dj-james-Amazing-RaceI performed a few private and corporate shows here and there and have been working on book and DVD projects.  My friend James Munton and I also auditioned for the TV show The Amazing Race (see the pic).  We’ll see if we get a call back; who knows?  Spent one Saturday with my good friends the Baileys at their Shangra-la.  I received the news from my friend in Germany that my Bamboozlers iPhone App is doing well.  And I heard from a friend in Brisbane, Australia that my new book Close-Up Magic Secrets is receiving good reviews from the magic club in South Africa.  And a great review appeared in the Society of American Magicians Magazine MUM. Wow!  Also, my friend Scott Wells interviewed me and placed the audio-cast online for all to listen to here.

It has been over 100 degrees Fahrenheit the last several weeks so my wife and I were very much looking forward to our trip to British Columbia:

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07-25-11  My wife and I flew out of DFW to Vancouver in BC, Canada.  From there we took the scenic ferry ride to beautiful Victoria on Vancouver Island and checked in to the historic Empress Hotel.  We’re thinking that we may actually retire in Victoria one day.  We walked to Murray’s Trick and Joke Shop and visited with the wonderfully talented Murray Hatfield.

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07-26-11 We walked about the town and then took a bus to tour the Butterfly Gardens which was very fascinating.  From there we went onto the beautiful Butchart Gardens and had afternoon tea at the popular Dining Room restaurant.  From there it was back to Victoria where we took in more sites and dined at Nautical Nellies.

07-27-11whale This day was a wonderful adventure. 
We embarked on a 3-hour whale watching tour and experienced several pods of whales up close.  We saw resident whales and to the surprise of our guide also a pod of transient killer whales.  You have to be lightening fast to photograph a whale and I got lucky a few times (see pic).  We saw mothers with their calves and even a whale born in 1933.  I forgot my sun screen and ended up looking like a human matchstick for the next several days. 🙂  That night we dined at the Flying Otter.

07-28-11 We walked down to Fisher Man’s wharf and then left Victoria and made our way back to Vancouver with a ride from the amazing and kind Shayne King.  Once we checked into our hotel we registered for the PCAM/CAM convention and set up my booth.  I was greeted by many friends and some new ones that I had made while touring Australia.  I performed a little stand-up for the attendees that night after the “one-handed cutting cards competition”.

07-29-11 This morning I taught several young magicians a few routines with cards and spoke to them all for about an hour.  The day was filled with comradery, some lectures and a wonderful show that night.

07-30-11 I lectured this morning to a packed house and received much kudos from my fellow magicians.  Every time I snapped my fingers Rod Chow appeared behind me to fix my mic, but it looked as if he was groping me, which kept the audience in stitches.  I rolled with it and it was the talk of the convention that day.  That night all witnessed another fun evening show.  It was great to see many acts I had never seen and also see some old friends on the stage once again.

07-31-11 Had a good day visiting with friends old and new in the dealer’s room and performed on the evening close-up show that night with Hannibal, Master Payne, Bizarro, Mark Mason, Jon Allen and Paul Romhany.  That night everyone stayed up late to say their good-byes and for a last hoorah.

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08-01-11 Most of us went to the local magic club’s picnic and just hung out.  There were a few magic performances and contests but for the most part we just visited and ate grilled burgers and hot dogs.  From there we took the party back to Shawn and Lori Farquhar’s place and looked at his amazing collection of magic memorabilia and shared stories.  The Farquhar’s enthusiasm for magic is contagious and you can’t help but love them both.

08-02-11 We made our long arduous journey back to Texas.  The last seven days on our trip it was 30 degrees cooler than home in Dallas so I don’t know why we came back.

After returning from the PCAM convention my head is still spinning.  The talent line-up was phenomenal.  The convention was small with a little less than 200 attendees but I got so much more out of it than the IBM in Dallas which was four times bigger.  I’ve got new material to develop and old projects that I am eager to start-up again.  So much to do and so little time! 🙂