Ch. 12 Temptation
Circus Mojo seemed an excellent go-to for the goofball weatherman/human interest spots. The local Fox affiliate had emailed to check if we could do some live spots with Kickin’ It with Ken to promote the Ludlow Flea, our monthly creative class vendor faire.
In the hour between the live segments, Ken Baker and I connected on social media and, I read his bio. He had just published a book Joy Goes With Us: A Journey of Faith and God’s Love Through the Eyes of a Gay Christian .
I hope everyone at the Xenophobic City Hall tuned into Fox News that morning and saw this segment featuring a young woman born in Mexico and now a homeowner and legal citizen of the USA rolling around with Ken and Black Gay Guy. That’s the good news and what we always aim for in Ludlow.
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In our weekly circus classes at CHNK, Ian excelled at walking the tight wire. Paulina Kossman, a volunteer from Germany/IJGD, taught Ian how to perform the tightwire. Often, nonverbal kids are stellar at adopting circus dexterity. Listening skills are second nature, and physical expression becomes necessary for coping with a lack of speech.
In Ian’s case, he realized that he was decent at the wire the first time he tried it. In many cases, these innate gifts never get exposed because the alphas of the world have a very low tolerance for the frustrations posed by new skill development. But those betas, used to being dominated, double down on their efforts toward developing their natural talents.
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via sidneyalive
Mon, Aug 17, 2020, 2:29 PM
to info@bircus.com
Good afternoon!
Downtown Sidney is a community on the grow. We are reaching out to find the perfect fit for a very unique building we have in the perfect location for a brewpub. It features great outdoor space, ample parking in the area, a cool historic building and county commissioners who are ready to put it in the right hands. It is on the corner of one of the busiest cross streets in the county and sees travelers from all over the region. It is also well-situated within the hub of downtown activity, directly across the street from our gorgeous courthouse block and just a block away from the iconic Spot Restaurant and our Louis Sullivan Jewel Box Bank. Lastly, the building is just two blocks from the trailhead of the Great Miami Riverway!
The Shelby County Jail is the perfect place to open up a destination location! The building features great, cozy seating areas as well as the Sheriff’s residence. I’ve attached some photos. If you’re interested in viewing the property or want to chat about it, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If it’s not the right fit for you, please feel free to share the info with anyone you feel may be interested. This building is an important part of our history and we just want to see it in operation again with a business that will help us keep growing!
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Paul Miller <paul@bircus.com>
Mon, Oct 5, 2020, 1:49 PM
to Amy
Hello Amy
When you have a moment please have a look: This pitch was majorly influenced by your ideas about a brewery in a Jail. And the young man “Tom” that we taught circus skills to 7 years ago while he was in Jail.
Tom just did 6 years for burglary... I will be hiring him as soon as I can get his Parole Officer to OK his transfer to Kentucky...
Here he is winning his High School Talent Show: https://youtube/7zMmVskrE9A
While it may sound nutzo... My concept for your space is to set-up Bircus 2.0 as a partnership with the Social Circus Fund 501c3, your city, my current Bircus investors and an ESOP https://www.esop.org
All employees would be ex-felons/cons.
$6 beer
1st $ To pay child support and restitution
2nd $ To pay social workers, counseling and support staff to keep staff working and out of jail
3rd $ To wages. ESOP workers
4th $ Taxes, insurance
Next $1.50 to investors
Last 50 cents to a Supplemental Needs Trust. I set one of these up in the past for a very talented young man https://www.cornellfreeney.com.
Cornell was making $2k/week performing on Royal Caribbean before he entered college. His father and brother were/are in jail. I wanted to be sure he finished college and kept working. He earned a degree in Elementary Education from Illinois State and still has LOT$$$ of $ in the Trust we set up for him.
Potentially we can collaborate to create the first brewery owned and run by ex-felons in a historic jail. I propose this would make international press, create jobs, and contribute to society in a time when we need this.
I have living space at our current brewery to train/vet all workers. Please mull this concept over and I hope to connect with you soon...
In JOY~
Paul
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Sun, Mar 13, 2022, 4:35 PM
Dear Sir/Madam
Good day. My name is Obakeng M. I am a filmmaker and a brewer we are requesting for your assistance with our campaign.
The South African lockdown alcohol bans put huge strain on some talented and forward-thinking brewers. As a result a lot of the breweries have closed down. We have seen breweries that were 100 per cent woman owned closing. I am on that boat.”
I was tempted to ignore this email. I thought the powers-that-be were scanning my emails and pushing my buttons. This email seemed too close to phishing emails: “My Uncle is a Nigerian Prince please send routing numbers to share in the inheritance…”
I was intrigued but even more skeptical She emailed aga in May 2024 seeking support in the form of a collaboration "Baboon Beer". Really a “Baboon” beer? In the email, there was a link to a Forbes article. I was sure not to click on any link in the email. I opened a new browser and just googled her, and she is in fact a real person. She’s in Forbes:
”‘Beer Is Art’ Is Helping South Africans Discover The Joys Of Brewing'
BY: Em Sauter, Contributor
My big break came when I saw an advert on Facebook whereby they were advertising The Road to 100 Cicerone Certification Program. I applied and I was enrolled. The road to 100 was a fellowship by an American woman named Eugenia Brown.”
I replied to her email. Obakeng and I had a few discussions via WhatsApp. We hatched a plan working to secure her visa for a visit. It took her a day of waiting at the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. She brought her letter and supporting documents. Sat for the interview. I am over the moon at the opportunity to fight the powers-that-be by bringing a woman from Africa as an expert to leave her home for a chance to help us in Kentucky. I couldn’t be more ecstatic.
Toni was always the kid all the other girls would watch. She was always a bigger-boned gal, but she had the confidence, strength, and grace to perform on the trapeze. Early on in CircEsteem’s promo, the local public radio station did an interview. Toni called out the reporter, Steve Edwards, who’d interviewed her school choir.
Toni always gave the circus coaches just enough of a hard time to be sure the other kids watched, and then she jumped into action and completed the task, and everyone else followed her lead. She was never the star of the show but was in every show.
