Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
In church the pastor has been using Matthew 1 as the reference for his sermons. This is where the lineage of Jesus is laid out by the disciple Matthew. Lots of very interesting things about the people listed and stuff like that but it also made me wonder something I’ve never thought about before.
Is there someone alive today that’s in the family lineage of Jesus?
-me, last week
I only did a brief online search and nothing really turned up but it’s fascinating to me to think there might be people alive today who could trace their lineage back to Mary and/or Joseph. I’m not saying Jesus has any direct descendents because I don’t believe he ever had children or got married. But he had brothers and sisters and surely they had children and those children had children.
There’s a smooth, playful, confident voice narrating the latest campaign of Amazon ads, like Little Red Riding Hood and Medusa. Discovering who the woman is behind the voice took time and some research, but finally the answers are here!
The Voice. The accented voice belongs to comedian and actress Morgana Robinson. She was referenced in an interview with Amazon reps and the commercial production team, Joint. Check this link for the entire transcript but in part, they said…
From the very beginning, we knew we wanted a voice with strong comic energy. Morgana Robinson came up early on as she’s not only a phenomenal talent but deeply funny as well. We spent hours in the studio crafting ways for her to come across as modern and likeable, but crucially quite cheeky too.
Morgana Robinson is all over the place with profession work, so be sure to follow her on Instagram here: @morgana_robinson. She’s funny and a great impressionist! Don’t believe me? Check out her horse neigh in this video around timecode 2:08.
Neigh Neigh. Speaking of horses, I’ll leave you with a favorite pic from my horse photo gallery. All of the photos in my wildlife gallery (where you’ll find more horses) are available to cover your walls as framed artwork!
HelloOoOoOo and thanks for stopping by my blog today. As it’s written in the title, Amazon has a new commercial today with their own twist on the tale of Robinhood. It’s another addition to a slew of ads featuring well-known stories like Medusa, Red Riding Hood, and Romeo and Juliet. Take look then scroll down for more info!
Robin of Locksley. Due to a number of reasons (mostly because it’s a FACT!!!), Kevin Costner’s was the best Robinhood movie and while I’m on this soap box, Bryan Adams “Everything I Do” is the BEST love song in any movie ever! Oh gosh, sorry I got so heated there. I just remember as a middle schooler watching the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and loving every second of it… from Morgan Freeman’s character, Maid Marian’s gentle breath in Robin’s ear as he completely misses the target with his arrow, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, the blind guy and the horse, Sean Connery, and even the scary witch. It’s just great.
The Voiceover. OK, back to the Amazon commercial. In every recent Amazon ad I’ve written about, I’ve tried to find out who’s doing the voiceover. The woman with the British accent is so memorable, but hard to find, let me tell ya! My searches all came up empty but I have good news… I found her. I put up a separate post with more info about the actress/comedian. Find out who it is here.
Girl Power and the Male Villains. Viewers have picked up on the trend in Amazon commercials where “women rule, and men drool.” After all, they DID turn Robinhood into woman. Not exactly subtle. On top of that, they portrayed the only men in the ad as villains, or idiots (see the guy getting pulled through the mud behind the buggy). Men don’t typically wear tights (unless you’re the star of Robinhood: Men in Tights), so perhaps Amazon is just tailoring the story to customers who can relate to tights getting snagged on things… women… and NFL football players?
Final Thoughts. Surely, opinions about this ad will be split among those who love it and those who think Amazon has taken the modern “feminist” movement way too far. One thing is for sure, though. Robinhood: Prince of Thieves cannot be topped. Remember when Maid Marian yells out Robinhood’s name? Just another of the iconic moments in this movie.
Chime in below with your thoughts on the Amazon ad, and thanks for dropping in…
It’s hard for me to believe I moved out of Nashville over a year ago. The weirdest thing is that I have dreams about the house I lived in there. In the dreams, I’m in the house for an overnight stay but the new homeowners show up and I feel weird that I’m in their house. I try to rush out but never make it before they discover I’m there. Weird, huh?
I seem to have a few recurring themes in my dreams. Lately, it’s the house dreams. But many years ago it was Hawaii. I was there for vacation (in the dream), but there was anxiety because I always had to leave soon without feeling like I did the things I wanted to do. I haven’t had one of those dreams in a long time, though. Then there are the Taylor Swift dreams.
In those, we are always hanging out as friends just doing nothing in particular. I can vividly remember thinking in the dream that I can’t believe I’m hanging out with Taylor as a friend. A year ago today I wrote about my professional history with Taylor Swift. I’m sure the dreams come from her heavy involvement with country music in the beginning of her career. So today, I’ll wish her a happy birthday again!
She’s certainly made a name for herself and she’s been enjoying the rewards of her hard work over the past decades. I hope her success continues and I have about this much *makes a tiny space between fingers* doubt that she’ll become irrelevant any time soon.
The title “Queen of Christmas” has surfaced this holiday season in reference to Mariah Carey. Maybe I’m just old but every time I hear the phrase, my candy-cane striped knickers get in a bunch. I can’t get on board with Mariah wearing this crown! I know she’s a diva, she sings like few can… but in regards to Christmas music, she has one original hit song. Just one. Obviously, it’s a HUGE hit song. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has gone #1 in more countries than I can count and it’s a modern song that instantly became a holiday classic. There’s no denying that.
But what about female singers who have holiday hits, or even more impressive, multiple successful Christmas songs? I’m thinking of Kelly Clarkson “Underneath the Tree” (#1 in multiple countries) and “Wrapped in Red,” Leona Lewis “One More Sleep” 2x platinum, The Waitresses “Christmas Wrapping”(cert gold in UK). Certainly they should at least be in the discussion for being Christmas royalty, right?
But then there’s Darlene Love. If I had to pick a “Queen of Christmas” (and it had to be a singer), I’d 100% go with Darlene Love. Problem is… no one asked me! Darlene’s original song “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” (cert platinum) is instantly recognizable and has been covered many, many times by iconic singers and not-so-iconic singers. Yes, I’m talking about all you karaoke people out there! Plus, Darlene has another song released decades after that one, called “All Alone on Christmas” and it’s played each season, too. In fact, listen to the lyrics and you might find some clever Christmas references, too. She sings about “All I Want For Christmas is You” and ties in a flashback to “Baby, Please Come Home.” Perhaps a nod to Whitney Houston with the lyric, “Where do lonely hearts go?” Great song!
What are your thoughts about Mariah Carey being crowned “Queen of Christmas”? Chime in below, and thanks for dropping in!
Out of the Wilderness 