Wow, folks, thank you! I appreciate all the kind words.

John makes an interesting point about justification. I do indeed share a personal favorite routine that has all the justification you could want.

Whether it is needed or not is a personal choice and people are pretty divided by it. My solution was to provide options all across the spectrum and leave the decision up to the performer.

The same with providing you with three "contexts" for TDBT so that everyone, and every situation, is covered.

Is this really better than Osterlind's?

“I use my own Perfected Center Tear all the time. But I have to tell you this; I use a piece of paper from my pad. When I saw how clean Bill’s version looked with a business card, I had to learn it too. It is smart to have a variety of methods at your disposal. Dr. Bill’s Billet Tear is top notch and as good as it gets. If it means anything from a guy who has been ripping paper up for most of his life, take my advice and get this!”- Richard Osterlind

To say I was surprised and flattered would be the understatement of the year. Of course it is only late March!

Can the participant write in the center of the billet?

This is a feature of the John Wells tear which I very much appreciate.

Yes ! Jan

I posted this question also in Mentally Speaking since it also discusses the item.

In a different thread people were praising T-rex as the last word on the center tear. those in the know how of the two methods can they offer a comparison?

T-Tex is still not out... you have to wait. Jan

Based on the T-rex thread some people were privy to the method prior to publication.

I love Dr. Bill's center tear. I also wrote the introduction for T-Rex and love Ran's CT. I also use Al Mann's Mag-Eye move and even the traditional center tear. There's nothing better than having different methods at your disposal. Sometimes you get a slightly suspicious look from someone and need to change your MO.

Also, learning the different kinds of thinking in each creation helps you to determine your own handling and what's best for your style.

Dr. Bill and Ran, by the way, compared notes beforehand.

I just wrote Ran. Hopefully we'll have an answer soon.

Yeah, I'm really curious to hear how this compares to Ran's CT?

You can not compare, totally different, but both are great... Jan

I've written in the "Mentally Speaking" thread but think it bears repetition here.

I, like man, love studying tears. There cannot be many that have escaped my scrutiny. I even made up my own based on some ideas from other wonderful tears. This is something different. It does use - fully credited - a particular feature of another tear but the results are quite different and wholly satisfying for me at least.

Al Mann stated that audience interest in a billet reduces as soon as you make one tear. That's largely true however I feel that with many tears there are certain precise tears that need to be made and very often you are hiding a larger piece of paper than you should have if you've torn several times. Not in the Dr's tear. The heat is off as you catch what you need to after one tear, from then on it's freestyle how you tear.

Easy, deceptive and excellent. My tear of choice.

Is this "particular feature of another tear" taken from Ran's tear or someone else's? I'm not fishing here, I'm just curious what the similarities/influences are with this.

Ran's hasn't been released yet so have no idea - the similarity has been much covered and relates to a move from Doug Dyment's R2D2 tear.

Ran just wrote me that T-Rex is out of his hands at the printer and he is patiently waiting. He said he hopes to have a substantial update soon.

When Ran and I exchanged work many, many months ago, we did so in part to make sure we hadn't reinvented the same wheel. I learned enough to be confident we hadn't and then put it away as I didn't want anything seeping into TDBT.

So I really can't say too much in comparision because there is a lot going on in T-Rex and only now can I really go back and refresh my memory and truly learn it and the several variants. Plus I don't want to risk exposure.

I will say in just now taking a look there is a variation unlike anything I've ever heard of but I'm not sure if it is going to be openly promoted so I must keep mum for now. I haven't tried it out but conceptually it looks off the chart!

Oh, I was assuming people were talking about Think Pink. This is the first I've heard of Ran's T-Rex.

So when you asked how TDBT compared with Ran's CT, you were referring to Think Pink?

Posted also in Mentally Speaking as there is a thread about this as well.

Could those who know the work address whether the Dr's Billet Tear is more appropriate for close up, stage, surrounded etc. or is it good for all venues?

How is this tear for dry hands?