The web site read something like this:

YOU CAN EARN EXTRA MONEY BY LEARNING MAGIC!

IF YOU ARE A WAITER, CLERGYMAN, WAITRESS, BARTENDER OR HAVE A JOB THAT PUTS YOU IN CONTACT WITH PEOPLE, YOU CAN EARN EXTRA MONEY WITH MAGIC!

The web site went on, explaining how anyone could learn a few simple tricks in one weekend, do these for their customers, and their customers would tip them.

I think most of us on this forum know better, don't we? You can't just go to a three day seminar and come out a magician. It takes practice, dedication and hard work. There are no short cuts. There is no easy way. You can only do it with practice.

So, where's the problem?

Well, it cheapens our art. It gives everyone the false impression that you can purchase magical skill. That's ridiculous. That's like trying to purchase absolute pitch...or talent.

Are all of you with me so far? If not, PM me with your questions.

So, why did I make that particular post?

Well, I'm setting something up, so please bear with me.

Mentalism has become the new refuge for the skill-challenged magician. When magicians watch mentalists perform, they often have the idea that it's all very easy. After all, mentalists don't do shuttle passes or classic passes or any of the other sleights they are familiar with.

Therefore, mentalists are people with no digital skill.

WRONG!!!!!

This is absolutely untrue. While few mentalists are called upon to do, say, a classic pass, they still use most of the various and sundry small object sleights that any coin worker uses, and some of the card sleights, as well. However, they do them in such a way that they are absolutely natural. I'm not going to reveal any of the methods here, but suffice it to say that every successful mentalist I have known was perfectly capable of doing most of the basic sleights that we know and love so well, and make them look perfectly natural. Most of the sleight of hand magicians I know don't do that. There are usually very subtle "tells" that give them away -- the rigid thumb, the tight shoulder, the blink, the stutter.

Amateur magicians (and a few pro's) become very upset with mentalists when they "make false claims" about the methods they use. They get upset when they claim to use NLP, aura reading or whatever the mode du jour is. It seems to me that the problem is that magicians hold mentalists to a higher code of ethics than they actually have themselves.

For example, a magician will say "I place your card into the middle of the deck, riffle the card and it comes to the top." IT'S A LIE! But magicians call that "patter."

If the mentalist says, "I'm going to use my mind to influence your selection," magicians get all upset. Lighten up, guys. It's PATTER!

I started out as a mentalist, and decided to play with toys, instead. But I have never left my mentalist roots. While I am not willing to adopt a 24/7 character like some of my colleagues, such as Kenton Knepper and the late Andruzzi, I am fully aware of the need for the mentalist to focus on what mentalism is all about. It's not about toys. It's not about anything but thoughts.

If you don't understand that, then you really don't belong in mentalism.

I don't believe in disclaimers. I don't believe in claims. I do draw the line at the point of making people believe that I can contact their departed relatives. I make it clear from the start that I am on stage to entertain people. Then I do it.

If you are a magician, and you want to become a mentalist, decide first whether you want to do one or two mental effects in your show or whether you want to take the plunge and become a full time mentalist.

There is a way to do both. But it isn't easy.