It’s been quite some time since my last blog Mainly due to the fact I was having health issues Mainly cataracts in both eyes Was nearly blind I Had surgery at the end of last year and again this February And thank goodness can now see fairly well And more importantly can read and type again
Here are some thoughts on some of material I’ve received in the last year
Received a large bunch of books from Leaping Lizard Here a brief comment All are well produced Mainly trade publications
I particularly enjoyed Carl Herron’s autobiography Replete with anecdotes from the last 60 years Not only Brother Shadow and Bizzarists will enjoy this
I was a member of the Psychic Entertainers Association for nearly 25 years I was the 76th member to join How I remember is coincidentally my house number then and now was 76
At nearly every convention I attended there was a seminar on cold reading I got to meet Herb Dewey and Richard Webster Richard was one of the best readers I ever met especially for short readings Herb, IMO, used a lot of stock lines but generally impressed those he read for I also met George Koury and John Riggs, both of whom had a real belief in the arts they professed to the public
I’ve read a few things by Ian Rowland I would venture his readings impress magicians more than the lay public And I suspect he never made a living as a reader Why is this important? Well , when you read for free no one ever complains.
In the course of my reading career I often was hired to do readings at special events When people realized the readings were free (the host or hostess was paying) there was always a long line waiting for readings However, if I started charging, no doubt the line would quickly disappear. So making a living doing readings is a litmus test
Other names claiming to be readings Well ,Doug Dyment comes to mind In all the years I attended PEA conventions I never remember Dr Dyment either performing, lecturing or participating in a cold reading seminar His Doctorate is in , I believe, computer science The following anecdote summarizes my opinion of Dr Dyment
In the early 80's I ran a PEA Convention at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Secaucus , NJ. Doug at the time was living in Canada
He called me at home in Irvington, NJ. He said "The toll free number for the hotel didn’t work in Canada Could I call the hotel to make his reservation?" I replied "You’re calling me in NJ to save a phone call to NJ to make your reservation
Doug denies this incident However to add credence to my side
Dr Dyment was and may still be a vegetarian On the banquets he ordered the vegetarian plate I recall seeing them serve him a soggy fruit plate And apologizing to him for it He said "I’m used to it!"
Now we come to the self proclaimed master of everything The Irish Buffoon Marc Lewis When we first met , on line We exchanged tapes I sent him my Kross on Cold reading He sent me a home made piece of crap of him being interviewed on the radio And then expounding on what he thought cold reading is
I gave it away in return for a review to a friend Who said it was the best laugh he’d had in years In one of our foolish debates He made fun of the fact I ask the querent questions during a reading. A real psychic , like him, doesn’t need to Well first, let’s assume there is a real psychic and you’ve come for a reading The psychic tells you all about your dead Aunt Iphegenia When you really want to know about your Uncle Phineas who’s acting strangely
I tell people who come to me for readings that we have limited time So to save time I may ask questions If I say I see some one around you who’s name begins with X You may say "Well you’re the psychic , tell me" And I may sp[end the rest of your time finding out about your cousin Xavier Which you already knew and could care less
Because of exposers like Randi and Roland Occasionally people say "well you’re just doing cold reading" Oh I ask, what’s that?
The usual reply is humina humina humina!
What then is cold reading? In fact it’s doing a reading with no preparation or knowledge It is not repeating statements that apply to every one That’s a stock or Barnum reading It is not the same as cold reading
Anywho! That’s it for now To quote Groucho:" Truth flies like an arrow Fruit flys like a banana