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Ben Wilson

Ben Wilson

ben wilson This is the blog of a one Ben Wilson, a Louisville, Kentucky native who enjoys baseball, beer, music, bikes, things that fly and good food. By day he pushes pixels and makes the Internet happen for a local advertising agency. His wife, Kelly is an Ironman, and his baby Amelia is the cutest thing ever.

Scott Schroeder is a talented (and National Addy Award Winning) designer at my ad agency. He’s also a big classic horror nerd, and apparently has passed those genes down to his kid, Holden. You see, first-grader Holden has written his first script this year and his old man has given the green-light to the project. Scott and Holden have embarked on making sets and doing pre-production for the stop-motion film in their garage.

The plot synopsis is a such (from Scott):

It’s the your typical feel good tale about the young son of a mad scientist, who unwittingly gets into one of his fathers expierements and transforms himself into a flesh eating skeleton/boy/monster.

The working title? THE KING OF DEATH.

Yeah, that’s all Holden there.

The name of Holden’s dog? ROBOT ONE-EYE.

No, I am not joking.

This is going to… be… AWESOME.

You can keep up with THE KING OF DEATH on the official KING OF DEATH blog, http://plan43.blogspot.com/.

filed under Film,Friends and then tagged as ,,
Jun 11 2008 ~ 2:24 pm ~ Comments (1) ~
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Listening to National Public Radio during my drive this morning (as I normally do) I heard the last installment of a series running on the Morning Edition program – the audio diary of a young dentist in Iraq detailing his daily struggle to live in Iraq.

The previous 4 installments ranged from the jubilation of Iraq’s win in the Asian Cup Football tournament to his feeling over his parent’s insistence that he leave Iraq – and them – for a country where being a doctor will not get you killed.

The final chapter was aired this morning – Iraqi Dentist Learns of Torture, Death of Friend. A good friend of his is abducted and ransomed. $70,000 is the fee, which is negotiated down to $20,000. Not a paltry sum by any means, and one that must be scrounged from neighbors and family members. The ransom is paid – an unthinkable action if it were to happen in the United States – and after a week or more of waiting to hear from the kidnappers… his friend is dumped in a local market, beheaded, tortured and broken.

Just imagine for a moment living in such a world. A world where doctors live in fear and grown men are snatched from the streets by gangs of men. NPR reported that 650 Iraqis in August alone were killed in Baghdad in this manner.

In the end, the dentist attempts to leave Iraq for Jordan, but upon landing in Amman, he is denied asylum and is put on a plane back to Iraq, where he is forced into hiding, where he remains today.

All of this serves to remind me that despite my own personal struggles – I am blessed in comparison – and it strikes me like a hammer every time I think of it.

filed under General and then tagged as ,,,
Sep 14 2007 ~ 12:17 pm ~ Comments Off ~
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Kelly called just a bit ago to tell me that Rolando “Chip” Cheng (someone I knew peripherally in high school and college) jumped to his death yesterday morning in downtown Louisville. The Courier-Journal reports: Man who jumped to his death identified.

I encountered Chip at first from my experience on Eastern High School’s Quick Recall team – he was a student a Manual High School (where Kelly went to High School). Manual, being the magnet school that it was, was to be feared, but I seem to remember Chip being one of the heavyweights on a team of heavyweights.

This scenario is unfortunately all to familiar to me, having learned of the death of another brilliant mind shortly before Christmas, three years ago – Ben Edelson. Another genius with a troubled mind crushed under the weight of things they kept all too private.

I can’t pretend to have known Chip to the same level I did Ben, but the similarities are enough to send that pang directly into my gut. Chip’s own words (update: a local copy of his UofL blog) cast a more frightening shadow – one of paranoia, confusion and ramblings I’ve only ever read from someone in a state of advanced mental torment. Be advised that it does lead all the way to the end, giving us a window into his state of mind.

Further: fraterfamilias.blogspot.com

filed under General and then tagged as ,
Jun 28 2007 ~ 1:25 pm ~ Comments (2) ~
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Those of you who knew me when I was younger knew that I worked at the Dairy Queen in Middletown for most of my college years. Working at a restaurant offers interaction with a good number of people – but there are always a few that stand out, the regulars. One of my favorites was Carroll King. He was a man who did odd jobs for us on occasion or sometimes just sat in the back booth sipping coffee, always ready with a “hello” and a too-good-to-be true story. He was a bow-legged story teller, always dressed in black. He was a good man, but deeply flawed. Carroll died on January 4th, 2007 in a wooden shack in Middletown, Kentucky.

Carroll was a man about Middletown. He was known by all and was as close to a fixture as Middletown has ever had. Carroll was also homeless by choice and an chronic alcoholic. You could make reference to the loveable Otis the Drunk from TV’s Mayberry, and you’d be about half-right. Carroll, like Otis, was harmless and had a heart that, while weathered like the wrinkles on his face, was still good and true. But to romanticize him would be overlooking the crippling addiction that Carroll faced day-in and day-out. He was unapologetic in his poverty, and squandered much of what he received on alcohol. He seemed to accept his lot, and turned away offers for a place to stay. He was wild at heart. He won’t be missed by some, but he will be missed by many.

He was, in the end, a bridge to a lifestyle and a disease that no one would ever normally wish to associate with, but he managed to do so without force with so many people in Middletown that he had become part of Middletown.

Article: Homeless man had a place in friends’ hearts


Gallery: Memorial for Carroll King


Video: Carroll King’s Memorial Service


Obituary: Carroll M. King

filed under General and then tagged as ,,,,,
Jan 24 2007 ~ 7:14 am ~ Comments Off ~
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Feb2

Joe.

Joe Crosser

After a lengthy battle with cancer, our friend Joe Crosser passed away in the early evening on Sunday, January 29th, 2006 surrounded by his family and friends.

This was not a sudden or unexpected turn of events for Joe, but rather the end of an arduous journey with more ups and downs than any man of his few years should have been the subject of.

Joe was a friend of mine from high-school – I met him my senior year while he was a junior. A funny guy with a real love and knack for comedy, Joe was always a bit of the kooky straight man. He performed in the comedy troupe “BAMF” at Eastern High School’s “Vaudeville”, a troupe which included a number of our friends, including Ben Edelson, with whom he shared a great friendship. I remember those days of high school fondly – due in part with the great group of friends that surrounded me. A wonderful, smart, and funny group of the “best and brightest” that our little town had to offer.

After high school, that group of friends scatter somewhat to the four winds. Joe attended Hanover in Indiana, Ben Edelson went to Harvard, Janice went to Missou (right?), etc. A core group of us stayed here in town to attened Bellarmine or UofL. The group was still connected, though parties were often held during the holidays, and that group of friends would often convene for one celebration or another. One of those parties in particular I will never forget, as it (at least for me) signalled the start of Joe’s impossible journey.

I believe that it was a New Year’s Eve Party in 1997/98, though I could be mistaken. In the basement of Hunter’s parents townhouse in LaFontenay, we were holding our annual New Year’s Bash. The music was loud, the party was in full swing. Joe appeared confused, maybe dizzy. He sat or layed down, and attempted to explain what was happening to him. He couldn’t say what he was thinking – the idea of “apple” only came out as “poison”. None of us were quite sure what was happening – except to think “maybe this is just one of Joe’s games!” Eventually the spelled passed. The rest of the night was a blur, but looking back, this was a defining moment in all the lives of those present, especially Joe.

I don’t clearly remember when or where I first heard that Joe had been stricken with cancer. I don’t think I was alone when I thought “Why?!”. Nature certainly follows no rules – it does not abide by any remotely human instinct to punish the bad and reward the good. Joe was a “good guy”, and things like this should not happen. The years after high school are inexorably filled with change. For most, it’s their first steps to independence and the joy, wonder and fear that follows with it. Joe’s journey into adulthood was irrevocably altered. While the rest of us seemed to move on in a straight line, he had been forced down a sideroad – and did not know how long or short it might be.

Things certainly did change after Joe’s diagnosis. They most certainly changed for him, and I know they certainly affected those around him. His relationship with everyone changed – he was no longer just Joe, but Joe, “our friend with cancer”. Harsh though that may sound, a diagnosis like that touches every part of your life, and tints everything around you.

Joe always was the “funny guy” in the room before and even after his diagnosis. However, as the years grew on, and Joe saw many ups and downs, you could see this was taking a toll on him. You could see it in his eyes and in his face. We all saw him struggle to cope with the weight of what had been placed on him. On story in particular gave us insight into his world – I remember him reciting his cancer-themed stand-up routine in front of us, and receiving nothing but confused and shocked stares. We cared about him, and it hit us hard to see him struggle so to cope. How do you handle something like this? This is not something that is learned, and is won only with the dearest of costs.

I seem to remember someone saying “Are we bad friends?” after the stand-up routine had started making the rounds. How can you know when you are in such deep and uncharted waters? In hindsight, there are many things I wish I would have done differently, and I don’t think that any one of us around him could say any different. I was afraid of not supporting him enough, and I was afraid of the disease that had stricken him. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it all, and in some cases chose to ignore it all together.

About that time (roughly 2 years ago), Joe told us he was writing a play based on his life. We were obviously wary that it would meet with the same approval that his stand-up had, and approached the script he had gingerly. Eventually, in June of 2004, his work became a reality with two showings at the Thrust Theater at the University of Louisville, and the impact that it had on me was remarkable. It made me realize just how much Joe appreciated our friendship – even though he could not often say it. I had heard stories from others about his work with Friends of Hope and the hope and inspiration that he gave to them – and this was just a glimpse of what he had given them.

The remainder of Joe’s life was filled with the physical and emotional ups and downs that he had come to know so terribly well. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005, and it amazingly remissed for a short while, only to come back. Due to his prior treatments, there was little they could provide for him. His beard grew long and you could see in his eyes something deep and profound.

My rememberance of Joe is split between the triumph and jubilation of the stading ovation he received after his play, and that look in his eyes as he reached his final days. Though, the latter is not a morbid thought – it grants me a joy and stillness in a way few other thoughts do. That look was many things – sadness, stillness, patience, fear – but above all, that look was truth.

While Joe’s circumstances I wish upon no-one, I do feel fortunate to have known Joe in health and in sickness. His troublesome journey through life has granted all that he touched with an understanding of life that is uncommon. I am greatful to him for that.

Joe’s funeral is this evening at 6:30 PM at Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Louisville. It is to be a “Celebration of Life”, rumored to be very Andy Kaufman-esque. Sometime in April, there will also a be a “Game Night” celebration in rememberance of Joe’s love of games of any kind – no matter how confusing or numerous the rules.

Obituary: Joseph Earl Crosser

filed under Friends and then tagged as ,
Feb 2 2006 ~ 4:15 pm ~ Comments (5) ~
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fallen bathroom

(13:57:25) jacksoncooper: hey

(14:15:31) benATthelocust: hey there

(14:15:47) jacksoncooper: so, WoW, huh?

(14:15:55) benATthelocust: (btw – there is nothing like using a restroom and thinking that a man might fall through the ceiling onto you)

(14:15:59) benATthelocust: yeah

(14:16:01) benATthelocust: WoW

(14:16:16) jacksoncooper: heh

(14:16:47) jacksoncooper: hey, that new laptop is kicking ass.

(14:17:30) benATthelocust: HOLY SHIT

(14:17:31) benATthelocust: dude

(14:17:33) benATthelocust: dude

(14:17:43) benATthelocust: as soon as i typed that thing about the ceiling

(14:17:48) benATthelocust: IT ACTUALLY FUCKING HAPPENED

(14:17:55) benATthelocust: THIS IS THE TRUTH

(14:18:02) jacksoncooper: what the hell?

(14:18:09) benATthelocust: I heard a mad clatter in the john and ran in there and there is a dude in the fucking ceiling

(14:18:18) benATthelocust: tiles and all sorts of shit where i was just sitting

(14:18:42) jacksoncooper: damn

Excuse the cursing, but I had just recently foreseen and forestalled my own peril. At that moment, cursing was and is necessary.

Update: I will have a photo later.

filed under General and then tagged as ,,,
Jan 24 2006 ~ 1:25 pm ~ Comments (3) ~
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So, I sat down this morning to read through the
>Radio Controlled Soaring Exchange emails that I receive on a daily basis, and noted that there was an obit for a guy named Jef Raskin. His connection to soaring is that he was one of the first guys (perhaps the first) to kit an all-foam “slope-flyer” plane called the “Anabat” in the early 80s. Foam and tape planes are now extremely common in the hobby, and the Anabat was, up until a few years ago, still manufactured.

However, upon reading the press release on his passing I found that he also was an Apple employee (the 31st), and among other things, he invented the “click-and-drag” inteface that we now take for granted. He also apparently named the “Macintosh” after his favorite variety of apple (the McIntosh). Raskin also recently (2000) wrote a book called “The Humane Interface“, which has apparently been well-received as a textbook for interface designers.

Again, this hobby of mine never ceases to amaze me by the amazing people that it attracts. For a great article/interview with Raskin check this out: The Macintosh at 20: Interview with Jef Raskin, by Berkeley Groks, a weekly radio science program in Berkely, CA.

update: Forbes has a nice little article on Raskin — Who Can Really Take Credit For The Mac?, and here is a great link for all-things-Raskin: http://www.digibarn.com/friends/jef-raskin/index.html. That also includes a page on his model airplane designs. Early use of CAD!

further update: Geoff would like to mention that Raskin was also a HAM, as evidenced by this photo with a HF transceiver in the background. A man of many, many geeky hobbies!

filed under General and then tagged as ,,
Feb 28 2005 ~ 7:27 am ~ Comments (1) ~
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Let me tell you a little story. There was once a great website called TheSpark.com. It was really, really funny and was always popping with new hilarious projects like the “Stinky Meat Project” the “Fat Project” and the “Date My Sister Project”. Some seriously funny writing! Well, they also made a site called “SparkNotes” which had a boatload of handy notes for high school and college-level students. This appears to be the start of the end. TheSpark.com and SparkNotes.com were both bought up by iTurf.com (a teen-centric website with message boards, articles, etc, inexplicably headed by Delias.com, a clothing store). iTurf (and parent company Delias) was a little too heady with the Internet land-grab in 2000, and in November of 2000, Delias cut the cord, canned the staff of iTurf, and so affiliates like TheSpark and SparkNotes (among others) went into a little bit of a limbo. SparkNotes, however, had a relationship with Barnes & Noble to sell their SparkNotes study-guides (Cliff Notes, sorta). In March of 2001, TheSpark and SparkNotes is sold to Barnes & Noble for the paltry sum of $3,555 (according to this SEC filing).

So, from then on The Spark apparently becomes a bit of Bastard Child to Barnes & Noble. They focus more on SparkNotes, as that can produce revenue while, apparently, writing articles about decaying meat does not. I don’t know when Christian Rudder (the creator of TheSpark.com and SparkNotes.com) parted ways with TheB&NSpark, but it appears to be in early 2001 when Barnes & Noble bought TheSpark and SparkNotes from Delias. And now, as of June 2004, Barnes & Noble shut down TheSpark.com as we knew it, and put up a re-director from TheSpark to SparkNotes, which is minutely similar. I, among many, many others, were terribly dismayed to see this. Notsomuch the revival of SparkNotes.com (which I really didn’t visit that often), but for the complete and total scrapping of TheSpark.com and its content. It would have been one thing to shut down the site and swap it for something COMPLETLY different, but this is some sort of half-baked clownshoe attempt at melding SparkNotes with little tidbits of TheSpark.com. Why not just leave up an archive of TheSpark.com? Hard to say.

Now, for the bad news. According to the FAQ page on his latest web-venture, OKCupid.com, they sold all of their content to Barnes & Noble, and cannot get access to that old content (due to the deal I presume took place in 2001). I don’t pretend to know the particulars of that deal, but one must presume that Christian Rudder either A) got hosed/railroaded, B) took the money and ran or C) just washed his hands of what, on paper, seems like a great big implosion that TheSpark/SparkNotes was involved in. Also, hard to say.

If you want to read a cutesy history of SparkNotes, then read this. Perhaps I’ll dig a little further and flesh this out, but right now I’m just a little muddied with a feeling between fury and sadness.

filed under General and then tagged as ,,
Jan 9 2005 ~ 10:52 pm ~ Comments (14) ~
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With Ben’s recent passing, among other things, it has struck me that things have changed. Stepping out of the workaday I’m in and looking back down the hallway of my life (that’s how I visualize time past and time to come) has allowed me a bit of perspective. It feels to me as if I’ve just changed rooms — a door has shut behind me with a thud that surprised me. I remember a similar feeling in early 1997, the day another friend of mine committed suicide. I felt then as I do now that I’d changed rooms. The comfortable uncomfort of high school was a thing behind me — death and those it that it touched was and were real, and I better get my head on straight.

This last nearly 8 years were ones where I think I found myself — where we all found ourselves in one way or another. The fluid uncertainty that is growing up and out of high school and into college gels into what we are now. It is a time of serious stresses, new boundaries and slowly settling uncertainties. Morals and ideals begin to align themselves like iron filings in the presence of a magnet. Grief and resentment come with the realization that time has passed beneath your feet and behind your back, and it’s all a little bewildering. Eventually I found my feet. That me in that when is now looked back upon with amusement, wonder and occassional disappointment. I’m happy with what I’ve become, and I don’t regret as much as I used to. I am comfortable with who I am, partially because I know I’ve changed for the better. I made it through that time of uncertainty, fear and change, and I’m a better person for it.

However, as I sit here on what I assume to be solid ground, I look back through those doors and I see those who I left behind, those who stayed behind, or those who just didn’t make it. Ben didn’t make it, and as much as I’d like to drag him into that next room, I know I can’t. He’ll have to remain back there a constant reminder of closed doors. A piece of me stays behind in each room, too, and as much as I’d like the old me to come along, that me in that when and me here, we both know where we stand and where we need to be. And that is something I learned not too long ago. Perhaps that bit of knowledge allowed me passage on, I don’t know.

Like looking across flat land on a clear day, I think I can see far down the hallway now, but there have been times in my life — darker times — when it’s hard for me to imagine what will be coming, what is in my future. I can’t say how far away the next door is, or really what is across it’s threshold, but I have ideas. I wonder what I would see had I had been in Ben’s shoes. From what little I knew of his state of mind in the last couple of years, I understand that he felt under great pressures to succeed — academically and personally, and I think I can understand some of those pressures. Marriage and work and the loss of friends, the rest of your life now solely in your hands, all things that lay waste to even the strongest of people. The last few years of my life have certainly been challenging ones, ones where I certainly felt lost and in the woodwork. Each one of us, friends and family alike, have a separate path in life that may lead us further away from one another, but in the end we are never so far away that our bonds are not worth testing.

filed under General and then tagged as ,,
Dec 15 2004 ~ 8:39 pm ~ Comments Off ~
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Julie Hoover has made a tribute video for Ben Edelson. A series of photos set to Coldplay’s “The Scientist” (how appropriate!) There are two version, a large (19 meg) broadband version and a smaller (~2 meg) dial-up version. Download either of them here:

Ben Edelson Tribute by Julie Hoover – broadband (19 meg Windows Media)

Ben Edelson Tribute by Julie Hoover – dialup (1.5 meg Windows Media)

filed under General and then tagged as ,
Dec 13 2004 ~ 9:30 am ~ Comments (13) ~
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