New Traditions

Thanksgiving was full of death-defying treats and tricks. We put off cooking food in burning hot oil until the day after Thanksgiving. In doing so, we started a new tradition we dubbed Fryday. It was more than I could've hoped for. The "bacon"-wrapped "hotdogs" dazzled the naysayers and the salami pockets surprised even me with their deliciousness. We built a giant bonfire that burned while we fried stuff. Eventually, we got bored with just watching the flames and started with the tomfoolery. We struck Heisman poses, saved miniature daschounds from peril, air surfed on broken satellite dishes, and soared thru the air Robin Hood style with a mini marshmallow bow and arrow. Much fun had by all. (click the pics to see the fried stuffs in all their glory. thanks to my cousin Nat for the Fryday photos.)

Who's Your Fry Daddy?

Tonight, I will join my extended family for our annual turkey binge. For various reasons, I was put in charge of frying the turkey this year. If you know me even a little then you know that I like change. I am aroused (in a non-sexual way) by change. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. I was crushing on change even before Barack came around and brought the sexy back (to change). So, chances are, if you put me in charge of something I'm going to change whatever it is. Or at least try. Sometimes for good, sometimes for the opposite of good.

So this year instead of frying a turkey I'm frying random things. Like, cheese-filled turkey dogs wrapped in turkey bacon dipped in beer batter. How amazing does that artery bomb sound? Weapon of mass deliciousness. I'll also be tossing in pickle chips, jalepeno bottlecaps, salami pockets stuffed with cream cheese, shrimp and who knows what else. Cans of Coors Light if they get too close.

Every year we smoke a turkey, roast a turkey and fry a turkey. That's too much turkey. That's just more of the same. So this year, that fried turkey will come in dog form. Complete with a bacon scarf and warm crispy shell. That's change we can believe in, my friends. Let the words cry out from the crackle and pop of fried oil....Yes We Can.

Stompin'

I want to do a music video with this star. Picturing the rabid night-demon dancing to Nelly's Nike anthem really cracks me up. Try it. Imagine him bouncing ever so slightly. Lifting his footpaw up one by one marching/stompin' in place- slow motion style. Doing his patented dance- the handwashin' cabbage patch. (it is raccoons who "wash" their hands right?) Cut away to him knocking over trashcans eating banana peels and what not. Can you see it? Can you feel it?

Production Stills

Russ Beckner has posted 57 photos on his facebook page. They're from days two and three of this past week's shoots. Check em out right here. I think I'm in love with directing. I got the fever. And the only prescription might be more projects like this. Bollyworld here we come.

Working with all these volunteers is one of the most rewarding things I've ever been a part of. It's very humbling. I find it hard not to walk around constantly thanking all these people who stay late into the night after they worked all day. It's also a bit overwhelming to watch a random idea (in this case a Saturday morning brainstorm) become a reality carried out by so many people. Everyone brings different aspects to the project and helps make it better than I ever imagined. Truly thrilling.

2 down, 6 to go

We've completed two of our eight shoots. Both lasted about nine hours each. It's going extremely well. We have volunteer crews of about 25-30 working hard each night. There's a team of roughly 35 people who are consistently asking God to help us out. We're making moving pictures, baby. It's unbelievable. Here's a first draft of a a poster for the show (work in progress) along with a few shots (thanks Russ Beckner) from the shoot last night. I'll share more as he and other volunteers send them to me.

Divine Intervention

For the past week I have been stressing out. Lots of nights waking up around 4am thinking about all the different things to do for the REgifter. The after-show sculpture aspect of the show has been weighing heavy on me. Lots of worry over not getting enough skilled people to volunteer. On Saturday I talked to the leader of this team about how I was considering scaling way back and shifting focus. We have eight million amazing ideas but lack the manpower to execute. I woke up today before the meeting with the after-show core team and told God that I wasn't doing a good job with recruiting effort and that I was done. I told him that if he wanted us to do something that he would have to bring us the right people and direction. I gave up control.

So I told the team my concerns. They shared that they felt the same way. These guys are top notch so they we're working 80 hour weeks and feeling a little overwhelmed. The only one not leaning towards scaling back was Harmony Hensley. She's an unstoppable dreamer. It's why I asked her on the team. Anyways, after a few moments of scale-back talk the team went back to brainstorming new ideas. One in particular required legitimate metal workers to come on board. So I'm sitting there loving the new stuff (it's like crack for me) but thinking the last thing we need is more ideas.

Around 11am the team wanted to see the piles of junk I've acquired. We walked over and ran into a guy (Jeff) who said, "Are you Brad? This your junk?" I laughed and said yeah thinking he heard about it from the complaining student ministry guys. He said, "If you need anyone who can work with metal I have access to all kinds of stuff working for JTM, I can weld, etc. etc." I explained our new idea and asked if he thought he could do it. We showed him a sketch. He said, "Yep. No problem" and that he'd bring an example back in a week to see if like it. I slapped him on his shoulder and told him that he makes me believe in God. Seriously. What are the chances? Jeff the JTM metal worker was flat out a God send.

Meanwhile, Korey (roller coaster designer) was running around all excited about the junk and talking about creating teams that could make robots. Caleb (our 10 year old team member) was helping him gather robot parts and folding newspapers into origami cranes while Abe and I strategized about new, focused team-building efforts. All of us blown away by our encounter with Jeff.

Moral of the story- I gave up control and asked God to step in. The results: Jeff just happened to show up and basically said, "Hey, you know that idea that would be cool but you need someone who can do it... that's me. What's up?" And Korey went from wanting to scale back to creating robot families made of lamp shades, washing machine parts and computer monitors. 10 year old Caleb was in the whole time. But now he's really excited that he and his dad (Paul) are going to make a giant crane using chain link fence. What a day.

Trash Shadows

My new friend Scott is helping with the {RE}gifter after show and shared a link of Tim Nobel and Sue Webster's art. If you know how or can figure out how to do this I need you to get a hold of me. STAT.






BTW, a handful of artists showed up last night to our first gathering. A group of high school kids came. It was hilarious. They made a rudolph with a watering can head who broke his back flying and had to use a walker. We're going to meet again this Thursday. Spread the word. You wouldn't believe how fun it is to play with trash. I might regret having Rumpke dump a half truck of recycling back there. It was a lot sloppier than I expected. A LOT more. I am now the owner of a hot pile of mess. Pete, the director of Student Ministries, came out yesterday when the dump truck was beeping in reverse and said, "What are you doing?!" I told him I wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about that answer. Good times.

Most Important Meal of the Day

I have a question. Say you wake up and you're out of dog food. What would you put into your dog's bowl to break her fast? I chose Honey Bunches this morning and Leah reacted like I fed her rubber bands. She said she would've given her turkey. In my mind HB of O seemed to mimic dog food closer than anything else in our cupboards. Miss Jackson was confused but she ate them. I considered dry pasta. That seemed gross. I seriously want to know what you would've done in my position this morning.

Kids, man.

Kids are bananas. They say stuff. Crazy stuff. Stuff that floors me. My brother and sister-in-law have been sending me the highlight interactions of their day. They're middle school teachers. Middle schoolers say things like, "Ummm, Mrs. Wiiiiiise, it's my uncle's birthday tonight. He's 18, but we are gonna celebrate like he's 16."

Toddlers, like Coop here on the right, say things like, "I don't like carrots.....but I love to dance." If any of you are searching for a book title, Coop just hooked you up. As a writer, I will work that line into something somewhere someday. Call it a vow.

Somebody should make a show where kids say stuff. Darndest type stuff. Stuff that deserves a Jello Pop.

Location location location

So we've assembled a "film crew" for our upcoming Christmas Experience currently titled: The {RE} gifter. It's an interactive film followed by an interactive sculpture exhibit. I think we have over 50 volunteers so far just on the film side of things. I went out with part of the core team today to check out our shoot locations. Our location scout, Donna Hern did a fantastic job. She found killer spots that require little to no set dressing and they're all located in Norwood. The absolute best spot she found was the house pictured below. We needed a creepy looking garage and Donna found us a creepy garage. The only problem is we don't have permission. The owner doesn't live there and Donna is kind of sure she'll say no. So the old Brad would've said, "We're going guerilla. Only wieners need permission." I would've told the crew to wear sneakers and carb up in case we decide to go for a spontaneous run (away). But the new Brad, strangely enough, had visions of the Norwood police showing up and hauling us all off to Norwood's jail full of Norwood people. Yikes. I imagined my volunteer crew staring at me with their big, sad eyes as a moustachioed cop gave me the ole what for and new bracelets.

So today, in a moment of mature leadership, I decided that we'd go legit with this one. I will pick up the phone and explain to this absent owner that I want her creepy garage to star in my film. I will offer her baked goods. Then furs. Then money. And if that doesn't work then perhaps the guerilla option will find its way back onto the table. I'll have the costume folks arrange matching sneakers.

Attention Artistas

Attention local artistas. If you have the creative ability take random junk and make beautiful things like this then I'd like you to know about an upcoming gathering of people like you. This coming week I'm getting a dump truck(s) full of recycling and hand-picked junk from Rumpke delivered to vcc. I’m inviting you to come turn this junk into something beautiful. Come any time between 5:30-8pm on Thurs. the 13th to the warehouse section behind the STUDENT UNION. Just drive your car around to the backside of the building. We’ll probably have a few of these gatherings so if you can’t make the first one please email me at wise@vineyardcincinnati.com

You're wondering why. I can sense it. It's for our upcoming Christmas show called The {RE}gifter. I need a couple hundred artists to help me pull off something amazing.

Terror Alert

Add these two carnivores to your terrorist watch list. Code: Red Tide. They're angry and agile. But only in water. They're awkward and loaf-like on land. So, if you're holding armfuls of fish or guitar hero cheat codes drop them and find a forest. Or helicopter. Their bark is as loud as their bite.

A Few Thousand Words from the Northside

There's much I could say about this first image. I took these on a bike ride to Cincinnat's Northside. I am compelled to just let the pixels do the talking. But will say one thing. At this abandoned lot/field there was this feeling that hope might be breaking out or maybe breaking thru in unfamiliar territory. Perhaps people are walking by this lot today with a new giddyup in their step thinking, Yes we can.

Night Fever

VanDammit, this guy can dance. Send him through this groove gauntlet and watch as he works the same move to perfection for every song. He's like a confident pastry chef who knows he makes a good lemon meringue so regardless of the setting he's making meringue. And it's delicious. E'rey time.


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And who says disco is dead?