John Archer's "Streetwise" Book Test

Instead of mentally projecting your mentalism thoughts, type them here.
Dick Christian
Posts: 208
Joined: August 18th, 2008, 11:03 am
Location: Fairfax Station, VA (Metro DC)
Contact:

John Archer's "Streetwise" Book Test

Postby Dick Christian » July 26th, 2010, 3:55 pm

I received my copy of John Archers new Streetwise book test a few days ago. I knew a good bit about it before receiving the finished product as he and I had exchanged some brief correspondence about it before it was completed. I was impressed with what he had told me about it earlier and am even more so now that I have had a chance to examine the finished product.

Start with the fact that the book is beautifully produced. Although I have never seen an authentic London Street Guide with which to compare it, The ABC of London certainly looks like what I imagine such a guide should. The maps themselves, although fictitious, are clear, bright and I see no reason why they should not be accepted as legitimate. (I am not personally familiar enough with London to know whether they would pass the scrutiny of a native of that city.) Just on a whim I searched the street index in vain for familiar names like Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and some of the streets where the notorious Rippers victims were murdered; however, given the manner in which the book is to be used, there would be no reason for an audience member to do so. Nevertheless, I might be wary of leaving the book in the hands of a spectator long enough to be subjected to a rigorous examination. Of course the same can be said for most of the books created with a book test in mind.

The book is constructed to accommodate three different tests, each of which enables the performer to give a specific revelation (a street selected from the index, a borough chosen by opening the book at random and a street chosen at random from any of the maps). The instructions are clear and well illustrated and replete with tips on presentation and John has taken pains to appropriately credit the originators of the several methods employed.

Because the book is a street guide it offers an interesting alternative to the novel or dictionary typically used in other tests, making Streetwise ideal for use in addition to other commonly used volumes. While designed with those performing in the UK or Europe in mind, there is no reason for performers in the US to be reluctant to use it as well. I am happy to recommend it.
Dick Christian

John Archer
Posts: 97
Joined: March 3rd, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: John Archer's "Streetwise" Book Test

Postby John Archer » July 27th, 2010, 8:16 am

Thank you Dick. Very fair I think.

Hopefully there should be a video of the book in action very soon.

John.

John Archer
Posts: 97
Joined: March 3rd, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: John Archer's "Streetwise" Book Test

Postby John Archer » August 18th, 2010, 11:29 am

Hi again,

Ok for those of you who want to see a performance of Streetwise you can take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKCfG2yaCGc

It's not a perfect performance (It needs about 6 months in front of an audience yet), however it shows you the basic idea and I am sure that people will be able to devise even sneakier plots than this rather basic one.

There is a link direct to it from my website also, but it shouldn't show up if you search for it directly in YouTube.

Cheers,

John.

John Archer
Posts: 97
Joined: March 3rd, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: John Archer's "Streetwise" Book Test

Postby John Archer » August 31st, 2010, 9:45 am

Hi again.

A brief update to let those (if any) who are interested that due to legal reasons (people were going to sue me) STREETWISE is now named 'STREETS'
The book and the effect have not changed merely the name.
The youtube video was removed and re-edited so now available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlJmQV4Wej4

Ho hum... I did have plans for today...

Many thanks,

John


Return to “Mentalism & Mental Magic”