Frog Caller

My Flowers are Dying

My Flowers are Dying from Brad Herring on Vimeo.
Maya sitting at the table explaining what is happening to the monkey grass flowers she picked for the table's center piece.

Why don't we...go to the store

Why don't we...go to the store from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

Maya's story about her trip to the store. I'm not sure where she picked up the southern drawl! She ended the piece singing a song to Mom (who was not there). She totally made this up on the spot and has been singing it ever since.

Penn Shaw Pines Winter X Games

Penn Shaw Pines Winter X Games from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

4-5" of a perfect snow/sleet mixture provided for some awesome sledding! After a warm lunch and a nap the ramp solidified and we got even higher on our jumps. I left the camera at home so there's no footage of our eventual 10' jumps.



Back outside for some more sledding under the moon!

An Arboretum Christmas Card

An Arboretum Christmas Card from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays to all! We hope you enjoy our digital holiday card that we filmed it at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh on Christmas Eve.

Brad, Tia & Maya

Maya's Singing Debut

Maya's Singing Debut from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

I had to shoot some video for my class I'm taking at Duke that focuses on audio. I wanted to break out one of my new microphones and I thought Maya would be a good test.

She needed absolutely no coaching as she started singing before I could even hit record.

Video Haiku

Termite Haiku from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

A video haiku for http://experimonth.com/

5 seconds, 7 seconds, 5 seconds

Can Bubbles Cure a Broken Pelvis?

I sure think so!

About 2 weeks ago Mima slipped and fell while she was walking her dog and broke her pelvis in two places. So without hesitation, we packed up the car and headed back up to NY to be with her. She is doing great and recovering more and more each day. She'll leave rehab this Friday but will still need constant care for at least the next 4 weeks. Mom and I will stay up here and help take care of her while Dad will fly back home.

The video above was shot at the nursing rehab facility. We have been going over there everyday to be with Mima to "make her happy" as I like to say. Today, I took the bubbles and after rubbing them into my hands, I gently massaged it into her hurt leg. At the end of the video you can barely here me say "all better". I must have rubbed half of the bottle of bubbles on her leg before declaring her cured!

And if some of you are wondering how Mom is able to stay up in NY for the next 4 weeks without returning home, it's because she has left her job! Yes, that's right! She is now a full time stay-at-home Mom! I am SO excited. Yeah Mom!

Once we get Mima "all better" we'll return home and begin the art projects!

Sunshine Swing Set. Beetle Queen. Mando Maya.

Go grab some popcorn because it's movie time!!

Sunshine Swing Set from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

Maya is such a gem! Playing with her fills our day with so much joy. I wanted to make a movie that incorporated some new features on my camera. Why not practice them on Maya by following her around as she explores our yard and her new swing set.

When G. Love says "baby don't go", we think of it as "baby don't grow up"! Terrible twos or terrific twos? Who knows! We just know that we have a bundle of energy who is learning something new each and every day by exploring more and more and opening her mind through adventure. We're just trying to keep up!

A few have suggested that we include more videos without the music and more of just her talking and being herself. This video does that, the being herself part at least. She talks constantly but she also thinks most situations through without saying much. Here's Maya catching a beetle, making a habitat for it and then playing with it before letting it go back into the yard.

Beetle Queen from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

And finally, after a few hours outside on the swing set we come in for a little jam session. Ever since we saw Dan Zanes in concert she has been wanting to play our mandolin instead of her pink guitar. I adjusted the strap to fit her and away she went like a seasoned pro. Now all we need is a drummer and a guitar player. Oh, and Maya can most likely take the lead on vocals since she has a powerful set of lungs!

Mando Maya from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Speed Racer

Speed Racer from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

I have become the new Speed Racer for the Radio Flyer bike team. I tear off down the driveway riding with glee and enjoying every moment.

Enjoy,

Music:
Speed Racer
by Nobuyoshi Koshibe
Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (70's & 80's)

Pilgrim

Pilgrim, originally uploaded by BradandTia.

Part of Experimonth for The Eyes of March

I was playing around with the continuous mode on my camera today and took a series of shots. My initial intention was to post a picture of Maya's new birdhouse that I just bought her but instead I put together this little movie.

Maya had to have a tomato while in Whole Foods this morning. Who am I to say no to that. She nibbled on it for at least 30 minutes.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

This is a short film about a hobbit who lives in a cloud chamber and is visited by an unknown stranger. I have left it up to the viewers to decide how it ends. If you have thoughts, please share them.

This video was made for the 1/24/09 Weekend Project contest by Vimeo.

Hope you enjoy...

The Letterbox

The Letterbox from Brad Herring on Vimeo.

This past weekend we headed out to Harris Lake County Park for a hike. Dad brought along the camera to shoot video of our day together. The video above is our gift to Mom for her Birthday.

While standing behind the gnarled tree we happened upon a letterbox. We did not have any stamps to trade or a pen to sign so we left it in place and will return to it soon.

"Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest." For more info visit letterboxing.org

Happy Birthday Mom (1/24)! We love you!!

Mine...Mine...Mine!

Mine! No, Mine! Mine! Mine! (each mine gets louder than the previous one)

Everything in this world has now become mine. If you have it, I want it. If you don't give it to me, I'll yell mine until I get it. If I have it and you want it, forget about it. It's mine! I want it all!

I'm not too sure where I picked it up but it is the only word in my vocabulary right now. I basically walk around the house saying mine every second of the day. Mom and I went to a La Leche League meeting last night and all I said all night was mine. Every toy in the room was mine and I let all the kids know how I felt about them playing with my toys.

Don't even try to take it away from me either! Your mine if you do!

A Croatan Thanksgiving

This year we packed up the car and decided to get out of Raleigh and head to the woods for a peaceful Thanksgiving in the Croatan National Forest. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal cooked over an open flame just as the Indians would have done with the pilgrims back in the early 1600's.

We spent most of our time relaxing, cooking, hiking and enjoying a warm fire. Our hikes took us through some of the most beautiful Pocosin swamps and longleaf pine ecosystems in the Carolinas. We gazed out over the Bogue Sound witnessing beautiful sunsets and listening to the chorus of migrating waterfowl. Occasionally we would be reminded that we were not the only people in the woods. We made sure we had orange on at all times as the sounds of gunshots were ever so close. The overnight temperatures dipped into the upper 20's but our days were sunny and beautiful with highs in the 60's. We awoke on Saturday to the pitter-patter of rain and packed up our belongings and headed home.

Movie Notes:
When Mom and Dad arrived at the Nannies on Wednesday to pick me up they found me sporting a bloody lip. I had taken a fall from a bike and the result was a puffy lip that looked a lot worse than it was. Every time Mom and Dad laughed about my lip I cried. I knew they were making fun of my undeveloped coordination. When Dad carved the pumpkin he didn't realize that he unintentionally carved a pumpkin with an upper lip similar to mine.

Thanksgiving dinner included fresh cranberries, wild rice, October beans, turkey legs, pumpkin seeds, a pumpkin dump cake and hot peach cider to wash it all down.

The centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner was a collection of items from around the campsite. We used driftwood, leaves, fruit (ours), fresh cranberries, acorns and pine cones.

Happy Holidays

3rd Annual Fall Harvest Pig Pickin'

We had another great Fall Harvest Pig Pickin' over the weekend. Last year was fun but this year was even better since I was walking and was able to hang with the big kids. G3 and PawPaw flew in for the party and brought cousin Joseph with them! I was so excited to see JoJo!! I kept saying his name over and over. Mom and Dad said they even heard me say JoJo in my sleep. I also woke up from my naps calling for JoJo! I am really going to miss playing with him!

We had lots of friends show up for the party and I was so glad to see some more kids my age this year. Well, they weren't all my age and let me tell you, that was frustrating. All I wanted to do was run and play like the big kids but my chubby little legs just couldn't keep up. All of the kids played flashlight tag and I had to let them know that I was capable of playing too and I wanted my own flashlight. Once I got it I put it up to my face and walked around saying boo.

We woke up on Sunday and said our goodbyes to G3, PawPaw and JoJo and then headed over to our neighbors for their annual Pig Pickin'. They had a trackter that took us around their farm for a hay ride. They also had several chicken coops and I was in love with those chickens. I even started to chirp Pio Pio (Cluck Cluck) every time they did.

Overall it was a great weekend and we are already looking forward to next year!!

Welcome Home - Dino and Maya Style

Every afternoon around 5pm my internal clock (or rage of hunger) tells me that Mom is due home any minute. Some days it a little later than others and when that happens I get antsy. I begin yelling for Mom. I stand at the door to the carport and yell for her hoping that she'll hear me and rush home to feed me. I am beginning to think it's working!

Today we captured this video of me waiting for her to arrive. When Dad saw the way I acted at Mom's arrival he instantly thought of the age old cartoon "The Flintstones". Watch the video above and let me know if you think Dino and I have something in common. I know, in the video it shows Dino waiting for Fred, but just think of it the other way around. Now, that's not to say that I don't eagerly anticipate Dad's arrival. I love seeing Dad but when I'm thirsty there is not much he can do.

~Enjoy

Tweet Tweet!

Yes, tweet is the sound a bird makes but it is also the newest method of communicating to my followers. Even though Mom and Dad have not yet joined Twitter, I have taken the step into the tweetosphere (or whatever they call it) to give you all a look into what I am doing. Yes, it's that simple. I can tweet up to 140 characters that describe what I am doing (or anything else for that matter) at that given time. Posting to our blog does take a lot of time so this will allow us a quick and easy opportunity to give brief updates on what I am up to. Now if I could just talk Mom and Dad into getting a phone that would allow us to tweet when we don't have a computer handy.

For those of you still unsure of what Twitter is take a look at this video. And by the way...my tweets are in the sidebar to the right of this post.

Infant Swimming and Survival

This is a great video demonstrating how infants, if properly coached, can survive if they are left unsupervised and fall into a pool. It looks as if this baby is a little upset for being left for so long but as soon as his Dad appears he has a huge smile on his face.

To learn more visit Infant Swimming Resource

A Vision of Students Today

A colleague of mine sent this video to me today and I just felt the need to pass it on. It is a very interesting look into the lives of today's students and the structured classroom. Education is changing. Social networking, or Web 2.0, is changing the way students learn, interact and experience life.

It will be interesting to see what another 10 years will bring and how our students of tomorrow (Maya) will embrace education and technology.

Visit Mediate Cultures to learn more about Digital Ethnography and Dr. Michael Wesch's work.