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Benj

@benjel.bsky.social
200 followers 96 following 99 posts

Florida man in Baku. Travels and sails. Student for life and teaches social science. Reads about business and history. Enjoys comics and death metal. 🗣️🇺🇸🇫🇷🇷🇺 More of a cat person.

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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
At the time, I didn't know much about Tree of Knowledge beyond this insert. Looking back at it, it reminds me a lot of other organizations I was familiar with in Florida.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Hello, Doha! Swanky hotel? Oh, yes. 🇶🇦 #indoors #travel #photograph #qatar
The image shows an intricate and striking architectural design feature within a hotel. The main focus is a large, angular glass and metal structure that extends upwards, forming an impressive overhead canopy or atrium. The design incorporates a series of intersecting triangular and diamond-shaped panels, creating a dynamic and geometric visual effect. Some of the panels are made of clear glass, allowing natural light to filter through, while others have a metallic, mirrored finish that reflects the surrounding environment. The overall impression is one of modern, sophisticated design that is both aesthetically pleasing and functionally integrated into the building's architecture.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Oof, that looks like a challenge for a helmsman get out of.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
I'd love to see it, it's right next door, but that's a trip that will need to wait until after I permanently move.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
At Heydar Aliyev Airport. Leaving Baku again for a week on work. Destination: Doha, Qatar.
The image shows a large, dimly lit airport terminal with a high, curved glass ceiling. The terminal is empty, with rows of black leather chairs arranged in the center of the space. The windows on the walls are tall and narrow, and the artificial lighting creates a moody, almost theatrical atmosphere. The overall impression is of a modern, minimalist design with a focus on functionality and efficiency.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Watching "Big Trouble in Little China." Anyone else consider growing a mullet to channel their inner Kurt Russel? Asking for a friend.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Those magical contraptions he'd design really capture the imagination.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Thanks. You, too.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
I've only sailed in Europe. Those boats in the harbor look inviting.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Soviet mural in downtown Baku, #Azerbaijan. The mural commemorates "The Great Patriotic War," a different take on World War II.
A Soviet-era mural on a building wall in Baku, painted in white and beige geometric shapes, depicting stylized figures with upraised hands and a cross symbol, commemorating World War II. The mural is set against a cream-colored building with classical architectural details.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
After-school and overcast in Baku. #azerbaijan #school #football #cityscape
A soccer field with artificial turf and white goal posts at a school in Baku, Azerbaijan. The urban skyline stretches across the background, featuring numerous cream-colored high-rise apartment buildings against a moody winter sky with scattered white clouds. A few people play soccer on the field while evergreen trees line the perimeter. The late afternoon light casts a warm glow on the buildings, contrasting with the cool, overcast atmosphere.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
I greatly appreciated the street art in Tbilisi, Georgia. Lamb's work could be found throughout the city back in 2017. #travel #georgia #streetart
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
A friend was looking for a deal on an Azerbaijani carpet. I tell her, every carpet seller I've met is happy to cut a deal. Everyone gets a "friend price." That song and dance is all part of the game. I admire the dishonesty built into the tradition.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_b...
en.wikipedia.org
Brick by Brick - Wikipedia
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Beyond it being Iggy Pop, I picked up "Brick by Brick" on the Charles Burn cover alone. Icing on the cake: it also features Slash and Duff of Guns n' Roses and Kate Pierson of The B-52's. 🤩
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
That was definitely one of the weirder crossovers.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
That's one of my favorite parts of the run. Thank you for posting it.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
And if there's any doubt beyond that, do an image search on a photo that includes "their" likeness.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
It's a plot device, something of a deus ex machina, yet it helps make the franchise more than just the xenomorphs. I appreciate its ability to direct attention to science, discovery, and creation.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
The photographer wanted to make .gifs, but couldn't wait 70 years for their invention.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Back then, this group was referred to as "emo." 🤣 youtu.be/V6oy5lj5UlQ?...
youtu.be
Reversal Of Man - Revolution Summer (Full Album)
YouTube video by Cristian Camilo
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
More quaint warnings from the the 1990s #punk and #hardcore scene. I found this one in Reversal of Man's (1998) "Revolution Summer." The entire insert booklet for this 10" is a work of art. It uses the old zine methods of copy editing.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
They knew their marketing, that's for sure!
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Yes! I have a bonkers comic book "adaptation." comicsalliance.com/suicide-girl... The artist has since had a falling out with the industry due to grooming allegations. That scandal certainly colors the work in retrospect. I don't know if I can ever return to it knowing that.
comicsalliance.com
'Suicide Girls' Comic Book Gets Even Crazier, Begins Harvesting Tears [Review]
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Jello Biafra's line about "becoming the media" has always resonated with my best memories of the scene.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Tucked inside Catharsis's double-LP "Samsara" (1998), I found this insert promoting an indie publisher. Feels so quaint these days. #hardcore #music #indie #punk
"WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE PLANET, YOU'LL MISS THE SMALL PRESS"

"We're living at a time in history when multinational corporations have become the largest single force in determining the way we live our lives. Not only do they control nearly all areas of commerce & consumption, they also control the flow of information and ideas. Fewer than 10 corporations control most of the global media and it's getting worse with every corporate merger. As these institutions become larger and larger, they control more and more of our lives. They decide what is "newsworthy"... they decide which books get published... they decide which opinions will be voiced. These points of view inevitably support the agendas of those that control these empires. Advertisers manufacture our desires while "news" editors manufacture our consent by regulating the flow of information... information about the health effects of chemicals in our food, the effects of our consumption on the biosphere, and the real cost of the products we buy (in terms of human misery & ecological destruction). These corporations are subsidized by our tax dollars through an elaborate system of corporate welfare. They exist to make a profit for their shareholders. This is their prime directive and it is becoming increasingly evident that they will steamroll anyone or anything in their path in order to meet this objective.

These corporations won't be publishing books on grassroots resistance to U.S. imperialism & war, or be making movies about labor struggles. They won't be reporting on the devastating ecological effects of urban sprawl and a culture based on fossil fuel dependency. This is why the independent press, now more than ever before, is essential to the well-being of a vibrant and original culture of resistance. Indeed it is vital to our very freedom, quality of life and right to honest information. Alternative media (and all small businesses) all over the world are in danger of extinction. Your support is essent… "TREE OF KNOWLEDGE PRESS"

"Tree of Knowledge is a mailorder distribution & publishing collective struggling to provide the finest in alternative media at affordable prices. We have more than 150 zines, books, and pamphlets focusing on health & social issues, activism, DIY, anarchism, ecology, alternative living, punk/hardcore, youth culture, feminism, veganism, & other forms of intelligent rebellion. We've got zines such as Auto-Free Times, Fucktooth, Contrascience, Icarus Was Right, Inside Front, The Match!, Flavorpak, War Crime, Here Be Dragons, Cooties, Retrogression, Screams From Inside, Dishwasher, Temp Slave, Outpunk, Dwgsht, Femme Flicke, Cometbus, Doris, The Underground Auto Worker, Dwelling Portably, War Crime, Live Wild or Die, Slug & Lettuce, Backseat, & Enobled Mind... plus a good selection of comics (including the entire Migraine Press catalog). We've got books by Emma Goldman, Noam Chomsky, Judi Bari, Graham Purchase, Ward Churchill, Grace Llewellyn, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Raoul Vaneigem, and many other articulate folks. We publish stuff when we can... stuff like The Playground Messiah, a graphic novel by Emily Heiple & Nate Powell about some teenage revolutionaries who inspire an uprising in their high school, or Spectacle Magazine, a journal of ecology, activism, humor, & alternatives & resistance to corporate dominance & destruction of the planet. Our 1999 mailorder catalog is out and is yours for just $1.00 (or some stamps) from the address below. Thanks a lot!"
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
😋
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
🤘🐈‍⬛️
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Risso?
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
My students today were coloring maps of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. One of them asked if she needed to color every Greek island. Fair question. There are so many, each beautiful with a story to tell.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Teaching a lesson today, we had an assessment, yet no one-liner defining the objectives. I improvised. I wrote on the board, "Lesson Objective: To develop tools to prepare for an uncertain future." I left it on the board all day. I think we'll revisit it regularly.
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Reposted by Benj
Stephen R Bissette @stephenrbissette.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Every day above dirt is a good day! __ ©2017, 2025 Stephen R Bissette
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
As I approached my front door, I heard the Mars Volta coming from inside the apartment. I then walked into a cosmic light show. #unexpected #psychedelic
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
👋🇺🇸/🇦🇿
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
After completing the shorebased course last month, I received my RYA Coastal Skipper & Yachmaster Offshore certificate today. Looking forward to applying those skills this spring. ⛵ #accomplishment
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
I have pastoral duties at my school. This chart needs integration in the curriculum.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Oo. I'll be returning there in March for sailing.
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Reposted by Benj
Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 06/01/2025
Features of Adulthood xkcd.com/3034
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Awesome! Hope it goes well.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Good luck!
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
My Master of Science in Business Analytics officially kicks off this week. #quantic #business #analytics #lifelonglearner #stoked
Screenshot from Quantic's MSBA homepage, indicating it's Week 1 of the program.
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Reposted by Benj
Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 05/01/2025
Cleopatra lived closer in time to 'yeet' being in the dictionary than to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Early Sunday afternoon near Fountain Square Baku. #Azerbaijan #photos #trees #architecture #winter
A tree-lined sidewalk in downtown Baku, with classical European-style architecture, ornate balconies, and a Boss store. Parallel-parked cars line the street.Looking up at bare winter trees against a cloudy sky, framing the elaborate balconies and façades of a historic Baku apartment building.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
When seated without a safety belt in the back of a ₼2 Bolt ride share, I see this *all the time.*
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
I love seeing wooden boats like the ones shown. It's not too often you see that material used today.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Lance Stroll isn't going anywhere. Call it a hunch.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
I grew up around those ducks. At the time, I thought they were so ugly compared to the mallards I'd seen in media. Now, I see them as a regional constant, and I can't imagine those places without them.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Good morning, Baku. #Azerbaijan #photograph #skyline
Baku's skyline on a clear morning, showing Soviet-era apartments in the foreground and modern towers rising in the distance, with an urban park cutting through the city center.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
That looks a lot like the traditional neighborhoods in Baku.
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Benj @benjel.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Looks like a Degas.
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