★ News from July 2009:
Today I was a guest at a polo match for Episode 301 ("Reversal of Fortune") for the television series Gossip Girl.
July 2, 2009
(Thursday)
Today I added to my website in the Writing » Essays & Reports section an essay-presentation of mine recently published in the General Semantics Bulletin. It is titled "A Better Tomorrow for General Semantics."
July 6, 2009
(Monday)
It's late (early), and I'm fighting passing out so I'd better hurry. I finally released a new version of my brand-new website!
This one is called "2009bhc," my third attempt this year at redesigning Ben Hauck online.
There are a few known issues that I'll have to deal with soon (the photo gallery isn't working for some reason, nor is newsblog search, and some of the sizes and colors are off). But overall, it seems to be working cross-browser without any crashes. In Opera, there is no navigation "logo" displayed, which I discovered after upload. I want to check that out. I also want to check out why in IE7 the links don't smoothly scroll from the navigation panel, esp. when it works for Firefox.
I scrapped version "2009bhb" of Ben Hauck online that I launched a week ago based on feedback I got from others. While some people seemed to love the site, some people had pretty strong negative reactions to its minimalist design. After enough negative feedback, I set out to find a new design, chalking 2009bhb up to seomthing like a grand failure. For 2009bhc I set out blindly without any real ideas. Fortunately I found one.
I hope you like the functionality of this site. Please send me an email and let me know how it works for you. Does it? Does it not? What kind of browser are you using. Does the color scheme work for you? Let me know!
July 8, 2009
(Wednesday)
Again today I was a guest at a polo match for Episode 301 ("Reversal of Fortune") for the television series Gossip Girl.
July 9, 2009
(Thursday)
Today I had a go-see at Scott Powers Studios for an ad for Harrah's.
July 10, 2009
(Friday)
Today I worked with CEO Greg Brill on a video for Infusion Development for the MGX Conference. It should be out on about a week.
July 11, 2009
(Saturday)
Today I worked as an office worker and a stand-in for Jason Sudeikis on the Jennifer Aniston-Gerard Butler film The Bounty.
July 16, 2009
(Thursday)
Early this morning I got back from three days in the Hamptons where I was standing in for Ezra Miller on Episode 1010 ("Am I Blue?") for the USA Network television series Royal Pains.
Today my presentation for the international conference titled "Across the Generations: Legacies of Hope and Meaning" was accepted. It is titled "The Day Michael Jackson Died."
The international conference is sponsored by the Institute of General Semantics and is co-sponsored by the New York Society for General Semantics, the Medea Ecology Association, Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, the Lifwynn Foundation for Social Research, the Taos Institute, the Buckminster Fuller Institute, and Fordham University.
It will be presented at some point during the weekend of September 11-13 at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus.
July 18, 2009
(Saturday)
Yesterday into early this morning I continued standing in for Ezra Miller on Episode 1010 ("Am I Blue?") for the USA Network television series Royal Pains.
This morning I did the Run for Central Park 4-Miler in Central Park. I finished in 27:08, meaning my average miles were 6:47s, a new record for me for this year.
I was extra grumpy for this run this morning, which was not really signal that I was going to have a bad race, but actually for a signal of a good race. There were several factors going against me: I had a bit of a shin splint in my right leg, it was sunny and very humid (94%!), and my body in theory was tired (though I didn't feel it). I kinda didn't want to be there. I didn't look forward to climbing Cat Hill early in the race, and I wasn't very interested or focused in envisioning my race.
However, I did pretty well. My prior record was 6:48s over 5 miles, so this race was in some respects only slightly better, but considering humidity it was a bit better than slightly better. I started about 19 seconds past start and I did a first mile around 6:30, which was fantastic for me. I pushed myself to keep my pace up, and while I was getting passed here and there, I did manage to overcome some people and keep up my pace in the second half of the race. I did a sprint finish that seemed to blow away a lot of the pack around and in front of me, which was fantastic.
Training this week prior to the race was quite a bit less than I wanted, though I did get in some running. While in the Hamptons, I managed to run every day. On Monday and Wednesday I did about 3.5 miles with some simple hills and occasional sand, and Tuesday I did a short stint of sprinting. Thursday regrettably I took the day off after being a bit off of a schedule, but yesterday I did 6.3676 miles, short of my regular 8.273 I had set out to do but convinced myself against at the last minute in light of today's race. I am a little behind in my marathon training only in the sense that I haven't established my base 50-miles-a-week yet, but I do continue to regularly break PRs and generally get faster, though I have some bouts of slower times. But the prior week I did do somewhere around 45 miles and my body this week wasn't really liking its condition. So, I take that to mean I need to take care as I ramp up my mileage, which is probably considered to be on an aggressive track.
Run for Central Park
4-mile Race
Finished: 27:08
Pace: 6:47
July 20, 2009
(Monday)
Today I worked as a young interviewee waiting in reception on the film Remember Me. In the scene with me was Robert Pattinson.
July 21, 2009
(Tuesday)
Today I stood in for Eric McCormack on Episode 1102 ("Sugar") of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I also worked a bit in background as a gym pedestrian and an office worker.
July 22, 2009
(Wednesday)
Today I had a go-see for an ad for Meridian Health at Veronique Krieger Photography.
July 23, 2009
(Thursday)
Yesterday evening into early this morning I worked as a pedestrian in the Jennifer Lopez film The Back-Up Plan.
Tonight I did a comic improvised sermon as The Reverend Raymond Nader at the Bowery Poetry Club as part of a fundraiser for FilmWoman The Show.
July 24, 2009
(Friday)
Today I played a banker and a pedestrian on Episode 1011 ("Nobody's Perfect") for the USA Network television series Royal Pains.
July 25, 2009
(Saturday)
This past Thursday night at the Bowery Poetry Club I performed an improvised sermon as The Reverend Raymond Nader, as part of a fundraiser variety show for FilmWoman The Show. The suggestion I received was "kink."
I have added video of the performance to the videos section of my acting page. Visit the acting section and click on Videos > Comic Improvised Sermons to watch the improvised sermon.
July 27, 2009
(Monday)
Today I stood in for Campbell Scott on Episode 1011 ("Nobody's Perfect") for the USA Network television series Royal Pains.
July 29, 2009
(Wednesday)
Last night into early this morning I played a police officer in one of the final scenes of 25/8. Of note, for a moment Wes Craven accidentally mistook me for one of the principal actors and started to talk to me. Funny. :)
Today I stood in for Bruno Campos on Episode 1012 ("Home") for the USA Network television series Royal Pains.
July 30, 2009
(Thursday)
Today I played a Central Park jogger in the film Get Him to the Greek.
July 31, 2009
(Friday)
Today I was a café patron as well as a stand-in for Episode 304 ("Limitation of Life") for the television series Gossip Girl.