Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!


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Google Image Search: Word & Picture #90

Today's Word:
"dropout"

Today's Picture:


So Renee asked in my comments the other day about me saying, "I never finished high-school". That is a long story that involves some Bartley-family history.

I grew-up in Kansas City, Kansas. I attended Ward High School with my sisters. Ward is located in Wyandotte County, about 10 blocks from where I lived in Kansas City. Just before my senior year, my dad accepted a job with the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. My mom & sisters & I stayed behind in Kansas... pretty much so that I could play soccer my senior year in high school. In December (after soccer season), the entire family moved to Tucson, Arizona. Instead of starting at a different high school for the 2nd half of my senior year, I enrolled at the University of Arizona. 5 1/2 years later, I received my college degree from the U of A (Bear Down, Arizona!).

To this day, I joke about never finishing high school. I think it is a more accurate description of my education to say "I finished high school early". But it has always sounded more shocking & funny to say I am a high school dropout.

Ward had so many good instructors... the same is true at the University of Arizona. My parents both put a huge emphasis on education. My dad has his PhD, my mom has 2 (or 3) Masters degree. They are some learned people. That is why they have 3 children with Bachelors degrees and one child with a PhD (to my sister Jodi: quit reading my blog and finish your dissertation).

So there it is. Ben Bartley, high school drop-out. :)

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!

Rules

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #89

Today's Word:
"Liberal Grandma"

Today's Picture:


The book reading at BookPeople was a blast. I read "Grandma". Southpaw's song is about a liberal Grandma. It was fun. There were a bunch of talented people there. Some did funny readings. Some did sincere readings. And then there was everyone's favorite bitch in lipstick: Sarah Palin.

After Southpaw's reading\party, we went to the Alamo Drafthouse for the Billy Madison Quote-Along. I have never been to a Quote-Along before. Holy crap... near nudity, penguins, porn, trivia... it was a party. The most amazing thing: there were people there who knew every word. The guy sitting next to me was over-the-top. He was screaming Billy Madison quotes. He sang every word of the Adam Sandler\Bridget Wilson dance number with the kids. He was obsessed. It was funny & scarey all at the same time. I loved it.

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #88

Today's Word:
"Southpaw Jones"
Today's Picture:


Disclaimer #1: I added the red arrow in this picture to point-out Southpaw.

I am doing a reading a BookPeople tomorrow.

Here are some funny things about me doing a book reading:
#1) I have never written a book
#2) I never finished high school
#3) There is going to be free beer

Question: How does a person who never finished high school find himself at BookPeople in Austin, TX, doing a book reading?

Answer: Free beer... and I am friends with Southpaw Jones.

For those not familiar with the awesomeness of Southpaw Jones, you should really buy one of his many great CDs. Or you can check him out on iTunes.

Southpaw is having his friends and fans read the lyrics of his songs at BookPeople tomorrow. He is celebrating the release of his latest CD: Cruelty.

I am drawn to Southpaw's music by his ability to combine humor and sincerity. I could not be more excited about taking part in this. Thanks for the invite, Southpaw.

Please come to BookPeople on 6th and Lamar at 7 PM tomorrow, September 10th! Watch me pretend to know how to read.

Summary: Come to BookPeople, Southpaw is rad, I can read (maybe... find out tomorrow)!

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!


Rules

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #

Today's Word:
"hot in hell"

Today's Picture:

Welcome to my blog, Shirtless Man!

Shirtless man, I have a few questions for you:
#1) Where is your belt?
#2) Where in Texas is Texas Highway 666?
#3) Does John Bon Jovi know you borrowed his pants?
#4) Who took this picture for you... and were they laughing?
#5) How many payments left on the Chevy Aveo?
... let's see what else, I know there is something else I want to ask a shirtless guy...
#6) Why did you take your shirt off for this picture?

So I finished my clip for Fantastic Fest. You can see it at FilmmakingFrenzy.com. It is entitled "Barbie and Ken". It is definitely NSFW (Not Safe For Work... for the internet-challenged). Seriously, this one is on the more disturbing side of things I have made. For those who don't watch it, think "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story" meets "Boogie Nights". Or better yet, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" meets "Team America: World Police". For the brave & un-offend-able (most people I know will love this), bravely click here. If you watch it, please read positive comments in the comment field.

My buddy Brian scored the music for the short. When he watched it the first time (after he finished laughing), he asked, "am I going to hell for having seen that"?

The answer I gave Brian: you are going to hell just for being my friend; don't blame Barbie & Ken.

I am proud of what I made, but I know my mom & dad would hate it. Sorry, parental units, I love you very much... but I am me. I must be me. And yes, your son is over 30 years old and still plays with Barbies. Good thing I married a therapist.

I love Brian's score for the short film. If you listen closely, you will hear that Brian used children's instruments in the score. From Brian's blog entry, I learned that he used: an Elmo guitar, a squeeky toy, a cute caterpillar glockenspiel, a toy violin, a toy guitar from mexico, a lightsaber, and a drum. Seriously, how f-ing talented is Brian Satterwhite?! It is crazy. He did a phenomenal job (especially when you consider he had a 24-hour turn-around time on this project). I am looking forward to seeing whatever he makes next.

Also, I need to give some major props to my buddy Les who brought his daughters Marina & Lucia to play with Barbies at my house. Marina & Lucia have bright careers in their future in the entertainment industry. I hope they include me in their imdb page some day. :) The talent pool is deep in the McGehee family. Les has good seed... wow, I can not believe I typed that last sentence.

Finally, I need to thank the lovely and talented Megan did some voice-over work for me. It was much appreciated. I also want to thank her for not stealing my Barbies. (I saw you eye-ing them.) For the past couple of weeks, Megan would ask me, "What are you up to?" to which I would respond (in a valley-girl voice), "I'm playing with my Bawbies. " or "I am going to brush my Bawbies". In the process of making this short, I decided the word "Bawbie" was funnier than "Barbie".

In other news, Master Pancake Jurassic Park got extended (AGAIN!). Both shows this past weekend were sold-out. I think we have done 18 consecutive sold-out shows of Master Pancake Jurassic Park. But this weekend is DEFINITELY the last weekend. We are performing at the Alamo Village (hooray, North Austin!) If you have not seen the show yet, this is your last chance. You can buy tickets here. Come drink a beer and watch dinosaurs with me.

In Summary: shirtless guys in Texas drive Chevy Aveos, Brian Satterwhite rocks, I play with Bawbies, come see Master Pancake Jurassic Park at the Alamo Village on Saturday.

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!

Rules

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #86

Today's Word:
"TGIF"

Today's Picture:


Even though it was a short week because of the holiday, it felt like a full week. I don't know why, but I am pooped.

I have a weekend full of fun stuff: hanging out with Megan, celebrating birthdays, filming, performing and general goofing-off. It should be a good weekend.

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!


Rules

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #85

Today's Word:
"Fantastic Fest 2008"
Today's Picture:


Yup, I am going. I got a hook-up for a badge through a friend of a friend. Thank you for going to Russia, Brady Dial. And thank you for knowing Brady, Brian. I owe you both a beer.

I am stoked. I have been burning through the films and trying to understand the process. More importantly, I have been working on my "shaky-face" photo. A "shakey-face" photo is when you take a picture of yourself shaking your head side-to-side as fast as possible. Here is a good example:


And here is a bad example (mine):



I am not very good at it as a) my hair is not long and b) my cheeks are not loose. I am OK with the former and proud of the latter.

In all my "shakey-face" photos I look either stupid or drunk. Probably both.

The shakey-face photo will be used by Fantastic Fest for our official badge. Bad-ass, eh?

This is my first FF and I am stoked.

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!

Google Image Search: Word & Picture #84

Today's Word:
"Fredericksburg, TX"
Today's Picture:


Megan & I traveled to the strange & distant land of Fredericksburg, Texas, last weekend. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. Karen & Colin watched PugPuggy (thanks you two!). Fredericksburg is about 90 miles west of Austin. It is a cute, old, German town. Speaking of cute, old Germans, check out this guy:

I don't know the identity of this man, but my guess is that he is from Bavaria.

So Megan & I drank local wines & beers. We ate & shopped & relaxed. The place we stayed had a pool... loved it.

It is good to get away. It was hard going back to work today. My brain is still in vacation mode.

Daily "Name This Person And Win!"

The first person who names the person in this picture wins a hug from Ben!!!

Rules