Out of the Wilderness

college football and Texas forever

Do you remember that line from Tim Riggins on the TV show “Friday Night Lights”?

Today there’s an in-state matchup between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Texas Longhorns. Both teams are ranked in the top 25, TCU in the top 4! So there is a lot riding on the game for them. I’m supporting the Longhorns for two reasons: they’re the underdog and if they win, the Tennessee Volunteers will most likely move up to #4 and I would just jump right out of my britches if my old home state had a team win the championship. I didn’t suspect that I’d feel a connection to the Volunteers after moving from Tennessee last year. But because I no longer fear the spear, my loyalties are up for grabs. Let’s focus on Texas though, before I go on a rant! Actually, I was camping through Texas a couple of months ago and it was pretty incredible. I had no idea I’d see such amazing things. First of all, there were wind turbines EVERYWHERE. Look to the left, there they are. Look to the right, as far as the eye can see.

And then there’s the wildlife. A couple of things I didn’t get a picture of… an armadillo, a horned frog. But I know they exist. I saw a lot of armadillos but never when I had my camera. And another camper said horned frogs DO exist. The first longhorn I saw was on the way to check-in at Village Creek State Park. I passed a small, fenced yard where there was a steer with the longest horns I’ve ever seen. Pardon the low quality of my phone camera…

The wildlife only got better and better from there. Everything from a roadrunner and deer, to bison and prairie dogs. I camped in 7 parks throughout Texas and my favorite was Caprock Canyons State Park. That’s where I snagged my favorite photo of all time. A couple of mule deer resting on the side of a canyon. It was such a special moment. Take a look at the pics below and I hope you enjoy them. Hook ’em horns!

tiny dinosaur at Dinosaur Valley State Park

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Amazon Yeti Commercial – The Music, the Yeti, and the Non-Binary

Amazon seems to be releasing Christmas holiday ads regularly since Halloween came and went. There’s this one starring Little Red Riding Hood and this one about hoarding stuff. Also be sure to check their newest ad with a snow globe, it might be there best Christmas commercial ever. Click here for that one. But back to this ad… it features a yeti (the snow creature, not the overpriced brand 😁).

*UPDATE: Who’s the woman behind the British accent in these Amazon ads? Click here*

The Music. The quirky song used for this commercial soundtrack is “Okay Okay” by Pino D’Angiò.

Christmas Artwork. In the spirit of Christmas, here is one of my latest photo creations. I’ve smushed together 3 different photos to create a great (if I do say so myself 😏) holiday image perfect for framing. That’s where you come in. You can download this photo or have it printed as framed artwork. Your wish is my command! You can find more of my photography in my SmugMug gallery.

The They’s. It appears as though the new socialite yeti appeals to the LGBTQ+ crowd. As the yeti walks through the onlookers, notice who notices it. First is a gay man who looks like he’d pounce on anything with a hole…

As the yeti strolls on, it catches the attention of a person that undoubtedly identifies as non-binary. Not too long ago, characters like this were just part of SNL sketches.

The Yeti. A yeti is part of folklore, kind of like Bigfoot. The portrayal of a yeti in the Amazon ad reminds me of Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf, mostly because there’s no way a hideous creature would ever be accepted in society. People would be freaking out if a huge, hairy monster showed up to a holiday party or was the star of a high school basketball team, not to mention there MUST be rules about that for school sports. So I send my compliments to the cast and crew on a job well done with the costuming! And as you’ll notice in the comments below, the Yeti is played by actor Trevor Newlin (thanks for commenting Trevor!). You can find more of his impressive work (just look at the costume for The Walking Dead, wow) by linking up with his Instagram @Trevor_Newlin.

How do you feel about the Amazon commercial? Does it entice you to use Amazon for your holiday shopping? Chime in with your thoughts and thanks for dropping in…

-Out of Wilderness

Such a train wreck!

Why is it that we love to see train wrecks? I’m not talking about ACTUAL crashes. I mean things like “The Bachelorette,” Tom Brady’s marriage, politicians on the debate stage. Each of those, and there are a million more, are part of pop culture for one reason only: they’re train wrecks and so often we can’t look away.

Creeping Ben Stiller GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

My best guess is that we’re attracted to these dramatic situations because of the following:

This post was originally going to be about music, oddly enough. There are a couple of songs I’ve listened to recently that include the train wreck phenomenon in the lyrics. One is by rapper NF. The other is by the band Needtobreathe. Listen and see if you can pick out the train wreck lyrics…

If you have any insight or comments, chime in below. Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

Something to look forward to

For some reason this happens to me during football season the most. I become very aware of a need to have something to look forward to. With football (college and NFL), almost every week there are entertaining games to watch. Then there was the midterm elections with all the results coming in and being counted yesterday. Baseball is over (who cares, right?) but I had a hot take last week that baseball isn’t America’s pastime anyway.

In the big picture, I think it’s healthy to have something to look forward to. It’s part of human nature (I hope the Michael Jackson song is stuck in your head now 🙂 ). But at the same time, I don’t always want to be chasing that high. Sure, it’s good and fun to have great things going on in our lives, but there will absolutely be days that nothing is going on and not much is on the horizon. Yes, I’m talking about you winter. As I’ve gotten older, and more crabby (am I really turning into the “get off my lawn!” guy??), winter has fallen down on my list of favorite seasons. In Nashville, I loved the snow. But there wasn’t much else I loved about the cold, winter months. When I worked at CMT, I’d leave home in the dark and get back home after work in the dark. Those were dark days, pun intended.

I try to remind myself that there’s a bigger picture. It’s OK to NOT have something in the near future to look forward to. But also not to forget that it’s great to find things to be happy about, and even create things to look forward to. Of course, life isn’t just about being happy all the time because, first of all, that’s impossible and if we were to expect that, we’d be setting ourselves up for extreme lows. But do find joy in the small things. That’s something I’m going to try doing this week, especially as winter approaches where it’ll be dark by 6pm.

Plus, Alabama has lost not once, but TWICE, this season and if that doesn’t make you happy, nothing will. 😉

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Purge Has Begun – Getting a New Phone Soon?

I’ve dropped my phone too many times, and the last one finally chipped part of the glass clear off the phone! I can deal with a few cracks or scratches, but now that the glass is starting to chip, I’ve got to face the facts. It’s time for a new phone.

Should I go ahead and get one now?

Should I wait for possible Thanksgiving black Friday deals?

We’re so close to the holidays, I’ve got to believe there will be a special deal or two I can take advantage of. So I’ll wait. But… if this phone drops even ONE more time, it might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Because of that, I’ve finally saved and deleted all the photos and videos from my phone. Next up is making a list of apps I need to download on whatever new phone I get. Oh, should I get the new Galaxy Z Flip4? I’m generally against the idea of a full screen that flips. There’s just no way that type of screen can last. Not to mention it’s well over $1,000. That goes for the iPhone, too. Sure, everybody has one, but I am stubbornly saying no. The phone I have now is a Motorola and it’s been good. I don’t particularly like the Motorola offerings today. I’m mostly leaning towards Samsung or the Google Pixel phone.

Do you love your phone? What are the pros and cons and would you recommend it to your friends? Until I get a new one, I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from all the pictures I saved.