Groundfloor – An alternative to real estate

I have little to no interest in becoming a realtor because I don’t think of myself as a people person. Definitely not a salesman.

Not to mention it’s hard work. I saw all the work and effort put in by my realtor friend when we sold my house. By the way, you can’t go wrong with Jonathan Mills in middle Tennessee.

“He’s the Gandalf of real estate.”

Totally not his slogan but it should be. So real estate is not something I’m into but last year I found this site called Groundfloor and after reading up on it and finding out what it’s all about, I decided to put a little cash in to see what happens.

If I had to pick three words to describe my experience so far, I’d go with: STEADY because the return on investment has been positive and comes in pretty steadily depending on the properties I choose. EASYGOING. I don’t get dozens of emails from Groundfloor upselling me on other services. I feel like I can go at my own pace, research where and how I want to without Groundfloor bombarding me with messages. DETAILED. When you check the site you’ll see they list properties available to invest in. For each property they list a lot of info about it from the loan being repaid (by the seller of the property) to the home itself. The amount of detail is abundant so it’s easy to find out more about each property if I feel the need. I’ll also say this: It’s kind of fun to find properties all over the country, even in cities I’ve lived in before.

If you’re interested at all, comment below and I’ll share more of my experience. If you want to dabble a little bit, you can also use my link to get $50 free once you invest $100 or more. It’s a deal worth looking into, I’m glad I did. Plus, we don’t have to go to open houses or talk to people. Perfect for us introverts. 😉

See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

“The Estate” and “We Have a Ghost” – One to Watch and One to Skip

It’s time for a movie review post and today’s contestants are The Estate (33% Rotten Tomatoes) and We Have a Ghost (64% Rotten Tomatoes). I watched both in the last couple of days. One was surprisingly good and the other was surprisingly bad. Can you guess which one I liked a lot more than the other?

We Have a Ghost was very good. Light on the curse words, likable characters, entertaining, and a few surprises in the storyline I couldn’t have predicted. Of course, it’s a plot that I wouldn’t have guessed easily anyway but the direction of the story was really good. My favorite movies include a little bit of a few emotions so this one could’ve used a little more laughter, I guess. But that’s just me grasping for any kind of critique. Family friendly, yes. Cast was great, too. Watch it and let me know what you think!

The Estate was one I was excited to watch. The idea of family members comically bickering to get into their dying relative’s will was a pretty good setup for lots of laughs… or so I thought. Unfortunately, the laughs were few and far between (although the attempts were clearly there). Most of the movie was overshadowed by unnecessary cursing and even a few words that might make you wince, like I did. Think: vulgar and crude. The movie has a good cast so I was disappointed that it didn’t live up to my expectations. A few predictable parts but on the bright side, a few unpredictable parts, too. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this movie especially if coarse language is a no-go for you. The audience score at Rotten Tomatoes gets this one right.

That’s all I’ve got today for movie reviews! Have you seen either of these movies? What was your opinion of them? I post every day at 1pm central, and every once in a while I’ll throw in an additional post if I’m feeling lucky. That’s the case today and I appreciate you checking this one out…

-Out of the Wilderness

Post Malone “Chemical” music video – Is anyone still watching?

When I first heard a Post Malone song, I loved it. It was one of his first songs. “Sunflower,” maybe? The YouTube video of that song has over 2 billion views since posting in 2018. Crazy. Obviously, he became very popular and I don’t think he will be fading out anytime soon. Here’s his latest music video for a song called “Chemical,” then scroll down for more thoughts…

Is anyone still watching and listening to Post Malone? Well, the new video has almost a million views per day and he’s got 25 million YouTube subscribers so… yes, yes he is still very popular and relevant! Going back a few years, I liked him more after he appeared on the NBC Elvis tribute. The man is just fun, musically diverse, and stands out with his tattoos and seemingly bright and happy attitude. As far as I can tell, he’s not trying to be anything, he just is who he is and that’s endearing and likable.

And now for the bad news… Please don’t hate me, Post Malone and Post Malone fans! Every time I hear a song I think to myself, “That sounds like every other Post Malone song.” I’m sure it’s me, so go ahead and let me have it… fire away with your insults and bashing, but I guess I just lost the flavor some time ago. I love his energy and persona but it’s his music that I don’t much care for anymore. With that said, I can watch him or listen to his covers all day long. I hope he never covers this Brad Paisley song, but here’s Post Malone with a fun cover of Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her.”

Am I missing something? Either way, I appreciate his talent and all that. Chime in below with your thoughts!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Nashville Manifesto and “The Tennessee Three”

Nothing made me more proud than seeing how the Nashville police officers handled the chaotic scene during last month’s sad circumstances off of Hillsboro Pike. Of course, the whole story is sickening, sad, and we all wish it never happened. But why did it happen? What was going through the mind of the killer? Well, I, for one, don’t care.

Some people are calling for the public release of everything the killer left behind (manifesto, journals, etc). If it were up to me, I’d burn everything without every laying my eyes on a single word. A hateful act was carried out by a person in need of lots of help. What else do we need to know?

In a private message to a friend on Instagram, Hale (the shooter) wrote: “One day this will make more sense. I’ve left more than enough evidence behind.”

Sorry, no ma’am. Wherever you are, I’d love for you to know everything you wanted us to read was burned along with your memory. In fact, it really ticks me off that she thought anyone would care about what she had to say. Instead of writing it all out for us to read later, she could’ve, ya know, TOLD SOMEONE IN REAL LIFE! Save a life or a dozen, including your own.

Seven people passed away in Nashville because of this person. Why should we give any more attention to her? Burn the manifesto, the journals, papers, writings. Trash it all. Shred it. Put it in a barn with Alex Murdaugh. Send it on a road trip with Brian Laundrie. Cover it with chicken broth and set it on the shore of a Florida Lake. Whatever you want, but we don’t need to read it. She doesn’t deserve that from us.

As much as the teachers, school, and police offers filled me with pride for a city I lived in for so long, I feel equal amounts of embarrassment about “The Tennessee Three.” This term has been given to three politicians using very immature tactics, and breaking rules along the way, to hijack the Nashville story. Honestly, they seem to care more about having attention on themselves than mourning with and supporting the hurting families of those that passed away. I’ve never believed more than I do today that to be a politician, you have to have a certain level of narcissism. Probably the same as being an actor, actually. I understand that we have to be our own biggest fans and all, but the more I hear and read about the three attention-seekers in Tennessee, the more annoyed I get.

Recently, it was announced that the three disgruntled politicians have been invited to the White House. At least they’re getting a little bit of punishment, right? Of course, they won’t see it that way. To them, it’ll be such a confirmation to delight in their newfound fame and to shake hands with other narcissistic politicians. Some are asking why the families of the victims haven’t been invited to the White House yet. To that I’d say, haven’t they suffered enough already?

See you tomorrow.

-Out of the Wilderness

Jewish Garage Graffiti Commercial – What’s the Big Deal?

During an episode of American Idol (the one where 10 contestants paled in comparison to Zachariah Smith, Lucy Love, and Iam Tongi) an advertisement aired that I had to rewind and watch again. It’s the first I’ve seen from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Check it out then scroll down for more info…

According to the ad, 1 in 4 Jews were victim of hate in 2022. For more stats like that, this site gives a good amount of data. For instance, “The ADL… counted 3,697 antisemitic incidents in 2022.”

From those, 111 were physical assaults. Crazy.

I’ll be totally honest by saying I’ve only heard of antisemitism, I’ve never seen it in real life and I even wonder where it’s happening. It’s kind of like my experience with racism. I hear a lot about it in the news but I can’t think of any instance where I was with anyone of any race and something hateful was done or said. But to be very clear, I believe racism and antisemitism both exist, I just can’t figure out why. I remember Kanye West getting into hot water last year with a series of social media posts that were described as antisemitic.

Why would, or does, anyone hate a Jewish person? Thugs, criminals, rapists, murderers, arrogant narcissists… I can understand why there would be ill-will towards a person like that. But Jews? Really? What has any Jew ever done to harm someone as an extension of their faith or heritage? I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s jealousy?

I write about commercials a lot, and as for this specific ad, I think it’s very well done. I was moved so much that I had to rewatch it a few times during the Idol commercial break (side note, I also write about American Idol). The natural conversation between mom and daughter really stands out. I noticed it because one of my biggest pet peeves on TV and in movies is when kids speak lines so obviously written by adults. The child in this commercial speaks like kids do and I love that, especially when she asked, “Did you paint it or something?” Exactly what a kid might ask in that situation.

Great ad. Wish it wasn’t necessary.

To end on a lighter note, here are some graffiti photos in my personal gallery. Graffiti I can stand behind, and these pics are available for purchase if you’re so inclined. 🙂

-Out of the Wilderness