Before I Had My Blog

Posted on January 23, 2014 by brent

I just finished work for the night as the Lady Griz soundly defeated Idaho State 67-48 in Dahlberg Arena to cap off a 14 hour day. As I am a little fatigued I don’t feel like putting the energy into writing a regular post. Instead I much rather take the much less demanding route and provide all of you a true Throwback Thursday to my first ever “published” piece of writing.

The year was 1998 and I was a fourth grader at Farwell Elementary in Spokane, Washington. My class of exceptional writers (sarcasm) put together a compilation of our best work into an 8.5 by 11 inch spiral-bound booklet. We called our masterpiece “It’s Funny, It’s Tall Taley, It’s Animally and Cook Bookie”. We then sold copies as a class fundraiser for $5 each. My contribution fell under the “Animally” part of the book.

Would you pay $5 for this?

For your reading pleasure, here is a photo of my entry with the text typed out underneath it:

Not my best work ever.

MONKEYING AROUND
By Brent

Hi, I’m Brent and I’m going to tell you about a trip to the zoo I will never forget.

One hot summer day I was walking by the monkey cage when I saw a grizzly bear in the monkey cage. I quickly opened the cage and took the monkeys out. There were only three. Their names were Jake, Alex, and Peanut. I quickly scared the bear away, But then something horrible happened. The cage was locked shut. I would have to find the zoo keeper, but I couldn’t find him. Right away the monkeys were trouble. Alex started teasing the elephant, and Peanut took cotton candy from the tourists, and Jake squirted people with the hose. But then something good actually happened. The zoo keeper came by. I tried to stop him but he got away. But luckily the zoo keeper had bananas in his hands. The monkeys went over to the zoo keeper. Now those troublesome monkeys are all locked up. The end.

Just five quick thoughts:

1. Even by fourth grade standards, my writing was awful.
2. Obviously I always knew I would one day become a Griz as I couldn’t help but feature one in “Monkeying Around”.
3. Don’t you love my repetition?….One hot summer day I was walking by the monkey cage when I saw a grizzly bear in the monkey cage.
4. Why couldn’t I stop the zoo keeper? Was he sprinting? Maybe deaf? Did I really even try to stop him in the first place?
5. While my writing improved, my drawing skills never did. If you gave me a piece of paper and a pencil I would be lucky to come up with something better than that sunglass-wearing monkey.

I apologize to anyone who got swindled out of $5 to buy our fourth grade disaster. Don’t Blink.

My Preference For Three Day Weekends

Posted on January 22, 2014 by brent

Sometimes the thoughts I have had the longest take the longest to get written down on this blog. After 30+ months of authoring Don’t Blink I find it mildly shocking that I haven’t brought up this recurring thought of mine that infiltrates my head about ten times a year. I am talking about my preference when it comes to the start and end of three day weekends.

First off let me point out that it doesn’t matter when the three day weekend starts, if I am able to take it I am always very thankful and happy. Working for a state institution, we do get all of the federal holidays off. However, because I do work for an athletic department where games must be played and tasks must be completed, it is not out of the question that these long weekends are sometimes wiped out. Therefore I especially appreciate it when I am able to take full advantage of three straight days off.

Three day weekends work either by way of enjoying Friday through Sunday off or Saturday through Monday off. While both options have great advantages, I think the makers of our calendar knew what they were doing by positioning practically all federal holidays on Monday. Personally, I would much rather have a Saturday through Monday weekend as opposed to a Friday through Sunday one.

Don’t get me wrong, I love having Friday off. Although most federal holidays are observed on Mondays, three day weekends starting on Friday are very prevalent as well. If you are in elementary through high school you probably enjoy several “learning improvement days” where teachers have to show up for training but you get the Friday off. If you are in the working world, I would wager that the day you take off the most is that day that will forever be remembered by a horrible Rebecca Black song. It goes without saying that we all have vast experience with three day weekends that incorporate both Friday and Monday.

Friday three day weekends are nice because it shortens up the week. On Sunday evening before your four day work week is about to start you can reason with yourself that the battle won’t be as tough as most weeks. You can count your Monday as a Tuesday, your Tuesday as a Wednesday, your Wednesday as a Thursday etc. Also, let’s face it, there is much more fun to be had on a full Friday off as opposed to a full Monday off.

But beware of the Friday three day weekend empty feeling that hits that next Sunday evening. Your three days of bliss are gone and you now have a full five day week ahead of you. The anticipation you had a week ago at this time is now replaced with dread.

I just really prefer three day weekends resulting in a Monday off. It all starts on that previous Friday when leaving the office. Walking to the car you have a sense of accomplishment that you put in a solid week of work and now you get rewarded with a three day weekend. I love the feeling I get on Saturday and Sunday when I start thinking about what I need to do at work on Monday and then that sweet realization comes that I won’t be doing anything. Or I love watching Sunday Night Football in a complete relaxation state without the worry of the game serving as my last hurrah before the work week starts. Or who doesn’t love the feeling of waking up early in the morning on Monday and as you start to get out of bed to jump in the shower that heavenly epiphany hits that you can get back under the warm covers and sleep for several more hours? Who doesn’t love converting the most dreaded day of the week into the most relaxing one?

My favorite part though about three day weekends ending in Monday is how it frames my thinking for the following work week and how it makes it fly by. Although three day weekends starting with Friday definitely shorten the work week, it doesn’t do it in the way that three day weekends ending on Monday do. With the latter, you don’t have to count your Monday as a Tuesday like I described earlier. Rather, the first day of your work week is actually a Tuesday. The best thing about it? You think of it as a Monday! The chain just keeps repeating itself…I probably thought five different times today that it was a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday. Sitting here right now I am still coming to grips that tomorrow is Thursday and a Lady Griz gameday. As Pete Carroll would say, tonight is the “night before the night before” of the first night of the weekend. The week has flown by….and I imagine I have confused the heck out of you with this last paragraph.

Yep, Mondays off as opposed to Fridays off for three day weekends please. Although you won’t have to torture me to accept a Friday three day weekend I just prefer the Monday variety because they motivate me both the week before and the week after. With the Friday variety I am just motivated the week before. Do you get what I am saying? Don’t Blink.

The Successful Tag Team Approach to Social Media

Posted on January 21, 2014 by brent

As social media continues to grow and as people depend on it more than ever for their primary source of information, businesses and organizations must adapt to provide the most efficient and thorough type of coverage possible. In my opinion, great social media coverage is the result of a sound plan and superior organization. While many day-to-day tasks and campaign initiatives within a social media program can usually get tended to by the designated new media person, other situations call for a more collaborative effort from other people on staff.

In my position at Grizzly Athletics I call on my fellow co-workers in the marketing department along with our team of interns to assist me with gameday social media execution. Whereas at one point in the past I used to handle every detail myself it became apparent over time that in order to keep moving our program forward I needed help. This past football season and so far this basketball season our social coverage has consisted of a successful, collaborative effort.

I am trying to push myself to extend our fruitful teamwork oriented social media strategy past just gameday efforts. A huge emphasis for us within Grizzly Athletics is community service. Our student-athletes go above and beyond serving the Missoula community and we make it a priority to showcase the amazing work they are doing through our new media channels. Today our student-athletes took on yet another new community service project. At the same time, Griz Marketing took on a new social media collaboration plan.

This afternoon members from our Griz basketball team and Lady Griz basketball team went to the Missoula YMCA to hang out with kids from the Active 6 program. Our student-athletes shot hoops, played tag, and goofed around with a group of roughly 30 sixth graders. Although I know all the details and although I feel like I know all the kids who were there, I didn’t get anywhere close to the YMCA today. While the Active 6 program kids had a special experience spending time with community heroes like Kareem Jamar and Kellie Cole I stayed holed up in my office. This was of course by design.

At the YMCA covering the event for Grizzly Athletics was Marketing Director Brynn Molloy. While the athletes and kids enjoyed each other’s company, Brynn captured all the action via pictures and video. As she documented the fun she sent the media to me where I sat in my office with my iPhone in hand and desktop computer in front of me. As I received the content I distributed it across three different Twitter accounts, three different Facebook pages, and our main Instagram account. The process worked flawlessly.

The student-athletes and Active 6 kids at the Missoula YMCA today (photo credit Brynn Molloy)

Dividing up these duties no doubt made our coverage more thorough, efficient, and engaging. Brynn had the task of capturing media that told the story of the community service project. I had the duty of taking the content she provided me with and appropriately distributing it throughout our various social media channels. By splitting up these duties we each took different stresses off of each other. Brynn just had to worry about taking compelling photos and videos as opposed to capturing her content and then logging on to various social media services, composing captions, and then posting. That takes a lot of time! Going through that process makes it very easy to miss the action between the student-athletes and kids. I on the other hand had the luxury of sitting in an office and using every tool at my disposal to correctly format the media. If I couldn’t remember the correct spelling of someone’s last name I had the online roster loaded up and ready to go. Instead of hastily typing out everything on my iPhone I could use my desktop keyboard to safeguard against any errors. I didn’t have to worry about my device going dead because I had it plugged in. With high speed internet I never had to fret once about something not posting. We had an organized plan and it worked very well.

Of course both people in an operation like this must have advanced social media knowledge. Not anyone can take photos that are fit for 100,000 people to see (I have seen more than my share of blurry photos or images taken 20 feet from the action). Nor can anyone be trusted to post content (How many times have you seen a post on a Facebook page that you knew didn’t fit?). But if you have the personnel to do something like this go for it! Not only do you upgrade the quality and depth of your content, you also save time. Most importantly though, you get more people contributing. Social media, just like anything else, is more rewarding when it is a collaborative effort. Don’t Blink.

My Thoughts on Richard Sherman’s Post Game Interview

Posted on January 20, 2014 by brent

Last night Richard Sherman gave an interview that had everyone talking. At the pinnacle of his athletic career (thus far) he shouted into millions of living rooms his disdain for Michael Crabtree. It rubbed many the wrong way. Conversely, it intensified the love that others already have for Sherman. In the last 20 hours I have heard pretty much every single argument for and against his verbal display of emotion. Because I keep company with many Seahawks and 49ers fans, I haven’t heard too many wishy-washy stances. People either liked it or they didn’t like it.

As a Seahawks fan, I didn’t like it.

My biggest problem with Sherman’s interview was its negativity and lack of focus. Sure he screamed like a madman into Erin Andrew’s microphone but I don’t mind that too much. The volume and intensity in his voice was emotion. I can deal with that. I had no issue with Kevin Garnett’s emotion-filled address after the Celtics clinched the NBA championship nor did I get upset over Jameis Wilson’s adrenaline-fueled interview after the BCS National Championship this year. Seconds removed from athletic greatness you can’t expect someone to immediately come down to the pulse level of you and me.

So while I cut Sherman slack for his drill sergeant voice inflection I hated the content of his message. He already stuck it to Crabtree twice. First with his superb play to force the interception and then with his “good game” olive branch (bush league) and ensuing gestures. Okay, you got the best of him, you rubbed it in his face, and his season is over while you are off to the Super Bowl…do you really need to say more? Yep, apparently Sherman needed to say a lot more. After blasting Crabtree in the interview with Andrews he did the same in his next interview with Ed Werder. He then continued the trash talk on the Fox set and he has picked up today right where he left off last night.

While the immaturity has continued long after his Twitter exploding live interview with Andrews, that is the one moment I think that exemplified the most disgrace. He had the biggest stage in the world at that time to appropriately describe how he made such an amazing play, exclaim his exuberance on going to New York, give a little credit to his teammates, and maybe if he felt like it even throw a small bone to the fans. Instead he tore into his opponent with an intensity that carried with it hate and disrespect that jolted most of us sitting on the other side of the screen, children included.

I thought the arguments put forth today defending Sherman’s post game remarks incriminated him even more. First there was his article that he wrote on his behalf. While I applaud him for explaining his side of things in a well-articulated column I could barely understand any of his points because of the heavy doses of pure arrogance and ego that filled every single paragraph.

Then you had the “Forbes 22 Brief Thoughts About That Richard Sherman Interview” post that received countless Facebook shares. Although crediting it with 22 thoughts is an exaggerated stretch since many of the bullets ran together and many of them were completely irrelevant, the remaining one or two points that actually formulated somewhat of an opinion states the obvious and doesn’t address the issue. The author basically says that since Sherman won the NFC Championship he deserved to hoop and holler like a professional wrestler. Okay fine, like I said above, I am all for him exhibiting raw emotion. However, it was the content of his message that did the harm.

I don’t expect professional athletes to always show exemplary sportsmanship. Just as with any profession, I don’t expect professional athletes to love their competitors. Although in theory we should strive to “respect everyone and fear no one” I know that adage doesn’t apply for many. I understand this is the case for Richard Sherman and while not my ideal quality in a person, it is his right. I just wish he wouldn’t express his hatred for an opponent in front of millions of people after a thrilling championship game. He already did it on the field, he didn’t need to take it to our living rooms. Don’t Blink.

My Technology Hero

Posted on January 16, 2014 by brent

I would credit one of my strong points to staying cool under pressure. While I admittedly have many faults, I am proud to say I don’t get rattled that easily. Working in the sports industry, especially in a game presentation role, you just can’t afford to. Where I can start to get a little anxious though and start generating a fast heart beat is when technology starts to falter. I depend on technology a lot. When a computer goes down, a mass storage device doesn’t get recognized, or an expensive piece of equipment decides not to work, I sometimes start to stress.

Luckily we have an amazing IT guy in Grizzly Athletics. His first name is Aaron and his last name might as well be Einstein. Let me tell you, I have seen Aaron pull myself and some of my co-workers out of dire situations. I am talking situations that if went unresolved there would be a stadium full of 26,000 disappointed people. Or 7,000 confused people in an arena. Or various unimpressed large crowds at events such as pep rallies, fundraisers, and student-athlete talent shows. The guy comes in to very tense situations with a lot at stake and with people freaking out and works magic.

Aaron is a technology genius!

Tonight at our Griz basketball game I was at my normal post in what we call the “music corner.” To my right was Aaron who was trying to boot up our extremely expensive video board software. For whatever reason the main interface wouldn’t come up. With Aaron working on the glitch and with 80 minutes before tip off I wasn’t concerned about the issue not getting resolved so while he worked I asked him a question: “Are there ever any situations that stress you out?”

He actually surprised me when he said, “Actually yes, there are. But I am pretty good at keeping it inside.”

As I said at the beginning, Aaron is a very cool customer. Five people will be going nuts and he will come in with an expressionless face and just start typing on the keyboard, clicking the mouse, switching around cords, and running wires. When he is done, the day is saved. To have him tell me that during these situations he actually feels a little bit of the heat provided me with insight that I never really knew before. It made me realize that Aaron actually is human and not some Tech God from a different galaxy. But he also filled me in on why he never lets the pressure overcome him.

“Technology is unpredictable. Many times it is out of our control so we just have to accept it and do what we can.”

So while he explained the reason behind why I never see any look of alarm on his face whatsoever, his answer gave me the impression that there are times where he doesn’t know the exact answer to a problem and that it isn’t the end of the world. Although he said it, I have never seen it.

I need to take Aaron’s approach to dealing with technology, it will probably save me a few years on my life. I mean if the guy who has the buck stop with him on all technical issues can have such an understanding view of the frustrations of technology, the people like me who don’t even possess one percent of the intelligence of Aaron should also be able to adapt to that thinking. Either that or just thank God that we have Aaron working on our side. By the way, he got our video board program up and running just fine. Don’t Blink.

So Long, Coach Oviatt

Posted on January 15, 2014 by brent

Yesterday we informed Griz Nation via our website and social media outlets that football strength and conditioning coach Rob Oviatt had left the team due to personal reasons. Coach Oviatt served in his position at Grizzly Athletics for four seasons.

I quite often say that I don’t get too close to the coaches. They are busy doing their thing and I am busy doing my thing. While there are some exceptions (I am friends with some of the younger coaches) I never developed much of a relationship with Rob. Of course that had nothing to do with conflicting personalities or a feud, our paths just didn’t cross that much. He was always very gracious when I would bring down groups of young children through the weight room for tours and of course I would see him on a daily basis in the athletic department or out in the stadium but it never led to in-depth discussions about life.

A photo I took of Rob Oviatt at the 2012 Montana Pro Day.

So why am I writing a blog post about Rob Oviatt if I really never had a connection with him? Well, I actually do have a connection that I will get to later but that is not the answer to my question. Rather, I am just writing to say I am sad to see him go because of the reputation and experience he brought to Grizzly Athletics.

Out of everyone in our athletic department, no one matched the resume of Rob Oviatt when it came to experience at top-tier athletic programs across the nation. Not any coach, not any administrator, not any marketer, not any trainer, etc. The places that Coach Oviatt not only worked at but succeeded at would make anyone with just a smidge of intercollegiate athletics knowledge take immediate notice. While he headed the strength and conditioning programs at Pac-12 schools like Oregon State and Washington State, he also worked for several powerhouse football schools as well. We are talking about places such as Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and LSU. During his time at the University of Kentucky he was twice voted the SEC Strength Coach of the Year (1997 and 1998). Yep, during his 30+ year career he left his mark all across the nation.

I snapped this one in North Carolina when Coach Oviatt led the linemen on to the field at Appalachian State.

I snapped this one in North Carolina when Coach Oviatt led players to the field at Appalachian State.

Although I am not qualified to determine what a successful strength program constitutes, others rate his work here at Montana as outstanding. Probably legitimizing that sentiment the most is our head football coach who didn’t even originally hire Oviatt. According to Dave’s release, Mick Delaney credited Coach Oviatt with conditioning the team in such a way that only two players this past season went down with season ending injuries, a rarity for any football program at any level. Mick also noted the high amount of respect that all the players had for him.

I just find it cool that our athletes and staff got to experience the work of a guy who coached at the very highest level of college football and was recognized as the best at his trade. If you worked in our department you would find out that several people have their own good-natured colorful stories and memories of Rob. Mine would be just watching him out at practice monitoring his stop watch and sounding the air horn for practice session changes while also welcoming and chatting with the NFL scouts that would come by to watch practice. He knew them all.

Coach Oviatt was always looking at his stop watch.

But I do have one more memory and it regards the connection I mentioned at the start of this post. During my junior and senior years of high school my football team would travel over to Pullman, Washington, for the Washington State summer team camp. The head strength and conditioning coach of the Cougars at that time was no other than Rob Oviatt. Over the course of those four days in both 2003 and 2004, Coach stretched us out before each practice session under the hot Pullman sun. Then, later in the evenings, we linemen would report to the football weight room and he would put us through a mini workout session. I remember him and the other guy helping to run things made it perfectly clear to us that any collegiate gear other than Washington State apparel was not allowed in the facility…they were always really nice about it.

Of course in my high school state I looked on at college football strength and conditioning coaches with a certain awe and reverence. If you told my 16 year old self that I one day would be on the same payroll as Coach Oviatt I would probably tell you to get out of town.

Best of luck, Rob Oviatt. Griz Nation sends its best wishes to you and your family. Don’t Blink.

Reser Ramblings

Posted on January 14, 2014 by brent

I get positive feedback from my readers about my multiple topic blog posts so I don’t feel as guilty as I used to about writing them. You see, they are easier to compose and take less time to write than one of my normal posts. Because of this, I felt that I was subtly screwing over my readers as I dashed through a few topics, posted my ramblings to my blog, and then enjoyed the extra time that I had saved. But because of the reassurance from my loyalists that they don’t take my condensed blog posts as a slap in the face, I will still try to feature one a week. Tonight is that “one” of the week so let’s get started.

Week Two of Community Service with Griz Basketball Team: Last week I went along with the Griz basketball team as they ate pizza and played with kids from a local children’s center. Tonight I joined them at the Montana Food Bank Network where they volunteered for a couple hours. After getting a tour of the facility that holds 8 million pounds of food we went into a room where the players and coaches (Coach Rupp and Coach Jono made the outing this time) packaged macaroni. Two team members scooped macaroni out of what seemed like a bottomless bin, two other team members then weighed it (it had to weigh in at two pounds), and then two other members sealed the bags using a pretty sophisticated machine. Even with doing a somewhat mundane task the team seemed to have a blast doing it. Both Coach Rupp and Coach Jono are hilarious guys and they had a great time serving along with their players.

Players and coaches from the Griz basketball team volunteered tonight at the Montana Food Bank Network.

Lists Made for Facebook: You can’t scroll down your newsfeed these days without seeing numerous lists with random numbers covering certain conditional topics. You know what I am talking about, right? Lists such as “29 signs you know you were born in the 1980’s” or “34 characteristics of true hipsters” or “24 crazy facts about Disney World that you didn’t know”. Sure, many of them are farfetched and many are just a ploy to get you to click on the link so you can be treated to an onslaught of advertising but I don’t sweat them too much.

In my opinion, I find other past Facebook trends much more bothersome such as quotes smashed into hideous box graphics or “share this to show support for…” images/statuses. Mostly though, I am just thankful that now I am seeing more links for “22 ways to know if you and Taylor Swift would be best friends” as opposed to the drawn out “____ things about me” statuses that seemed to have a good two week Facebook run last month. I can tolerate lists that I have the choice of clicking on but I start to get a little annoyed when I constantly read about how many tattoos someone has or what their name would have been if they were born the opposite sex.

Colin Kaepernick Hatred: Okay, I admit it, the way Seahawks fans and the media in general have portrayed Russell Wilson as a saint and Colin Kaepernick as the anti-christ has gotten a little out of hand. Although Kaepernick looked absolutely ridiculous sporting his backwards-sideways hat and headphones during his postgame interview on Sunday, he pays his dues in the community. Although not as publicized as Wilson’s involvement, anyone can find documentation of Kaepernick’s good works past the football field. I think the guy deserves a little more slack than what he has received. Anyway, what I am trying to say is if you need to unleash more aggression on the 49ers please give Kaepernick a break and just send it Jim Harbaugh’s way.

Kaepernick puts his work in while not playing football.

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It seems like the flu is going around so I hope everyone is staying healthy or on the fast track to a speedy recovery. Have a great rest of the week and thank you for reading my blog. Don’t Blink.

To Buy the Bucket of Popcorn or Not?

Posted on January 13, 2014 by brent

One of the best parts about going to the movies is the irresistible and unmistakable smell of popcorn that immediately hits you the moment you walk from outside the parking lot and into the lobby of the movie theater. That special smell gets me every single time as I always end up purchasing a bag/tub at the concession stand. It doesn’t matter if I am stuffed, I still fork over the money to eat popcorn at the movie theater every single time.

My local theater in Missoula is owned by Carmike Cinemas. This particular movie theater chain has a promotion where they sell giant buckets of popcorn that are re-useable for the full calendar year. You simply pay the price for the tub and then you are welcome to bring it back throughout the year to get refills at a discounted price each time you go to watch a movie. For someone like me, most people would say that I should definitely cash in on the deal. Even though it does make sense over the long run, the initial price turns me off.

I LOVE movie theater popcorn….not so much the microwave version though.

Okay, ready for the price of one of these calorie-loaded, year-long bottomless popcorn tubs? Try $19.75. Want a refill on that tub? For the rest of the year you will just have to pay $3.75.

While I do thank Carmike Cinemas for saving us a quarter and saving us the shame of spending 20 bucks on popcorn, the $19.75 price tag does make me a little squeamish. Not that I haven’t squandered larger loads of money on even stupider things during my twenties but I think the fact that most times when I am tempted by the deal I am reminded that I just paid $20+ for movie tickets and the notion of equaling that price in popcorn makes me decide against it. However, I am starting to have second thoughts.

On Friday night I went to “Lone Survivor”. While in line to get my traditional bag of popcorn I couldn’t help but notice that everyone else in line with me seemed to have the 2014 refillable buckets. I guess I had not realized the popularity of them until that night. I mean really, how could all those people be wrong? I bought a large popcorn and a soda and it come to somewhere over $14. Instead of getting my popcorn fix just for the movie that night I could have paid five dollars more (without purchasing the soda) and set myself up for discounted popcorn throughout the rest of 2014. If it was an ordinary movie I would have thought about my decision throughout the whole two hours but since “Lone Survivor” blew my socks off I forgot about it until after I walked out of the theater.

Not to be lost in this all is that it is still mid-January. If I pull the trigger and purchase the bucket now I will enjoy the benefit of $3.75 buckets of popcorn for pretty much the maximum time possible. I do plan to see a lot of movies this year.

“JUST BUY THE STUPID BUCKET!,” many of you might be yelling right now.

Well, I have concerns against it as well. Just because I can purchase something that will probably give me more for less in the long run it doesn’t necessarily mean it is the way to go. Do I really need to enjoy the largest bucket of popcorn possible at each movie I go to? At some point I should respect my body and cholesterol level. Also, living in an apartment, space is somewhat limited and I don’t know if I want to store it in one of my cupboards. Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of fresh popcorn at the movie theater but I am not as enthusiastic about a cupboard smelling like the waiting room of a tire shop. Finally, if I can’t glue my fingers to the handle, chances are that I might forget my $19.75 bucket a time or two when I dash off to watch the latest blockbuster.

I know I am going against every journalistic principle by not taking a stand on what I am going to do but my personal jury is still out on whether I will buy the bucket or not. I will say that if forced to give a prediction, I think I will end up giving in sometime this month and purchasing it. But, if for some reason I am kept away from the theater for the rest of January I might just pass on it. One thing is for sure, you know I will keep you posted. Don’t Blink.

Crying Babies in Church

Posted on January 12, 2014 by brent

With this post I am not trying to act sarcastic, condescending, or holier than thou so please don’t think I am writing this in that type of tone. I am basically just asking for insight and feedback.

I attend mass at historical St. Francis Xavier in the outskirts of downtown Missoula. It is the biggest Catholic parish in the city and offers a beautiful setting, solid preaching, and great singing. It also offers many options as the mass schedule includes four different times over the weekend (5 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m., 10 a.m., and 6 p.m. on Sunday). About 90% of the time I attend the 6 p.m. Sunday evening contemplative mass. For someone like me who works many weekends throughout the year, a later mass on Sunday is very welcome. It allows me to obviously make it to church and on many weeks it really gives me my first time to relax and reflect over the week in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

St. Francis Xavier in Missoula is a great parish and Fr. Rich Perry does a great job.

Notice how I said “quiet and peaceful”. The setting at the 6 p.m. mass is special. The lights are turned down low, there are fifteen minutes of singing leading up to the opening prayer, it is never crowded, you aren’t tempted by the smells of a pancake breakfast swirling through the church, and, like I said, it is quiet. On a personal faith level I wouldn’t hesitate to say that I feel like I get the most out of the Sunday evening mass. If possible, I would attend it every single weekend. However, that is not always possible.

Every now and then, like today, I attend a different mass. When choosing an alternative I mostly try to hit the 5 p.m. Saturday vigil (because it most resembles the 6 p.m. Sunday mass) but that doesn’t always work out. Next in line for me is the 8 a.m. one but sometimes after pretty much not sleeping the whole week, I do elect to cash in on a couple extra hours of shut eye, thus leaving me with the 10 a.m. mass. On days like today where I do attend the later morning session I do prepare myself before walking through the church doors and then say a little prayer for increased patience when I find my pew because I know I am going to need it.

St. Francis Xavier clearly identifies the 10 a.m. mass as the “Family Mass”. In order to make the other masses (such as the 6 p.m. Sunday one) so peaceful and reflective they advise people with babies and toddlers to attend the 10 a.m. session. Before I say as much as one negative thing about how I get distracted, let me say thank you to St. Francis for making this distinction and to the families for observing it.

So while I attend 10 a.m. mass knowing full well that it will most likely be noisy and understanding that all the parents in there are not only following the wishes of the parish but also acting as great moms and dads by raising their kids in the church, sometimes I think the noise level gets a little out of hand.

My basic question is this: At what point do you leave your spot in the pew and take a crying or misbehaving child to the back of the church, out to the lobby, or outside?

I understand quick crying fits and the occasional random outbursts but if a baby has cried for the past three minutes of the priest’s homily or if a four year old is yelling at his sister during the blessing of the Eucharist isn’t that the cue to remove the child? I understand it is a family mass and certain noises are expected and accepted but am I off base to say that when a child becomes a legitimate distraction to others it is time to take him/her to the back? Maybe I am totally off on this. Like I said, I do my best to avoid this type of situation entirely but sometimes I do find myself at the family mass and at the mercy of the parents’ decision to either take their child out or keep him/her in place.

I would love it if parents told me what their standards and rules are when it comes to making the call on keeping or removing their children from mass. What goes through your mind when your baby happens to just naturally act like a baby and begins to cry? Are there standards you have in place with how you are going to act in the situation? Have fellow church-goers ever given you an annoyed or hostile glance before because of your kids?

Again to all parents, do not take what I am saying too personally. I know I play a big role in how much I want to deal with this. I recognize the good parenting and baptism promise fulfilling work that you are doing. Please also take to heart that if you do keep your crying baby in mass for way longer than warranted I still don’t hold as much scorn for you as I do for the disrespectful mass attendees who let their cell phones go off in church. As long as you don’t get to that point, you and I will be just fine. Don’t Blink.

Sitting Down with Bryden from “The Bachelorette”

Posted on January 8, 2014 by brent

Bryden Vukasin is so much more than a reality TV star. He is a decorated member of our military. He is a semi-pro football player. He is University of Montana student. He is a son, brother, and boyfriend. Most apparent though when you meet him, he is one of the nicest and most genuine guys you will ever meet.

I met Bryden through his girlfriend Becky Weidow last May. While attending Becky’s graduation party she introduced me to Bryden who at the time was fresh off from shooting “The Bachelorette”. I had a nice conversation with him and throughout the summer we saw each other a couple more times. Not wanting to be “that guy” I didn’t grill him about his new fame. However, with 2014 now upon us and some nine months removed from the show, I asked Bryden if he would mind chatting with me about his experience on America’s most popular reality show franchise. Without hesitation he decided to humor me and accept my request. Yesterday evening he graciously allowed me to ask him anything I wanted.

Last night Bryden Vukasin graciously let me ask him anything I wanted.

Why He Left The Show

Let’s just start with the most controversial part of Bryden’s time on “The Bachelorette” when he left the show. If you search blogs and message boards you will find speculation about why he left, with many theories pointing to his relationship with Becky, but the truth was that he just didn’t have a truly special connection with Des. Even though Bryden says “she liked me a lot” the feelings were not reciprocal. Adding to his decision to leave the mansion, he was tired.

“While the first night is exciting, as time goes on it all kind of sucks you down. The drama associated with living with a bunch of guys and competing for one girl wears on you,” Bryden told me.

It is true that Bryden and Becky knew each other and started to hang out before the show. The two met at the University Center on the University of Montana campus in the commons area. But when Bryden got word that he would be on the show and only had three weeks until shooting started, he didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity. The two decided to let things play out and if things were salvageable when he returned they would go from there.

Behind The Scenes

I made sure to satisfy the curiosity I have always had about what happens behind the scenes of these types of shows during downtime. According to Bryden, there was a lot of it. He did his best to fight off boredom throughout his entire time on the show. Many people don’t realize that although they get to live in a luxurious mansion, they are confined to it as well. Eventually it starts to feel as if the walls are starting to close in. “Many mornings were spent at the pool,” Bryden explains. But other than that, when he wasn’t in front of the camera there just wasn’t much to do. They didn’t have access to their phones, the internet, or music. Even more maddening, the mansion has no gym facility so the guys were left to do their own type of jailhouse workout. “Lots of sit ups, push ups, and running,” Bryden described as his workout regimen. One of the very few times he got to leave the premises was when the show producers took him and a few of the other cast members not included in one of the dates out to sushi. Besides the unordinary $400 dinner tab they ran up, doing a seemingly ordinary thing such as going out to eat was a very refreshing and rare occurrence.

The cast members were always encouraged to loosen up though. Bryden noted that throughout the mansion you could find “drawers full of liquor” with every type of choice you could imagine. While he primarily didn’t go overboard while on the show, there was one exception. The night before he was to tell Des that he wanted to leave the show, he got the urge to tell her right then. One of the show’s producers, adamantly against Bryden’s desire for spontaneity, drove his attention to one of those liquor drawers. The two went shot for shot until Bryden’s desire to break the news to Des was suppressed.

Bryden is one of the nicest guys you will meet.

Authenticity of the Show

Many people from the outside looking in, including myself, wonder how authentic shows like “The Bachelorette” are. When it comes to probably the most important part such as the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the cast members, Bryden says most of what you see is the real deal. So rest assured, the heart and soul of “The Bachelor” franchise is very much genuine. But don’t hold your breath if you think scenes in the show aren’t rehearsed. When the cast traveled to Atlantic City, Bryden told me that they re-shot the scene of the guys walking into the hotel four different times. The rose ceremonies, which typically had around 40 crew members huddled around the set, were typically manipulated and reconfigured based on what could generate the most excitement and suspense. Like during one ceremony Bryden was presented with the second to last rose but when it aired it had him receiving the last rose. Reaction shots are also redone frequently. For example, when Chris Harrison notified the cast that they would be traveling to Germany, they re-shot the reaction of the guys smiling and getting excited until the crew had what they wanted.

“I heard they have like a 30 person editing crew” Bryden mentioned about the show. That would surely explain how conversations are routinely taken out of context and moved around to twist the dialogue and portray themes that the producers are gunning for, as Bryden alerted me to. But don’t think those producers are all about trickery and deceit. Bryden was very complimentary of many of them who worked on his show. He said that they would give out honest advice before different shooting scenes to various cast members that would make them look better once the show aired if they heeded it. But of course, the producers always encouraged the extreme. They wouldn’t think twice about telling cast members to say and do crazy things. One producer pleaded with Bryden to bring his dog on the show. He nixed that idea.

Becky took this picture of us during this past summer.

The Aftermath

Bryden told me that besides a couple tweets sent her way, he is no longer in contact with Des. The exact opposite can be said about his fellow competitors. Bryden keeps in touch with many of the contestants from season 9. While I did say earlier that Bryden partly left the show because of the drama of competing against a bunch of guys for one girl, the friendships he developed with them overshadowed the natural showmanship that occurs on these shows. When “The Bachelor” premiered on Monday night he chatted on the phone with his good friend Juan Pablo, who will have his pick of bachelorettes this season. Bryden designates James and Kasey as his favorite cast members.

The aftermath he experienced once back at home probably won’t surprise you much. Of course, Becky had lots of questions. When the show started to air, the attention he received when going out was intense, so much so that when he entered a bar near pandemonium would break out. Drunk girls would stumble up to him and ask naïve questions about the show. Everyone would have their phones out and everyone would want a picture. Although the freak out sessions by the Missoula community has toned down a few notches in the past several months, it is still hard for him to totally shed from the minds of college girls and reality TV junkies the almost dream-like role he played in the living rooms of millions:

“I still get recognized pretty much everywhere I go,” Bryden shyly admits.

Was It Worth It?

When it comes down to it, Bryden doesn’t hesitate when I ask him if it was worth doing the show: “Absolutely. I got to go to awesome places and meet awesome people. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Bryden would do another reality show and he would utilize the same philosophy he took with him on “The Bachelorette”:

“You can’t pretend to be someone else, you just got to be yourself. If you aren’t, the truth will eventually come out.”

It should come as no surprise then that Bryden has few complaints about how he was portrayed on the show. The “timid, small town” persona they tagged him with while not entirely 100% accurate could have been worse. All in all, the Bryden you saw on your screens during season 9 of “The Bachelorette” was the Bryden I sat down with for dinner last night.

————-

Bryden Vukasin seemingly has it made. He has the experience of a lifetime in his back pocket. He has a promising military career. He has a beautiful girlfriend. He has over 10,000 Twitter followers. He has connections all over world. He has more different talents than most of us can ever dream of possessing.

But Bryden isn’t satisfied yet.

From our conversation last evening, I learned that he still has ambitious goals. I am talking stuff past the amazing things he has already done. Without hesitation, I will put all my money down on him achieving them. Thank you Bryden for your time, it was a pleasure. Don’t Blink.

_______________________

Bonus Notes:

* Bryden auditioned for the show at the Sunrise Saloon in Missoula, Montana.

* He estimates that he was onset of “The Bachelorette” for three and a half weeks.

* Wearing clothes with logos was strictly forbidden. Crew members had to remove labels from every product in the mansion.

* There would typically be 2-3 camera people in each room.

* While shooting the show, Bryden saw Chris Harrison about as much as we see him on TV. He was not around much (and if he was, he was out of eyesight of the cast).

* I asked what the main difference is from a season 9 contestant and a typical Missoula guy…he said it is just culture. Most of the guys on the show hold national corporate jobs. Some of them dress in a way that looks like they just walked out of a GQ magazine.

* When the first episode aired, Bryden viewed the show at a friend’s house where a big party was held in his honor. He watched subsequent shows at his mom’s place.

* Speaking of Bryden’s mom, his whole family was very supportive of his reality TV stardom.

* At the other end of the spectrum, Bryden’s military friends pretty much just make fun of him for it.

* Besides “The Bachelor”/”The Bachelorette”, Bryden’s favorite reality show is “The Amazing Race”.

* His least favorite reality show is either “Jersey Shore” or the “Real World”.

* Although strongly discouraged and rarely allowed, if a cast member went as far as a couple feet off the mansion premises or off the hotel property (such as to smoke or just get some fresh air), a member of the crew would have to go with him.

* Bryden and his fellow cast members frequently played Cards Against Humanity to pass the time. They reached a point where they just started to make their own cards.

* I mentioned that Bryden plays semi-pro football. He played the last two seasons for the Missoula Phoenix. Because the Phoenix recently folded, he is looking for a new team.

* Make sure to follow Bryden on Twitter: @BrydenVukasin

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Author Archives: brent