BeauBenken's Fireside Chats

[BeauBenken]

I lime the Graduate themed tards. I lime them very much.

...What? lol

 

[Rhode Irish]

It is one of my favorites too! I swear I should have been born in 1950 so I could've protested and participated in all the stuff in the 60s and 70s by far in my opinion the most interesting two decades so far in our history.

I'm on record as being a BIG The Graduate fan. Just tremendous.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

To his credit...Dustin Hoffman is FINE. Was then, is now.

 

[BeauBenken]

To his credit...Dustin Hoffman is FINE. Was then, is now.

lmao I was thinking how I kinda look like him.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

lmao I was thinking how I kinda look like him.

Kinda! Now people will talk

 

[dshans]

I would have loved to experience the 60s.

[This is for k1ssme1m1rsh as well]

I was born in 1952 so I came of age in "The Sixties." Yes, it was a most interesting stretch of time. But it wasn't all peaches and cream. Neither was it monolithic nor homogenous. It was born of difficult and tumultuous times.

Much of the music and many musicians reflected a new and exciting direction, though much of it was standard Pop-Slop. Bob Dylan vs Leslie Gore, if you will. There was a sense of community and purpose for many that exists to this day – I know it does for me – but it was always a minority "movement." Consider how LBJ (The Fool On The Hill?) was vilified for has prosecution of war in Viet Nam, with a kick-start from DDE and JFK. How anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy was quashed by LBJ minion and pro-war Democrat HHH, aided by Dixiecrat racist George Wallace's rise as an "Independent." Richard Nixon ("I have a secret plan to end the war with dignity.") won the election handily. The same was true in '72 in McGovern v (Trust me, I'm "on task") Trick Dicky in '72.

"The 60's" encompassed segregation, lynchings, the Cuban Missile Crisis (I lived in Orlando at the time, within 300 miles – the nearest 8 miles – from multiple Air Force and Naval bases), murders of civil rights and voter registration rights workers, riots, and the assassinations of John Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. Not a pretty sight; not a comforting time, not a Leave It To Beaver atmosphere.

No buds were torched to produce this post. A couple of beers and a tall glass of Burgundy was all it took.

 

[dshans]

To his credit...Dustin Hoffman is FINE. Was then, is now.

So there's hope for me? Acting ability and bank account aside?

 

[NankerPhelge]

[This is for k1ssme1m1rsh as well]

I was born in 1952 so I came of age in "The Sixties." Yes, it was a most interesting stretch of time. But it wasn't all peaches and cream. Neither was it monolithic nor homogenous. It was born of difficult and tumultuous times.

Much of the music and many musicians reflected a new and exciting direction, though much of it was standard Pop-Slop. Bob Dylan vs Leslie Gore, if you will. There was a sense of community and purpose for many that exists to this day – I know it does for me – but it was always a minority "movement." Consider how LBJ (The Fool On The Hill?) was vilified for has prosecution of war in Viet Nam, with a kick-start from DDE and JFK. How anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy was quashed by LBJ minion and pro-war Democrat HHH, aided by Dixiecrat racist George Wallace's rise as an "Independent." Richard Nixon ("I have a secret plan to end the war with dignity.") won the election handily. The same was true in '72 in McGovern v (Trust me, I'm "on task") Trick Dicky in '72.

"The 60's" encompassed segregation, lynchings, the Cuban Missile Crisis (I lived in Orlando at the time, within 300 miles – the nearest 8 miles – from multiple Air Force and Naval bases), murders of civil rights and voter registration rights workers, riots, and the assassinations of John Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. Not a pretty sight; not a comforting time, not a Leave It To Beaver atmosphere.

No buds were torched to produce this post. A couple of beers and a tall glass of Burgundy was all it took.

Yeah, ****. This is an interesting topic, for me anyway. I'm 6 years younger than you (not rubbing it in, this time, just stating a fact) so, of course, my perspective isn't the same. For me, it was always about the music. Like Keith Richards said one time, "did ya hear the music, man?" I remember the first time I heard "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" on the radio. I was six years old. I spent the entire next day marching up and down my driveway with an empty coffee can, beating out the rhythm and singing that song over and over and over again. (Yeah, I was a weird kid...some things never change).

So, the only way I really got to see the 60's was through my own romanticizing of that era when I was a teenager in the '70's. While a lot of my peers were listening to that horrible disco stuff (which I kind of like now, by the way) I was getting deep into the Stones and the Concert for Bangladesh, and the Woodstock album, and Neil Young, and all of that great music that had it's genesis in the 60's. I spent my entire middle-school and high-school years trying to be a 60's "hippie." And, my enthrallment with the music and the lifestyle so much of it promoted really led me to idolize these people. It really wasn't anything political, it was just what I thought was really "cool."

Now, I look back, and I am just repulsed by some of the stuff that I see that went on. You mention a whole lot of things that were bad about the 60's, and I agree. I also watch the Woodstock movie or, even worse, "Gimme Shelter" and I see so many screwed up, drugged-out kids wallowing around in the mud like a bunch of pigs without much human dignity at all, and I think "man, is this what I want to hold up to my kids as the ideal for society?" Let alone all the casualties of the rampant drug use (we were just talking about the "27 club" not long ago on here, and there were quite a few who died at 26 and 28, etc., too.) Throw Charlie Manson, the Black Panthers, and SDS into the mix, and there was quite a bit of crap and violence everywhere, both on the "right" and on the "left."

So, not arguing with you in the least. Just agreeing that I think that the 60's are often romanticed as this golden era of "peace" and "love" which really doesn't paint an accurate picture at all. I have no doubt you have carried your "sense of peace and community" forward with you to this day, and I respect that in you, and I respect that from those like you who grew up in the 60's. I just think that all the "movements," both on the left and the right, were co-opted to a great extent by people who lacked your sincerity but just simply had their own, other, agendas to promote, be it making a dime or just getting ****ed-up on drugs and having as much sex as possible.

But, I'll never stop loving the music.

 

[BeauBenken]

To talk about looking back on the past, I was on a date to day with a lovely lady who will at my house found my mother's old yearbook. We skimmed through it. My mother was born in '53 so this would have been the early '70s (if my math is right haha). Boy was that thing a trip though. I felt a much larger racial gap than is today just by looking through the book. There was actually an ad in the back with a picture of someone and on the wall clearly was the Dixieland flag. There were few pictures of blacks and whites together and the blacks and whites had completely different styles. The blacks seemed to all have Afros (except I did see one "Jheri curl"). The whites had their Beatle-esque hair and it all seemed to shine. We only took a quick glance through it too. Quite interesting.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

I am sure that history romanticizes a lot of things that happened during that time. But I can't help but wish to go back in time and hear Martin Luther King Jr speak, or watch JFK be inaugurated, and then watch his funeral procession on tv. Same with Bobby Kennedy. I can't imagine how it felt to have friends go off to Vietnam and not come home, or if they did not come back the same. I had friends who enlisted when we graduated and a few months later, 9/11 happened, fortunately, I have not lost a classmate to war.

That era has the best music hands down. I love the song Insence and Peppermint, though I believe that's the only hit Strawberry Alarm Clock ever had. Also, I love the Marlo Thomas look. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am going to go watch woodstock now. If you get a chance to watch the PBS documentary called Freedom Riders, I HIGHLY recommend it.

 

[BeauBenken]

K1ssme's last post reminded me of how my graduating class lost someone a few days ago. It was a tragic, awful 3 car accident.

Three people were in the car at 5:30 AM on a country road. My classmate was in the passenger's seat next to the driver while another kid was in the back. Headed southbound, for unknown reasons, their car drifted into the northbound lane where there was a head on collision with another truck. Both driver's where killed while my classmate and the kid in the back survived. Then my classmate walked out of the car only to be hit by a car in the southbound lane. The car was unable to see anything because after the first collision all the lights were out. The third kid was airlifted out of the wreck.

It's a very crazy thing to imagine that happening, and it seems that after graduation everyone loses at least one classmate (or so it has been recently here in Delaware County.)

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

Well we did lose a class mate in April. We haven't lost any to the war, but my friend from high school was murdered over a dice game in April. His murderer was 19 and he wa on the run for a month, they caught him and now he's awaiting trial.

It's horrible what happened to your classmates. I'll pray for the families.

 

[BeauBenken]

If you haven't listened to the music video of this that I posted in the Music Suggestions thread, you should. True R(hythm)A(nd)P(oetry).

Beautiful Darkness
By Olu
Okay if love is so great,
Then tell my why it always ends up in heartbreak?
Show me once case where somebody didnt lose it
The heart's worst enemy no matter how you use it.

It loses pieces of it, everytime its broken
The first cut always leaves you the most swollen
Cause if it didnt kill it, it just got stronger
And every love after that lasts a litte longer

But beware because you cant retrieve the lost pieces
You can't heal a wounded heart. Lost love's thesis
So take care and treat it better than your most dear
Cause who you gonna share it with when your not there?

Life's not fair. We're expected to survive
We live, love, let life live just to die
Maybe we're just meant to do this:
Recieve life to give life and give love to lose it.


Its like we're playin hide and seek with the devil
We seek out the sin and run away from our troubles
The world is in between the fine line of good and bad
And because of this a piece of peace is what its never had

Its in our nature as humans to crack under pressure
Cause while the world is breaking down, our faults make us better
Sometimes its best to do the unthinkable
It takes a few mistakes just to make us unbreakable

No ones perfect, but thats what makes it possible
To be perfect for each other.
The sun and the moon, always living in apartness
But together we're just beautiful darkness

You're like the sun, all you ever do is shine
And everytime I'm with you, we eclipse
Blocking out my thoughts, I cant think but I love it
I think Ive found what I wanted.

Love.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

I love that, it's so nice! I'm going to change the subject though, back to something more positive...

Have you placed any bets on the ND/Michigan game? So far, I've bet a bucket of Popeye's chicken, a pitcher of beer, and I bet one friend that ND would win, and if I lose I have to put the atrocious M as my profile pic. All I have to say is ND BETTER win, because I think I might puke if I have to put that junk on my facebook.

 

[BeauBenken]

I love that, it's so nice! I'm going to change the subject though, back to something more positive...

Have you placed any bets on the ND/Michigan game? So far, I've bet a bucket of Popeye's chicken, a pitcher of beer, and I bet one friend that ND would win, and if I lose I have to put the atrocious M as my profile pic. All I have to say is ND BETTER win, because I think I might puke if I have to put that junk on my facebook.

Damn right. haha

I haven't made any bets so far. I might have to with one of the multiple UM fans I have though.
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[tankjeep]

I love that, it's so nice! I'm going to change the subject though, back to something more positive...

Have you placed any bets on the ND/Michigan game? So far, I've bet a bucket of Popeye's chicken, a pitcher of beer, and I bet one friend that ND would win, and if I lose I have to put the atrocious M as my profile pic. All I have to say is ND BETTER win, because I think I might puke if I have to put that junk on my facebook.

the um fans i know at work are too annoying to make bets with....

but i did make a bet with a va. tech fan that nd would win a national championship before tech would. might have been a poor decision cuz tech's schedule this season is a cake walk.

 

[BeauBenken]

the um fans i know at work are too annoying to make bets with....

but i did make a bet with a va. tech fan that nd would win a national championship before tech would. might have been a poor decision cuz tech's schedule this season is a cake walk.

But whoever they face in a BCS championship shouldn't be.
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[Rocket89]

But whoever they face in a BCS championship shouldn't be.
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Has a team ever gone to the title game without playing a ranked team first? Could you imagine that? Right now, VT doesn't have a ranked team on their schedule according to the Coaches Poll. However, they would likely play a ranked FSU team in the ACC title game.

I could honestly see an undefeated 13-0 VT team not making the title game. If it happened to Auburn in the SEC, it certainly could happen to the Hokies.

 

[BeauBenken]

Has a team ever gone to the title game without playing a ranked team first? Could you imagine that? Right now, VT doesn't have a ranked team on their schedule according to the Coaches Poll. However, they would likely play a ranked FSU team in the ACC title game.

I could honestly see an undefeated 13-0 VT team not making the title game. If it happened to Auburn in the SEC, it certainly could happen to the Hokies.

I honestly don't think they could run the table to begin with so there's that. lol

 

[tankjeep]

I honestly don't think they could run the table to begin with so there's that. lol

good points either way, but the potential is there for them and i see where rocket's coming from as well.

 

[BeauBenken]

I see people using FUUUU pics and the such and I wonder if some of you guys know about and go to FJ...

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

good points either way, but the potential is there for them and i see where rocket's coming from as well.

I did the same thing with a Va Tech fan at work.. Bet that ND would win more games. THEN I looked at their schedule. Pathetic. No worries though. I think they lose to Clemson, Miami and one they shouldn't.

Also my Va Tech friend reminded me that they are notorious for getting off to really bad starts. So they could drop one early too.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I see people using FUUUU pics and the such and I wonder if some of you guys know about and go to FJ...

Never checked out funnyjunk before. KnowYourMeme is excellent.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

Totally off subject, but my kids are going way for three days! I don't even know what to do with myself. I haven't been out in so long I think I forgot where the bar was located. And if I was positive that my knees wouldn't break I'd do a back flip!

 

[BeauBenken]

Totally off subject, but my kids are going way for three days! I don't even know what to do with myself. I haven't been out in so long I think I forgot where the bar was located. And if I was positive that my knees wouldn't break I'd do a back flip!

Party at k1ssme's!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Totally off subject, but my kids are going way for three days! I don't even know what to do with myself. I haven't been out in so long I think I forgot where the bar was located. And if I was positive that my knees wouldn't break I'd do a back flip!

My wife and I recently received the ultimate gift: a weekend away without our two boys. First time it's ever happened (they're 3 and ~2). It was glorious.

Congrats! Do stuff! You'll regret it if you just sit around.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Totally off subject, but my kids are going way for three days! I don't even know what to do with myself. I haven't been out in so long I think I forgot where the bar was located. And if I was positive that my knees wouldn't break I'd do a back flip!

Watch out single dudes of Dowagiac! k1ssme1m1r1sh is on the prowl!

Two words for you: "Jager" and "weed"

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

Watch out single dudes of Dowagiac! k1ssme1m1r1sh is on the prowl!

Two words for you: "Jager" and "weed"

And I have two more for you... "HELL" and "YES"

Oh yeah, and the "single dudes of Dowagiac" are less than stellar quality, I'd find better matches dumpster diving at McDonald's....so a girls night I think is in order.

 

[RyCo1983]

And I have two more for you... "HELL" and "YES"

Oh yeah, and the "single dudes of Dowagiac" are less than stellar quality, I'd find better matches dumpster diving at McDonald's....so a girls night I think is in order.

I'd buy y'all some drinks.
hmmm drinks...mmm
Be right back!

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

I'm looking forward to whiskey!