Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Kamala Harris will earn most of the “black vote” because of her being considered a black woman. It’s a lot like when Barack Obama was running, back in 2008 and 2012. It was settled fact that he was black, even though he’s not. Kamala isn’t black either. Well, I take that back. She’s black when it furthers her political career. In the interview below, she changes how she speaks so she sounds blacker. 🤔
In a cooking segment, Kamala joined actress (and fellow Indian person) Mindy Kaling to prepare a traditional Indian dish. In that video, she speaks about her Indian heritage as if it’s all she ever knew.
So is Kamala black? Well, her mom is Indian and her dad is Jamaican. This makes her half black and 100% not African-American (if we’re being technical). Kind of the opposite of Barack Obama, actually. He’s 100% African-American but 50% not black. It always confused me when people said he was our country’s first black president…. because it’s also true to say he was a white president. Who even knows if he was our first biracial president, either? I suspect we’ve had a handful of presidents with mixed ethnicities.
But to be honest, I’m not surprised liberals are praising Kamala’s blackness. They can claim she’s whatever they need her to be because after all, all you have to do to be whatever you want to be is just say you’re that. Science and biology can go kick rocks.
There’s a Zoom video going around titled “White Women: Answer the Call 2024” where a bunch of middle-age white women gathered together to womansplain racism to each other. If weird weren’t a chic word right now, I’d call this whole whitewashbash session, weird. It’s weird. And truthfully, it’s one of the beautiful parts of this country. We’re allowed to be weird! I kinda like being weird, if I’m being honest. I’m not sure where the liberal left got the idea that being weird is all of the sudden a bad thing (they’re calling VP nominee JD Vance “weird”… a lot!), especially coming from a party that usually embraces the weirdness of society’s fringe-iest folks. Here’s a small portion of the video, and pay special note to the particular line that I used for the title of my post…
If I’m wrong, please correct me. I’ll just get that out there straight away. I think this woman (and all the others on this Zoom meeting, I assume) is approaching the idea of correction as a weapon people use to belittle others. I’ll admit being called out is humbling. It can be embarrassing. I guess this woman doesn’t want to embarrass people, and God forbid, people of color! She’d be called *dun dun dunnnnnn* a racist.
I’m right. You’re wrong.
In the Bible there’s a book called Proverbs and in it, it’s said, “Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” So if someone is wrong, it’s actually helpful to correct them. How can they (or I) gain understanding if no one is brave enough to speak up? The white woman leading this portion of the video is ultimately saying that all people of color are right (about everything), which is rather racist if you sort that out for what it really means. It falls right in line with Joe Biden a few years ago saying you’re not black if you don’t vote for him. So people of color all think the same way, got it.
We all know that if there was a Zoom meeting of conservative white women, it would be wildly and robustly mocked by everyone in the media and in Hollywood. They’d be quick to, God forbid, “correct” those white women, wouldn’t they?
I thought I’d be pretty psyched to watch the Olympics but so far, aside from watching some of the women’s and men’s swimming, my heart is iced over with indifference. My casual, uncaring approach might have been spurred on by finding out breakdancing is an Olympic sport now. Ummm, OK? I still turned on the TV to watch the opening ceremony and was immediately reminded why I never watch an entire opening ceremony.
There’s been a lot of pushback on part of the opening ceremony. I’m sure you’ve heard about or seen the recreation of Christ’s “Last Supper.” On the one hand, it could be viewed as a mockery. On the other hand, aren’t we all sinners hoping to be in the presence of Christ? The disciples of Jesus who reclined with Him were broken people with only one hope: Jesus. So looking at the Olympic scene through that lens, I can see it as imperfect humans crying out for something bigger than ourselves, our inferiority intertwined with his superiority.
But it’s hard to justify this recent Olympic promo video. Whether it’s good or bad is pretty easy to determine. It’s bad!
I’ve been more inspired reading the ingredients off the side of a box of cereal. Speaking of breakfast– segue alert– the word milquetoast comes to mind and that’s being kind. From the twisty, curves of the poem which seem to have no adjoining thoughts or rhymes to the wrong words being emphasized, I can’t imagine the folks at Toyota are jumping for joy at hitching their wagons to the widely-rejected spot.
The Olympics exist to bring people together, to inspire higher goals, to wow us with the best of humanity from all over the world. So far, the entire presentation from France isn’t even close to getting a gold medal. In fact, it might be safe to assume that France will never host the Olympics again and the entire country will be dug up and shuttled up to the moon where they can think about the tempest, the storm they’ve created by being so bad at it.
I dare you to find a more trashy country music video than this new one from Benjamin Tod. Literally. Giving us a perspective on Music City rarely seen, here’s “I Ain’t The Man” from the trash heap across from downtown Nashville…
I’m totally digging the vintage country sound of this folky song. It’s so refreshing coming off a decade (or more) of country music widely accepted as “bro country” or “boyfriend country” and I have no hesitation in calling Tod’s song Country & Western. It’s similar to music coming from other bands and artists in the industry… almost in opposition to the soft offerings of pop country radio friendly songs. In that regard, Tod had this sassy statement on his website:
“Most of my career has been laser-focused on poetic, piercing songwriting in mainly a folk tradition.” Tod says. “I wanted to prove to myself and the industry that I could write an elite country record with ease. Either way, if I didn’t accomplish that goal, I sure as hell came closer than anyone on pop country radio.”
While a bustling Broadway was a great backdrop for the new Post Malone & Luke Combs video, the trash heap was equally as good for this music video shoot (hat tip to the director Jesse Weeden). Even if it’s the eyesore of downtown Nashville, it looks perfectly cinematic in the video. Another kudos for the western feel with the sepia-type color grading they added in the edit. About the trash heap, the kazillionaire guy who owns the multi-acre property isn’t selling… yet, which is breaking the hearts of developers who must be absolutely salivating over that piece of land.
Technically, it’s a recycling center but the story remains the same, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Until the property gets sold and the trash removed, it can still be a treasure in the present with ideas that are a little out of the box. Like, oh I don’t know, shooting a music video where most people wouldn’t. I love the idea. I love the video from Benjamin Tod. I think it’s a win for him and for country music.
Swimming. Gymnastics. Breakdancing. All part of this summer’s— wait, what?? Breakdancing is an Olympic sport!? I mean, it’s cool and all but I never thought spinning around on your head could get you anything more than street cred or a chance to star in a Step Up movie.
“Here he is going for gold with a tight air flare!!!”
That was NOT on my bingo card for the Paris Olympics but here we are. If breakdancing doesn’t bring us all together, Publix has another idea. The flame. At the Olympics, the flame is meant to represent the humanity in us all. The common ground we share as citizens of this earth. Or, ya know, a juicy charcoal grilled burger. Mmm, delicious. I’m vegan but whatever. I remember what a good, quarter-pounder tastes like. Publix opens their ad with the flame of an outdoor grill then goes on to show other forms of cooking, sharing, giving and receiving. And in the giving and receiving, we all share in the receiving and giving. Geez, Joey Tribbiani would’ve loved this commercial. Take a look at all the food in the ad then scroll down for more…
It’s kind of funny how Publix, in one minute, can create something more inclusive and heartwarming than whatever France showed us in the opening ceremonies! I watched the first 20 minutes and talk about boring. The only redeemable moment was seeing Zinedine Zidane carry the torch. Remember his iconic headbutt from 2006?
While Publix nailed their flame-themed commercial, the Paris Olympic committee took flame to a place no one expected in the opening ceremonies. Flaming gay! It wasn’t that long about we weren’t allowed to say “gay” anymore, until the rules changed (again). If you had to pick one moment in world history where hmmm, maybe showing a group of gay/trans/bi/tri/non-binary/drag people might not be the best optics, I’d go with the first person on the moon– can you imagine them planting the LGBTQ flag on the moon instead of Old Glory??– and oh, I don’t know one of the most sacred moments in the Christian faith, the Last Supper! France opted for the latter in what some people are calling a purposeful mockery of Jesus. I mean, that’s ONE way to go. Just watch out for lightning strikes from the Almighty, is all I’m saying. In their defense, what better way to celebrate sports, right?
Here’s the scene from the opening ceremonies, if you haven’t seen it yet.
Officer Tatum is exactly right. If you watch more of his video you’ll hear him ask why they never mock Islam. Exactly. Jesus is an easy target but that isn’t a surprise. John 15:18-19… If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.
Back to something more unifying… the Publix commercial! People love to gather around with food, huh? Publix uses that idea to keep their brand on the front burner of our minds. It’s another great ad, of course, and I was glad to see they toned down all the smiling (see previous smily Publix ad). I’m sure this is just one of quite a few Olympic-related commercials we’ll see in the next few weeks and it’ll be one of the favorites.
How do you feel about the Publix commercial? More importantly, are you practicing your breakdancing for the 2028 Olympics? You can DO it!
Out of the Wilderness 