Will Smith sells an apology to Chris Rock, are you buying it?

Millions of people watched the Oscars this year and then millions more watched the only moment we’ll remember from the awards show. It’s the slap that keeps on slapping. Take a look then scroll down for more awkwardness.

Was this the beginning of the end of Will Smith’s acting career? Time will tell. But he’s sure not doing himself any favors by posting an apology video 3 months later. This was posted a few days ago in response to the slap, the backlash, and his soul-searching since then.

Is this damage control or a sincere apology? It’s hard to say but in Will’s defense, he’s generally thought of as a nice guy. Well, he WAS generally thought of as a nice guy. After watching the apology video a couple of times, I kind of wish he wasn’t sorry. Chris made fun of your wife and you defended her. Own it. Post a response video saying that if anyone else makes fun of my wife, I’ll slap them, too. But as it is, slapping Chris then crying about it is just kind of soft. Borderline pathetic. I mean, if you were defending the honor of your spouse, what’s there to be sorry about?

So, for me, the apology video just adds to the turbulence and confusion. I don’t think it does anything to repair Will’s image and so far it doesn’t appear to be repairing his relationship with Chris and his family.

The video’s also cringe-y in other ways. Can we talk about the composition? Who’s idea was it to put a white, round lamp behind Will’s head? YouTube viewer Gravewolf said it best, “Will is so lucky to have Jada’s boyfriends as the camera crew.” There’s the lamp, and then there’s the microphone to Will’s right, as seen in the side angle shot. It’s so distracting! How hard is it to move a mic and a lamp?

Ok let’s forgive the lamp and mic thing. But then there’s the merchandise. It’s kind of like those cars that have way too many Crimson Tide stickers on the back. Ok, we get the point, you love Alabama. It’s a bit much, though, to have a bumper sticker, license plate frame, and a sticker on the window, right? This video is another example of these distasteful (and annoying) trifectas. First, the hat. Will is wearing a hat representing his media company Westbrook, which he owns with wife, Jada. The water bottle (a company called ‘JUST Water’) is owned by the Smith’s, as well. And rounding out the overkill is in the description of the YouTube video.

I can only hope the writers of the synopsis were being jovial as they included this in the description:

“Will” is the story of how one person mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same.

He mastered his own emotions, huh? This, after just a few months ago he slapped a man on live TV. OK, sure. I have a feeling that no one who needs emotional help is going to, nor should they, buy this book!

If only Uncle Phil was still around to “slap” some sense into Will.

-Out of the Wilderness

The RealReal commercials – Are they really real?

I can’t exactly put a finger on why, but every time I see a “The RealReal” commercial, I am immediately frustrated and annoyed. Here’s the latest ad…

I have a couple of thoughts on why I don’t like the ads. First, the name of the company is dumb. What kind of name is “The RealReal,” anyway? Secondly, they offer luxury brand names at 90% off retail price. That’s quite a discount! Such a price reduction sounds fishy, like I’m buying a Rolex under a Manhattan bridge. This might be nitpicky, but in the ad above, the font type drives me crazy. The lines in each letter are too narrow.

Lastly, if you’re promoting the resale (they never actually say out loud that these are used clothes) of these luxurious brands, would it be a good idea to NOT shoot the ad in a small, very small, carpeted room that’s probably in an old warehouse near a Manhattan bridge?

Just my two cents. Maybe I should just use those two pennies to buy a name brand shirt, they’re so cheap at The RealReal!

-Out of the Wilderness

We all do this very weird thing every day

No matter how rich, no matter how poor, if someone is the biggest jerk or the nicest person in the world, everyone who’s ever lived lays down and waits… and waits… and waits… until they enter into a mysterious trance for 5 to 10 hours each day. Is that not super weird?

I think about the 21-year-old gang member running around with 15 guns, pounds of marijuana, tattoos on his face. At some point each day he lies down on a couch or mattress, pulls a sheet over himself and sleeps. The most feared person in a 5 block radius innocently sleeping. He probably has a calm look on his face while he’s in the most vulnerable state one can be in.

Think about someone you greatly admire. Let’s take football legend Tom Brady. When he’s awake he’s doing things like breaking records and winning Super Bowls. But even he, the GOAT, at some point each day puts on his soft clothes, rolls the sheets back to climb in bed for a good night’s sleep… just like the rest of us non-GOAT people. Like the gangster, he probably has a calm, peaceful look as his body recharges.

**Regarding famous people sleeping, check out this post on my best guess for how famous people sleep, based on their personalities.**

From the worst of us to the best of us, we all enter into such a vulnerable position… and we do it every day! Laying there, thinking about stuff but trying not to, listening to calm music or the sound of a fan, hoping and waiting for our minds to take us to a crazy place we call a dream.

It’s weird, right? But kind of cool, too, that we all do it.

-Out of the Wilderness

Did Ft. Clinch State Park wow me like I thought it would? 

I won’t beat around the bush in this post. I really, really, REALLY wanted to like Ft. Clinch State Park! In the days and weeks leading up to my 4 day camping trip, I had a lot of anticipation. I mean, what is there not to look forward to? Exciting things like being near the beach, finding sharks teeth, and a fort that goes back hundreds of years were at the forefront of my mind as I drove 3 hours from Tallahassee, Florida. 

I guess I’ve sort of beat around the bush, haven’t I? I’ll say this… the fort was really cool! Visiting and walking through it is where I got my best pictures from the whole camping trip. I enjoyed ocean kayaking. As far as wildlife, I saw dolphins and an alligator (in the ocean, yikes!). But besides that, I was underwhelmed for a few reasons…

1. The campground is very spread out. To see the fort or explore trails from your campsite, you need a bike or car. I like being able to walk to the adventures, and this is not that type of experience. 

2. There are 2 campground areas. One on the Atlantic side has no shade, but it does have gravel sites. I was parked at the campground closer to the fort. It had shade (a major plus), but the sites were dirt. I HATE DIRT SITES. For the first few days it didn’t rain and dirt still got everywhere in the trailer. On day 3 it rained and of course, that multiplied the dirt being tracked in from my shoes and my pups’ paws.

3. In 4 days, I found 5 sharks teeth, and this was after searching a couple of times each day. A pretty big disappointment. I’m not good at sifting through shells, I get that. Some people can find more in a short amount of time, but I was frustrated with the lack of success on my part!  

Overall, my expectations were not met. It’s not necessarily any fault of the park itself (except for the dirt sites that, again, are absolutely no fun especially when it rains). My take-away is the great preservation of the fort. I enjoyed reading some history, walking where soldiers once trained, and getting a glimpse into what life was like so many years ago in the south. OK, enough talk! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip…

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The New Publix Back-to-School Father Daughter Commercial

Publix is known for having great commercials. In fact, one my all-time favorites is a Publix holiday ad from 2005… do you remember this Valentine’s Day tear-jerker? Well, Publix is back now with a timely “back to school” commercial and it’s as sweet as you’d expect. Check it out then scroll down for more info…

Is the fridge gonna close itself!? Spoken like a true adult. But the daughter has the last laugh when she repeats the line as her dad holds a prepackaged meal he retrieved from the refrigerator. Touché, young one.

Alternate version. Publix used an X before it was cool! But the Latinx community can enjoy the back-to-school ad in Spanish, too. A few differences… the English version includes the sassy “fridge” comment, but the Spanish version below doesn’t. In fact, you’ll only see one of the two actors speaking in this version. The daughter has a conversation at lunch, which is in English.

A couple of other differences… when Dad is at the bedroom door, he says, “Baila conmigo.” This translates to “Dance with me.” In the English version, he says, “Remember this?” Both sticky notes from Dad say that he’s proud of her. Her sticky note says, in English, “Proud of you, too,” but in Spanish her note translates to, “and I of you.”

But wait, there’s more. Backtracking to the beginning of both ads, the English version starts off with “First day!” spoken by an excited dad. The Spanish ad, Dad says the daughter’s name. Looking back over it, the Spanish version actually says nothing about it being the first day of school, unless it’s inferred by how she’s preparing a lunch and sitting in the cafeteria in front of a poster that says, “Welcome students.”

What do you think about the ads? Has Publix maintained their reputation of having fantastically heartwarming commercials? Comment below!

-Out of the Wilderness