Is Bonsai Mirai Live Worth $300/year?

[Dav4]

Laphroig it is... thanks @markyscott !

 

[markyscott]

How many Shiners do you drink while watching an episode?

Drink Shiners AND Laphroig? Don’t be gauche. Only a barbarian would mix a Scotch whiskey with a Texas beer. I like to keep my drinking pure Texas during my weekly Mirai live time.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I'm much more likely to fork out $50/month ($600/year) for a weekly 0.5 hour, well edited and curated, "digest" of the best bits from his sessions, than pay $25/month to take time out of the work day to watch him vamp.

A lot of people have been asking for specific resource material - for example a list of pine species by single flush versus multi-flush - and I hope they will compile them into resources that can be hot-linked in the video archives, so as you are watching the video the resource links can pop up at an appropriate time.

I agree about the condensed version... but you have to be careful about what you cut out. People will take different things away from the videos depending on their experience. But I agree it is a little hard to want to refer to something you saw in a video... and you have to scan two hours of content in order to locate the one minute snip you are interested in.

most hobbies take money, this one takes a lot, good pots, wire, soil, time, finishes trees.

I actually don't think this is an expensive hobby at all. It all depends on how much you want to spend. You can definitely use tools from Home Depot, copper wire that you anneal yourself, trees and shrubs you rescue from the green-waste landfill or from someone's hedge removal project. Nursery pots are cheap, and you can go with Chinese pots and make your own soil mix using pumice and lava rock sourced locally.

And once you get rolling, you will find you start generating a lot of material via cuttings and air-layers. I have actually stopped taking air-layers except in rare cases... because I have run out of room to grow them out. Join a bonsai group and offer to swap trees and you'll find yourself swapping your air-layers for nice other species. Only costs you your time and labor.

 

[milehigh_7]

Anthony shits on anything that costs money.

On the one hand, however, I totally respect 'the make something from nothing' mindset.

 

[Nybonsai12]

On the one hand, however, I totally respect 'the make something from nothing' mindset.

Absolutely agree. nothing wrong with that at all. I'm growing from seed and have purchased material that wasn't cheap. Neither way is wrong.

 

[Giga]

Hey there sending out 15% off new members right now

 

[Giga]

A lot of people have been asking for specific resource material - for example a list of pine species by single flush versus multi-flush - and I hope they will compile them into resources that can be hot-linked in the video archives, so as you are watching the video the resource links can pop up at an appropriate time.

I agree about the condensed version... but you have to be careful about what you cut out. People will take different things away from the videos depending on their experience. But I agree it is a little hard to want to refer to something you saw in a video... and you have to scan two hours of content in order to locate the one minute snip you are interested in.



I actually don't think this is an expensive hobby at all. It all depends on how much you want to spend. You can definitely use tools from Home Depot, copper wire that you anneal yourself, trees and shrubs you rescue from the green-waste landfill or from someone's hedge removal project. Nursery pots are cheap, and you can go with Chinese pots and make your own soil mix using pumice and lava rock sourced locally.

And once you get rolling, you will find you start generating a lot of material via cuttings and air-layers. I have actually stopped taking air-layers except in rare cases... because I have run out of room to grow them out. Join a bonsai group and offer to swap trees and you'll find yourself swapping your air-layers for nice other species. Only costs you your time and labor.

True but not many are satisfied with this down the road, eventual to progress you want a nice pot or tree, at least for me.

 

[M. Frary]

I'll never watch a Mirai video.

 

[michaelj]

Great thread. Thanks to all the guinea pigs who plunked down their cash without knowing whether they were getting a good value. I checked out the free stuff and the pricing and whatnot and decided it was not worth spending the money. I've now been persuaded otherwise, however. I'll be trying the tier 2 subscription soon.

 

[sorce]

I have a Tier 2 subscription, btw - I find I’ve gotten a lot of value out of my membership. I think the videos are well done and find Ryan to be an excellent and knowledgeable teacher.

Damn, this is huge.

When our teachers are learning....

Yeah, best jump on the boat!

Sorce

 

[BillsBayou]

Hey there sending out 15% off new members right now

Yesterday, I sent this comment through their system:
"Is there going to be a promo code going out any time soon? I saw you had a 20% coupon last month. I want to sign up for Tier 3, but seeing how I just missed out on $60 in savings, I'd hate to see another coupon go by, for Black Friday or something, and realize I should have waited a month to join."

I got this reply:
"Hey Bill,

We were just about to run a promo code to celebrate the launch of our new
website this week. You can use this code - NEWMIRAISITE to get 15% off any
new membership from now until Tuesday October 17th. Let me know if you need
any help signing up and welcome to Mirai Live!

Best,

Kendall"

So that's $45 off a Tier 3 subscription! Whoo hoo! I can Still get a decent bottle of Scotch with that.

Never hurts to ask, I guess.

 

[M. Frary]

I'll never watch a Mirai video.

To clarify.
I don't watch any kind of videos on the internet.
Except @Vance Wood videos. I've watched all of his a couple times.
A little for learning,not much. I get all of that instruction first hand.
I watch Vances videos because I like to hear his voice and see the facial expressions.

 

[Anthony]

Gogeerah ,

I have watched quite a few. Few are educational, some are funny, some are really bad.
Years ago IBC had a chat feature, Live Chat on certain days.

One day either Vaughn Banting or Guy Guidry came one, and K asked about the optimum
height of a Swamp Cypress.
The answer was 3 feet.
That little answer made life so much easier.

You know when K was living in Lafayette, Louisiana, he had a copy of Mr.Valavanis's
bonsai magazine, and he called everyone he could.He even met with a few [ this is 1979 - 1980 ]
and we learnt that there are tons of folk who could really grow trees.
Extremely helpful folk, just had to ask.
Never seen a single one of them on any Bonsai list.

I suspect our soil mix came from one of those folk.
Thank you America !!!
Later we added on Canada, UK, Italy, China and Japan.

This was also repeated when K was studying Glazes and Enamels and Oil Painting Restoration.
All you had to do was write [ in the ancients days of snail mail ]
Information came in from the US and the UK.
Many gave numbers, they wanted to talk.

Our oldest J,B,pine is from seed, a gift from a Japanese teacher.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Bonsai Nut]

FWIW...

I noticed that Bonsai Mirai is now organizing all of their archive videos so you can easily pull them up by technique, or species, or series, etc. Not as much searching around.

Also, all of the videos in the Bonsai Fundamentals series are free for anyone to view... in case people are curious what the streams are like.

 

[sorce]

FWIW...

I noticed that Bonsai Mirai is now organizing all of their archive videos so you can easily pull them up by technique, or species, or series, etc. Not as much searching around.

Also, all of the videos in the Bonsai Fundamentals series are free for anyone to view... in case people are curious what the streams are like.

Thanks for that!

Already smarter!

Sorce

 

[A. Gorilla]

It was a process to warm up to him, but I like that Ryan does the following:

-He makes a point to "get your head out of the clouds" at every possible turn. I.e. "A tree is dormant. Ok. What PRECISELY is dormancy? When does it happen? Why? What is dormancy physiologically? Is it a static? Is it a process? When is it not dormant? When is it dormant? How does it become NOT dormant?" etc etc. And he gets into the concrete physiology without being a pretentious twat about it. And then you say to yourself: "Dammit...that's probably why I lost X tree that one time...."

-He's very intentionally socratic. "Why does X happen? Good question. You tell me. If this is true, and that is true, then the tree should do....what?" And then a little something else clicks. "Dammit, he's right...that's probably why I lost Y tree that one time."

-Never do I hear him say: "Well, personally, I like to do it this way." It's always: "Tree physiology determines that I make this choice when I have this priority, and to make THAT choice when I have THAT priority." There is no single: "This is what you do in the fall."

-He never takes the attitude of: "Goddammit, I keep saying this crap, and none of you lazy pricks seem to listen, so I just don't bother anymore!" I've blocked some of those people around these parts a long time ago. Hate that. You waddle your cranky ass onto an internet forum and lament your lack of worship, and groan about typing information on a venue for....typing information.

-I'm over the idea of getting a tree and seeing what happens for the "experience". There is an Arlington sized cemetery of trees to memorialize all my lovely "experience". I better have a plan, and a reason to do something. Or leaving it up to the whim and opinion of multiple vaguely conflicting club members.

Another guy I admire 'round here, Adair, likes to say you don't have to keep re-inventing the wheel. Find a good teacher.

 

[Guy Vitale]

I have the tier 2 and may go up to tier 3, wish he would do random free Q&A similar to the live stream, that certainly got me to bite. Each live streams is jammed with so much information that I don't think the tier 1 is worth it, I find myself going into the archives weekly. In my opinion, having access to this type of info is invaluable especially if you are into bonsai for the long haul, it's been 16 years for me and I don't see my passion for it letting up anytime soon.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It was a process to warm up to him, but I like that Ryan does the following

I want to also point out - the bonsai fundamentals series is filmed in front of a live audience. They pass the mic around to get input from the crowd, etc. His normal streams are usually filmed in the studio, which is a more private setting, and the only "live audience" he has are the tier 2 and tier 3 members, and the tier 3 members are the only ones who can comment / ask questions. It gives it a different feel.

 

[A. Gorilla]

I want to also point out - the bonsai fundamentals series is filmed in front of a live audience. They pass the mic around to get input from the crowd, etc. His normal streams are usually filmed in the studio, which is a more private setting, and the only "live audience" he has are the tier 2 and tier 3 members, and the tier 3 members are the only ones who can comment / ask questions. It gives it a different feel.

It wasn't that. It was the early home-spun cell phone videos of him at shows, where he seemed to come on really strong which startled old folks. I had to work to concentrate on content. He's personality is obviously very high-tempo but has learned to reel that in to be more broadly palatable.

 

[Lars Grimm]

I want to also point out - the bonsai fundamentals series is filmed in front of a live audience. They pass the mic around to get input from the crowd, etc. His normal streams are usually filmed in the studio, which is a more private setting, and the only "live audience" he has are the tier 2 and tier 3 members, and the tier 3 members are the only ones who can comment / ask questions. It gives it a different feel.

There is also a very big difference in the level of close up detail for the non-live audience sessions. There are many more close ups. There are often garden tours. The overall quality is much higher.