Category Archives: Amazing Strangers

Art Therapy

Ruth Bell model
Ruth Bell pen & ink portrait

I left New York for simplicity & solitude, and boy did I get it! If you want to talk about the utter standstill of a social life, that’s exactly what mine has become. To combat the effects it could be having on my well being I’ve gone back to the sketchbook + Adobe Illustrator.

Pouring my emotional void into this creative outlet is the way out. It’s been a strange discovery to have avoided really sinking my teeth into art for this long then reminding myself what I can actually do in this medium. As a result I’m vowing to make this another one of those redundant habits I’m unable to pull back from to the point where I over do it. That is my immediate, important purpose.

Amazing Strangers Wendell iconThe next creative endeavor I’m finally getting around to now that the summer’s through is editing more of that footage from my month in NYC. I’ve posted about a half dozen new vids from that trip, and I’ve got somewhere around a half dozen, possibly ten more to come before I run out. But don’t expect those all to be posted over the next few weeks. I’m giving myself the whole winter to mull everything over and intend take my time on. It’s important each new post is up to snuff.

As for my next return to New York, I have no idea at all. My thought right upon leaving was to never go back again, or at least a 5 to 10 year hiatus. I will never move back, most likely. Christ, I miss my friends there though.

You’ll notice in videos to come over the next several months, I’m abandoning the park more than usual and pointing my camera into different surroundings and new strangers, acquaintances and friends. My dream is to start pursuing with my camera other subjects which fascinate me to no end, and I’m hoping 2019 allows for that.

As for the Trump and Jesus magnets, they are still available & moving well. I’m always looking for new stores, so if you know of them in your hood keep me informed.

FacebookTwitterRedditShare

The New Original

Jesus Dressup crownhanger logoThe big news this week is the arrival of the brand NEW & awesome Original Jesus Dressup 2018! It was 15 years ago when the first Jesus Dressup came out, and the comparison of that one and this one is striking.

The 2003 Original & the 2018 Original comparison
The 2003 Original & the 2018 Original comparison

By eliminating the text at the bottom, utilizing all of the spare room on the page, and a die cut that’s right to the outline of the of art I was able to get nearly double the number of clothes items on a set!  I’m just so thrilled with how perfect it came out. It’s everything I ever wanted Jesus Dressup to be.

JDU die cut comparrison

If you know of a store in your area you think might carry these on their shelves, or if you yourself are interested in selling these, please contact me for wholesale information.  Or if you just want to get one to play with by yourself in your lonesome, here ya go!

The Original Jesus Dressup fridge magnets ($15) include a hula skirt w/coconut bra, Marilyn Monroe dress, mermaid's tail, selfie stick and a wide variety of hats, shoes, pants and everything inbetween
The Original Jesus Dressup fridge magnets ($15) include a hula skirt w/coconut bra, Marilyn Monroe dress, mermaid’s tail, selfie stick and a wide variety of hats, shoes, pants and everything inbetween




Amazing Strangers Wendell icon

As for my Union Square visit, I was there the entire month of May, and I’ve still got a lot of footage left to share with all of you. I spent time with Inna, Shaggy, Alexa, Tabatha, Erica Mancini, Ricky Dale and a whole bunch of of others that I’m looking forward to getting up online. I do however plan to take my time with each of these vids so you’ll just have to be patient. I don’t want to rush things.

Twenty Years Ago

I know, it’s been months. In fact the last update was last year, goddammit! No need to worry about me, or the continuation of all these projects I started but can’t seem to ever finish. Everything’s still a go-project in some form or another, as it has always been, and looks as if it’ll always be for as long as I’m alive. What the hell have I gotten myself into in this life?

mrx_icon

It was 20 years ago this month I made my first ever website. And no, it wasn’t Jesus related. Hell, I think I would have even considered myself a believer still at this point.
In 1997 my oldest brother Chris introduced me to the internet, as well as Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator. Shortly after I bought my first Mac. Then in 1998, fascinated with this new connection to everyone else in the worldwide web I got a copy of the now defunct Adobe Pagemill and started experimenting with building websites. My very first one was centered around the board game my brothers and I had invented called Crisis.

Crisis logo

We actually created Crisis in 1991. By 1992 we bought a booth at Gen Con and made that happen a couple years in a row. After selling 1,000 copies over the course of several more years we each had other plans for the future and put it behind us. I mention this because, well not only the 20th anniversary of the site aspects, but also because we’re actually looking into producing it again. These people seem to think there’s a thirsty market out there for board games such as this again. For right now that’s all I have to say about that. But stay tuned.

Amazing Strangers Wendell icon

I’m headed back to NYC next month to shoot more Union Square footage for all of you. And for me too. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve missed it. And I’ve pretty much concluded that given the right circumstances I’d probably even move back. Eventually. For now though the plan is to visit regularly. I miss having new content, editing those stories together, saving these important memories. Most of all though I miss being around people. Where I’m at now I have no people. No friends. No social life. Nowhere to go around here for someone to talk to. Absolutely no potential people to flirt with. And this is all driving me insane! So I am returning for a short time to momentarily solve some of these issues.

I have been able to make one Amazing Strangers related project happen here though. An Amazing Strangers book of photos & stories. Nothing fancy, and my presumption is nothing that’ll make a profit of any sort. But a book nonetheless. There’s a coffee shop/book store here called Book Nook, and they’ve made their publishing services available to me. So once there’s a book there’s a plan to have monthly video presentations at the cafe to promote it. I’m really hoping this is something that’ll happen. I’ll be sure to send out invitations to anyone who’d like to come to Michigan to see such a thing hosted by me.

Jesus Dressup crownhanger logo

Lastly, there will indeed be a new Jesus Dressup set this year. In June the long overdue, new Original Jesus Dressup will hit stores! You can thank the success of last year’s Trump Dressup magnets to make this possible, i.e: affordable. We sold about half our stock of the Trumps before the end of 2017, and we’re expecting to sell the rest by Christmas 2018!

First sample of the new Original Jesus Dressup magnet set. The tightest die cut & most dress items on a set ever!
First sample of the new Original Jesus Dressup magnet set. The tightest die cut & most dress items on a set ever!

So yeah. I think that’s everything. I’ll hit you up if anything else happens.

Hour interview with Investigates podcast

Amazing Strangers Wendell iconToday I did an extremely frank interview with Christian Sears on his “Investigates” podcast. We talk about the past, future and behind the scenes of Amazing Strangers. Here’s that interview, a link to the Homeless Exposer blog, and below it are the videos in which we chatted about.

Videos discussed…

The Peeper Project includes the Inside Edition & CNN segments, plus behind the scenes of the peepers caught. And this is the link to all the Methods of a Peeper series.

The Joey Boots video about True Story ASA and the blog I wrote about Adam Saleh who got thrown off the Delta flight last year.