My trip to Argentina Part Uno

-note to the reader: I still plan to write about the Akela's World knocking but I have been very busy with work and wanted to get back to the root of the blog and write about an adventure. This will be a multi part entry.

A few weeks ago I was sent to Argentina for work, installing a new oven to cook very many hot dogs or as we called them salchichas. This was my first trip out side of the United States, some consider this weird and ask why I never went to Canada. Just never need to go there, that is about the only reason I can give.

At the end of another job, while sitting in the hotel room, I finally found the time to write this blog. Hopefully I will remember many of the things I wanted to tell people about, many may come back to me as I write. The trip was interesting to say the least, and although I had little time to be a tourist, I did enjoy a number of experiences while down in South America

The Flight

Flying is not something I enjoy or deal with lightly. Turbulence is not my friend and I find few calming moments on the plane. Before this trip, I have flown on at least a flights, currently I am about 1300 miles from earning Silver Elite status in the Delta Skymiles Medallion program. After tomorrow’s flight and some Double Dip points from my hotel stay I should have enough. This basically gets me a few privileges including; no fee baggage claim (work pays for it anyway), priority boarding, preferred seating, preferred security check, bonus miles for flights, and a few other privileges. Thankfully, the one good thing I got out of the flight to and back was over 10000 miles. Unfortunately, little else was pleasing; I did not sleep on the way down and at best rack maybe an hour of poor sleep back to the States.

Ever time, I drifted off to sleep just the littlest jarring of the steady flight would bring me wide awake. This lead to a dead battery on my MP3 player, due to watching episodes of Firefly, and reading all but 50 pages of World War Z. The flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires took over 10 hours which would not have been so bad but I started my day at 7 am and arrived in Buenos Aires at 6 am the next day, with no sleep. I was lucky enough to get a seat next to one of the guys I would be working with on this project, his name is Bob and I will discuss a few of his mannerisms later.

The First day

My first day in Argentina, which felt like it should have been the end of the previous day but was not, was very tiring. This was work travel, not pleasure, so when we arrived it was time to work. Waiting for us at the airport was a taxi service that we would be using during our stay at the work site. Bob and I quickly gathered out luggage and got in the taxi and I caught a bit of sleep during the two hour drive to San Pedro. Before I dozed off I took in the surrounding area of Buenos Aires, I really do not think I saw the good parts of that city and the whole Good Air translation should have been Contaminado Aires. This was the downer on Buenos Aires, for someone allergic and irritated by pollutants and pollen. Pollen, did I mention it was the start of spring for the southern half of the world.

We finally got to San Pedro and the Howard Johnson Hotel Centre, “Uhm we are suppose to be at the Howard Johnson Marines”, oh you do not hable English, well FML. “No this is your hotel.” “But I have a confirmation number right here if I can find it, what do you mean you do not do confirmation number and the internet does not matter. Why did it let me book the room then?” So after wasting an hour and getting no where we said screw it, and accepted defeat and asked for our room keys… “oh, what is that you say, one of the rooms is not available yet, good that’s the best news I’ve heard so far. Thank you for not fucking us big time.” A long day made even longer, and then it was finally time to head to the plant after we changed our cloths.

The Plant

Finally getting to the plant was a relief, mostly because they feed us and they were very friendly and we had a translator and my sleep deprivation was kicking in full steam and the polar opposite feel of the situation just made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. It was a euphoric feel of being a child that had a bad day and in one fell swoop, it was washed away, sort of.

Since the day I started and before every project I have been a part of, I was told to expect nothing to be ready and for people to ask me why I showed up a week too early. Yep, I have yet to have an example to debate this painful truth, but it did help me learn on word in Spanish very well, mañana, which means tomorrow. “When will we have power?” “Mañana.” “ Well it is mañana, do we have power?” “Mañana.” “How about steam?” “Mañana.” “Why for there is no production of product in the oven yet?” “Well we asked for ammonia for the refrigeration zone and we were told mañana. That was five days ago.”

"When will I get to read Part two of this Blog entry?" “Mañana.”

100% Wool Felt... and Paranormal Research

There comes a time in a bloggers life that his blog must take direction. This is that time and this is that blogger, for the preservation of our future as human beings I must take the next great leap. Behold the adventure will now focus on the paranormal threats that surround us all. Why you may asking, well I will tell you why but first a more interesting subject. What? Through these new adventures we will explore the terrifying and extraordinary happenings of ghosts, aliens, spatial temporal anomalies, zombies, geocaching and many more. This blog may be down for sometime until the research is in full swing, and the first occurrence that I will document is know only as "The Akela's World Knocking".

I ask you all to keep a watchful eye and sharp ear to any disturbances you notice and follow up by sending a message.

With love from Rhinelander,

Ben Hable

I am ready for a Zombie Apocalypse, are you?

Don't take the Jabber for a Wocky

The glimmers of light against the satin black,
and the steaming roar of pipes.
Dance, dance my marionette!

Chatter, chatter, nothing but noise.
Can't hear the chimney,
can't see the flame.

Darling, find the search,
try the pineapple,
have some wine.

Tried and cried,
water blessed in the fountain,
questioning the response,
and finding the grace.

Firing through the chaos
with black billets of clay and rain,
make waves of dust
the replenishing face and favor.

I once thought I knew,
but I can not think,
the shadows are surrounded,
the echoes resounding.

Many myths about time itself,
creating the false truths and hypocrisy.
This must be the amazing and the curiosity.
Founded on a strange and troubling path,
sought with destruction and greed.

My failings are my victories,
and tonight my sanctions will arise from the ever dying.
The catalysts of war,
divided from my presence and corruption,
forever hidden...

Lack of desire in a trickling emergence,
crushing faith on bent morals.
Decay and life,
the fire brimmed with acid.

Colors of magic,
with crushing weight,
noiseless carriers in desolate tundra.
My mark is known my words are not,
sanctions and lust with blistering pestilence.

Describing the fundamental sweeps
of confounding charges,
preserving the wrong,
exploding the weak.

Foregrounds of trust
and citrus stings of famine.
Piercing minds and ideals,
with wrapped employance
and blasting rush.

Formidable curses
and dead fall convictions of silence.
Treaty in stone,
blinking away the space,
ignorance of life and solitude.

With love from Rhinelander,

Ben Hable

Thought is just ranting, if no one is there to listen.

Word of the Blog – Brought to you by Dictonary.com:

Malinger (verb) - To pretend illness, esp. in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.
“Why must I be surrounded by people that malinger there way out of work, while I complete my work.”

The Power of WYE: No Country Music for Old Ben

Over the past few weeks I have come to some revelations, no nothing of supreme importance but more observations in human development. This stems from observed differences between myself and my family. At best these are gross over generalizations but I have stopped ignoring the uncanny. In our past, studies were done about music and the developing brain or even musics' effects on plants. To avoid the shear multitude of offenses against stupid people, I will not make judgments on the smartness of certain music listeners. I will, however, reiterate that that Classical music always ranks the highest and Rock n Roll and even Metal are bright contenders on the spectrum, not all music is as fortunate. My over generalizations are all about how someone wants to think, yes choices and not hardwired bereavement of the mind. With music, you would assume there are so many different categories and so much placement, this is going to be so difficult. In all my audacity I state there are three different types of songs; sing along songs, songs that shouldn't exist, and everything else.

Sing-along songs:

This is where I offend so many people on so many levels, but in all fairness I enjoy my sing-along song every now and then but I just can't and won't listen to it much of the time. Defining sing-along music, should be fairly straight forward, it is music that is easy to sing along with and the words are usually very rudimentary. The best examples, I feel exposer from, include; country, pop, and anything without a complex musical composition. Songs that are all about the words and all the music does is serve a metronomic device that lest you know when to reiterate that all too familiar refrain. Songs that are easy to learn and ones where the lyrics have a lack of metaphoric content or at least good metaphoric content. These are not songs that really make you think, “But you have to repeat the words, you are thinking.”, nope you're not. You are processing from memory the words that you've heard, like a robot. Calculaters do not think.

Songs that shouldn't exist:

These are songs of little to no value, often heard in clubs and usually altered so you can grope another person. Altered because they weren't even good enough to just play, these are the most ridiculous songs and are usually one hit or few hit wonders. Wonders as in you wonder why anyone would consider this a good song. Yeah they are fun songs but seriously if they fell off the face of the Earth you wouldn't really miss them. And they are all too easily replaced by another R&B group, rapper, disc spinner, and pop diva. I do get some exposure to this music but as of lately I find myself skipping it and deleting them from my archives. Surely there must be good Rap and R&B, they do not play it in clubs and drugs, sex, and super soaking that ho is not the main theme of the song. As I said, these can be fun songs but honestly, does U and Dat booty make a significant difference.

Everything else:

Everything else, big category for big songs. Intricate scores heathered with a vastness of notes and lyrics. From classical pieces to Metal and all in between, this array of music stimulates central processes in the brain because of it's complexity. “I don't like it because I can't understand it.” All that surrounds us is not to be fully understood, and giving in to that feeling allows one to understand more than his others. Even better is the nonsense that can have so many meaning, only those they set in stone a definition have lost the the beauty of the piece. These are not those “Tequila makes her cloths fall off” or “I like big butts and I can not lie” songs, these are the “Ribonucleic acid freak out, the power of prayer. Long halls of science and all the lunatics committed there. Robot Lords of Tokyo, SMILE TASTE KITTENS! Did you not know that the royal hunting grounds are always forbidden?”

The types of People we are:

There are two types, too simple to not be true, too complex to be believed. Those that ask why and those that don't. Those that ask why just can not accept an answer to be true, they want to know what makes it true. It is not that they want to be difficult, the why helps to develop their self though and discovery. It gives them the power to be an authority on subjects because they know why things are they way they are and that can be used to understand other things. Debating over everything and anything, choosing a side just to give audience to the idea. They do not need to believe in the argument but they fully understand the position. It is all about a higher stimulation. It is about freedom of the mind. Show me everything, so that I might understand all and nothing.

The second peoples accept what they are told, and prefer fun that is easy and does not require deep thought. To be able to shut off a desire to learn, I am sure I seem to despise these people but in fact I find them fascinating. Not because I want to but because I have to. They, I can not fully understand, why would you not ask why it is a choice to know less. Every day there is more and you chose to know less about everything than you did the day before. These are the know what you must but forsake more, it can not be worth it. I am not say these people are not high functioning, on the contrary, they are highly skilled at what they do but there lives seem to be all about what they know and not about what they could know. Keep it short simple and to the point, repeat.

In the end, there are designers and builders, those that draw the blue prints and those that follow those prints. I recommend you chose to unlock your ability to ask why, no matter what you listen to and prove my over generalizations wrong.

Perhaps all this is about inner demons, those Firsts are in constant battle and must arm themselves with what ever stimulations as possible. The Seconds, either have no demons or can ignore those demons. Who is most blessed, if any.

With love from Lodi,

Ben Hable

Thought is just ranting, if no one is there to listen.

Word of the Blog – Brought to you by Dictonary.com:

Bias (noun) - A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.

“This blog is so fraking bias.”

The Jabberwocky:

Does nonsense breed intelligence or stupidity?

http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html

Long Story Short

Only my third blog and I've fallen behind, giving no excuses or reasoning.  Well as the title says, I'll make a long story short.  About a month ago I was laid off from work, it sucks but things could be worse and instead of sulking in my own pity I've kept rather busy.  On to the list of things I've accomplished and those I need to get done.  These will be in as much a chronological order as possible.

Finished:

Planed more of my costume for camp

Spent time with my Cousin and my God Child

Got new tires for my truck and changed the oil

Went to Lost Night

Trekked to Houghton with Brock to visit Joel and Danielle and all the others up in the UP

Watched Escanaba in da Moonlight

Ate Pastys

Brought Pastys back 

Played with my siblings dogs

Visited the family

Watched Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Battlestar Galactica

Went to Lost Night

Visited Ben at UW-Stout

Drove to St Cloud to pick up Darcy for Trivia

Played in 90 FM Trivia 40

Drove back to St Cloud to drop off Darcy

Visited Ben at UW-Stout again.

Watched movies

Caught up on Dollhouse

Things I need to do:

Visit El Paso and wish my Brother the best of luck

Another Lost Night

Finish Battlestar Galactica

Work on costume

Staff Weekend 2

Lost Night again??

Finish costume

Go camping

Finish Where to go Camping

Spring Work Trek

Get a situation organized for the animals at camp

Memorial weekend camping

Hopefully, work will resume and I can get back to the grind.  Until then, I'll be offering my services, volunteering at the camps I so tenderly love.

With love from Lodi,

Ben Hable

p.s. I'm headed to El Paso tomorrow so I didn't include any additional tidbits.  I do promise next week to write something, gonna read Nietzsche on the planes.  I am also accumulating random sayings into a nonsense poem so look forward to that.

But it ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross.

Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.

 

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks forty-seven days before the day of Easter, the Sunday perorating the season of Lent.  Now, those with rolling eyes, I can biblically discuss the whipsaw of good and evil forces that you are to repent for committing this past year, and cater my words and thoughts to the rights and orthodox of the situation, but I won’t.  No I will refrain because the rituals and reasoning of “it is what you are suppose to do because that is the way it is and has been done” are what draws many away regardless of the purpose and intent of the message.  I only ask that you give pause to such actions and try to learn of the root behind the practice, if to serve no other purpose then to enlighten yourself.

 

It may be simple to dismiss trivial objects in life, but like proponents of string theory I like to interconnect physical forms and metaphors that surround us.  So innocent is the lowly ash, but from it so much history and praise is given.  Important to the mythical firebird, the Phoenix, from them he gains rebirth.  Lore of this mighty bird, stem from mythology of the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Greeks.  A myriad of peoples recognize the presence of forms of reincarnation, whether taken from the literal meaning “to make flesh again”, to prolong life or as a means of ascension after life.  Though they do not call it by the same name, the hope of something following the end is the common motif.

 

Such love and passion the Phoenix is given through the years, incarnations of its powers are passed in our culture and media.  In Medieval, dominated by Christian figures, this bird can be seen depicted along with Jesus.  The BBC television series ‘Doctor Who’ depicts the Time Lord with the ability to heal after a fatal wound by igniting his body, usually to reveal a younger self.  Jean Grey from the Marvel Universe and depending on what incarnation thereof, is miraculously reborn and alive after death cause by, depending on the verse, the suppressed identity of the Phoenix.  I am interested to watch this next episode of Lost to see how John Locke comes back to life.  If there is fire and ashes then the symbolism of the Phoenix was in the minds of the writers.  The depiction of this great bird continues to amaze, no matter the forum.

 

Surviving thousands of years, the stories and histories of an animal that, based on a lack of scientific evidence, never even existed.  Truly it is amazing and I will never understand the people that continue to say, “History is boring and stupid.”  History is in everything and even though the types of study that are most apparent in our school system focuses on our country, does not mean you are not allowed relate those events to parts of history that interest you.  Where does the problem lie?  It is in the tautological bases of a silver platter knowledge society. “Just tell me what I absolutely need to know to get by, nothing more and less if you can.”  And maybe some people are happy with that, or at least think they are happy going through the rhythms for the sake of “that is the way is was and shall be” while others blissfully flee.  Empower yourself, ask why.  Make illogical connections for the sake of doing so.  Ars gratia artis

 

This particular Blog is the start of a special series that I am calling Birds in Our Lives, with reflections on aspects and connotation of real and mythological birds.  Birds have fascinated man since the dawning of our time, first and foremost with the simple appearance they give to flight.  We now understand the complexity of such acts, still the joy and desire taunts us as we fixate on their flight.  From the tiny Ruby Throated Hummingbird that daintily zips from one hovered position to the next, to the aerial gliding of such birds as the Turkey Vulture, Snowy Owl, and the Great Albatross.

 

With love from Lodi,

 

Ben Hable

 

Thought is just ranting, if no one is there to listen.

 

 

 

Interesting tidbits below:

 

Word of the Blog – Brought to you by Dictionary.com:

Pleonasm (noun) – The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; redundancy 

“There exists a plethora of words and phrases that suggest, that, many people try to sound smart by making an effort of lengthening there speech and effectively anything they say becomes a pleonasm and everything they say is just a redundancy of what they first spoke and further explanation of that which already was explained is not only unnecessary but truly inappropriate. Rather, speak little, bore people less.”

 

Ash Wednesday:

The practice of placing ashes on the forehead is taken from a tradition of throwing ashes over your head in a sign of repentance.  Therefore after receiving the ashes you should make a commitment to repent in the form of self denial.  They never explain well, why you give up something for lent and that is why so many don’t even make an attempt.  Self denial, such a simple form of inner strength, yet so few can master it.  In reality you are asked to do a few very simple things; fast on Fridays, and give up something that brings pleasure or at an even greater cost something that you believe is an interregnal part of your day.  The practice of self denial can be used to strengthen willpower and mental endurance, two things that I believe are the only ‘true cure’ to conquer emotional and psychological problems rather than a chemical ‘fix’. (I apologize for offending anyone, my belief is that prescription drugs can help but should only be a temporary stepping stone to a long term solution.  Vitamins and minerals especially if acquired through a proper diet, are not drugs and should be used to correct the body to the proper chemical balance.)  In this society of recreation and leisure, self denial appears too onerous of a task to fulfill.

 

Why Fish:

Fish was considered the poormans’ source of protein, it is a lowly meal not meant for taste but for health and energy.  However, with today’s culinary advances this seems to bring in question the relevance of a poormans’ meal.  Anyone can grow vegetables and catch fish for little to no money, the spirit of the fast is eating the most modest meal you can.  I’m thinking old fashion rolled oats (I just do not have easy access for Quaker wins my support), apples from the tree you found, water (or wintergreen tea if you picked the leaves yourself), and some baked bluegill (the most abundant fish in Wisconsin plus there probably is a lake near you).  Actually I would eat that everyday if I could get enough fishing in, mmmh bluegill.

 

Practice makes perfect, repetition makes tradition:

It should be noted that many societies suffer from “going through the motions”, whether it be in religion or politics.  From the polytheist, most notably the religions of the Greek Gods and Hinduism, to the ceremonies of today’s political elite, traditions hold its grip on society.  Using the Greeks as an example, even non-devotees and atheists would perform rituals and avoid superstitious behavior in the off chance that they were wrong in their beliefs.  Fear of something greater always loomed and practices passed down continue to this present day.

 

Phoenix Wiki page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)

The Precursor of Idealogy and Confounding Thought

For some time now, I’ve wished to write and characterize my thoughts that occur through out my weeks, but I only briefly did this in Myspace Blogs.  Let us forever call those the Dark Blogs of Insult to Humanity Through the Rantings of Insanity, and with the moving universe I am moving past them and tread to new ideals and situational thought drive by and to inspire.  There are so many ways to use the blogosphere and I chose this path so that you may get glimpses of irrelevant matter, which I believe defines a person better than major events.  Think of it this way, when someone notices the obscure, takes note, keep remembrance of it then there must be some greater underlying sudo-psychological draw that one places an importance in thereof.

I also want to explore writing and improving the use of my own grammar.  Recently I added the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day and Dictionary.com Word of the Day to my iGoogle homepage, and would like to make an effort to use them to burnish my blogs and hopefully increase my dabbling in the word of Scrabble and Up Words.  I remember of many times in school, they exclaim to write as you would speak; I disagree and propose to write as you would like to speak.  Pompous and high horsed as it may seem, but when others scold me for speaking above them I can not help but feel sorrow for the continued downturn of speaking properly and stunting ones advance of language.  No model of perfection, do I see in myself but if nothing less then the fact that I try, then all the spoils of success become steadfast to my apprehension.  The simplest of facts to why William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers, whose works will stand against the test of time, can be established that; though listening with care you still forego understand his words, but a feeling and understanding of the situation envelops you, casting a sensation for his work.  Pity those who can not feel this, they are more lowly then the peasants of Shakespeare’s time, who found much to adore and laugh about during times of plague and pestilence.

Variation of topics on this blog are a must, but you may find reoccurring elements connected to events of certain matter.  One example I will give reflects a commonality to past oral conversation taking place soon after traveling for work, markedly this past time when I was on my continued quest to read one of various philosophical religious text.  This one being a work of Friedrich Nietzsche who, by proclaiming “God is dead”, is considered an atheist, but perhaps a thinker thinks just to think and unless expressively stated one can only assume the worse of him… etc to the end of time Angels trumpet and the sky burns.  But honestly it is important to think of the alternative to strengthen your beliefs and convictions and just by stating that the organization of religion of Europe in his time set in motion the cathedrals becoming the burial tomb of him “that which none is greater” (Kirkegaard) does not constitute, in entirety, his belief structure.  His true disdain was the unexamined self of blind followers and robotic preaching.

Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am not, that is why I seek and so this blog begins with a madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours.  Did he lose his way like a child?  Becoming lost, maybe the only way to find your way again.

With love from Lodi,

Ben Hable

Thought is just ranting, if no one is there to listen.

 

Interesting tidbits below:

Word of the Blog – Brought to you by Dictionary.com:

Gerund - A form of a verb that ends in -ing and operates as a noun in a sentence: “Thinking can be painful.”

Nietzsche’s Parable of the Madman:

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/madman.html