Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Instead of mentally projecting your mentalism thoughts, type them here.
Guest

Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 11th, 2003, 10:41 am

Anyone familiar with this new effect they are marketing?

Guest

Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 11th, 2003, 10:55 am

Where's the magic in a bent coin? I know a guy who's 'party piece' is to bend six-inch nails between two fingers. Impressive but not magical.

Checking out the Penguin site with reference to the original posting I spotted the Sankey tee-shirts. Where's the dignity in magic now? Have we reached a level where dealers can label anything as 'magic' and we just purchase it? Sheesh.

Apologies to Mr Leavitt for not answering his question, but the above just gave me a bug under my belt.

Guest

Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 11th, 2003, 11:47 am

All replies are fair enough, and I know many don't care for bent coins, spoons, backs, etc....

Personally, the response I get when a coin seemingly bends in someone elses hands (the way I personally present it) is huge! I tend to carry sufficient pennys around to always perform Kenton's "Bent Cent" and have put together a wonderful routine (using the pliers Craig Dixon has been marketing and a switch from one of Sankey's tapes) in which a signed coin apparently bends in their hands -- only downside (and why the Boa interests me) is that I must be sitting to carry out this approach.

Call me old fashion, but the ability of providing the spectator with a sample of their own "psychic abilities" which they can take home (had one man tell me that his son ran home and placed right next to his baseball trophies!) and show off to others is priceless....

Guest

Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 11th, 2003, 2:29 pm

I certainly concede that a coin bending in a spectator's hands is indeed magical. My above posting was from my take on the Penguin's website presentation which did nothing for me. Under such conditions the effect was trivialised. This I should have made clear.

Bill Cushman
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Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Bill Cushman » December 11th, 2003, 9:26 pm

Scott,

A couple of points. It is Ray Koenig's Bent Cent, not Kentons, though he does market it and describe a handling in one of his books.

Second, if you are going to have someone sign a coin, you might as well just come out and tell them you are going to be switching it because that is the implicit message. The original Knepper and Koenig handlings don't need this kind of "improvement." If you have some familiarity with Kenton's work, you should understand why this is so. And it goes back to the old, "don't run when no one is chasing you."

Better you do Bent Cent and follow with bending something different. Like a key or some cutlery.
Just my, and that of countless others, opinion.

Guest

Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 13th, 2003, 3:45 pm

mmmmm, loki, a bit defensive aren't we? I happen to agree that signing any object takes the "magic" and makes it a "trick," but your "countless others" throw in seems a bit much.

scott, if the signed approach works for you, terrific. would recommend trying it without the signature piece though as an experiment and decide for yourself. By the way, what do the pliers do that you referred to?

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Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Necromancer » December 13th, 2003, 11:52 pm

I really should add that my product, The Xpert (reviewed most favorably in the September 2003 issue of Genii), allows you to do a nearly test-conditions coin bending demonstration in which the coins are borrowed; you select one, mark it, note the date, and honestly place it in the participant's hands; and your hands are absolutely empty afterward. Nevertheless, after a convincing amount of concentration, the participant opens her hands and finds that the marked coin has bent through mental power alone.

To those who believe that marking a coin brings up the suspicion of a switch, I say this: ANY coin bending effect raises the suspicion of a switch. But with the Xpert handling, the suspicion is addressed and diffused, and the effect is immeasurably more powerful because of it.

But don't just take my word for it. Please refer to your September 2003 issue.

Best,
Neil Tobin
www.necromancerevents.com
Neil Tobin, Necromancer

Bill Cushman
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Joined: February 22nd, 2008, 12:00 pm
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Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Bill Cushman » December 14th, 2003, 1:00 am

Allen, you are right, "countless" is over the top but was used to drive home a point, not out of "defensiveness". Certainly you are correct that we could probably count the number of mentalists who agree with what I said, of which we would apparently have to count you!
Hmmmm......

Neil, Xpert certainly deserves great reviews, and if you recall, I jumped all over someone (HN) who had the audacity to criticize it. For which you thanked me.

However, I still stand by what I said. To sign is to run when no one is chasing you. I love Xpert, especialy the OOBE routine, yet still see it as walking that thin line between mental magic and mentalism, tending to tip over onto the magic side.

This isn't a bad thing by any means, but when I am doing a pure mentalism performance, this isn't in my repetoir nor would most any effect where an object is signed be. Countless, whoops there I go again, MANY mentalists agree strongly with this position. Some (see Allen, I learn) even see this as one of the distinguishing points between mental magic and mentalism

Bent Cent adds to diffusing the thought of a switch simply because there is none. Also, the fact that if done well, the participant believes that they see the bend AS it occurs. And, though I'm not sure if described in the original instructions, the penny can be taken legitimately right out of the participant's hand. Sign or not, it is only our mindset which can truly alleviate concerns such as switching an object. Signing, however, works heavily against this mindset in MENTALISM, IMO.

Guest

Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Guest » December 14th, 2003, 9:13 am

Thanks Loki/Allen -- convinced me to save my money.

Allen, Craig should have the pliers on his WizardCraft site. Basically a modified pair of pliers that lets you bend coins. Note that the bend isn't the "bowl" type used for Bent Cent (and thank Loki for the correction on the creater)

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Re: Penguin's Coin Bender (Boa)

Postby Necromancer » December 15th, 2003, 8:52 am

Originally posted by loki:
To sign is to run when no one is chasing you....[W]hen I am doing a pure mentalism performance, this isn't in my repetoire nor would most any effect where an object is signed be....Some...even see this as one of the distinguishing points between mental magic and mentalism.
Loki, I again thank you for your praise of The Xpert (and while you specifically mention OOBE, I'm sure what we're really discussing here is the coin bending variation upon it, which is posted on my website and written up by Tim Trono). I also agree with your feelings about Bent Cent, which I perform on occasion.

However, I must question the manner in which you're distinguishing mental magic from mentalism. As comfortable as it may be to ascribe the boundary to a particular action or prop, in my opinion and experience, the only meaningful difference between mental magic and mentalism is in the performer's ability to make the experience believable to his audience.

If having an item marked makes it somehow more difficult for you to sell the effect as real, then yes, at that point it becomes a magic trick. But rest assured that for many other performers of mentalism, this is not the case. In my own coin bending presentation, there is an absolutely logical reason for marking the coin -- and when the coin is later found to have bent in the participant's hand, it is as strong a "pure mentalism" moment as one could wish for.

If you'd like to discuss this further, feel free to drop me an email anytime.

Best,
Neil Tobin
www.necromancerevents.com
Neil Tobin, Necromancer


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