To say things have been busy is an understatement.  I did 17 shows in November and 26 in December.  I’ve gone from schools, to homes, to businesses, to hotels, to restaurants, to mansions, to museums, to country clubs and numerous other places to perform this holiday season.  This doesn’t include my time spent helping at Main St. Magic in McKinney on Thursdays, family functions, parties for friends, dinner with friends and all of my honey-do’s around the house.

In preparation for Blackpool, come February of 2015, I have repackaged all of my older DVD titles to make things smaller and look new.  I’ve transitioned them from the big bulky plastic cases to the smaller 5×5 cardboard sleeves.  Now they take up less space in my home, are cheaper to ship, feature new artwork on some of them, but contain the same great routines that have helped to make my career.  It’s cost several thousands of dollars to do all this but I look at it as an investment in my future.

Sadly I lost my grandmother Lou Ramsey in November.  I called her Nonnie.  She was a die-hard Dallas Cowboy fan, always spoke her mind, and had the best laugh.  She struggled with dementia the last few years of her life.  Watching that process take over her mind was hard on all of the family.  However, between those moments of confusion were wonderful bursts of clarity.  She will be missed by many.  I’m glad I saw her near the end and I know that she was proud of the man I have become.  I was lucky to have her as part of my family.  Attached is a picture of my mother, with her mother, my Nonnie.

On a positive note it was a nice funeral and well attended.  It was nice to see family during the holidays and get-together with those that I love and wish I saw more often.  We all overate and opened too many presents. As is tradition my immediate family met at my mom’s place and attended a nice service on Christmas Eve.

The most exciting news for me this December is the release of my 8th instructional DVD on magic called Diamond Jack.  It’s a whimsical story that uses every card in the deck to tell it.  I’ve put my own spin on this classic tale and come up with a way to actually let a spectator truly shuffle the deck before beginning the story.  It’s been a closer and reputation maker for me for over 25 years now.  Click the DVD cover pic shown here to learn more about the routine or even buy it. I’m very proud of the production quality and the finished product.  See the trailer for it below.

It’s been a busy fun month.  I performed 21 shows this month plus had lots of fun meet ups with friends and family.  Gigs this time of year are always so much fun!  It’s great to see people in costume.  I work for many repeat clients who are loyal and constantly shower me with praise.  At one function I was asked if I was single by a beautiful young lady who is working on her PHD.  Although I am married I was very flattered.  I guess I’m magic and sexy!

Beyond all of my gigs my free time has been spent with my best friend Tony redesigning all of my former DVDs and creating artwork for my upcoming releases.  Tony works a full time job, DJ’s weddings on the weekend, just had a baby, but somehow squeezes in time to help me with all of my projects.  He’s a super talented artist, a great friend and one of the best persons I know.  I just re-released my Pockets Full of Miracles DVD better known now as PFM.  The 23 routines featured on this disc are things I’ve used to pay my bills for 28 years now.  It’s stands to reason it is still my top seller.

I enjoyed dining at Trulucks with my family to celebrate my mother’s birthday.  One night took us to Kotta, our favorite sushi restaurant.  While at Kotta we celebrated my sister Jodi’s birthday with her husband Bryce and our two friends Chris and Mindi.  My wife and I attended her good friend Doris’ 80th birthday.  Another night took us to a Korean BBQ place, a first for us, to celebrate with my friend Jared and his wife and their foreign exchange student Hailey to celebrate her 17th birthday. We attended a play called The Witches to see our friends daughter Mirabai, who did an excellent job. I attended the farewell party for one of my favorite agents who is retiring and moving to California.  I’m actually working one last party with this agent in November and will miss her fun spirit.  I went to my childhood friend Kevin Davis’ home to watch the Cowboys football game which they won.  It was fun to hang out with Kevin and the other guys which is something I rarely do.  And last but not least our best friends’ the Trippi’s had their daughter’s Hannah’s baptism where I entertained at the reception.  Kathy and I love the Trippis’ seen in the pic here where their daughter is dressed like Snow White for Halloween.

The month ended on a high note thanks to our friends the Gracy’s.  They own the magic shop in McKinney called Main St. Magic where I help out sometimes on Thursdays.  They kindly bought us and six others VIP passes to the Dark Hour haunted house in Plano.  The costumes, decor and attention to detail on the house were phenomenal.  Unfortunately, if rating the scare factor 1-10, I’d only give it a 5.  Having said that, it didn’t matter because I loved hanging with my new-found friends.  It was a fun mix of characters who hung out that night.  To make it more special the Gracy’s rented a sweet Dodge Challenger limo which we all made sure was fully stocked.  It was a fun night and one for the memory books.

After returning from the TAOM convention in Fort Worth I unpacked my bags.  Shortly after I repacked them for an upcoming tour.  The big news this month is the release of my 7th instructional DVD called The Squeezer.  It’s a stand-up showpiece that I’ve used in my parlor set for years now.  It’s a routine that revolves around the story of a serial killer.  I try to choose my audiences carefully for this one, but when used it does kill.  See the trailer above.

This month kept me busy with lots of gigs and get-togethers.  One day had me going from the home of a billionaire to the party of another millionaire.  It was nice to spend one  Saturday with my aunt Jan, Nonnie & Papa, and my wife and mother.  Plus we had a fun get-together at our friends’ home the Baileys and their backyard Shangri La. I’ve had Poker nights and recently a house guest named Dan Fleshman, who is an awesome magician who was passing through town.  Danny was the first magician I saw lecture when I was 16.  His magic had a huge impact on me.  How cool is it that one of my idols is now a good friend?

This month also featured my last in a series of Scam School episodes that was filmed a couple of months ago.  When I can find the time I will return to Austin and film some more.  See the show below.  Scam School has around a million subscribers and probably three-times that many more who watch and don’t subscribe.  People all over the world recognize me from the show and stop me from time to time and ask, “Are you Diamond Jim Tyler?”  Sometimes it’s flattering, and sometimes it is unsettling because I think to myself, “Do I know this person?  They know me.  Is this a former client?”  Whatever the case it’s nice to know they like what I’m doing and remember my name.

On September 14th I left home for Fort Wayne, IN.  I drove it all in one day which was 15 hours.  The next night I lectured there for an enthusiastic group.  A couple of days later I lectured in Illinois and learned that my act “Plays in Peoria”.  The next day I ventured on to Chicago and spent the day at Fun Inc where magic and novelties are manufactured.  My friend Tomas Medina, a hilarious comedy magician, who helps run the place gave me a tour of their new facility.  That night I went on to the home of my tour organizer Martin Mercy and met his lovely wife Cheryl.  We journeyed on to the lecture facility in a hospital and I prepared for the evening.  While there I gave a mini-lecture to the young magicians and then gave the full two-hour lecture to a huge crowd.  From Chicago I made my way to St. Paul, MN and lectured at the new location for the impressively large shop Twin Cities Magic & Costume.  St. Paul was a another great turn out.  From there  I traveled to Kansas City and arrived at the home of my friend the magician Todd Lamanske who is an excellent magician in his own right.  I arrived at midnight and accidentally set off my car alarm.  Having never done so it took awhile to turn it off and I woke up half the neighborhood in the process.  The next day we made our way to US TOY where I did a lecture once again to a packed house!  After the lecture Todd did a mini-interview which can be seen below.

I drove through 9 states and performed in 4 of them.  All in all I drove about 3000 miles! After the tour I got home as quick as I could on Tuesday Sept. 23rd and began returning emails and filling numerous orders.  Luckily I had four gigs to look forward to the same week.  After getting caught up I have begun working on design and lay out for some upcoming releases that I hope to have out this year.  Also, my holiday schedule and weekends are beginning to fill up.  I will be closing out the month on Sept. 3oth by doing an online chat interview for Full Circle Magic; see the link below. It’s lining up to be another solid year for shows.  I love my job!

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.

This 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!

As 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.

For 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.

I 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!

As I reflect back on this past month I am reminded that I live a charmed life.  I have many wonderful friends, family members and the best job in the world.  This blog is mainly for me to look back and reflect on. Although I do document many of the fun events I do, it’s hard to capture the sentiment at times.  During my shows I get so many accolades, laughs, and smiles. My favorite situation is when I turn non-believers into believers and or fans.  I am thankful for all of this.

July began with a visit to my grandparents home in Edgewood, TX.  They’ve lived there practically since I was born. I have many fond memories from their homestead.  Seen here is an older picture of them I recently found.  I stayed there often as a child and played in the woods, fed ducks, rode the tractor with my Papa, fished, rode dirt-bikes, etc.  My family and I have celebrated many a Christmas there and other events.  I remember nothing but good times whilst amongst them.  It was a pleasure to visit again and have a nice lunch.  My grandparents are getting older and their health is waning and I’ve always known that tomorrow is promised to no one.

On the 4th of July my wife and I flew to Seattle, WA and were greeted by a friend.  He took us to our hotel in the city, Hotel Vintage, and afterward we saw a few sites and had a nice Indian curry.  Afterwards he took us to the home of an older war vet who had a nice place on the lake.  This gentleman, whose name escapes me, was on the crew that worked on the last plane that flew and crashed in the ocean during WWII.  He showed us a video about the plane, the crew, and it was befitting to do so on Independence Day.  The cherry on top that night was watching the fireworks aboard a ferry that was shuttling us back closer to our hotel.

The next day we took in many sites around Seattle like Pikes Place.  What an awesome market place.  Every square inch was crowded with people watching the “fish tossing” and taking in the other shops as well.  I was pleased to find a magic shop there that was promoting my upcoming lecture.  From there we found a famous eatery where we dined on clam chowder and then we made our way to the famous Seattle Space Needle.  Adjacent to the Space Needle was the EMP museum (seen above) or the Experience Music Project.  The structure inside and out is an attraction itself.  I’ve been to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain that was built by the same architect Frank Gehry.  The museum was pricy as far as museums go but we enjoyed it.  It’s filled with music history, sci-fi horror collectibles and even had an exhibit dedicated to mythological magic in movies.  Click to watch a  video about it here.

That following Sunday we hopped aboard the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship to begin our Alaskan cruise.  This was our fourth cruise to vacation on and the ship was very nice.  However, the ships beauty paled in comparison to the grandeur of the scenic coastlines and our picturesque ports of call.

Our first stop was Juneau.  We had scheduled a seaplane to fly over some glaciers, but due to the weather, all flights were cancelled.  So we scrambled and booked another excursion instead.  We toured a salmon hatchery, were taken to a Mendenhall park showcasing an awesome glacier and then were treated to salmon bake.  The hatchery was interesting.  The Mendenhall bright blue glacier was most impressive.  The salmon bake food was delicious and once we found the warmth of a heater and some new-found friends the night improved.  These new friends witnessed some of my magic and paid me for the privilege.  Now I can honestly say that I’ve worked professionally in Alaska and can cross it off my list.

Our next stop was Skagway.  We took a raft ride down the Chilkat river.  That part of the country contains the largest eagle preserve and we counted around 40-50.  The water was very shallow so the eagles simply waited aground and walked over to the water to grab a fish.  It wasn’t at all majestic, with the birds wings spread far and swooping down like I had imagined.  The young lady that steered our raft was an excellent navigator, guide and athlete.

The next stop was Ketchikan.  We had just planned to walk around the town, but since our seaplane ride was cancelled we booked another.  We flew over the misty majestic fjords for an hour or more and landed the plane on a secluded mirror-finish lake.  We all hopped out onto the seaplanes float supports and took in the beauty.  After that we took to the air, saw mountain goats on top of some impossibly high peaks and landed back at the main docks a little later.  We took in the town’s atmosphere and shops. We were impressed with all of the local art.

The last stop was Victoria in British Columbia.  This is one of our favorite places on Earth.  We took a bus tour of the city and visited the enchanted Butchart Gardens.  It was nice to see this theme-park of flowers lit at night.  The band on stage was playing old 50’s songs and many in the crowd were dancing.  It’s a happy place to say the least.

Aboard the ship we ate like royalty, saw many fun shows, walked about the ship inside and out, and attended many art auctions.  We attended the art auctions for cheap entertainment and to learn about different styles and artists.  We won three different artworks!  We also bought a painting by Marko Marvovich.  It’s called Blue Moon Over Venice.  I love the style of the painting, the scene, the color scheme and also the hidden story within.  A gondola at night is being steered under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

Our cruise was one week long and returned to the Seattle port.  My wife flew home and my new friend there took me to a motel.  The motel was horrible but I stayed the night.  The next night I moved to a new cleaner and safer place and did my lecture in Seattle that night.  It was a small but fun crowd.  The next day we took a road trip to Portland, Oregon and walked about the town and had lunch.  I performed some magic there and lectured in a nearby magic shop that night.  The shop, Dave’s Killer Magic Shop, had only been at its new location one week but was very organized, well put together and huge!  The hosts were very accommodating.  The lecture crowd was big and so were sales!  I flew home the next day and can now proudly say that I have performed in 44 of the US states.

Once home I had a plethora of shows to perform.  One took me to the Dallas Country Club, one took me to the swanky Altitude bar atop the W Hotel (formerly known as the Ghostbar), etc.  I did many casino themed party shows for a medical group.  Plus I worked a few birthday parties here and there.  Also my Boston’s gig on Wednesdays and Fridays is going strong with lots of regulars.

The big news is that I released my sixth instructional magic DVD titled Quadrare Caan Opus.  It’s an effect I’ve used for years in certain stand-up shows.  The effect marries the Magic Square routine with the Card at any Number plot.  The disc is getting rave reviews thus far and sells are brisk.  Click here to learn more about it.

Plus some of the Scam School episodes I filmed in Austin awhile back are airing.  Several are shot and in the can and will be released over the next few months.  One of them revolves around a puzzle that I had custom-made of wood called the Consecutive Conundrum.  See the puzzle box by clicking here.  See the episode below featuring myself, Brushwood, and guest star Justin Willman who did a stupendous job:

Things are always busy, in a good way, around here.  Beyond working lots of gigs we’ve had time to hook up with many friends.  The month started off with an overnight visit from our friends The Fleischers out of California.  The next day I drove to Austin to film more episodes of Scam School. See the trick I call Post-it Note Puzzle in Bamboozlers 3, from the recent Scam School shoot above.  The shoot went well and I had dinner with a long-time friend Justin.  The next day I had a fun gig at a golf competition at a country club in Fort Worth. The next night was a private party for a fun family who has used my services in the past.

The next day I attended my nephew Lane’s graduation party where I did a little magic for he and his friends.  Everyone is proud of Lane as he will be attending A&M. The following day I flew to LA with my old chum Ward and we attended The Magic Castle in Hollywood and had a nice dinner.  The next night I worked a private gig at The Magic Castle for a couple of hours.  It was nice to be flown out and treated like a rock star and to hang out at one of my favorite places on Earth. I’ve done over one hundred shows at the Castle and it never gets old.  In fact, I can’t wait to go back. It’s even more gratifying to know that they sell all three of my Bamboozlers books in their gift shop.

Once home I did my Boston’s gig in McKinney that Friday the 13th and the next day I had off, which is rare, so I visited with my good friends Jesse Woodall and Craig Raley.  The next day was Father’s Day and I was happy to spend it with my grandfather Bill and my step-father C.E.  A couple of days later I had a fun night with the Dallas Magic Club.  The same week I had many shows and helped out the magic shop in McKinney for a day.

I ended the month by working a 35th birthday party for one of my biggest fans named Sally.  I recently helped Sally get engaged by producing a ring during one of my routines while at Boston’s one night.  It’s always fun when people get so excited just to be standing in the room with me.  I think I was more excited than she- just to be entertaining her friends and family.  I love my job!

See the most recent episode of Scam School below.  In it I teach a routine I call Nimble Corks from my book Close-Up Magic Secrets. I figured out recently that the Scam School episodes with myself and Brushwood currently have over three million hits!

This has been a productive month. I had 20 gigs in May. Which sounds like I had 11 days off but it didn’t feel that way. I attended many fun private events like my friend Jared’s house party, dinner with my parents, dinner with friends, and my sister Chelsye’s birthday.

The countless award-winning Michael Dardant stayed the night one evening and we stayed up until 2am playing video games. The up and coming magician Ben Jackson stopped by for a visit and we hashed out some ideas for a television show that he is working on. My wife and I had our 22nd anniversary but we’ve actually spent 26 years together. We will celebrate in style later this year.

I just released my new Winning Spinning Nickels; click here to learn more about them. Many of the photos from my photo shoot with Joel Chan are done and I’ve been adding them to my website. See my resume page, my services page and my references page to see many of the new photos. I have more photos that I will find a way to incorporate at a later date. Some of the Scam School episodes that were shot in late April are beginning to air. See one that is dedicated to entertaining folks with matches below:

My new Magic Math Sticks, Consecutive Conundrum puzzle and 7 Lucky Dice are selling well.  Typically in one year I will release a couple of new items.  This year I am focusing on expanding my product line.  I have a production team now who is working on some upcoming DVD releases for me as well.  It’s a lot to juggle all of this while performing and traveling but I love it.  My regular gig at Bostons in McKinney is going strong and I’m there two nights a week.  Come see me Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30pm and Fridays 7-9pm.  I have many regulars that come to see me weekly now so I’m constantly working on new things.

One exciting gig for me this month was flying to Columbus, OH on Sunday May 25th.  I lectured for Penguin Magic that night which was broadcast all over the world via the internet.  The feedback has been tremendous.  Many have said it was the best lecture they’ve witnessed. Hearing that means a lot to me seeing how over 100 guys that I respect have done the same there.  Apparently I set a record for the most magic per minute with the variety of effects I performed.  You can download the lecture and read the reviews by clicking on the picture above.

I also drove to West Virginia the next day and did a little magic for some folks.  Since I was paid I can now say I’ve performed professionally in 41 of the states.  That was a very long day for me. That morning I ate breakfast in Columbus, OH, had lunch in Wheeling, WV, had dinner in Atlanta, GA and then flew to DFW and was home in bed just north of Dallas before midnight.  Life is never boring!

These past two months have been cray cray.  I’ve stayed busy with shows and projects. On March 1st I worked a fun Mardi Gras party for a regular client.  A few days later I worked a fun gig at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas with the funny and talented Todd Lamanske.  Todd is like my brother from another mother.  I’ve done birthday parties, school functions, neighborhood block parties, company meetings, and one that was very rewarding for a retirement home.  I hope to do many more of the latter.

I also had the privilege of speaking to many wealthy retired men for their breakfast club at the Dallas Country Club in Highland Park.  I’m not normally asked to simply speak about my life and my career.  I found it challenging preparing for it, but once I was there it became very natural.   After my speech several members bought my Bamboozlers books and gave me lots of positive feedback.  The gentleman who asked me to speak said it was one of their best events in thirty years of meeting!

I’ve added a wonderful wooden puzzle, inspired by Martin Gardner, to my magic shop.  It’s called the Consecutive Conundrum.  I made a trip to Austin to meet up with my friend Brian Brushwood to film more episodes for Scam School.  Brian is like the Tasmanian Devil when it comes to work.  He never stops moving and is always thinking.  Recently the National Geographic Channel aired a show starring Brian called Hacking the System.  While on the Scam School shoot the famous TV magician Justin Willman stopped by to shoot an episode with us.  Justin has been on Leno, Ellen, and various other shows, but is best known these days as the host of Cupcake Wars.  See the creepy photo of us together with Burt Reynolds in the background. 🙂

While shooting the Scam School episodes I was pleased to see the support from family and friends who came out.  My step-siblings Mike & Melanie came out as well as my cousins Rodger & Alex.  A long-time friend from elementary school named Justin came out and his wife Amy joined us in one of the episodes.  Justin runs a successful tattoo shop in Austin and I was happy to join he and his wife at a tasty Korean food restaurant.  It was nice to reminisce.

Brushwood and I shot several episodes of Scam School and they will air sometime over the next few months.  My latest effect MAGIC MATH STICKS just released.  The effect allows you to look like a super-human calculator.  See the trick below:

I’ve had so much going on that sometimes I feel like I am spinning.  I’ve been booking lots of flights for upcoming work trips.  I rented a theater for the first time and did a couple of shows for fans and taped the footage for product-releases that I plan to release later this year.  I shot some of the explanation footage at my wife and I’s favorite restaurant Javier’s. I did a photo-shoot with the super creative Joel Chan.  I met up Tommy Thomas who is the son of the legendary Titanic Thompson. I helped a couple get engaged by producing the ring and creating a magic moment.  I found a machine shop locally who is working on creating my next project that should release in May.

I celebrated my 44th birthday recently.  I’ve had a few dinners and lunches with friends to help commemorate this epic event.  Tomorrow night my good friends Tony & Amanda are taking us out to our favorite sushi place called Kotta.  And my sweet wife Kathy bought me flying lessons!  Manning an aircraft is something that I will soon get to mark off of my bucket list.

The rest of the year is looking equally busy.  I’ve got lots of awesome things in the works that I can’t talk about just yet. One of my goals is to perform in all 50 states.  Thus far I have done 40 of them.   Over the next few months I will do a few more.  I’m loving life!!

Happy New Year! 2014 promises to be a productive year for me. I’m curbing my touring to focus on projects I’ve been wanting to complete for years. In January I did 16 shows. One gig gave me an hour notice before they needed me! Some of the highlights were attending PartyFest with my friend Jared, working a flooring tradeshow, working for some regular fun corporate clients, working at the Trade Mart in Dallas, and working my regular gig Boston’s Gourment Pizza in McKinney on Wednesday and Friday nights. Also, in January, I played lots of poker, celebrated birthdays with friends and family, attended Karl Hein’s lecture (who stayed at my house) and released my new product called 7 LUCKY DICE. Check out what these dice can do by clicking here.

In February I did 16 shows as well. I’ve spent a lot of time in Fort Worth performing so I frequent the magic shop MAGIC ETC. where they stock many of my items. I always enjoy talking to Ash Adams one of the demonstrators there. Some of the highlights this month were watching our friend’s daughter Mirabai in a Sherlock Holmes play, eating at our favorite restaurant Javier’s, working a charity event for the Betty Ford Center, etc.

However the biggest thrill of all had to be working at Jared’s Epic Party. Imagine 20,000 square feet of fun stuff. Imagine seeing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder from the TMNT, Kevin Eastman (the co-creater of the TMNT), the Power Rangers, Ghostbusters look-alikes, Teenwolf look-alike, the time-machine Delorean from Back to Future, the girl who played Marty McFly’s girlfriend from Back to the Future, Robocop, the wife from Robocop, the van from the A-Team, the car from Ghostbusters, the van from TMNT, sumo suit wrestling, turtle racing, my friend Burton Gilliam from Blazing Saddles, Al Mack the radio personality, a live monkey, slot car races, booze, pizza, huge comfy bean bag chairs, ME, and about 60 video and pinball games everywhere, plus around 1300 people.

On the main stage at Jared’s party was DJ Baby Chino, The Graceland Ninjaz, Rob Base, Humpty Hump, Partners in Kryme, Tone Loc, Vanilla Ice plus an amazing sound-activated video screen as a backdrop. I only saw the closing act which was Vanilla Ice on the stage because I was working the crowd during the rest of the party. I steered clear of the main room with the stage, mainly because of the noise, and worked the other 3 huge rooms to entertain folks with my close-up magic. The crowd was very receptive! I got paid to have fun and I was able to comp in six friends and a photographer. Jared did a hell of a job putting this event together and promises to do another one. I had fun hanging with the celebrities but I had even more fun working the party and hanging with my friends in my spare time.

One of the cool highlights of Jared’s Epic Party was participating in the biggest Nerf Gun war in history.  Over 550 people participated.  The paperwork has been sent to the Guinness World Record book to make it official.  All of the toy guns were then donated to the Children’s Hospital.