American Idol – Amen, Hallelujah, and an Awkward Audition

A contestant named Cam Amen auditioned on a recent episode of American Idol and picked a song that might be the best song ever written. It’s “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Here’s the version from Cam…

A great song, right? In fact, and not to take away from Cam’s talent which appears to be very high, I think the song is touching, emotional, incredible… almost no matter who sings it. That’s how good of a song it is, just in its original, lyrical form from Leonard Cohen. Should Cam go through to Hollywood? Absolutely. However, a few other contestants they sent through (*ahem* one with a famous dad who played guitar for her during the audition) weren’t as deserving. I’m sure there are other factors in the judges decision about who gets the golden ticket (*ahem* that girl with a famous dad who played guitar for her during the audition), like for instance that Lionel Richie wants to maintain an acquaintance-type friendship with the famous dad who played guitar for his daughter during her audition and to NOT send her to Hollywood would’ve been super awkward for the daughter who’s famous dad played guitar for her during the audition. The dad is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so OF COURSE his daughter has to make it through to Hollywood. Meanwhile, the judges who unanimously gave her a “yes” are thinking they can quietly send her home during the group stages while maintaining a working friendship with her famous dad who played guitar for her during the audition. Here’s Lionel’s reaction during her performance with a look that says it all.

That look when you don’t like something but can’t say it out loud.

ANNNNYWHOOOOO….

“Nice” judges aside and not to mention I miss Simon Cowell, who would’ve sent her home without a golden ticket in spite of her Hall of Fame father, I’ll just leave you with the one “Hallelujah” performance that I can still remember where I was when I heard it the first time… (and also a list of my favorite “Hallelujah” performances here)

Take 5 minutes and listen to Jeff Buckley singing this great song…

-Out of the Wilderness

Katy Perry Mocks Gay, Black Man

Katy Perry recently called out a gay, black guy last week. She and the guy had a disagreement and the guy casually said, “Katy, chill out…” which didn’t go over well with Katy. Almost under her breath she mocked his sexuality, race, and gender in one short but sarcastic sentence, “Gay, black male tells woman to ‘chill out.'” Mainstream media was quick to take the story because in today’s society, nothing is worse than belittling someone’s gender, race, or sexual preference. It was trending on Twitter and headlining the nightly news for a few days after the incident. Katy was compelled to issue an apology where she admitted it was wrong and that she’ll be doing some soul-searching in the coming days, as well as meeting with different groups (gay and black people) to find out more about her divisive comment.

How should this make us feel about Katy Perry? Her comment was completely out of left field in the context of the situation so her quick descent to a person’s authentic identity caught everyone off guard. As tense as things are in society (according to the news, at least), comments like hers do nothing to soothe fragile relationships that are already on edge.

Also, Katy’s comment wasn’t about a gay, black man. Dun dun dunnnn! Plot twist. Her comment was to Luke Bryan on American Idol. After he told her to “chill out,” she said, “Straight, white male tells woman to ‘chill out.'”

Now how should we feel?

Her comment blew over like an afternoon breeze, not catching the attention of anyone anywhere, much less a local news channel or a national broadcast. So then, why is it OK for her to use that kind of language but only if it’s towards straight, white men? If she actually had said “gay” or “black” or any other race/gender/sexual preference it would’ve been all over the news. She definitely would’ve had to apologize for the sake of her career and to salvage any ratings American Idol is clinging to. More truth, though, they would’ve just edited her comment out of the show completely so it never would’ve aired. Instead, not only did they keep her “straight, white male” comment in the show, they edited it in a way to draw attention to it, almost as a crescendo of the episode. Take a look…

This lazy comment comes on the heels of Katy drawing attention to herself a few episodes earlier. In that one, she began freaking out when a school shooting victim/survivor auditioned for Idol. I wrote about that awkward scene in this post: Katy Perry and Her Trail of Tears. In a nutshell, the school shooting victim told his story and somehow he went from receiving sympathy to consoling Katy Perry. Weird, huh?

Katy’s comment to Luke was a perfect example of someone who has no ammunition (for lack of a better word) to fight back so they resort to sexual preference, race, or gender. In other words, because Luke is a heterosexual and white, his opinion is inferior. Does that sound unifying?

Katy, only when liberal stars such as yourself stop using race or sexual preference as a way to stay relevant will tensions in our culture begin to “chill out.”

-Out of the Wilderness

Canada’s GO RVing Commercial – The Music, the Actor, and More!

Before we get into this, it’s important to establish that taking an RV out for camping is a great idea whether you’re in Canada or anywhere else! In fact, I have an entire page dedicated to my camping trips in the United States. But I’m sensing that you need a little more motivation so take a look at this cinematic commercial then scroll down for more info about the ad!

The Music. This peaceful, somewhat psychedelic song is “Stay Alive” by José González. It was included on the soundtrack for the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It’s fitting that the song, the movie, and this commercial are tied together with a theme of getting outside to adventure and/or enjoy nature. Here’s the song…

The Actor. Playing the part of city man turned wild guy is actor Troy Greenwood. You can probably guess filming this long commercial was a grueling task for an actor asked to run through the wilderness, swim in frigid waters, and everything else he did but he did it well! The creators of the ad praised Troy’s work and also spoke about the locations of the shoot. You can find that info here. You can also find more about Troy’s many talents on his website or his Facebook page.

Photos. I hope that, by now, you’re fully convinced to go RVing! Maybe you don’t have to completely ditch your normal life like the guy in the commercial, but how about for a weekend? Getting into the wilderness is one of my favorite things to do even if it’s just a Saturday afternoon hike. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from camping around the U.S. You can find the full collection of my photos here. See you tomorrow!

Rain cloud moving over Florida prairie land.
road through a Texas canyon.
tree in the shape of a heart, somewhere in Texas.
water snakes in north Florida.
deer crossing Texas river.
One-eyed doe in Louisiana.
old pelican in Florida keys.

-Out of the Wilderness

Funny Fine Print – A Glow in the Dark Frisbee?

Hello there! My name is Ben. I’m a hobby writer, photographer, dog walker, and fine print reader. Some of these tiny words will really stop you in your tracks (like this ad from If It’s COVID, Paxlovid). Other times it’s just funny and confusing. That’s what’s going on today with a frisbee I found at Walmart. Not only is it a disc that flies, but it ALSO glows in the dark! Yeah, now you can throw day or night.

Dog Frisbee GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

This frisbee was in the “clearance” section of a nearby Walmart and even though it’s not very heavy and might not last long, throwing at night would be something fun to try. But then I read the fine print.

So let me get this straight: I need to throw a GLOW IN THE DARK frisbee in a well-lit area? Now I’m really confused. I might reach out to 50 Strong (makers of the frisbee) for a comment. Someone needs to explain themselves!

-Out of the Wilderness

Yay, sports!

There’s football pre-season, season, playoffs, the championships, and there are the months we wait again for pre-season. But I *suppose* watching the men’s version of the NCAA basketball tournament has had some dramatic, nail-biting games and below has been the best I’ve seen in a long time. Take a look at this crazy ending of the Furman vs. Virginia game last week.

I was on vacation with family because the kids of the fam were on Spring Break. Headed out the door to throw a frisbee and I thought, there’re just a few minutes left so I’ll slow-poke my way outside. As the game ticked down to the final seconds I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d put it up on the level of a few great sports moments in history I’ve seen live like…

Auburn beating Alabama in the “kick-six”…

Landon Donovan scoring a game winning goal in the World Cup.

Kerri Strug winning gold on a bum ankle…

Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl winning interception against the Seahawks…

Honorable Mention goes to Leon Lett making a big mistake in a regular season game against the Miami Dolphins.

I’m sure I’ve seen more but those are the moments that stand out as the NCAA tournament continues this weekend. But seriously, how long till football’s back?

-Out of the Wilderness