The French Connection

Max is here.

Bonjour. OK, that's all the French you'll get outta me today. I started out the blog today as my youngest son, Max, left Wednesday on a trip to France! As part of a class trip, he'll be gone for a total of nine days where he'll be able to see such landmarks as the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, Chateau of Chenonceau, Palace of Versailles and then they will be off to Normandy to see the battleground of World War 2, not to mention the fine French food and other things. At 15 years of age, both Betty and I felt that this would be an incredible opportunity for Max. He's already phoned once and is having a great time. Betty purchased him a special memory card for his camera for plenty of pictures. He returns at midnight next Saturday, and I'm sure he'll have TONS of stories to share with us. In the meantime, he's left us explicit instructions on how to take care of the birds in the aviary, which I am following to a T, and of course, there's the car. He's left a list for his older brother, Cole, to start it up and drive it every day. No eating, drinking, etc. are allowed inside, however... He's even asked that Cole pick him up at the airport and drive him home in his Nova.



ALLAKAZAM HAT UPDATE

The response to the Allakazam Hat has been tremendous! As you may remember, we made this visible on the web site a week ago today. With only 50 limited edition units being produced, we have already sold over 50% of them. We still have a few units available to those who pre-order the first 36, enabling you to also receive the special Allakazam Memorabilia Package and personalized autographed photo. Contact us soon if you are interested.

If you haven't seen the web site this week, Mike has put on a new record of hot products, averaging around 10 per day. If you want to keep ahead of the game, you can sign up with your email to get daily updates around 5:00 PM PDT each day. Simply click your mouse on the right-hand column of the web site that states :

New Feature: Would you like daily email updates on new products added to our website? If so enter your email address below.

Also, treat yourself to the brand new free download from Michael Boden called "Hole in One," the third in a series of free downloads we are offering. Each effect is unique and well worth taking the time to check out. Simply click the FREE DOWNLOAD link inside the web site on the left hand column.

EASTER AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Our good friend and customer, Michael Grandinetti, will be the host magician performing at this year's Easter at the White House! Michael's a great guy, and we know he'll do an outstanding job. Congratulations, Michael!

Illusionist Michael Grandinetti Brings Easter Magic To The White House

Master illusionist Michael Grandinetti, as featured on NBC, CBS, FOX and stages around the country, performs amazing, never before seen illusions for an expected audience of over 18,000 people at the 2008 White House Easter Egg Roll!

Over the past 15 years, illusionist Michael Grandinetti has had many spectacular career highlights. His magic has been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX. He has traveled nationally, creating custom illusions for major corporations including Bayer, JDA Software, Countrywide, Hewlett Packard, and Harley Davidson. He has performed in such noteworthy places as Heinz Hall, The Kodak Theater in Hollywood, and Grand Central Station in New York. He has even designed illusions for Las Vegas and Branson production shows, national commercials, and for a television special in Italy.

However, on March 24th, Michael will experience one of his biggest career milestones yet as he performs at The White House in Washington D.C.

As one of the featured stage performers at this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll, Michael has been invited to share his unique brand of magic with the over 18,000 guests expected to visit throughout the day. Featured acts and celebrities from previous year’s events have included Miley Cyrus, who stars in the hit series Hannah Montana, Jane Seymour, NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, Olympic medallist Kerri Strug, and actor Stephen Baldwin.

The White House Easter Egg Roll is an annual family event dating back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on Easter Monday. Successive Presidents have continued the tradition of inviting families to the White House Lawn for activities and entertainment.

Since his first professional performance fifteen years ago, Michael’s reputation for cutting edge magic and a charismatic personality has spread throughout the world. He has appeared on countless stages and television programs including Entertainment Tonight, Fox & Friends, New York Today, Crook & Chase, The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, and NBC’s “The Worlds Most Dangerous Magic”. To promote the national “World Magic Awards” broadcast, Michael traveled to New York City where he levitated a girl as crowds at Grand Central Station, Central Park, and Rockefeller Center watched in amazement. Michael was honored to receive the City of Pittsburgh’s “All-Star Achievement Award”, given to those who carve noteworthy paths in their field. He was also recently interviewed for the book “Variety Careers: Gaining Respect” along with six other noted illusionists, including famed Las Vegas performer Lance Burton.

His vast experience and thorough understanding of his art has made Michael in high demand in the corporate and private event circuit. Over the past year, Michael has performed over 100 shows around the country. He recently returned from performing ten shows at New York City’s Javits Convention Center where, to illustrate that his client could not be harmed by the competition, Michael magically passed a wall of steel spikes through the company’s CEO. He also levitated 10ft into the air and caused $100,000 to appear in a glass box, all while surrounded by the astonished audience.

Michael’s talent for creating the perfect illusion for each event will be put to use once again during his special performances at The White House. In addition to several of his classic stand-up magic routines, Michael will close his show by making hundreds of colored Easter Eggs, and the symbol of freedom, a 10ft wide United States Flag, magically appear.

Michael’s penchant for designing original magic started at age 15 when he created an illusion in which a girl vanished from the middle of a football field during halftime shows. Since that time, Michael’s original magic designs have been featured in theatrical productions around the world, including the "Magic & Beyond" show in Branson MO, and the television series “Paolo Limiti” in Italy. Michael was also approached to contribute a design for the recent Hans Klok & Pamela Anderson show at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Michael Grandinetti is redefining the word “Magician.” With intimate sleight of hand, innovative platform effects, and spectacular grand illusions, combined with his inimitable personality and contemporary style, Michael shows his audiences a side of magic they will not soon forget.

My oldest son, Cole, comes home to spend Spring Break with us. This weekend we start to work in the yard again to get it in shape for the warmer weather. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't rain this weekend, as promised.

Until next time,

Paul