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[Jheff]

I know that this is a tad late, but there are reasons for
it.  I had to wait to see if a particular product actually
came out.  Sure enough it was shipped out just before
Christmas and I received mine just after the first of the
year.  That product is the final product listed below.  The
other issues are that I spent the holidays upgrading to
Windows 7.  Everything's fine now, but it's a pain to
upgrade, not to mention that my web-authoring software's
been upgraded, too.  For those who've ever gone through that
process that should say enough.

Okay, let's get into the topic of this newsletter.

By the end of December, there was little doubt as to what I
would crown the Best Mentalism Product of 2009 among all the
products that I reviewed and added to my website.  Before I
officially announce my choice (though I've no doubt your
eyes skipped a few lines already to find out and are now
coming back up to these words to find out why), let me
explain what I was looking for when I made my choice.

The BMP of 2009 had to be something with value to both the
novice and the professional mentalist.  Preferably, it had
to contain material, or be a utility prop, that was exciting
and fresh.  Lastly, though still somewhat important when
ranking these, is if it had more value than the other
products.

In other words, if a mentalist had been on a desert island
for the year, came back at the end of December, and said, "I
can buy one product right now from 2009 that I missed, what
should I get?"  That answer produces the Best Product of
2009 and if the question shifts to ten best products that
answer shifts to the top ten.

Also, I must remind everyone that this is a highly
subjective list.  Use this as a guide, not as a bible.  Just
because it's on the list doesn't mean you HAVE to get it,
unless you agree with most of my choices.  And if you ask me
in a couple of weeks, I might actually give you a different
set of products.

Finally, I decided to give all creators a chance and limited
each creator to only one item on the ten best list.  Thus,
there are ten products and ten creators.  Yeah, I know,
that's arbritary, but that's the nature of this list.  My
rules, my list, etc.  Next year, I may do it differently.

With that caveat in mind, here is my choice for the Best
Mentalism Product of 2009:

The MIND READING LESSONS series by Kenton Knepper et. al.

I've said this many times, but mentalism is built on ideas,
not props.  Therefore, ideas are far more valuable to the
working mentalist than the latest gimmick.  After all, to
walk up to someone and be able to read or control their
minds, you shouldn't need anything.  And quite a bit of what
mentalists do concerns the details of how and what we say to
convey the impression that we know.

This series is an exploration of those techniques and
contains material that is fresh, updated, and reprinted.
Each lesson contains so much information that I'm certain
that even the most seasoned pros will find something they
will be excited to use.  And at $20 a lesson, this is a
bargain.  I've seen (and admittedly published) e-books that
sell for much more and contain much less than these.

Like any anthology of ideas and effects, not every included
item will be to one's liking, but that is hardly a
criticism.  To me, this series is like a good movie or book.
The more I revisit the works, the more I get.  The first
time through I picked out the nuggets that I really liked.
I've read a few of these lessons twice now and found a few
more ideas that I passed up the first time around.

I'm finding this to be a wonderful resource, which continues
to grow (by the time you read this #7 may be out), and thus
is my pick for the year's best.

Here are the rest of the top ten, listed in alphabetical
order, with additional mentions of other products that
deserve to be on the Year's Best List.

1. ARTFUL MENTALISM: AN EVENING WITH BOB CASSIDY & 3 SECRETS
(Bob Cassidy)
Oh, you know I had to put something from Bob on the list.
Bob is arguably the most influential mentalist of the last
few decades and whenever he has something to say, one
listens.  This teleseminar, hosted by Michael Weber, has Bob
addressing many questions and concerns of the contemporary
mentalist. 3 SECRETS, which was intended to be a standalone
teleseminar and instead became a sequel, includes some new
principles and routines, plus additional invaluable advice
for the performer.  Because 3 SECRETS unintentionally became
a sequel, they sort of go together as one.

Also, this year, Bob released SEANCE and THE INVISIBLE
BILLET.  I know very well that some will think that one of
these two should have gone into the top ten instead and I
certainly won't disagree.  I do like them all (and, yeah,
perhaps I'm biased because I produced them for Bob).

2. CORINDA'S 13 STEPS TO MENTALISM DVD (Richard Corinda and
Richard Osterlind)
Whenever one creates a visual guide to a major work in a
field, one creates a major undertaking.  Richard and L&L
should be congratulated for their accomplishments.  It is
certainly a must-have companion to the book.  Yes, I agree
that in some places the lessons could have been stronger
(such as showing more detail on how to use a NW, for
instance), but these are minor points.  It's still an
impressive set and the key word is that it is a "guide," not
a comprehensive video version of the book.  And though much
of the material is classic, I think that many professionals
will find a revisit of this material through Richard's
viewpoint to be a fresh and inspiring look, as I'm sure
there are one or two gems you may have overlooked.

Let me also mention Richard's MYSTIQUE and MIND MYSTERIES
GUIDE BOOK, two other releases from 2009 that are definitely
must-have purchases for the working mentalist.

3. ENERGY BILL (Andrew Gerard)
This is an anywhere, anytime PK demonstration with a bill
and it could be borrowed.  It's easy to do and requires no
gimmicks.  It's very clean.  What more do you want in an
effect like this?  And, if you're not a fan of PK work (as I
must admit), this can be as part of a seance, or something
else.  Either way, and no matter how you construct the
presentation, this is a killer effect to have in one's
arsenal.

4. THE LARSEN MENTAL MYSTERIES (William Larsen, Sr.)
Todd Karr, of Miracle Factory, put out quite a bit of
material for mentalists this past year.  Most of it is
archival stuff, but good archival stuff and worth getting.
ANNEMMAN: ENIGMA, STUART CUMBERLAND: VICTORIAN MIND READER,
THE MENTAL MYSTERIES OF W.G.MAGNUSON, and DUNNINGER: AIRWAVE
MENTALISM CD are all great products and certainly entries on
the complete best of the year, but I had to pick one for
inclusion in the top and it would have to be THE LARSEN
MENTAL MYSTERIES.  Bill Larsen's work has always been
considered highly regarded.  This disc contains his classic
and now hard-to-find MENTAL MYSTERIES OF WILLIAM W. LARSEN,
SR.  It also includes many other rare manuscripts and
recordings that mentalists of all levels will certainly
appreciate.

5.  THE MANCHURIAN APPROACH (Anthony Jacquin)
My jaw is still aching from watching the incredible
multi-disc set.  I'm familiar with the basics of hypnosis,
but Anthony Jacquin has some powerful techniques that are
almost too good to believe and that I'm a bit nervous to
actually try.  Being able to say something and control your
participants is a valuable skill for any mentalist and the
information here, like contact mindreading and billet work,
is serious information for the serious mentalist.

6. MENTALIST'S DREAM BOX (Max Krause)
Sure, it's an expensive OEM box, and, sure, one doesn't need
it.  A couple of Kleenex boxes and you can make one for
under $10.  But this is an incredibly beautiful and
well-crafted wooden version which allows for some features
that you can't do with Kleenex boxes.  Namely, the box can
be remain locked and in the audience's hands at all times.
The performer never needs to touch the box as the box does
all the work.  Obviously, if you can't find a use for such a
prop, then don't get this.  It's certainly pricey, but it's
worth every penny if you can use this.

7. MIND READING LESSONS (Kenton Knepper, et.al.)
Kenton was really on a roll this year.  KONTROL, SYMBOL
READING AND REPROGRAMMING, and SIGNS OF INFLUENCE are all
truly great products.  However, the sheer amount of material
in the MIND READING LESSONS made that product the one I
chose as Kenton's main entry in the top ten, as mentioned
above.  But the other three also certainly belong in a
comprehensive Best of 2009 list.

8. QUARTET (Jack Kent Tillar)
TRIO, Jack's first book, became an instant classic.  With
tons more material on two-person codes, walk-around
mentalism, long distance effects, and predictions, Jack
created a series of "musical" books of mentalism.  The most
recent and the only one to debut in 2009, QUARTET, which is
subtitled "Up Close And Personal Mentalism," became one of
the most popular in the series.

9. PSYCHOLOGICAL SUBTLETIES 3 (Banachek)
I ranked the second volume in the series as Best of the Year
2006.  Though I feel the material here is comparatively not
as strong as the material in first two volumes, it still has
some great stuff in it and is a must-have to sit next to the
other two classic entries in this series.

10. SHERLOCK HOLMES APPROACH TO READING EVERYONE (Richard
Tenace)
This is a cold reading technique that allows you to read
people by just observing them.  For those who want the
ability to simply walk up to someone and tell them things
about themselves without using Tarot cards, palmistry,
numerology, astrology, etc., then this is it.  This is a set
of techniques, actually, that aren't new, but it's been
presented in an easy-to-follow format with examples in one
document.  These techniques, whether you already know them
or not, are must-haves for every mentalist.

Also, Richard Tenace released the S.A.R. TOOL KIT and
BUSINESS CARD READINGS, which are highly recommended also.

*****
I need to re-emphasize that this list is purely subjective
and fickle.  In fact, I really wanted to put some things on
the list which would have inflated the traditional ten best.
Jon Allen's THE PAIN GAME, Chuck Hickok's THOUGHT-FULL
TELEPATHY, Starke's SUPER SIMPLE Q&A, Scott Grossberg's DECK
OF SHADOWS, and Simon Shaw's DIRECTOR'S CUT II would have
been 11-15 had my list gone out that far.

For those who'd prefer just a simple list of all the best of
2009, here's my complete list, unranked, and in alphabetical
order:

Jon Allen: THE PAIN GAME
Danny Archer: DANNY ARCHER GOES MENTAL, SNEAK PREVIEWS
Banachek: PSYCHOLOGICAL SUBTLETIES 3
Larry Becker: IT'S ABOUT TIME
Sebastian Black: CLEARLY Q&A BOARD
Paul Brook: ONE IN THE HAND, TWO IN THE BUSH
Carlyle: CARLYLE TOUCH 2
Bob Cassidy: ARTFUL MENTALISM: AN EVENING WITH BOB CASSIDY &
3 SECRETS, INVISIBLE BILLET, SEANCE
Brian Caswell: CATACLYSM
Iain Dunford: THE BEAUTIFUL LIE, THE HATEFUL BOOK TEST
Charles Garner: SECRETS OF A PSYCHIC READER
Andrew Gerard: ENERGY BILL
Scott Grossberg: DECK OF SHADOWS
Scott Guinn & Richard Busch: POSITIVELY POSITIVE
Chuck Hickok: THOUGHT-FULL TELEPATHY
Docc Hilford: CM2
Anthony Jacquin: THE MANCHURIAN APPROACH
Kenton Knepper: MIND READING LESSONS, KONTROL, SIGNS OF
INFLUENCE, SYMBOL READING AND REPROGRAMMING
Devin Knight: POKER TELLS
Max Krause: THE MENTALISTS DREAM BOX
Alexander Marsh: HYBRID MENTALISM
Miracle Factory: THE LARSEN MENTAL MYSTERIES, ANNEMMAN:
ENIGMA, STUART CUMBERLAND: VICTORIAN MIND READER, THE MENTAL
MYSTERIES OF W.G.MAGNUSON, and DUNNINGER: AIRWAVE MENTALISM
CD
Dean Montalbano: TAROT READING SECRETS
Alain Nu: SERIAL THRILLERS
Richard Osterlind: CORINDA'S 13 STEPS TO MENTALISM DVD, MIND
MYSTERIES GUIDE BOOK 5, MYSTIQUE
Jay Sankey: PERFECT READ, TIME SENSITIVE
Simon Shaw: DIRECTOR'S CUT II
Starke: SUPER SIMPLE Q&A
Paul Stockman: CONNECTED
Richard Tenace (and Kenton Knepper): BUSINESS CARD READINGS,
S.A.R. TOOLBOX, and SHERLOCK & SHELLS
Jack Kent Tillar: QUARTET

*****

THE BEST MENTALISM PRODUCT OF 2009 THAT IS NOT A MARKETPLACE
OF THE MIND PRODUCT:
Okay.  Confession time.  The list above is limited only to
products added to my website and doesn't include products
that I did not add to my website, such as Craig Filicetti's
marvelous electronic tools for mentalists at
http://www.promystic.com

If I had to pick the absolute mentalism product released in
2009, without any limitations, there is no question my pick
would be:

BASCOM JONES' MAGICK from Collector's Workshop/Viking Magic

Now, they have released Magick before, four volumes worth.
But there was supposed to be a fifth volume that was never
completed.  Also, the issues in those volumes were compiled
and re-organized.  Many contributions were missing.

With this new five-volume set, Bascom Jones' Magick has
finally been reprinted right.  All 496 issues, plus the
extra issues, have been reprinted exactly as they were
printed in a limited edition of five beautiful hardbound
volumes.

Without question, this is a must-have for every serious
mentalist.  Of course, if you already have the original
issues, then you don't need this because you already have
the material.  Otherwise, start the new year, and max out
your credit card if you have to, because this set is worth
it.

http://www.vikingmagic.com/

- Jheff