<ul><li><p>The Return of the White Dwarf</p><p>And Other Names and Places</p><p>Bob Cassidy</p></li><li><p>Bob Cassidy</p><p>Copyright 2011 by Bob CassidyAll Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written</p><p>permission by the copyright holder and publisher.</p><p>2</p></li><li><p>The Return of the White Dwarf </p><p>The Effect</p><p>The basic effect (EXACTLY as it appears to the audience):</p><p>The mentalist announces an experiment in test conditions telepathy.</p><p>A manila pay envelope is handed to a participant, who is asked to hold it to the light to </p><p>verify that she cannot tell what is inside. She signs the envelope across the face and </p><p>initials the flap.</p><p>The envelope is opened and is revealed to contain a smaller envelope. The participant </p><p>verifies that this one is also opaque. She herself opens it and removes a business card that </p><p>has a large black rectangle drawn on the back in black marker ink. (The rectangle is </p><p>drawn with a Sharpie or similar marker and serves to prove beyond any doubt that the </p><p>envelope is opaque. In fact, the participant can examine both envelopes to her heart's </p><p>content to verify that both are IN FACT opaque and unprepared in any way.)</p><p>The participant is requested to secretly print the name of her favorite film within the </p><p>rectangle. Having done so, she herself inserts the card, writing side down, into the smaller </p><p>envelope which, after she seals it, is inserted into the larger envelope, which is also </p><p>sealed. The performer never touches the card at any time.</p><p>She now holds the envelopes between her outstretched palms and is asked to concentrate </p><p>on a scene from the film as well as on the name of one of its stars. The mentalist begins to </p><p>describe 'impressions' that he is receiving. Picking up a large pad, he writes something </p><p>down and hands the pad, face down, to a nearby spectator for safekeeping.</p><p>Needless to say, when the envelopes are opened, and the participant's film revealed to the </p><p>audience, the mentalist is shown to have correctly revealed her thoughts exactly.</p><p>3</p></li><li><p>Bob Cassidy</p><p>Afterward, the card and envelopes may be left with the participant as a souvenir.</p><p>The method is absolutely undetectable and is made possible through clever handling and </p><p>a powerful logical disconnect that leaves the audience with no rational explanation for </p><p>what they have just witnessed.</p><p>The effect works with ANY opaque manila envelopes and may be performed either close-</p><p>up or on stage.</p><p>History</p><p>My original Test of the White Dwarf was directly inspired by Corindas Khan envelope </p><p>test. While Corinda proposed a two envelope variation to his original effect, I wanted to </p><p>devise a handling that would elevate the routine to a true test conditions piece.</p><p>The routine and handling I came up with and performed for nearly thirty years was </p><p>originally titled, quite simply, The Two Envelope test. It first appeared in my book The </p><p>Art of Mentalism and later, with my permission, was published in Bascom Jones's </p><p>Magick as the Test of the White Dwarf. To this day, I have no idea where he came up </p><p>with the title. (I imagine, though, that since in astronomy a white dwarf is a collapsed </p><p>degenerate star, he may have thought the title aptly suited its author.)</p><p>Here is my original write up of the routine as it originally appeared in The Art of </p><p>Mentalism:</p><p>The Two Envelope Test</p><p>EFFECT: The spectator writes a number or draws a picture on a visiting card which he </p><p>then holds face down. The performer removes two envelopes from his pocket and has </p><p>them examined while the spectator is writing. The spectator places his card face down in </p><p>4</p></li><li><p>The Return of the White Dwarf </p><p>the smaller of the two envelopes, which, in turn, is sealed in the larger envelope. The </p><p>large envelope is initialed and held by a volunteer.</p><p>The performer now reveals the thought in his most mystifying manner.</p><p>METHOD: The large envelope is a number 5J Sphinx Clasp. This type of envelope is </p><p>absolutely opaque. The smaller envelope is a cheaper number 4 size pay envelope. This </p><p>type of envelope is so cheaply made that it is very easy to see through.</p><p>The card used must be blank on both sides. Prior to the effect, the card is placed in the </p><p>smaller envelope which, in turn, is placed in the larger envelope.</p><p>PERFORMANCE: The nested envelopes are removed from the performer's pocket and </p><p>handed to a volunteer. The volunteer is asked if he can tell what is inside the envelope </p><p>merely by looking at it. He will, of course, say 'no.' The performer takes back the </p><p>envelope, opens the larger one and removes the smaller envelope. From that he </p><p>withdraws the card and hands it to the spectator along with a black felt-tip pen.</p><p>The spectator is asked to draw a simple picture.</p><p>While he is so occupied, the performer allows other spectators to examine the two </p><p>envelopes. Since there is nothing in them, their opacity, or lack of it, cannot be </p><p>discovered.</p><p>Retrieving the envelopes, the performer places them face-to-face with the smaller </p><p>envelope uppermost. The spectator slides his card into the smaller envelope, which </p><p>remains in the performer hands.</p><p>While still holding the envelopes face to face, the performer seals the smaller envelope. </p><p>He may now have the spectator put his initials on the flap. The performer now turns both </p><p>envelopes over, removes the bottom one and places it into the larger envelope. In so </p><p>doing, he will immediately be able to see the spectator's writing through the thin paper of </p><p>the cheaper envelope. He seals the larger envelope- which now can be safely held by the </p><p>volunteer.</p><p>5</p></li><li><p>Bob Cassidy</p><p>The revelation is now made either by duplicating the thought verbally or writing it on a </p><p>large pad.</p><p>A Logical Disconnect</p><p>As is usually the case, after I had published the effect I continued to improve it. The first </p><p>modification added a subtlety that reinforced the idea that the small envelope was indeed </p><p>opaque. Instead of using a visiting card that was blank on both sides, I decided to have a </p><p>large rectangle drawn on one side of the card. Prior to performance, the card was inserted </p><p>into the small envelope rectangle side down. (So that the rectangle was against the </p><p>smooth (as opposed to the seamed) side of the envelope.)</p><p>Upon removing the envelope from the larger one, I would hold it up in front of the </p><p>participant's eyes and ask her, as I did with the larger envelope previously, if she could </p><p>see what was inside. Since I showed her the envelope from the seamed side, it was </p><p>impossible for her to see the rectangle due to the thickness of the card itself. Thus, when I </p><p>removed the card and showed her the large rectangle drawn on it, I had tacitly reaffirmed </p><p>that the envelope was indeed opaque. </p><p>The addition serves as a perfect example of what I have often referred to as a Logical </p><p>Disconnect. The handling seems to rule out the actual method used to accomplish the </p><p>effect.</p><p>A BRIEF DIVERSION and a reflection on the Logical Disconnect</p><p>In this day of electronic wonders it is not surprising that so much time and effort is being </p><p>put into devising methods that are EXACTLY what intelligent audiences often suspect we </p><p>are using in the first place.</p><p>I am amused at the extreme interest shown on mentalism forums for the latest in </p><p>electronic impression devices. They are exactly the sort of thing that audiences are likely </p><p>to suspect. That is why I always joke around to my audiences about the cheap props I use </p><p>6</p></li><li><p>The Return of the White Dwarf </p><p>(such as golf pencils, etc.). You can keep the pencil. They're cheap. And besides, if I </p><p>were to use fancy pens or pencils, I can guarantee you that many of you will think that </p><p>they have transmitters in them. (!)</p><p>While that statement may seem to violate the basic rule of magic that states that a </p><p>magician shouldn't mention a method in order to rule it out, it's important to remember </p><p>that the rules of magic don't always apply in mentalism. Skeptical audience members </p><p>will almost always assume that a mentalist is using secret assistants and high tech secret </p><p>devices. I feel it's necessary for the performer to confront that directly in order to rule out </p><p>those possibilities. (Even if he is, in fact, actually using secret assistants and fancy </p><p>electronics!) I do it in joking manner as described above and it serves my purpose. I even </p><p>ask the woman who participates in my drawing duplication routine to carefully look </p><p>around the performing area to make sure there are no hidden mirrors or cameras.</p><p>Many years after creating the original routine I developed a handling which I later </p><p>released as Eye of the White Dwarf in Theories and Methods for the Practical Psychic </p><p>(later republished in The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy). While other creators had </p><p>come up with variations of the Dwarf routine using a window envelope, such handlings </p><p>did not allow for the complete openness of the original in exhibiting the envelopes.</p><p>Still, replacing the transparent inner envelope with a windowed one was a workable </p><p>solution for those who couldn't find or make envelopes that had the transparency </p><p>necessary to glimpse the spectator's writing.</p><p>In Eye of the White Dwarf I made use of a very small circular window on the face of </p><p>an otherwise opaque inner envelope. It was small enough to be covered with my thumb </p><p>while I held the envelope up to the light. Obviously, it couldn't be handled by the </p><p>participant and the small peek area required a circle (or eye) to be drawn on the card </p><p>rather than the large rectangle.</p><p>7</p></li><li><p>Bob Cassidy</p><p>The Return of the White Dwarf</p><p>Just as my first improvement to the routine added a Logical Disconnect to prove the </p><p>opacity of the envelopes, The Return of the White Dwarf adds an important additional </p><p>subtlety that allows the participant to personally inspect the envelopes prior to the effect. </p><p>There is nothing for he/she to find because the envelopes are both completely opaque and </p><p>unprepared.</p><p>I should also note that I no longer use #5 and #3 envelopes in any of the variations. </p><p>Instead, the larger envelope I use is a #3 and the smaller a #1. The small envelope is just </p><p>large enough to hold a standard size business card. (Although you may have to trim the </p><p>card very slightly short.) The size of the envelopes didn't really matter in the original </p><p>routine, but in this improvement it serves to assure easy handling, as you will see in a </p><p>moment.</p><p>There are two alternative handlings that can be employed in the routine. Both, however, </p><p>require a third envelope.</p><p>The extra envelope is the same size as the smaller envelope, but it has a large oval </p><p>window cut from its face (non-seam side). While the classic window envelope as </p><p>described by Annemann and others uses a rectangular window, the oval is preferable </p><p>because it prevents the business card from catching on the corners of the window when it </p><p>is inserted into the envelope as you will discover with a bit of experimentation. Because </p><p>of the small size of the envelope (#1), the card will be perfectly aligned with the window </p><p>when it is inserted.</p><p>As in the original version, the business card has a large rectangle drawn on it. I describe it </p><p>as a movie screen in the presentation.</p><p>8</p></li><li><p>The Return of the White Dwarf </p><p>Basic Version</p><p>In the basic version of Return, the initial set-up is as follows:</p><p>The business card with the rectangle drawn on it is inside the small unprepared envelope. </p><p>(Note that I draw the rectangle with a Sharpie marker. The envelopes I use are from </p><p>Office Max and are totally opaque. The rectangle does not show through. If you use </p><p>cheaper envelopes you may need to forego the Sharpie and use a pen or pencil. The </p><p>envelopes, however, must be opaque enough so that no writing shows through.) </p><p>This envelope is, in turn, inserted into the larger envelope and the latter is, in turn, put in </p><p>your side jacket pocket or on your table, along with a suitable writing instrument.</p><p>Obviously, neither of the envelopes are sealed at this point!</p><p>The window envelope is placed in one of the following pockets- your shirt pocket or the </p><p>breast pocket of your jacket.</p><p>Performance:</p><p>A participant is selected and joins the performer on stage or at the front of the room. (If </p><p>working close-up, the participant may remain seated but the performer must stand.)</p><p>She is invited to participate in a test conditions experiment and is handed the nested </p><p>envelope set.</p><p>The mentalist requests that she hold the envelope to the light to determine if she can tell </p><p>what is inside. She does so and verifies that she cannot see through the envelope. </p><p>The mentalist hands her a marker/pen/pencil and asks her to sign her name across the </p><p>face of the envelope.</p><p>He now explains that the envelope actually contains a smaller one and asks the </p><p>participant to open the envelope and remove it. Once she does so, the performer takes the </p><p>signed large envelope from her as he, once again, asks her to hold the smaller envelope </p><p>up to the light to verify that she cannot see what is inside.</p><p>She is now asked to open the small envelope and remove its contents. She discovers that </p><p>it contains a blank business card with a large black rectangle drawn on one side. The </p><p>9</p></li><li><p>Bob Cassidy</p><p>performer asks her hold up the card to the audience so that they can see the rectangle. </p><p>(This serves to reinforce the fact that the envelope was indeed opaque because she was </p><p>obviously unable to see the rectangle until she removed the business card.)</p><p>The performer casually retrieves the small envelope from her and asks her to imagine that </p><p>the rectangle is actually a movie screen.</p><p>(Note that the movie screen motif is something I use throughout my program. Whenever I </p><p>have members of the audience focus on a thought, I have them imagine that they are </p><p>seeing it on a large imaginary screen. Thus, the use of the rectangle as a screen is totally </p><p>consistent with the thought reading premise I use throughout the act.)</p><p>The mentalists asks the participant to focus on a thought (the title of a move, the name of </p><p>a childhood friend, a simple picture, etc.) and to imagine that she sees it filling the </p><p>screen. (The latter phrase is important as it insures that she will write or draw large </p><p>enough to facilitate an easy peek later in the routine.)</p><p>The performer turns his back to the participant and asks her to hold the card close to her </p><p>body as she prints or draws her thought within the rectangle. This is all to insure that no </p><p>one can see what she is putting on the card. When she is finished, she is instructed to hold </p><p>the card face down in her hand.</p><p>While she is drawing, it is a simple matter for the performer to casually switch the small </p><p>envelope for the one in his pocket. There is absolutely no need to make a move out of </p><p>this as all attention will be on the participant. If you like you can even place both of the </p><p>unprepared envelopes into the same pocket as the window envelope as you are instructing </p><p>the spectator to focus all of her attention on her thought as she writes/draws it on the card.</p><p>Alternatively, if you keep your arms folded it is easy to switch the small envelope for the </p><p>window..</p></li></ul>
Bob Cassidy Fundamentals Pdf To Word Document
Bob Cassidy Fundamentals Pdf To Word Free
Sis 2 sisx amp. Bob cassidy - fundamentals - a guidebook to mentalism - download at 4shared. Bob cassidy - fundamentals - a guidebook to mentalism is hosted at free file sharing service 4shared. Randy waldman wigged out rare. Fundamentals of Professional Mentalism has 6 ratings and 1 review. Brandon said: After reflecting on this book for the past two years, I don't think that.