brent evans

morning babble / Sunday 07-25-21

I cannot believe that next Sunday is August – just want to state that loud & clear. I’ve already seen the candy corn in stores – probably leftover from last year, but it’s there. You can almost smell the Pumpkin Spice in the air.

I haven’t run yet. #206 will be on the trails. I did cold-shower last night. 7 more cold showers to go and the 31 Days of July Cold Showers has been accomplished!

So, last night I was having a wonderful talk with my son, Elliott. Lots of laughing and that’s good. You see, recently he was part of a study that was done at Nemours Hospital. My wife has been a part of these different studies but this particular one was for kids our son’s age. He got paid money to answer a ton of questions but also had to have an MRI. He was excited about the money, while my wife and I were excited to have all these results to simply see what’s going on in our little boy’s body. He’s 12. Not too little anymore. Anyway, the study occurs again next year, but they reached out to us afterwards and notified us that the MRI showed that our little E-man has a Chiari malformation – which basically means the brain is too big for the skull. We had to get him to his doctor. And we did. Elliott is going to need another MRI (that’s Wednesday) and then there’s a discussion about surgery (takes place on Friday). It’s all still very scary. Back to last night’s talk, I’m so happy that my son and I could laugh about it. I know it’s not funny, but we are enjoying the now – there’s no point to worrying and ruining what you have right now His smile was awesome last night. Anyway – it made me joke with him about the Pulp Fiction scene about the “Big Brain on Brad” and yes, I showed it to him. Watch the video below!

Check out the big brain on Elliott. We’re all smiling here at the Evans household and know that are little man is going to take on whatever he has to with a positive outlook.

Books!

• Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Great book so far. Currently in a chapter about Teddy Roosevelt. Received a telegram about his daughter being born. Then, a 2nd one came through about his wife not doing well. He got home and then learned that both his wife and mother were dying. At 3am (the day after his daughter was born), he was by his mother’s side as she passed. Less than 12 hours later, his wife died, too. His famous quote at this moment was ” The light has gone out in my life.” This was all prior to him being president, so many more stories are to be told, but this one . . . I don’t ever want to imagine needing to overcome that.

• Eat A Peach – A Memoir by David Chang

• The Boys – Omnibus Volume 4 by Garth Ennis

• The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson (listening to this one). Heard him on podcasts talking about this book. It’s the story about 2020 Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna (dowd-na), who developed the gene editing technology CRISPR. One of the stories he told on the podcasts as well as within the book is when Jennifer went to her guidance counselor for advice about her future and what she wanted to do. The counselor’s advice, “Girls don’t become scientists.” Reminded me of my daughter and her “Hold my Doll” moment.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“If you act like you can do something, then it will work.” – by Walter Isaacson

morning babble / Saturday 07-24-21

I’m aching some. I did those pull-ups on Thursday. Skipped them yesterday. While running today, my sides hurt. Pausing those until after Monday, which is when I have a huge fish aquarium move to do. I can’t be hurting for that. It’s a huge tank. So, basically I’m wishing it was already Tuesday. Sorry – let’s get off that topic.

I ran on the mill – #205. 5k run every day keeps going!

Also, I cold-showered last night. It’s the cleanest month ever! Come on . . . you don’t shower every day, right? I mean, it was Friday, I didn’t really do anything to truly deserve soapy freshness; the bed sheets were being changed today, so who cares? Off to bed! Nope – I still cold-showered. ONE MORE WEEK!

AMA Saturday:

• Question #1 – Glitter still everywhere? Yes. Even during today’s 5k run on the treadmill, I looked down and saw glitter. It’s worse than tinsel. This house is marked.

• Question #2 – Did you purchase any records last Saturday during Record Store Day? No, but I have been listening to Beck’s record Guero an awful lot. So many good songs. Track 2 in particular is my favorite “Que Onda Guero” – click here for a direct link to the song on Spotify. With shouts of Michael Bolton, the new Yanni cassette, your popsicle’s melting – it’s a great sounding song with all kinds of fun throughout it. As for what “guero” means, well – it used to be a slur, but apparently isn’t anymore. From what I can see, it means “What’s up, White Boy!”

• Question #3 – Are you ever going to tape your mouth at night? Yes, but in the Fall.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Get crazy with the Cheez Whiz” – by Beck Hansen (via his song “Loser”)

morning babble / Friday 07-23-21

I ran 204 / I cold-showered – 22 down / I wrote last night! I didn’t attack the shorts, but actually worked on what is currently labeled “Chapter 2 – Tiny Town” of my book.

Press Release from Third Man Records announced The Blue Room Bar Grand Opening. Beginning this Thursday-Friday-Saturday 6pm to 11pm and recurring weekly, enjoy signature cocktails, beer, wine, and stuffed FatBelly Pretzels at The Blue Room Bar! The problem – Nashville, TN.

New Music Friday:

• Kanye West’s 10th studio album, Donda is supposed to be out today. In a tribute, the album was named after his late mother, Donda West, who passed in 2007.

• 2Cellos – Today, we got the Ed Sheeran / Justin Bieber song, “I Don’t Care”. Appears to be the 3rd song off of their upcoming album, Dedicate -out September 21st. We already got “Living on the Prayer” and Imagine Dragons “Demons” – watch the video here.

• British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor – Dave – new album drop today. His sophomore album called We’re All Alone in This Together

• Marian Hill released the song “omg”. No word on an entire album. But we did get this fun song with lyrice like “I’m wearing nothing but my lingerie / It’s all I’ve got til I do laundry.” Hide the Tide more often. There’s a video – I checked.

• Leon Bridges just released his third album, Gold-Diggers Sound – named after the Los Angeles studio where the album was made. We already got “Sweeter,” “Motorbike,” and “Why Don’t You Touch Me.” Now, we get all 11.

• Sub Pop has released the remastered 30th anniversary deluxe edition of Mudhoney’s Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, the Seattle group’s classic second full-length album. This expanded release will include the original album in its entirety as well as a 15-track bonus LP and CD of additional material, with 7 previously unreleased songs.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Recognize and embrace your flaws so you can learn from them. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to truly shine.” – by Kanye West

morning babble / Thursday 07-22-21

blah, blah, blah – lots of scribble / watch that video

So, I didn’t read last night, but I didn’t write either. It was the swim team banquet and we did not get home until late. I barely cold-showered.

Glitter follow up . . . still everywhere. Even some clients’ homes now too. I picked up my computer bag and there it was.

203 days of running!

Murph Challenge / Nick Urban’s website describes it and breaks it all down.

For Time
1 mile Run
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Air Squats
1 mile Run
All with a Weight Vest (20/14 lb)

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Appreciate your time – every minute of it” – by someone

morning babble / Wednesday 07-21-21

The scribble about the babble – blah, blah, blah. Sometimes, it’s not so tidy. That’s when – you should watch the video below.

Glitter everywhere, because of my 5 year old daughter. / Making our home like Club Evans

I ran – 202 days of 5k runs. Also, cold-showered.

Moka pot was tried and I created a cafe cubano – twice. This video sounded awesome, but I think this one helped me more with the making of the drink.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – by Stephen King

morning babble / Tuesday 07-20-21

The scribble about the babble – blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it gets tidied up.

I ran my 5k. #201 of the year.

I also cold-showered 19 done / 12 more to go. I’m coming for you Matt D’Avella. Check out his 30 days of cold showers here.

I’m amazed at how every inch of you needs to have the cold water hit it. Oh, and I keep babbling about benefits. Here’s a quick hit list:

Lowering body fat
Increasing hormone levels
Improving sexual performance and fertility
Lowering blood sugar
Cutting food cravings
Improving adrenal function
Fixing thyroid issues
Enhancing immune function
Improving deep sleep quality
Increasing pain tolerance
Reducing inflammation

Every paperwork days on Monday & Friday, I have “Thunder” by AC/DC play at 3pm to remind me to wrap it up, because I want to dig into other projects. I really want to make that happen. But – it’s tough. I did talk with my friend, Cecil, last night about making time. Couple years ago, I would write on every Monday and Wednesday – it was on my calendar. I think I’m going to get back to that. Mondays shouldn’t be an issue, but the 2nd day should be Wednesday or Thursday.

Pulled my Stephen King On Writing book, but it was done during a time when I didn’t do the tab thing to my books nor highlighted them. It’s pristine. Tempted to read it again some time soon, but not on writing nights.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Doing is better than not doing, and if you do something badly you’ll learn to do it better” – by Twyla Tharp. Her book, The Creative Habit, is a must read!

morning babble / Monday 07-19-21

#200 day of the year means I’ve done an awful lot of 5k runs. 200 to be exact. Without the balloons and clowns, I thought I would simply update on everything. The goal remains – 366 days of 5K runs and needs to be completed through January 1st.

After watching the first morning babble this morning (which I haven’t done), I enjoyed the first quote of the day ” Win the morning, Win the Day” – Tim Ferriss. I also was asking to be helped, but was hoping to inspire too. I realize that there isn’t too much suspense or tension here, but I’m hoping that every time some one clicks it . . . a little inspiration is sent their way.

Day #2 video was watched as well – this is the day that I talked about how Jerry Seinfeld pushes himself with daily writing. Every day you need to mark the calendar with an “X” and this builds a chain which you don’t want to break. On January 2nd, I only had 2 links to the chain. Fast forward to today and I’m still not breaking it!

Last night, I cold-showered. Not fun still. 18 down.

I’m still writing . . . couple shorts are being worked on now. I still need bigger gaps of time to dig into the book that I’m working on. I’m trying!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“No Plan B, No Plan A – just The Plan.” – by someone

morning babble / Sunday 07-18-21

We got third kid at the house today, so timing is a little off with everything.

#199 run will take place on the trails shortly which I’m excited about – it’s nice out!

Cold-showered last night – 17 down, 14 to go!

Moka Pot story with the fired captain. My friend (and business partner) bought a boat in Florida and wanted to ride it up the East Coast to get it home. The captain that he hired flattened the propeller by hitting a sand bed? Immediately, I went from enjoying beverage and writing my book to being Gilligan – not good for my friend. Prior to his dismissal, this fired captain made an incredible espresso drink which I just found a recipe for!

Cuban Coffee (aka Cafe Cubano) is a super-sweet coffee made with whipped sugar and strong coffee or espresso. The whipped sugar rises to the top to form a thick, foamy layer that resembles crema. This layer, called “espuma”, is made of whipped sugar. Super easy, super delicious. Moka pots are frequently used to brew the coffee needed for this recipe.

Watch that video for more explanations and story tellings.

Books!

I finally finished Seth Godin’s This Is Marketing. Here are 3 quick hits of the book that I liked. FYI – there’s a whole lot more, but I just wanted to pull out some highlights.

1) What you say isn’t nearly as important as what others say about you

2) Great marketing is the generous and audacious work of saying, “I see a better alternative; come with me.”

3) Pick a logo, don’t spend a ton of money or have a lot of meetings about it, and keep it for as long as you keep your first name.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“You’re doing it wrong, but at least you’re doing it. Once you’re doing it, you have a chance to do it better. Waiting for perfect means not starting.” – by Seth Godin – get his newsletter by signing up here.

morning babble / Saturday 07-17-21

Welcome to Saturday. Sad news last night though in the musical world. We lost Biz Markie. They called him the Clown Prince of Hip-Hop. He was only 57. We’re all just friends.

Let’s hit the numbers. I ran. #198 of 5k runs. And yes, it’s day 198 of 2021. Monday #200!

I cold-showered last night. Over the hump for the month. 16 down. #17 later tonight.

Sorry in a rush here. Last swim meet of the summer for my son. Aww. 🙂 Every one rushing around here. During my getting dressed routine in the dark, the dogs were more than ready to get outside before I was done the act. So, I grabbed my shirt and took them down to the basement and out the back door. Neighbor was up and waved to me awkwardly . . . I’m guessing because I didn’t have a shirt on. I had pants. But you know, if I was at the shore or beach – all good. Not at my house though. Unless I’m doing yard work. Actually, I’m not one of those type of guys. Need me to pick up sticks from last night’s storm. I’ll get ’em. Need me to water the plants. On it. I wear a shirt on the trails too. Would have had a nip rip if I one on last weekend. Hoping to get outside tomorrow for a run.

Wow – babble is happening. I’ll answer one question.

AMA Saturday:

• Question #1 – Are you still cooking? Yes, but no. Go watch the video for now – update later.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Remember: You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move.” – by Robert Greene

morning babble / Friday 07-16-21

Well, a beer by Equilibrium broke my fast. The wings and pizza helped too. But the beverage – so good – dHop 32, Double IPA out of Middletown, NY – wonderful beer from Equilibrium. Also, we watched Loki last night . . . all I’m saying . . . thumbs up!

Broke my personal 5k run streak record! #197 run was completed today on the mill

I cold-showered too – so the “31 Days of July Cold Showers” continues

Reminder – Record Store Day is Tomorrow! Recently visited Long Play Cafe for some vinyl. Got me Phil Collins and his first solo album – Face Value.

New Music Friday:

• Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album Faith dropped today. Bunch of artists appear too – Kanye West, Rick Ross, The Neptunes, Bizzy Banks, Chris Brown. This album already been deemed the #1 Hip-Hop album of the year.

• Normani coming back with “Wild Side” released today. Video too. It’s got Cardi B in it as well. One scene . . . they’re just wearing hair. I’ll provide the link – go here. One lyrical line that jumped out to me from Cardi B – I could probably suck a watermelon through a straw.

• And from watermelon through a straw, we go to taking you on the hood of my car. A very rambunctious morning, huh. Mr. Anderson East released “Hood of my Car” and yes – that’s what he’s singing about. His whole album Maybe We Never Die is released August 20th. Oh – and he has a video – click here for that.

• John Mayer’s full album came out today – 8th one. Called Sob Rock – inspired by 80’s music. It’s John Mayer. Can’t poke fun at that guy – way too many lady friends.

• Sia has a remix of song “1+1” out today. I just love the sound of her voice. You know how radio stations get artists to say “Hey this is Sia and you’re listening to Morning Babble with Brent Evans” Whew – that should be a goal. Her and Phil Collins . . . maybe Beck, too.

• Personal favorite of mine – Old Sea Brigade released an acoustic song of “Day by Day” (Video too). Really enjoy that guy’s chill sound – Old Sea Brigade aka Ben Cramer.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” – by Phil Collins