New Kid on the Block

Johnny Thompson, Banachek, and Dexter.

That's right, everybody--there's a new kid on the block. My good friend Dexter has now joined the Hocus Pocus Team. Dexter has been a good friend for a many number of years. You may recognize his name as we have marketed many of his effects (which were best sellers, by the way). He was busy last year and the beginning of this year as a magic consultant for Criss Angel's Mindfreak series, which we hear will begin another new season at the beginning of 2007. With the addition of Dexter, our crew here is more knowledgeable than ever before! When you call, be sure to welcome Dexter and introduce yourself. If you are wondering about Jeremy, he is still here at Hocus Pocus as Inventory Control Manager of our warehouse, keeping tabs on the vast inventory that keeps changing and growing. He absolutely loves his new position and is doing a wonderful job!


Robert Baxt

Wednesday, I had a short visit from Robert Baxt, where he was on his way to the Bay Area for both lecturing and performing. He and I are working on two new projects which will be announced in the very near future. We're putting the final touches on them, so stay tuned to the web site for more information. Robert never ceases to amaze me with his creativity and clever routining, and you'll be able to reap the rewards.

It's been extremely busy as you can tell from the photos below. We had to hire two new people temporarily in the warehouse to take care of the extra load. It's been a record shipping week with 2 UPS deliveries in the morning, 2 deliveries in the afternoon, and 2 pickups in the afternoon. This plus the USPS is picking up twice a week as well. Just take a look at the videos alone going out one day this week after our inventory blowout sale!


Videos and boxes as far as the eye can see!


An early morning shipment.

The heat here has broken all records this year. The average has been between 117 to 119 for the last fourteen days! Even the air conditioners can't cool the place down below 85 degrees! The big news here is that a "cooling trend" is coming in, making the heat more bearable in the double digits again, with an expected high of 96 degrees on Sunday. WE CAN'T WAIT!

On the home front, my eldest son, Cole, leaves for college in just three short weeks! Betty is preparing for his departure by placing "For Rent" signs outside of his room. Ha Ha. Of course, Max has already gotten dibs on Cole's room and is already packing his things up. You'd think the both of them were leaving home! My oldest daughter, Renee, is moving back to Fresno after graduating college. In just 2 weeks, she'll be back home renting a brand new and very nice apartment, and she's taken a management position with Gottschalks (a California and Oregon chain of department stores). She's extremely excited about her new position and being close to family again, and we are as well.

So, wherever you are, I certainly hope it's cooler than it is here. If not, be sure to stay cool however you can and until next time,

Paul