Author: Brent Evans

morning babble / Tuesday 06-08-21

My Morning Babble Wake-up playlist begins with The Fratellis – “Six Days in June”

Spotify recently did a “Find out how you listen” Which artists, songs, and podcasts set you apart? They poked fun at me listening to Taylor Swift and then the Raconteurs. I don’t think that’s too far off. I mean, if it was Run the Jewels to Taylor Swift – that would be a train wreck. Run the Jewels to Jack White – not bad at all. Witnessed that show at the Garden in NYC in 2015.

I ran – 159 days of 5k runs and morning babbles.

Also, June’s 3 day fast is underway – the 6th 3 day fast of the year. Unfortunately, it started later than I wanted – I finished downing a Gatorade at 6:38pm. Fast was on. As I always state, today is the easy day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Don’t sell past the close.” – by Dorothy Hughes, Radio One

morning babble / Monday 06-07-21

It’s Monday – go eat that frog! Get the tough “to do” out of the way for the day – maybe even for the week! Eat that frog!

Speaking of eating . . . I weighed myself this morning. Whew – I ate this weekend. In particular, I had one of those brick burritos from El Diablo. Delicious, but whew. It’s still there. BUT – it didn’t stop me from lathering up a bunch of peanut butter on top of my chocolate chip muffin.

Speaking of peanut butter, remember when Butterfinger teased us about them coming out with their very own Peanut Butter? Okay – so maybe, I do. I googled to see if it’s true yet. It’s not. But – I did learn that “Technically, Butterfinger does not contain peanut butter but ground roasted peanuts. They are almost the same thing except peanut butter requires a bit more grinding to form a paste.” So basically, Butterfinger was grinding & grinding, got a little lazy, and said – “Close enough! Put it in the bar.” And hence, the crispety crunchety Butterfinger bar was born.

All this food talk – why? Because my 3 day fast begins tonight after dinner. Who’s with me? If you know me, send along a text. OR – send an email and let me know that you’re in and I’ll cheer you along: morningbabble@brentevans.net. Let’s do this!

Today’s quote I took from Mark Manson. I haven’t read one of his books yet, but I’m working on it – sort of. Go watch the video to find out how I’m trying to read it.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“The most meaningful moments in life do not show up on your calendar or to-do list” – by Mark Manson via his Instagram post

morning babble / Sunday 06-06-21

3 day fast begins tomorrow after dinner – who’s with me? We can drink water, tea, and coffee. No additives. Except, with my morning water, I add a little squeeze of lemon to help steady the belly for the day. Also, I will have a designated water bottle with a couple slices of cucumber floating within it. I really enjoyed that last month.

Austin Kleon – Steal Like an Artist – 10 year anniversary. Been showing the postcards from his publisher about reprints being made in the very beginning. Pages or pictures that didn’t make the book. I found fascinating – everyone asks what font he uses. That’s him – it’s the Austin font.

Books! – My top 5 most tabbed or highlighted books

• Lives of the Stoics – Ryan Holiday

• Principles – Ray Dalio

• Benjamin Franklin – Walter Isaacson

• Grant – Ron Chernow

• Tools of Titans – Tim Ferriss

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the money in the world, all the colors in the palette, anything you want – that just kills creativity.” – by Jack White via Austin Kleon book – Steal Like An Artist

morning babble / Saturday 06-05-21

Happy Saturday! I ran . . . on the mill. I think tomorrow is a good “sleep in” day and then I’ll take it out on the trails for the first time in awhile. Anyway – 156 runs / 156 vlogs.

AMA Saturday:

• Question #1 – How was my May with Alcohol? I drank a lot. 3rd highest month in the past year – nothing will beat December. Weight wise – For January, I lost 3 lbs. In February – the winning month – I lost 3.4 lbs. For March, I then lost 2.6 lbs. And then, the April Alcohol Drought month, I only lost 1.6 lbs.  And finally for May, I lost 2 lbs. I shall continue partaking in beverage intake. I monitor.

• Question #2 – Are those shades on my skull? What? Oh – yes. They are my Oakley shades from way back in the day. 7th or 8th grade. Hanging out at Skyline pool . . . thinking I was cool. I wasn’t. But – has anyone noticed the hat that’s on the skull? That’s the Banky hat from the Kevin Smith movie – Chasing Amy. Actor Jason Lee wears it. The size that they made and sold was the same size as Jason Lee’s head. My head is a touch smaller than his. If you’re into Jason Lee, he’s a photographer and has a new art book coming out. He can better explain it all by clicking here.

Quote of the day was taken from Greg McKeown who was on the Tim Ferriss podcast. During the interview, I heard him say the quote that’s below. I’ve read his book – Essentialism – and its a good one. He’s got another new book out though and it’s called: Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“If you focus on what you have, you gain what you lack.  If you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have.” – by Greg McKeown via Tim Ferriss podcast

morning babble / Friday 06-04-21

Happy Friday! New hat day too. I was told it was needed, because the other one was looking nasty – sweat marks and all. I’m a hard working man.

I ran – 155 days of running / vlogging.

a-ha recap. I said that I would listen to a-ha’s greatest hits album. It’s 16 tracks – all different, not just “Take on Me” and is called Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of A-ha. I also said that I would listen to their most recent album called Minor Earth Major Sky and was released back in 2000 . . . but not in the U.S – that took place in 2019. My recap – uh – yeah. A-ha fans feel free to email me – morningbabble@brentevans.net – and let me know why I should listen again?

So, my kid has discovered Michael Jackson. In particular, Smooth Criminal. And don’t play him that Alien Ant Farm (2001) stuff . . . gotta be Michael. Watch that video!

New Music Friday:

• You know the song “On the Road Again,” — well, this past week, Alanis Morissette released it singing a duet along with Willie Nelson. She also announced the rescheduled dates of her upcoming tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of 1995’s Jagged Little Pill. It’s a 35-date world tour that begins August 21st in Austin Texas. She’ll be performing her 1995 album in its entirety, with openers including Garbage, Liz Phair, and Julia Stone.

• Got another new Prince song – “Born to Die”. Yikes. I’ve given it a couple spins. It’s Prince. This is another song off his upcoming album, Welcome 2 America, which is slated for release July 30th.

• They Might Be Giants – classic alternative? – have a new album coming out soon (no date yet) as well as an art book simply titled: BOOK. Today, we got to hear their new song “I Broke My Own Rule” which will be off of this upcoming album. Stay tuned.

• Yo Gotti partnered up DaBaby for a summer fun song called “Drop.” I liked it.

• Big article in the Washington Post about Wolfgang Van Halen – Eddie’s kid. Couple songs of his have already been released but next week – the 11th – the whole album drops. Wolfgang played everything on the album – all him.

• BREAKING & ENTERING – Jeremiah Daly, known better by his TikTok name vaultboy, has a fun, new single out that’s called “everything sucks.” Also, here’s a link to the video. His sound sort of reminded me of the artist, Huey Mack – a rap/pop sound with fun lyrics.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – by Bob Marley

morning babble / Thursday 06-03-21

A whole lotta scribble . . . that makes the babble! Go watch the video!

Friday Eve

I still can’t believe the green one tasting like strawberry. My brain says “come on, it’s gotta be lime!” The taste buds get so confused.

Bean Boozled Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

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So, it was my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary the other day.

Did I say Happy Anniversary? Yes

Did I know it was 50! NO!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Motion does not equal action. Busyness does not equal effectiveness.” – by James Clear

morning babble / Wednesday 06-02-21

This is the scribble that creates the babble – maybe it’ll get cleaned up.

I woke up itching my eyes. Not good. No contacts today. I typically calm my eyes down in the morning with a cold washcloth or I got straight to the ice pack. Contract them blood vessels and stop the itch.

The itchy eyes made me get the ice pack which made me tangent to Frozen Blueberries.

I ran! 153rd run / 153rd babble

Gummi bear tasting tonight / 3 Day Fast begins Monday

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Well done is better than well said.” – by Benjamin Franklin

morning babble / Tuesday 06-01-21

Ahhhh, Tuesday, but it’s already Tuesday while feeling like a Monday.

Sucker for a good countdown. I think all weekend we had on SiriusXM’s Lithium channel – Alternative and Grunge from the 90s. They had their top 100. Comedian David Cross did the countdown and did an awesome job. Also, I loved his disdain for the Smashing Pumpkins. Here’s the Top 12:

12 “Lithium” – Nirvana

11 “Man in the Box” – Alice in Chains

10 “Rooster” – Alice in Chains

9 “Interstate Love Song” – Stone Temple Pilots

8 “Creep” – Radiohead

7 “Killing in the Name of” – Rage Against the Machine

6 “Black” – Pearl Jam

5 “Would?” – Alice In Chains

4 “Black Hole Sun” – Soundgarden

3 “Sabotage” – Beastie Boys

2 “Everlong” –  Foo Fighters

1 “Smells like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana

I ran – 152 runs in a row! Same with vlogs!

Also, during this weekend, someone flashed a bottle and I simply said it – Worcestershire. Piece of crumb cake.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“What is your vocation? To be a good person.” – by Marcus Aurelius

morning babble / Monday 05-31-21

Who’s going swimming today? Not me. I turned on the heat today. Briefly. But – it was on. This morning, our house was in the 50s and that’s not good with the kids waking up. So, I pushed it on just for a weeee bit and hopefully it’s the last time until the fall. So, it’s chilly, but otherwise, we got a Monday where we can all relax and enjoy one another’s company, but also a day to reflect and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country – Happy Memorial Day Monday!

Gonna see a lot of people. Shaking hands? I kind of liked that we didn’t do it. Back in the day, shaking hands was the preamble to “I’m not going to kill you.” Gotta watch the video for the movie clip!

Plus, you really don’t know where their hands have been. During the week, I’m armpit deep in cleaning fish tanks and people want to shake my wet hand – gross. Then, there’s the aggressive shaker, the weak & limp shaker, and, of course, there’s the one where you’ll shake but are pulled in for the surprise hug. Whoa, whoa, whoa, too close before Covid and most definitely too close now.

151 Vlogs and 151st run is coming up after this. I’ll then have 5 months done!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“I know how much there is dependent on me and will prove myself equal to the task. I believe determination can do a great deal to sustain one and I have that quality certainly to it fullest extent.” – by Ulysses S. Grant via Chernow’s Grant (page 463)

morning babble / Sunday 05-30-21

Still chilly, but not grumpy. I folded laundry yesterday, so I’m feeling good. What does that mean? Go watch yesterday’s video by clicking here and then you’ll get it!

Last night, my family & I met up with some friends at one of their homes. We vaccinated, so we can do stuff like that! Anyway, I was the family with the punk kids, but they ended up having a great time. At one point of the night, we were all around a table and playing the game – 5 Second Rule – where the basic gist of the game is needing to name 3 things listed on the game card within 5 seconds. I won’t go into too many details, but one group had to name three one hit wonder bands in 5 seconds. a-ha was mentioned. This is the band who had the song “Take On Me” along with one of the most favorite videos of all time. Well, Miss Denise got a little upset and quickly proclaimed that they are not a one hit wonder band. Now, I put in 11 years of radio time and some those stations played the junk out of “Take On Me.” BUT – I don’t recall ever playing another song by them. Like, ever.

So, I googled a-ha for a greatest hits album and they have one! It’s 16 tracks – all different, not just “Take on Me” and is called Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of A-ha. But then, I initially thought I found out that they had a new album because on Spotify, it’s listed as 2019 (it’s actually remastered, so the year is correct). The album is called Minor Earth Major Sky and was released back in 2000 . . . but not in the U.S. Elsewhere, this album was certified platinum in Norway and Germany and gold in Austria, Spain and Switzerland. So, on my Spotify account, I hit the heart symbol for this album as well as their greatest hits album. I’ll give them both a listen this week and then give a follow up review next Friday on New Music Friday. Going deep on the band – a-ha – who would’ve thought!

I haven’t run yet – but it will be #150 AND I’ll surpass 500 miles for the year – once done. It’ll happen soon on the treadmill.

Books on a Sunday!

• Austin Kleon‘s Steal Like an Artist – I thought I could read this book in the morning and then do the babble, but . . . I got stuck – in a good way! I got motivated after reading Chapter 3 – “Write the Book you want to Read.” I then printed out the book that I was hoping to write this year. First time doing that. Only been typing away on the computer. So, now it’s physically in my hands and the ideas are being scribbled throughout the first 8 chapters. Next Sunday, I’ll definitely have the book – Steal Like an Artist – done (not my book – give me some time!) and finally do a further recap on all of its 10 chapters.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected.” – by Mark Twain via Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist (page 23)