avebeno

I love classic music!

Mon, 04 May 2009 03:06:57 GMT

I am proud to work at ASU?

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:39:22 GMT

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/04/10/dcl.bolduan.asu.obama.cnn?iref=videosearch

President Obama will speak at ASU's commencement, but reportedly will not receive an honorary degree. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:27:52 GMT

Tagged by tazz602

THREES:

THREE NAMES I GO BY
Chuc Avebeno
Uncle Ben
Fuzzy

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE
Lighting Designer
TV Director
Motion Graphic Artist

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED
Tempe, AZ
Chandler, AZ
Phoenix, AZ

THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH
The Daily Show
Star Trek
Scrubs

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN
San Francisco, CA
New York, NY
Gallup, New Mexico

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO
Hawaii
France
Hiking around Sedona, AZ

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
Pollo Fundido
Chicken Tikka Masala
Curry Chicken

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
Visiting some Haunted houses
A California Road Trip
Feeling financially Secure

THREE PETS THAT YOU HAVE OWNED
Sandbuggy (Dog)
Kitty (Cat)
Unnamed (Sparrow)

THREE FRIENDS WHO WILL REPLY (for sure now)
glovercom
pathoffman
aztodd

THREE FAVORITE BANDS / RECORDING ARTISTS
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Bernadette Peters
William Eaton

THREE FAVORITE THINGS TO WATCH
Sunset through poofy couds floating by
Lightning!
Linebackers (in person, not on TV... OK TV too)

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS
Sacks's World Famous Market Spice Iced Tea
Iced Chai Tea
A&W Diet Cream Soda

All Together Now...

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:37:22 GMT

I love it when things come together...
In this case, it is a show...
I am recording a jazz performance tomorrow afternoon.
I borrowed 3 HD cameras (2-HDV, 1 XDCAM-EX and a small HDV camcorder)

the XDCAMS only have memory cards to record 1 hour per camera, so I wanted to feed video out via firewire and capture it on tape on the small camcorder...

I have been looking for the damn cable all night!

I finally gave up to go to bed, then it suddenly appeared. I tested it, and it looks like it will actually work!!

I had been scratching my head about placing the mic for the drum set where I wanted it to be, since I only had one mic stand and it was already being used.

..right next to the cable, I found my backlight stand and support arm. Perfect for holding the digital recorder I was going to use on the drum set!

20 minutes ago, I was going to go to bed worried, and now I think I can sleep!

Kenny Thames - Jazz performance 4pm - The Radisson on 2nd Avenue near Osborn in Phoenix. Come enjoy!

Hear Hear!

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:09:23 GMT

Created by Train Horns

(Sounds like 16k to me)

Hit me with your best shot...

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:17:59 GMT

I go in at 7:30am tomorrow morning for my first steroidal injection...
Wish me luck!!!

Is it me, or has my back been hurting more today??

I Left My Gym Bag in San Francsico

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:33:11 GMT

Went to the gym tonight at my usual time - 11pm! I've got 2 weeks to get in walking shape!

For Brian's birthday (March 1st) I got tickets for us to visit San Francisco!
He has never been there, and we are both looking forward to it!

BUT... I want to be able to walk around and enjoy myself without having to sit every five minutes, so I am back to my stretching routine (from Physical Therapy) and trips to the gym!

I have a strange side effect though... It is only 12:30am and I am tired and want to go to sleep.

Highs and lows!

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:17:06 GMT

This evening, we had a fun time at Michael's birthday get together at California Pizza Kitchen...
I ordered the Chicken Milanese - Omnomnomnomnom! My favorite!!
It isn't Pizza, but it is low-carb and delicious!!

Maybe it was a little too low carb!

Later in the evening, I stopped at a friend's place and we looked at a cinerama movie on his huge HD-1080p screen! Some of the final shots made me feel a little dizzy, so I went on my way to drive into phoenix to drop off some DVDs at Karamba Nightclub...

Driving down the street, I noticed that I was still dizzy, but now I was starting to sweat profusely!
My hands were very very shakey too! My blood sugar had dropped to dangerous levels and I had not noticed it coming on!

I checked for my emergency glucose tablets, but they were not there - I didn;t think to look in the glove compartment, where I think they are.. but I was not thinking correctly...

If I turned left, I could go to Walgreens and get glucose tablets and juice too... But there was a Circle-K closer if I turned right... so I got to Circle-K, and got apple juice, and Strawberry Milk.. managed to drop my phone when it rang, and wonder if I broke it!
I downed the juice right away and made my way to burger kind to get food...

I waited int he parking lot until I left better, then dropped off the DVDs, and made my way home and went right to bed for about an hour. Then it hit me!

Never drink Apple Juice, Strawberry-Milk, and eat Burger King Sliders without expecting to have an upset stomach later!

It is 3am, and everything just stopped hurting. Time for bed!

It's just poking out a little...

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:20:27 GMT

I finally found out what has been causing my back pain for the past 15 months! A herniated disc. Actually 2 of them are there.

What's next - A steroidal injection - A series of injection, actually.

It's good to finally know what is going on. I know there are plenty of treatments.

I have to videotape a surgery once, where they were using an orthroscope tocut away at the extruding part of the disc, while the patient was conscious, to let them know when they had cleared enough tissue to allow him to be pain free. It was pretty cool.

I left work at 20 minutes to get to the appointment, which was near ASU at Tempe St. Luke's Hospital.
I went to the closest bus stop - a 5 minute trip max, I expected.

There was a big sign that said BUS STOP CLOSED (due to road construction). but there was an older lady standing there.
I asked "Is the bus stop really closed?" before I noticed all the small "CLOSED" signs on the bus route lists... Her answer wasn't clear, but she sounded to be East-Indian, and she asked me if the hospital was very far away. I told her it wasn't and we both started walking. 2 buses passed us along the way.

I pointed out the hospital when we got close... she continued on down Mill Avenue, and I turned right, down a side street to the building I needed to go to...

I met up with her at the door to the building... We each looked for the office we each needed to go to...
We both reached the same door at the same time... She was an hour early (she had taken 3 buses from Mesa) and I was right on time.

Funny thing about my back pain - Walking the 1/4 - 1/2 mile to the hospital didn't bother me, but standing at the counter in the office started to hurt after 3 minutes.

2 minutes after I sat down, I was ushered in...

They did X-Rays, and range of motion tests, and pushing and pulling to evoke a pain response in me were done, but none of them hurt.

They explained what was happening, and how they wanted to treat it, and what the risks were... It was all very familiar. A coworker of mine is going through the same thing I am... except he has a cyst growing in his back, in the same spot as my herniated disc.
Everything I am going through, he had gone through just 2 weeks before me - from the first exam, to the MRI to the steroidal injection...

When everything was taken care of, I started on my trip back to work, and in the waiting area I said goodbye
to the lady I had walked over with. My bus timing was perfect and I was back on campus 3 minutes later.

Now i am waiting for a call to schedule my injection!

Senior Year Meme

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:10:05 GMT

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!! Thought you all who knew me back then might get a laugh out of some memories! Share yours!

1. Did you date someone from your school?
No - I don't count the 2 proms I went to after the girls asked me.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school?
No .

3. Did you car pool to school?
Bus/Bike/Drove.

4. What kind of car did you have?
A beat up Ford 150 truck.

5. What kind of car do you have now?
Toyota Matrix

6. It's Friday night back then...where are you?
Half the year - Working a concert at the ASU Activity Center - Now Wells Fargo Arena.

7. It is Friday night now...where are you?
Gay Bowling.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school?
2 internships - 1 at KAET-TV, PBS station in Phoenix, and 1 at Gammage Auditorium (and the activity center) working on concerts, plays, dance, skiing movies and music performances.

9. What kind of job do you do now?
I am a Producer/Director at KAET-TV, PBS station in Phoenix.

10. Were you a party animal?
Not really.

11. Were you considered a flirt?
Not at all.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
No.

13. Were you a nerd?
Definitely!

14. Did you get suspended or expelled?
Never.

15. Can you sing the fight song?
No.

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?
Ms. Buffington. French teacher. She took us to see the Original "La Cage Aux Folles"
movie when it came out. (in french)

17. Where did you sit during lunch?
In the cafeteria with friends unless I rode my bike to Dairy Queen near ASU... BBQ Sandwich! Yum!

18. What was your school's full name?
Tempe High School.

19. When did you graduate?
Class of 1983,

20. What was your school mascot?
The Buffalo

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Sure! This time I might go out for wrestling like they wanted me to!

22. Did you have fun at Prom?
Yes! My senior year a bunch of us went to a gay dance bar in a limo!
Go Figure - Paige hadn't come out yet, and I didn't know Jason was living in town at his gay uncle's place.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
No - Last time I saw her, I introduced her to by partner at the time. She was shocked.

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
YES!

25. Do you still talk to people from school?
All too often. Dave - every week, Missy - when we work on projects together at ASU, Charles - - when we work on projects together at ASU, Randy - When I go see a show at the Dodge, he is usually working security, Dub - out and about, and his brother Bruce at the Emmys every year, Joe - at the Emmy board meetings, Denise - When I do work with the Theatre department, Alan - Who I met this year and found out we went to High School together, Sandy - out at the bars, Heidi - out at lunch occasionally... and more... they are everywhere!

Just took the test...

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:16:19 GMT

Roll'in for the first time since the '80s

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:14:41 GMT

I bought a bicycle the other day. A mountain bike. Cute... Red... Inexpensive....
Well, it started out inexpensive... Then I bought a list of things I needed... a helmet, pump, lock & chain, crappy tire gauge,
a better pump with a digital tire gauge, etc...

It all adds up!

I want to be able to ride it to the gym, just about 2-3 miles away.

For safety's sake, and utility reasons, I still needed to get some things on my list:
A water bottle & holder, a front & rear lamp, and a backpack/messenger bag.

This afternoon, I decided to give it a whirl and ride to have lunch at Scholtzsky's and visit REI.
They are right next to each other - just 2 or so miles away... I mapped my way
through the neighborhoods along the way and stored them in my brain, took a hit
on my asthma inhaler and went on my merry way!

On the way there, I passed the Western CSR Canal. As I was making my way through the neighborhoods,
I realized that the canal paralleled the path I wanted to take and figured I should take it on the way back.

Lunch was good, and other than sweating a lot, I was doing pretty well.
I figure I would warm up, so I had not worn a jacket. It was 64 degrees out.

I managed to look around REI and get a few things, but I could not find the mounting holes
on my bike for a water bottle or pump, so I'll need to keep looking for something
that will work. In the mean time, I got one that will just hang from a cara beaner.

I got a duffle - messenger bag - plenty of room for gym clothes!!

The ride back was nice and direct - The canal is situated to where I only had to cross
one main road - Priest Drive - during rush hour and otherwise avoided traffic. I liked that.

It got cold while I was in the store!

I was pretty tired from the ride back - there wasn't a lot of coasting on the dirt path
that followed the canal, but it wasn't too bad. The only thing that has be worried are my boys.
I wore a jock, just to keep the under control, but damn if that seat isn't as hard as a rock!

A new soft - gel padded seat is now on the top of my list!

New Train and Same Old Small World

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:02:03 GMT

We decided to try to new light rail train in Phoenix to go to dinner tonight.
parking in downtown tempe, we hopped on the train at the Mill Avenue stop.
As the doors opened, the first person off the train was my cousin, Guillermo.
We both looked surprised and said "Hi" in passing before the doors shut.

Small World!

As we went downtown, I was glad to see how close a train station is the new KAET / Channel 8 building.
We even stopped close to Channel 12. That will be good when I go to meetings there.

It was after that stop that I saw someone I might not have seen for 10-15 years.
He looked Like Pat Wheeler, who I believe is working at Channel 12 still.
Then I saw his shoes. It had to be pat. He still wore Vans with a checkerboard pattern on the side.
We got off the train at Camelback, and I passed by him and said "Pat?" It was!
The doors were going to close, so I shook his hand and said "Hi! It's Ben Avechuco!"
He looked surprised! It has been a long time! He used to work at Channel 8 back in the 90s (80s too??)

Small world!

We walked to Sonoran Brewhouse on Camelback and 3rd Street - Omnomnomnom.

On the ride back, Brian recognized Jeff, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

A few rows away, I saw part of a face that I thought I recognized, and gave a look of.."Are you...?
He smiled and waved, and I realized it was Ted Simons, the host of Horizon,
the News/Public Affairs show that I direct 3 days a week at Channel 8.

Small World.

When we exited the train back at mill Avenue, so did Jeff and his friends. We all chatted and I pointed them to a coffee shop they wanted to visit before riding back into Phoenix.

Small World!

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:59:15 GMT

I am careful not to over do Christmas lights, I have some for the window in my office, I put some up in the Control Room at the station, and I have some at home...
I just uneartherd my big box of christmas lights - All the ones I thought I had lost...

What to do, what to do...

Online portfolio

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:38:40 GMT

I found a cool site online for photographer.

It makes my stuff kind of look professional. Go figure!

http://www.modelmayhem.com/VideoGraphicDesignStudio

Ho Ho Ho!

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:30:49 GMT

I have not sat on Santa's lap in years!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28202674/

Where does the time go?

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:21:39 GMT

Tonight got to be a YouTube Night.
From Priscilla, Queen of the Desert music videos to the Muppets.
It all lead me to this:

Are you a player?

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:22:20 GMT

Terry just got a new phone last weekend and I saw my opportunity...

I texted him: "Hey, it was great meeting you last night"... I knew he went to Cherry late that night...

I continued "Are we still on for tonight??" He replied: "Who is this?"

I responded: "Ha - Stop messing with me!"

"No, really, I just got a new phone. Who is this?"

"hey, if you're not that interested, just say so"

"No really, I just got a new phone..."

This went on for over 2 hours until he finally looked my number up in his old phone...

Then he asked one question: "Why, Ben?"

Within 20 minutes...

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:01:10 GMT

We were sitting there chatting before the ceremony was about to begin. and something he said made him sad and brought a tear to his eye so I gave him a hug and told him it would be alright. Things were about to get started, so Barak got up and left the press lounge in the mansion we were in to tend to what he had to do.
I went out to prep for the Catholic blessing ceremony too, but realized I did not have my tie so I went back in the mansion... On my way, I bumped into me Niece and told her I would be right there. I know she would be sitting up where Michael and Dwight were.
Getting back inside, I passed by the open door of the Children's room and saw they were almost ready, and by the time I got back to the lounge, I realized my alarm was going off again, 20 minutes since I had hit snooze, and I had to get up for this monday morning.

A strange way to start the day with a memory of a dream like that.

A Quote

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:39:12 GMT

... from AZcentral.com:

"A man performing the act the "Human Speed Bump" was injured after being run over by a car during his act at the Arizona State Fair around 6:20 p.m. according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety."

Did no one expect this?

Meme - because lately I haven't felt like posting...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:15:36 GMT

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

But I certainly saw the man in the corner of a woman, wearing a white shirt.

One psychic, Michael Hughes, had a different report. He walked past the dining room and went out near the swimming. He said, "I see a blonde girl about 17 years old who died in Europe about three years ago something in the lungs. She was still six weeks before passing over... The girl is volunteering information that since her death the house she lived in in Europe was burned."
In his Saturday evening Post article, Hyams wrote: "These reports were rather startling. The physical description of the male ghost seemed to fit a doctor with whom I had been writing a book.

From Ghosts of the Rich and Famous by Arthur Myers

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:05:44 GMT

Big staff meeting today...
Out Boss's boss, a VP of the University came in to tell us how we've been doing compared to the goals we have for our station. This was the first time I had heard of these goals we've had for the past five years.
He also informed us that our General Manager as "resigned to pursue employment in the private sector." We're pretty sure he was informed that he had to resign just before the meeting started this morning.
One guy who had always been vying for power in the organization is partially in charge.

One of our producers got back from a weeks vacation and didn't know about the layoffs.
He looked like a deer in the headlights.

They also announce they won't be filling our IT manager spot, the Chief Engineer Spot, our General Manager spot, and now the other Director/Editor spot (the other "me") so I'm doing the work 3 folks did a year ago.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:59:09 GMT

Layoffs last week. It's the first time anyone can remember this happening.
Six folks are gone.
2 of the 4 producers of Horizon got the axe. The next day we were awarded the Best News Show by "New Times: Best of Phoenix"

Our General Manager is driving the station into the ground.

I was tense and irritable BEFORE all this came about.

Tomorrow morning, his boss wants to talk to us about the budget cuts and what is happening.
This guy is really clueless. I've got plenty of stories.

We'll see what happens. I'm hoping the board of regents will pull the Broadcasting License from ASu and make us a separate entity.

Funny meeting you here...

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:14:18 GMT

Friday evening, I actually got off of work before 6pm on a weekday today!
I had time, so I stopped at the local camera shop to check some stuff out, and who did I see when I walk up to the sales floor on the second floor?
My sister Ruth! She was there getting film for our trip to Sedona to check out where my niece Julie will be getting married. I was there to see if I needed anything for our trip as well.

Small world!

Platform wars?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:02:31 GMT

I'm not one for platform wars, but I know what I like to use...
I found this, and was very amused...

Miscrosoft's I'm a PC ads created on Macs