Glen Powell in Hit Man as Disappointing as the “Lost” Finale?

Glen Powell is Hollywood’s new “it guy” and if you haven’t seen him in Anyone But You, it’s worth watching. Especially if you’re into romantic comedies (even the cheesy, predictable ones). He’s also in a movie I watched recently called, Hit Man. I went into it a little skeptical because the idea reminded me a lot of True Memoirs of an International Assassin starring Kevin James. A common person gets mistaken for someone they’re not and then they have to become that person to get out of 90 minutes-worth of dicey situations. I was hoping they weren’t too similar.

In the first act, I was pleasantly surprised that Hit Man was a lot different from Memoirs. But actually, if I’m being to totally honest– by the time Hit Man ended I wished it was more like Memoirs. I really didn’t know who to root for (and aren’t we supposed to connect with the protagonist?). Glen Powell’s character was torn between two things he had feelings for… his work and a woman. Fine. And I’ll say that Glen Powell delivers a fantastic performance, and so do the other actors. I guess my issue with the movie is how it ended. [spoiler upcoming]

The love birds (Glen and actress Adria Arjona) thinking killing someone will solve the central problem of the plot… because that person knew too much, a premise which is supposed to show how unfamiliar the pair is with killing people and how Glen’s character is, in fact, not a real assassin. So they kill the guy and then the movie jumps forward by a few years and everything is fine? No justice? They’re never caught?It’s one of the clearest examples of writers wrapping up a story without having any idea how to do it properly… leaving viewers with more questions than answers.

Which brings me to my next point. “Lost.” If there was ever anything on TV or in the movies that left viewers with more questions that were never even remotely answered it was “Lost.” The entire series is streaming on Hulu and my brother-in-law has introduced my nieces to it. They’re somewhere in the middle of season 1 and I wish I could tell them to save hours (and hours and hours) by shutting it off while it’s still good. Just like Hit Man, “Lost” ends terribly. In the show’s case, it gets lost in the details of all these weird things happening and when it was on network TV, I don’t think I was the only one who thought the writers were just winging it week to week, throwing in stuff they thought was cool but never offering an explanation. Plus, this is just a pet peeve of mine but all the flashbacks to the character’s lives before the crash. Who cares? Show us how they get off the island you buffoons!

The other day I watched ep 3 with the nieces and bro-in-law and I had already had enough. Knowing where the story goes and how it all pretty much builds to an extremely anti-climatic finale, I will never watch that show in its entirety again. It’s a shame because it started off so well. But then the creators let it all go off the rails.

I wouldn’t say Hit Man is quite as bad as “Lost,” but they both share the idea that an ending can spoil everything that came before it.

-Out of the Wilderness

Ford F150 Lightning EV Commercial: 60mph in 4 Seconds But Does Anyone Care?

I don’t know what’s going on with Ford and Chevy making trucks for people who don’t drive (or shouldn’t be driving) trucks. I don’t mean to stir the pot or fan the flames between Ford and Chevrolet loyalists so I’ll say new commercials from both brands are equally idiotic. Chevy has an ad featuring a Silverado with hands-free driving. OK, fine. But then they have chutzpah to add a line about towing hands-free!? Are you kidding me? Anyone who wants to tow a boat, trailer, camper, without their hands on the steering wheel needs top be cancelled right this second. Watch that absurd had here.

Not to be outdone, of course, Ford now has a commercial for their electric Lightning F-150. Beyond short trips for in-town towing, I have no idea what use the EV truck is for long drives and especially long towing but Ford went a different direction than Chevy.

“I want a pick-up truck that goes 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds,” said no one ever. Who are these executives polling to come up with such ludicrous vehicle features? In other words: people who want to go 60 in under 4 seconds aren’t buying a truck (especially an EV truck) and people who want a truck don’t care that it hits 60 in the same amount of time it takes to let a nice burp out.

In fact, I’m more impressed with a burp that lasts longer than 4 seconds than a truck that gets to 60 in under 4.

-Out of the Wilderness

Triathlon Results – Three Events, Two Buoys, and a Tandem Bike!

OK, I can confirm: There WAS an alligator sighting in the lake the day before the race. But it was small, so I guess that should make me feel better? Dinner. Brush teeth. Sleep. Wake up at by 445am. Breakfast. Arrive on site at 545am. Race begins at 7am. As I neared the start line of the swim, I thought about the small gator but recalling the swim now, the alligator never crossed my mind as I was actually swimming in the water. Too many other things had my attention. Where are the buoys? Look up, still on track. Good. Whose foot did I just touch? What can I use as a bearing to keep me swimming straight? The sun. The tree line. The paddleboarding lifeguard. Look up for buoy, getting closer. Glad I was thinking clearly and not thinking of… the alligator… one of 50 ways to say I died. (unsolicited Train song reference there).

When I got to the first of two buoys I was a little concerned about my endurance, only being 1/3rd the way through. But by the time I hit the second buoy and turned towards the shore, life returned to my body and I knew I could finish without major panic. It’s just water. I’m fine. Breath. Paddle. Look up. Breathe. You’ve done this before. Shoreline. People coming into focus. Sand. Stand up. Go.

Emerging from the water, walking to get my balance and bearings. Then running up to the transition to start the bike. People had mentioned the first hill was a bear and they weren’t wrong. But the cycling portion went really good! Once I started seeing cyclists going the other direction on the 2-lane road I knew the halfway turn-around point was approaching, another boost of life. Keep going. Head down. Strong arms. Legs in constant motion. Stay focused.

Transition to run went smooth except that I had forgotten to properly prepare my running shoes. The insert in the left shoe was out of place which I didn’t notice till I put the shoe on. I tried to take it off fax and fix the mistake. Slipping the shoe on again and I was off to complete the 5K. The sound of feet hitting pavement. Sweat. Heat. But it’s the last leg of the race. Push.

This is a good time to insert a part of these races that gives me a real pep in my step (or metal to my pedal?). There’s something of a morale boost when I catch people and pass them. It’s also very heartening when I realize no one has passed me on the bike or run. Now, before you go congratulating me you should know one thing: No one could’ve passed me because I started in the back! And I don’t mean near the back. I was part of the final wave to hit the water so of course no one passed me, there was no one behind me to begin with!

I also met my goal of finishing top in my age group but at the time of this post, official results haven’t been posted so I haven’t found out where I ended up among all the athletes in the race. I do know that the other guy in my age group (two is the loneliest number) wasn’t far behind me and he was on a …get this… he was on a tandem bike! Pretty cool, and I’m guessing he would’ve beat me had he done the cycling like a normal (boring 😂) person. They were on a double seater Huffy and it was…. AMAZING.

So I potentially reached 2 of my 3 goals (top age group, top 10 overall, under 1:05:00 which I missed by about 5 minutes) which is awesome but the real take-away is that it was a fun, hard race, I connected more with the triathlon group I’m part of, and I was gifted another event without injury or any equipment issues.

This is so fun.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Next Sprint Triathlon – Alligators, Goals, and the Hills

I’m sitting here in my camper awaiting another sprint triathlon. This one fits in with one of my new favorite things: a race that’s near (or even within) a state park or campground! A sprint triathlon that’s only about 3 hours from home base and I can camp on the same lake where I’ll be swimming? Sign me up! Driving up with the camper was a cinch and the process of setting up camp then getting over to the packet pick-up went as smoothly as I could’ve ever hoped. Who cares that I saw an alligator in the lake where we’re swimming 400 yards, right?

I haven’t been too much in my head about this race which is a nice change from the last race where I had been anxious about it for at least 3 or 4 days beforehand. It was only on the way here from Florida that the nerves increased as I went through race morning in my mind. Arrive… find a spot for my bike on the rack… set up transition… goggles on… swim as if it’s any other day… cycling shoes… helmet… water…. run out with the bike and hop on… hill… repeats… conserve… aerodynamic… push… transition… shoes… go… this is it… push… speed… finish.

Friends also competing in the race, but I forgot to ask if I can post their picture 🤭

I have goals for this race, just like the others I’ve competed in. I’d love to finish in the top 10 and have the best time in my age group. But no matter where I measure up to other triathletes, I’d like to finish in under 1 hr, 5 min. I think I can do that if I swim in the right direction, keep my heart rate down and just let my legs float behind me. Cycling. I am *loving* uphills and this course has quite a few. I’m going to try to not climb hard on every one of them so I can conserve some energy for the run. But I want to thrive on the hills, if I’m being honest. Might be to my own detriment if I go too hard, though. By the time I start the run I’d love to feel like I have gas in the tank and run like my dad is riding his bike with me in the neighborhood. We’re chatting, he’s ahead of me drawing out the best speed I can handle.

I feel good about this.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Apple MacBook Library Commercial – You’re A Hot Dog in A Hurricane

I caught this Apple MacBook commercial during the NHL Stanley Cup Finals (go Florida) and pretty much loved it from the very beginning. It sets the scene with a stern librarian and a hip guy working on his computer.

Take a look at the ad called “Powered” then scroll down for more…

Weiner Dog. It’s so absurd…. I love the line from the librarian: “You’re a hot dog in a hurricane.” If you don’t hear me saying this over the next few days and weeks, it’ll be a cryin’ shame. It’s a line that needs to go viral, right? Right.

How can you come back from being called a hot dog in a hurricane? Answer: You can’t. Pack up your MacBook and go home. But the student in the ad is a different generation. His entitled behind stays put and boasts about his fancy laptop. I still give him an L for the dose of slap delivered by the librarian. She’ll be back, young man, she’ll be back.

I’m not an Apple guy, save for one of their devices. I prefer Android phones, Garmin navigation, earbuds from Amazon, but one thing I love a whole lot is my MacBook Pro. It’s so easy to use that all I really need to focus on is the work I’m doing. Rarely is there ever a technical issue that bogs me down and I love that.

How do you feel about the MacBook ad? Have you ever been hounded by a bitter librarian? Was she hot?

Apple has two more ads in this series of entitled brats sticking it to the old folks. This one in the series is called “Charged, and the following ad is called “Found.”

-Out of the Wilderness