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!