place, and the other a color. (These can be anything) You then state that you will get the impressions of their thoughts and impress them on a paper with a toothpick just so you can put your initial thoughts on there. You look at each spec, and with the toothpick impress their thoughts onto a paper and wad it up and place it on the table. After you have gotten your impressions from each one you state that you are pretty confident and you will make your impressions reality. You wave your hand over the papers and hand them to the spectators to open to find the writing to have materialized into their thoughts.

THOUGHTS: This one is probably the best use of the paper, for me at least, just for the fact that I do an effect similiar to this in m shows. I really like the effect of the writing materializing into their selected thoughts and it is so simple to perform. This is a good one many of you should look into with this pad.

LEAD BY THE SPIRIT:
The spec chooses a card and by channeling the spirit of Elvis with a toothpick that he once owned and a pad of paper that he used to write his autograph on, you use automatic writing and writing appears from the toothpick and when the card is turned over it is found to be correct.

THOUGHTS: This effect for me is no different than the first. A card is selected and you use a toothpick to write the card down. The only difference is presentation and I just find the presentation and plot of this effect to be a bit to cheesy for my style, but for others who have that style this will be the way you do it as opposed to the first effect.


OVERALL THOUGHTS: I cant ever see myself using the pad. Writing with a toothpick or key or other non writing object just doesn't appear magical to me and screams trick paper. In performing this three people actually asked me where to get that paper from, so when they asked that this was the end for me. Also they state that the spectator can write and it wont work for them, which is partly true because if you write on the paper immediatley after the spec it wont work for you either, you have to do some fiddling with the paper so that you can write on it, and if the spec ever keeps the paper, which isn't recommeneded then they will figure it out. So overall this gets maybe a 5/10 just for the fact its not that magical for spectators.

Thanks,
JJ

Here is a YOU TUBE video showing Txema performing the trick with the multi-color ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjcqtV3uh8k

You will also see the spectator trying to write and the Txema able to do it. There isn't a bunch of fiddling around in my opinion.

This isn't my effect, I didn't create it. Txema approached me and asked if I would help him publicize the effect. I tried it in my restaurants and found it got great response. NEVER EVER have I had anyone ask me where I got the paper from. To them it appears to be just a pad of paper.

True this effect isn't for everyone, but I have found when interjected with my other routines, it gets gasps from the people when they see the toothpick writing.

Thank you very much because of your review, JordanJohnson and because of the time you have spent by doing it.

I am a little bit sad because of you not liking it at all. As Devin has told you, we have don a video for promoting it. Please tell me your opinion about it. I have also done a similar (but different) video in Spanish where you can also see some spectators reactions. I would be very happy if you could also watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etmoLqEJhN0

Thank you very much ;-)

I think it is important NOT to see the card first; then write the name on the paper. Then it isn't just a novelty. The way I do it is to have a card selected but NOT looked at. I then use the toothpick to write a prediction visibly. When the card is turned over it matches my prediction. This way the UNLEADED becomes a novel way of revealing a chosen card.

I agree with Jordon the effect is much better when you don't know the card before writing it. This way people wonder, how did you know the card that even I didn't look at before? This takes the heat off the paper and no longer is a novelty of writing on paper with a toothpick.

If this effect wasn't playing well I would not be using it in my restaurant work on a regular basics. I only use effects that get good reactions from the audience and I have done this trick HUNDREDS of times in my restaurant strolling. My experience has always been people's eye boggle when they see you predicting an unknown card with a toothpick. Again this is just a novel way to reveal a selected card. It needs to be part of another routine and not a stand alone item.

Devin

JHEFF just posted a review with a different opinion on his website:
http://www.marketplaceofthemind.com/Unleaded.html

Here is what his review says:
MY COMMENTS:
Once again, Devin has released something to make mentalists
think. I don't doubt that experienced mentalists know
exactly what this is. It's certainly not a new idea, and
Devin clearly states that right up front in the
documentation, but the question is what has been added to
make this new and worthy to have been brought out.

One of the answers to that question is that the special pad
(2.5" x 4", 50 sheets per pad)looks much more normal.
Usually, the paper involved is very thin, very glossy, and
perhaps suspicious-looking. Though the paper still retains
these qualities, the weight and production of the paper does
not make this very obvious unless you look very closely.
Another answer is the construction of the pad itself. I
can't reveal the simple, seemingly obvious, and ingenious
subtlety here, but it will allow you to hand the pad out
freely and anyone, including magicians, who think they know
how it's done will more than likely not figure out how to
duplicate it.

Txema and Devin have improved a very old concept in
mentalism and created a solid utility product for the
working mentalist. It's main consideration is obvious: the
special pads are consumable. Each pad contains fifty
sheets, though you'll probably want to stop using the pad
when it gets down to the last ten or so, depending on your
routine. And these pads may not be around forever, though I
hope by the time the initial supply runs out, alternative
sources are found.

Also, the pencil markings are light pencil and not as dark
as pencil writing is with a #2 pencil. It's more like the
writing from a #3 or #4 pencil and Devin notes that you
should use those kinds of pencils when it's necessary to
write and match the writing on the pads.

The 9-pages of instructions (8.5" x 11", double-sided,
stapled) cover the basic handling of the gimmick and
includes Txema Gico's "Number 2thpick," "Color My World,"
and "Unwritten Impressions," as well as Devin Knight's "Lead
by the Spirit." There's also a section with follow-up
effects using ESP symbols and alphabet letters, and using
this pad as a nail-writer substitute (which not everyone may
be able to do). The package, which comes polybagged,
includes 1 pad and some toothpicks. Each refill package
contain 2 pads.

I've made it no secret that I'll always recommend a
well-made utility gimmick. Add in that it's reasonably
priced and I think you know very well that I recommend
getting this (even if it's to sit in your drawer until that
killer application comes to mind -- and it will). Oh, one
final note: Devin will be at Mindvention 2009 and he's told
me that at his lecture he'll be sharing some killer ideas
he's developed.