On 2013-05-03 15:53, George Hunter wrote:
L & L's new T A Waters DVD's came in the mail today. I devoured the first one, and thought I'd post a preliminary review. (This project warrants an extended discussion.)

One viewing of the first DVD settles one question: Was the late T A Waters a good performer? IN my estimation, he would be (say) one of the two or three best regional performers in and around (say) Toledo, Ohio, but national calibre he was not. With the contracting attention spans of today's audiences, a couple of his effects (such as when he or a spectator is counting cards, again) would be experienced as laborious. His humming during a laborious phase can be distracting. His performances, however, can shine with an effect's revelation; he had thought through his revelations, and he became more energized and cogent in an effect's revelation phase.

Waters was stronger as a teacher. He is very organized, engaging, and clear when he is explaining one of his effects to his viewers. When, however, he is offering general advice about performing mentalism, he sometimes indulges in commonplace, even prosaic, advice: such as "Be contemporary," or "Be nice to the spectators." He can contradict his own advice; at least twice, he engaged in sexual innuendo with a female spectator. Again, Waters explains that one reason to be nice to, and not demean, spectators is because they paid to see your show. However, we paid for his DVD's, and at least twice, as he explains a move that is involved in an effect, he declares that if the viewer does not already know that move, he or she "shouldn't be watching" this DVD. It would have been better to teach the move or refer the viewer to sources that do.

At least two of his effects, on the first DVD, appear more plausible performed and explained than I experienced them when reading Mind, Myth and Magic. But he features a couple of effects that I cannot imagine anyone else ever doing. Nevertheless, I spontaneously adopted, and fell in love with, one of the effects; I will be preparing and performing it.

Overall, this is a VERY worthwhile resource for any mentalist's library. I cannot imagine why the publisher sat on the video for more than a decade before releasing it. It will become one of our field's enduring treasures.

George

On 2013-05-05 19:56, George Hunter wrote:
Mr. cpbartak:

There is a range of possible ways to interpret my very brief comment on tarot cards; you have apparently chosen the most demeaning possible interpretation that occurred to you. I am not sufficiently adept at either cold reading or hot reading to know why you have indulged in an unprovoked ad hominem attack, so I will leave your motives to you. I would have thought that, by actually using my real name in this forum, no one would glibly assume that I am like a small, meek, self-protective animal; so you have surprised me, and you have lowered the level of conversation on this thread.

If you knew me (I am turning 75 next month), you would know that being "cool" is not a driving priority in my life. (Indeed, I regard the category as astonishingly superficial.)

My tarot-reluctance is twofold. 1) Tarot cards are not indigenous to the mid-south regional culture where I live and perform; most folks do not recognize them. I have no interest in explaining what they (allegedly) mean before I can perform with them. (ESP Zener cards are much more widely known and, in any case, are very easily explained; I do perform with those.) 2) People who do recognize tarot cards are likely to associate them with the psychic realm, the occult, etc; I am not interested in the rhetorical challenge of overcoming those connotations and, in any case, the occult perspective does not reflect who I am, nor the closely-related persona that I present.

If you like performing with tarot cards, good for you.

George

On 2013-05-05 20:16, mastermindreader wrote:
George-

Seventy-five and still performing is THE definition of "cool" as far as I'm concerned.

On 2013-05-05 20:16, mastermindreader wrote:
George-

Seventy-five and still performing is THE definition of "cool" as far as I'm concerned.