wishful thinking

...oops...

apparently i don't blog anymore...my b.

Civil Rights, etc...

Look Ma! I made this...


Row 1:
Crispus Attucks
Harriet Tubman
Abraham Lincoln
Marian Anderson
Booker T. Washington
Sojourner Truth

Row 2:
Dred Scott
Harriet Beecher Stowe
W.E.B. DeBois
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Frederick Douglass
Susan B. Anthony
William Lloyd Garrison

Row 3:
Rosa Parks
John Lewis
Cesar Chavez
Ann Nixon Cooper
Harry T. Moore
Medgar Evers

Row 4:
Gabriela Mistral

Row 5:
Rev. Jesse Jackson
(justice)
A. Philip Randolph

Row 6:
Lyndon B. Johnson
Coretta Scott King

Row 7:
Malcolm X
Angela Davis

Row 8:
Bobby Kennedy

Row 10:
H. Rap Brown
Bayard Rustin
Rev. Al Sharpton

Row 11:
Martin Luther King Jr.
Ella Baker
(mugshot)

¡Sí Se Puede!

Shepard Fairey is amazing...



Hopefully...


Love this one...


And for the Star War fans...


And my own personal creation...


I know...it's a bit busy...but it's a keeper.

Singletary At It Again...

Greatest Title for An Article EVER.

I love basketball

Chicks and Things...

I think somebody drugged this puppy...


So...I asked a girl for her number today...sorta. That was weird. It's also weird that I'm blogging about it...oh well (sorry, no more meta-comments). I went out with some friends of mine for drinks at a Pub in Pasadena, the Luckly Baldwin, btw, how cool is THAT name?!...very cool. Anywho, a friend of mine brought along her roommate and we hit it off pretty well. Talked a few times during the night, joked around a lot, ended up talking pasts/families/school stuff, ya know, the basics and all that jazz. She seemed uber cool and uber drama-less. Always a plus. So I called up my friend (her roomie) the next day and asked her for permission to gimme her number.

This is not a blog to toot my own horn on my ballsiness (not too sure who I'd be tooting if for anyway...), but moreso to declare a new philsophy towards life...and dating. I'm pulling a Costanza and doing the exact OPPOSITE of what my instinct tells me is a good idea, or at least what I would normally do in everyday situations, maybe moreso in dating/girl typsa situations.

Don't worry (Ben), this isn't some desperate plot to get a girlfriend...again...but moreso an overhall on a broken system. I'm so tired of getting vaguely interested in a girl, then overnight getting headoverheals in love with her and then breaking my own heart when nothing comes of it. (Btw, Death Cab is overpoweringly soothing in times of turmoil and should never be underestimated when making sleep/nap/chill/hw/writing mixes.)

So I took a big step. I asked for her number. I think normally I would friend request her (facebook) or something stupid and hint at mutual friends that she was cute or something, perhaps talk her (and my) roommates to all hangout, and hope that we hit it off...randomly...so yeah. No idea if this approach will turn out better at all, but at least it's a different approach. And that's something I need right now. Something different.

As far as this new Costanza philosophy navigating over into other areas of my life? Hmm...haven't gotten there as of yet. I just decided on this thing on Friday and I honestly haven't really made a lotta consequential decisions since then. Well, tomorrow I work, and have class...and maybe even call that girl...hmmm...I'll letchya know what I do...and then do the opposite of...I'm done now.

It's Good To Be King

I know it's a small thing in life, but it's still nice being #1 in your Fantasy Football League...

NorCal Baller, Fa Life!!!

...sorry Brentawn

Glorious...

Thunder???

All Singletary. All The Time.

Ok, so as soon as I found out about Nolan gettin' axed, I got a little excited, then when I found out Mike Singletary was taking over, I got unfathomably joyful. Even if he can't turn the Niners round, he's still got the pedigree to be a great coach. Here's what my overly obsessive youtubing mind found on him...

First of all, skip ahead in this video to about 2:16 and there are almost 3 solid minutes of some of the best Singletary highlights you can find...



Here's a few more highlights, plus a history lesson on Chicago Bears MLBers...



"Samurai Mike" gets his solo around 1:21 of this vid...



Great profile of the '85 Bears (some great Singletary highlights too!)



Here's a sweet spoken-word commercial about him too...



So, apparently this new coach of ours is not only a freakin' BEAST, but a Christian as well...hmmm...



And apparently he needs glasses...?

TWO Amazing Things!

Ok, first of all, and not to overshadow the glorious fact that DeMarcus Nelson not only MADE the team, but is officially the STARTING POINT GUARD for you Golden State Warriors!!! Snaps.

More Details on DeMarcus' New Job

BUT...

A certain Mr. Nolan was fired today from the San Francisco 49ers organization. Praise God. He was replaced by Mike Singletary, a man who is already in the NFL Hall of Fame and is also already coaching the most dominant aspect of current 49ers football: Linebackers.


That is all...for now...be stoked.

[suck]

Well, at least Papi's happy with just two...

Dubs in Beijing

I know, in the words of my disrespectful roommate, Brent, "Ben, it's only PRE-SEASON."

Anywho, this was still an amazing game...

Game 5...epic.

First of all...


and secondly, this blog is fantastic...

FANS WILD RIDE

Clash of the Titans in Week 7!!!

I am proud of this...



Hooray for Fantasy Football and wasting time!

Dr. Julius Pepper?

Yeah, so have you seen that Dr. J/Dr. Pepper commercial (the "slow motion" one)?

Well even if you haven't, appreciate this...

Another blogger shoutout.

Deep Thoughts with Jack Bendy

Life sucks sometimes. Then it's okay for awhile...then it sucks again. Man. Pooooop on that!

...right? I mean, c'mon, life! Step it up...sheesh.


This is a cool pic I Googlated. Cheered me up for half a sec...then I found THIS one...



MADE THIS ONE...suckas....

I feel sorta sick today.

What should I do with my life?

I've been freaking out. LA Recording School? Finish my College Counseling M.S. program? Musicians Institute of LA? Move to Africa/Haiti/China and do ministry fulltime?

Who knows!?!?...no seriously...who knows??? Do you? Because if somebody who is reading this (Jason, Jorge, CoRri...love you three), and you any of you KNOW for certain (or have a clue) about what I should be doing with my life (academically, vocationally, spiritually, emotionally, ministerially, relationshipially???), please, seriously, please fill me in. I'm rather disconsorked over the whole thing.

Disconsorked:

Yup. That's me...less feminine, all except the eyeshadow at least...and maybe the earrings, but I don't wear lipstick too much these days.

Suffice to say, I'm rather confused on life. I know I like playing music, recording music, producing music, editing music, hanging out with friends, playing GTA4 and NBA 2k9, writing (sometimes)...and...other things that don't really pay, well, anything really.

I think I'm coming to the realization that I'm not going to live a glamorous, high-paying lifestyle. I've kinda known that for awhile, but I s'pose barely being able to pay bills the past few months, it's really hit home. At least I'm not the Pottyville Poopsquads (Brent...sucka...).

It's for certain it's tough times when your one true joy and happiness in life is being at the top of you Fantasy Football league...ok, it's not my ONE and only true joy and happiness..., but it's still pretty high on a rather short list.

I got really depressed last year about this time, but that was sparked by a girl...two girls, really. I guess this year's Autumn depression can be mostly attributed to a slight life crisis though.

Besides all that fun stuff though, I think I've voting for Barack Obama. I through out all my ideologies after hearing several Sarah Pail interviews...b/c hey, she could verywell be our next President. Scary.

Plus, how could you say "no" to a cute little fact like this...


And besides, if you throw out all political affiliations, and let's say McCain, Palin, Biden AND Barack would all be horrible choices for President, it'd just be pretty dang sweet to have a (half...) Black President. Tiiiight.

Not to mention, he's obviously a fan of the Fonz...


'Nuff said.

Just think about it...Dick, Jimmy, Ronald, George, Bill, George again, then Barack!? What??? Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama!?!? That's insane!!! Who would do such a thing?!?!

America, that's who.

Boo. Yah.

I think that's all I have now. Mmkay, now I bed go my sleep to in will. Night.

Sleep well, little B-Rock..dream big, little guy. Dream big.

From Afterthought to Millionaire...

If any of you remember this post, then you might enjoy this tidbit just like I do...

On Top of The World, Baby, I'm On Top of The World!

It's a beautiful thing...


Life is good...although it is a little lonely here on the top...but good.

Here we go again...

I know I promised that I wouldn't make this a Warriors-only blog, but it's definitely going to be a Warriors-heavy blog (sorry CoR).

Also, I would like to note that (my team) the NorCal Ballers are officially at the tippy top of (our fantasy football league) Pimps and Hoes standing tall at 4-1. Gnar Gnar on the Tizzight.

Anywho, I've been getting a LOT of mail asking me about my feelings on the upcoming presidential election, so...

This is hilarious...



This is sad...



This is sadder...



And I want this...



I know, that last one isn't too political, but it still inspires me to live a better life.

Moving on. Life is still good. Still GREAT, I should say, however, my whole "life crisis" thingy is kinda getting out of control. I decided I'm going to give it till the semester to make a final decision, but then again, no decision IS a decision after all...damn.

Catsup? Ketchup?...Catch-Up!

Ok, I'm not gunna lie. I've been sucking at this whole "blogging" thing.

My bad. I promise to do better...starting with the following:



Alrighty then, life in general. Here we go:

Life: Yeah, it's good.

School: In my fourth week at APU (grad-wise, at least) and I love one class and can't really stand the other...what to do, what to do...nothing. Well, it is a degree...and I do enjoy it (the practical, not the theory). Who knows where I'll be 2 years from now, but hey, hooray for a master's degree!
(I know, the worst possible outlook going into a master's program...shite. Well, if you know what I should do with my life, feel free to leave a comment, or email me at benhelms@apu.edu. I promise to take your suggestion into strong consideration...salary not necessary)

Home-Life: Got a 3-Bedroom house a mile from campus. Love my roomies. Love my house. Love the location. Still need a motorcycle though...

Job: Working in Communiversity (Student Union) and heading up the Clubs & Orgs on campus. A little hectic at times, but I still love my staff...and my bosses are pretty stellar as well.

Extra-Curricular Activites: Playing 2 intramural sports this semsester (count 'em: TWO!): Softball and Volleyball. This makes me happy. Could I get paid to play sports? ...no? Dang...the job search continues...

GTA4: Yep. Just beat it...twice.

Cohort: It's a funny word. And now I gots one.

Fantasy Football: Just started playing a few weeks ago for the first time. I'm 2-1 and well, it's looking like a pretty medial season. But hey, I have Brian Westbrook! Oh, wait...

GSW: Well with Monta injured, our leading scorer gone, and the most inconsistent SG of all time now on the roster...things are looking grim. Suck.

Niners: Loving. Life. Leading the division, baby! J-T-O!!!!


I think that's it for now.

Welcome back to the 9 to 5!

So, life's beginning to settle down again...

Just finished all the training for my job. It was a lovely 3 weeks chillin' with great people, going up to Big Bear for a retreat, sharing life stories, investing in one another, hanging around a great college campus atmosphere. Life is good. Unfortunately, life had to start sometime...CLASS!!! Dun Dun Duuuuunnn...

Oh yeah! And they changed the title (and degree!) or my master's program!!! That should be illegal or not allowed...or rude or something.

Instead of a M.Ed in College Student Affairs, they're giving me an M.S in College Counseling and Student Development Orientation. I know! A freakin' mouthful! Dang...well, at least they tell me that I'll have a much easier time finding jobs, and better jobs too...we shall see...esp if I end up becoming an audio engineer. Maybe THIS is the master's for me!

Anywho...if you hadn't heard, just when the Warriors hopes of a decent season were within our grasp...Monte Ellis fell of the face of the earth...tight.

Also, I started playing fantasy football. I think I'll suck at it...but my roomies are doing it, so hopefully it'll at least be enjoyable and bonding-able...yes.

I Miss Barry...

If THIS article doesn't get you teary eyed or at least some goose-pimplage...you're not a Giants fan.

Illinois...made of soy? (...it's hard to rhyme with Illinois, ok!?)

So I went to Illinois this week (ALL WEEK) to visit the fam. Hit up St. Louis and saw the arch, a Cards game, took a tour of the new Busch Stadium.


Then the madre and I went up to Chicago and spent two days touring around there. Checked out the United Center, saw THE statue, hit up Wrigley field, did the whole boat tour thing down the Chicago river. It was sweet.


Had a lotta time to finally just relax, meditate on the whole summer and craziness of it all. Wrote some...mostly articles (below)...but some other stuff too. Contemplated a lot about my future...and present, actually.


Watched "Into the Wild" today. NOT a good idea when you're contemplating leaving everything you know that is safe and secure for an unplanned, unsafe path...unless of course, you know you need to take the latter road...hmph.

Comic-Con Articles POSTED

I just wrote a few Comic-Con articles for RedFence, czech 'em out:

- J.J. Abrams' new show, Fringe

- Joss Whedon's latest flick (Nathan Fillion from Firefly!!! and good ol' Neil Patrick Harris as well!)

I'm working on one or two more this week, so I'm sure I'll post those whenevsky....

Crazy 2 Weeks...

In the past two weeks, my bro (Jason) and I have:

• Hiked 30 miles in Yosemite (Mammoth Lakes to Tuolomne Meadows)
  
• Experienced some deep, emotional bonding time with our dad
• Survived a bear attack (yeah, that's how it went down)
  
• Met Kevin Smith (and Summer freaking Glau!!!)
  
• Survived an earthquake (just barely)
  

I know, weird. And in the two weeks before that I was in Vietnam, Taiwan, Boston, North Carolina, and moved into my new house in Los Angeles...wow.

Perhaps a book will come from all of this...

Dubs Updates...

Alrighty, as most everybody knows, the Golden State Warriors have made some slight adjustments this offseason...

We did lose a few players... (we'll miss each of you...hopefully not TOO much tho)
- Baron Davis left, and is now officially a Clipper (although they gave up both Corey AND Elton)
- Matt Barnes is a part of the Suns organization
- Mickael Pietrus is now on the Orlando Magic (among 10 other shooting guards, so sorry J.J.)
- And so sorry (for Jorge) to say, our dear, beloved, high-flying, definitively dunking, Austin Croshere is (most likely) NOT going to be picked up...by anyone...every again...amen.
- C-Webb's also probably done for


But we also added some key figures...
- The biggest of which being Mr. Corey Maggette (!!!). When he's good, he's very good.
- We also added some post presence as well by picking up restricted free-agent and ex-Laker, Ronny Turiaf
- Then we picked up free agent, Marcus Williams to help out Monta on his off nights
- Rookie-wise we got a few new players (and possibly more to come):
- Anthony Randolph (a star in the Las Vegas summerleague)
- Richard Hendrix (our second round pick from Alabama, that made a splash in
summerleague as well)
- Anthony Morrow (a late signee that actually earned himself MVP honors at the
Rocky Mountain Revue summerleague)


And the rest of the team is already looking solid...
- Luckily we signed back two key players in Monta Ellis and Andris Beidrins
- And then we also resigned bench player extraordinaire: Kelenna Azubuike
- Brandon Wright and Marco Belinelli both had great summerleague appearances...again.
- Stephen Jackson is ready and raring to go and be the veteran leader of our rather young team
- Al Harrington (despite being at the center of many rumored trade talks) has definitely got Stack Jack's back in the leading veteran side (and hopefully can produce better than he did in the second half of last season...oye...
- C.J. Watson is back as well, and will probably be a backup to our (new) backup point guard (sorry C.J.)
- Kosta Perovic is still around, but my feeling is he'll probably just be extra trade fodder (whether it's with Williams, Harrington, Wright, and/or Belinelli for a more solid power forward, which just so happens to be our the only hole in our lineup keeping us from our next NBA title...)

So if you've actually been reading this, our starting lineup (graced with the face of our veteran leader), will most likely look something like this:


Well, I'm excited, and I know you're excited, well, only THREE MORE MONTHS (only two if you include training camp and preseason exhibitions...and yes, I do!!!) till the start of the regular season!!!

Comic-Con 2008 RECAP (Moments)

The past few days have been inspiring, hilarious, amazing, embarrassing, and well, extremely exhausting. Here are a few highlights in a segment I like to call:

Some Comic-Con Highlights! (Yay!)

Biggest "Am I really here right now?" Moment:
Probably when at the first two panels I went to that included Reanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly (for The Day the Earth Stood Still), and then Mark Wahlberg, Ludacris, and Mila Kunis (for Max Payne). Yeah...they're kinda big stars...either that, or when I met Rob Schrab (see the Trogdor sketch on the right of this page...damn!)


Most Sexual Tension Moment:
Definitely meeting Summer Glau (River Tam from Firefly). Man, it got a little hot there for a few moments...luckily her security guys were there to keep her off me. Let's just say, it was getting a little TOO hot...whew...


Most "I'd kill Jason's firstborn to be here and nowhere else in the world right now!" Moment:
That's gotta be when Joss Whedon walked out to talk about...EVERY one of his shows! Lots of great Firefly moments too...goooood times.

Most Embarrassing Moment:
When during the Q&A somebody asked actress Jaime King (The Spirit, Sin City) what it was like filming The Descent...(she wasn't in that movie)...ouch...awkward...painful to watch.


Biggest "I'm a lucky bastard" Moment"
Gotta be when I saw table reads with the casts and producers of both American Dad and Family Guy. Plus, it was pretty dang hilarious.


Most "Eh..." Moment:
Today...the 5th day in a row at Comic-Con. There were a few things to see, but honestly after about 40 minutes there, Jason and I just left, found a local coffee shop, hunkered down and computerized for a few hours. Nice. Relaxing. No costumes.

Biggest "WTF!?" Moment:
Probably the freezing cold stares from Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men, Big Fish) to both (co-star) Justin Long and director (Sam Raimi)...eerily weird and awkward as well.

Most Overwhelming Moment:
Seeing the panel of Entertainment Weekly's Filmmakers VISIONARIES featuring Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman, Knocked up, Superbad, Walk Hard, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, Talledega Nights, The Cable Guy, Step Brothers), Frank Miller (300, Sin City, The Spirit), Zach Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen), and Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Red State). Plus they were all hilarious too. That always helps.


Biggest "I belong here" Moment:
When I saw Kevin Smith walking by on the patio and just yelling to him, "Hey, Kev!" Got his attention, and then just shook his hand, gave him a pointless compliment, nodded heads, then took off. I'm such a pro...

Most "I definitely do NOT belong here" Moment:
Probably the culmination of EACH and EVERY costume at Comic-Con...especially the ones where the women wore strangely little tops with only bikini bottoms...yucky...

Biggest "I'm not a fanboy at all, I swear..." Moment:
That'd be filming Jason's interviews with Steve Purcell (Sam and Max) and Rob Schrab (Scud and Sarah Silverman) with our awesome 'PRESS' passes on. Definitely felt like a film guy just there for press reasons and least like a fanboy.

By Far the Funniest Moment:
Probably Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen describing what sex is like WITH Kevin Smith...OR, Kevin Smith describing how Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow taste together..."Semitic", btw.


Biggest "I've been here far too long" Moment:
Either the fact that I spent almost 4 hours listening to Kevin Smith talking and well...I honestly can't stop swearing like a...Kevin Smith, OR on the third day (out of FIVE), when Jason and I really wanted to go to more panels and stuff...but were just too f@%#in' tired so we just sat down and doodled on our computers for an hour or so...man oh man this place is exhausting.

Here's a fun little list I compiled of really awesome people that I was able to either see/meet/attend the panel of:
(bold=really wanted to see/meet my whole life)
(*****=actually MET (shook their hands, were introduced, etc))

- Reanu Reeves
- Jennifer Connelly
- Mark Wahlberg
- Ludacris
- Mila Kunis
- Steve Purcell*******
- Kevin Smith*******
- Pia Guerra
- Lucy Lawless
- Richard Hatch
- Beau Bridges
- Richard Dean Anderson
- Jewel Staite
- Seth McFarlane
- Seth Green
- Joss Whedon
- Nathan Fillion
- Frank Miller
- Zack Snyder
- Judd Apatow
- Justin Long
- Seth Rogen
- Jason Mewes
- Elizabeth Banks
- Summer Glau*******
- Matt Groening
- Dean Koontz
- Tahmoh Penikett
- Eliza Dushku
- Brendan Fraser
- Tyrese Gibson
- Jason Statham
- Rob Schrab******
- Jet Li
- Joan Allen
- Jorma Taccone
- Danny Mcbride
- Alison Lohman
- Sam Raimi
- James Franco
- Sarah Silverman
- Patton Oswalt
- Brian Posehn

So yeah, Comic-Con 2008 was pretty dang sweet. Some good stories of me chasing down Summer Glau, and randomly meeting Kevin Smith on the 2nd floor patio...weird, awesome. Comic-Con.

Why in the world is Ben in San Diego? (Get it?...SING it!!!)

I know, it's been awhile since my last blogging...my b.

Anywho, since my last blog, I've been in Vietnam for two months teaching English and doing missionary sorta stuff...yeah, Taiwan for a few hours on the layovers, Boston for almost a week chillin with friends, North Carolina for a few days visiting family, Los Angeles for 48 hours moving in to my NEW HOUSE!!!, Mammoth and Yosemite for a 5 day backpacking trip with the broseph and father, back to LA for almost 24 hours (to sleep...that's about it), then down to San Diego for Comic-Con 2008--the largest comic book/sci-fi/tv/movie/video game convention in the world!!!--and now I'm so very tired...stay tuned for updates on Comic-Con tho...

"Hypahdunks!"

Watch these in order...

#1:




#2

CP3: Most Valuable...Person?

NFL Draft

Even the Niners are barely making the grade...

San Francisco 49ers: GRADE: C+
They didn't address their need at wide receiver until the sixth round and didn't take an OLB until the seventh round. Kentwan Balmer is a solid DT prospect for their scheme, and I like Chilo Rachal's aggressiveness at guard (he can also play right tackle). Reggie Smith is kind of a tweener at safety or corner. He has ability, but needs to settle on a position. Cody Wallace was the No. 1 center on my board. Josh Morgan is a decent receiver. OLB Larry Grant can make this team as backup.

Michael Jordan Tribute

Made this as 1:32am...

What sports has the best Game 7

I think this poll says soooo much about our country...


...yep.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...

Yeah, the Giants aren't exactly relieving any of my fears about the state of Bay Area sports.

Check out this article from Jim Baker of Page 2.

All Apologies

Ok, so the image pictured below (or picture imaged below...hmmm...) is kind of blasphemous. And I apologize to those hurt by my actions...(i.e. Jorge and/or Jason). Anyway, here's a couple things to make up for it, and to remind us of the better times...until I can write a real post sometime soon...

Baronedict Arnold? (I know, it's a stretch...)

So, apparently our faithful leader isn't so faithful...

Well...the Inevitable Finally Happened...

That's right. The Dubs missed the playoffs...again... and just when you think they're getting better at this whole thing. Damn.

Well, we made headlines last year beating the Mavs in 6, going down as "The Biggest Upset in the NBA Playoff History" (arguably, and only because of the previous--and only West Coast--championship in '75). Trust me. WATCH THAT VIDEO. It'll keep ya believin'.

ANYWHO, besides the fact that we took more than 100 shots, had more than 20 more than the Suns, came back from a 17 point deficit, lost an 11 point lead, and are still currently 15 games ABOVE .500 and will miss the playoffs...today wasn't that bad of a day. Eh? Yeah, it's pretty bad, huh? Damn...again.

Good News: We're one of the youngest teams in the league, and we apparently DO have what it takes to have a great record, and because of last year, we know we can win in the playoffs.

I hate to sound like a 90s Warriors fan (hell, a Warriors fan for the past 33 years!), but I got to. Here's to "next year".



Here comes baseball season...uh-oh...