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01 /01/12HAPPY NEW YEAR! And all November and early December 2011 Orders are shipped. I apologize for the delay but December is always crazy for me with shows (plus I do like to spend a little Holiday time with my family and I don't like to rush the manufacture of the hand-made items. But I am now pretty much caught up on the hand-made items. Of course DVDs go out instantly, thank the Gods of internet distributors.

12 /26/11 I hope everyone had a very happy Holiday Season! Here is the good news: As of December 26th The HULL CARD DVD IS READY FOR DELIVERY!

The original Volta Hull Supper Club Act sold for $40, which today would be around $350- $400. In my opinion, to a working pro who has mastered all the nuances of the act, it is worth well over $1,000.

Over the years, Dr. Charles "Cicardi" Scott and I have added a great many subtleties and throw-offs to Hull's brilliant concepts. I watched for the first time a video of myself performing my version and I had no clue how I did it. It truly looked like this: Audience wrote down questions, cards were folded and gathered in a locked box. I had the box unlocked, drew cards out one at a time. Called out the initials on the outside of the FOLDED cards (and in many cases asked audience members to call out the initials). And then answered the questions with no fumbling, waving of hands, no extra props. Now and then I would have audience members hold the cards, call out the name, I would answer the question, and the audience member would verify all was true. At one point I grabbed a handful of folded cards and answered them all in rapid-fire manner (I call this on the DVD "The Flurry").

The box I use is semi-transparent, frosted, so the audience can see no funny-business is going on and yet you cannot read through the sides of the box. This act is the culmination of 25 years of thinking about and experimenting with Hull's concepts and taking the geometry of the card in other directions.

I was delighted to capture for the purposes of this DVD a moment when I was in trouble, and got out of it using an emergency plan. I watched the video and COULD NOT see the 'move' to get out of it. I kept waiting for it, then on the video I answered the question, and I thought, "How did I do that?"

I'm very pleased to offer this to professional performers. It will not be cheap, but will be worth the $125 invested, many times over. The DVD contains almost two hours of instructions and demonstrations, including a performance video, both with and without a commentary track explaining what I do in real time; and a folder containing downloadable PDFs with bonus materials.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER!

12 /01/11 Back from Vacation, rested, and diligently cranking out current orders. While in New York Sebastian Black suggested using a GUITAR PICK for a planchette for my Ouija Oracle device. I'm currently having some guitar picks specially printed and will include one with each board. If you have one of my Ouija Boards and want one of these specially-printed picks drop me a line and I'll send you one. They have the SUN graphic from the Fuld board printed on them and look pretty cool.

BUSY Holiday show season looming (first show December 2nd and running through the 18th) so order production will be sporadic but will be steady.

NEW PROJECT FOR THE NEW YEAR: Masterpieces of Mentalism Number One: THE HULL CARD. Over the years I have written and developed quite a lot about the Burling Hull Reversable Card, which first appered in The Burling Hull Supper Club Mind Reading Act. Some time ago due to failing eyesight I took another look at Whillicker's Favorite Method from The Compleat Fortune-Teller and overhauled it, integrating all the work I had done in the interim with the Hull Card. I discussed the card with Charles (Cicardi ) Scoot, who pioneered the use of the Hull card, and the result was a Q and A act which I have made a staple of my show. It is bulletproof, has so many throw-offs for the skeptics and analyticals that they cannot figure out how you're reading the questions, and puts you so far ahead of the audience all they can do is marvel at your psychic ability. Furthermore, the act retains the spirit and flavor of Burling Hull's original conception of the Supper Club Act. I've also included handlings for my close-up Graphological handlings for the reversable card. If this project goes as planned, I intend to have my son videotape a performance of the act in front of a live audience ( a real audience, not a staged audience) and include a commentary track explaining everything I did at each step. The DVD will not be inexpensive, but will be an incredible value for anyone seeking a real-time, professional Q and A ACT.

Psychic Epiphanies Volume Four is READY. GO HERE to order.

9/28/2011: The OUIJA ORACLE BOARD is READY! So what is it? Well, it's very cool. It's a 6" x 9" Ouija Board which is a Brown Hornet. That is to say, the back side, which has a very nice wood grain printed on it is the magnetic sandwich / Magic Slate tech.

This device opens sideways, that is, on the short edge (picture a Ouija board and you get the picture) it opens from the bottom of the Ouija board up. A piece of paper, held in place with a bulldog clip, locks the board. When you take the board back to place a piece of paper for yourself, you innocuously move the clip and grab the peek using the piece of paper as the cover. I have THREE designs: Classic William Fuld, a very nice Baroque design by Iain Dunford, and a "Qwerty" Keypad design for the corporate types who don't want to freak out the norms.The surfaces are printed on indestructable stock on a high-end color printer and mounted on lightweight expanded PVC plastic. It comes with a DVD explaining how to use it, how to peek it, etc, plus bonus graphic files with printable matching paper designs that are charming Ouija-designs for your audince members to write upon. Go HERE to see more and order in plenty of time for Halloween.

I plan on making some "Mini-Ouijas" later, probably 4" x 6" which will fit in your pocket. Actually, this one fits in my jacket pocket but I am an Ape.

ALSO: Coming very soon: Me on the Volta Hull Card. I've written and performed a lot on this ingenious card (which first appeared in a manuscript entited The Burling "Volta" Hull Supper Club Mind Reading Act) and I plan a DVD describing a complete act based on the applications using this card with many throw-offs and permutations which leave the audience--especially the skeptics--wondering what the hell just happened.

I can't say how much I appreciate the outpouring of affection I've recieved over the past couple of months, which influenced my decision to come up with a way to keep my products availalable to people who appreciated them. I will be honest: for the past couple of years I have been very close to burnout, and will be taking a vacation soon, and am negotiating more time for myself during the upcoming year so it won't happen again. As we have so tragically seen within our community of performers, life's too short.

7/16/2011:Other trivial matters: My manufacturing process is as follows: I make a "run" of each product usually consisting of five of that item. Then I make another run of another item, etc. So I'll usually make five Brown Hornets, then five Butterflies, five Baby Hornets, etc. This helps me whittle away at my backlog, which typically is between 20-30 orders.

What this means to you is if you ordered several different items, it may take longer to assemble your order, because I'll set aside a package with your name and address on it, and each time I make a run of one of your items I drop it in the package until the order is assembled. Then I mail it off.

PSYCHIC EPIPHANIES VOLUME THREE--THE RESURRECTION--is finished and ready for ordering. Go HERE to get it.

I'm DELIGHTED to announce BOTH Volumes of the Complete Works compilation is available now. With new formatting, annotation, footnotes and commentary. You may order now at $125 each. Go HERE to order..

Thanks for your continued patience. As always, there is a two week waiting period on orders. Possibly more on some of them if the order falls within one of my crazy performing periods.

John Riggs

LATEST NEWS:

Future Projects currently suspended A sixth volume in the From the Cradle to the Grave Series entitled "On the Science and Art of Performing Divinations for Entertainment." Oh yes, I have a lot to say on this topic. Another future project will be on Holiday-themed presentations.

Now Available: DEVIOUS CONTRAPTIONS, or; What do I do With This Thing? A sourcebook on ideas, history, methods and routines for Impression Devices. But more than this; Not only have I included a bushel of interesting and entertaining routines, I've included techniques for creating your own routines, tips on audience management, criteria for selecting which tool to use for your specific purpose, and a chapter breaking down every element of Impression Devices (paper, writing implements, capturing media, etc). This book will be a valuable reference book for your library as for over twenty-five years, I've researched Impression Devices as no-one else has, and have been amused to see each generation "re-inventing the wheel." At 70 pages it's full of info and has some really good routines. GO HERE To Order.

NEW BOOK ON THE Q AND A ACT NOW READY!

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE COMPLEATE FORTUNE-TELLER is a 100-page book on the Question and Answer Act. It's a Sequel to the first two volumes in this series and my first book in eight years. Go HERE to order.

Butterfly Line Expanded!

I've added several new models to the BUTTERFLY Impression pad line. Go to the Butterfly page to check them out. The SUPERFLY is made from the Meade L'il Fat Notebook, which is a side-opening notebook like the one I use for the Mascot Moth, except it's much smaller. It's 4 inches by 5 1/2 inches, a little larger than the Butterfly but still small enough for the strolling performer to fit in his or her pocket. Plus, the side-opening feature makes peeking a cinch.

Le Pappillon is made from the French Rhodia Pads and it is a beauty. Since these pads are available in both the US and Europe, I think this will become a favorite on both sides of the world.

THE STAPLER is a side-opening pad made from the pads you buy from STAPLES department store.

PLUS--I've developed an EASY replacement insert kit for your Butterfly! It's a replacement insert, with instructions, for when your impressions start to fade. Step by step instructions and an easy-to-install new insert. $10. Once again, go to the Butterfly page for details on these new items.

And as always I'm willing to gimmick YOUR pad for no extra cost. I've been contacted by several owners of the PARAPAD asking me if I can gimmick the exttra pad into a Butterfly device. Answer: yes.

A NOTE CONCERNING MY PRODUCTS:

Impression devices are subtle tools which require experience in audience management and psychological touches to use effectively. This is true of any Impression device, not just mine. If you're a beginner or have little performing experience, my tools may not be for you at this time. In the hands of an experienced performer they are foolproof and indetectable, but these are not for beginners.