tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83523322008-10-05T22:38:03.487-04:00Thoughts about life on Earth, as viewed from a Very Great DistanceBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comBlogger484125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-22670153275969773532008-10-01T11:49:00.000-04:002008-10-01T14:06:32.640-04:00

So who is this nut job Governor Sarah Palin? John McCain trotted her out a few weeks ago as his vice presidential choice, but her ignorance is only out-matched by her confidence. Look at her enthusiastic conviction that merely being able to see Russia from Alaska gives her suitable foreign policy experience. It seems that her value to McCain is as a certified proponent of American fundamentalist

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-62069485678994391772008-09-30T23:55:00.002-04:002008-10-05T22:38:03.497-04:00

I spent most of today on location for an American department store TV commercial. Arrived at the requested time of 1:00 PM, finally on set at 7:30 PM, homeward bound at 9:30. That's film work for you... A tremendous amount of attention went into my wardrobe, a bit to my hair and makeup (different story for the women). But I was seated and largely back to camera for most of the shots! Again,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-26411973802680143832008-09-28T19:33:00.004-04:002008-09-28T21:54:33.657-04:00

This morning saw the ninth running of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and simultaneously the first running of street circuit the new Singapore Grand Prix. I ran down to City Hall with some friends to watch the race for a bit and to try to spot my friend Brian who was racing in the half marathon. I arrived just in time to catch him running the last 200m and got a couple of snaps. He

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-87722347329208297052008-09-25T11:16:00.005-04:002008-09-25T12:19:25.386-04:00

I've been loving this web site, The Big Picture from the Boston Globe newspaper, for a while now. Today's set of high resolution images have been gathered from Baikonur, the Kazakhistan city used by Russia for their space program. So nice to see a well-selected and large series of images on a topical subject. Death to thumbnails! Listening to: Belfast Child by Simple Minds from Street Fighting

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-17347383682079654042008-09-23T22:10:00.006-04:002008-09-25T12:22:28.290-04:00

I was on a tourism photo shoot yesterday at the exclusive Langdon Hall Country House and Spa; three couples enjoying a "getaway weekend together". This is the third tourism shoot I've done, the first was in Prince Edward County and the second in Niagara-on-the-Lake. For the first two I was paired up with a model named Ruth. However she seems to have been unavailable this time, so I had a new "

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-2913146257600557772008-09-18T23:40:00.001-04:002008-09-19T00:53:33.878-04:00

So I came to Huntsville only three weeks after my Ironman Canada race out in Penticton... When the race was first announced I was excited to sign up and plan my season around it, but my last-minute qualification for IMC dropped the Muskoka 70.3 race from "A" to "B". I was also struggling to recover from two weeks steady work at the Toronto International Film Festival, where I had been helping

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-78872238326613301162008-09-16T20:40:00.001-04:002008-09-18T22:13:49.561-04:00

TIFF is over now for 2008. I only managed to get to three films, all of which were enjoyable. The last film I saw was a Press & Industry screening of Cooper's Camera, which was a demented comic short that would have fit perfectly on the old Canadian TV satire SCTV. Too bad it was really feature length! My son had wanted to see it too, but he never got himself organised enough to join me. The

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-35831129267733347102008-09-09T21:45:00.004-04:002008-09-10T00:50:16.519-04:00

So I've been working at the Toronto International Film Festival's Festival Box Office beside Dundas Square for ten days now, starting generally at 6:00 AM. I did the same thing last year. Things are starting to settle down at last, and today was quite easy. Here is some insider's knowledge for ticket buyers... Advance Ticket Packages: Great idea; saves money and gives you (almost) first shot at

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-13208016303536997852008-09-08T20:13:00.006-04:002008-09-08T20:36:58.758-04:00

OK, here's the belated story of my day at Ironman Canada. (Note: I'll update this post with better photos when I finally get access to a damn scanner.) Up at 5:00 AM for a breakfast of oatmeal and scrambled eggs on toast. Very dark... Nothing much to bring with me other than my wet suit and some dry clothes to change into after the race. I drove down alone with Amy and Jill following in their

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-10287986013501536332008-09-05T02:45:00.003-04:002008-09-05T03:11:25.866-04:00

Back home from the Toronto International Film Festival's Opening Night Gala party. A late night, but a good time. Noshed on abundant tasty things, indulged in a variety of adult beverages, hung out with old and new friends... This is a photo of the Amarello Girls. Back at work in three hours though, so "night everyone!". The TIFF screenings started today (Sept 3rd), but I've already been on the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-36983867395818578532008-08-27T22:58:00.008-04:002008-08-29T23:12:34.882-04:00

I'm back from Ironman Canada, more or less in one piece. It was simultaneously a fabulous experience and a disappointment, so I'm still processing it. This is complicated by the fact that I've dived straight in to working at the Toronto International Film Festival box office and have only had about two hours sleep since I returned to Toronto... So here's the short version of my race: I loved the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-51600403818958700262008-08-23T23:08:00.005-04:002008-08-23T23:31:56.647-04:00

So here I am in Penticton, B.C., the night before Ironman Canada... I'm staying in a lovely little cottage in Naramata, just northeast of Penticton, called Quail Hollow (yes, there are lots of quails here). I'm sharing it with Amy from Toronto who is also racing tomorrow and her friend Jill from Calgary who is here supporting her. We'd never met, but a pro athlete who is a mutual friend put my

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-42981819777249275972008-08-20T00:02:00.005-04:002008-08-20T00:50:54.316-04:00

Last Friday I had my first "fashion" modeling gig on The Shopping Channel wearing Olympic 2010 clothing, displayed here on Kellie, my first and dearest screen wife. This is as close as I'll ever get to "The Games"! I was a bit nervous doing semi-runway stuff for the first time, especially with the cameras broadcasting it all across the nation, but it worked out. The clothes were a bit big on me

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-33967674377302140482008-08-12T17:34:00.006-04:002008-08-12T18:10:38.106-04:00

I took Sheryl's dog Barkley to the dog park this morning. While he was sniffing around oblivious to lifeforms that weren't human or canine a Golden Retriever was on the hunt. The dog spotted a squirrel a hundred or so feet away that it thought it had a chance of getting and took off. He got it all right... There was a terrible thrashing and some desperate squeaks. It was over in about ten seconds

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-57086584769970403982008-08-11T11:28:00.004-04:002008-08-11T17:33:52.159-04:00

I went out for my last long run before Ironman Canada on Sunday morning. I do these Sunday morning runs from The Running Room's Yonge St. store because there's always a big turnout and the selected routes vary quite a lot, which helps keeps things interesting. This time the 29K route we were going to follow headed off to the northwest. The run proved eventful... First as we crossed the 401

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-72070410078879427182008-08-01T12:21:00.004-04:002008-08-01T18:38:37.666-04:00

I had a physio session this morning on my aching legs that brought tears to my eyes. Thanks Cindy... I feel much better now though and have just finished a spinning class. I'm about to bike 15K down to an outdoor Olympic pool for a long swim. I am so eager for the sound of the starting gun at Ironman Canada. Let me at it! Listening to: Thank You World by World Party from Goodbye Jumbo.

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-74714566707028692102008-07-31T23:40:00.006-04:002008-08-01T00:54:17.428-04:00

Last year during the Toronto International Film Festival my street bike was stolen. A week ago the Toronto Police made a big bust, uncovering a stash of over 3,000 stolen bikes at a local "bike dealer". That's a mind-boggling number of bicycles. Seems more like a compulsion rather than a business, unless the goal was to help keep crack heads in ready money. The police decided to set up a massive

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-2881808237683942212008-07-30T19:04:00.012-04:002008-08-13T12:09:34.575-04:00

So... two weeks of massive activity and nothing to show for it on the old blog. Catchup time again! I spent a week on the road, dragging Chris and Sheryl along, beginning a on the 18th. We drove to Lake Placid to watch Ironman USA. I also wanted to ride on the course and sign up for the 2009 race. Poor Sheryl and Chris spent most of the weekend hanging around the country inn I found for us to

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-44620947123121764602008-07-16T22:19:00.006-04:002008-07-17T00:08:47.948-04:00

I've spent several hours this morning riding my bike trainer while watching Stage 10 of the Tour de France. It was a mountain stage, which inspired me to push myself a bit. My upcoming Ironman race out in B.C. will have some significant climbs and I need to get some equivalent training under my belt. My son slouched on the sofa beside me playing Flash web games until he could return to his Xbox

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-47231047854932648882008-07-13T16:31:00.006-04:002008-07-13T23:21:22.733-04:00

I raced in the second running of the "Nissan Ten Miler" this morning. Not a politically correct distance in metric days, but there you go. Call it the "Sixteen K'er". Yesterday I cycled 120K with a friend, this morning I cycled 7K down to the race (and then back again). So the legs were well warmed up (make that worn out). It rained a bit as I traveled down and the forecast suggested that we

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-1993444126542267692008-07-10T10:41:00.000-04:002008-07-10T16:18:47.407-04:00

Last Sunday was the Peterborough "Half Iron" triathlon... I had a better race than last year, where glute problems forced me to walk for 10 minutes on the bike course. I managed to improve my time by 13 minutes. We had "great" weather with the result that the run was pretty hot. Luckily the lake was close at hand afterwards for a cooling dunk. The highlight of the race was getting attacked by a

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-34215304752262890432008-06-25T14:19:00.000-04:002008-06-25T15:24:37.954-04:00

If you've been a regular reader of my blog, which I can almost guarantee you aren't (that hit counter is getting to be an embarrassment), you know that I have a disgust for religious fundamentalists, especially those that deny evolution. Recently I came across a web site selling t-shirts that mock the "teach the controversy" approach of crypto-creationists. Tip: there's no credible controversy

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-26752434346189079442008-06-21T21:34:00.010-04:002008-09-23T23:36:28.177-04:00

So my son's Grade 9 exams are over and he has his "preliminary final" marks for all his courses. He went into exams with five failing subjects out of seven, but he managed to pull himself together enough to get to a passing grade in all of them! Who knew I'd be celebrating my gifted-program son not failing? Well there you go. In other news, I finally watched the Canadian Grand Prix on Monday,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-36414574258739611702008-06-16T15:08:00.006-04:002008-06-17T13:20:06.560-04:00

Yesterday I raced in the Muskoka Long Course triathlon up in Huntsville (I'll post a few photos when I get them). 2K swim, 55K bike, 15K run - an unusual distance but there's a lot of history to the race. I raced last year and was actually a few minutes faster then, but this time I managed to snag a qualifying spot for Ironman Canada this August! This is very exciting, but I've got lots of hard

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8352332.post-34008548380863152412008-06-02T13:33:00.006-04:002008-06-03T09:03:19.608-04:00

Yesterday I raced in the Milton Triathlon. My time was about the same as last year, but my place was 85/583 instead of 112/612. A slight improvement, I wish I hadn't lost so much time in the first transition trying to get my wet suit off! Couldn't find my zipper pull... No good race photos either, I'm only in a few shots, way off-center. It was a great day overall, cool with a threat of rain at

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13695953587621558464noreply@blogger.com