Everybody and their mother’s writing about the cold weather

I wanted so badly to write about something other than the weather but is there anything else more relevant right now than this miserable cold? Here I am in Florida and I can’t feel my fingers or my ears…what the heck!

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As a kid I loved when it would snow. Snow meant sledding, snowball fights, and running around with my friends and family. Somewhere along the line that joy turned into slushy roads, crashing cars, and frozen water pipes. There ain’t no joy in those things! But it’s only as an adult that the wonderment of snow became more of an annoyance than something to be excited about.

What’s worse, though, is when it’s cold enough to snow (in north Florida it’s in the low 20s this weekend) but it DOESN’T SNOW! So now there is literally nothing to do outside. At least with snow there’s the possibility of fun but when it’s just 20°, that’s a big fat nope!

I was a total Scrooge in the post from a couple days ago so today I’ll end on a positive note. It’s Christmas Eve! How exciting. I’m basically a character from the movie Four Christmases starring one of my favorite actors (I’m realizing he actually might be my #1 favorite but I’ll save that for another post), Vince Vaughn. I’ve already had 2 Christmases and another one or two to go. I love the lights, the music (check out my favorite Christmas songs from 2022), and celebrating the reason for the season… the birth of Jesus.

Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

Music in TV show endings

I watched the season finale of “The Cleaning Lady” (season 2) on Hulu the other day. In a montage with the lead characters, a song played and immediately got my attention. This was as they were wrapping up the episode and naturally, setting up season 3. Here’s the song that played, “When the Party’s Over” covered by James Blake.

As the montage played, I thought of how music can be so critical in the storyline of TV shows. My mind went to a sitcom called “New Girl.” It has one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen because of what was happening but not just that… it was the music that elevated it to an unforgettable moment. Here’s the scene. The timing gets me every time…

I can also remember way back to the finale of a classic show from the late 80s/early 90s starring Fred Savage, “The Wonder Years.” I guess I don’t necessarily remember the music but it was his narration (call it a spoken word soundtrack, maybe?) along with the montage that has stuck with me.

Then there’s the scene in “Parenthood” featuring a song by Sufjan Stevens. It’s “Come Thou Fount” and plays at the perfect time in the show. I can’t find the scene but here’s the song, one of the best hymns ever written!

Do you have any favorite TV show music moments? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

Commercials I Can’t Stand – Peloton

I didn’t plan on today’s post being one about something I don’t like. After all, it’s Christmas so we shouldn’t stray from happy, good feelings, right? But the fat-shaming fitness company Peloton (remember when the husband bought his wife an exercise bike and Peloton got “cancelled” because of it?) seems to know exactly how to conjure up my biggest pet peeves in a matter of seconds! In fact, it’s why they pretty much consistently always top my least favorite commercials list. Fine, I’ll be Scrooge today. These Peloton commercials irk me like no other commercials ever have. Take a look at their latest one then scroll down for more Grinchy Scrooge-ness.

The cliche phrases. I’ve narrowed down what I despise the most to the motivational statements made by the instructors. For instance…

“Step into your power.”

“You didn’t come to work out. You came to out work.”

“No challenge, no change.”

Why am I so enraged by these annoying nuggets of encouragement from the Peloton coaches? I can’t even decide if they’re puns, platitudes, or clichés but goodness gracious, I can’t stand them.

Here’s another one that illustrates Peloton’s obsession with generic, “clever” phrases.

Is something wrong with me that I’m so annoyed by these? Let me know in the comments. If I need mental or emotional help, maybe I’ll just hire a Peloton coach to encourage me to “bring that thunder.”

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

Wait, so sale prices go up!?

I saw this giant sign in a store you’d immediately know if I said the name. I’m sure they didn’t mean for it to come across the way it does… like those Walmart in-store ads that say “prices are falling” and the after price is higher than the before price. Well, that’s exactly what happened when I was out shopping for Christmas…

Thanks for the discount, ya filthy animals! But seriously, is Putin’s Price Hike* going to ruin Christmas, or what!? Could it be just a misprint? What I want to know is which manager saw this and said, “No one’s going to notice this. Let’s do it!”

Have you seen signs like this? Tell me about a funny one, I’d love to hear it! Thanks for dropping in…

*trademark, patent pending, copyright for “Putin’s Price Hike” belongs to the White House and any politician who wishes to blame someone else for anything bad, which couldn’t for any reason be their own fault whatsoever

-Out of the Wilderness

The Apple “Greatest” Commercial – The Music, Muhammad Ali, and More

Apple has an all-inclusive commercial showing the benefits of their technology for those needing a little help doing things most of us take for granted. The visuals are inspiring just by themselves, but the addition of the song they chose boosts it up even more. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

The Music. The soundtrack for the commercial is a song called “I Am the Greatest” by Spinifex Gum. I’ve never heard it before but I love the chanting style of the song. Here’s the full track.

The Lyrics. Set to music, these lyrics pull from things boxer Muhammad Ali spoke many years ago. Here are some of his legendary quotes from the man, himself.

The Comments. Apple always turns the comments off for their commercials on YouTube but I’d guess most, if not all, people who watch this would flood the comments with positive thoughts and praise for the ad. Good job to the creative team on making an inspirational video while highlighting new tech!

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness