Counting On - Part 5: Ben Raps, We Cringe

[Ungodly Grandma]

1 hour ago, nastyhobbitses said:

Can we start coming up with rapper monikers for Ben?

Notorious B.E.N.

Beninem

Jay-D (since I'm guessing that he and Jessa are gunning to be the white fundie answer to Bey and Jay)

Childish Grift-bino

Benye?

[missegeno]

So is "head-dancing" banned too?  How about toe-tappin'?

It's getting taken away by the beat that's dangerous, right?

[albanuadh_1]

On J & J's page, there is a video of Ben and the rappers. You know I do believe he is enjoying himself. As much as I snark on Ben, do bad he married so young and to a Duggar! He should be out and trying different things like this to discover what his true goal is.

[eclairaupistache]

I just wanted to say something about the last episodes: Joy did a course on how to clean a car on the inside? What, really?

I mean, people charge money for that and there are other people who are willing to pay for it?

Oh great: I could show people how to put plates in the dishwasher and get rich of it :-)

[foreign fundie]

Ok, Ben maybe young, but he is big enough to know people will laugh at him for months if he does poorly (as most here expect he will). I think he is putting himself out there more then the shopping, cookie making, coffee gossiping girls. At least he tries to make this show interesting. And he is taking a risk. Even if we cringe, would that be worse than dying of boredom?

Go Ben, let's see what you are up to. Maybe we will find you have a personality after all.

[Drala]

Thinking rapper names for Ben is fun.  

Biggie Ben Had

Li'l Ben Cents

Spud Daddy

Doo-gar Bych

[quiverofdoubt]

5 hours ago, Julifornia said:

So is "head-dancing" banned too?  How about toe-tappin'?

It's a gateway dancing. Head bobbing and toe tappin might lead to shoulder swaying and we all know where that ends up.

[Funwithfundies]

11 hours ago, lascuba said:

I used to loosely follow her blog, mostly for the pictures and anecdotes of ranch life. She was mostly just cheesy fun that I grew bored with. Whether she got cheesier or my tastes changed, I don't know. She's just very, every affected in everything she does. The "Oh My Rhonda!" stuff, etc. And then when you think about some messed up stuff she's said...a post about how she's glad she's allowed to say the word "retarded" because her brother's a "retard." The really iffy stuff about race, including the incredibly fucked up "funny" story about how her husband's ancestor cheated Native Americans by stealing water rights.  And then when you learn she's married to the richest landowning family in Oklahoma but her whole schtick is being a "city" girl stuck on a working ranch being so busy with homeschooling, ranching, etc. when she has private tutors, several paid employees working on her blog, etc. it all completely loses it's charm. Speaking of homeschooling, there was this huge bust up shortly after I stopped reading the blog, where her readers flat out attacked a secular homeschooler who guest blogged for PW. Ree let it happen because she didn't want to piss off her Christian base. 

She has always been like nails on a chalkboard to me, with her fake-folksy shtick.  The little I know about her is from flipping past her show - good to know my BS meter is working.

[Imagine20]

50 minutes ago, eclairaupistache said:

I just wanted to say something about the last episodes: Joy did a course on how to clean a car on the inside? What, really?

I mean, people charge money for that and there are other people who are willing to pay for it?

Oh great: I could show people how to put plates in the dishwasher and get rich of it :-)

I'm guessing they meant car detailing. (Who knows about the Duggars, though) Anyway, yes, people do make a business out of it. To get a car detailed near me starts at $100 and goes up from there based on the size of the vehicle. 

[socalrules]

The problem is that Ben was not raised in the Duggar bubble, so he has a different comfort zone than they do. He seemed to have a little more freedom with his going to college, seeming to have real friends and a job at that insurance place. He had more real exposure to the world. He may have been listening to Christian rap prior to even meeting Jessa. Who knows what he was listening to in the car on those long drives to visit her.

Ben is now stuck in Jessa's world. What happened to those friends that were in his wedding? He has ended up like Derrick, no longer his own man and now a Duggar. Ben may have liked Flame for the simple fact he wasn't a Duggar and may have talked to him like he was just Ben, not as the husband of Jessa. You lose your identify marrying a Duggar because Duggars are not allowed to have identities. 

[HarleyQuinn]

Bendrick Lame-ar?

Boob's Dogg?

Regarding the Pioneer Woman, I saw her show on TV Guides but I never actually watched her. I didn't realize she had quite the hate following until I came to FJ and someone shared a blog making fun of her. I found it hilarious. 

[Swamptribe]

13 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

Re: the Pioneer Woman: I read her blog when it was just a blog. She was funny, she seemed in awe of her fantastic ranch life, she seemed to be working hard to homeschool her kids in a coop.. all of a sudden, she's on television, and you start hearing how she seems so nice on the air, but go to the grocery store with her and see how she treats the people... and apparently not just people working, but her fans, too... and now she's Martha Stewart the Second and an entire corporation... Pioneer Woman got too big for her britches!

 

ETA" AFA Bin rapping, I just can not.

 

ETA Again to say, there ARE people in this world with absolutely no sense of rhythm. Mr. Four is one of them. His siblings are four more such people. Mr. Four and I took ballroom dancing lessons... easiest thing in the world to learn... he could not do it.

Mr. Tribe is also one of them.  He can't follow a beat to save his life.

Also, we haven't seen or heard of Ben's family outside of the Duggars on the new season.  Interesting indeed.

 

[brokenminded]

2 hours ago, eclairaupistache said:

I just wanted to say something about the last episodes: Joy did a course on how to clean a car on the inside? What, really?

I mean, people charge money for that and there are other people who are willing to pay for it?

Oh great: I could show people how to put plates in the dishwasher and get rich of it :-)

It's a huge business in the UK valet, mini valet, full valet, some of them cost as much as £40

[EmCatlyn]

10 minutes ago, socalrules said:

The problem is that Ben was not raised in the Duggar bubble, so he has a different comfort zone than they do. He seemed to have a little more freedom with his going to college, seeming to have real friends and a job at that insurance place. He had more real exposure to the world. He may have been listening to Christian rap prior to even meeting Jessa. Who knows what he was listening to in the car on those long drives to visit her.

Ben is now stuck in Jessa's world. What happened to those friends that were in his wedding? He has ended up like Derrick, no longer his own man and now a Duggar. Ben may have liked Flame for the simple fact he wasn't a Duggar and may have talked to him like he was just Ben, not as the husband of Jessa. You lose your identify marrying a Duggar because Duggars are not allowed to have identities. 

I think that his naming of Spurgeon may have been an attempt to assert himself against the pressure to be bland-Duggar.  And the "Christian rap" may be another.  Unfortunately, he is not doing what he really needs to do to reclaim his own identity.  He needs to give up the dream of using TLC to promote his career as a preacher and get away from his in-laws.

He has options.  He can tell Jessa that they are going to move, find an apartment near his parents and go into the windshield repair business with his dad.  In the evenings and on Saturdays Ben can take Spurge for a while, to bond as a parent and give Jessa some time off. After the kid is asleep, Ben can study.  He can take online classes and slowly finish his degree like many other young fathers. He could encourage Jessa to take some classes.  And he could gradually introduce her to music that glorifies the Lord but has a beat!

They could still be fundie, they could still homeschool, they could continue to be narrowmindedness and deluded about their own superiority, but they don't have to avoid music and rhythm, they don't have to be Quiverful, and they certainly don't have to be under JB's thumb.

But to do that, Ben has to give up the free/low rent, the TLC money (for however long it lasts) etc.  Too bad he can't seem to do that.

[PennySycamore]

@HarleyQuinn,  the blog you are referring to is

The Pioneer Woman Sux

and then there's this:

PieNear Woman

[Drala]

Well, I'm downright excited about the snappin' tappin' See Dawg showing up on TLC this Tuesday.  Finally, there's a somewhat compelling story line about being a young fundie. Given Ben's artistic interests, I can see why he's hitched his boat to the reality TV gravy train.  He's very young and idealistic.  How exciting to jam with serious musicians.  I think I may have done the same thing when I was his age, but as Grace Slick said,  if you remember the '60s, you probably weren't there.

[anotherone]

15 hours ago, nst said:

she will just sit there and stare blankly and then when Ben will rap she will put her hand over her mouth laughing at him. 

They can try and put Jessa in situations ie normal situations - but she will come across as a sheltered pretty girl who has no clue who just stares at her husband.  

Yeah but look at it this way.  Nothing is better for a sheltered kid than to get out there and become unsheltered.  So though she might look kind of goofy on the show, it is probably good for her in the end.

I wonder how much JB is willing to "sell out" with the protection.  They need some new storylines and this is one, but you are sacrificing keeping the kids sheltered.  Do you think he is encouraging the experiences for money, or is he lamenting the fact that they are becoming more worldly.

3 hours ago, eclairaupistache said:

I mean, people charge money for that and there are other people who are willing to pay for it?

Oh great: I could show people how to put plates in the dishwasher and get rich of it :-)

It will be good when you start flipping kitchens

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Quote

Well, I'm downright excited about the snappin' tappin' See Dawg showing up on TLC this Tuesday.  Finally, there's a somewhat compelling story line about being a young fundie

Yes but....if you look at the demographics the highest concentration of viewers for the show is over 50 and female.  I find it hard to imagine that the core base of their viewers will be pleased and excited to watch a show about Wrapper Bin.  I know that as storylines go it has to be a cut above looking for misplaced glasses but will viewers stay and watch or will they turn it off? 

[anotherone]

9 minutes ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

Yes but....if you look at the demographics the highest concentration of viewers for the show is over 50 and female.  I find it hard to imagine that the core base of their viewers will be pleased and excited to watch a show about Wrapper Bin.  I know that as storylines go it has to be a cut above looking for misplaced glasses but will viewers stay and watch or will they turn it off? 

I get a kick out of that it's virtually the lowest show for men viewers

[paulypepper]

14 hours ago, MarblesMom said:

I found her blog MANY years ago when I was searching for "fear of street grates" - apparently she and I share that fear.  (We can start a separate thread about phobias, if there is not one already!)

Once I started poking around on her blog (this had to be pre-2007), it seemed to be mostly lovely photography (that was a big focus for her at the time) documenting her kids on the ranch.  She did take some fantastic photos.  Recipes seemed like a side gig.   (And none of hers were impressive to me.)

Next thing I know, she is huge - and her original claim on the blog of something akin to a  "lil ole me, raising kids out here with the cows theme" (my interpretation, not a quote from her blog) - -  seems like utter BS now.

 

I have "fear of street grates", but I ride my bike to work everyday..hehehe

[Drala]

23 minutes ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

Yes but....if you look at the demographics the highest concentration of viewers for the show is over 50 and female.  I find it hard to imagine that the core base of their viewers will be pleased and excited to watch a show about Wrapper Bin.  I know that as storylines go it has to be a cut above looking for misplaced glasses but will viewers stay and watch or will they turn it off? 

I'm quite a few 24 hours over 50, but I'm surely not in the viewer demographic.    Still, there must be some curiosity among white fundies about Christian culture among da urban folk.  Don't all Christians want to 'philippian' when they praise the Lord?

[sophie10130]

4 hours ago, Imagine20 said:

I'm guessing they meant car detailing. (Who knows about the Duggars, though) Anyway, yes, people do make a business out of it. To get a car detailed near me starts at $100 and goes up from there based on the size of the vehicle. 

A friend of mine got her husband's car detailed for a surprise when he came home. I was going to do the same until she told me the basic package was $150 and more for if you have pets! I decided to haul my quarter jar to the ol vacuum myself. Obviously I did not do as good of a job as a detailer--they go over everything with a toothbrush it seems!

My husband also detailed cars for a dealership he worked for in his teens. He made great money for a 15 and 16 year old.

There's a market for ANYTHING for people who don't have time to do it themselves. Or the know-how. Or they just don't feel like doing it.

[SassyPants]

Ree went to college at  USC and her father is a surgeon, IIRC. She was never an underprivileged girl-

[FloraKitty35]

Ben-Pac, Easy B, Benye, or Benstie Boy.

[Ungodly Grandma]

3 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@HarleyQuinn,  the blog you are referring to is

The Pioneer Woman Sux

and then there's this:

PieNear Woman

Part of me wants to thank you and part of me is pissed b/c I can see where my evening is headed, right down the Pioneer rabbit hole!