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MadisonH Inner circle 1752 Posts |
Gidon has been posting about this new book of his on Facebook. Here’s one such post:
Here are some facts about the new book that does not say a word about online shows. - Hardcover, 208 pages, 134 detailed illustrations, 16 mentalism stage routines, 5 chapters, 0 fillers - An innovative, cutting-edge, old-fashioned book (in the good sense of the word) - Written and Illustrated across 7 years - New methods for classic routines and classic methods for new routines - All the routines have been presented to audiences on world-wide stages for years. All the routines in this book do not make use of: pre-show, stooges, hypnosis, and expensive gimmicks. All effects work 100% and are designed for a single performer without stage assistants, packed flat and plays big. This book is meant for professional mentalists/magicians, and will provide new ways of thinking and will stimulate your creativity. You will learn, among other things, how to: - Allow the entire audience to read the thoughts of a random volunteer - Distinguish between truth-tellers and liars + strong kicker in the end - Influence the decisions of 4 or 3 volunteers on stage - Witness a rare coincidence (every show) - Erase the memory of the volunteer who will not even remember his name - Show on stage how much imagination can affect reality - Hypnotize a volunteer in three seconds - Demonstrate voodoo - Predict the future This is the link for orders: www.tmotmr.com I like the sound of it, and the website is very nice. I’ve got a copy headed my way. I’ll give my full thoughts once it arrives. Madison |
DrewBstoss Special user SLC, Utah 582 Posts |
I've been craving a good book as of late - this looks like it will fit the bill nicely.
Order placed - looking forward to this! Best wishes, Drew
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before." Neil Gaiman
Please consider subscribing to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmdnUX |
NeilS Inner circle 3225 Posts |
This looks to be a very good release and the website is certainly impressive.
Neil |
no2ss Inner circle California 1027 Posts |
At the very least, that is the best designed website for a book release I've ever seen.
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Stunninger Inner circle 2819 Posts |
Very elegant and classy website! The book looks and sounds intriguing.
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Pixelated Veteran user 331 Posts |
The only thing stopping me is that I'm not a fan of pseudo hypnosis or the Dunninger ploy and that seems to be quite a bit of the book.
I think I'll wait for some reviews |
JanForster Inner circle Germany ... when not traveling... 4190 Posts |
Any reviews? Jan
Jan Forster
www.janforster.de |
Jack Straw Inner circle Wichita 1020 Posts |
Madison's failure to review after more than six weeks is a review.
Jack Straw from Wichita, cut his buddy down
And dug for him a shallow grave, and laid his body down Half a mile from Tucson, by the morning light One man gone and another to go, my old buddy you're moving much too slow We can share the women, we can share the wine |
Martin Pulman Inner circle London 3399 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 12, 2020, Jack Straw wrote: Is Madison still refusing to write negative reviews? |
DrewBstoss Special user SLC, Utah 582 Posts |
I've struggled to find the right words to communicate my feelings towards this book.
I wanted SO badly to like it... As a whole, it should be a great book - it contains a good variety of material; the routines are nicely layered; the methods are solid; the layout of the book is clean and professional. From first hand experience, I know that writing a book demands exceedingly large amounts of time, energy, and heart. Authors (especially in the magic community) open themselves up to a vast array of anxiety and criticism. Additionally, the earning potential is disproportionately meager compared to the work needed to publish a physical product. For all of those reasons and more, it genuinely hurts my soul to say this... Unfortunately, almost nothing in the book is original or unique. I cannot recommend it to anyone that is decently experienced within mentalism. A good book, in my opinion, should boast one or more of the following attributes: 1) It teaches ground-breaking methods 2) It weaves existing ideas in new and interesting ways. (All ideas being fully credited and permissions from the original creators obtained (where possible).) 3) It shares inspired and/or unique presentations 4) It offers practical/professional advice (on business topics, performance technique, etc.) "The Mind of the Mind Reader" sadly falls short in each of those areas. I fully admit that almost none of my published work uses "new" methods - but I do my absolute best to ensure that readers/viewers know the sources from which my ideas derive. The extent of Gidon's crediting (in the majority of cases) is nothing more than a few names listed at the end of each chapter. If you aren't well versed in mentalism, you would struggle to know which ideas/touches are unique to Gidon and which should be attributed to others. Granted, I hold myself - and consequently others - to a high standard in this regard, but it was quite disappointing to me how little emphasis was placed on crediting. If Gidon had sent me the book prior to publication, here is a list of credits (and permissions) that I would have encouraged him to include. In some cases I'll also add a general comment ("GC") or two regarding the routine: "Peek Plus" -Ted Lesley's "Informatico" -Acidus Novus (was credit obtained for this?) -Alexander Marsh's "37th Deception Revisited" -Ken Dyne's "Challenge Mind Reading" and a similar idea by Peter Turner -GC: Nothing new here... "Odd Note" -Stephen Laithwaite -Colin McLeod's "Noted" -Peter Turner's "Mind Plant" "Envelpe Text" -Matt Mello's "Dark Arts" -GC:This is essentially the 4DT sequence shared by Marc Paul in his Alakazam Academy... I'm assuming that Marc gave his blessing on this one. "The Watchmaker's Game" -Acidus Novus -The mathematical principle in play here has a variety of sources: Mel Stover, Martin Gardner, Stewart James, Banachek -Derren Brown's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" -GC: Gidon credits Bob Cassidy, but I'm not sure what that could be referring to... "Chair-Less" -Asi Wind's "Catch 23" (which, in turn, is based on Gary Kurtz' chair test) -Rich Maue's "Heads and Tails" (specifically his M.O. Envelope) -Lars "PIN" "Invisible Force" -Derren Brown (the card coincidence he performed for Jonathan Ross and his wife) -GC: This is IDENTICAL to Daniel Madison's "Identity." "How to Open a Table" -Derren Brown's Zippo Routine from Pure Effect -Peter Turner's "A Nifty Introduction" "STM" -James Brown "Cerebral Steal" (Gidon does rightly credit Luke Jermay and Patrick Redford though) -GC: There is literally nothing new or noteworthy here... "Hypno-Heavy" -GC: I am unable to identify anything that is original here. These are the commonly used body stunts presented like they always are. "Jedi Trance" -GC: This idea has merit but it is very similar to the work of Robert Watkins and other for pseudo hypnosis "Voodoo Touch" -GC: First of all, the suggested scripting made my skin crawl. I would NEVER allude to "secret office romances" in a corporate setting (granted, maybe social norms are different outside of the US). Secondly, there is NOTHING new taught here (again). These are all of the standard approaches to PK touches. Even the sequence and layering of methods have been discussed many times before. "The Phantom Link" -Derren Brown's "Reminiscence" -Anton's "Ventriloquist" -Michael Weber's "With Their Backs to the Drawing Board" Geometrical Ahead -The opening routine in Derren Brown's "The Gathering" -GC: This is pretty much a one-man version of the Derren's routine. Even the design of Gidon's poster-board is identical to Derren's (same shapes, same colors). It blows my mind that Derren wasn't mentioned at all. -Cody Fisher's "Comedy Confabulation" -GC: To be fair, Gidon does include Cody's name at the end of the chapter - but a reader unfamiliar with "Comedy Confabulation" wouldn't know where to look for more information. -The Dunninger Ploy I would completely understand if Gidon had accidently overlooked a source here and there (magic history/crediting is a DEEP and winding rabbit hole) - but the sheer extent of ideas that were not properly attributed is overwhelming. The originality issues bleed into the suggested presentations as well. There are no novel twists or surprises. Many of the "bits" and lines are standard fare. There was nothing that inspired me to think in new directions. It deeply saddens me that my response to this book isn't more praiseworthy... I had such high expectations for it. Best wishes, Drew
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before." Neil Gaiman
Please consider subscribing to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmdnUX |
Jack Straw Inner circle Wichita 1020 Posts |
Wow.
There you go. I trust Drew's opinion and his facts.
Jack Straw from Wichita, cut his buddy down
And dug for him a shallow grave, and laid his body down Half a mile from Tucson, by the morning light One man gone and another to go, my old buddy you're moving much too slow We can share the women, we can share the wine |
Martin Pulman Inner circle London 3399 Posts |
It sounds from Drew's review that this may not actually be an attempt to write a book of original ideas, methods or presentations but rather an attempt to expose the ideas of others, similar to The Dummies Guide to Mentalism (or whatever it was called).
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DrewBstoss Special user SLC, Utah 582 Posts |
I feel the need to clarify something -
I don't think that Gidon has any malicious intent or blatant disrespect of others in the community. I'm not casting any such accusations in his direction. It feels as though he simply went about this book in the wrong way (IMHO that is). I hardly ever perform material exactly as it is originally taught. I strive to learn tools from others and look for inspiration that ignites my creative juices. The bottom line is that this book felt like a collection of other people's methods and presentations - things that are already in the collective conscious. Regrettably, there was nothing I was able to take from it by way of inspiration. Best wishes, Drew
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before." Neil Gaiman
Please consider subscribing to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmdnUX |
Martin Pulman Inner circle London 3399 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 13, 2020, DrewBstoss wrote: Well, there is part of the major thing that has gone wrong with mentalism, right there. We're now treating someone selling -for $100!!!- other people's methods and presentations as somehow an understandable mistake. I preferred it when we clamped down on people trying to benefit by stealing the hard work of others and had a zero tolerance approach to exposure. It also stopped the market being absolutely flooded with items that are little more than minor tweaks to existing effects -if that. It's incredible how things have changed in a couple of decades. |
DrewBstoss Special user SLC, Utah 582 Posts |
Hi Martin,
I didn't say that it was an understandable mistake. In my earlier post I stated: "I would completely understand if Gidon had accidently overlooked a source here and there (magic history/crediting is a DEEP and winding rabbit hole) - but the sheer extent of ideas that were not properly attributed is overwhelming." I will never condone unethical behavior and I do have a zero tolerance approach to exposure (you need look no further than my STRONG feelings towards Murphy's Magic "Anverdi Mental Die" fiasco to see that's the case). My clarification was merely a subjective assessment on Gidon's INTENT and CHARACTER. If he purposefully evaded ethical protocol in the pursuit of profit then he was absolutely in the wrong. I do not know what permissions he obtained, so I am refraining from making specific accusations to that end. I, like everyone else, must take the book at face value. As it is currently written, it is my opinion that it should not have been published. But I recognize the possibility that Gidon simply didn't take adequate measures to assure readers that permissions were granted. He clearly fell extremely short in terms of crediting though. Best wishes, Drew
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before." Neil Gaiman
Please consider subscribing to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmdnUX |
Mark Timon Special user 594 Posts |
Nice book, sure it lacks more crediting ( not permission) but the only difference between Gidon and the person who wrote here his review is only that. It is a shame that the book is out of print now.
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UnbiasedMagicReviews Veteran user 338 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 13, 2020, Martin Pulman wrote: Martin, What you describe is not just mentalism - it's the whole magic industry. Making a tiny change to a well established routine/method/effect and then repackage it and sell it. That's what the business has become. I could give you various examples that were put out recently and some would make you cringe. If you watch magic book reviews they tend to talk about the aesthetic quality of the book - what it looks like and the quality of the physical book rather than the originality of what is published inside.
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boknenosta New user 1 Post |
Gidon just posted an apology on https://www.tmotmr.com/
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252life Inner circle Ninth Circle, Hades 3243 Posts |
Thx Drew. The websites down now btw.
Look for all the world like you're counting the brain cells in his cranium.
-Theodore Annemann |
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