The Smell of My Best Friend’s House – An SNL Short with Ariana Grande-Butera

My grandfather’s wood shop. A Baptist church foyer. A school gymnasium. These all had specific scents I still recognize immediately many, many years later. That’s the sentiment behind a wholesome song from musical guest Ariana Grande on Saturday Night Live. It’s called “My Best Friend’s House.” But things aren’t always what they seem and if you’re a fan of true crime, you’ll love the story in this song.

I was NOT ready for the twist, how about you!? This is the SNL that could save the entire franchise, in spite of their political bias that often makes headlines and ratings that seem to dip more than they rise. I won’t even get into the fact that Kamala Harris is basically off-limits while the show rails on Trump, Vance, and now Joe Biden, too, since he’s not the golden calf of the Democrat party. Not to mention, a lot of their most popular sketches are when SNL alumni are part of the cast.

But I digress. Back to the best friend’s house. I love the way the short video is put together. Everything looks great in the first half, but once the secret is revealed, the very things that looked fine are exposed as quite frightening in light of the big reveal. The head in the fridge, the reason the pot of stew had such a strong smell, the shelf of VHS tapes once you read the labels.

It’s also a subtle reference to the media’s portrayal of serial killers. They always have three names and in this case, the best friend’s father is Ray Lee Evans. It would’ve been just as easy to just say Ray Evans… but something about the three name killer is a real thing.

As he’s escorted out, he shouts that Ariana has the darkness, too. So the video ends on a cliffhanger because the last person we see is the three named Ariana Grande-Butera. Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!!!!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Daisy Sour Cream Commercial – Was That A Strawberry!?

In an advertising era where brand jingles are few and far between, Daisy says, “Here, hold my sour cream!” and then they whip out this gem. Check out a recent Daisy sour cream commercial (not quite as catchy as their cottage cheese jingle) then scroll down for more thoughts…

Strawberry madness! It’s not that the actress eating the strawberry looks uncomfortable (she does), ruffling feathers all over the universe is the fact that she’s dipping a strawberry, of all things, into sour cream. Is this a southern thing? A yankee thing? Who does that!? Spaghetti makes sense. Chili? Sure. Tacos, of course. But a strawberry? Those leaving comments about the ad aren’t sold on the idea.

How much is a dollop anyway? According to Merriam-Webster, a dollop is “a lump or glob of something soft or mushy.” AI says the quantity is around a tablespoon while websites generally agree whether it’s a little less or a heaping tablespoon. It reminds me of a phrase one of my grade school teachers used often, and I’m remembering it most clearly having to do with how much glue we were to use. She’d say, “A little dab’ll do ya.” In that case, a dollop would be way too much because a dab is just a pinch or drop or smidgen.

Small amounts. Unless you like whatever it is you’re measuring. Then, I suppose, you can do a double dollop of Daisy. Speaking of jingles, there’s an on-going commercial catchphrase/jingle you might remember from your childhood, or your parents might remember from THEIR childhood. Does this commercial campaign ring a bell?

-Out of the Wilderness

Underachiever… and Proud of it, Man!

I was a middle school student in Stafford, Virginia when “The Simpsons” was a really popular show. Actually, I’ll toot my own horn… I could do Bart Simpson’s voice pretty accurately. Phrases like “Don’t have a cow, man” and Homer’s “Doh!” were part of middle school conversations, the show’s relevance solidified by Bart Simpson even having a song.

It was in this part of my educational career where clothes and shoes became a status symbol. Michael Jordan shoes, Starter jackets, wearing clothes backwards were all part of middle school. “The Simpsons” t-shirts were common also. The one I had featured Bart Simpson with a simple, rebellious message:

At some point my parents said I couldn’t wear that shirt anymore. I guess they had decided the idea of underachieving wasn’t something they appreciated. I mean, how many successful people have ever boasted about being lazy? I didn’t understand it then but now many years later, I get it. It reminds me of those stickers you’ll sometimes see on cars that play off of the 26.2 or 13.1 stickers. Have you seen the ones that say 0.0? I have more thoughts about those here. Since those days in middle school, I’ve developed a real distaste for laziness and maybe it all goes back to how my parents handled that Bart Simpson shirt.

But “rest” is healthy… an important part of quality of life, keeping ourselves from injury or sickness, and taking time to recharge. Rest can look like laziness but it’s very different. Total transparency: there have been many times in my life where I’ve been lazy. Sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed. On cloudy days, I just feel less productive. Sunny days I feel like those people in the Skyrizi commercials– nothing is everythiiiiiing.

My parents did a wonderful job of teaching me the importance of being active, of work, and of earning. I give them all the credit for that. It’s translated into so many areas of my life from work to recreation, from pursuing hobbies to exercise. The most recent thing I’ve achieved is finishing a sprint triathlon. No, it wasn’t an Ironman or even a half Ironman. The next level down is Olympic triathlon, I haven’t even done that yet! Go down another level and that’s where I am: Sprint. This one was a 600-yard swim, 13-mile bike, and a 5K run. I’ve done them before but this is the first one that had an epic bike crash. It may or may not have been caused by a traffic cone that I clumsily rolled into with my bike. I’m usually not accident-prone but one ER visit and a lot of bandages later, here I am nursing a stitched up wound and a few road burns. I say all that because I want to include a photo from the race that I love. I want to set it up though, by saying I’m not trying to impress anybody. There’s nothing impressive about going over the handlebars after being such a goofball that I hit a stationary traffic cone. But there’s a bill coming in the mail from the ER and I know it’s going to be a chunk of change. So why not get a few blog posts out of the whole experience, you know? Here’s one of my favorite photos from last Saturday… crossing the finish line and the faces of the onlookers is pretty funny.

I may make clumsy mistakes while I’m swimming, cycling, or running… but I would rather do that than ever be called a proud underachiever.

-Out of the Wilderness

Harris Walz Parody Meant to be Serious – A Huge Flop!

I came across an X post from Clay Travis about a new ad supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. His post is actually misleading– the commercial below WASN’T created or endorsed by the Harris-Walz team.

In fact, if Mama-la and the Knucklehead ever see it, I’m 99% sure they’d disavow it immediately. Not because they’re embarrassed by it (they should be), but because Democrats still can’t define what a man is (or a woman). Take a look at the commercial better suited as a Babylon Bee parody.

And Republicans are the weird ones? I guess when weird is normal in a Democrat’s world, normal IS weird. But like I said, Harris and Walz are not responsible for the ad; it was made by a crazy fan. Objectively speaking… the production is professional and it had me laughing but for all the wrong reasons. The he/him who made the promo had this to say about it:

With the rise of role models like Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff on the national stage, I think the left is finally finding its footing on how to talk about masculinity.

Um, what!? Tim’s habitual lying and Doug Emhoff impregnating a mistress… such wholesome men! The guy who made this video clearly only has gay friends. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most manly guy in the world, but there are things even average straight men don’t say. Here are 4: I eat carburetors for breakfast. Accept my full-throated endorsement. I’m a man, man. I’m not afraid of women.

The script wreaks of overcompensating. It’s like the guy Googled “Ivan Drago” and crafted his script accordingly. No man talks about car parts that way. No man has to tell you he’s a man. No man is completely unafraid of women. And yes, it’s healthy to have a fear of women in the sense of awe and reverence. Women are incredible and you’d be crazy to not be a little afraid (in a complimentary way) of their insight, abilities, and power.

Here’s another peculiar video from the same he/him. Production value: High. Cringe-level: Higher.

Something tells me there’s a watchlist out there with this video producer’s name on it, a restraining order just a signature away from all Tim Walz events.

-Out of the Wilderness

Tim Walz on $25K Down Payment Assistance: “You’ll Pay It Back”

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President, recently unveiled their plan to help first time home buyers. Besides the fine print (for instance: if your parents have ever owned a home, you’re out of luck), Tim Walz said something the other day as part of his speech in Nevada that seemed to skirt by the supporters at his rally. I haven’t seen or heard it brought up in any news reports either. What the pair has promised is $25,000 down payment assistance from the government. Lots of people have pointed out that this will only compel sellers to jack up the prices by $25K but who cares, right? It appears as though Democrats just like to make promises that corral voters to their corner (remember the college debt forgiveness promised 4 years ago right before election time) without genuinely believing it will amount to anything. It’s all about that vote.

But then there’s knucklehead Tim Walz. Sometimes he gets “caught up in the rhetoric”– which is alarming to hear coming from someone who is in such a powerful position– and in part of his Nevada speech he said something he probably didn’t mean to say out loud. In context, he was talking about the $25K down payment thing and practically under his breath he said, “You’ll pay it back,” while the arena cheered in support.

Walz didn’t stop to explain, just moved along to the next empty promise. I’m sure he’s glad no one really noticed because if this “assistance” is really a loan, that’s a big deal and such a dangerous thing to hide from citizens. Voters should know that loans come at a cost– like the interest you’ll have to pay back on that $25,000. If it’s true, not only are they misleading everyone, but also just imagine how devastating it can be for young first time home buyers who think they got free money only to find out they owe the government $25,000 plus interest.

Washington Democrats who tell you everything you want to hear are vile. What they want more than money or fame… is power. Lies seems to be granting them that wish but I hope news outlets will point out the lie about the $25K loan soon before gullible and naive voters cast their ballots.

-Out of the Wilderness