The Incredible Stealth Assassin is Here! Plus Moveo reviewed!

Two new items crossed my desk this week. One I think is
absolutely terrific and the other one I didn't. Also, Bryn
Reynolds is back from his tour of duty and I now have some
more of his excellent ESPnvelopes. Check out my website for
more details on this. Bryn has also shared a couple of new
products with me and they are some of the best things he's
produced. When they're available, I'll provide more info,
of course.

As to upcoming products, next week I'll have Harry Lorayne's
new book, Mathematical Wizardry, for those who like
lightning calculation demonstrations. I'll also have World
Magic Shop's Wizard PK Rings, which are available in three
sizes and in both gold and silver.


***** A COMPLETE ACT TO TRAVEL WITH
Larry Becker and Lee Earle created two dynamite products,
Double Vision and Cruise Control. The former is one of the
best book tests around. It features a travel book and uses
the pictures and maps inside as well as the text. It's very
clever and plays powerfully. Just as strong, if not
stronger, is Cruise Control, in which the performer
correctly predicts half a dozen exact details of a cruise
along with a randomly selected amount of traveler's cheques.
I've performed this quite a few times and it always gets an
incredible response. And since both products deal with
travel, they naturally go together and make for a very nice
act. Check them out.

Until next time. -- Jheff


*********
JAMES CHEUNG'S
MOVEO
JMOM Price: n/a, available through special request only
Suggested Retail Price: $30

THE BLURB:
Moveo: Latin verb- to move or to dislodge.

Moveo is arguably one of the most deceptive and baffling
effects of this genre yet is based on a very simple
methodology.

Effect

A normal, examinable Sharpie is placed on top of a narrow
necked bottle (beer or wine bottles are perfect) yet will
move and spin eerily when you bring your empty hand towards
it, eventually causing it to fall off the bottle. It will
even move when there is no apparent movement of your hand
but you only bring it in proximity to the Sharpie.

Moveo solves many of the problems of existing PK Sharpies
such as noise, impreciseness of set-up and unnaturally
responsive movement yet offers some benchmark
characteristics of its own. Moveo offers the following
features:

* It uses no threads.
* It uses no moving liquids.
* It uses no static electricity.
* It uses no air or blowing to cause movement.
* Your hands can be shown empty back and front, before,
during and after the effect.
* You can remove any rings and watches.
* You sleeves can be rolled up.
* The pen is examinable and is a working Sharpie.

Comes complete with gaffed Sharpie and instruction sheet.

MY COMMENTS:
Two positive points that I can say are that this product is
exactly what the blurb claims and the pen itself is well
made. As you can tell, though, there are lots of drawbacks
to this that I'm very disappointed with.

First, if the blurb leads you to believe that there is
something very new and different in the methodology of this,
then prepare to be disappointed. Most PK effects use just a
few different types of gimmicks or methods. You may notice
that there is one very prominent method that's not listed in
the bullet points. If you recognize what's missing, you'll
know the method.

Which brings us to the next point. This is really Richard
Osterlind's Psychic Control only with a Sharpie instead of a
ballpoint pen. If James Cheung is familiar with PC, then
shame on him for not mentioning this in his instructions or
even asking permission from Richard Osterlind to do this.
If James isn't familiar with this, then there is no excuse
for his blatant ignorance in rushing this to market before
researching and finding this out.

James writes in his instructions that while "the principle
is an old one, I believe that I am the first to apply the
gaffs in [a] manner I shall describe." Sure, he may be the
first to apply gaffs to a Sharpie (I don't think so,
though), but he certainly isn't the first to apply gaffs to
a writing object in this way. Again, this is either
deliberate arrogance and an insult to Mr. Osterlind or an
admission of ignorance. Not only that, but applying this
principle to a Sharpie is not a huge creative leap.

But let's go on. The gimmick itself is very small. And
James provides absolutely no help or explanation on the best
way to get into position or out of position to end the
effect. Essentially, you're on your own. Perhaps he does
explain it on his forum, but it should be in the
instructions, which is a skimpy two-sided single sheet of
paper. The instructions only explain where to put it. It
doesn't detail the handling. It doesn't explain where the
gimmick should be at the start of the performance, the way
to get into position during performance, or how to clean-up.
Sure, experienced performers could figure this out, but
purchasers shouldn't have to.

Finally, and this really doesn't have anything to do with
the prop, James Cheung made a comment in his instructions
that really bothers me. "Enjoy this little gem and I hope
you will fool many people in the name of entertainment." I
certainly hope this is NOT why you're doing mentalism, or
magic, for that matter. This is the philosophy of
inexperienced performers who don't understand the true
purpose of mystical entertainment. It should never be to
fool people and make them look like idiots, and do it in the
name of entertainment. I certainly don't want to be in a
performer's audience who takes this approach. Ever. When I
entertain, I want to provide a good time and a memorable
experience. I want them to remember me and want to see me
again. Also, for a mentalist, the moment folks feel they
are being "fooled" they'll think it's a trick and the
effects or act become mental magic. Mental magic isn't
nearly as powerful as mentalism (or magic, for that matter).
But that's a topic for another day. The point is that one
shouldn't aim to fool their audiences, you should entertain
them with your abilities. That's a huge difference.

If this effect appeals to you, then I recommend you get
Richard Osterlind's Psychic Control. And if you want a
Sharpie version, once you see how Psychic Control works,
you'll find that you can certainly make one yourself.
Though it's priced right, I can't recommend Moveo due to its
suspicious similarity to Richard Osterlind's Psychic Control
and the brief and vague instructions.

NEW PRODUCTS AND REVIEWS:
STEALTH ASSASSIN