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
Times are tough and money is tight these days. Even national brands like Freshpet are having to double up on ads just to pinch pennies. I’m sure the execs had a kitchen table talk and thought of an efficient way to keep food on the table for their employees… and food in the bowl for their pups. Check out this Freshpet basketball commercial that looks strangely similar to their football commercial from a few months ago.
These buds must really like each other even after the one guy completely undervalues the golden retriever. The friend already got kicked out during a football game and now he’s getting kicked out during a basketball game! What’s next? Is he going to get kicked out during a hockey match, eh? Yeah, I made them Canadian for the hockey version of the ad. Here’s the first one that aired during the football season…
Efficiency and reducing cost is the name of the game and Freshpet nailed it. They didn’t have set up for two completely different shoots and from this one production, they have multiple ads that could last quite a long time. We’ll have to wait and see if they use it for hockey too (eh?). But then they might as well go for baseball (bat flip!), the Olympics (🇺🇸), and bring it around for football again in the fall (Omaha-Omaha). That wouldn’t be weird at all.
A few weeks ago Joe Biden posted a video on YouTube, complete with name misspellings and racial profiling. Yep, the current president who wants your vote this November and is totally not racist and definitely doesn’t belong in an assisted-living facility. Take a look then scroll down for more…
A lot of people like fried chicken. No biggie! But I would think Biden’s team might steer clear and opt for something less stereotypically black. Biden’s sitting down with this family– Eric, and his sons Carter and Christian… or if you’re going by the YouTube description, Chrisitan.
Attempting to make us think Biden just casually dropped by. Yeah, OK. They don’t mention how much planning this breezy encounter would take and Biden was instructed on what to say and ask. They also don’t mention how the family got selected. I’d sign up for Hard Rock Bet (…is legal in Florida!) just to put money down that we all know how they got picked. Because they’re black. Also, North Carolina (where this fun lunch date happened) is an important state for voting/ politics this year. If I were Eric (the dad), I’d be pretty embarrassed by what went down. The family is just a means to an end. It’s Politics 101. That’s why in debates Democrats and Republicans always bring up Sally from Wisconsin who’s balancing 3 jobs just to keep food on the table for her 9 kids. Or Steve, a steelworker in Michigan who lost his job because it’s cheaper to manufacture in China. Washington politicians use real people to make us think they’re one of us.
Spoiler alert: They’re not.
I’m sure Biden’s slimy tactics are as obvious as when Hillary Clinton said (in 2016 on an episode of the Breakfast Club) that she keeps hot sauce in her purse, which is a line from a Beyonce song. Can someone just wake me up in 2025? I don’t know if I can take another 9 months of this pandering.
I thought I was watching a Progressive Insurance commercial when two pigeons appeared on TV. What are the chances two completely different brands would have a pair of talking birds chirping out their message in the same month in the same year? Apparently there’s a good chance because it’s happening! Progressive features the voices of famous actors (answers here) and now so does DirecTV. Here’s the ad then scroll down for the big reveal…
The Voiceovers. You probably recognized one or both of the voices lent to this ad. Drumroll please…. it’s actors Henry Winkler and Steve Buscemi! DirecTV has already let a few other ads fly featuring the birds. Before you take a look, though, take a second to consider a small donation to help me keep writing and posting every day at 1pm! Here’s the link, thank you for your support!
I think it’s kind of peculiar when two unrelated yet almost identical things happen simultaneously. It reminds me of the first time I noticed this phenomenon back in 2006. Two movies, very similar, same year. The movies are The Prestige and The Illusionist. Surely that’s just a once-in-a-lifetime thing, right? Nope. In 2013 it happened again with White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen. In fact, there are handfuls more. See a more extensive list about twin films at Collider.com.
What do you think about the DirecTV ad? Actually, I didn’t know they were satellite-free so I found that to be interesting. I like talking birds. It’s another piece of evidence that birds aren’t real. 🤔
We’re two episodes in to the new season of Idol (thoughts on episode 1 here) and I guess we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, huh? Enter Ziggy Krassenberg. He showed up for his audition with a unique style on display from his cotton-candy-colored hair down to his shiny boots. Before knowing more of his story, I thought the same thing this YouTube commenter did:
I never put it past any reality show to prop up whatever might be popular in progressive culture but with Ziggy, I stand corrected. The young man seems so genuinely nice, authentic, and there wasn’t one mention of gay, straight, bi, poly, he, she, ze, zay, trans this or trans that! It was actually kind of refreshing, his story. Ziggy Krassenberg is from The Netherlands where he’s been performing for many years. At age 15, he was on “Dutch Idols” and when he was 18, tried out for “The Voice Holland.” Here are those two auditions.
Ziggy, Ziggy, Ziggy, can’t you see? Sometimes your words just hypnotize [the judges]. And [they] just love your flashy ways…
The judges LOVED Ziggy’s performance and yes, it was really good. He seems to have a great blend of singer and entertainer. When someone sings with passion, when their body language matches the words, it can be hypnotizing. Anyone remember Jessica Sanchez?
22-year-old Ziggy Krassenberg from the Netherlands might just have what it takes to go far in this competition based on talent alone, but the key will be his overall presentation. What vibe is he giving off? His voice is great but what will the whole package be? He seems likable even though he said some people back in the Netherlands don’t like him.
He’s feminine. So what? He doesn’t fit the norm for a 22-year-old man. So what? He’s unexpected and I hope his style and all that extra stuff isn’t a cover up for low self-esteem because he sure can sing and like Lionel said, God gave him a gift. Embrace it, Ziggy!
For what it’s worth, I don’t like the direction the judges went after the audition, with Katie kicking off their comments by saying:
“There’s people that say all kinds of stuff about you online…”
I’m not sure where she got that information unless they edited out some of his story so we didn’t see it. I couldn’t find anything negative about Ziggy in the little bit of research I did writing this post. I’m guessing Katie, Lionel, and Luke were doubling down on the chicness of siding with the LGBTQ+ crowd, although we don’t even know for sure Ziggy is in that crowd. All we know so far is this, from Ziggy’s own words…
“The Netherlands is too small for a guy like me.”
Ziggy, chase the dream and I hope you find what you’re looking for, get what you’re working for, and experience kindness and love along the way!
To prep for a race earlier this month, I wrote out a calendar with pen and paper. I could’ve done it on my phone, I guess, but I really like having each day’s workout displayed in front of me where I can add stuff, cross things out, move things, and basically act like it’s 1995.
Everybody’s runnin’, but half of them ain’t lookin’ It’s going on in the kitchen, but I don’t know what’s cookin’…
RIP Coolio. Man that was a good decade for music.
So that calendar I mentioned, I posted it a few days ago (see it here). I thought today would be a good day to post the next calendar I made for the duathlon a week from today. Yikes, only 7 days away! Oh boy. My goal is 1:09:00 and be one of the top 15 guys and while I won’t be winning any prizes, I think I can reach my goals. Just got to keep training and pushing myself. Here’s the calendar for this month.
For sure, it won’t look the same by race day except for resting Friday and Saturday. As the old hymn goes, “Soon and very soon…” but we’re not “going to see the King,” soon I’ll have to add in swimming to the training calendars. Grrrrrrrrrr. My weakest skill but in a way it will be fun and gratifying to watch where I start and where I finish. Ideally, the latter will be far beyond the former. Otherwise other triathletes will just be swimming in a river of my tears.
“Why is this water so salty!?” – the triathletes
OK, OK, I’ll calm down. Next week’s run/bike/run race should be a fun one with friends I’ve made here in Tallahassee. My last long bike ride (and actually the furthest I’ve ridden in one ride) was yesterday, approximately 34 miles. Here’s the first half of the ride.
Surprisingly, I felt good for the entire ride and I liked doing it because the trail is flat. I’m getting used to hills so this was a good break from that. I also took the opportunity to go hard and fast a few times. It was cool! I went with my brother-in-law (who is a fellow triathlete) and a few friends who also have Trek bikes.
Hoping for a restful week as I prepare for what will be my second duathlon ever!
Out of the Wilderness 