I'm Ben Tye, I just turned 25 at the weekend, so I am feeling oldish now.
I was born in Manchester England, and moved to Sheffield seven years ago.
Sheffield is only thirty miles away from Manc, but you'd be surprised how
different the two places are.
I am a post-grad researcher (yawn..) doing a PhD in Simulating Manufacturing
Systems (yawn..). Basically just a way of doing an easy job without much
hassle and one where I can skive off and go climbing or something.
I have a love-hate relationship with FC (and the internet as a whole) which
has sometimes led to me being labeled a cynic, this is usually in response
to my slagging of "Oh my God, feel those wires, the net is alive.." type
posts. I often un-sub for long periods of time and completely lose interest
in the whole thing, I think Arthur Kroker got it right when he said you have
to immerse yourself in this thing to criticise it.
I do shit loads of sport.. rock climbing, fell running, surfing and mountain
biking. I've been doing loads of hill runnning recently so I feel quite fit
at the moment. I love playing in the sea, surfing is wonderful, you travel
for miles to catch waves that have travelled for thousands of miles across
the ocean, I've seen dolphins swim right near me.
I have a chronic bowel disorder called Ulcerative Colitis which is in
remission most of the time but flares up occaisionly and gives me hassle,
tho' I keep under control most of the time with a good diet, exercise and an
anti-inflammatory suppository which I have to shove up my butt (huh huh he
said butt..) every night, which is sometimes funny when I'm drunk.
I used to take drugs but don't any more, I don't know why, I guess because
of sports.
I was interested and affected by anarchism and such-like until my early
twenties, I still pretty much lean that way politically. I also was
interested in Crowley et al as a teenager, but not anymore because I think
it's a load of hog-shit. Crowley dharma - "First there is a load of
horse-shit, then there is no horse shit, then there just is". In fact I
burnt all those type books, which was great fun expecially those rare and
valuable Kenny Grant and Austin Spare books. Book Burning, wow there's one
to shock the intelligentsia. I was kind of zen for a bit, I guess I still
am but I don't do any exercises or eat out of little china bowls which seems
to be many peoples idea of zen. I love Sufi tales, in fact there is that
word "love", that is what I reckon it is all about folks.
I am in love with a girl named Nicola, we are getting married next June and
I am really excited about it.
So there you go, I now sound like a sports-mad, 'net cynical, ex-wand
waver. It just goes to show you shouldn't believe everything, sorry
_anything_ you read.
Peace,
Ben.