American Idol – Top 5 Hollywood Performances

I have to start off by saying that I’m fully rooting for Fire. OK, yes American Idol has manipulated me just like they wanted but if anyone needs a “win,” it’s her. She’s scrappy and clawing her way to a better life for herself and her daughter. How can we not be on the sidelines cheering her on? At least put her through to the live shows so she can feel the support of America when we get to vote! With that in mind and in random order, here are my five favorite moments from the first round in Hollywood, the individual performances.

Fire “You Say”…

Zachariah Smith “Cold as Ice”…

Megan Danielle “Up to the Mountain”…

Haven Madison “Still Need You”…

Lucy Love “To Make You Feel My Love”…

It’s hard to say if any of these contestants will become the next American Idol but based on just these performances alone, one of them should be!

-Out of the Wilderness

Chewacla State Park camping – Auburn, Alabama

Most of my camping trips center around exploring nature whether it’s rivers, lakes, ocean, wildlife, or hiking through forests. And before I admit this weekend trip to Chewacla State Park in Auburn, Alabama was NOT centered around those things, the park is actually pretty good for that kind of thing, as far as I can tell…

Plenty of hilly hills for a road bike and lots of trails for mountain bikes, plus a waterfall you can hear from a good bit away. There’s something special about camping in the woods when a hotel is the other option. That’s the case here at Chewacla, so close to Auburn University. I’m guessing it is full to capacity every home football game but I was in town to watch my nieces play club soccer against a few area university club soccer teams.

I can’t say with enough enthusiasm how nice it was to have a state park so close to the university. It was just a hop skip and a jump to the soccer fields and coming back to the quiet, dark part in the evenings is the relaxation and decompression everyone needs.

Me and My Dad

Not to mention my campsite (and most in the park) has sewer hookups so if you camp in an RV or trailer, you know how much having sewer makes us feel like kings and queens. It’s nice.

I’d book this site again in a heartbeat if I had any events in Auburn, or just for the outdoorsy-ness of it. Good times! Have you camped at this park before? I didn’t really get a chance to explore like I normally would but the time I spent in the park was still very enjoyable!

-Out of the Wilderness

Ford “Men’s Only” Explorer Ad – Not An April Fool’s Joke

Even though Women’s History Month is now literally history, I thought this commercial from Ford was worth writing about. Ford released this satirical commercial last month (which technically makes it a March fool’s joke 🤪) advertising an Explorer manufactured WITHOUT all the parts invented by women. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

No comment. If you go to the YouTube page, you’ll notice Ford didn’t turn off the comments. I found it very peculiar that even with 687,000 views, there are ZERO comments! So no one out there assumed the only inventions from women would be the visor mirror or a steering wheel in the back seat? Just me? But seriously, I thought it was unbelievable to have no comments on the video… until it dawned on me that men are smart. When it comes to women and having a relationship with them, there’s a time to speak and a time to just be quiet.

Clever. No one would buy this “Men’s Only” Explorer, especially given the fact that people don’t much like Explorers even when they’re built correctly! There’s a reason they have the nickname “Ford Exploders,” after all. But putting reality aside, this is a cute and clever commercial from Ford celebrating women for women’s history month.

How do you feel about the commercial? Does it make your heart all warm and fuzzy for the women of the world?

See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

Me, a male roller skater at 44 years old

If you would’ve told me last year that I’d be roller skating a few times per week I would’ve shrugged and said, “You must be on the crack.” And yet here I am, 44 years old, rocking Chaya roller skates and South Bay Board Company skate pads.

50 shades of blue.

To tell you the truth, I LOVE skating. Do I fall? Yes. Does it hurt? Yes. Will I keep trying to get better? Absolutely. I feel about skating the same way I did when I started riding bikes again. I wish I had started skating again sooner!

See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon’s Mustache Ad – The Boots and the Jacket…

One of Amazon’s latest commercials, this one which uses a Queen song, includes a couple of vintage 80s wardrobe choices that really stand out, namely the jacket and the shoes. Take a look at the jacket…

The Jacket. The jacket in the commercial appears to have gold stripes going diagonally upwards, which has been hard to find online. But a very similar jacket can be found on Amazon by clicking here. They are replicas of the jacket Freddie Mercury wore for Queen’s Wembley Stadium concert in 1986.

The Boots. The footwear in this commercial is pretty awesome! Take a look at the wrestling style kicks then scroll down for where to find them.

These are Pony brand vintage 1980s high top boots. Speaking of 80s, did you know I’ve become a roller skater again? Check out my post about it all here. But the shoes, I couldn’t find them on Amazon but there are some on eBay (at the time of this post, listed here). Notice in the pair worn for the Amazon commercial how the brand name is subtly hidden with some type of fabric. I guess Amazon didn’t want to “pony” up to the fact they don’t have those shows for sale. 😏

Are you going to throw some money down for either the jacket or the boots? Whichever you choose, they’re sure to be a conversation starter at your next 80s trivia night.

See you all tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness