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CarlD Regular user 111 Posts |
I got this mail this morning. I, along with a few others here, was on the test panel of readers for it, so I may have got this earlier than some. No time at present to review it fully but you can read about it here. http://www.spellbound.dk
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Xiqual Inner circle Upper left quadrant 4935 Posts |
'Sleight of Mind' is a great book. Lots of very usable stuff in there.
I'll be getting this for sure. Thank you for the link, James
Still with the Chinese circus
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Joshua Quinn Inner circle with an outer triangle 2054 Posts |
I was on the "test panel" as well, and I thought there was some really nice stuff in here. The word "Geist" is the authors' term for "the machanism behind how the audience thinks an effect is accomplished." A lot of the book deals with how changing this underlying implication can alter your audience's perception and reaction. While I've seen this concept mentioned in other sources, I've never seen it given the thorough treatment it receives here. For that alone I think the book would be worth reading, but it also has some very good effects. The work on the Reversal ploy in particular got me excited, but everyone will have their favorites.
Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution. Unfortunately every problem also contains the seeds of an infinite number of non-solutions, so that first part really isn't super helpful.
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mindman75 New user 7 Posts |
Hi. Sorry for butting in on the topic, but as you are talking about Harling & Nyrup it seemed appropriate. I'm relatively new to mentalism, so I'd ask a bit of leniency to my question. I admittedly only have a handful of books: 13 Steps, Haunted Magic and Sleight of Mind, and a DVD by Richard Osterlind, and feel that I'm getting a good grasp of things and am taking it all very seriously.
However, I was until recently a member of another board (that shall remain nameless), where I'd lurked for a while before leaping in and asking what I thought was a normal question about Mentalism, upon which all hell broke loose and my ignorance pointed out to me by other members in a pretty OTTP way I thought. I couldn't fight my corner, I'm just not knowledgeable enough, but just for my own piece of mind could anyone here tell me the difference between the titles I have? I was under the impression that they were all mentalism? Not so, I was told 'some are mentalism, some are mental magic' - and 'mental magic' was derided as being 'not real mentalism'. I don't get it? Sleight of Mind is pure psychology and suggestion, 13 Steps is all the main principles of Mentalism, and the DVD and Haunted magic are the same kind of thing. So surely all of them are true mentalism? Am I 'less' for wanting to perform the Osterlind effects rather than having to keep on doing psychological work like in Sleight of Mind? |
Richard Osterlind V.I.P. 2213 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-04-09 06:34, mindman75 wrote: Mindman75, I am not trying to pitch myself here, but you might want to do a search on my name for - let's say about a month - to see how many people are out there using my material in real working shows. There are a lot of "advice givers" - especially on certain other forums - whose only claim to fame is exactly that - giving advice. They never perform for money, for real people or have any inkling as to what a legitimate audience wants when they see a mentalist. If they ever had to walk out on stage and do what they claim is "real mentalism" they wouldn't last 10 minutes. I would also suggest that by using their standards, Kreskin, Dunninger, Annemann, Baker and just about any other mentalist who made the art what it is, would fall into their definition of being a "mental magician". Richard |
Tom Jorgenson Inner circle LOOSE ANGLES, CALIFORNIA 4451 Posts |
Hi Carl-
Here's my take: If you do a couple of card tricks and a wowzer rope trick at the table, then ring in the little brass tube and do the 'Guess which thingy is in the tube' trick, then that's Mental Magic. Do a little 'sensing' of any series of objects, then make it harder by putting one of several things into a small brass tube, and youj determine the contents, then that's mentalism. It's all in the premise. The fact that some people like the more ephemeral methods only means that that's what they like to study, think about and sometimes try to perform. That's all. Grab your ODDS cards and run with them! All your books are mentalism, and again: it's all in the premise.
We dance an invisible dance to music they cannot hear.
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Ominous New user 12 Posts |
I really enjoyed "Sleight of Mind" and I didn´t know that Harling & nyrup have a new book coming out.
Can either of you tell me whether Geist is about psychological effects again, like 'Sleight of Mind'? Also, 200 pages is a lot - is any of it waffle? And, do you mind me asking too, how do you get onto a panel like that? It sounds like an ideal job! /O |
CarlD Regular user 111 Posts |
Firstly; Mindman, I don't know what kind of a take everyone else here has on what you ask; I too have seen the Magic Café slated in other forums as 'too fragmented' and 'not about real mentalism'. People like the fine Mister Osterlind and others would not be here if that was truly the case. I think just learn and enjoy. Look for effects that make you happy to perform, not those that you think other mentalists tell you you should perform. Far too much of the 'Emperor's New Clothes' and snobbery in some areas of mentalism, but don't let anyone put you off learning it.
Anyway, 'Geist' has a chapter on psychological effects, but it's far broader than that. I've been performing Mentalism for a few years now, and Geist made me step back and really look at how (and even why) I do what I do. But it's also got a great range of effects in it (I'd say maybe 18 strong ones), some that are completely new to me in terms of mechanics and approach. Most are the kind of thing that need no set up and all materials can be freely examined by your volunteers, so it's perfect for table hoppers like me. There is just so much in the book that it's hard to sum up in a few words; and no, personally I didn't find any page fillers in it at all, though I'm not a big fan of the two-person work that one chapter deals with. I like, Quinn, really enjoy mathematical style effects and have spent many an hour working on my own material, but why had I never spotted the fact that there could be such a clever solution to 'Reversal'???? The Concipio gaff is cool and I've used it (with their routine 'The Beast') a handful of times to excellent effect. I've also used; 'Killer' (ludicrous, but brilliant),'Insight', 'Birth Year' and an adaptation of the 'Fabonnaci Calculation' as they really fit in well with my style. 'Killer' kills BTW! And the glossary, soooooo useful. Why has this never been done before either? Thorough, original, interesting, easy to read. If I had to rate it, I'd give it a 9 out of 10; nothing's perfect so I've taken one off for something, but I cant think what that should be:) How did I get onto the panel? Sheer luck. I was picked at random from the Café's members to read Sleight of Mind, then begged and pleaded to read 'Geist' too - I have no shame when it comes to freebies:). I believe there were 12 people from different levels of skill and backgrounds chosen, you could always mail http://www.spellbound.dk to ask to be considered for future products? I know they have another book and a DVD too on the way soon. CarlD |
mindman75 New user 7 Posts |
Hi Richard. your performance on Mind Mysteries was the reason I wanted to get into mentalism in the first place, so I'd be slightly more inclined to believe your take on all of this, rather than the others you so accurately describe.
Thanks too for your response, Tom. As far as I'm concerned it's all mentalism too. But, I'm fairly new and wasn't aware of any 'factions' in mentalism like this though? Is this a new thing or has it grown like this over a long period of time? The impression I got was that about half were saying that 'pure' mentalism was what we should all be doing. Is this a fair assessment of the size of the two camps? Or was I just unlucky to hit a bad forum? What does everyone else feel? |
spellbound New user 5 Posts |
Hi,
Thank you for you interest in Ian Harling & Martin Nyrup´s latest book, "Geist". This posting is just to inform you that we will start shipping the title on the 1st of June 2006. It should be available through your favourite magic dealer shortly thereafter. Additional information about the new book can be found at our web site. Thanks. |
Energizer Special user A well known funeral palour 582 Posts |
I still haven't finished reading it, but there's a couple of card effects in
their that are great. The effects are low on sleights, flourishes and handling techniques but high on presentation. I'm glad I bought the book for those two effects alone. I'm not interested in the effects for two performers, and there's some of that. I perform alone. The book is quite amusing at points. These guys can be rather funny. They also offer good general advice on performing mentalism. I wish my imagination wasn't so limited, otherwise some of their other techniques would come in handy.
"We judge a book by its cover and read what we want between selected lines" - W. Axl Rose, circa 1992.
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