GOOD
mAdBen’s Crazy Great Year. NYU accolades. New view. Career
Mama & 3 bears in the yard
The Night Circus
Ocean House, Watch Hill- 60
BAD
People on TV. Cover your skin. Sleeves. Pleez.
Amy Winehouse. Sad
PH-D
Thomas Sargent, NYU, was just named one of 2011’s Nobel Prize Winners in Economics. Sargent was among the judges who deemed Ben’s Econ Thesis worthy of winning NYU’s highest honor, the Borgman-Phi Beta Kappa prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis: ‘Functional Data Analysis of Economic Bubbles: Creating a Coherent Shape of Inflationary Phenomena’.
mAdBen
Just four blocks down the street, mAdBen off to meet the new MadMen Associates at Ogilvy & Mather’s Chocolate Factory. Sweet. Maybe too much like “Sterling Cooper”. This year’s graduation featured a pyramid of martini glasses. Oh boy. Stay away from Joan and Peggy. Do I smell a CLIO by end of the week?
U.S. Open highlights. Aussie Samantha Stosur, I’m a new fan! Composure, determination, class. And she doesn’t grunt. Tonight Djok v. La Reina, my name for la Rafa Nadal. Tea Party debate. Oh yeah, Pats play Miami.
1 Rm Riv Vu
Hudson River and City from 25th Floor. Congrats to Ben on his new home! Doorman, pool, tennis courts, gym, roof deck. Just a coupla blocks from work. It’s good to be Ben. He’s earned it.
More SanFran Buzz. Northampton’s former Circa owner, Dane Boryta’s new restaurant Bottle Cap is slated to open in a week at the site of Ed Moose’s old ‘WashBag‘ in North Beach. See Travel Treks for more Bay Area Treks. Last night Jack asked if Repubs will go light on social issues in order to win in 2012. He read what C. said. Can we finally kiss that weiner goodbye?
Violet Glory
On stage at the Javits Center stands Ben with 3 other honored undergrads behind faculty illuminati during NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences graduation. 1,800 classmates cheer him on from the floor as he is introduced recipient of the Borgman-Phi Beta Kappa prize for most outstanding undergrad honors thesis: ‘Functional Data Analysis of Economic Bubbles: Creating a Coherent Shape of Inflationary Phenomena’.
As Ben crosses the stage with his diploma in Economics (highest honors) and Journalism (magna cum laude), President John Sexton reaches for a heartfelt hug. Ben says, ‘Thank you, John’. John replies, ‘Thank you, Ben’. Kleenex please. 
Next day, Violets in Yankee Stadium? A sea of purple stands. Joe’s smilin’. No, not joltin’ Joe. He’s there too with E.A. and Ellis. Bill Clinton emerges from the dugout right in front of Ben & Co. Bill’s speech had that politically charged Clintonesque touch of pure inspiration. Best of all, no purple rain.
Mad World
Crazy Masters Sunday. Rory’s wreckage gave way to divine intervention for Schwartzel’s chips, abetted by Tiger’s timidity on the greens. Aussies acquitted themselves admirably at Augusta. Youth displayed character and class. Best thing about Masters coverage, no creepy commercials with old couples in bath tubs.
Speaking of Masters’ sponsors, loved Ogilvy & Mather’s new IBM campaign. Can they resurrect the Gap brand as well? MadBen’s new MadMen team.
mAdBen!
MadMen’s Season 5 is in doubt, but mAdBen is beginning Season 1. Ogilvy was smart enough to select him as one of their prestigious Associates. After a couple thousand applications, they interviewed 400, then invited 53 to participate in “Super Saturday”, a grueling day of presentations and interviews this past weekend. Today Ben got the happy news that he was chosen as one of 23 new Associates. Congrats! Now we can breathe, but no martinis until after noon.
Full circle from Ghirardelli Square to Ogilvy Chocolate Factory. Sweeeeeet. 
Ben Trek
Hi all of you Trekkies…I’ve hijacked my mother’s blog for the day and disgusting profanities and turns of phrase are bound to rear their ugly heads. However, before my Tourette’s-like diatribe ensues, I just wanted to reflect on the fact that, as I’m sitting here facing my senior year of college, I’m really able to appreciate this quaint little town that I grew up in and…yes…my family. That was a lot of punctation in one sentence.
With that crazy family in mind, I’m looking forward to spending the Memorial Day weekend with all of them. More importantly, I’m looking forward to teaching my mother how to add tags to her blog posts so that her page is easier to navigate and so that Google is more likely to catch her posts and introduce the world to her “unique” view of things. To that end, I just wanted to tell all of you that I’m having a really great time at my internship with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. We’re all hoping that the Top Hat/Top Kill/Hot Tap/whatever idiocy BP is trying now is going to work, but we also have to keep our struggling journalists in mind–those tragic scenes of oil-covered pelicans really make for great TV.
Anyway. That’s enough for now. I think I can begin my “tagging” lesson. Until next time, happy Memorial Day to all.
Ben Meets Frank
When Ben Levine was invited to sit in on a New York Times editorial board meeting yesterday, he ran into a familiar looking guy. Frank Rich. “Frank” asked what brought him to the meeting. Ben told “Frank” that he was the Editorial Board Chair of NYU’s newspaper. “Frank” said, “oh, the Washington Square News!” Ben was surprised and impressed and had a great time sitting in on the meeting- found the discussions to be heady and educational. Outsiders are rarely invited to the ‘Times’ inner sanctum, so quite a coup.
See Trek Books for March List.
Side Trek . NYC 