But Stranger Still.pdf

Bob Cassidy’s

But Stranger Still…

A Mind Reader’s Revelations

Sacred Chao Productions

All contents copyright? 2002 by Robert E Cassidy

“It’s not really an illusion, it just looks like one.”

- - Attributed to Dr Bob,

but probably plagiarized

Table of Contents

Doctor Bob Live and in Persona! ...........................................................................................................

A Day at the Movies ................................................................................................................................

Doctor Bob’s Opening Routine .............................................................................................................

Doctor Bob’s Killer Miller Caps ............................................................................................................

The Billet Reading Portfolio ..................................................................................................................

Smear and Hear ........................................................................................................................................

BONUS .......................................................................................................................................................

Questions and Answers about Dr Bob and his important message to you! .................................

Doctor Bob Live and in Persona!

Very often I receive calls from mentalists who refer to the many years I

performed in the so-called “Biker Bars” of the Northwest. They ask, “How did you

present mentalism in these venues?” To which I always give the same response –

“ I didn’t and I never would want to try. I gave those gigs to Doctor Bob, but he

refused to present mentalism anywhere at all.“

Most mentalists who insist that Doctor Bob and I are the same person think I’m

trying to be funny when I tell them this. Some think the 1960’s are finally catching up

with me. A few, suspecting I might actually be telling some form of the truth, just ask,

“Are you trying to make some kind of obscure point?”

There is a point, of course. It’s only obscure because of the assumption that a

mentalist’s purpose is to present mentalism. But, as Dr. Bob would say, you’ve got to

think backwards. *

My purpose is to present a character as well. The “Cassidy” character, or persona,

is quite a bit like me the real me and was developed over years of performing before

mainstream audiences.

“Doctor Bob” came a bit later and is better suited to handle faster paced and sometimes

“rougher” venues by establishing a different type of control and rapport. Both of them

present themselves through the art of mentalism. And both do things a bit differently. But

they are not as different as you might think. Sometimes, in fact, I switch back and forth

between the two, if I need to boost or calm the mood of an audience.

The ‘Cassidy” persona is the one most of you have seen perform, and whose

personality seems to dominate most of my writings. But since so many of you actually

agreed that Doctor Bob’s version of the “Bank Nite” routine was the way to go, I’ve

included a few more of his dubious concepts in these pages.

He insisted.

* Dr Bob’s “Backwards Rule,” is, in fact, a trick he employs very often to create the

illusion of mind reading. It is one of the essential psychological principles used in the

following effect.

Does an actor present acting? Or does he use acting to present a character?

A Day at the Movies

One of my favorite presentational approaches has always involved the movies.

Since the basic premise of my show has members of the audience focusing thoughts on

an imaginary movie screen,

it’s only logical that I have them imagine a movie now and then.

In Fundamentals Part 3 I described a version of the effect that works very well

before a medium sized audience as part of a formal performance. This version uses very

little in the way of props and evolved from an idea described by Tom Waters in his Man,

Myth and Magic. It’s something that can easily be carried in your wallet or pocket and

can be performed almost anywhere.

The premise of the effect evolves from the vast number of ways that movies have

been classified and ranked over the years. The performer sets up the effect by referring

to all of the different “One Hundred Best” and “All Time Favorites” lists that have been

compiled.

“Have you ever noticed how many lists of movies there are today? There’s

probably at least a hundred different “Top One Hundred Lists’ alone. I mean there are

lists of: the greatest films ever made; the worst films ever made; the best of the worst

films ever made; the worst of the best films ever made that still made the most money;

best fantasies; best westerns; best comedies, and so on.

“ Did you see that one a while back called the “The Best Cinematography of the

20 th Century”? Now that was a fascinating one because it’s a list of the best movies to

watch even with the volume turned off - the most visual films of the century. They’re all

considered important, not just because of the stories, but because of excellent

photography. All of them have great scenes that are easy to visualize even years after

you’ve seen them. That’s what gave me the idea for an interesting visualization test.

[The performer exhibits a long list of movie titles]

“ So I decided to get a copy of the list and I found it right on the Amazon site, in

the Internet Movie Archives. Listen to some of the different films on it. There’s

Spartacus, Lawrence of Arabia, The Sting, High Noon, The Great Escape, and even

Blazing Saddles . And those are only in the second half of the list! “ [As he reads from

the list, the performer allows a few of the spectators a chance to look at the list, thus

establishing that it is exactly what it appears to be.

My basic talk goes something like this:

“The top of the list, of course, has some of the best remembered films of all time,

containing scenes no one can ever forget. So many of them in fact, I wondered if it

would be possible for me not to just reveal the name of a movie someone is thinking of,

but to determine just one scene out of the thousands of scenes that are in these films.

Let’s try.

“I need someone who visualizes well. Yes, how about you. Would you stand

please? Do you like movies? What kinds of movies do you like the best?

“That’s good. Now take the list, but don’t look at it just yet. Let me turn my back

first so there’s no way I can tell what films you’re looking at.

“ Now start to look down the list. Look over the list and let just one of the films

start sending images into your mind… do you have a film that is sending images to you?

Good. Now concentrate. Here’s what I’m getting.”

“I’m getting some strange characters here… An animal like a man… He’s evil?

Someone is holding something up in his hand like this? It’s a weapon of some kind, a

knife. And blood.

“I’m exactly right aren’t I? Tell everyone the scene I've received from you.”

The test can be repeated with another subject or two, if necessary. The only times

you may ever need to try again is in response to a good-natured challenge, or if you have

completely misjudged your first subject and have managed to pick the only person within

four hundred miles who only watches cartoons. But if you look carefully at the questions

I asked about her preferences in movies, you’ll see in a moment how I make sure she’s a

good subject.

The test looks exactly as it is described above. That’s because there is nothing in

view except the movie list. Even though the premise of the effect is visual -it involves the

visualization of a scene taken from a highly visual film – the method is based on verbal

deception, the principle of limited choice, and “The Backwards Rule.”

The first deception lies in the list itself, which is completely fictitious. Since the

presentation begins with a discussion of “top one hundred lists” there is a strong

suggestion that the actual list contains a hundred films. But if you look back at the

presentation you will see that the performer never says that. He only says that this is a

“list of the most visual films of the century. “

Only forty titles appear on the list, twenty on the front of the column-like sheet

and twenty on the back. There appear to be twice as many as that because both sides

contain the same titles in a different order. Here is what the list looks like, the so-called

“bottom half” is on the right.

The subject describes (in this example) the shower scene from “Psycho.”

FRONT OF SHEET

BACK OF SHEET

“the top half of the list”

“the bottom half of the list”

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