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
I’ve heard of beer at a softball game, beer while you’re watching sports, or someone going for a beer run… but is it a good idea to literally do a beer run? As in… drinking beer after a jog? Michelob Ultra says yes.
My first reaction was, “That’s dumb,” and I’ll admit I didn’t know that beer does have some value for a post run/workout. According to this article, it’s not all bad for your but you gotta keep the level of alcohol in the beer lower than 4%. I’ll stick with good ol’ H2O after exercising but I guess if the world’s ending and beer is the only choice, I’ll take a sip.
The Music. The soundtrack to this commercial is a song called “The Hardest Working Woman” by Martha High. The song sounds like it’s from the 1950s or 60s, but not so fast! It was released in 2016 on the album “Singing for the Good Times.”
Back to the commercial, the second woman was so slow that the other woman had enough time to go inside, grab a couple of beers, get drunk, text an ex, cry with regret, and be back in the driveway before her friend finished. Perhaps they should be less focused on the beer, hmmmmmmm?
I was recently putting together a playlist of music for my niece’s 21st birthday event. I was looking for songs that are upbeat, positive, and songs where you don’t need to pay close attention to the lyrics. Just great background music to keep people in a good mood as they arrive and chat with friends, get some drinks or snacks, etc. My niece and I came up with a lot of good songs so I love the list! It was designed to include a lot of her favorite songs and bands, too, so that made it even better. I came across a song that was perfect. It’s “Joy” by Ben Rector.
See? It’s a great song! It was perfect for the occasion however it was dropped from the playlist for only one reason. While I appreciate very much what Ben did in the final 2 minutes— giving credits and shoutouts to people who helped him with the song and the full album (especially since I know what it’s like to work behind the scenes in the entertainment industry… hard work!) — those 2 minutes are very weird to hear in the background of a party. I tested the song out a few days earlier with a group of family members playing corn hole. A few comments were made about the “talking” part. The best solution I can think of — for this song and the next two I’ll mention — is to diving this track into 2 tracks. They can still play smoothly one to the next, but then for those of us who want just “Joy” on a playlist, we won’t have worry about the awkwardness of those final 2 minutes at a birthday party for a 21 yr old girl.
The next one is a phenomenal song by NF called “The Search.” I think NF is amazing, possibly an artist that is years, maybe decades, ahead of his time. This song is tied for my favorite (the other favorite is “Clouds”).
Was your mind blown? Such a talented rapper. This song is on a couple of playlists of mine, one being a workout/run soundtrack. So here’s my thing, especially when I’m running: I need the music for every step I take! When my mind is challenged, my body steps up to the plate. Alternately, when my mind is discouraged, my body loses a step. “The Search” is such a great song for running… except for the first 35 seconds. There’s the slow build up in that time, but while I’m running or working out, it’s basically a silence that feels like an eternity, bringing any momentum I had to a halt. I think if it were 5 seconds, maybe 10, I could get through it without feeling like I’m hitting a mental wall, but over half a minute is a long time when every second, every step, counts.
The last song has an effect similar to the NF track. It’s by TobyMac, one of my all-time favorite people going way back to the DCTalk days. DCTalk has music that I’ll love the rest of my life and as a solo artist TobyMac has added to songs I’ll love forever, too. I thought this song might be his best ever, until “Promised Land” came out. That’s gotta be his best, especially the version with Sheryl Crow singing with him. But before that was “Lights Shine Bright.” It’s not quite as fast as some other music of his, but I feel so encouraged by it.
But just like the Ben Rector song that started this post, this one has about 40 seconds of talking at the end. It’s humorous, sure, but nothing is less motivating during a run or workout for me. A simple solution is to separate it out as a short track that plays after “Lights Shine Bright.” Otherwise, I can’t keep it on my training playlist and hesitate to play it without being right next to the phone so I can skip past the end before it plays.
All of these are great songs, that’s the second most important take-away here. I just wish they’d add a separation between the meat of the song and the fluff. What do you think about this list? Do you have songs you’d add, songs that could use a tiny bit of tweaking? Chime in below and thanks for dropping in…
I know the title of this post sounds like the beginning of a joke. Actually, you might laugh (or cringe) about what happened recently at the University of Alabama. There IS a guy. There IS a sorority. But it’s not a joke. This guy roll tided his way into rush week trying to become the first sister with a ding dong. His name is Grant and his TikTok updates, and the story in general, are like the joke and punchline all rolled into one neat little package (pardon the pun).
If Saturday Night Live doesn’t (or have they already?) turn this into a sketch, that’d be a shame. But in Grant’s defense he seems like a nice person AND he does his own make-up. When every sorority said no, his mascara didn’t run. Kudos dude-o. Neither did he bash them or go on some sort of tirade about trans rights or, wait… is he even trans? I mean, he still goes by his guy name. It’s all a little confusing and as much as I don’t like the University of Alabama (where heshethey Grant attends), the sororities made a good call on this one. I’m sure they came up with a politically correct reason to say (oh, hell no) but deep down in your spirit, in my spirit, in every woman’s spirit, and in Grant’s spirit, we all know it’s BECAUSE HE’S A GUUUYYYYYY.
It’s a crazy, warped world we live in when a guy, and not just to be funny, tries to join a sorority. But what do we expect, honestly, when the “truth” has been redefined as “whatever you think it is.” Everyone’s got their own truth so of course a guy’s going to dress up in a Lululemon skirt and participate in sorority rush week. And of course the in-store display from OREO is going to have gay stuff plastered all over it. I was in Walmart the other day and did a double take when I saw the end cap thing full of OREO cookie packages with phrases about “being an ally.” Must’ve been leftover from gay pride week, I guess? But yeah, when I’m buying snacks, I definitely care about where the snack company stands on marriage equality. OREO has a gay commercial, too, and it’s a doozy. It’s a little less nauseating than “Grant the almost sorority guy,” but still seems like the punchline to a joke no one’s asked yet.
Samsung is “unfolding” a new series of commercials featuring the Z Flip4 flip phone (I still think about my old Motorola Startac phone, btw!). I don’t really want a flip phone, especially one that has a full sized screen that folds in half, but evidently the people are demanding it, so Samsung is answering the call. Here’s one of their ads promoting the phone and gear that connects to it…
There’s the phone, the watch, and the ear buds, all connected to the Flip4 phone. Oh, there’s music, too! The song used for this ad is “Better and Better” by Danger Twins.
You can find out more about the band on their website and listen to their music on YouTube here.
Alec Baldwin’s life (and possibly his career) will never be the same after that tragic death of a crew member on set of a film in which he was star and producer. Alec was holding a prop gun that fired and killed the cinematographer. Although the FBI has concluded that the trigger was pulled, Alec claimed that he never pulled the trigger. With no disrespect to the woman who died, I have a question.
Why hasn’t the liberal left jumped on this? I mean, Dems (not all, but most) are quick to blame guns when a school shooting happens, so wouldn’t they be pleased as punch that Alec’s case is this the first where the gun actually pulled its own trigger? They should be having a field day blasting gun manufacturers while no one on the conservative right can say “guns don’t shoot themselves!” Well, partner, yes they do! At least, according to Alec Baldwin.
Or could it be true that the FBI’s findings (which any logical person could’ve determined) are accurate? I’ve actually never heard of a gun going off by its own free will. Well, except I have an irrational fear (because of movies, I guess) that when a gun is dropped it’s probably definitely gonna go off. I was also in a car accident at the age of 13 and I desperately and hastily got out because I was sure the car was going to blow up. Thanks a lot Hollywood movies!
But back to Mr. Baldwin’s gun. If it went off on it’s own, that’s either a terrible job by the prop master / firearms expert or the best weapon, pardon the reference, a Democrat can use in their fight for gun control.
What do you think? Is Alec just trying to cover his own butt for the possible court case where he has to defend himself against a manslaughter charge? Or did the gun go off without the trigger being pulled? Chime in below.
Out of the Wilderness 