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
**UPDATE: Jennifer made the top 24! Check out her second original song “You Were A Child” here**
One of the standouts so far on the 2024 season of American Idol is folk singer Jennifer Jeffries. I guess I might be a little biased because I love her style of music and her voice is so rare and recognizable already even after one episode. Her audition song (recap of the possible-body-shaming episode here) was called “Change My Ways” and I thought I’d include the lyrics for any curious people out there. I love the way the story starts with the Bible on the desk and ends with the Bible in her hands. Creative writing and I hope there’s a lot more for us to admire from Ms. Jeffries!
“Change My Ways”
I’ve got a Bible on my desk With no highlights or creases Pages still crisp I had this idea Miss Independent That’s who I am Just watch me excel.
Well, I am falling fast Too fast to catch myself Miss Independent Didn’t age too well Well, I have been feeding the flesh I have been living in sin My mouth’s been running wild And I’ve been acting like a wild child So I say this prayer God, I know you’re there I ain’t been playing fair And I’ve been only praying when I need your help.
I’ll sing your praise For my all days I finally changed, Lord, make your ways my ways I’ll sing your praise For my all days I finally changed, Lord, make your ways my ways.
I’ve got a Bible in my hands with faded pages And highlighted paragraphs.
Sometimes too much is too much, right? It’s why phrases like “less is more” even exist. A lot of the contestants this season are overloading their performance with unnecessary vocal runs and riffs. Maybe it’s the nerves or maybe they’re trying really hard to impress the judges. Remember who else tried to do too much? Pamela Bell.
Don’t be Pamela Bell. But for every three oversinging contestants there’s a gem. Episode 3 gave us the gem of Jennifer Jeffries and if she makes it to the live rounds, I’ll be voting for her every chance I get. It’s her unassuming style but mostly (like 94.2%) it’s her voice. Definitely my favorite of so far and I really hope she stands out in Hollywood.
Actually there were quite a few gems in episode 3. I’m thinking of brother and sister Max and Laela Dasher, van lifer CJ Rislove, ex-football player Will Moseley. The next tier of singers below them are Aniston Pate, Nick Conners, and then there are the rest. A wild card who I can’t quite put in a category yet is Madaí ChaKell. She transforms into different styles on the fly and I can’t tell if she’s super talented or just jumping between caricatures… almost mimicking great singers.
If she can show us her own groove with her unique vocal talent, she’ll do really well. She certainly has flair.
And then there’s Scarlett Lee from London. The judges adored her and the show gave her a LOT of air time. I think we need to petition for a cap on each audition. This one seemed to drag on and on and remember the vocal runs from Pamela Bell? She ain’t got nothing on Scarlett. Yes, too much is too much. Besides her crush on Katy Perry, her fashion sense was the topic of discussion amongst the judges, Katy speaking about it the most. Katy even knew what perfume Scarlett was wearing (Alien by Thierry Mugler). Katy mostly affirmed her and her talent but at moments she revealed an undertone of subtle disapproval. The most obvious were these three lines:
“Sometimes people don’t take you seriously…” as she points Vanna White style to Scarlett’s wardrobe.
“…cut through all of the layers, doesn’t matter the makeup, doesn’t matter the outfit…” which means everyone noticed the makeup and the outfit.
“There are so many girls like you that are going to be cheering you on…”
What does “girls like you” mean, exactly? I think Katy was referring to the excessive makeup, the 20-lb eyelashes, the sorority girl dress, and her body. But it’s a singing competition so Scarlett Lee DOES have her voice to lean on. That will help her out a lot if she can tone down the excessive runs and just let us hear her raw voice. She also needs to drop the eyelashes, take off 10 layers of makeup, and well, who am I kidding, she’s not going to last. Contestants from other countries who already have a lot of singing reality show experience (she’s been on X Factor UK twice) don’t get much sympathy when it comes time to vote… if she even makes it to the voting rounds. I’ve already seen enough talent in 3 episodes that put Scarlett Lee out of the top 10 anyway.
Overall it was an entertaining episode and I think there were definitely a few singers who will make it to the live rounds and, dare I say, the top 5 of the whole dang season!
I don’t always do movie reviews, but when I do it’s usually because the movie was irritating. That’s the case again (surprise surprise!) with Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa. When will people give up on Tyler’s movies? He’s kind of like the black Adam Sandler: A-Listers but most of their movies stink! Actually, Adam Sandler has a new one out called Spaceman and from what I read in reviews, we should only watch it if we feel like punishing ourselves (a coworker once pointed out that I pride myself on depriving myself, so maybe I’ll deprive myself of happiness and watch Spaceman, I deserve it). Both Adam and Tyler should mea culpa themselves, am I right?
OK OK, both men have their moments of genius and I kinda like most (or at least half) of Adam’s movies, but the Tyler Perry films just seem to be getting worse.
Mea Culpa. I went into not knowing anything, in fact I didn’t even know what mea culpa meant but as that scene from Billy Madison (an Adam Sandler movie, don’t ya know) goes, I am now dumber after watching it.
Am I wrong? What am I missing? Maybe Tyler Perry is becoming a legendary director and somehow I missed the plot of this movie. Do enlighten me if you can! It could be that the movie is just bad, and that’s where my opinion sits at the moment. In its defense, there were villains and it had a protagonist (Kelly Rowland, who I thought did a great job acting, as did the other actors). But beyond that all I can say is, “What the heck is going on with this movie?”– and not in an Inception kind of way where it really makes you think while it bends your mind. It’s more like when my dog poops and while she is pooping she’s dipping her head down to eat other poop. Like, really?
Tell me I’m wrong because I want to give Tyler Perry movies a chance, he’s certainly got large portfolio of successful films.
One of my biggest pet peeves is the overuse us signs on America’s roadways. For instance, a sign telling you that a traffic light is coming up WHEN YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AHEAD!! Or how about a sign telling you the sidewalk ends? I could probably figure out when I get to the end and notice THAT THE SIDEWALK HAS ENDED!! Phew, wow. Sorry, I get a little worked up. On a lighter note, I’ve snapped a few pictures when I see odd or funny signs or notices and I’ve collected them here for you. Take a look and next time you see something like these pics below, just try to laugh it off.
One of the more peculiar things that happened during Covid. The CDC is in charge of refills. Wouldn’t this have made us interact with more people, which was sort of NOT the goal?
Glow in the dark frisbee? Cool! Use it in a well-lit area? 🤔
Clearance prices mean something different than when I was growing up.
I’d probably get along with her, too. She seems nice!
Hey all you crazy cats listening out there, welcome to Hell!
I kinda feel like the store manager is rubbing this in our faces. Yeah, we raised the price, whatcha gonna do about it?
Towels, water, and about half a dozen Q-tips and we have a clean(er) and shiny(er) antique channel marker that was in use dating back to the 1920s! My dad got this beautiful piece of equipment from his service in the Coast Guard. As the story goes, the channel markers were being replaced with newer, lighter (plastic) markers so the old ones were in a storage room somewhere on a Coast Guard base, free for the taking for anyone who wanted one. Take a look at the one my dad took possession of…
The marker was in the ocean about 7 miles south of Key West, Florida. Here’s a map of its location.
My dad gave it to his dad (my grandfather, Pop) who then wired it so the light would come on and the wiring works to this very day, as you can see in the lighted pics above. Now it sits in my Dad’s man cave as an amazing conversation piece with a very cool history.
Do you have any antique ocean or coastal equipment? Tell me about it in the comments below!
Out of the Wilderness 