Posts tagged alton brown

Meeting People You Admire - continued

Some time ago, I made a post about my recently devised goal to shake hands with people I admire. At the time I had met:

The Avett Brothers


And Alton Brown


In the last three weeks I’ve been able to knock a couple more off the list. Namely:


Comic writer, Matt Fraction, the story of which I detail in a post a little further down this page


And then, on Saturday, I was able to meet author Donald Miller

Miller was speaking at a local church and Sara and I waited around afterwards to meet him. Miller is a great writer and a seemingly neat guy. He writes a lot about growing up without a father and so his writing has meant a lot to Sara. She told me after we left that she wanted to say a lot more to Miller than she did, but was afraid she’d break into tears.

We thanked him for his writings and I thanked him specifically for some of the things he’s written about politics. He signed a book for us and posed for a picture. It was really nice.

So, the tally at present:

The Avett Brothers
Alton Brown
Matt Fraction
Donald Miller
Anthony Bourdain
Joel McHale

I’m also considering adding a few more names. This isn’t the kind of list that should ever really be complete, I think.

When I met Alton Brown last year, I told him that I worked for a church doing video production and that his work had been a big influence for me. He told me that he had also recently made a video for his church - and what do you know, here it is!

Gospel Grains - Alton Brown (by Jarrod Cecil)

vimeo.com

I saw an artist do this and really liked the idea. Something about seeing the things that influence you all in one place. There’s not much new on here if you know me - these are things that I enjoy, but that also influence me. -Casanova is my favorite comic book at this point in my life. It’s one of the most visually interesting books being published these days, it has an actual point of view, and you can feel the love Fraction and the twins put into the book. It makes me want to create something that is uniquely me. -Good Eats inspires me with it’s pure inventiveness. A cooking show that uses science to explain food preparation should be really boring, but Alton Brown has created the most unique cooking show ever with Good Eats. The show is also a primer on clear storytelling. -No Reservations feels like art. It’s a television show that follows a romantic old curmudgeon as he eats and drinks his way around the world but it feels like art. That’s quite a trick. -Donald Miller communicates about a divisive topic (faith) in a way that is accessible, authentic-feeling, and interesting. We should all be so talented. -Paul Pope is a futurist, an artist, and a thinker. He can apply those skills to stories about super heroes or to stories about girls and make you want to read both. -The Soup appeals to me because I like it’s sense of humor, it’s simply done, and it follows a deadline similar to the ones I work under. -Sunday Valley is a local band. Their music is very distinctly Kentucky. It’s rock/country/blues that’s firmly rooted in the past. I like the idea of three great players taking something old and putting their own stamp on it. -Scott Pilgrim Vs The World has been out since summer, but over the last few days, re-watching it on DVD, I’ve started to fall in love with it visually. After making this, I realized I need to start being influenced by some graphic designers.

I saw an artist do this and really liked the idea. Something about seeing the things that influence you all in one place. There’s not much new on here if you know me - these are things that I enjoy, but that also influence me.

-Casanova is my favorite comic book at this point in my life. It’s one of the most visually interesting books being published these days, it has an actual point of view, and you can feel the love Fraction and the twins put into the book. It makes me want to create something that is uniquely me.

-Good Eats inspires me with it’s pure inventiveness. A cooking show that uses science to explain food preparation should be really boring, but Alton Brown has created the most unique cooking show ever with Good Eats. The show is also a primer on clear storytelling.

-No Reservations feels like art. It’s a television show that follows a romantic old curmudgeon as he eats and drinks his way around the world but it feels like art. That’s quite a trick.

-Donald Miller communicates about a divisive topic (faith) in a way that is accessible, authentic-feeling, and interesting. We should all be so talented.

-Paul Pope is a futurist, an artist, and a thinker. He can apply those skills to stories about super heroes or to stories about girls and make you want to read both.

-The Soup appeals to me because I like it’s sense of humor, it’s simply done, and it follows a deadline similar to the ones I work under.

-Sunday Valley is a local band. Their music is very distinctly Kentucky. It’s rock/country/blues that’s firmly rooted in the past. I like the idea of three great players taking something old and putting their own stamp on it.

-Scott Pilgrim Vs The World has been out since summer, but over the last few days, re-watching it on DVD, I’ve started to fall in love with it visually.

After making this, I realized I need to start being influenced by some graphic designers.

Meeting people you admire

So, I decided a while back that I wanted to meet/shake hands with/talk to all of my… well, I don’t want to say heroes… that’s not really the word; more like, people whose work inspires me or that I want to emulate. Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion after already passing up opportunities to actually meet both Joel McHale and Donald Miller. Hopefully I’ll get another shot at both.

Proactively, I’m making plans, next year, to fly out to North Carolina for Heroes Con and meet Matt Fraction, my favorite comic book writer.

So who have I actually met so far? Glad you asked.

A couple of years ago, Sara and I got to meet the Avett Brothers and tell them one of their songs was going to be in our wedding. They seemed genuinely appreciative.

Patch & Seth Avett
Scotty Avett and Sara

And now, tonight, I got to meet Alton Brown of Good Eats fame. I love that Alton Brown doesn’t just have a cooking show, but has a cooking show that combines comedy, science, and all kinds of other nerdy stuff. It’s not like anything else on TV. When I met Mr. Brown I told him that I create creative content for my church and that his work is a big inspiration for me. He told me he makes videos for his church too. That was a nice moment for me, let me tell you. Sara was at the side, taking pictures like a madwoman.

IMG_1115

So here’s the list and where I stand. I’ve been in the same (sometimes very large) room with everybody on the list but Fraction, but the crossed out names are people I’ve gotten to shake hands with and thank them for what they do.

The Avett Brothers
Alton Brown
Matt Fraction
Anthony Bourdain
Donald Miller
Joel McHale

I’ll keep you updated.