A big thanks to everyone that’s been reading and throwing feedback about these zany ramblings every Tuesday. They are fun to write and I’m glad they are well received.
Speaking of fun, here’s a Tenyo that’s more fun than a pencil in the eye!
PSYCHIC MONEY
Inventor: Tomoyushi Shimomura
Year: 2011
Cost: $20-$25
Type of Effect: Levitation
Skill Level: Beginner-Intermediate
https://instagram.com/p/59w2zmQOIb/
CONTENTS:
- 2 unsharpened pencils
- Tutorial CD
EFFECT: Here’s the way it’s explained in the instructions: You, the magician, balance a folded bill (folded like a ‘hot dog’) at the end of a pencil. Then you have a spectator command the bill to turn, and it begins to spin around, rotate the other way, and even stop at their command. All of this without the magician touching the bill.
REVIEW: Much like the ‘Ultimate Shocking Pen’, when you open up ‘Psyhcic Money’, it looks like you got completely ripped off.
But it looks weirder this time. In ‘Psychic Money’, you get the two most expensive #2 pencils in the world and a DVD. At face value, it looks like you got ripped off, and a DVD to highlight the futility of it all. But like all magic, it’s SUPPOSED to look innocent…and you throw the DVD at the spectator to cause misdirection. At least that’s what I’ve been doing with 100% negative results.
Speaking of the CD, let’s start off with that. The instructional DVD. This is the only Tenyo I have (and rather, the only Tenyo I know of) that comes with it’s own instructional DVD. It comes with paper instructions on its own, like every other Tenyo. But for sake of this review, I actually cracked out the DVD and tried to watch it. But I this is the first time in which I tried watching a DVD and got a ‘REGIONAL ERROR’. Soooooo. I guess you need a regional appropriate DVD player? Maybe one from Japan. Basically, one I DON’T have. Great. So the DVD is out.
Soooooo. In an awkward transition; you get two expensive, unsharpened pencils! They really do look like two regular pencils. Which sounds completely off and goofy, but there are writing utensil props out there that scream ‘I LOOK like a normal pencil/pen—if you’re inebriated…’
This is where the review gets a bit wonky, because it’s a bit hard to talk about them without giving away what makes the pencils ’special’.
Let me say this: It WILL work when you get it out of the box. You’ll have it figured out within 10 minutes—and that includes you going to your mailbox, thanking the postman, opening the box, then opening the Tenyo box, griping about the most expensive pencils in to world, and then you going ‘oh! That’s really clever!’
10 minutes.
I have had my daughter work with it and she can do it. So can you, as well as little magicians. Of course, you will always need a bit of practice to get some of those fine tunings. But that’s expected—even with the easy ones.
BUT. If you look at the top of the review, I listed this as ‘Beginner-Intermediate’
Why would I list something so easy to work as ‘Intermediate’?
Here’s why:
Psychic Money, in the world of Tenyo performers and enthusiasts, is NOT a popular trick. The thing about Tenyo, and I will continue to bring this up in reviews of Tenyo where their popularity wanes a bit, is that they are built FOR laymen to perform for OTHER laymen.
Now, when you consider that their target market is laymen and complete beginners of magic, you would think that EVERY Tenyo piece of magic is 100% explosive brain-stumpers.
The truth is: You’d be hard pressed to find ‘Psychic Money’ on any Tenyo enthusiasts ‘Top 5’—or even ‘Top 10’ list. The effect is NOT very powerful on its own.
BUT. And this is a very big but, it has all the fine tunings of a very powerful effect. The devil is in the details, and it all goes into examining all the fine points of what you’re working with. Which sounds funny because…well. It’s just a couple pencils.
Well, if you really want to get good with this one, you have to go a bit further than just knowing how to make it work, then heading out and working the street.
IS IT WORTH BUYING?: I will say this: It doesn’t produce an amazing effect on its own and I think it requires a lot of work on the magicians part to ‘sell’ the effect. That said, there’s a lot of subtle nuances that the prop CAN do to allow you to set up a successful routine. I think of Psychic Money as a well packed vacation suitcase; just without the plane ticket. I would say that if you are considering an effect that uses money—namely bills, this COULD fit the ‘bill’. Haha. I’m punny.
It MAY be good for street magic, but if you’re working in a remotely windy environment that day, your floating bill is going to float away. Other than that, it has potential for walkaround and small stand up shows. Provided, you’re inside.
However, I would think long and hard about how this COULD be used before you would take the leap as far as making a routine goes since the effect, I don’t think, will sell on its own. It’s a very presentation reliant effect.
Speaking of fun, here’s a Tenyo that’s more fun than a pencil in the eye!
PSYCHIC MONEY
Inventor: Tomoyushi Shimomura
Year: 2011
Cost: $20-$25
Type of Effect: Levitation
Skill Level: Beginner-Intermediate
https://instagram.com/p/59w2zmQOIb/
CONTENTS:
- 2 unsharpened pencils
- Tutorial CD
EFFECT: Here’s the way it’s explained in the instructions: You, the magician, balance a folded bill (folded like a ‘hot dog’) at the end of a pencil. Then you have a spectator command the bill to turn, and it begins to spin around, rotate the other way, and even stop at their command. All of this without the magician touching the bill.
REVIEW: Much like the ‘Ultimate Shocking Pen’, when you open up ‘Psyhcic Money’, it looks like you got completely ripped off.
But it looks weirder this time. In ‘Psychic Money’, you get the two most expensive #2 pencils in the world and a DVD. At face value, it looks like you got ripped off, and a DVD to highlight the futility of it all. But like all magic, it’s SUPPOSED to look innocent…and you throw the DVD at the spectator to cause misdirection. At least that’s what I’ve been doing with 100% negative results.
Speaking of the CD, let’s start off with that. The instructional DVD. This is the only Tenyo I have (and rather, the only Tenyo I know of) that comes with it’s own instructional DVD. It comes with paper instructions on its own, like every other Tenyo. But for sake of this review, I actually cracked out the DVD and tried to watch it. But I this is the first time in which I tried watching a DVD and got a ‘REGIONAL ERROR’. Soooooo. I guess you need a regional appropriate DVD player? Maybe one from Japan. Basically, one I DON’T have. Great. So the DVD is out.
Soooooo. In an awkward transition; you get two expensive, unsharpened pencils! They really do look like two regular pencils. Which sounds completely off and goofy, but there are writing utensil props out there that scream ‘I LOOK like a normal pencil/pen—if you’re inebriated…’
This is where the review gets a bit wonky, because it’s a bit hard to talk about them without giving away what makes the pencils ’special’.
Let me say this: It WILL work when you get it out of the box. You’ll have it figured out within 10 minutes—and that includes you going to your mailbox, thanking the postman, opening the box, then opening the Tenyo box, griping about the most expensive pencils in to world, and then you going ‘oh! That’s really clever!’
10 minutes.
I have had my daughter work with it and she can do it. So can you, as well as little magicians. Of course, you will always need a bit of practice to get some of those fine tunings. But that’s expected—even with the easy ones.
BUT. If you look at the top of the review, I listed this as ‘Beginner-Intermediate’
Why would I list something so easy to work as ‘Intermediate’?
Here’s why:
Psychic Money, in the world of Tenyo performers and enthusiasts, is NOT a popular trick. The thing about Tenyo, and I will continue to bring this up in reviews of Tenyo where their popularity wanes a bit, is that they are built FOR laymen to perform for OTHER laymen.
Now, when you consider that their target market is laymen and complete beginners of magic, you would think that EVERY Tenyo piece of magic is 100% explosive brain-stumpers.
The truth is: You’d be hard pressed to find ‘Psychic Money’ on any Tenyo enthusiasts ‘Top 5’—or even ‘Top 10’ list. The effect is NOT very powerful on its own.
BUT. And this is a very big but, it has all the fine tunings of a very powerful effect. The devil is in the details, and it all goes into examining all the fine points of what you’re working with. Which sounds funny because…well. It’s just a couple pencils.
Well, if you really want to get good with this one, you have to go a bit further than just knowing how to make it work, then heading out and working the street.
IS IT WORTH BUYING?: I will say this: It doesn’t produce an amazing effect on its own and I think it requires a lot of work on the magicians part to ‘sell’ the effect. That said, there’s a lot of subtle nuances that the prop CAN do to allow you to set up a successful routine. I think of Psychic Money as a well packed vacation suitcase; just without the plane ticket. I would say that if you are considering an effect that uses money—namely bills, this COULD fit the ‘bill’. Haha. I’m punny.
It MAY be good for street magic, but if you’re working in a remotely windy environment that day, your floating bill is going to float away. Other than that, it has potential for walkaround and small stand up shows. Provided, you’re inside.
However, I would think long and hard about how this COULD be used before you would take the leap as far as making a routine goes since the effect, I don’t think, will sell on its own. It’s a very presentation reliant effect.
