Benito

Obama: Use This And the Jobs Bill Will Pass With a 100 Vote Margin

2009-02-09T10:26:00.001-05:00

Propaganda? You should read this. You sound like a crazy right-winger. http://tinyurl.com/9ggsm

The "propaganda" concludes the bill's effect will be positive for the first two years. By 2011 the effect will be negligible. After that it's downhill for 10 years.

What no one asks is where does the money come from? Literally. where? It's called Keynesian Economics. The last 8 years, hell, the last 30+ have been dominated by it. The idea that government spending can "fill the gap" where consumer spending fails is the hallmark of Keynesian Economics. But don"t forget about the other half of the equation - where the money comes from.

From the economy. It's like cutting the right end off a sheet and sewing it onto the left, then standing back and marveling at how prosperity and wealth increased. riiight.

But still, exactly where does the money comes from?

Two places: (1) The creation of more debt ("i.e. hey china! wanna buy more treasury bonds and us assets..aka I.O.U's?") or, (and this will happen when foreign countries stop purchasing our debt - which is starting to happen) (2) we'll just print it through the Fed and Treasury. This creates extremely temporary abundance followed by currency inflation that deepens the suffering.

What's worse, you have a scenario where politicians with little economic knowledge draw from productive sectors and redistribute into unproductive sectors. What"s sane about that?

Want proof? Japan LITERALLY did the EXACT same thing.

http://tinyurl.com/aohnes
About Stimulus Package
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Fascinating look into the rise of neoconservatism and it's radical islamic parallels.

2009-02-01T18:12:00.003-05:00

I recently had the great opportunity to host Adam Kokesh for the evening on his trip to New Mexico. In doing so, he turned me on to an amazing documentary made back in 2004 by the BBC called the Power of Nightmares.

To really understand why Republicans AND Democrats have slowly bankrupted our country through insane foreign and domestic policy decisions I highly recommend checking out this three-part series.

Each part is about an hour.

Part 1: Baby it's Cold Outside

Part 2: The Phantom Victory

Part 3: The Shadows in the Cave

My Letter to my Senate Leaders re: Bailout

2008-10-01T13:27:00.001-04:00

Dear [Senator],

I urge you as a fellow Republican to NOT consider ANY form of bailout. Passing this bill will break every principle we Americans stand for.

If we reward failure and prevent the free market to self reform we will stave off economic hardship for only a few short months. Sadly, within six months, we'll find ourselves in the same position we are in now.

I have heard the argument framed as "Without the bailout we will suffer greatly" with the implication that we will dodge it completely by passing it. This is false logic. If we pass the bailout we are merely staving off the inevitable and will make the "disaster" far worse and last far longer. (Let's remember what we learned from the Great Depression)

The real issue is our financial system and our dependence on credit.

It will fail. Austrian Economics tells us it will. The question you must ask yourself is, do you really want to nationalize our financial system trying to save it?

It is with horror that I watch republicans and democrats seize this crisis as an opportunity to further socialize America. I am completely dissapointed with congressional and senate leadership's ability to be stewards of my freedom and liberty.

I urge you to vote no on any bill containing any form of bailout. Have faith in the free markets and please work to remove the existing regulation that hinders the opportunity to succeed and innovate.

I understand you're under pressure to "Do something" but perhaps "doing something" means reminding your colleagues that the government DOES NOT run or control the US economy. It's the people. Let the free markets work. Let the free markets work. Let the free markets work.

As a constituent I will be watching your vote on this. As I have told my congressman, an "Aye" vote on ANY form of Bailout is a deal breaker and will force me to ensure no re-election is awarded.

I ask that you show political fortitude on this measure and fight to preserve our core American values.

Thank you,
Benito Segovia

Birthday Benito 2008

2008-06-28T19:59:00.002-04:00

So, Noelle is REALLY into doing birthdays. So much so that I can consistently count on her to totally theme out my birthday every year. This year was pirates.

When I came down this morning, I was greeted with our dining room table covered in pirate decorations. She hand-cut the cardboard stencils for the pirate "sails" and covered the surface of the table with birthday booty!

My favorite gift had to have been the "Sweaty Man Beast - Grease Eliminating Wipes" She took some basic rice paper facial wipes (they supposedly remove oils from the face) and created new packaging in photoshop! She scaned a bunch of animes and created an amazing little cover for the girly facial wipes!

I'm totally amazed, she has really made my birthday feel super special.

Help us fight for the cause of liberty...

2008-06-24T13:24:00.003-04:00

So, after working our butts off at the Texas State convention we convinced the establishment to send three, freedom-minded Republicans to the National convention in November! This means we will team up with others fighting for this cause across the country to help shape and mold the Republican Party back toward sanity. (You know what I'm talking about)

Below is a chipin I started. The National Convention is a 5 day event and is very costly. When we combine lodging, fees and transportation it comes out to around $2,000 - $2500 each! Obviously, this is a difficult goal to achieve alone so your support is MUCH appreciated!

Profiling Affects Everyone

2008-05-15T00:53:00.007-04:00

I love Desha. She's always trying to get me to collaborate with her on all these design contests and what not and every single time I totally flake out. This time, however, she and Peyton talked me into getting involved. Gettyimages, one of the most robust (and expensive) stock media sites out there was holding The Make it Happen contest. Simply find and use images from Getty's library to create an ad that could "change the world."

After coming up with fun ideas to get people to realize why big government isnt a good thing, we totally deviated course and came up with a campaign idea entitled "Profiling Affects Everyone."

The Christian
Below are the entries. Noelle came up with the concept for this one. God damn I love my baby!
Peyton, Noelle, Desha and I worked on the copy and Desha and I did the Photoshop work.

The Ninjaslim
Desha and Peyton worked on this concept (which i love) and Desha did the Photoshop work.

Check out the work on the getty site: (search "profiling" to find our work)

Go and vote for us! If we win we get to go to France for the Canns Ad Festival! Fun!

Turns out my name isnt "Benito"

2007-11-02T11:31:00.000-04:00

I just got my birth certificate in the mail and it turns out my name isnt "Benito" like i was led to believe my entire life.

Ok, so first, why I am just NOW seeing my birth certificate.

See, the wonderful company that I work for has started bringing me along to their highly exclusive "Diamond Club" trips in order to provide multimedia and photography services. This actually works out pretty good for me since the locations are chosen for their tourist appeal. The idea is to pamper those in attendance.

This time we're heading to the Bahamas. I've never been before so i did some reading and it turns out that in order to get back in the country you need either a) a passport or b) a birth certificate + gov't issued ID.

I waited too long to get my passport (I blame today's culture of instant communication and printable insurance cards) so i had to call up mom to get a copy of the birth certificate. She is wonderful. She obtained a copy of it, got it notarized and overnighted it to me.

This is what I saw when i opened it:

So there you have it. Benita. That's me.

For the uninitiated, my entire name should be "Juan Benito Mora Segovia Patoine". From the copy you can see that they tried to fix their first attempt by re-spelling "Juan" and adding "Segovia". Incredibly they got it all right except my first name. There was only one clue available...

The Good News

I will admit that i've always had a sad feeling that I would go through life and never experience the fun administrative things you can do with yourself legally. One of these experiences is legally changing my name. In that light, what a fortunate error i've stumbled upon!

So, instead of trying to get this "corrected" i'm just going to file for a legal name change!

Wierd Ass Dream "Demon Hunter"

2007-08-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

I've always had pretty vivid dreams but lately they are getting WAAY more involved and intense. So, i've started writing them down. As of late they've ranged from not so crazy (such as being naked at your own birthday party) to REALLY wacky (such as being shot and killed by Harvey Keitel [ and his accomplices Kevin Costner and Kevin Bacon]). Anyway, the text below is my recount of the most recent dream I had. I illustrated some of the characters i encountered in it. I plan to do more since it was so visually fantastic.

The Dream

It was set in a post Rapture world. Most of the humans have been killed or taken. It's a Godless land.

I start the dream running in the night. I have this memory of a great demon uprising where most of us were killed and it's been many years since that. I've somehow managed to survive.

However, I'm still new to this strange dangerous world and I don't posses core instincts to survive yet.

It's night, full bright moon, and I'm running barefoot. I hear a high pitched wheezing behind me, chasing me. I turn to look and see a little root-like creature about 3-4ft tall with razor sharp teeth and no eyes. I think he might be made of wood. I'm freaking out. "what the fuck is this thing?"

Although he's chasing me, I'm faster. After putting a little ground between us i start to calm down. I just don't know where I can hide to be safe, can he sense me? Will he eventually catch up to me if I stop?

I pass through a stone wall doorway and start to slow. The moonlight is spilling into the doorway creating long shadows that seem to reach for me. Then i hear the panting again, this time faster paced. I turn and the little beast is sprinting straight for me, faster than i could run! Fight or Flight?

Fight.

I start wondering how i could fight him, but he just jets past me. I think he looked scared. What's he running from? Not wanting to confront it, i duck into a shadow and wait. From the moonlight in the door i see a human figure approach. It's a little boy but something is off… he has a muddy pillow case tied around his eyes and he's sprinting after the thing with inhuman speed.

I appear to be in an abandoned apartment complex because they rounded the corner into an alley-like entrance way. My heart is pounding away. I'm scared as shit. I run past the opening only to glance over and see the little boy holding the creatures head to the concrete and chewing on it. I'm really freaking out now.

I cut into the apartments thinking their cluster of units will serve me refuge. I find a door that is sufficiently random enough and break in. All the lights are on and none of the interior doors have doorknobs. It appears to be a townhouse and the downstairs consists of a hallway with 8 rooms (presumably bedrooms), 4 rooms on each side.

The first thought was to find shoes. I'm too vulnerable barefoot so i start rummaging for shoes. Every room is a mess as though the people living there took what they could and left. I find what I'm looking for in the last room on the right; a pile of shoes and boots. I grabbed a pair of thick brown socks with teal stripes. (Strangely they were without a heel). After tossing aside a few pairs of boots, I find a pair that fit fairly well.

As I was tying them I heard some girls arguing upstairs. They sounded young, adolescent or younger. Just as I was about to go up there to meet them I heard a footstep outside the door. I peered through the knob hole and it was the little boy and he had something in his hand. A knife perhaps, i couldn't tell. I see him head up the stairs. I knew he was going to hurt them.

I opened the door and crept after him. The first step in those boots felt amazing. Something changed and I didn’t know what. i stalked the kid, up the stairs without sound. He was moving slowly, like his legs didn’t want to comply. As we rounded the corner of the stairs and he stops for a second, almost sensing me... decides it's nothing and keeps creeping toward the sound of the girls.

Then one of them came out into the upstairs hallway and looked at us. Her eyes were terrified, she wasn't sure who was the threat. I acted. I pointed at her and said, "GET BACK IN THAT ROOM!"

The kid turns his head completely, bares his teeth and darts into the room on his left. i didn't know why he's running from me but I'm wasn't going to let him get away. As soon as i enter the room he turns into a fist-sized tick and i see him crawl out of a small window opening. I throw it open just in time to see him flip across to the opposite wall. A 30ft tall redbrick wall, 5 ft away.

Without thinking I jump the gap, find a foot and handhold and within two leaps I've scaled the wall.

I felt like a god! Instantly, it was day and i find a construction worker on the other side of the wall. I ask him if he's seen a giant tick and he says "yea, just went into this crack here... lemme fish it out for you."

He grabs a trowel and slips it into the muddy crack and pulls out a bunch of gunk. A spider crawls on his finger and know it's the fucking child-demon. The worker winces and flicks the spider back on the brick. Says, "uh oh, that was poisonous wasn't it?" and passes out. I grab a ball-pin hammer that was on the tope of the wall and smash the thing as fast as i could. At the last second it turned into a hard shelled larvae of some sort. The exoskeleton cracked and juice sprayed all over me, my face, lips etc. I thought i might be killed if it got in my mouth.

Exhausted, I follow a path tp a small human encampment. They called themselves the "Stranded" (Gears of War reference) and they appeared to be a community of survivors banding together to defend against the demons. The demons were relentlessly trying to get into the camp. To destroy everyone.

The current threat at the camp were shape-shifters who took human form. Although, they never got it quite right, they were getting better. Suddenly, the closing bell for the workers sounded and they started filing into their bunker for the night. The two men on the end seemed off to me and after staring at them i saw that they were demons. I tried to warn the rest but they took no heed and when the bunker doors closed i heard screams. i assumed they had all died.

That when i decided to keep moving, and woke up.

Regarding this difficult matter of Dark Matter

2007-07-12T16:13:00.000-04:00

BORING ALERT: For those of you who could care less about astrophysics or anything relating to the cosmos, just stop reading right now.

So I woke up this morning at around 1:30am with a possible solution to this whole "Accelerating Universe" thing. (For those of you unfamiliar with what I'm talking about see waaay below). So struck was I to find out if I was right, or more likely, totally wrong I wrote my thoughts to me personal Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. (If you currently don't have a favorite astrophysicist you should get one - I vote for Neil!)

I just sent it this morning so i don't expect a response right away but I'm excited to see if he has anything to say about it!

Here's my email to him:

Mr. Tyson,

I was thinking heavily on this mysterious problem of Dark Energy that seems to be accelerating our universe outward. At around 1:30am a possible explanation popped into my head. I'm sure this may have already been considered and, likely, found untrue.

I was reading a summary of Einstein's Theory of relativity when I came across a thought inducing sentence: "…space and time emerged from Einstein's reworking as malleable constructs whose form and appearance depend on one's state of motion."

This whole "appearance depending on one's state of motion" thing got me thinking. Perhaps the universe isn't actually speeding up but rather, we're slowing down? I'm not great at analogies but I'm going to give it a shot.

Think about two Yo-Yo's. One has a longer string than the other. That string could represent gravity, the longer the string, the weaker the gravity. The actual Yo-Yo represents a sphere of space (extended from the Universal Center) or a body of mass. If you release each Yo-Yo from it's starting point (Big Bang) the two would see themselves accelerating toward earth at the same rate. However, when the shorter yo-yo reaches the end of its string it begins to decelerate. If you were standing on the shorter yo-yo, it would appear as though the longer yo-yo were speeding away with a sudden boost in acceleration when in fact the observer has simply slowed.

I know it's not completely polished but it was something that made me think "What would Neil say?"

I would be honored with your thoughts on my amateur-ish Eureka moment!

Cheers!

Benito Segovia

On the topic of the accelerating universe: It's pretty commonly accepted that we all emerged from this Big Bang thing and ever since we've been rocketing away from the Universal core at approximately the same speed as everything else. Well, many wondered how long we could keep expanding until our own collective gravity slowed us down, eventually stopped us, and reversed the direction everything was moving.

Recent observations have found that instead of the universe grinding to a halt, it seems to be accelerating further outward. This has confounded physicists to a point of coming up with something called Dark Matter being held responsible for the massive amount of gravity required to power this kind of acceleration. Dark Matter and Dark Energy are now hotly debated and no proof of their existence yet exists.

Anyway, here's hoping he responds.

Settling in in Houston

2007-03-14T21:24:00.001-04:00

I'm In!

The move went well. We split the drive from Atlanta to Houston in half with a stop in New Orleans. Desha recommended I go to Jacques Imo's but alas, since it was Sunday, they were closed.

Arrived on Monday around 7:00pm so we decided to call it a night considering we'd been driving for over 8hrs. The U-haul guy gave me a shit load of extra miles and an extra day with the truck so we took our time. I ended up unloading it all myself with Noelle carrying the smaller items and organizing stuff inside the apartment. It was incredibly easy actually.

The Awesome Apartment

My apartment is friggin awesome. It's right in an area called Upper Kirby which, after driving around a bit, reminds me of a few areas of Atlanta. Specifically Little Five Points, Dunwoody, Decatur, Mid-town, and Buckhead. Just take the best parts of all those areas and you've got my little neighborhood. I'm across the street from just about anything i could want.

There is an old theatre house that has been converted to a book store. Three starbucks (I love coffee!). Two grocery stores, Randall's and Whole Foods. Randall's is like a slightly nicer Publix. We also have Kroger if I'm ever feeling like NOT spending $100 for a few items of food.

Noelle is awesome

Noelle has been awesome this whole time. It's her spring break so she's dedicated this week to "Assimilate Benito Week". I made that up, not her.

New Stuff - No more Katrina victim beds

I left my bed in Atlanta so i still need to get one. I'm going to go ahead and get a nice one this time. No more Katrina beds for me. See, i'm moving up. First I slept on an airmatress for about 9months, then I slept on a triple hand-me-down bed from New Orleans - post Katrina (don't worry, a small family wasnt recued on it, Desha's boyfriend Peyton gifted it to me - he's clean - I think.)

Working from Home

Anyway, Since I'm going to be working remotely from Houston a big part of my new apartment will have to be the office area. I want it to be totally conducive to working so half-assing it here either. My personal goal is to "be at work" by 8am every morning (9am Atlanta time). This includes taking a shower and putting on "work-like" clothes. So no underwear conference calls. Gotta dress for success right? We'll see how that works out.

Storm City

Holy Storms! I've been here 3 days and we've already got a flood warning and some massive torrential downpour. apparently Houston has a "Hurricane Season" so that means I'll be prone to dying and stuff. This is new to me since Atlanta seems to be in this environmental status field (tornadoes rarely enter the city, no earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, blizzards, forest fires, landslides or meteorites). Today it rained like a pisser. I'm on the ground floor so I'm just waiting for the day when I wake up and step into a puddle, maybe into a small pool.

Anyway. Noelle is in the kitchen putting stuff away while I sit here and blab away on MySpace. Wish us luck!

Cheers!
Benito

Credits

I just want to thank everyone for helping me move out and kicking total ass dealing with my epic disorganization during the move process. (We ended up throwing everything into giant 4.5cu. ft. boxes. - My salt shakers, for example, were empty upon arrival.)

OJ Benito Face

2006-10-02T01:19:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! I just acquired another piece of content for the "Celebrity Benito Face" section of my upcoming site www.benitoface.com. OJ muthafuckin Simpson! haha. Now I have 2; Brenda Wood and Oj. Woot!

On a side note: Things must not be going well for our formally famous - now infamous - friend. He was being carted around on a motorized airport golf cart thingy. When he got of he had a terrible limp using a cane and yelled at his entourage (which consisted of a bunch of white blondes wearing "Simpson" jerseys) to get him some Moe's. Oh, and he was flying AirTran. I think he might have paid the $35 to get upgraded to Business Class... only the best for OJ eh? haha.

Skydiving again

2006-09-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

So, this Saturday I'm going skydiving for a second time. This, in the big picture of things, is NOT a big deal. But when i reduce my world to just me... it is. Here's why i loved skydiving for the first time: It was the only time in my life that I actually accepted death. Like REALLY accepted it. And you know, i didnt freak out, I was completely ok with it. I had truly accepted it.

What's interesting about it, is that once you've felt death and dealt with it, you pretty much become fearless about alot of other crap that's been holding you back. Suddenly "what that girl might think" doesnt matter for shit anymore, or "I might get fired" is not that big of a deal.

Now, I'm not saying I've become careless.. quiet the opposite. It's made me more focused. You've suddenly re-prioritized alot of things and keep what's really important in mind. I know what I want and I go for it fearlessly and without remorse or hesitation. (I actually find it extremely annoying when people hesitate nowadays.)

It's a very empowering feeling to know not much can derail you.

Of course, not everyone has this experience. Some jump, scream at the rush and go home. I could've dulled my senses, but when i'm doing something for the first time, i really like opening up to the experience - to understand it fully - then pull lessons learned.

Anyway, I recommend it. Check out my last year's jump.

Update: Now that I finished the dive: the second time was even better than the first. No "facing mortality" or "realigning my life" just plain fun. Now i REALLY recommend it. Photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/bsegovia/Skydive2006/

Motivations

2006-08-23T01:28:00.000-04:00

I'm a sucker for getting lost in my own mind - letting my thoughts run wild as i try to hang on.

Today i visited a really good nurse friend of mine at the hospital where she works after I promised to deliver her some pizza in exchange for sound medical advise. While i was there, she and I chatted and she told me about her dissatisfaction with her current job and her fruitful search for a new one.

It never really occurred to me that even nurses can hate their jobs - so my mind went racing with the concept.

Now i want to say right now that my internal conversation stopped having ANYTHING to do with my nurse friend and her situation - but instead, everything to do with ANYONE and their plot in life. She did, however, act as the catalyst for my thought train. Anyway... back to racing my mind.

What would lead someone to hate their job? Their co-workers? The pay? The environment? The tasks?

Perhaps the actual role isnt a good fit? But why would someone go through so much training for something that didn't fit? Why would someone find themselves, after spending time, money and energy to get where they were - only to hate it?

All this led me to the topic of motivations. We all do things for different reasons (money, comfort, hunger, love, etc) ... no matter what it is, we each have different motivations for doing it. I started wondering if people do things because they like the idea of doing it... not actually doing it. For example: I like the idea of working in the yard on Saturday (feels good, i accomplished something - beautified my home, etc.) but actually going out and doing it... not so much a fan.

It makes me wonder how many others fall into choices based on how safe or attractive the concept (not the actual action) is. How many of us make choices for the wrong reasons - the wrong motivations? Marriage? Career? Home? Self?

I sometimes fear too many people make decisions based on what they have been told is right for them, but not really figuring out what is actually right for themselves.

I suppose it comes down to being honest with yourself, being able to face the truth - even if it means answering the hardest question you've ever asked yourself. Grab your balls... and do it.

Greatest Fight Scene Ever Filmed

2006-03-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

This is considered by Wikipidia to be the greatest fight scene ever filmed. It has only been surpassed by the epic battle between Chuck Norris and a revolving door. Norris won (duh) by actually slamming it.

Enjoy!

Vilma's Party

2006-03-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

Vilma gets vat Vilma vants...

...and she vanted a party. Vilma invited us out for a party at her pad to celebrate her first weekend off in something like 15 years. (jk) It was a blasty blast. Photos say it all.

http://www.partyinabottle.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=9

Cheers!
Benito

Roomate Party 2006

2006-03-06T08:40:00.000-05:00

To celebrate my newest roomate, Robert Carter, we threw down at my place. A good crowd showed up and we had a great time. For those who stayed over, I treated everyone to a nice breakfast at J Christophers and then we played an awesome game of "boot" (frisbee game) that Lyon's taught us. It was muy bueno indeed.

Anyway, I've finally gotten most of the photos available in gallery form. I'm trying out this new flash gallery software. The only flaw I see so far is that it doesnt let you easily download the photos you want. Let me know if there are specific photos you really want and I'll be happy to get them to you.

Cheers!
Benito

Mardi Gras 2006

2006-03-04T01:27:00.000-05:00

Well, nothing can stop the Mardi Gras streak - not even Katrina. For my 5th Mardi Gras I decided to head down there alone. I received feedback from Peyton and Desha that the reason they never were around was because I always brought an army of friends and they hate being tour guides. Always one to help the situation I trekked down with my self. Along with us came Desha's mom and her sister.

Click to view gallery

Desha has been volunteering at a place called God's Vineyard where they take in youths to help grow vegetables and spices. They make money for the project by growing peppers and making an awesome hot sauce out of it. They need a website so I wanted to get involved. Very cool folks, and very bright kids. Some of them are the first to ever graduate/ get into college.

Because of her efforts we got to stay at the Hilton hotel (where the kids from the program were staying).

We also got to see Kermit Ruffins. This guy rocked. I didnt know who he was but we went there anyway. The bar was called "The Howlin Wolf" and everyone was there to see Kermit. So h plays." "wow, what a neat local celebrity"e comes on and it really is some of the best jazz ive ever heard. People got on stage dancing with him and everyone was singing along with the words. When it was over, Peyton says "That was good but i'm kind of dissapointed." "Why? It was a great show!" I ask. "Well, he's usually cooking Red Beans and Rice for everyone to eat while he "uhm, not so local, usually sells out in Manhatten for over $40/ticket"
I just thought that was the coolest thing ever.

The 9th ward is a mess. The gallery says it all.

All in all, i think that the trip was awesome. Sorry I didnt get any boob shots guys, I was less interested in that, and more interested in the culture this time around.

Enjoy the photos and videos. If you want any specific photos let me know and I'll send em your way.

Cheers!
Benito

Just Kool Things: Future Phone

2006-02-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

Just Kool Things: Future Phone

Elliot's New Year's Eve Party

2006-01-25T01:17:00.000-05:00

Another outstanding dig from your friends and mine, Elliot Rubin and Kristen Orr. So this time the reason to drink was New Year's Eve and what a time we had. All the old faces were there and a few new ones.

The definite highlight was Ansley Ditmore's amazing feat of firespinning. I'm sure it's got some cool insider name but since i dont know the shop-talk for it im calling it Fire Spinning.

I got a photo gallery and a link to the fire spinning video. The best part of the video is a live performance from Elliot Rubin in the background.. Of course just like any good live performance you'll also hear alot of people screaming things that only people under the influence would scream.. so enjoy.

Cheers!
Benito

Photo Gallery

Check out my photos from the party

Video

Watch Ansley's Fire Spinning Video

Sometimes You just gotta Phuket

2005-12-31T05:10:00.000-05:00

Peyton has recently moved in as my new, temporary roommate. We have started going to Buford Hwy Farmers Market and during our excursion we find this awesome beer labeled "Phuket Lager Beer - Everyday is a Phuket Day"

Do we KNOW it's pronounced "Fuck it"? Not really but we just love to pretend. I think we are going to try and concept a cool ad campaign for this Thai beer maker and see if they'll buy it. Who knows..

Ashley and I break up

2005-11-07T03:52:00.000-05:00

(posted Nov 25, 2005) I've received some feedback from Ashley's family and possibly Ashley her self for this post. This was completely expected. I carefully crafted this post and ensured that it did not sound bitter, angry or anything else - because im not in anyway. I don't call her a bitch and i dont humilate her with any morally unsound choices she may have made. I was, on the contrary very gracious and very positive throughout.

Ah, better to have loved and lost, than to enter into a marriage of convenience.

So after almost 4 rollercoaster-esque years Ashley and I are no longer synonymous with eachother's names. As far as I can tell (since she may say something different or I was too dense [more likely] to comprehend all the reasoning) she wanted to be married and I didnt.

Societal Demands Suck
I dunno, am I crazy for not getting married JUST because the relationship has hit the 2 year mark? The 4 year mark? Can't 2 human beings enjoy each other's company and devotion without that?

I didnt really want to marry her knowing that she was just trying to define our relationship in a social status kind of way. I mean, where is it written that [fill in all the bull shit societal demands here.(i.e. Get good grades, do well on SAT, get into good college, graduate, get good job, get married, buy house, have kids, get promotion, move into increasingly nicer homes, have more kids, retire, die)]

Oh well, we sorta disengaged about a month before "it" happened so I was very very OK when she dropped the bomb.

I'm sure there were ways I could've been a better boyfriend and vice versa but all in all, ill say that I am happy with my time with her. She taught me a lot about standing up to people and asking for what you want. I would like to think that I taught her patience and careful word choice when dealing with strangers.

What killed it?
I guess the easiest way to do this is just to list the short reasons and im sure you'll get it - I can't say for sure these were the reasons but they have been identified as possible suspects:

1. age: 28 vs 23
2. upbrining: spartan-like household vs hispanic familial reliance
3. children: didnt want vs wanted someday
4. values: if had kids, would allow to smoke drugs vs no fucking way
5. religion of choice: episcopal or something like it vs Catholic

What was awesome?
The honesty. Plain and simple. It's amazing what you can go through with a person as long as your relationship is grounded in honesty you will have a surprisingly stable path. She taught me brutal honesty. A friend of mine told me that I was very honest and I keep hearing it at work so I guess that part of her rubbed off on me. The sex was pretty great too. I think it was an enabler for how long we lasted in the first place.

Nicknames: All my life my name has been odd enough to stop people from trying to come up with little nicknames. She actually came up with 5: Beh-neets, Beh-Sniggets, Sniggets, Snigs, and Benegro

How we met
I was working at Gordon's Jewelers (Zales' sister store) and she came in as the Christmas time manager. "I'm Ashley and I'm your new boss" She was a bitch hardcore man. After 3 months we were fucking in the back room. Never thought I would do that, EVER! It was so outta character for me but man it was fun.

Sadly she was technically married. She and her husband were in the throws of a divorce. I guess in a way she used me to help separate mentally from him or something like that - help me out psychology majors.

There alot of stuff in between and tons of photos documenting most of it.

Like I said, i dont regret any of my time with her but i am also happy with my newly acquired "single" status.

Cheers!
Benito

Elliot's Halloween Party

2005-10-29T14:36:00.000-04:00

So that time of the year is here again and Elliot Rubin and his lovely girlfriend Christen Orr held an awesome Halloween party. Just about everyone showed up in costume and we had a really great time. Chad ended up getting so wasted that he passed out on the front porch. He kept mumbling "Go away" to anyone that walked up.

We had a costume contest with 3 awards given out: 1st place, 2nd place, and most original. A guy dressed as a civil war soldier won 1st place (his costume was very complete and accurate), Oscar the Grouch (Desha Beamer) won 2nd place and I won "most original" for being a Headless Jock.

Elliot came as fucking Flava Flav and looked wonderfully black. Christen was an egyptian mummy queen and actually looked very elegant. The most memorable costume (if that award existed) was the giant penis dude. He and strawberry shortcake had some pretty hot moves. haha.

Ashley came as a mummy, Peyton came as the Devil in a blue dress, Desha came as Oscar the grouch and I came as the Headless Jock.

You can also see all the photos of the night by checking out the photogallery.

I got some great videos too. My favorite 2 were of Lauren doing an amazing arm twist trick that I thought I'd only see on the internet.

The second video is of Christen shocking the shit out of Sarah. Christen had this pack of gum that she was offering everyone to have a peice. Most were so drunk they didnt know it was hooked up to a car battery. I captured Sarah's attack on video. Click on the thumbnail you want to see below.

VIDEOSarah gets shocked

VIDEOLauren acts like a Russian gymnast

The Bovinian Moments of Desha

2005-10-07T01:30:00.000-04:00

Desha. Shes a great chick, she really is. Something i've started noticing about her is how she drops her mouth open when completely engaged in something. It's really funny. I am now going to make it a habit of photographing these occurances and documenting them here.

This most recent time she went down to New Orleans with her boyfriend Peyton (who is a complete badass) to pack up their belongings. She started sending me powerful images of the aftermath from Katrina and Rita. As I was scrolling through them guess what I saw? Yep, desha with her mouth hanging wide open! ahah I love it.

Desha, i think you're the best!

Blackie Fleras turns 32

2005-10-05T23:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this is a little late but Federico's birthday was September 22. I am only updating this because he's the baddest muthah around. You got a problem - you call the Wolf. So as you can see from these photos, we had a good time.

Oddly, he brought what I call, "his other life." Apparently he has an entirely separate but equal group of mexican friends that he claims he sees regularly. Of course they will tell you they are from Argentina or some crap but we all know what they really are. haha jk dude.

Ashley brought him baloons and some Smithwicks! I made the fucker a flash animation and bought him a cake. Then I homo-fied it by putting barbie stuff all over it. The center piece was a barbie cut-out wafer. That poor son of a bitch breaks it up and feeds it to his followers like a priest during communion. Gotta love it.

In attendance that day were Shaun, Sarah, Ashley, Robert!, Clara, and Mike Long. Fede ended up releasing the baloons only to later find an American Bald Eagle had flown into one. Tragically, as it popped, it snapped around the eagles head much the same way a bear trap works. Unable to navigate the eagle crashed.

Of course, since he is such a Mexican he cannot grasp the severity of his actions.

The Flash animation that I made him took about 3-4 hours. Not too bad considering i had to learn the program and how to convert the video to flash video. In case you're wondering what the hell we were talking about: It was Cinco de Mayo and the following day we were going to go skydiving. Of course, humor is the best way to diffuse a nervous situation so we were going through the possibilities of horrifying experiences. Federico just happens to be amazing at impersonating things such as a limp body falling through the air at 120mph so I taped it.

For his birthday, I animated it. Plus I hoffed him! Haha fucker. Well I hope you guys enjoy it.

Click Here to view the animation

Greg's Get Together

2005-09-17T11:48:00.000-04:00

Greg (musical genius) was going to have a little get together - play some music, have some drinks, the usual hanging out stuff. One of the guys there decides to bust out his Airsoft pistol. Combine that with alchohol and people start shooting themselves in wierd ass places.

The following video is of extreme graphic nature. If you are a male, you may want to consider skipping it. Wait for the end. You will see the post damage. Click the photo to download the movie.

2005-09-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

Desha in the city

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A great group shot

2005-09-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

Shootin the poo with the cousins

2005-09-15T20:29:00.003-04:00

Caleb. He is going to be an engineer.

2005-09-15T20:29:00.002-04:00

No�l

2005-09-15T20:29:00.001-04:00

Josh and his girl friend Erica. Shes going to be in broadway.

2005-09-15T20:29:00.000-04:00

The candles were the re-ignite kind. Some kids were thrilled - others baffled.

2005-09-15T20:28:00.002-04:00

Grandpa smiling - on camera too!

2005-09-15T20:28:00.001-04:00

Granpa's birthday. He let the kids blow out the candles

2005-09-15T20:28:00.000-04:00

Church street. Psudo - European

2005-09-15T20:27:00.004-04:00

Gabe and I in Burlington - very cool town

2005-09-15T20:27:00.003-04:00

Father son interaction - classic stuff

2005-09-15T20:27:00.002-04:00

Is it done yet?

2005-09-15T20:27:00.001-04:00

Uncle David and his son Jordan in the squash field.

2005-09-15T20:27:00.000-04:00

Gabe putting in a break line. Got dust in his eye

2005-09-15T20:26:00.003-04:00

FisherMike

2005-09-15T20:26:00.002-04:00

Michael skewering a grub. Man that kid is cool

2005-09-15T20:26:00.001-04:00

We actually walked down the ski lift trail. Ended up sliding down on our butts most of the way

2005-09-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

At the top of burke. For those of you who know it - we are in the fire tower! Flippin Sweet!

2005-09-15T20:25:00.003-04:00

We took him out of school on friday to do this. I remember when that happened to me - it's an unforgettable feeling.

2005-09-15T20:25:00.002-04:00

Hiking

2005-09-15T20:25:00.001-04:00

Eating Jerky and water

2005-09-15T20:25:00.000-04:00

This photo mis actually upside down

2005-09-15T20:24:00.002-04:00

Hiking at Burke. Mikey was thinking of ways to catch the fish without a pole

2005-09-15T20:24:00.001-04:00

The kids

2005-09-15T20:24:00.000-04:00

Almost a perfect photo except that girl wanted her butt in the way of the words "Bumper Cars"

2005-09-15T20:23:00.003-04:00

This was Donna Lina's favorite ride - Mikey's least.

2005-09-15T20:23:00.002-04:00

Mikey on the swings

2005-09-15T20:23:00.001-04:00

Mikey on the (prepare big thundering voice) LAND SLIDE!!!

2005-09-15T20:23:00.000-04:00

Donna Lina swingint

2005-09-15T20:22:00.004-04:00

Super Cute

2005-09-15T20:22:00.003-04:00

Cute

2005-09-15T20:22:00.002-04:00

This was one of her teachers Katie - helping her remove her hat

2005-09-15T20:22:00.001-04:00

Donna Lina's graduation. Awww.

2005-09-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

Morgana is so pretty. You should really stop trying to look like a hard ass all the time. You're like Trina the baddest bitch

2005-09-15T20:21:00.003-04:00

Morgana

2005-09-15T20:21:00.002-04:00

Cool photo - kinda creepy though.

2005-09-15T20:21:00.001-04:00

Hah, Anthony tried running down that corridor. Unfortunately it was a pane of glass instead

2005-09-15T20:21:00.000-04:00

Morgana, Anthony and Justin at the Caledonia Fair

2005-09-15T20:20:00.000-04:00

Sweet "Sasquatch" shot

2005-09-15T20:19:00.003-04:00

You can eat them too.

2005-09-15T20:19:00.002-04:00

Really? Wild Apples??!! Where the hell am I? Paradise?

2005-09-15T20:19:00.001-04:00

Great view of the landscape. Taken at the ski lodge of Mount Burke

2005-09-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Willoughby Gap - probably spelled wrong

2005-09-15T20:18:00.003-04:00

Michael and Donna Lina soaking up nature - or childhood.

2005-09-15T20:18:00.002-04:00

Holy crap what a view

2005-09-15T20:18:00.001-04:00

Classic Me

2005-09-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

Wow. These views are everywhere.

2005-09-15T20:17:00.004-04:00

Finally caught Morgana NOT looking like a hard ass

2005-09-15T20:17:00.003-04:00

There she is chasing them

2005-09-15T20:17:00.002-04:00

A sunset. My mom chases them

2005-09-15T20:17:00.001-04:00

Playing cards. #1 used word around the table... "Yup"

2005-09-15T20:17:00.000-04:00

Barefoot on a rock in the woods. Freakin awesome

2005-09-15T20:16:00.004-04:00

Micheal... what a smile

2005-09-15T20:16:00.003-04:00

The tractor. If you were lucky you got to ride it once or twice.

2005-09-15T20:16:00.002-04:00

The Field of dreams. Literally. I have alot of dreams about this field.

2005-09-15T20:16:00.001-04:00

Uncle Brett

2005-09-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

Each Sunday almost all family that lives in the area visits for a pot luck style dinner. very ritualistic and very awesome.

2005-09-15T20:15:00.001-04:00

The awesome RedNecks who got us out. I think they were drunk too. Surgeons they were... surgeons

2005-09-15T20:15:00.000-04:00

Gabe totally freaking out - it was his girl friends car! haha.

2005-09-15T20:14:00.002-04:00

We get to a fence that says "Dead End - Vehicles by permission Only" while we were trying to get to a friends house. What do you think we did? ...

2005-09-15T20:14:00.001-04:00

... removed the gate and drove through it. of course. What do you think happened next?

2005-09-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

... we got stuck

2005-09-15T20:12:00.003-04:00

Gabe Mellow. Cousin. Badass.

2005-09-15T20:12:00.002-04:00

Donna Lina captivated by the TV

2005-09-15T20:12:00.001-04:00

Hah, playdoh in his hand. Classic kid sleep

2005-09-15T20:12:00.000-04:00

Michael Falls asleep very oddly... kids.

2005-09-15T20:11:00.004-04:00

Morgana looking very exotic

2005-09-15T20:11:00.003-04:00

2005-09-15T20:11:00.002-04:00

Baby Daddy

2005-09-15T20:11:00.001-04:00

Morgana and her Brother

2005-09-15T20:11:00.000-04:00

Morgana and her son

2005-09-15T20:10:00.002-04:00

Donna lina. I'm not drunk - really.

2005-09-15T20:10:00.001-04:00

Im not as cool as Anthony - I don't have Monster Teeth

2005-09-15T20:10:00.000-04:00

Anthony showing me his "Monster Teeth". He had surgery on the first day I arrived that removed his front teeth. They also put metal caps or something on his lowers and he called them his Monster Teeth. In fact each time I took his photo he was displaying them proudly.