Open Mike LIVE

Open Mike LIVE

This collection chronicles over 7 years of live-streaming video posts I’ve recorded.

This raw format is a move from static text to video, facilitating a more immediate and direct connection with others. They are unscripted and unpolished slices in my life, documenting my travels and adventures across various locations in North America.

A man with dark hair and a bandana around his neck stands in front of red and white striped fabric and a blue section with white stars, reminiscent of the American flag.

I’m an engineer in the industry of energy and electric power who, like many of my beloved colleagues, asks myself “how can we do better?” Gazing upon the marvels of which humanity is capable, I can’t help but compare the promise of our time to what we see happening on the news today and what anxieties haunt our children about the world we leave them. And that comparison grows more and more difficult to paint kindly.

Follow my journey through the following places in America in which I’ve called home:

  • Columbus, Ohio

  • Portland, Oregon

  • Montreal, Quebec

  • Alexandria, Louisiana

  • Steubenville, Ohio

I hope you enjoy these productions and find some small value in hearing my story.

Mike George (signature)

Featured Episodes

Featured
AI Fueled Performance Evaluation
AI Fueled Performance Evaluation

Mike utilizes Google's artificial-intelligence platform Notebook LM to review his video collection. This AI-generated analysis serves as a unique self-evaluation, highlighting Mike's adaptability, resilience, and observant nature as he navigates various life challenges, including housing insecurity and financial struggles.

My Stolen Birthday
My Stolen Birthday

Mike shares his recent struggles, including the theft of his belongings around his 39th birthday. Despite these setbacks and over two years of living on the streets, he remains resilient, finding gratitude in those he's met during this journey.

Columbus is a Winter Wonderland
Crimson House
Columbus is a Winter Wonderland
Crimson House

On his first broadcast of the new year, Mike shows off downtown Columbus, following the city's fresh snowfall.

This walk along Broad Street includes a glimpse of the nativity scene of St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Ohio Statehouse.

Crimson House
Penthouse Loft
Crimson House
Penthouse Loft
Crimson House

Mike finds a fabulous and unexpected solution to his present housing woes.

Crimson House
Past versus Present Futures
Past versus Present Futures

Mike observes how the genre of science fiction has shifted in tone from utopian visions of humanity to a more fractured and tribalistic society, mirroring societal changes in the real world away from embracing globalization to the balkanization of global politics, economics, and culture these days. From this imperfect future stems the notion of the multiverse.

Places Now & Then
Places Now & Then

Mike reflects on how notable places in our life anchor us to the past.

Rain Delay

In this live stream, Mike George shares a candid, stream-of-consciousness reflection on his current struggles and observations. He begins by noting a "rain delay" in his evening, which metaphorically mirrors a period of personal stagnation and disillusionment. George frankly discusses his "empty life" and the inadequacy of "coping mechanisms" to mask deep-seated sadness, highlighting a stark contrast with his past image as "most likely to succeed" in high school. He explores the concept of "oldness" as a loss of curiosity, contrasting it with the refreshing perspective of children, and expresses profound loneliness, particularly his estrangement from family and lack of a partner or children.

WANDA’s Legacy
WANDA’s Legacy

Broadcasting in transit aboard a commuter bus in Columbus, Mike reflects on his relationship with WANDA, the bright musical baton that routinely accompanies his commutes throughout the city, discussing the factors that necessitated its creation in the first place - unsafe streets that expose pedestrians to motor vehicle collisions and tragic accidents - and remembering its evolution into a political creed for pedestrian safety and commuter accessibility.

The Silent Ripple: Deeds Beyond Reward
The Silent Ripple: Deeds Beyond Reward

Mike recounts a Bible passage in which Peter's shadow serves to heal the sick, emphasizing that Peter was merely a vessel for God's power - unaware of the miracles occurring around him.

In an age driven by boastfully sharing our lives on social media, even good deeds and extemporaneous acts of kindness can often feel transactional. There is a magic that occurs when good deeds are done for their own sake, which produce secondary, tertiary, and unforeseen reverberations of wholesome goodwill.

Reflections on Home, Family & Belonging
Crimson House
Reflections on Home, Family & Belonging
Crimson House

Mike reflects on his personal experiences during the holiday season, reminiscing on his mother, a Taiwanese immigrant adapting to American life in Steubenville, Ohio. He praises Steubenville for accepting his mother and recognizing her strength.

Crimson House
Skip to Videos
  • Sidewalk Cafe
    2/10/23

    Sidewalk Cafe

    Mike describes his first impressions of Natchez, Mississippi, from its downtown cafe.

  • Reflections on Houses & Home
    2/19/23

    Reflections on Houses & Home

    Mike contrasts between his times of being broke/unhoused versus those of financial abundance with a roof over his head.

  • Mardi Gras in Natchez
    2/18/23

    Mardi Gras in Natchez

    As the people of Natchez gather along Commerce Street for its Mardi Gras celebration, Mike reflects on the comeback of numerous small and mid-sized towns throughout America.

  • Crossing the Mississippi
    1/29/23

    Crossing the Mississippi

    After spending 2 years in Louisiana for his last utility/engineering job, Mike finally manages to return to the proper side of the Mississippi River to discover the cute little town of Natchez, sitting atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

  • Reflecting on Natchez
    3/5/23

    Reflecting on Natchez

    Mike reflects fondly on his past month marooned in Natchez, Mississippi, and expresses gratitude to the distant friends, recent acquaintances throughout Natchez, and even small businesses who have provided aid to Mike in the form of monetary donations, loans, and/or in-kind assistance.

  • Be There
    2/21/23

    Be There

    Despite living in an age in which everyone has a cellphone (with a clock), folks cannot be bothered to respect each other’s time and show up.

  •
    2/3/23

    The Police Department is Closed...

    Mike visits the Natchez police department in a vain attempt to retrieve his belongings, after his hotel inexplicably turns them over to the police instead of returning them to their rightful owner.

  • Riverboat Calliope
    2/17/23

    Riverboat Calliope

    A riverboat serenades Mike with its onboard calliope, as it travels up the Mississippi River from its former port in Natchez.

  • Underbelly of the Bridge
    1/30/23

    Underbelly of the Bridge

    Mike seeks refuge from the rain beneath the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge spanning the Mississippi River.

  • Finding Home
    3/4/23

    Finding Home

    After having the opportunity to live in seven distinct parts of North America, Mike grows weary of the nomadic transience of moving and reestablishing his social life every few years, now longing for the very thing he used to dread when in his twenties - to “settle down” in his home state of Ohio to focus on building something more everlasting and impactful for the communities and people he cares most about.

  • Presidential Suite
    2/12/23

    Presidential Suite

    Finding an unlocked door to the presidential suite of the flagship hotel in Natchez, Mike steps inside…

  • Natchez Bluff
    2/1/23

    Natchez Bluff

    A Grindr date abruptly goes awry during a short roadtrip to the lad’s hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, resulting in the lad speeding off in his vehicle alone, leaving Mike in a hotel parking lot near the Mississippi River in an unfamiliar area with nearly no money, accommodations, or friends.

    Welcome to Natchez, y’all!

  • Grooving in Mississippi
    2/28/23

    Grooving in Mississippi

    Mike highlights some of the projects he’s been working to develop while in Natchez, as he shows off his latest incarnation of WANDA and discusses a mobile app he’s working to develop.

Journals & Musings

  • A hand-drawn graph on white paper shows the relationship between boredom and the tendency to write a blog. The graph has two lines, one in pink labeled "intensity of opinion" and one in orange. The pink line increases more steeply than the orange line. The title at the top reads "Figuring things out..." in green. The pink line and text indicate that as the intensity of opinion increases, so does the tendency to write a blog, especially at higher levels of opinion intensity.

    Figuring Things Out

    2013-2020

    Graphics are colorful, they invite a myriad of differing interpretations, they portray trends, etc.  Plus, they're less prone to language barriers.

    Figures make complicated concepts easier to understand, simplify, and organize. Plus, I was too lazy to write longwinded essays anymore.

    Read
  • Close-up of a person's face with blue lighting, showing a serious expression.

    My Little Corner of Semi-Reality

    2004-2013

    My life is an open book. Please don't burn it.

    Read

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