Cranked Up for American Idol Showstopper Rounds

I’m sitting in my camper watching “The Kominsky Method” but waiting for a new episode of “American Idol.” Tonight starts the Showstopper stage of the show. I’m not entirely sure what that means but I’m also not looking it up on purpose. I’m hoping Ryan Seacrest or the judges will explain it, unlike the introduction of the Platinum ticket. Am I the only one who had no idea what that was when they gave one to Cam Amen? Here’s out it went…

I was surprised when, on one of the final audition episodes, a contestant got something called a Platinum ticket. “What in the world is that!?” I thought. I was a little annoyed it was handed out with no explanation, as if we all absolutely knew what a special reward it was. Not to ramble, but that’s not the only thing that irked me this season. Katy Perry can be fun to watch, but when she does stuff like this and this, I remember why I don’t like her much.

But I should have grace. Certainly I need grace, too! Pet peeves aside, I’m loving the quality of singers this season.

So back to tonight’s episode… the synopsis is that contestants will be paired up against each other and judges will be sending people home. Yikes! I guess “showstopper” means that the show literally stops for some of the hopeful singers. In other words, you don’t gotta go home but you gotta get the heck up outta here!

Tonight I’m hoping to see Fire, Zachariah Smith, and Megan Danielle. They’re my top 3 up to this point in the competition. A couple of others who’ve captured my interest are Lucy Love, Jayna Elise, and Warren Peay.

Who are your favorites? Were you confused by the Platinum ticket thing? Chime in with your thoughts about tonight’s episode. I hope it’s a good one!

-Out of the Wilderness

My first (and only?) sprint triathlon

You know how when people first do something, like get a tattoo, go scuba diving, or have kids, they can’t wait to do it again? For me, it’s a sprint triathlon and just like that person who got a barbed wire tattoo, swam with hungry sharks, or has a rambunctious kid…. and they NEVER WANT TO DO IT AGAIN, yeah, I feel ya. OK my experience wasn’t quite that traumatic but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The course was 1/3 swim, 19 mile bike, and 5K run.

starting lap 2 of the cycling
so fast, the camera barely caught me 😉

This was the bicycling part of the race, as you can see. Before biking was swimming. I must’ve looked like a goofy manatee floating in the lake as I thrashed around trying to find the shore. Then there was the bike. I love my bike but it’s not made for speed. But I still love my bike.

The last of the three challenges was running. It was a 5K, unlike the run I normally do on Easter weekend (Jesus, the Risen 1K). I ran well but not as fast as I would’ve liked. By the end of the race, as I crossed the finish line, I was exhausted and felt like I’m sure Jesus will come back before I do another one of these! How fitting on Easter to think about the return of Jesus, I guess. But also, if something you’re doing makes you wish for Jesus’ triumphant descent from Heaven, maybe that’s a sign.

I really enjoyed the training, though. Working out with my brother in law, practicing my swim, running and biking in the neighborhood will be the highlights I remember from this endeavor. I’m going to “tri” to forget my official time in the race yesterday. I’m going to “tri” to not remember swimming completely perpendicular to the path I was supposed to be swimming. But… I will also “tri” to remember singing as I ran, encouraging people who passed me or I passed on the bike and run, seeing my awesome dad cheering for me as I pedaled by on the bicycle course. Lots of good memories for this manatee. A big thanks to my dad (again) for coming out to cheer us on and take pictures, and to Robin McDougall, a new friend who got a pic of us before the event started!

thanks Robin! I’m on the right, posed with my brother in law and his brother and his brother’s wife.

-Out of the Wilderness

NF’s new video “Happy” – Is it happy?

NF must’ve made a New Year’s resolution to put out a music video every month and while most people fail with whatever goals they make on January 1st, NF is coming through with flying colors and listeners are the beneficiaries. The last two have been so good and I posted about them at the links below…

HOPE – The new NF music video – hope, goosebumps, and identical twins?

MOTTO – The New NF video for “Motto” is a fun red carpet ride!

And now there’s HAPPY. Take a look then scroll down for more thoughts and questions.

I guess this song presents the rest of us with a question… is this the happy version of NF? I thought it was interesting that 8 years ago NF tweeted about this exact emotion… happiness.

Is this the happy album he was hoping for? It’s called HOPE and when one is hopeful they can be happy, too. But they can also be desperate and unhappy. They can have hope because things are bad. They can have hope because things are great. The more I think about it, I’d venture to say this IS the happy album simply based on the lyrics for the song HOPE. He talks about having a lot of struggles for the past 30 years but at the very end he takes the reins. That’s a turning point. Something flipped. Perhaps all, or at least most, of his demons are in the rear view mirror. Ahead is blue skies, twists and turns for sure, but even with life’s curveballs, he is happy.

What do y’all think? I still need to listen to the entire album. I’m sure that will give a better understanding into the incredible artist we know as NF.

-Out of the Wilderness

The iPhone 14 Crash Test Commercial – The Music and the Dummies

Apple has released another commercial for the iPhone 14. This one highlights the phone feature that detects when you’ve been texting while driving and you end up flipping your car into a ditch. They call it “crash detection”…

The Music. We’re going all the way back to before cell phones existed for the music in the commercial. No, not 1995. I’m talking about the mid-1960s with Gene Chandler’s “You Can’t Hurt Me No More.”

The best song I know of Gene Chandler is “Duke of Earl.”

Working out the Kinks. This service from Apple also works on the newest Apple watches, as well. While it’s a good idea and may help save lives, it’s not perfect. Here’s a video explaining that sometimes the emergency number is dialed when the phone is carried onto a roller coaster.

Competition. The Google Pixel models also has “crash detection” so the iPhone isn’t alone with this feature. I checked my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the closest it gets to this is “Earthquake alerts.” That’s a new one to me, but I suppose it can be useful if I ever visit California.

Dummies. Crash test dummies have been used in commercials for decades. I guess it all started with seatbelts in the 1980s. Here’s one advising drivers to take advantage of wearing seatbelts.

Lastly, here’s a funny one from KitKat in 2010.

See y’all tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness