One of my favorite's as well. It was a painful day when I had to sell mine.

Just buy another one...

http://www.staples.com/Staples-Plastic-C......t_121772

I agree great bit of work.

Card calling BCS

Spoon bending
hands off
perfect center tear

Osterlind didn't invent this, he only taught it.

Watch Routine and Bank Night for me

Another vote for clearly Q&A , fabulous

Where is Clearly Q&A found?

Since it's not Richard's product, my guess would be in another thread...

My top 5 favorites:
PCT
Watch Routine
Inside the Fold
Hands Off
Spoon Bend

Acutally, I think what Mr. Mindbender might have been referering to is "Clearly Mind Reading" which can be found on Disc Two of No Camera TRicks. Since is can be used asa a Q&A routine, I can certainly see where the confusion might have come from.

Richard

Yes, based in previous posts, I figured it was Ruchards. No Camera tricks is one of the few DVDs of his I don't have. I'll have to look into that!

There's quite a body of work to consider here. Hmmm...

PCT: opened one of the most useful methods anywhere to me. My tear started as a PCT...and evolved into my own method. Still the single best investment I've ever made in mentalism is Osterlind's PCT book. It has some amazing things in it -- but it's also a wealth of information about how to perform ANY CT. I use this in every show...every walkabout.

Mental Ep*c: This was a favorite of mine in the bad old magic days. But, try as I could, there was no way for me to rationalize doing this in my mentalism show -- once I understood what mentalism was. Then Osterlind did ME on his "Without a Net" DVDs. Here was a prop that looked like a chalkboard, didn't reflect stage lights and operated flawlessly. His presentation answered the weaknesses standard ME presentations had in the hands of a mentalist...and offered ideas that were perfectly adaptable to any performer. I close nearly every show with my ME presentation.

Alpha Ment*l: is a watch-the-audience-pee-their-pants quickie routine. I don't do the word divination Osterlind demonstrates because that's too close to something else I'm already doing. But as a cli* line routine...it's perfect.

I looked at a number of different Q and A systems when I was developing my own. There are many out there...but I don't think any are better than ThoughtSc*n for sheer practicality. Again -- the prop looks very innocent -- much like the ME board...but it's been a mainstay in a number of longer shows for me. A dead simple system and a remarkable prop. It has been said that the true value of TS is in the book that comes with it. I tend to agree.

The fifth prop? ThoughtScan Compact. On the surface many think this is just a smaller version of TS. It's not. It's a unique prop with enough differences built in to make it perfect not just for Q and A routines with smaller audiences...but several other effects as well. I can't speak as authoritatively about this because I'm just developing ideas for it myself...and to be honest, I have not taken it into a real show with me yet. But it's on its way...and I look forward to using it for years. In the long run, it MAY be used even more than TS. Time will tell.

You have to give me two more...because, while they aren't props -- both changed the way I think about mentalism. The first: Osterlind's 13 Steps DVD series -- which turned me onto mentalism in the first place. As I said in my lecture at MV -- I'd never seen mentalism presented as MENTALISM before. I'd always thought of it as a subset of magic because I was a magician. I saw an elegant and beautiful presentation that utterly blew me away.

The other resource: The Principals of Mentalism. This book -- along with Cassidy's Fundamentals 2 -- form the cannon of what I consider to be the two most important books on the subject being the modern versions of Annemann and Corinda. Any mentalist -- regardless of experience level -- will do well to devour these books again and again.

Okay. I know that's SEVEN. But what can you do?

David

The best effect from Richard Osterlind is... well Richard himself

Where is this watch effect everyone keeps talking about?

In the essential DVD for every mentalist - Mind Mysteries #1

Essential is the right word, Ulrich! I learn something new with every viewing.

I've got so much of his material that I couldn't remember where it was located, or which one everyone was talking about. Ill have to pull it off the shelf and have a look.

Since this post was made in 09, Richard has since published one of the most amazing pieces ever using cards, Hands Off. Without a doubt, it goes on the list for me.

I have only been exploring mentalist for a few months, and this may be far from the right place to say this, but I am finding Richard's Annemann DVD series outstanding value in terms of clarity of presentation, and explanation. I look forward to exploring more of his work! Thanks Richard!