The Men's Hut

We have just launched a new site called The Men's Hut (themenshut.com). If you have Michael's book, "The Magic of Michael Ammar" - you may recall an essay with the same title. The site is in reference to that essay. We are hoping to make it something of a testing ground, or catch-all of sorts - where Michael can put interesting ideas, experiments, material-in-progress, bonus videos, etc. Check it out if you get a chance. You'll find the essay there if you haven't read it.

FYI, I took this picture backstage after these poor guys finished 16 straight close-up shows at Blackpool. Pictured: Juan Tamariz, Jay Sankey, Simon Lovell, Lennart Green, Michael and Simo Aalto. They were definitely in the Men's Hut!

Hannah 4/27/10

Our Menagerie

Evan and Savannah really love nature. Savannah, now 9, is showing Evan the fish she caught. She likes to name her catches. This was "Buttercup" the minnow. Fortunately she didn't beg to bring Buttercup home. Presently our menagerie consists a mouse (Patches), hamster (Chubs), cat (Summer) and dog (Rusty).

Lesson Learned

I took this picture just a day after attending Photoshop World (a 4 day conference on the software and photography). One of things I learned was, "Keep your camera with you, always. It should be a part of you." Well, this might not always be possible. But at least I tried the next day - and I got some great shots of Michael and our kids out by the lake. Evan is 4 now...quite a handful! He looks a little like his dad, don't you think? (Michael did have hair like that - once!)

Hannah 4/26/10

So, what's cooking?

Did you ever have someone ask, "So, what's cooking?" and you drew a blank? That happened to me this week, and it took me a few days to figure out why. It's the wrong question. A better question would be, "So, what's not cooking?" I mean, we are totally updating everything. We have so many things cooking right now it would be easier to list what's not cooking. Most of our products will be rejuvenated, our website has a new look, a new site has been created (The Mens Hut), a new book is being printed now, etc, etc, etc. So, keep your eyes peeled - a feast is coming!

Hannah 4/26/2010

Custom Baseballs

Just yesterday someone asked me about a custom Mike Rogers baseball. He was hoping to get a custom color - actually a "duo-tone" look, with half tan, half white. I am checking into the possibility of adding other colors. If you have a special interest in a new color, please let me know. I would like to get an idea of what magicians are looking for (and why, if you have a particular reason).

Hannah 4/26/10

Michael in Europe

In just a few short weeks Michael will be hitting the road again! This time, in lovely Europe. His tour will begin in The Netherlands and Belgium and then continue through France. I sure hate to miss this one! There are so many friends to see in the cities he will be visiting (and it's a beautiful time of the year to be there too!) Ah well....Jeff will be along to help Michael and keep him company. The tour schedule is posted on our site for those who would like to take a look. The tour starts May 20th and ends June 13th.

Hannah 4/26/10