I hereby designate this space to be about Ben.
If you’ve never met him, Ben will show up here soon enough, with an armful of links and lots of observations. I think this should serve as the official place where we can chat with Ben, jab him good-naturedly, learn of the many jobs he’s worked, and watch his progress as he attempts to get dates through his written eloquence. Most of all, try to determine if “Ben” is really an 89-year old woman or a grad studence observing us to gather data for his/her dissertation. Or a really smart otter. That’s the beauty of the Internet.
If your name is Ben, but you’re not the Ben, you’re also welcome. If you’re not named Ben, but you want to be, you can join us too. If you’ve got a 3rd cousin named Ben, have at it.
This location is about All things Ben-ish. Ben and the art of motorcycle maintenance. Ben voyage. Ben nice talking . . . OK, Ben, where are you? Tell us something.
[After I originally posted this, I noticed that the software failed to generate any “related posts.” This is extraordinary and it proves that there is nothing and no one quite like Ben.]
Ben wa?
Benihana? Ben-to box? Yeshua ben Yahweh?
*fingers crossed for a very smart otter*
One of my odd jobs, I was working construction as a teenager. I was undersized, hit my growth spurt late, and had always been one of the shorter kids in school. But, I was always strong for my size, played soccer 13 years, won the intramural wrestling championship (for my weight) etc etc, great juggler etc.
So, back to the construction job, I got my first warning for peeing behind the dumpster after dropping off a trash load. Apparently they had cameras on top of the building, maybe to make sure people didn't steal things or pee freely.
The final straw was when I was caught sliding on a wooden bench during break time. I would run full speed, then sliiiide weeeee! I guess some employees didn't care for kids (construction workers?) running around the office having fun.
Another time, I got fired from my busboy job. I was scheduled to work on a Monday, but the monday's hadn't been panning out well for the busboys. So, I gently informed my boss that I didn't feel it was worth my time to work monday. To make a long story short, when I came in on tuesday, there a new busboy already there.
Worked at a hardware store for a few weeks too. One day, to conserve motion, and optimize my item-pricing, I decided that a sitting position would be most beneficial to everyone involved. This went along fine, my legs well rested, items being tagged efficiently, until the curmudgeon boss saw me, and told me that he wasn't paying me to sit. Things deteriorated from there, and after missing a shift, he pulled my card. So is life!
So, this is what I have been wasting my time on today over at Netscape, if anyone is interested…
http://donoevil.netscape.com/story/2007/05/15/why…
and some others…
http://religion.netscape.com/story/2007/05/14/are…
(inspired by Yana)
and this on Global warming
http://science.netscape.com/story/2007/05/13/is-t…
(inspired by Gore)
I am just like Borat in many ways!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rVohkpMqC0
Benbecula! (Ben there, done that)
lets just get them all out of the way… Ben-Gay , Ben-Dover, Benny and the Jets, Ben the Mouse/Rat , Ben the Hen, Bin ( I hate being called Bin, it's pronounced Behn)
Click here for the site "O'Reilly Sucks"
Benbecula? No. No Ben is an Island.
Ben in reality is a kid or at least at heart. 😀
Ben so loooong, I can't remember when. Ben to Canaan and I wanna go back again!
Benjamin is a Hebraic name and roughly translates as "surety." I named my son Ben for Dr. Benjamin Simon who as an intern or resident in St. Louis in the early 60s often came from his apartment in the Plessner's duplex to care for members of my family. I have tried to find Dr. Simon to thank him and let him know I remember his many kindnesses but, so far to no avail. Ben was that your dad?
People used to say I was 13 going on 30. But now it is the other way around!
Just realized I might be in the company of some RARE folks who haven't yet seen Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.
http://www.imdb.com/chart/top
Won 11 Oscars. Another 98 wins & 62 nominations
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/
If there is one thing you learn from me, it is to see this movie, if you have not yet.
Ben, if you are a LOR fan (as am I) are you also a LOST fan? How do you feel about your namesake on the show? Since I don't know any Bens in real life, the name has taken on a very negative connotation for me since becoming a fan.
http://lost.about.com/od/photogallery/ig/Lost-Sea…
I thought that the latest suite of LOTR movies still pale in comparison to the books. Sure, it's a good effort. They tried to use fans of the books wherever possible throughout the process.
But, they still had to pander in order to sell to a wide enough market to pay for the (admittedly spectacular) production. Significant characters were dropped, romantic sub-plots were invented, and battles that took up a couple of pages in the book ate a disproportionate amount of screen time.
Oscars are all about the business of making movies. I.E: How commercial is it? This is not all about the opening weekend gross, but about the potential future value, and the indication of what direction movies might head in the future. It is also a very political process, teetering between popular taste, artistic merit, and conspicuous expense. Sometimes it's just about who someone knows. Waterworld got an Oscar! Need I say more?
Nope, I guess there must be other stuff on TV at the same time as LOST. I have heard good things about it, and I like Gilligan's island and Survivor. But oddly enough, I do look, sound, and behave exactly like the actor you are talking about. 😛
Dan, I have plenty of other favorite movies too, there are just some scenes in Return of the King that really affect me. spoiler follows (… spoiler… BLike Ethe Wscene Awhere Rthe Ewoman Sgoes Palong for Othe battle, Iand takes Lthe little Ehobbit along on herR horse tooS)
It's not like I'm some crazy Lord of the Rings fan (smigel!). I just wanted the "other" people to at least watch the movie.
But Dan, the second book was full with battle scenes. Because of that I thought it was the most boring book of all three. And I also can't remember any romantic subplots that did not appear in the book.
I thought Ben was younger, more a kiddie. 😀
Let's face it, LOR books are a great story in need of an editor. Even Tolkein himself admitted to beginning them with no outline and no idea of the story's structure. He wrote himself into a corner a few times, so they say, and it shows.
I think that Peter Jackson, et al, did us a service by stripping the story down and can be forgiven for the Hollywood-izations he and Phillippa Boyens felt was needed to make the movies appeal to a wide enough audience to maek back the studio's investment.
"It's more than slightly staggering to consider: the epic fantasy "Lord of the Rings" to be the tail end of Tolkien's invented history. The "Bible" of Middle-Earth, the "Silmarillion" stretches from the beginning of time to the departure of the Elves from Middle-Earth.
http://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J-R-R-Tolkien/…
A complete summary is impossible, because the book spans millennia and has one earth-shattering event after another. But it includes the creation of Tolkien's invented pantheons of angelic beings under Eru Iluvatar, also known as God; how they sang the world into being; the creation of Elves, Men, and Dwarves (hobbits are, I think, not really covered)…"
Edited by Scooter Tolkien, the son of J.R.R Tolkien
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silmarillion
Oops, I think this was actually the one which just came out… "The Children Of Hurin".
http://www.amazon.com/Children-Hurin-J-R-R-Tolkie…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children_of_H%C3…
Also edited by Scooter Tolkien
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails… when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship… but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when all hope comes crashing down, but it is NOT this day! This day, we fight! For all that you hold dear, stand, Men of the West!"
-Aragorn
When I'm not busy blogging, bodybuilding, or watching tv, I like to spend my time "free running"…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WEeqHj3Nj2c
So, Ben. How many of those "free running" guys end up in the hospital? It's like watching a bunch of modern day Buster Keatons.
And they say bodybuilding is dangerous!! Sheesh!
When I get an injury, it isn't time to lament, it's time to start rehab. I imagine it is the same for free runners and martial artists and bodybuilders and other pro athletes, or just about anyone. Injury time means it is time to work even harder on improving another areas (of your body) while the injured part either heals or adapts to the constant punishment. Of course, a neck fracture, or a compound leg fracture, or fatal roof fall could end their "free running" careers. I imagine most of these guys are still tumbling, with just a few scars and bruises, but thats about all. A wise man once said, "If it don't kill ya, it'll make ya stronger!"
I guess you never heard of *Travis Pastrana* one of the greatest athletes in the world.
"On August 4, 2006, at X Games 12 in Los Angeles, he became the first rider to land a double backflip in competition, winning… "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02GDd-XOZ0
I guess that makes my handspring kind of obsolete, oh well.