Magician Jon Armstrong is spending a week in Los Angeles, and found time to host another Magic Castle Perk. Tonight was Dan & Dave Buck, who discussed their pioneering flourish work and their upcoming magic conference in San Diego.

Dan and Dave are insanely talented card artists, and also really nice, thoughtful guys. They were way cool. MagicCon (their upcoming conference for magicians) looks to be the premiere event of year. The lineup is truly incredible, featuring some of the very best magicians in the world.

Jon’s lecture series is a terrific perk of being a Magic Castle member. As always, I’m glad I went.

I finally printed out issue #3 of my customer newsletter. It goes in the mail tomorrow and I can finally take it off my to do list.

“Magical Times” is a physical newsletter I make just for my clients. It has cool non-magic related articles (that take me ages to write) along with my current schedule and Magic Castle info. Due to printing expenses and postage, only clients who have hired me to entertain at their events are eligible to get a copy.

Newsletters are a terrific tool for small businesses. They generate business, while at the same time helping to keep you in touch with your clients. Sure… they can be time consuming, but it’s worth it!

My weekly strolling magic gig at Falcon on Saturdays has come to an end.

Groove Society, the promoter who brought me in, has moved on to another Saturday Night venue called Citizen Smith. I may join them there in a few weeks, assuming the situation works out for all of us.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for great nightlife in Los Angeles, check out Groove Society!

And you can always find me on Friday nights at Teru Sushi.

Just got back into Los Angeles after a weekend at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. What a great hotel. It was built in 1888 and is one of the top destinations worldwide for corporate events and weddings. That certainly makes sense… they have terrific facilities for all kinds of company events.

I didn’t bring a computer with me (just the iphone), and as luck would have it… my phone rang daily from people calling about my magic shows. I had to take notes with pen and paper (old school!!!) and promise to send out contracts when I got back into town.

One show was for this Saturday, and another was for Oct. 1st. Hopefully both people will still want to hire me when I follow up tomorrow ;-)

That’s the funny thing about running a small business. Even when you’re on vacation… you’re still at work.

On Wednesday I filmed my third television interview with Spike TV for their program “1000 Ways to Die.” While previous interviews concerned magic tricks like The Bullet Catch and Sword Swallowing… this segment was about cheating at cards.

I’ve never cheated at cards in my life (I’m an honest guy), but, like many magicians, I know HOW to cheat. For Spike TV, I put my card skills on display.

I didn’t teach any moves, but I did do some demonstrations for the camera. I dealt aces from a shuffled deck, changed bad cards into good, and talked about ways to cheat without using sleight-of-hand.

As with every “1000 Ways to Die” interview segment I’ve done, this one will likely be edited down drastically. I have no idea what will make the cut… but hopefully it’ll look great!!!

To celebrate the grand opening of Mystique Dining’s new Boise location, you can now purchase tickets for 50% off! You must purchase tickets before monday, but you can use them anytime through February! Enter code “BoiseChamber” during checkout.

Your tickets are good for a gourmet meal and 45-minute magic show by my friend and Magic Castle award-winner Jon Armstrong. Jon does some of the best card magic around.

There’s no exclusions, limits, etc. Call (208) 375-2141 for further info. Tell your friends!

Have any plans to visit Idaho (and who doesn’t, really)?

You should… because this spring I’ll be performing at Mystique Dining, one of the top performance venues in the world for close-up magic.

Mystique Dining features elegant Victorian decor, gourmet dining, and only the very best magicians around. After an elegant 5-course dinner, I’ll perform my new 45-minute close-up magic show. Each room seats only 18 people… guaranteeing everyone a great view of my sleight-of-hand.

I’ll be entertaining audiences with Andrew Goldenhersh, a great guy and 9-time Magic Castle award nominee. Special thanks to Jon Armstrong for recommending me to the owners. Jon is known worldwide for his performance chops and knowledge of card magic. I’m so pleased he thought of me.

There’s also a special deal if you buy tickets this week. I’ll let you know about that tomorrow!