It’s getting harder and harder to find the time to write this blog.  Besides the fifteen gigs I had this month I’ve had lots of projects.  One of those gigs had me performing on the stage at Dallas Music Hall in Fair Park.  I’ve also taken on a new student. Many of the canned episodes of Scam School that I’ve been featured in have begun airing.  Find a few of those episodes scattered throughout this post.

the-magic-circleThis has been a very productive year for product releases.  From 2004 to 2012 I released five different instructional DVDs on magic.  This year I am releasing five more!  The first of those, Quadrare Caan Opus, is selling well.  Producing these DVDs takes lots of time.  First I develop the concept. Then comes the research. Then I script the video shoot layout; then the editing; then the artwork design; then the menus; then the gathering of items for each DVD; then the production; then the marketing.  Doing this for several DVDs can be a hair-pulling experience.  Truth be told I love being swamped with product design because it forces me to dig deep into my creative and expressive mind.  Many magicians have told me that the content and production value of my DVDs are top notch.

I’ve recently re-ordered Hydro, 7 Lucky Dice, Winning Spinning Nickels, Consecutive Conundrum puzzle, Pockets Full of Miracles DVD, and my ZAP Wallet.  My artist friend and I have been designing the covers for many of my upcoming releases.  The next DVD to release is titled The Squeezer.  Thus I am now stocking Squeezers playing cards on my site.  Plus I’ve added a new puzzle called The Magic Circle to my list of products.  My new Magic Math Sticks, where the sum total is predicted, is selling great. My friend in magic Meir Yedid has informed me that if one has two sets of my Magic Math Sticks, that when using eight sticks, the calculated total will be in the hundreds of millions!

positively-magic-crewAs a teenager I grew up working in a magic shop in Dallas called Positively Magic.  I ran that shop for eight years while I was in high school and college.  The shop closed in 1993 but I still have many fond memories from demonstrating there.  I’ve kept in touch with the former owners Bill and Carol Ingram and they’re family.  This month they had a reunion for many of the employees.  It was great to see so many familiar faces and share many fun stories.  See the picture on the right of many of the folks I had the pleasure of working with.

DJT-first-flight-lessonFor my birthday back in April my wife bought me flying lessons.  I took my first flight recently which was two hours long.  My instructor told me a little about the plane which was a Czech Sports Cruiser that cost $175,000.  He prepared us for take off and did so.  We flew out over downtown Dallas where I took the controls.  From there we flew over Garland, Rockwall, Heath, and more.  We got the plane up to around 4000 feet.  It was 100 degrees outside with no air conditioning.  This made the ride choppy due to the air pockets rising up from the hot ground below.  I’m eager to do it all again.  I may actually strive to achieve my pilot’s license.  I hope I can find the time.

avaI finished off the month by attending the Texas Association of Magicians convention in Fort Worth on Labor Day weekend.  It was nice to see so many friends that I haven’t seen in a long while.  There were great acts like Dana Daniels, Kevin James, Steve Bedwell, Master Payne and others.  A local magician and friend named Trigg Watson killed on stage and should have received a standing ovation.

I was asked to do the closing lecture on Monday and surprisingly had a huge turnout.  It was my third time lecturing for the TAOM. I received many compliments afterward which is always flattering to hear from one’s peers.  I was also happy to see a little lady from our own Dallas Magic Club, Ava Rose, win the Junior Stage competition.  She thanked me afterwards for the tips I gave her to improve her act prior to competing, but all of the credit is hers for doing the hard work.  We need more kids in magic and especially girls.  I hope she goes far with it!