Talk:Benjy Bronk/1

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I am fan of show. The birthdate cited previously is incorrect. There is a New York Post article and a New York Times article which list his age as 30 (in 2000 New York Post) and 33(in 2004 New York Times) that means accrding to published reports he is at most 35 in the year 2006. All these other statements saying "I grew up with him" are originla research and a violation of Wikipedia policy.

Celebrities lie about their age. Do you really trust Benjy of all people to tell the truth about anything? Nobody used "i grew up with him" as evidence.. they actually scanned and posted yearbook pages. He is also listed on the alumni page as a 1985 graduate. Rhobite 20:01, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
I searched LexisNexis' NY Times archive for 2004 articles with the word "Bronk". There were no articles which mentioned Benjy Bronk in 2004. Can you please provide a valid citation for the NY Times article so I can check it? Rhobite 20:32, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Please remember to cite sources

The statement "Benjy is known to sleep up to 23 hours a day. He eats turkey-pastrami and is reclusive, exiting his apartment only to search for food." has been removed because the article does not WP:CITE a reliable source for this information.

There appears to be some sort of strange revert war going on here, and whoever is "right", please remember not to remove external links or valid categories from the article. Thanks. Can't sleep, clown will eat me 13:26, 12 January 2006 (UTC)


Through Jr. High and High School, Benjy was always the kid who would do anything for attention. If there was a dare, he'd probably be willing to do it.

For his high school graduation from D.W. Daniel High School in 1985, he pulled a stunt. I don't remember the details. I believe it was that under his graduation robe he wore nothing but had cut-off pants legs on to make it appear that he was abiding by the required dress code. I don't specifically remember what happened or how people knew he wasn't wearing clothes under the robe. Even though my brother was graduating at that ceremony, I wasn't able to attend. It rained and they moved the graduation ceremony from the football stadium to the basketball gym which limited each family to 3 or 4 members in attendance.

I have many school yearbooks that have Benjy's pictures in them. Since I was 2 years older, I don't have all the yearbooks for grades 1-12 that have his pictures. Anyway, here's his school history:

Morrison Elementary School (Clemson, SC): Grade 1 (1973-74), Mrs. Petrillo is his teacher; Grade 2 (1974-75), Mrs. Massingill is his teacher; Grade 3 (1975-76), Mrs. Rauton is his teacher; Grades 4-6, no yearbooks;

R.C. Edwards Jr. High School (Central, SC): Grades 7-9, I have the yearbook with his 7th grade picture.

D.W. Daniel High School (Central, SC): Grades 10-12, I have the yearbook with his 10th grade picture.

In the 1982-1983 Daniel H.S. yearbook (his 10th grade), Benjy is listed in the index as Benjamin Ron Bronk. He's photographed in the wrestling team photo, but I'm certain he wasn't on the wrestling team. I believe I remember my brother saying that he showed up the day they were taking pictures and got in the picture without anyone stopping him. I believe the day they were taking pictures for the yearbook, he went and tried to get in many of them. He's also in the photos for the Music Club, Drama Club, French Club, Science Club, Computer Club and AFS (listed as Benji Bronk), although I'm certain he wasn't a member of any of them.

I've seen places on the internet refer to him as being a hula hoop champion. I have no knowledge of that. He was very uncoordinated and I can't imagine him keeping a hula hoop going for very long.

I do not know anything about what he did after high school. After high school my brother lost contact with him until he turns up on Howard Stern and we all recognize him. I was not aware that he went to Penn State until reading it on Wikipedia. I was also not aware that he did Jewish outreach for the USC (University of South Carolina) Jewish group.

63.229.124.189 14:00, 12 January 2006 (UTC)63.229.124.189

[edit] No original research

Wikipedia does not publish original research. "I know this to be true because we were at school together/I went and looked/my experiments confirm it," is original research. Please be prepared to cite sources for anything you add. Thanks, Tom Harrison Talk 14:44, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] I understand about original research.

I understand about original research. Benjy Bronk appears in the 1982-1983 D.W. Daniel High School yearbook as in the 10th grade. Daniel High School at that time consisted of 10th-12th grade, around 600 students. I expect that there exists probably 500 copies of that yearbook in existence since most students purchased one, including me. It's a published book and therefore substatial and not in the category of original research. It's a definite source that provides verification to Benjy's age, hometown and high school. I can scan the pages out of the yearbook, but given the nature of Wikipedia, I don't know who the authoritative person is to email them to.

I also have the yearbooks for R.C. Edwards Jr. High that show Benjy in 7th grade and for Morrison Elementary School that show Benjy in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. These are again published books that were purchased by students at those schools at that time. I can provide scans of the pages of which Benjy is pictured, but who is the authoritative person to send them to.

My interest in this Wikipedia entry is that it denotes correct information for Benjy Bronk. I have verifiable information that proves he was born in 1967 (or late 1966), was in the graduating high school class of 1985, and grew up in Clemson, South Carolina. As long as those facts remain in the Benjy Bronk Wikipedia entry, I'm happy. 148.126.100.82 15:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)148.126.100.82

I don't think it's necessary to post scanned images. It should be enough to include the yearbook in the references. If there's no dispute over his age or date of graduation even that is probably optional. If you want to, post here the title and publisher information for the yearbook and I'll add it to the references. Thanks, Tom Harrison Talk 15:53, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I will try to scan the yearbook pages (grades 1, 2, 3, 7 & 10) this weekend. I will upload the scans to a free image hosting website (like image shack). I will then attempt to post links to the scanned images here in discussion. I'll also post the title and publisher information about the yearbooks. Does that sound reasonable? There does seem to be a dispute over his age as other entries are claiming he was born in 1971. He was definitely born in 1967 or late 1966. 148.126.100.82 16:11, 12 January 2006 (UTC)148.126.100.82

[edit] Pictures of a Young Benjy Bronk

With my digital camera, I took pictures of the pages in the yearbooks I have of Benjy Bronk. This covers his 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 10th grade yearbook photos. I don't know how to appropriately combine these photos with the Wikipedia entry, so I'll let someone more experienced do that.

All I want to establish is the verifiable fact that (1) Benjy Bronk grew up in Clemson, SC and (2) He was in the graduating class of 1985 which puts him born in 1967 or late 1966. Previous edits have said he grew up in other towns in South Carolina or Georgia. Previous edits have claimed he was born in 1971. He grew up in Clemson, SC and was born in 1967 or possibly late 1966.

1st Grade Yearbook, "Memories of 1973-74", The Margaret Morrison Elementary School, Clemson, South Carolina. There is no publisher information in the yearbook. Paperback. Benjy's 1st Grade yearbook photo is at http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1466/1st29io.jpg

2nd Grade Yearbook, "Memories of 1974-75", The Margaret Morrison Elementary School, Clemson, South Carolina. There is no publisher information in the yearbook. Paperback. Benjy's 2nd Grade yearbook photo is at http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2739/2nd23gs.jpg

3rd Grade Yearbook, "Memories of 1975-76", The Margaret Morrison Elementary School, Clemson, South Carolina. There is no publisher information in the yearbook. Paperback. Benjy's 3rd Grade yearbook photo is at http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9108/3rd21xw.jpg

7th Grade Yearbook, "The 1980 Panther", R.C. Edwards Junio High School, Volume VIII, Routh 3, Central, South Carolina 29630. I do not see any publisher information in the yearbook. Hardcover. Benjy's 7th Grade yearbook photo is at http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4097/7th22mo.jpg

10th Grade Yearbook, "Summit 83, We Got It", D.W. Daniel High School, Rt. 3 Box 85, Central, S.C. 29630, Vol.28. Again, I do not see any publisher information in the yearbook. Hardcover. Benjy's 10th Grade yearbook photo is at http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9030/10th27dn.jpg

Note: Morrison Elementary School was for Clemson, SC. Edwards Jr. High and Daniel High were larger schools that are fed by the towns of Clemson, Central and Six Mile. Morrison Elementary School no longer exists and was replaced about 5 years ago with Clemson Elementary School.

63.229.124.189 01:30, 13 January 2006 (UTC)63.229.124.189

[edit] External links

I've removed some links from the page per Wikipedia:External links. Since I see that there has been a little bit of back and forth, I've posted them here. - brenneman(t)(c) 04:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

  • www.howardstern.com/ Howard Stern official website
  • www.sternfannetwork.com/ Stern Fan Network
    • Per "What should be linked to" we link to the official site of the subject of the article. These links should go in their parent articles, not here. - brenneman(t)(c) 04:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
  • www.tcf.net/benjy_bronk.html Benjy Bronk at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
  • www.tcf.net/HOWARD-STERN_files/image024.jpg Benjy at the Sirius rally
    • Per "What should not be linked to" nothing here that could not be incorporated into the article in some form. Find a GFDL image of the guy and stick it on. - brenneman(t)(c) 04:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date of birth

Until someone can provide a verifiable citation to the contrary, I'm going with the information provided showing a birth date in 1967. Tom Harrison Talk 22:14, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Also, references need to be posted publicly, due to the Wikipedia:Verifiability requirement. They cannot be e-mailed privately to individual editors. Rhobite 23:10, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
I give User:Accuratemedia credit for a good-faith effort. He posted a link on my user talk page, but the link doesn't work. The link is to an article in the NY Post. Even so, it seems more likely to me that the Post would get his age wrong than that his school yearbooks would. Tom Harrison Talk 23:25, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
Now I'm starting to wonder: how do we know that the anon's scanned pages come from the claimed yearbooks? Although there are some references to the school's name, there are no headers on the pages that indicate what year they're from. Maybe the anon is faking it? I have no idea why someone would perpetuate a hoax as irrelevant as this one, but who knows?
I still think it's more likely that the Post got it wrong. NY Post is not a very well-respected paper, and it isn't known for its factchecking. Or Benjy may have lied about his age, as many people in showbiz do. Rhobite 00:46, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
The NY Post is wrong - it happens. They are not infallible. Bronk is listed as a 1985 alum on [1]. Please stop removing the birthdate from the article. Rhobite 19:59, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
I am right. He did graduate in 1985. Here's the link to the exact entry on the Daniel Foundation webpage. http://www.danielfoundation.com/searchresults.php?first_name=&last_name=bronk&maiden_name=&submit=Search 148.126.100.82 20:44, 17 January 2006 (UTC)148.126.100.82
Also, do this. Look at the 10th grade yearbook page picture (or even one of the earlier yearbook pictures). Do the search on the Daniel Foundation webpage for each of them as alumni. Surprise! You'll see that many of them will also show up as 1985 Daniel High School graduates. Of course, they were in Benjy's class. 63.229.124.189 02:04, 18 January 2006 (UTC)63.229.124.189


If you can explain to me a way to verify the information in addition to providing pictures of the pages out of the school yearbooks, I'll do that. The NY Post article cited does refer to his age wrong. I have no personal advantage to spend my time wanting to get his age and hometown correct other than to see it correct. Actually, I've already wasted too much of my time already on this Wikipedia entry. I've never listened to Howard Stern and have no interest to ever listen to him. But it's very general knowledge amongst those who went to school with Benjy and grew up in Clemson what Benjy's current employment is. 63.229.124.189 13:06, 17 January 2006 (UTC)63.229.124.189

Here's the webpage of D.W. Daniel High School. (http://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/daniel.hs/) If someone wants to contact the school and verify Benjy, then please do so. The following current teachers were teaching at the school when Benjy was a student there (1983-85): Marion Greene, Louise Huey, Larry Jones (was at the Jr. High when Benjy was there), Nancy LeMaster, Elaine Lesley (was at the Jr. High when Benjy was there), Deannie Shonka (was at the Jr. High when Benjy was there) and Nancy Swanson. In addition, current teacher, Randy Robinson, was in my graduating class (1983) and would have also known Benjy as a student. Also, both the Principal (Mike Sanders) and Assistant Principal (Alan Crenshaw) of Edwards Middle School (http://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/Edwards.jhs/) were teachers at Daniel at the time Benjy was a student there. There are email addresses on the school webpage for each of these teachers. Also attending Daniel High School in its 50 year history was Pistol Pete Maravich (through 10th grade) and Lindsay Graham (current Senator from SC). 63.229.124.189 13:43, 17 January 2006 (UTC)63.229.124.189

[edit] you asked for a citation

This is what Accuratemedia posted to my talk page:

here's a link to takes you to a copy of the NY Post article - note it says in 2001 he was 30 http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.howard-stern/browse_thread/thread/6a0ae65d563bbd5d/1de08b67966a1457?lnk=st&q=new+york+post+and+Benjy&rnum=2&hl=en#1de08b67966a1457 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Accuratemedia (talk • contribs) .

what is an acceptable citation - is date, page and section of News Paper enough, Do you need an actual scan of the paper?

here's a copy of the article

THE NERVE!

By MARIANNE GARVEY

A classic stunt: Sneak in fast!

- Matthew McDermott

December 30, 2001 -- We've all been in the situation: You're late for an appointment, caught in the rain and trying desperately to score a cab. But when you finally spot a taxi with its roof light on, some sleazy jerk zips past you, lunges for the door, jumps in and takes off in a flash.

What can you do besides wait for another?

Not much, according to Matthew Daus, the head of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, who says there are no actual guidelines or laws governing the hailing of a street cab.

Behavior, he notes, falls outside the TLC's jurisdiction.

"Although there are no regulations, it shouldn't be a free-for-all," Daus said.

Still, some New Yorkers definitely play by their own rules.

Take Benjy Bronk, a 30-year-old comedian from Manhattan. He says he applies different degrees of competitiveness to each situation. His only firm rule: "The first person who's completely in the cab should get it."

Bronk's best tip? He'll go for a taxi from either side of the car.

"People think the traditional sidewalk side is the best side, but that's the moment you can seize the opportunity, zigzag through the traffic and jump in on the other side," he said.

"Somebody doesn't have a right just because they're at a corner first," he said. "That's ridiculous."

He says he used to give a break to good-looking women, but he stopped when he realized he wasn't getting phone numbers in return.

"Now they're a challenge like the rest," he said.

Bronk does have a soft spot for the elderly and those in poor physical condition. "If someone looks over 75 and out of shape, I'll give them a break and even get a cab for them, but if you're under 70, the competition is on," he said.

(For the record, Daus says the polite and acceptable way to get a taxi is by hailing while standing on the sidewalk, and the first hail gets the cab.)

But with just 12,187 yellow cabs to service some 8 million people, rudeness will occasionally reign.

Common snatching tactics include running ahead of someone who has beaten you to a corner and coming up from behind a person about to enter and diving in yourself.

And if you're caught red-handed and asked to leave by the driver? Rule breakers suggest you pretend not to speak English. They say it works every time.

Of course, weaving through oncoming traffic can get dangerous. According to Bruce Schaller, former head of the TLC, there are approximately 50 passenger-related accidents a day in the city, which results in "thousands of injuries each year," he said.

Daus recommends using taxi stands as much as possible because they tend to provide more orderly service. Even so, sneaks will simply jump in the last cab to skip the line.

Some taxi dispatchers in Manhattan pointed to the stand directly in front of Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue as the most viciously competitive.

Caesar Bell, 37, a dispatcher there for five years, says he's witnessed several fights among people in line.

"The roughest crowd are the Rangers fans, they've been drinking so they start acting disorderly," Bell said. "They jump in front of the line without waiting, and sometimes I have to get them out of a cab they stole, which is nearly impossible."

One fisticuffs involved two drag queens in full makeup. "It was the nuttiest thing," he said. "I had to call the cops on the both of them; meanwhile there were two empty cabs waiting."

Elijah Miller, 24, a dispatcher at the taxi stand in front of Macy's, on 34th Street, says he's been called every name in the book - and seen every excuse for line-cutting. Among these was one woman's plea that she had to get to the hospital or she "might die."

"She had also just come out from the revolving Macy's door," Miller recalled. "And her arms were full with packages."

Bronk says that you shouldn't take cab-hailing too seriously. He says he thinks of it as a sport.

"If they bring the Olympics to New York, they should really consider entering cab-hailing," he said.

Count him among would-be competitors.

"I like the hunt of it," Bronk said. "I'm so good that sometimes I'll even run alongside a cab and sense when it will stop."

Still, not all cab hailers are so cutthroat.

Sheila Passin, a 53-year-old sales rep from Brooklyn, said she doesn't "flip out" if someone steals a cab from her.

"I'll just wait for the next one," Passin said. "Life's too short."

SOURCE: EPD²

SOURCE: The New York Post - 12/30/01 http://www.nypost.com/living/37741.htm 23:14, 16 January 2006 (UTC) Picture of BB. http://www.nypost.com/photos/web12300153.jpg

[edit] Penn State?

What is the source that verifies that Benjy attended Penn State or was a member of that fraternity? What is the source that verifies that he worked with the jewish group?

I've given absolute proof of Benjy's hometown, high school and age and still to some that's not enough proof. How much proof is required? If everything on Wikipedia was subject to such a standard of proof, 98% of Wikipedia would need to be deleted. Benjy was born in 1967, grew up in South Carolina, and graduated from D.W. Daniel High School in 1985. Can't everyone please accept these facts and move on? Geez! 148.126.100.82 21:02, 17 January 2006 (UTC)148.126.100.82

You're right. This is pointless, someone is just messing with this entry. Accuratemedia and Stacyshell are blocked from editing Wikipedia for 24 hrs for repeatedly adding copyrighted text from Marksfriggin.com, and for removing cited statements from the article. Rhobite 21:20, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
His year of high school graduation, substantiated by cited publication in yearbooks, and by inclusion in the alumni database, is not original research. Persistently removing it is vandalism. Tom Harrison Talk 22:11, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

I moved this from the top of the page:

TOM HARRISON - you are saying the information is in the references - where in the references does it say "Benjy Bronk _______ in _______"
you are making assumptions. That is NOT permissible in Wikipedia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Calzone (talk • contribs) .

Tom Harrison Talk 23:17, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm satisfied that the references cited show that he graduated in 1985. It makes it easier to follow your comments if you sign them. You can do that with four tildes, ~~~~. Also, please don't top-post your comments. Thanks, Tom Harrison Talk 23:17, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Just for the record, the Penn State Alumni Directory contains the following entry: "Bronk, Benjamin Ron; B A 1993 General Arts and Sciences, College of Liberal Arts; Stand-Up Comedian/Writer, Howard Stern Show, New York, NY." —Xanderer 17:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)