V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4 In This Issue:
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007
T HIS
MONTH ’ S
S POTLIGHT :
Alain Nu
ALAIN NU
Contents: 1This Month’s Spotlight 2 Seventh Sense 5 Alain Nu’s Mind 8 Into the World 11 Pre-Sure 14 Jheffsmind
After Alain graciously agreed to do an issue of Journal of the Mind, he contacted me with a problem. For various reasons, he couldn’t showcase the material in his recent books and wondered if it would be okay if I can publish three new, or newly revised, pieces that had never been printed anywhere. I don’t think you need to be a mentalist to know how quickly it took me to say yes. So, it seems as if I keep breaking my own set of expectations for this magazine. And I’m already doing it in the first year of this publication. Fortunately, I love a challenge. So don’t expect me to stop doing things like that . . .
17 The Photograph That Can’t be Explained
Now, for those who know who Alain Nu is, you can probably just skip right past these next few paragraphs and get right into the meat of this issue. For those that don’t know him, Alain is one of those professionals who seems to have done it all. He even had a brief series recently on TLC, “The Mysterious World of Alain Nu.” If you haven’t checked that out, it’s worth it.
Jheff’s Journal of the Mind, Volume 1, Issue 4.
Besides his TV show work, Alain Nu is best known for being a metal bender as well as a premier mentalist and magician. He’s one of the very few who can blend both magic and mentalism extremely well. Frankly, I can’t remember how it was that I first learned about Alain, but I do remember attending two of his lectures. One was at the Magic Castle and the other was at Mind Over Matter, T.C. Tahoe’s wonderful magic shop which, sadly, didn’t ex-
Printed in the U.S.A. Journal of the Mind is published six times a year for members of the Marketplace Membership Club. Edited by Matthew Schouten Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved by the authors. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing by the copyright owner.
Email:
[email protected]
ist for very long. I do remember being extremely impressed by his work on book tests, which used ordinary books. But the effect which really caught my attention was a fun impromptu routine that Alain calls “Nu-Sense”. It’s based on a very well-known principle. It
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 2
isn’t a particularly strong mentalism effect, at least in relation to others. But it’s fun in terms of it being unique and that it always gets smiles at the end. Basically, it’s a sucker routine involving a ring, a watch, and a key. The spectators are led to believe that the performer has completely screwed up a prediction about how the participant will rearrange these objects and, of course, it’s revealed that the prediction is accurate, though humorous in its outcome. Fortunately, Nu-Sense is still available and is included in the book, XXX, along with a few other really strong pieces that I remember having fun seeing Alain perform. And I certainly hope that you enjoy and use the new pieces that Alain has generously contributed. I know that I did and plan on using at least one of them immediately.
“SEVENTH SENSE” by Alain Nu and Raj Madhok This is a variation of Dave Solomon’s “Seven Card Trick” from his book Solomon’s Mind. The first version of this effect was originally published in 1998 in MAGIC, under the name of “Business Sense.” In 1999 it was featured in my first book, Mind over Matter, under the same name. Later, it was published in Raj Madhok’s lecture notes, Buried in Print (2003). After all, Raj and I worked on and fleshed-out this handling after being inspired by the “Seven Card Trick” premise. I changed its name to “Seventh Sense” in order to reflect an aspect of Solomon’s (which reflects the “numerical” factor of the original Steinmeyer title), and in remembrance of its old name. Also, I just think “Seventh Sense” sounds better and lends itself to a novel presentation angle. I added a touch that I only recently started doing that changed the initial final phase completely. It was this change that made me feel it was strong enough for me to want to do more often, and thus re-awakening the spirit of this effect into my repertoire. This variation uses seven business cards instead of playing cards, and is designed to play when the conditions allow it to be impromptu. Dave Solomon’s effect was inspired by Jim Steinmeyer’s effect called “Nine Card Lie Detector,” which is an excellent work in and of itself. Effect: After asking her to participate in a demonstration which involves “the seventh sense”, a spectator is given a business card. On the back, she writes her birthdate and then mixes it into a small packet of six other business cards. Not knowing which of the seven business cards it could be (short of turning them over and looking), you ask for answers to a few personality-related questions, which includes spelling their own name. Through a simple process, you are able to divine the actual date as the face down card (the one that they wrote the date on) also mysteriously reveals itself! Method: The only things you need to perform this effect are seven business cards, a pen, and a spectator who you know either has a name that takes four or five letters to spell, or can be shortened so that it is spelled with four or five letters. You’ll find that although this limitation may seem annoying at first, it is not difficult to find that this can easily be done with most people, as well as being usually possible to come up with other possibilities by finding out if they have a nick name or even their middle name. The cards can be your own business cards, or just seven that you grab from next to a cashier at a restaurant or hotel. Put a very subtle nail-nick on one of them— this is done simply by using your fingernail and nicking the card by very subtly pushing in at one side (I use the long side along the bottom edge, closer to the lower-right corner of the card). This way, it can be quickly spotted among the others while the cards are faced down, so long as you know where to look. World’s Greatest Magic Metal Bending featuring Banachek and Richard Osterlind 20% discount at www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 3
Ask a volunteer if she would like to participate in a demonstration of the “seventh sense” using seven business cards. Have her write her birth date on the back of the secretly-nicked business card, making sure that as she writes the other side of the card is facing right-side up. While she does this, bring out six other similar business cards and spread them between your hands, asking her to slide her card somewhere in the middle of the spread. Immediately cull her card to the bottom, and perform an “all-around-squaring” action which makes it appear as if you are simply squaring up the cards on all sides, but also allows you to quickly get a glimpse of the bottom card of the packet as you do so. By knowing which way to position the cards as they are being spread, you control how the spectator replaces her card (since you will encourage her to make sure that she puts in her card in the same way as the rest). This also controls being able to get your peak so that the information is right-side up as you read it. If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, either ask around for more info, or come up with your own creative way to get your glimpse. You will be saying something to the extent of, “At this point, the only thing I know about your card is that it is in the middle of this packet...” Once you’ve glimpsed the information, immediately mix the spectator’s card back into the middle and say, “…I’ll further mix the cards, in fact why don’t you mix them, just do it in such a way so no one can see the backs of any of them.” Hand all the cards to your spectator for shuffling. By this point, you now not only know her birth date, you also know how to spot her card among the rest since it is also secretly marked. Once she has finished shuffling, take the cards back and spread through them, quickly locating the position of her card. Say, “I will now ask you a few questions and we will spell out your answers to coincide with the dealing of these cards—by spelling out the answers we create a secret ‘spell’ of our own that may lead us to the unknown. Deal one card for each letter, and mark off the end by just dropping whatever cards are left on top, like this.” As you say this, illustrate your words by actually dealing a few cards one at a time on one another, and then dropping the rest on top—except what you will actually be doing is arranging the cards subtly so that her card will be third from the top. So if you spotted the nicked card fifth from the top, simply deal two, then drop the rest on top. Obviously, there are numerous ways to get into this position since her card is also a nicked card, but this is the most subtle method, while also aiding you in clearly explaining these important instructions to your spectator. The next step is to ask her a short-list of the questions which will ultimately lead her to card. Everything from here on in is more or less self-working and is nicely baked in an interesting presentation. Question 1: “This first question is about your opinion. What’s your favorite color?” Have her deal down the number of cards that correspond to the number of letters in the spelling of her answer. Of course, the name of this color must be over three letters and under seven letters long, but most names of colors fall into this category. Just drop the remaining cards on top (unless, of course, all seven cards were dealt). Regardless of her answer, her card will now be five cards from the top of the packet. Question 2: “This next question is about your present life. What is the name of the street you live on?” You want Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger's MYSTERY SCHOOL featuring classic work by ALAIN NU at 20% discount from www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 4
the answer to be more than five letters long. Most names of streets will be, but if not, you always have the option of adding ST for street or AVE for avenue. If the street name is longer _____________________ than the amount of cards you have, tell the spectator to just deal all the “Your onlookers will be cards to the table.
stunned. Prepare for this effect to play a lot stronger than it reads. And do it anywhere.” ____________________
Question 3: “We will now work specifically with your intuition. As I deal the cards down one at a time, please say stop any time before I get to the end.” Make sure that you deal three cards already before completing your instructions, then that way they can stop you at any time, and you simply drop the rest on top.
Question 4: “Up until now, I have asked you questions that had answers I could not have predicted. No one could know the position of your card from the beginning since you shuffled them…” However, her card is now five cards from the top. Say, “For this final round, simply spell your first name, and then let’s see if it worked…” Have her deal the cards keeping them face down, calling out the letters for each card dealt. If her name is only four letters, proceed as you have, by dropping the remaining cards on top of the ones dealt. If her name takes five letters to spell, simply have her deal five cards, then take the remaining cards from her and turn them over to show that hers is among the ones that are on the table. Then have her slide over the top card, and place her hand over it, while you turn over the remaining cards one at a time to show that there is no other alternative but for her to have the card that she wrote on. “As you can see, secret ‘spells’ do work after all!” But you continue... “As impressive as this may be so far, however, the seventh sense has not yet even been utilized. For me to guess your exact date of birth, with very little information to go on-- this would indeed take a sixth, if not even a seventh sense to do so, would you agree? You are a Libra, though, yes? And is your birthday September 23rd? Your onlookers will be stunned. Prepare for this effect to play a lot stronger than it reads. And do it anywhere and (virtually) any time.
JHEFF’S COMMENTS Some of you might have recognized this as having been published in MAGIC some years ago and also in Raj Madhok's lecture notes. However, this has some additional handling that was not mentioned in either places. According to Alain, "What has never been mentioned is the idea of whipping it out on people who you already know have four or five letters in their name, to add a more personal touch to the last phase of the effect. Furthermore, you can usually shorten people’s names to four or five letters in a pinch…" For those not familiar with a spread cull, which is described in many card effect texts, here is a simple and brief explanation of just one way to do it. The performer holds the spread cards between his hands. The card is inserted into the spread, but not all the way. The right hand now moves up all of the cards to the right of the selected card, so that the bottommost (of leftmost) card covers the selected card completely and a bit over to the left. The right hand now slightly re-grips the cards so that it now grabs the selected card. As the right hand moves the cards back in line with the rest of the spread, one finger pulls the selected card to the right until it’s away from its neighbor card below it. This last move is done under the spread and is hidden. You’ll be able to “feel” this happen. Now, close the spread and the chosen card will go to the bottom. This entire procedure takes two or three seconds, at most. FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 5
One way to get a glimpse is to simply tilt your hand a bit as you say, “At this point, the only thing I know about your card is that it is in the middle of this packet...” Casually point to the stack with a finger and then rotate your hand back into position so the cards are horizontal again. Finally, let me point out an alternative way to end. After the card has been slid out and is still face-down, reveal the birthdate and then have the participant turn over their card. This is, of course, a stylistic preference. Try it out and see for yourself.
ALAIN NU’S MIND Having a conversation with Alain Nu is similar to taking a ride on a roller coaster. His answers are always thrilling, you never know where he's going to go, or which direction his answers are going to go. Sometimes he can be extremely serious and other times, not. With Alain's release of two new books, Astrologic and Nu Ways, I asked him what prompted him to release these works. "Bordeom. I've been spending a lot of time at home taking care of my baby girl, and found I had some extra time on my hands. Also, I'm just ready to let some of my old stuff go. I've been sitting on this stuff a long time now." Alain also recently conducted an intensive workshop which covered his cherished methods for metal bending. "Of course this was my first year doing it, but considering that, it went extraordinarily well, except that the curriculum was a bit 'crammed.' It was really an awesome group of people too. At $1000 per seat, I wasn't sure (especially at such late notice) if I would fill all ten seats. But not only did I fill the seats (except that one participant unexpectedly didn't show up after sending in his deposit), I had guys come to San Jose to take this workshop with me, from Australia, Germany, and also a nice spread of the United States. Also some of the participants, who were although familiar with mentalism, were not so familiar with metal bending, so teaching less experienced folks became the challenge that I felt was the most successful. Nevertheless, I found myself speeding through the curriculum just to cover it all within four hours, and my first year participants had to go without a break, as well as watch me go into "warp-drive" as I got near the end. My first-year participants came away learning much, and they all sent me letters enthusing about their time spent learning the depths of my personal techniques. "In the end, the biggest lesson was for me, as I realized that in order for me to correctly teach the curriculum, I must give it a full day. So next year in England (around New Castle in Tyneside) on either Thursday the 13th of March, or Monday the 17th of March, I will hold my second STM workshop, this time raising the price to $1500/ US per seat, and the workshop will be a full eight hours, from 10am to 6pm with a short break. I will offer up to 12 seats to be filled, and I will allow up to two of my past workshop attendees to re-attend at a 50% discount if they would like to refresh themselves with the course. This offer for past attendees will stand for future years as well. Furthermore, those who take my workshop, will get access to a secured online video of seeing my techniques performed for audiences, and how it's supposed to look like, as well as full e-mail and online support by me regarding the techniques taught. (This year had a bit shaky start, but it's coming soon) You'll also get a FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 6
great workbook that lists all nine systems and the names of the thirty-six techniques taught so you can take lots of your own notes. "My system is quite advanced "black-belt stuff" for metal benders, and is unlike anyone else's techniques available out there. Confidentiality agreements are signed before the workshop begins, and then about twentyfive years of an obsessive understanding of metal bending will literally get poured into you. One can try, but it will not be easy to learn anything that is even remotely close to my system in any other way than for it to be taught it by me. For more information, or to reserve a seat, message me directly at
[email protected]. Two seats have already been filled as the word somehow got leaked before this announcement went out." It's always interesting to ask a mentalist why they like to perform it. Alain answered honestly, "Definitely, the hours." I asked him for an amazing, terrifying, funny, weird, incredible, frustrating, embarrassing or outrageous thing that has ever happened to him while performing mentalism. "The way I see it, if my life doesn't have a little of all that stuff thrown in at all times, life just ain't worth living..." But he did relate a story of a recent experience. "I was at the Greenbriar Resort in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia, performing for a corporate event in which following my after-dinner presentation, I was asked to perform up-close at their hospitality suite. This is always a huge challenge, since my best material has already been performed during my stage show, and everyone who has been drinking heavily (and that means most of them) are ready to ask you an assortment of questions as well as _____________________ outright challenge your abilities on the spot and under their own He said: "Give me three conditions.
words that explain what you do."
"Of course this is what happened to me. After having bent many analytical minds during the program, during the hospitality suite one of the most boisterous individuals approached me. Just as I was about to I said: "Psychological, show him something, he cuts me off and says "Oh no you don't. I'm in good timing." control this time." Then he continues by saying that if I told him his birthday, how old he is, his weight, and what state he was born in, he ____________________ would be a believer. I was wishing right then that I remembered to bring my swami, but I took him on anyway. In the end, I guessed his birthday to be 3-16 and it was actually 3-18 (this was done partially by my techniques, but mostly on luck, because he was starting to get wise on what I was doing). I guessed his weight at 375 lbs (he told me whatever I guess, to go higher), and his weight was actually 360 lbs, so I used what he said as an excuse. I guessed he was 48 years old, but he was only 46 (in this case I was a little embarrassed at my miss, but I then told him that he was probably two years wiser). And finally when it came down to where he was born, he said "I'll even give you a clue - I was born east of the Mississippi ..." I guessed Pennsylvania. A direct hit. At first he thought his wife told me, but then he realized that the logic in that wouldn't have worked at all. I was, of course, completely lucky, but after that, I was even able to tell him from what part of Pennsylvania he was from! "After that, another guy, while the first guy was still watching, brought his 3 teenage kids and their friends over to meet me (about 7 youngsters total) and said, "Here are the *real* skeptics." The teenagers scrambled and found the biggest, thickest silver spoons that they could find in the kitchen of the Greenbriar, and then they took them to me. I bent and twisted not one, but three, and in three different ways. The kids were left flabbergasted, and the first guy (the 360 lb dude), was so mind-fried at this point that he wouldn't let me leave the room until I explained for him *something* to go on. He said "Give me three words that explain what you do." I said (Continued on page 8)
World’s Greatest Magic Metal Bending featuring Banachek and Richard Osterlind 20% discount at www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
ALAIN NU NU-WAYS FOUR new and audience-tested routines in an unusual collection of “alternative mentalism effects.”
♦
Alain’s much sought-after handling of Anders Moden’s Healed and Sealed
♦
His complete routine of the classic Winston Freer puzzle
♦
A prediction effect using an infant’s toy
♦
Several mentalism ideas involving the electronic children’s game called 20Q
$20 Available from www.magicalthinking.net
P AGE 7
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 8
(Continued from page 6)
"Psychological, good timing". Finally, he said, "OK, I'm going to think about this all night now" and I was allowed to leave the suite. It turned out that his wife, who I had character-read during the program, was a believer in using one's intuitions, and he was in stark disagreement with her ways, considering himself to be a hard-nosed skeptical rationalist. In the end, I think they both were left happy since he did, after all, take my business card and told me that he'd be in touch." I asked Alain if there was any person or persons who inspired him his mentalism craft. "My biggest influence was meeting a guy named Mark Chorvinsky when I was 12 years old. Many might not know of him by name. He owned a shop called Dream Wizards, but what made it different than most stores, was that Mark loved all things that pertained to magic and mystery. The front of the store was devoted to curious gifts and role playing games like D&D. The middle of the store had a huge science fiction library, with sections of shelves dedicated to books on strange phenomena, occultism, surrealist art, and fringe culture. The back of the store was a fully equipped magic shop for the professional magician. Back then, one of the hottest creative minds in the field was John Kennedy, and Mark and John were best friends. As John was just beginning to slay the world with his off-beat concepts, Dream Wizards became his first distribution company, and I became their Vietnamese-sweat-shop-boy: splitting cards, separating strands from stockings, cutting, gluing, packaging, etc. I had a previous interest in magic as well as in strange/fortean phenomena, which was the bond I shared with Mark (he later went on to publish Strange Magazine, which was distributed worldwide on this subject). But meeting Mark and John (and then later Tim Conover) was what pretty much sealed the deal for me. Mark died a couple of years ago. But I have great memories of those days." For those starting out in mentalism, Alain notes that "if you ever want to quickly find out if something you invented has never been invented before, just go ahead and publish it under your name. If it isn't yours, someone will be sure to tell you soon after its release. Just kidding." Above all, he knows exactly what it takes to be a successful mentalist. "Make it entertaining, but not stupid. Mentalism is to be performed only by smart people and idiot savants. If you can't fully engage your audience and have them at the edge of their seats with just your voice and your choice of words, then you gotta work harder on your NLP. And don't NLP on my leg and tell me it's raining either." Finally, though the answers tend to be very similar among professionals, I asked Alain what, if any, he thinks is the biggest problem with mentalism today. "I think the biggest problem facing menatlists in this information age, is the non-discriminatory blatant exposure of their secrets by selling them away for cold hard cash on the worldwide web-- oh, wait a second, I'm doing that now. Alright I take that back. Go to www.magicalthinking.net and find out what acquiring great mental abilities can do for you!"
“INTO THE WORLD”
from Nu Secrets & Realities Published by BSM Books, February 1, 2007 There seems to be a trend towards greater interest in mentalism by magicians. I have mixed feelings about this growing popularity in my field. On one hand, I appreciate and crave the new ideas that spring forth from this influx of “fresh blood”. On the other hand, I’m concerned with the notion that maybe mentalism will become banal, as the general public is more exposed to it, and not necessarily good versions of it. Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger's MYSTERY SCHOOL featuring classic work by ALAIN NU at 20% discount from www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 9
Most people really don’t know where to begin even if they are very serious about their interest in mentalism. Just what does it take to become a mentalist? I will attempt to answer this question based on my direct experience of being a full time performer and my conversations with and many of the best performers in the field. I’ve outlined a set of steps, or areas of study, to serve as a guide for anyone who is serious about dedicating themselves to this craft, and to give you a perspective on the commitment that must be made. Although each area builds on the previous, they are components of a continuous process that involves them all at once.
Acquiring Knowledge As a mentalist, your growth depends on reviewing and adding to an internalized accumulation of knowledge and data surrounding the subject of mentalism and mental abilities. You will need to continually gather as much information and skill as you can on those subjects that you personally find interesting. Don’t worry about whether it’s magic, mentalism, science or art, so long as it feels like something that resonates with you. There is an endless universe of mysteries for those who are willing to pioneer. Principles, theories, subtleties, artifice, ideas, presentations, history -- gather data, and organize it. (I generally tend to organize it loosely into two boxes: collected techniques, principles and published effects of interest in one box, and collected clips and printouts for potential presentational ideas in the other.) The most important thing is that you always use what interests you the most as your focus. Your presentations will reflect this.
Practice Unlike “moves” which can be rehearsed in a mirror, mentalism techniques depend on the understanding of the responses, reactions, and personality types of people. Experience with these things can only be learned through actual interaction with a live person, preferably someone who you have never met. There is no better way to attain fluency with mentalism concepts than try them out on the people around you. You will also need to learn to set up the right circumstances for yourself for practice purposes. Try brand new ideas sparingly, by focusing on only one or two effects in your rehearsal, and finding the proper moment for experimentation with them. Often a good moment can be set up at the end of social moments, like your lunch break, a meeting with a client, or an outing with friends. Saving your demonstrations for the end of these social events gives you a “one-shot-chance” feeling that simulates the performing arena. This performance practice will also help you temper your adrenaline, and develop a persona that suits you best. It is key to portray respect for the art of mentalism even in casual settings. Otherwise people will not be moved to treat it with respect and its potential impact is lost.
FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 10
Synthesis of Ideas An interesting thing will happen as you continue to store and organize new information, while diligently practicing and mastering the methods you have chosen. You begin to form _____________________ connections between ideas and combinations of principles, leading to a natural synthesis of ideas. As you strive to increase the potential im“As a rule of thumb, pact of your presentations, you will harvest new methods from the don’t give away your combinations you have formed.
very best secrets until you have had a chance to utilize them to your satisfaction.”
This synthesis occurs most often when you are already fully immersed in the study of technique and concepts. Through this process, you have been internalizing their nuances, in theory and in practice. The new variations and combinations are created as ideas begin to fit together ____________________ based on your choices of performing styles and tastes in effects and methods. These become your source for the creation of dynamic presentations.
I say dynamic because it is very easy to create dull mentalism presentations. The methodical nature of the techniques lends itself to this. You have to always keep in mind that you are trying to engage people to remain interested to witness the result of your demonstration, so you have to point out what’s interesting, puzzling, or poetic along the way. To do this convincingly, your presentation has to integrate with your character, so that everything you say makes sense with who you portray yourself to be. People will follow someone who appears to know where they are going. An audience will follow along with you, long as you appear to know where you are going.
Performance After enough “flight-time” with particular techniques, concepts and demonstrations, the results of your practice can be brought to the stage. As you continue to expand your knowledge base, you will hopefully be pushed to continually develop updated, more mature material. In this way, you have a basis for your artistic development to make its way into performance, so your show never gets stale to you. A mentalist’s level of artistic development is measured by the ability to demonstrate his talent with accuracy, while simultaneously and expressing the premise of his performance convincingly, enthusiastically and in an entertaining way. A good mentalist will always be in search of new material to add to his show, so that anyone attending a year later will not see the exact same performance.
Contribution Eventually it will become evident to the fully immersed, that through their careful study and experience, they have created a unique style, technique or concept worth contributing back to the mystery-making community. Knowing that you have a unique idea worthy of publication will emerge out of awareness and respect of past ideas and data that you have collected over time. I’ll use the word scholarship here, because I think it’s important to take seriously the ideas of others who have committed their thoughts to publication. If you have approached your study in a scholarly way, and applied to create new concepts, or refine older ones, peer review and accepWorld’s Greatest Magic Metal Bending featuring Banachek and Richard Osterlind 20% discount at www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 11
tance will confirm it as a genuine contribution. Deciding what and when to contribute is also important. As a rule of thumb, don’t give away your very best secrets until you have had a chance to utilize them to your satisfaction. However, you may want to tip something you feel is meritorious but you also feel OK about having others perform. Once the cat is out of the bag, be prepared to see others gain notoriety for your good ideas!
PRE-SURE One of the most difficult and tense procedures that a mentalist can go through doesn’t happen during his show at all. It happens “pre-show.” Pre-show, which is seen as the initial before-the-show set-up of an audience volunteer, can create seemingly miraculous on-stage results, but there is a price—pre-show is much more difficult to do well than one can imagine. For instance, in most cases, you can’t do pre-show anytime before the show takes place. It must be done just prior to the show starting, otherwise you may either find it too difficult to spot your mark in the crowd, your subject may decide to leave the show early, OR he or she will forget what he or she is supposed to do or think about. The act of setting up a pre-show demonstration should also call as little attention to itself as possible, and appears most innocent when it looks as if you are doing something else other than what you are actually doing. But the most stress that one gets from doing pre-show comes from the potential that your volunteer will expose the paper that she wrote on earlier, thus causing an awkward moment as everyone wonders why this wasn’t explained during your presentation. Here’s a way to get around these sticky situations. First, learn a good branching zodiac technique. My most recent book, entitled Astrologic, is an excellent dissertation on this subject, and many of the most streamlined as well as advanced techniques that employ branching systems can be learned by reading through this. What you will ultimately do is add an element of this concept into your pre-show work, just before you ask them to take your clip board… First ask her if it’d be okay if she could help you during the performance. Once she agrees, tell her that first you will try and calibrate yourself to her non-verbal cues. Have her, as an example, concentrate on her zodiac sign, and then take her about ¾ of the way through the system, until just before you can reveal her sign. Since the number of hits will outweigh the number of misses, act like she has passed your test (without actually revealing her sign), and then hand her your clipboard with a small sheet of paper attached, and say, “I’d like for you to think of something that you must do tomorrow at some point, and write it down on this paper as a reminder to yourself. Keep it down to under three words if you can, I don’t want it to be too complicated a thought. Just something simple would be best. Don’t show me or anyone around you what you have written on this paper.” Once she is finished writing down her reminder, have her fold it up and stick it in her purse. Tell her that she won’t have to open it up or even take it back out (since this was really only done to crystallize and magnify her thought within her own mind), unless you somehow run into trouble, and need to confirm her thought later on. Backstage, you will obtain this secret information. We’ll say, for instance, that she wrote down that tomorrow (Continued on page 13)
FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 12
ALAIN NU ASTROLOGIC The most complete dissertation on zodiac divination ever released, by one of the true forerunners in the field of this study.
This a 12 chapter, 52 page compendium of every zodiac system that Alain have published in the past, as well as many that have never been published before. He then explain how all of them are actually linked to one another in an entire zodiac system that can be intertwined in several different ways. Effects include branching strategies to reveal a spectator’s sign, a prediction of someone’s zodiac sign, and the ability to zero in on a random persons exact birth date. Work right from the book, and you will IMMEDIATELY be able to divine zodiac signs directly over the phone. Memorize what’s in these pages and you’ll be off performing a full 20-minute impromptu mind reading performance. Each effect can be used alone or in conjunction with one another, in virtually any performance setting. The contents of these pages are the result of nearly 20 years of experience. Never before has Alain ever revealed an entire system of his thinking in one volume. For the first time, everything is explained and mapped-out as clearly as possible, in this 52 page manuscript. No pre-show and no props—this is as close to real mind-reading as you can get..
$35 Available from www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 13
(Continued from page 11)
she must “go to the gym.” Meditate on how you will regurgitate this information back to your subject, and now fast-forward to the beginning of your introducing that volunteer during your performance: “I’d like for this young lady to stand up, if you please. Tell everyone your name. Nicolette. That’s a lovely name. I want you to concentrate on something for me. Something about yourself; something about who you are. And I will see if I can’t get a few impressions at this point...” At this point, since you already know your volunteer’s sign, it is not that difficult to say a few archetypal things about her sign’s characteristics, hoping that you receive a few mild hits from doing so. Gradually, try to be more specific, as you move more and more towards reasoning her personality to lead to the information that was written down earlier. Suddenly, pause for a second, and as if you had a sudden realization, exclaim:
_____________________
“To the audience, it will seem as if you have never even met this person before. ” ____________________
“Wait, are you a Gemini? You are, that’s amazing. Now, for everyone’s information, I never asked you to tell me what your sign was before the show and you NEVER wrote it down on a piece of paper or anything, correct?” What this statement does, is allow a dual-reality to take place. To the audience, it will seem as if you have never even met this person before. Furthermore, it will seem as if you are confirming that never had she ever wrote anything down before the show. To her, however, you will be confirming that she never wrote down her zodiac sign, and she will happily agree that this is true. Also, this makes for a good “first revelation” within the context of the effect. Of course much along the lines of cold-reading can take place here, but before too much time passes for things to get boring, move your character-reading to reflect the kind of person she is, and how that might affect her decisions within the week. “I’m sensing you are an active person-- someone who is always on the go. Sometimes this gets in the way of certain plans, and this can sometimes get in the way of social obligations. This is why you must remind yourself that there is something that you must do tomorrow, and I’m going to guess that it has to do with your being so active… Does it have to do with fitness, by chance? Is tomorrow your day on the tread-mill, perhaps?” Your reaction will be very strong here. Both your volunteer and audience will audibly gasp at this moment. And, if, for whatever reason, she gets caught in the moment, and decides to pull the paper out and unfold it for the audience to see (something that you’ve tried to encourage her not to do earlier), simply call even greater attention to it. “Wait, what’s that you got there, Nicolette? Is that your actual list of reminders that says what have to do tomorrow? Well, what are you waiting for? Unfold it and show it to everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, was I right or what? Nicolette, please read out loud to everyone what it says!” There you have it-- a secret of mine that I even forgot to include in Astrologic. Maybe I should have written myself a reminder… FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 14
JHEFF’S COMMENTS This certainly works well with one of Alain’s Astrologic routines. However, if zodiac sign divination isn’t your cup of tea, or if you don’t want to plunk down the money to get this wonderful book (which you should!), there are alternate approaches. You could certainly do a word test (aka book test). And I’d also recommend that Osterlind’s Design Duplication System would work well here, too. You certainly could use a deck of playing cards, but I really think that wouldn’t play as strongly.
JHEFFSMIND Having a public website on mentalism means that I often get queries about what products would be good for the beginning mentalist. More often than not, these querists are magicians who are branching out into mentalism. And though I'll readily point them to Annemann, Cassidy, Osterlind, and Hickok as great starting points, one has to dig and use inference skills to determine the differences between mentalism and magic. The question of the differences caused me to sit down and write as long a list as I can. Interestingly, after I finished the list, I found myself eliminating most everything on it. Good magicians have much the same techniques as good mentalists. Unfortunately, most amateur magicians rely on strong tricks and techniques to try to overcome their poor showmanship qualities. They can barely get by with that, but mentalists who try wind up being truly bad performers. For example, Ken Weber, in his Maximum Entertainment, begins his chapter on mentalism by discussing a book test performed by Juan Tamariz. He points out an indirect illogicality that Tamariz is able to get away with it because he's a magician and states that mentalists must be direct. I disagree. I'll argue that Joseph Dunninger, Maurice Fogel, and Chan Canasta would have been able to do it, too. It was effective for _____________________ Tamariz because he's an effective showman, not a magician. As a “Unfortunately, most showman, the audience is along for the journey and excuses small amateur magicians rely lapses in directness. Since both mentalists and magicians must be showmen, both need to be direct but can be excused for their brief on strong tricks and gaps in logic due to their showmanship.
techniques to try to overcome their poor showmanship.”
____________________
Also, many entries on my list were eliminated because they were part of another entry. When I was finished, there were just two main differences between mentalism and magic. They are:
1) Mentalism, unlike magic, consists solely of effects demonstrating powers of the mind and, with the exception of psychokinesis, does not provide a visually wondrous experience for the entire audience. 2) Mentalism, unlike magic, has the possibility of being real. (Continued on page 16)
World’s Greatest Magic Metal Bending featuring Banachek and Richard Osterlind 20% discount at www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 15
MARKETPLACE SPECIALS FOR AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007 Members only! MYSTERY SCHOOL by Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger An Adventure Into the Deeper Meaning of Magic featuring classic work by ALAIN NU!
Now 20% off the 100.00 list price
THE WORLD’S GREATEST MAGIC METAL BENDING
A fabulous compendium with many of the top masters in the world (including Banachek and Richard Osterlind) teaching their handlings.
Now 20% off the $19.95 list price
www.marketplaceofthemind.com (LOG IN TO THE MEMBERS PAGE FOR DETAILS!)
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 16
(Continued from page 14)
Of course, each of these two differences has many subtopics to explore and I could spend an entire book doing that (which I actually plan to), but I'll briefly explain each one. Regarding the first difference, the entire audience is not witnessing something visually extraordinary. When something appears, disappears, transposes, levitates, penetrates, or restores, everyone in the audience can see the magic happen. Even though the performer may not have a solid grasp of showmanship, the trick can still be entertaining to watch.
_____________________
“A strong visual magic effect will always be more memorable than a mentalism one when performed side by side.” ____________________
With mentalism, that advantage doesn't exist. It's up the performer and his or her showmanship skills to keep the audience engaged. It's up to the performer to engage every member of the audience as often as possible. As an example, by itself, a book test is really amazing only to the person who has the book and whose mind is being read. Unless the performer has a presentation that will allow the entire audience to part of the process, the rest of the audience will be detached and silently analyze the situation ("He's using a stooge," "He can do it to that sucker, not to me," etc.). Barrie Richardson has written that he prefers performing routines, and creating routines, that involve as many people as possible. The rule of thumb, then, is that if the effect involves a few (or less) either choose a different routine or create a different presentation which involves most, if not all, of the audience. The second difference, about mentalism being real, is essential if you want the effect/routine/demonstration to achieve maximum impact. If one plays routines like they're just another magic trick in the repertoire, it will be treated as such. It may certainly be entertaining, but not as memorable or effective as it could be. There are different levels of treating it as real, though. One can present mental abilities with the disclaimer that they could be real and the audience must decide, one can explain the abilities scientifically, or one can claim that one acquired them through some means. Whichever, it must be an explanation the performer can sell and be consistent in its use of the performer's act and persona. Briefly, I'll also state my position that a strong visual magic effect will always be more memorable than a mentalism one when performed side by side. I'll use metal bending as an example, because that's the exception. Metal bending is certainly visual. Talk to anyone who does mentalism and metal bending and they'll tell you why they bend flatware. The PK stuff is much more memorable and that which everyone talks about. However, I'll argue that metal bending falls more into the mental magic category, than mentalism. Which brings us to the topic of mental magic. Just what is it? There have been so many who have defined it so differently. I've seen a few claim that using props is mental magic. Being a high school English teacher, I'll define it quite literally. It's mentalism that's presented as magic. In other words, one or both of the two principles above apply. Something in the routine will appear, vanish, change, levitate, restore, or penetrate, or it's presented Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger's MYSTERY SCHOOL featuring classic work by ALAIN NU at 20% discount from www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 17
as another cool trick that the performer can do. For example, having a thought-of card jump from a red deck to blue deck is mental magic. Now, if you had only one deck, if it was there from the start, and if you claimed that you inserted the one card that you knew the participant would say, that would be mentalism. (Oh, and let's not get into the ol' mentalist-shouldn't-be-using-cards argument right now. We'll do that later) Interestingly, I perform frequently at the Magic Castle. Even though I do a solid act of mentalism, it will always be considered mental magic. It's not the routines or the act that makes it so; it's the venue. Because my audience is going from room to room seeing many magicians, they consider me as being another magician. Granted, I may be more memorable than most (according to comments I overhear), and I do get many who aren't sure whether I'm real or not, the venue makes it imperative that I classify the act as mental magic. So, there are things I don't do that I would do outside the venue. In the Magic Castle, I strive for 100% accuracy (okay, maybe 90%; still, I'm more close here than elsewhere). Anywhere else, and I would deliberately miss a little more (though being a close). In reality, a psychic isn't right every time. There's still so much more to cover on the topic of performing magic and mentalism. I haven't even touched on the subject of mixing magic and mentalism. The important point to know for now is that performing magic and mentalism must be approached differently. If not, the mentalism will be treated as magic. This may be the desired effect, of course. Whatever the desired effect will be, the performer must be fully and accurately aware of what it is and carefully choose and design every effect in his or her repertoire.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS For those in the Southern California area, or those visiting, I will be appearing at the Magic Castle during the week of September 24 – 30. If you’re not a Castle member and would like to attend, e-mail me and I’ll e-mail you back a guest pass. Also, Mindvention 2007 is right around the corner. It will be held at the Palace Station in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct 7 – 9. Featured lecturers/performers include John Archer, Patrick Redford, Sean Taylor, Joe Atmore (performing as Dunninger), Jon Stetson, Guy Bavli, and Eugene Burger. And, yeah, I’ll be there again to promote the Marketplace Membership and Journal of the Mind. There will be a special price for a 2008 membership/subscription (which will be cheaper than your usual members’ discount price).
FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 18
“THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED” by Alain Nu Here’s a recent idea of mine which my friend, Mike Meadows, from Austin, TX helped me to flesh out. I think you’ll like this a lot… During a party discussion on remote viewing, you volunteer to demonstrate: A spectator is asked to open to any photograph of their choice on their cell phone, but not to show it to anyone else. Another spectator is asked to participate as a “test subject”, and hold the phone against her heart, without looking at it. She is now asked to describe an emotion that comes to her, which she feels emanates from the photograph. It’s acknowledged by the first spectator (who took the picture), that indeed, the “feeling” matches! Next, you say that although it doesn’t always work, sometimes you write down random things that you might make a connection with later in a memo pad. You offer to try another experiment with the test subject. Bringing out the pad, you rip out three pages and fold them up without showing what they say on them. The test subject chooses one, and the other two are opened up. The first one says “Kangaroo Paws” and the second one says “Submarine Plumbing.” When the third one is opened up, it says, “Three hands.” The subject is now asked to look at the photograph for the first time, and without showing it to anyone else, to see if there is any connection between the words and the photograph that can be found. Indeed, she tells you that only three hands are spotted on the photo! Finally, the test subject is asked to hold the cell phone up to herself, and this time, to simply close her eyes. You now add the following words on the notebook paper— “wooden, sisters, and dessert”. The photograph is now revealed and it is a photograph of two women in a wooden log cabin drinking coffee. The first spectator now reveals that the two women are sisters, they had just finished dinner and they were drinking their coffee and eating dessert, but that you can’t see the desserts in the picture! Of course the above is a ‘best case’ scenario, but it gives you an idea of just how much a mentalist can get away with, and yet play extremely large…
Procedure First, have one person open up to the photograph of their choice on their cell phone. Be sure to tell them not to show this photograph to anybody else. These conditions will help to set-up a mock “remote viewing” scenario. Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger's MYSTERY SCHOOL featuring classic work by ALAIN NU at 20% discount from www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 19
While a photograph is being selected, have one other person designated to stand apart from the rest of the group. Essentially, this person will be placed to your left with the rest of the group to your right. Have that spectator on the left close her eyes. Once the target photograph has been selected, insure that no one else has seen it except for the person who selected it, then very openly place the palm of your hand over the screen, with the screen facing away from you, as you now take the cell phone and hand it to the spectator on your left. Because the spectator on your left has their eyes closed, and you have positioned them accordingly away from the rest of the group, it is actually very easy to find a quick second to glimpse the selected photograph the moment your back is turned on the rest of the group. This is done rather boldly during the act of transferring the phone from the spectator who selected the photograph, to positioning it so that the screen faces the left hand volunteer’s chest and he or she is able to take it and hold it in place without looking at it. By placing the emphasis on having no one seeing the image while it is being selected, as well as your volunteer not seeing the image even as it is being held by her, it is subtly implied that NO ONE has seen the image. But you have seen it, albeit for but a quick flash. During this moment you will try to come upon the most obscure piece of information about that photograph that you can take note of (the number of cups on a table, a shape that might stand out, even a predominant color, will do in a pinch). Gather any or all of the information you can in the shortest amount of time possible. In a moment, you will secretly write this down on your memo pad which you have not introduced quite yet.
_____________________
“As long as the emotion that the spectator feels is sincere, connections between the said emotion and the photograph can be made interesting.”
The first phase of this demonstration relies on the basis that as long as the emotion that the spectator feels is sincere, connections between the said emotion and the photograph can be made interesting. The fact that most people take pictures of things that bring them joy also helps since “happiness” or “beauty” would be the more obvious responses. If the emotion is said jokingly, the interpretation will at least be funny. Regardless, this first phase gives you just enough presentation time to do the next bit of dirty work, especially now that you’ve glimpsed the photograph.
It is during this first phase that you will employ your pocket-writing skills (using a pw gimmick-- a small piece of pencil, crayon, or pen which enables you to secretly write on the memo pad while your hand ____________________ is still in your pocket). Simply have a small pocket-sized memo pad in your right front pants pocket (or left pocket, if left handed). However, well before the demonstration, you must prepare by writing down two other “random” thoughts on the second and third pages of the notepad. I use the words “Kangaroo Paws” and “Submarine Plumbing” -- two somewhat odd combinations of words that I also write while inside my pocket, so my scratch-writing will appear consistent. Once this is done, flip the first blank sheet back to the top, and stick the memo pad and pw gimmick back into your pocket. This way, while everyone’s attention is on the spectator’s reaction during phase one, simply place your hand in your pocket and write on the top blank page whatever strange inspiration you can conjure up from having earlier glimpsed the photograph. At the end of phase one, remove the pad from your pocket, rip out the top three pages (without showing what is written on them), and introduce them as “random things that you’ve written down earlier.” Here, you are kind of revealing yourself to be the sort of guy that just writes stuff down for no particular reason -- sometimes ending up with a good “band name”, concept, idea, etc. World’s Greatest Magic Metal Bending featuring Banachek and Richard Osterlind 20% discount at www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 20
As you are folding the pieces into squares, earmark the corner of the top piece of paper (the one you just wrote on). You will now need to equivoque this piece of paper. During the revelation of the equivoque, the first two are revealed before the revelation of the final, selected “random thought.” Once again, you want to be accurate, but not tip that you knew the picture. The absurdity of the first two thoughts revealed allows for the final and relevant thought to have a more abstract relationship to the image. In the above example I used “Three Hands,” which happened to be the last time I tried this effect. I noticed there were two people in the photograph, but because one person had their hand around the other person, you couldn’t see one of their hands. In the photograph there were only three hands visible. For the final phase, almost as an afterthought, you will now write down some of your own thoughts that seem to just come to you in that moment. Of course, you now simply provide a more detailed description of the picture you saw, while simultaneously being deliberately vague. My preference would be to try to read deeper into the picture itself, so that it doesn’t appear obvious that you’ve just simply glimpsed it. Writing down three to six more things that prove to be somewhat relevant should be enough to allow the final revelation of the “target photograph” at the conclusion of the demonstration to be both startling and eerie. There you have it -- a three-phase remote viewing demonstration, with a “photograph that can’t be explained…”
Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger's MYSTERY SCHOOL featuring classic work by ALAIN NU at 20% discount from www.marketplaceofthemind.com
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 21
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM www.magicalthinking.net THE FROG HORSE
$20
Imagine beginning your performance by showing a picture of a simple image to everyone in the audience. Doing this, so that they only get a “5 second” glimpse of the image, you ask everyone not to call out loud what they see, but rather to lock that image in their minds, in order to remember it for a test you will try on them later on. Placing it into an envelope, you openly hand all this to a person in your audience for ‘safe keeping’ until later. From there, you continue on with your show. As your presentation comes to a close, you test your audience’s memory, only to find that they are split on their recollection of what they saw. What half the audience sees is entirely different from the other half! As the confusion becomes unsettling, you end the debate by showing them all the same image you showed to them earlier by asking for the envelope to be brought back to the stage. Indeed, it was, after all the same picture that they saw before, but each experienced it in a different way. You end by saying, “So, you see, it’s really just a matter of perspective, and an interesting way of looking at life… Sometimes it’s a frog, and sometimes it’s a horse.”
XXX $30 A thirty-six page manuscript focusing on versatile, impromptu, close-up, and easy-to-setup effects, this collection of Nu’s work demonstrates his skill at designing hard-hitting, classic routines and techniques. Skill level for the effects taught range from beginner, to intermediate, to professional, which gives the reader a nice general overview of mentalism and its depths of deceptions a techniques. Seven audience-tested effects using coins, borrowed objects, simple props, and business cards are made easy-to-learn with graphs and nicely done illustrations. Effects include: -Future Influence: You correctly predict the coins imagined by a random spectator. -Flipped Out II: Four amazing predictions are revealed about a randomly borrowed coin. -Nu Sense: A hilarious sucker prediction effect involving a borrowed ring, watch & key. -Nu Wave: A spectator imagines which one of four queens is reversed in the packet. -The Gypsy: An impromptu card effect perfectly suited to highlight your mental prowess. -Commercial Break: A 3-phase business card effect in which the spectator continuously finds the target! -Signagram: An impromptu method for divining one or more previously unknown zodiac signs.
FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
J OURNAL OF THE M IND
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 4
P AGE 22
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM www.magicalthinking.net The Mysterious World of Alain Nu Television Series DVD $35 TLC follows master mind-gamer Alain Nu to eight different cities across the U.S., showing off his amazing talents and entertaining the American heartland along the way with his unbelievable mind skills. Creating a mysterious rapport with each separate environment,cAlain performs intriguing and visually captivating mind-power feats, leaving his on-lookers spellbound and amazed. During his lifelong career as the creator of his own brand of mystery presentations,cAlain has built a vast repertoire of original works, taking his art to the highest level. On-lookers were astonished atxAlain’s ability to read thoughts, exhibit super memory, bend metal, move objects without touching them, and sense his surroundings while blindfolded! Clairvoyance, thought control, synchronicity, mind-over-matter—it’s all rolled up in this fantastic four part series. Four episodes. 2-disks. 174 minutes total..
Alain Nu– Close-Up Sketches DVD $30 Five routines of Alain’s material that is great for close-up worker’s, and people interested in restaurant style performance. Featuring a strange impromptu mystery, in which a borrowed and signed coin is tossed into a cup full of coins, stirred with a previously examined fork, and yet, is found mysteriously laced on its tines. All of the routines on this DVD are relatively simple in execution but powerful in effect. Running time: Approximately 60 minutes.
FOR MORE ALAIN NU PRODUCTS PLEASE VISIT
www.magicalthinking.net
