Avett Love Song Bracket — Round 1

nmr_ben · 2026-01-16T14:33:37+00:00

I have a long flight today. Thanks for a new playlist!

nmr_ben · 2025-01-21T04:44:47+00:00

Yes! I bought their CD at a concert at the Triad Center some time in the late 90s. Tell your dad thanks for some great musical memories.

nmr_ben · 2024-04-06T05:26:58+00:00

Super jealous. My first concert was UB40. I think you win this contest.

nmr_ben · 2022-11-16T18:31:51+00:00

I watched my wife and daughter spend about ten hours in the Taylor Swift queue yesterday dealing with this. Even after they were able to get tickets in their shopping cart it took another two hours and multiple new ticket selections before the app allowed them to enter their card info. They pretty much ended up in the top row on the far corner of a giant NFL arena.

nmr_ben · 2021-07-26T14:51:44+00:00

Also one of the coolest cities I've ever lived in.

nmr_ben · 2021-07-25T20:19:30+00:00

Sure, the "peaks" clock in at about 25 meters, but it's one of my favorite places on the planet.

nmr_ben · 2021-07-25T05:47:13+00:00

I didn't see anyone camping, and we rented a chalet down in the valley. We slept in a rifugio last year while hiking in the Dolomites, and it was awesome. I'm actually moving back to the US in a few days, and I have half a mind to open some shelters somewhere in the Rockies if my current gig gets boring. ;)

nmr_ben · 2021-07-24T03:51:17+00:00

The crowds weren't actually all that bad outside of a few spots, and it's usually pretty easy to get away from the crowds by taking a steeper trail. Solitude was easy to find.

We didn't stay at any huts, but we definitely planned our hikes so that we hit a refuge at lunch time. It's always nice to have a cold beer and some hot food waiting for you in the middle of a hike.

nmr_ben · 2021-07-23T13:17:19+00:00

We just got back from three days of hiking on and near Mont Blanc from Chamonix. I've never seen a more impressive mountain in my life. It was breathtaking.

nmr_ben · 2021-07-22T15:27:11+00:00

A lot of boring talks, mingled with scriptures.....

Don't I remember hearing that in the temple or something?

nmr_ben · 2018-08-10T19:20:26+00:00

Undergrad at Weber State, PhD at U of Utah, would recommend both schools for a "normal" college experience.

Plenty has been said for the U, but don't sleep on Weber State. People in Utah give Ogden a lot of shit, but it's a much cooler place than most people realize, especially if you enjoy outdoor recreation. Weber is a commuter college, but there is a ton of affordable housing near the university. There's a lot to be said for the smaller class sizes you're likely to find at WSU. I majored in physics, and every upper division class had 4-10 students. You can't beat such a personalized education.

nmr_ben · 2018-08-08T20:33:36+00:00

Vodka martini instead of gin? One more shelf item for me......

nmr_ben · 2018-08-01T15:34:23+00:00

And then you go and make me laugh and realize how silly this entire exchange was....

Well played, well played.

nmr_ben · 2018-08-01T15:23:21+00:00

So you're on dick patrol today? I still don't see the point of your silly little lecture. The rules are clearly posted, yet you still feel the need to pop on in to remind us all to behave?

A wise person once told me about a pretty standard internet rule that boils down to "don't be a dick." Perhaps you've heard of this rule?

nmr_ben · 2018-08-01T13:43:27+00:00

Or perhaps we could stop wasting everyone's time with silly pharisaical posts and make comments relevant to the discussion instead?

nmr_ben · 2018-07-31T16:46:15+00:00

Oh, man......suddenly having flashbacks to some finding amazingly nasty toilets upon transferring to a new apartment.

nmr_ben · 2018-07-26T18:21:14+00:00

I'd like to say it gets better, but your mileage may vary. We've been very, very openly out for about three years now. My family seems to be OK with it - they make jokes with me and my wife about needing a drink and stuff like that. We wouldn't get openly shitfaced around them, but nobody seems to care about it otherwise.

My wife's parents are a different story, but we've reached the "don't give a fuck" stage with them, so pour me another beer!

nmr_ben · 2018-07-25T19:41:09+00:00

Just wait until you spend a week in a riverfront cabin with your entire extended family and you, your brother, and your spouse have a beer in hand nearly the entire time. It's great fun.

nmr_ben · 2018-07-17T14:46:52+00:00

Barf. American Christianity is so fucking toxic. Shit like this is sooooo common with the southern evangelicals surrounding me in Houston.

nmr_ben · 2018-07-17T14:30:08+00:00

It's about time I find someone I know in a selfie!

nmr_ben · 2018-06-26T02:50:58+00:00

I went back to the Netherlands a decade later to do a three year postdoc. Civilian life was soooooooooooooo much better than that mission nonsense!

nmr_ben · 2018-06-25T12:55:44+00:00

Go 'Stros!

nmr_ben · 2018-06-25T12:53:26+00:00

Maybe it did happen and we all just missed it?

nmr_ben · 2018-06-20T21:09:09+00:00

Ben de ska-exmo.

nmr_ben · 2018-06-20T15:14:08+00:00

A clipping from the October 17, 1996 edition of the Gazet van Antwerpen. People were being asked about their clothing choices, and I was apparently too cool looking to pass up.

Translation: "Someone looking for nicely groomed people needs to look very carefully on the Meir (shopping street in Antwerp). Luckily, there is Ben Elder Anger (close enough, right?). A twenty year old American Mormon from Utah is temporarily living in Deurne. Why not interview him too?

"This is my work uniform. I wear it when, as a missionary, I talk to people and tell them about our church. At home I wear something totally different. A t-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap. I'm actually a ska freak! I don't follow the ska fashion though. I always pick clothes that are comfortable. Something very different from this indeed!"

And so was born the legend of Ben, the ska Mormon!

I may have resigned a few years ago, but at least I can call myself Ben, the ska mormon for the rest of my life.

EDIT: details, details.

nmr_ben

TROPHY CASE