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
Hello and thanks for checking out my blog today. I’m camping in Big Lagoon State Park, just a bit southwest of Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola is home of Naval Air Station Pensacola so today’s post is more about that than it is about the state park. For previous camping adventures, visit my Camping Stories page. Many plans and jets have flown overhead. I caught a few on camera, and perhaps there’s an eagle or two thrown in there, a pelican, and the moon because, well, the moon is cool!
I’ve been a subscriber to SiriusXM for a few years now and while I have my handful of “go-to” channels, there is so much more than that. A wide range of music plus comedy and sports and politics and the list goes on. This is the message in SiriusXM’s latest ad featuring a few stars you might recognize from the entertainment industry. Here’s the ad…
The Stars. Gathering for a smorgasbord dinner is Alice Cooper, Alanis Morissette, Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, and 2 Chainz. You can get a quick bio of each star here. You might’ve also noticed a portrait of Kevin Hart and a coffee mug in the likeness of Conan O’Brien.
The Music. Playing softly in the background is the song “Feels Like Heaven” by Grace Weber.
I love the commercial. It’s a great melting pot of musicians from a wide range of music genres, plus it’s funny so that’s always a plus. On top of that, it delivers the information SiriusXM wants us to know in a clever, conversational way. Kudos to the creative team for putting this one together!
As you can see, the winner will not be an instant millionaire. From what I could find (like on this site), the prize is awarded as an annuity in the form of $25,000 per year for 40 years or they can take a lump sum if they don’t want to spread out the payments, which would be in the high $600k range, closer to $700k.
Whatever the winner picks, they are a lot more rich than when they first auditioned.
Would you rather take the payment over the course of 40 years or deposit a hefty $700,000 into your bank as soon as possible? Regular income would be nice but having over half a million in the bank definitely offers a feeling of security.
How do you feel about public displays of affection, specifically in a romantic relationship? I’ve never really liked it in my own life and cringe 97% of the time other people do it. I’ve noticed it in church recently and while it’s great that two people are in love, I’m thinking, “Really? Do you HAVE to have your hands in each other’s back pockets while we’re singing ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’?” I’m fine with holding hands, a hug or a peck on the cheek or lips but beyond that, they just want attention! My personality isn’t one that craves attention so PDA is kind of the opposite of that.
So you’ll never see me getting all touchy feely in the grocery store. I won’t be caught tenderly scratching my partner’s back during a Sunday sermon. That couple making out at the OneRepublic concert? It wasn’t me. I’m the one who’s trying hard to not be noticed, just blending in to the crowd.
I’m an Enneagram 4 and on the Myers-Briggs test I’m definitely not an ESFP.
From great seats at the Florida State football game in Tallahassee yesterday afternoon, I noticed something that just didn’t seem quite right. We were sitting on the FSU “Alumni” side so we were facing towards the visiting team, the Duquesne Dukes. Check out this photo and see if anything looks a little weird to you.
Don’t pay attention to the fans in the seats but definitely pay attention the fans on the field. As in, the ones that blow air. In front of the 4 black fans are 3 benches. Take a look and YES THOSE ARE THE BENCHES FOR THE VISITING TEAM! What?? What is this, a high school game in a tiny Florida town? Now I’ll say this, I don’t know who provides benches for visiting teams but by the looks of it, the benches were provided by FSU (the benches are garnet at gold). So this assumes that Duquesne didn’t bring their own benches which makes sense, they’re all the way up in Pennsylvania. Plus, they’re a small school so they may not even have “travel” benches… if that’s a thing?
Let’s just go with the assumption that Florida State provided them for the visiting Dukes. Florida State… a multi-million dollar football program. I get it, you don’t want your opponent to be “comfortable” but wow. I’m guessing those pathetic benches haven’t seen the light of day since FSU was an all-women school.
Even if it was just a gesture towards an opponent to say we aren’t going to make this easy for you, I think it’s a little bit low-class. Your team’s favored to win. The visiting team is from a much smaller school. Show a little sportsmanship, Noles! In my opinion, and this might change once more info comes in about the benches, but it makes FSU look bad. Real bad. Who had the idea to use benches (looks like they’re made from wood, too) that wouldn’t even be acceptable on the set of The Longest Yard, a movie about football in prisons.
I tweeted to FSU Football and Duquesne but haven’t received a reply at the time of this post.
Does anyone out there have an explanation for the use of these sad-looking benches?
Out of the Wilderness 