Tagged: sociopsychotic state of bliss

Fostering Intimacy Across the Digital Divide

Well, now that the hot dog furor has subsided I suppose it’s once again time for me to update this blog. So update, I will — by giving you a peek into my world.

I spend the bulk of my day in a remote corner of MiLB.com HQ, where few individuals dare to tread. It’s where the stagnation magic happens!

office_aerial.JPG 

Amidst the plastic cutlery and teetering tower of cans, you’ll notice an array of Minor League memorabilia. To gaze upon it is to take a trip down memory lane.

Who could ever forget Subtle Butt?

office_subtlebutt.JPG

Here lies the customized 4XL “MiLB.com” shirt I wore during my brief stint as “Giorgio the Bloggerman.”

office_giorgioshirt.JPG

This shirt, which I received during my 2010 visit to Huntsville, has been worn on many a first date.

office_thirstaid.JPG

I’m not sure why there haven’t been any second dates.

Next to the shirt, and laid atop a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pennant, is another Huntsville memento. It’s a postcard featuring sword swallower Dan Meyer, one of the most interesting people I have met whilst on the road.

office_meyer.JPG 

A new addition to my burgeoning pile of Minor League detritus are customized Baseband Bracelets, resting comfortably on the almighty Cave Shrimp Bobblefoot distributed by the Bowling Green Hot Rods this past season. 

office_shrimpbandscloseup.JPG

Unfortunately, Ben’s Biz Blog wrapping paper was a huge flop. I’ve got several thousand unsold crates of the stuff up at a warehouse in Poughkeepsie:

office_wrappingpaper.JPG

Finally, and apropos of nothing, an unopened R.Kelly bobblehead. I plan on sending my kids to college with this thing, so long as I have kids and they attend a college that costs less than $45.

office_kelly.JPG

Meanwhile, actual news just keeps happening. In case you missed it, here’s a link to my MiLB.com story on the Pensacola-Zebulon-Kinston developments. I plan on diving deeper into the ramifications of all this in 2011. 

And today it was announced that the purchase of the Triple-A Padres has been finalized.pads.gif Very little has changed since my November story on the topic, but it is likely that the team will play in Tucson for two seasons before moving to Escondido, CA (providing the ballpark there is officially approved by city council, recent events indicate that it will be). 

Two more articles of note:

— A look at a new Minor League literary effort: Dave Hoekstra’s “Cougars and Snappers and Loons (Oh My!): A Midwest League Field Guide.

— A profile of Studio Simon’s Dan Simon, one of the primary players in the Minor League logo scene.

I have two more blog posts lined up for 2010, and they will be decidedly less me-centric. Thanks, as always, for reading.

benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz