Luckily I have been blessed with good help at the shop because I have been busy performing lots of shows.  One of the highlights from my recent shows was when a client asked me to magically produce 10, 20 and 50 bills to give-away.  Another was when Bentley & Maserati of Dallas paid me to perform and give away cufflinks, $100 gift certificates, plush bathrobes and large bottles of alcohol.  Giving away stuff is great but I mostly appreciate all of the repeat shows that I did this month for clients who have used my services year after year.

Even ole Diamond Jim makes mistakes… during a show at a nearby church my audience had a belly laugh when a real egg cracked in my pants pocket to my horror!  Imagine standing in front of a crowd with a large wet spot on your crotch and a broken raw egg in your pants pocket while trying to act cool during a 30 minute performance.  Well my friends,… I lived it!

Happy Holidays!  And like Harry Anderson says, “If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you’ve got no idea what you look like sleeping!”

This month has kept me busy stocking up for the holidays at the shop.  We’ve got things like the Airzooka (seen left) that shoots a huge blast of air across a room.  We now carry novelty candy like lollipops with actual scorpions inside and the new Sour Scream which is an edible foam that is apparently very sour.  We’ve got more in stock than I can possibly name and our showcases are crammed full of magic.  You can visit our website at www.magicalgadgets.com, but it only represents maybe 10% of our actual inventory.

This month also found me lecturing in Tulsa, Oklahoma where I met the legendary magic author Martin Gardner.  And to cap things off I visited downtown Fort Worth with much of my family where we had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend.

This month has kept me busy performing for clients as varied as Citybank to Chuck E. Cheese.  In fact beginning in January you will be able to visit any Chuck E. Cheese in the nation and witness a small portion of my magic.  The big mouse made a video montage of myself and several other local artists (clowns, trick ropers, jugglers, etc.) that will feature us on their big screens while people chow down and play games.

I was also fortunate to work a wedding reception inside of the beautiful Trammell & Margaret Crow Asian Art Museum.  This was a most decadent setting for a memorable gathering.  I can’t wait to return to see the rest of the exhibition.  Admission to the museum is free!

This month has been a whirlwind of magic!  I performed several shows for many nice people (like the legendary Dallas Cowboy quarterback Roger Staubach) in some fantastic locations.  Plus, I performed at the Magic Castle in Hollywood for the third time.  Trying out new material at the Castle for their enthusiastic audiences is always a treat.  I visited Hollywood Magic.  I lectured at The Magic Apple magic shop in Studio City.  My wife and I visited Disneyland and we toured the King Tut exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but “I missed running my magic shop while I was away.”  So now I’m back at the shop and beginning to book shows for the upcoming holiday season.

The highlight this month was attending the wedding of my friend Chris and his new bride Zophia.  Chris and I worked together as teenagers at a magic shop in Dallas and have kept in touch ever since.  The reception was held inside of the beautiful Hilton Palmer House Hotel where I was pleased to perform my magic for his family and friends.  When inside of the Palmer House you feel like you are on the inside of a Faberge egg!

The day before the wedding I toured the warehouse of Fun Inc. in Chicago with my fantabulous tour-guide Tomas Medina.  It was thrilling to see where and how a lot of the magic is made.  Fun Inc. also houses a lot of the old Cracker Jack toys that we all played with as kids.  The warehouse and its contents are akin to Santa’s workshop!

And finally Tim Felix at Midwest Magic in Franklin Park, Illinois hosted my lecture before a very receptive crowd.  If you’ve never seen Tim’s shop then you have no idea of how overwhelming it can be.  I’ve been into magic for 30 years and have never seen anything like it.  I think he just about had at least one of every magic item ever made.

Things have been crazy!!  Our shop Magical Gadgets has practically doubled its inventory in the past 6 months.  Plus, I attended the Toy Show here in Dallas and picked out more goodies for the shop for the upcoming Christmas season.  I have stayed  busy doing shows for such clients as TXU, Cadbury Schweppes and the new Gatti Town here in Frisco. And I was flattered to read a great review of my DVD Pockets Full of Miracles in the July issue of the Linking Ring magazine.

But most of my time lately has been spent on the re-release of my trick called the Millennium Pack.  These 2 decks can do what 10 trick decks can do.  The effect will now come in a nice metal collector’s tin with instructions.  Look for it at your favorite magic shop or online soon!!!

This month has been filled with events.  I celebrated my 35th birthday.  I put on a lecture in Tyler, TX.  I performed for such clients as Park Place Lexus, Harley-Davidson and the Frisco Rough Riders.  Intrigued by the Rough Riders, some of my family and I attended one of the games at the Dr. Pepper / 7-Up Ballpark in Frisco and were blown away by the amenities and all of the hard work to assure that the fans have fun.  You’ll have to check it out yourself by clicking on the picture to the right, or better yet- attend one of the games.

Also this month I was interviewed and reviewed by Wayne Kawamoto at About.com.  Click on the adjoining links to read all about it. [Interview] [Review]

These past couple of months have kept me very busy finalizing my latest instructional magic DVD titled MIRRORS.  Mirrors have a fascinating lore, so I’ve adapted many of the myths into some strong commercial effects.  

I truly believe that after watching the DVD that magicians will appreciate the vast amount of routines possible and that ultimately this will become my most popular release to date!

See the promo video below.

2005 is already busier than ever.  We have begun signing up students for the next set of classes at Magical Gadgets.  For more information about the classes call me.  As for myself I have been busy performing and working on several projects.  Santa was very good to me this year.  Check out my new ride to the right!