I have been so busy that it’s hard to find the time to update my website.  November kept my busy with performing, traveling, working on new routines, appearing at the grand opening of Main Street Magic, attending the lecture of Aldo Colombini and Rachel Wild, witnessing the newBond movie, hanging with friends, and staying at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine with my family where we saw the ICE SHOW which was phenomenal!

In December I was blessed with 21 shows.  I witnessed the lecture and showmanship of the best card cheat in the world named Richard Turner.  And I celebrated Christmas several times with each side of my family.

You can see from the picture to the left that I am very tired.  Now that the year is almost over I can’t wait to have the time to buckle down and work on writing and creating new routines that are floating around in my head right now.

All the best to my friends, family and website visitors- and I wish you all aprosperous and healthy 2007!!!

This month has been fun creatively.  First I kicked off the month with a lecture tour that took me through parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.  Each stop was fun while making money and new friends.  I was reminded once again why I like hanging around other magicians- because most of them are good at heart. 

I also visited Thrillvania Haunted Theme Park voted one of the best in the nation by the Travel Channel.  I performed for such clients as Ambucs, Best Buy, the Frisco Rough Riders and others.  I attended the new magic movie called The Prestige which was the #1 film the weekend it opened.  I sold the rights to my new trick SentiMental Postcards to Fun Inc.  And I’ve just released a new packet trick called MYTHOS that delves into the mysteries of mirrors. 

I’ve come up with some new gizmos that I am working the bugs out of right now.  And I’m crazy busy booking shows for the upcoming holiday season.  Life couldn’t be better right now.  If you’d like to see some clips of my magic that I’ve just uploaded to YOU TUBE then click here.  Happy Halloween!

What a month!  Labor Day weekend started off with the Texas Assoc. of Magicians convention here in Addison.  Many of the world’s best magician’s performed and attended.  It’s always nice to attend these conventions and get my batteries re-charged.  I always walk away from these events having learned new things and making new friends.

I also performed many shows this month for such companies as Pizza Hut Corp., Harley-Davidson, and Great Lakes Carbon, etc.   My journies this month also took my wife and I to Fort Worth where we attended the Hatshepsut exhibit at the Kimble Art Museum.  The Egyptian exhibit there was very well done as were the rest of their exhibits.

However, the highlight for me this month was meeting Martin Gardner.  Mr. Gardner is now around 90 and still going strong.  A friend and I made a trek to Oklahoma to hang out with this living legend.  Mr. Gardner has written over 50 books, most of which revolve around mathematics or magic.  Upon our visit he had just completed one book and was in the process of publishing another.  We had what magicians call a “jam session” where we would show one another tricks.  Mr. Gardner is still sharp as a tack and had a few things to show us that we’d never seen.  I look forward to visiting with him again.

This month has mainly kept me busy brainstorming on effects for both close-up and stage.  I’ve just created a singing card box that I plan to write up for one of the magic magazines.  And I’m working on putting together some stage theatrical pieces that use music.  Actually, I’ve got so many projects it’s hard to know which one to work on first.

To the right is a picture that a friend made for me.  I’m letting the cat out of the bag so I won’t get concerned emails like the ones I got from family members.

And no one has yet to claim the prize below for my maze challenge, so keep submitting your guesses!  A clue: The author’s last name has 7 letters.

This month I have been adjusting to life without a magic shop.  A weight has been lifted!  I’m so happy to return to creating and performing full time.  My brain has been going non-stop with ideas for new tricks to market and many selfishly that I’d like to keep for myself.  Stay tuned!

This month I attended the wonderful lecture of Trevor Duffy from South Africa.  Trevor is bursting with creative ideas and I was glad to visit with him.  I’ll be using one of his secret weapons real soon in my act to make objects vanish in a puff of smoke!

Luckily I’ve stayed busy with shows like the ones for Corsicana Freedom Festival, the grand opening of the Grand Prairie Recreation Center, and other top clients as Kaye/Bassman and Price, Waterhouse & Coopers, etc..

When you get the chance go and see the new Ed Norton movie entitled the The Illusionist.  I attended the premiere with many of my magic buddies and enjoyed it.  The thriller dragged a little in the middle but the ending more than made up for it.  It was nice to see the art of magic getting some due praise from Hollywood.

See an amazing video sent to me from my fan club below.

This month I attended the lecture of the amazing and amusing Gregory Wilson.  Greg and I had a good visit and I was reminded of why I like his magic so much.  He is a great thinker and loves to have fun with his audience.  It won’t be long I’m sure until we all see Greg’s magic on TV!  See the picture of Greg and I to the right.

The big news this month is the closing of Magical Gadgets in Frisco.  My business partner and I have no regrets.  We gave it a good college try.  Closing the shop will be a huge weight off of my shoulders.  For more than three years I have been juggling the duties of the shop and my own business Diamond Jim Productions. I am eager to finish writing 2 books I have been working on, hitting the road to lecture again and creating more magic products.  And now I’ll have more time to do that which I love most… performing!!!

The good news for those who frequented Magical Gadgets is that the shop will not disappear.  A new owner has bought the name and website and will open up a similar shop in Van Alstyne, Texas.

My kid sister Chelsye graduates from high school and turns 17 this May.  I once again witnessed the magic of David Copperfield at Bass Hall.  Besides my personal events I have performed many shows for events as diverse as a couple of high school proms, the Ft. Worth Police Dept., Park Place Mercedes and Manhattan Construction Company who is building the new Cowboy Stadium where I met Mr. Jerry Jones.

This month is the debut of my new effect SentiMental Postcards.

Well I just celebrated another birthday!  That makes me 36.  I had a party with a few friends and family and hired Critterman Dave.  We had all sorts of critters like a rose-hair tarantula, a black emperor scorpion, a hissing cockroach, a legless lizard, a hedgehog, an alligator, a king snake, and as you can see around my neck in the adjacent picture- a Burmese python.  It was fun to be on the receiving end of the entertainment for a change.  More importantly it was good to be surrounded by those that I love.

This month I witnessed Simon Lovell perform.  Simon is a professional magician/comedian living in New York who is now starring in his own one-man act off of Broadway.  He’s a zany character whom I’ve always longed to meet. Mr. Lovell delivers 100%.

This month has kept me busy putting some final touches on a new trick that I will release in April.  I’ve also been busy working at my shop and performing at restaurants and private parties.  But the most exciting thing has been preparing my magic to represent one of the Nestle companies.  In April I will appear on the 1st, 8th, 9th and the 15th at the Irving Mall to perform my magic and promote Wonka’s new Easter products.  For more Wonka fun click here!

Happy New Year to my visitors and Happy Anniversary to me!  2006 marks 30 years that I have been practicing magic, 20 years that I have been performing professionally and 10 years since I started this website.  I’m still plugging along practicing when I can, performing often, giving lessons and running my shop.  There seems to be little time for else.  But what else is there.  Magic allows me to play for a living!  People that haven’t seen me in years say that I look the same or younger.  I think it’s because I am a kid at heart.

My job introduces me to many nice people like Joshua Jay and Shawn Farquhar whose lectures I attended.  Both lectures were outstanding!  Some of my more interesting gigs the past couple of months were at the Las Colinas Movie Studios and the Dallas World Aquarium.  I recommend that anyone visiting Dallas to seek out both of the aforementioned tourist spots.

And thanks to all who have purchased my latest trick called the FORCE BAND.  I recently sent my first profit check to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Let’s all make 2006 a great year!