Ben van Loon

Babson Boulders

As a native Midwesterner, New England has always seemed full of secrets to me. But none as surreal as the Babson Boulders, a seemingly random collection of massive boulders with inspirational all-caps etchings scattered around the forest of an abandoned inland settlement in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I first learned about the boulders six or seven years… Continue reading Babson Boulders

Eddie Award nomination

I got fun news this week that my article, “The Science of Persuasion,” in Sync magazine was nominated for a 2016 Eddie Award in the B2B technology category. Maybe I’ll win, maybe I won’t. But hey, nice.

Porcupine Mountains

To ring in the end of a busy summer, and get away from the familiar noise of the city, I recently went north to Ontonagon (on-tuh-noggin), a small town of around 1,500 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the UP), near the Wisconsin border and the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, about 400-ish miles straight north… Continue reading Porcupine Mountains

The ethics of lifelogging

Head over to the Center for Digital Ethics and Policy to check out my new article on the ethics of “lifelogging,” the technology you voluntarily choose to record and archive everything you do. Some people have the blessing of a photographic memory, and lifelogging technologies have the potential to bring average people up to at… Continue reading The ethics of lifelogging

I was interviewed about my student debt

Like most in my generation and my caste, I went into my 20s loaded with student debt. Some of it was mine and most of it was my wife’s. As partners, we’ve spent our entire 6+ years of marriage working our asses off to get out of the hole. We’ve worked overtime, through many weekends, and… Continue reading I was interviewed about my student debt

The Night of the Gun

Some words from David Carr’s The Night of the Gun: “Every hangover begins with an inventory.” (8) “I’m not obsessed with my own privates, but I’m not one to point a pistol at them, either.” (13) “Tucked in safe suburban redoubts, kids who had it soft like me manufactured peri. When there is no edge, we… Continue reading The Night of the Gun

New book review in the Journal of Popular Film and Television

I have a new piece in the latest issue of the Journal of Popular Film and Television, a book review of a nerdy new book, A State of Arrested Development: Critical Essays on the Innovative Television Comedy. Because it counts as scholarship, the article costs $41 and the full journal costs $97. But HMU if you want a… Continue reading New book review in the Journal of Popular Film and Television

Florida Frenzy

Some words from Harry Crews’ Florida Frenzy: “A good editor is nothing but a good reader.” (5) “But this was more serious than death. This was as serious as money.” (17) “Well, like the man says, it’s two kinds of people in this world. Us that wants a drink and them that don’t want us to… Continue reading Florida Frenzy

New cover story for Profile Magazine

I have a new cover story for Profile Magazine with Allie Hope of Virgin Hotels. It’s not online yet, but here’s a picture of the cover. Stay tuned.

New issue of Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac

A few years ago I was browsing the magazine racks at Quimby’s and came across Wolverine Farm’s Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac. The content ranged from creative to informative and I ended up writing an essay for them about my experience cycling in Chicago. The potholes, the asshole drivers, the expected civility. Due to various complications, the… Continue reading New issue of Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac