Edmonton Oilers did what!?

I’m definitely just on the outskirts of hockey fandom and when the Nashville Predators aren’t in the finals I don’t have much invested at all. But because of the Predators and my time living in Nashville, I grew to enjoy the intensity that hockey matches sometimes bring. Even when I went to one game on a first date and the date was so NOT intense that we left during the second intermission and never saw each other ever again. But that’s a post for another day.

This Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers has been intense multiplied by a thousand!

For Florida to go up 3 games to none is impressive. However, is it MORE impressive that the Oilers were down 3 games and just tied the series last night? All Florida had to do was win one more game… just one more game, you buffoons… and they’d be hoisting the cup as champions. Well, now all they have to do is just win one more game… again! But for the Oilers, all they have to do is win one more game, too. It’s been so fun to watch an amazing comeback from our neighbors to the north (Canada, eh) and I can’t help but root for them to make the comeback of comebacks by winning game 7 in shocking fashion.

This is why I love sports. The competition. The unpredictability. The underdog (if the Oilers can be called that) defying odds to do what no one thought could be done. In fact, that’s what makes so many stories wonderful to hear, watch, or be part of. On the flip side, when there’s no underdog and the protagonists just go about their business winning everything because everything is possible, there’s no fun in that. Yes, I’m doing a callback to my post about Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1.

Hockey is so fun to watch. And because the Oilers have extended the Finals for one more game, that just means once it’s over football is closer than it was when Florida coulda, shoulda, woulda won it all in game 4.

-Out of the Wilderness

Celebrity Politicians Are Super Swampy

For a few years now I’ve become so wearied by celebrity politicians. And as most of them say, I’ll say it too: “Let me be clear”… I don’t mean celebrities that become politicians. It’s those public servants who parlay their work into fame and fortune, not for the good of the country but for their own wealth and power. It happens on both sides of the aisle but I do think Donald Trump was on to something when he coined the phrase: “Drain the Swamp.” Washington, D.C. must be full of these greedy roaches who don’t really care about the people who voted them into office, a trick they pulled to help them reach the next level of power and fame.

Just this week I came across a headline that America’s Sweetheart (sarcasm) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is in Las Vegas to help the Biden/Harris campaign and it was then that I asked myself a question: “Isn’t she the representative of New York?” You know, NOT Nevada. If I hired someone to remodel my kitchen and while I’m paying that person they go over to a different neighborhood to talk about _______________ (anything else), I’d say that is strike one, two, and three… and that person can just stay in that other neighborhood because they are no longer welcome in my house. This is essentially what’s happening with AOC this week. Wouldn’t it be so nice if politicians did the thing they were elected to do?

This conflict happened with the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, too. As governor, I’d expect most of his tasks, meetings, engagements, and accomplishments to revolve around Florida and things that help the people there improve their circumstances as they enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But then he flies off to Asia and the Middle East for alleged trade discussions. Umm, OK. But what about Florida?

I try to live with a glass half full attitude when I can help it, but the condition of “The American Politician” is pretty bleak. I kind of miss the days when I didn’t know politicians names. They just do their job as willed by the people and when their term is up, they go back to private work. Now there are politicians (who aren’t the President) jet setting all over the world, booking slots on late night talk shows, and staying in power decades longer than they should.

Something needs to change but I have no idea how to go back to politicians who AREN’T seeking fame. Any ideas?

-Out of the Wilderness

Who’s the Guy in Sabrina Carpenter Video “Please, Please, Please”? Answers here!

She rose to fame on the reboot of my favorite 90s show and now she’s a very popular singer. The reboot? “Girls Meets World.” The original? “Boy Meets World.” The actress and singer? Sabrina Carpenter! She has a handful of hits even with a relatively new career in the music industry and her latest is probably headed to the top, too. In fact, her music video for “Please Please Please” already has over 30 million views in just 2 weeks. But who’s the beau starring beside her in the cinematic visuals?

The Dude. Starring as the guy with a magnet for trouble is actor Barry Keoghan. You may recognize him from his impressive acting resumé, the most recent being Saltburn. Check out his list of credits on IMDb here. If Instagram is your thing, you can follow him there @keoghan92.

Barry reminds me of my college roommate in one very clear way. He looks like he’s 57. But Barry is only 31 and my roommate at the time was 19. I’m in my 40s but why do I feel like I’m 15 most days? Aging is a weird thing, huh? Evidently my physical appearance isn’t fooling anyone into thinking I’m young– When I was playing a game of adult league soccer, I frustrated a guy on the other team. In his anger he said, “Aren’t you, like, 50!?!” I was 36.

Sabrina is making a name for herself as a singer and performer. What is she doing right as a child actor crossing over to music that Jojo Siwa is getting all wrong?

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-Out of the Wilderness

The First Triathlon I’ve Done Twice is Just Two Weeks Away…

New York, New York. A double rainbow. Twins. Double mint gum. When unusual things happen two times it’s newsworthy, right? That’s why they say New York is so nice, they named it twice. Or the video going viral of that guy being so happy about the double rainbow. Well, I’ve got my own double delight to be excited about. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed that I invented a way to work AND nap at the same time, you’re way off… but I like the way you think. Imagine you’ve been doing sprint triathlons for about a year. Each one has different challenges than the race before it. One might have a long swim and a flat bike ride. The next is a hilly bike and a run that takes you through a neighborhood. The following race is a pool swim, a long bike, and a flat run. But then your first year of racing comes to an end and the calendar of triathlons resets.

For me, a new year means that in just a couple of weeks I’ll participate in the first race I’ve done twice! I almost can’t believe the time has come. I thought it would happen in April, the anniversary of my first race ever, but because of unavoidable circumstances that triathlon was nixed for 2024. So this July, finally I’ll get to measure where I’ve improved compared to the same competition last year. I’m pretty excited and I’ve already put together my tentative goals for the race. It’s a short sprint (400yd swim, 10m bike, 5K run) so it’ll blow by (especially if you’re one of those elite athletes who finishes the run while most people are still dismounting their bikes 🤪).

I know I’ve come a long way since my first entry into the triathlon world. Just from training with my brother-in-law and becoming part of an awesome triathlon club (folks I also train with), I’ve learned so much about strength, efficiency, and skill. On top of that, my swim attire has changed as well as my bicycle, helmet, nutrition, shoes– OK it would just be easier to mention what hasn’t changed…

😶

…Yep, basically everything has changed. And I have, too. I can’t wait to have the data to show it. I’m so grateful for where I am now as a triathlete, and I bet next year at this same time I’ll be saying the same thing. It’s progress and I’m learning to be OK if it happens slowly… kinda like my slowly-improving swim skills 😉.

But definitely let me know if you figure out the work/nap thing.

-Out of the Wilderness

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