Ben profile picture

Ben

A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and

About Me


My profile was customized using the Taming the Beast.net MySpace Layout Generator

I play in a rock band (CONSPIRACY OF THOUGHT). Translation: I'm obsessed, have no money, and live in and/or for the dream...
I'm an activist.

Translation: I talk a big game, do what I can, and have my very own FBI file...I'm an expatriate/ex-patriot. Translation: I am a citizen of the world, housed in the US, ashamed of what our system of governance has become (no health care or jobs for the needy in this, the richest nation on Earth), and I would love an alternative, unless someone can help me remake this one. It may take a couple hundred million of us, so we better get started soon...I'm a Jesus lover. Translation: I love Jesus, how he lived, what he said, why he died, but I can't stomach institutional religion (but really I'm trying). Money and power, politics and religion, cats and dogs living together-mass hysteria! Institutional churches are some of the most segregated places in America today. Black churches, White churches, Hispanic churches, and on, and on. Apparently the melting-pot only melts so far... Translation of the Translation: I'm pretty much a heretic, but I'm OK with that for now...And lastly, I'm a people Lover (uh-O). Translation: I really care about people and the world they live and die in. I believe it is our responsibility to try and make that world a better place for everyone. I truly believe we should love our neighbor as ourself, love our enemy, and take care of the needy, the weak, and misbegotten. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I'd rather try to make the world a better place than live in a world of shame...

My Interests

I enjoy reading, writing music, writing commentary, public speaking, environmentalism, political change/activism, spiritual growth, community action, and revolutions in their various forms... Oh, I also like taking long walks on the beach, looking at sunsets, and starlit strolls on balmy nights... No, really... I love live music. I'm a sucker for string quartets, soft jazz, and heavy metal. I'm also a sucker for people helping other people...

I'd like to meet:


BackStage Pass- I interviewed Serj Tankian of System of a Down March 2008. (www.myspace.com/sundaynightmusicmeeting)

BackStage Pass I co hosted an Interview with Andrew of Wolfmother and Dj Dwight Arnold M99.5/ 2007

March 2008 my band Conspiracy of Thought Opened for Bad Religion at the Anaheim House of Blues.

November 2007 Conspiracy of Thought opens for (HED)p.e. Canes San Diego

July 2008: co-Interviewed John Feldman Of Goldfinger (Me, John Feldman of Goldfinger, Dj Dwight Arnold Q103.3

Conspiracy of Thought/me on CBS Evening News performing our song Structures.

Music:

U2, TOOL, Rage Against the Machine, Billie Holiday, System of a Down, Ben Harper, AC/DC, Colectivo Error, Nine Inch Nails, The BellRays, 286, Miles Davis, Cake, The Beatles, Public Enemy, Korn, James Brown, and Conspiracy of Thought (of course)

Movies:

To Kill a Mockingbird, Hotel Rwanda, The Matrix, Elf, The Long Walk Home, Pride and Prejudice (the diving Darcy version), Kung-Pow, An Inconvenient Truth, The Invisible Children, Nacho Libre, etc...

Television:

Bill Moyers Now on PBS, Front Line, Boondocks, The Office...

Books:

1984- George Orwell. The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them- Amy Goodman. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury. Democracy for the Few- Michael Parenti. Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation- Naim Stifan Ateek. Why We Can't Wait- Martin Luther King Jr. The Bible. Fast Food Nation- Eric Schlosser. The US Constitution. The Communist Manifesto- Karl Marx. Anything by Edward Said, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk.

Heroes:

Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Bono, Jesus, Chuck D, Serj Tankian, Tom Morello, Zack de la Rocha, Sonali Kolhatkar, Amy Goodman, Jerry Quickley, and so many more...