Random Thoughts – Regular Guy

I Did It!

brian — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:46:10 +0000

Finally! I have achieved my goal and blogged every single day of March. This silly little challenge was just a personal effort to see if I could get back into the routine of something I had kind of pushed to the background.

But I succeeded and now have 31 days of fantastic content for you to enjoy.

Oh, yeah, right. There’s something like 11 or 12 days worth of posts up there. I forget and don’t feel like going back and re-counting.

I still feel proud of that accomplishment given how sporadic I have posted over the past few years. I got a few thoughts out of my head and will hopefully find some sort of rhythm in the future.

There were a few things that contributed to me not making the goal:

Work has just been a bear for a while now. We have another person in my department so that helped some, but it’s still kind of crazy. That brings about mental fatigue that makes writing a chore since I write a lot all day, even if we’re just talking about e-mails.
I continue to throw myself into Football Manager content and question whether this should become a Football Manager blog or not. I love the game and have enjoyed making content, but am not sure whether I want to add writing about it to my plate. So I am focusing more on YouTube and streaming on Twitch for now.
Things started to peter out around March Madness. That is not a coincidence. Even once that big weekend is done, my mind is still reeling. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I am just plain lazy and would rather knock out a quick Tweet or Facebook post.
COVID fatigue is still real, y’all.

But I will probably fill this space with my words of nonsense more in the future. I have a personal challenge in mind for April. It will likely not result in something for public consumption, but it will cross something off the list of things I have in my brain and need to get out.

Awkward Workplace Encounters

brian — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 14:03:29 +0000

During this time of social isolation and working from home, some of us may miss those awkward interactions we have with co-workers every day. My new video series aims to help fill that void.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter or subscribe to the playlist on Youtube.

Free Thoughts on ‘Hamilton’

brian — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:35:47 +0000

Here are “free thoughts” on the cast and performance from Hamilton, which I recently saw in NYC:

Michael Luwoye is a great Hamilton, but I wasn’t as blown away as I was led to expect from stuff I had read online. He was reserved in some spots and talk sang the beginnings to a bunch of songs. Maybe it’s his style, maybe it was a slow start for a Saturday matinee. However, I think he was really crying during “It’s Quiet Uptown.” He just didn’t always have the energy Lin can bring.
This may be blasphemy, but Daniel Breaker may be a better Burr than Leslie Odom. He had the snark and bitterness that I imagine Burr actually had from the beginning of the show. He was outstanding.
None of the women can touch the original trio even though I loved their performances. Lexi Lawson is a great Eliza. She worked really well with Elizabeth Judd, who is the standby for Angelica. That role is so hard because Renee Elise Goldsberry is such a powerful figure. Judd is younger and brought great believeability to the two as sisters. She wasn’t as powerful with some of her singing, but you saw the connection between the actresses. Joanna Jones was a great Peggy/Maria. I will never not love Peggy.
Euan Morton may be my favorite King. I think I have seen videos of 3-4 of them. I think his face just is more expressive than Jonathan Groft.
Anthony Lee Medina does a great job with Laurens/Phillip. He has an excitement that is natural, just like Anthony Ramos. He plays Laurens more like a horndog than a guy who may be obsessed with Hamilton, which was fun, but I liked the layered performance Ramos gave a little better.
Bryan Terrell Clark’s Washington just oozes cool. He doesn’t have the gravitas of Chris Jackson, but he makes the role his own. Unflappable.
Not the biggest fan of James Monroe Iglehart as Lafayette/Jefferson. His First Act accent is all over the place. And I am certain they play “Guns and Ships” a little slower so he can pull off the rap. Not horrible, just a curious choice for the role.
Andrew Chappelle played Mulligan/Madison. He was in the Public Theater ensemble and he been understudying on Broadway for a little while. He was good. He is not as imposing so he loses a little in Mulligan, plus it is hilarious watching him (he’s 31, but looks a lot younger) saying “I got ya’ll knuckleheads in loco parentis” to Igelhart, who is 43. I loved his Madison. He played him kind of foppish and effeminate, which I think underscored the weakness the character is supposed to have. He seemed more like Jefferson’s sidekick there so the casting worked well.
The ensemble member who played James Reynolds (Ryan Vasquez) was spectacular. You could tell he knew he had about a minute to be the biggest asshole he could be and loved every second of it.
I think the thing that goes unnoticed when watching the bootlegs is how active the entire cast and ensemble is throughout the show. You don’t see all that activity from a video.
“Battle of Yorktown” is just mindblowing. It was so hard to not stand up and fist pump along with them.

Too Many Thoughts

brian — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:17:27 +0000

So things have been a little busy lately. Fighting off my allergies and dealing with a sick kid for part of the weekend have left me with little time to do much here. So here’s what is on my mind.

I’m going to be obsessing about Tullycraft’s new album for a while. I think I have a crush on Jenny Mears’ vocals. Not her – just her singing. That’s not a crack on Jenny. I just don’t know her well enough to crush on her. But I do know how her vocals make the album so much fun. The band will be my guest on a podcast tomorrow. I just have to finish putting it together.
Penn State’s football team raised my spirits Saturday afternoon, only to have D.C. United and the Ravens crush them into little pieces afterwards.
I want to thank the redneck douchebag who tried to run me off the road yesterday while he was driving with two children in the front seat of his truck. You pissed me off momentarily, but then made me realize how lucky I am not to be as sad and pathetic as you.
I’m thinking about brewing some beer at home with Mr. Beer again.
I’m getting caught up on my podcasts after hardly listening to any for two weeks while my foot got better from plantar fascitis. I heartily recommend my friend Dave Lifton’s “Wings for Wheels” podcast. The most recent edition with Bob Mould of Husker Du fame is great listening.

What’s on your mind? Leave a message in the comments.