I don’t *think* I have PTSD…

…but every time it storms I have a lot of anxiety. I mostly associate PTSD symptoms with heroes in the military and people that have faced real trauma and come through it. So this storm/falling trees/heavy rain thing is minor compared to what those people have seen! It’s too bad, though, because I used to love storms. The sound of far off thunder, the steady waves of rain banging on the roof. I loved it. In fact, I’ve been known to sit in outside just to enjoy the sights and sounds. That is… until a couple of trees were blown over in a matter of seconds, landing directly on my roof! A strong gust of wind (and if you live in middle Tennessee, you know what these can be like) knocked many trees down in my neighborhood and I’ll never forget the sound and the anxiety from those moments.

Now I live in a travel trailer so every slight breeze is felt. A light rain echoes like a snare drum. I am a lot less safe in the trailer than I was in that brick house so when it rains or storms, I’m on edge. These storms definitely don’t help with the whole “I’m trying to sleep through the night like a normal human being” thing, that’s for sure!

I guess there’s a glimmer of hope, though. I became less anxious when I dug down into the fear. It’s wind. It’s trees falling. I take comfort that the travel trailer is parked in a pretty safe place. I don’t know if a tree has ever fallen anywhere close to where the trailer is. The trees are pretty tightly packed together, so that helps, too.

So is this PTSD, I don’t know? But it is definitely anxiety. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to enjoy the pitter patter of rain again, or watching waves of rain pass through while listening to thunder roar overhead.

See you again tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

“That ’90s Show” …too much gay, not enough funny

It’s a little disappointing when you binge a show about being a kid in the 1990s (which I was) and the content looks nothing like you remember. Now I get it, people have different experiences and there might be a lot of 40-something-year-olds who can relate to this show. But it definitely looks like a 2023 version of 1995, unfortunately.

I went into the “That ’90s Show” series as one who hasn’t ever seen a full episode of “That ’70s Show,” which is the prequel, if you will, to this new Netflix series. But on a weekend where I was under the weather, I thought watching this show was better than searching WebMD for what my symptoms meant. The enjoyment lasted two, maybe three, episodes. First of all, it’s not that funny. Thinking about the episodes now, I can’t recall laughing. But what stands out even more is that it seems to be focused mostly on sex among teens and putting the gayness of the gay friend on a pedestal. I’m not sure if Hollywood knows this, and I have serious doubts that they have any clue at all, but it’s very possible to be gay and NOT be extremely irritating. The problem with this homosexual kid on the show is that he’s both gay AND annoying, and I think that’s a pretty big error on the part of the creators of the show. Make the character gay, fine! I’ve had gay friends over the years and they are some of my favorite people. On TV, see Oscar in “The Office,” or the cast of “Glee.” Show creators can also create an annoying character, go for it! I’ve had annoying friends over the years and the are not some of my favorite people. On TV, see Urkel from “Family Matters” or to use “The Office” again, Dwight.

But there isn’t a show I can think of, or more specifically a successful show I can think of, where a character is both gay and irritating as h*ll. The closest match I can think of is Carol and Susan from “Friends.” Both of the women were gay and irritating, but notice how seldom they showed up in the episodes… very sparingly.

In “That ’90s Show,” the gay kid gets the most screen time apart from the main character. And even more noticeable is how he can do no wrong. He’s the smartest, the most clever, and he’s kind of treated as the guru of the group. But he’s just not at all likable. In my ’90s experience, there weren’t any, or at least not many, guys or girls as irritatingly gay as this kid.

With that and the constant sex innuendos, what’s billed as a situation comedy… the sit isn’t relatable and the com is missing.

-Out of the Wilderness

Roller Derby Names for Women

I’ve been skating around the neighborhood with my niece and doing so has reminded me of roller derby. I really enjoyed going to watch the bouts in Nashville and it was fun to find out Tallahassee has a derby team, once the season starts. I’ll have to try going to watch them sometime! I mused many years ago that if I had a roller derby name, because they’re usually some kind of pun or twist on words, mine would be Tom Bruise. Every time I say it, I look around to see if anyone else thinks I’m as cool as I think I am.

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I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of derby names for women, so here’s that list. My favorites are the last 3 at the bottom. Which are your favorites? These might already be in use by a derby player somewhere, I have no idea.

Rollie Pollie

Derby Debbie

Debby Does Derby

Far From Brittle

Jelly Roll

Dolly Partin’

Angelina Derbie

Kim KarJAMian

Jam-ela Anderson

Strawberry Jammer

Penelope Bruise

Angelina Rollie

Marilyn Mon-roll

See you again tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Accenture Robo-Dog Commercial – The Music and More!

We can all use more dogs in our lives, right? Even if they’re robots, give us all the dogs! In 2022, there was this KIA commercial with an adorable e-pup (if we can call it that?). Now Accenture has an electronic canine for us to adore…

The Music. The soundtrack for this is a song called “Dreaming” by Blondie. Here’s the full track…

As much as this commercial is a fantasy, there is a real robot dog created by some part of Accenture. Here’s a video from Accenture Baltics…

Is it weird that even with this lifeless mechanical dog, I want to pet it and cuddle it and feed it and take it on walks and buy it a cute little charging station!? I have issues.

How do you feel about the robo-dog commercial from Accenture? Cute, right? Chime in below and I’ll see ya tomorrow.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Apple TV Commercial – Timothée Chalamet, the Music, and More

“Yeah, who doesn’t at this point?” I love that line from Timothée Chalamet in the new Apple TV commercial. Check it out then scroll down for more info about the ad, including the song which came out over 30 years before Timothée was born!

The Music. The soundtrack of this minute-and-a-half long commercial is a French song called “Que C’est Triste Vinise” by Charles Aznavour. Here’s the full track…

Now, before you go off assuming I’m hip and cool (I get that alllll the time, sheesh), I didn’t and basically STILL don’t know exactly who Timothée Chalamet is. This wouldn’t bother me so much except that when the commercial came on during NFL football and my 16-yr old niece was nearby, she said, “Is that Timothée Chalamet?” Immediately I’m thinking to myself that I, in fact, am not cool and hip. I have no idea who Timothée Chalamet is. But Ben, don’t you remember the kid in the green stripes in the McCormick commercial?

No. No, I don’t. But anywho, I guess he’s the next Hollywood heart throb with 20-something’s (and teen girls, evidently?).

With that said, I enjoyed the Apple TV+ commercial. Funny, obscure music that was actually not obscure in the 60s, I call that a win. So Apple, you might as well… call him. 😉

-Out of the Wilderness