Is it time to give up on America?

I almost called this post “Is America doomed?” but whatever the title is, I think the answer is… maybe. Maybe I’m just watching too many YouTube videos but, unlike what the President said in the State of the Union Address, this country is not OK. OK, I kind of half-way retract that. That’s the problem, though… politicians. Politicians in Washington, for example. Example after example is even on the television, like those shows about people that are 600 lbs, they just need to find the button called ‘reset’.

They’re too far gone to come back, you know? We need a reset button because I believe there might be no coming back from where we are now. We’ve given the wrong people way too much power and I can’t think of a story (whether real or just in the movies) where any person or group has voluntarily given up power they gained.

Somehow it’s gone from the government being “of the people, by the people, for the people,” to a government formed of people who think the rest of us civilians work for them. Love or hate him, Donald Trump was right that the swamp needed to be drained. That’s another way of saying we need a reset button.

But back to those YouTube videos I watch. There are some absolutely crazy, childish, mentally ill people out there and if we’re not careful, they’re going to keep our country on a downward spiral to complete chaos. I was going to say complete anarchy but those people, for the most part, don’t want to do away with government, they want MORE government control.

I’m encouraged by a few things. Walking around in the woods. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful. The animal kingdom doesn’t have a problem with science and the natural order of things. This is where humans keep getting it wrong. Up is down. Left is right. Good is bad. It’s nonsense. The other encouragement lately is the news out of Asbury, Kentucky.

“Can you see God? You haven’t seen him? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I’ve never seen the wind. There’s a mystery to it.”

billy graham

America could use a nice breeze right about now, don’t you think?

-Out of the Wilderness

Visit California? This commercial says yes!

The state of California wants us to come visit unless, of course, you already live there. Then I guess they want you to stay.

“Please, for the love of God, stay!”

california

California has more people leaving than any other state, so I’m not surprised this commercial keeps reappearing (March 2023 update: they have a new commercial asking for visitors). Ironically, I saw the ad in Florida, which is where many of those Californians are going. So basically, California is great to visit and horrible to live in. Got it.

For production value, I give this commercial a 10 out of 10. The song is “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. The imagery and editing are both fantastic, showing that geologically (and geographically?), California is beautiful. Beaches, mountains, wildlife, forests, cliffs, so much natural beauty. There are a few celebrities in the ad, too, like Mario Lopez (in the Corvette), baseball player Brandon Crawford, and at the end appears Anthony Anderson.

The lead in the ad is actress Austin Boyce. Check out her website for a few of her impressive credits and follow her on Instagram @mavoflav where you can see a behind the scenes clip of her commercial performance and more!

For sensitivity, I give the ad a 4 out of 10 because there are a handful of distasteful moments. Namely, showing someone jumping out of a high-rise building, Alex just wearing a towel (for no apparent reason), and being chummy with a grizzly bear. I understand the draw of random clips that might help the ad be memorable for viewers, but definitely don’t talk to big bears. Also, why is she wrapped in a towel on a talk show? That was more out of left field than any other clip.

It’s California. Most of us know, as a nod to the commercial, that “dream big” also means bring a “big wallet” because everything is twice as expensive as anywhere else. Go visit, I know I’d love to sometime soon! But buy a two-way ticket so you can get outta there before your reality is less dreamy and more of a living nightmare.

See you tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness

New Must-See Photos in My Gallery…

This week I’ve been taking new photos. While driving around Tallahassee, Florida, I got some shots of buildings, birds, and can I just say this: there are so many trees in this city! Most of my favorite photos are organized into galleries which you can access here. Once you’re there, look for galleries like BW Wildlife, BW Structures, BW Sunsets, etc, which are home to photos from around the southeast. I’d be tickled to death if you can comment on which your favorites are and if you want to take it a step further, imagine which ones could hang on the walls of your living or workspace! Feel free to ask me any questions about the photos or pricing. OK, all that business stuff aside, here are a few photos along with other recent edits…

Thank you for looking at my work. I have a lot of joy in taking photos and hope to continue doing so throughout 2023, so check my SmugMug galleries when you need a break from real life… new photos are added often!

See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

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

There’s hardly a way to compare NF to anyone else in the music industry but if you put pressure on me to come up with something really accurate, it would be something like this: Imagine the skills of Busta Rhymes, Eminem, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, all in one person and that’s NF. Granted, all of those rappers are so amazing so it would be hard to even come up with anyone else like them, too.

If you do some digging into NF’s reviews and his music, most of the comparisons you’re going to find are with Eminem, the other white rapper (no offense Tom MacDonald!). I’ll admit that when I first heard NF years ago, it was remarkable how much he sounded like Eminem. What a compliment, though, to sound like one of the best rappers ever, right? But as much as they resembled each other and much like a pair of identical twins I knew in college, the more I got to know the twins the easier it was to tell them apart. In fact, as the friendships grew, I could hardly believe they were identical twins at all. That’s how it is with NF, too. As I’ve listened to his music over and over, he has his own unique sound and this might offend people but I wouldn’t say NF sounds like Eminem, if anything Eminem sounds like NF! Boom.

So NF just unveiled a video for his song “Hope” and I haven’t found one negative comment on YouTube yet. Reddit reviewers are a little more cynical but there are quite a few people calling it a masterpiece and with that, I’d have to agree. I can’t think of another rap song that’s given me goosebumps, except for maybe “The Search,” also by NF. It’s also crazy that every single NF song I hear is better than the last one I listened to. I guess that means now I have a new favorite NF song.

Goosebumps, right? As the old cliché goes, the sky’s the limit for NF. For now, this is my favorite song until tomorrow when I listen to another of his songs.

See you then…

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-Out of the Wilderness

The Three-Colored Caper Strikes Again!

If you have a mischievous beagle you know exactly what the title of this post means. My little Piper? She’s gone to the bark side. My little Bark Vader is 13 years old and getting more fragile but when she wants you to know something, you’re gonna know it! The other day she was not happy with being in the camper when she wanted to be outside… and she made it crystal clear.

Not be outdone, and since books are sooooo 1990s (except for MY children’s books you can have shipped directly to your door through Amazon or Books-A-Million online, which will help me offset the cost of what I’m about to tell you 😉), she’s apparently moved on to DVDs. Ryan Reynolds, if you’re reading this, I apologize on behalf of this little tornado of a beagle!

Obviously you can’t see the title of this movie on the case because Piper shredded it all to kingdom come! The movie is The Voices and stars Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, and Anna Kendrick. Hey you movie stars, what she did wasn’t personal, I promise.

A mangled case, just like my brain when I came back to find this mayhem scattered on the camper floor… courtesy of this beagle and her vampire teeth.

See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness