The Story of My Niece’s Lost Turtle (aka The Miracle of Poison Ivy)

For those of you who say turtles are slow, you haven’t been around turtles lately! OK, OK, they’re pretty slow-moving if you’re measuring in seconds. But in just a few minutes last week, my niece’s beloved turtle, Ivy, went missing after just a few moments in the backyard.

Also, any chance to use a quote from The Master of Disguise, I’m going to take it! So Ivy the turtle was nowhere to be found. To backtrack a bit, just minutes before she disappeared I went for a jog. It was only a couple of miles and when I returned, the search had already begun. She had been missing for under 20 minutes at that point.

There were a few major elements working against the search.

  1. Lots of big brown leaves on the ground. Ivy is brown, of course.
  2. A few feet behind the backyard fence is about an acre’s worth of trees.

We looked till the sun went down then we looked with flashlights. Nothing. That little turtle was somewhere blending in perfectly with the giant, crispy leaves. I suppose that’s why her shell is brown – to hide from predators – but for once, just for once, couldn’t it glow pink?

The next morning we were searching again because we love Ivy and really, we love my niece. We need a win here. After about an hour of scouring the bushes and trees, my sister and I were going to stop, eat breakfast, reset and regroup. I returned some yard tools to the garage. My sister was on her way back to the house, too, when she glanced over, about a foot into the brush on the edge of the woods, there was Ivy.

We heard my sister’s exclamations and we came running back out!

Ivy was no longer lost.

The approximate location of Ms. Ivy the turtle

It’s been a few days now and there are a few things I learned from this experience:

  1. God wants us to come to Him for EVERYthing, even if it’s a young girl’s lost turtle.
  2. Turtles are deceptively fast.
  3. Wear long sleeves when you’re crawling through the woods.

That last point is in reference to the poison ivy ON BOTH OF MY ARMS. But because I need to hold on to the title of ‘best uncle,’ I’ll say this – I would welcome poison ivy all over my body if it means any of my nieces won’t be sad. How ironic, too, that I got poison ivy looking for Ivy.

Thanks for checking out my story!

-Out of the Wilderness

Those work projects where I crossed paths with Taylor Swift… PS. Happy birthday!

A lifetime ago I was just starting my desired career in video production. I was a newby in the industry but I’m so thankful to the people who hired me to work on all kinds of production projects in Nashville. I was new. So was Taylor Swift. So new were we that one of my first jobs was one of her first music videos. In fact, back then she was mainly in the background because no one knew who she was yet… at least on a national scale.

Click here for the backstory to this music video, which has Taylor in it but she’s definitely not featured. She was a new songwriter about to become a mega-star.

I went on to a hugely mega-famous, successful career in music and Taylor has since made enough money to feed her pets. Oh wait, I have that completely backwards.

Our paths crossed again when she stopped by the Country Music Television offices after one of her early albums. She was kind to give credit to CMT for helping to get her music (and music videos) out to the country and the world. Here we are a few years older than that first job of ours when we were both new to Nashville!

Happy birthday my long lost friend… May we run into each other again on stage as we both accept our lifetime achievement awards for being amazing musicians and/or exceptional pet parents!

-Out of the Wilderness

Grey Goose Vodka – Le Music, Le Dance, and More!

Do the ‘Tini! Grey Goose Vodka has an ad out with a few French(ish) phrases- Le Chill, La Goose, Le Stir, Le Twist. Take a look at the ad then scroll down for all the trivia you can “le stand.”

Le Music. The song setting the festive mood for this ad is Wilson Pickett “Barefootin’.” The song is 55 years old, as it was released in 1966.

Le Dance. According to this article, the choreographer for Sia’s “Chandelier” directed this Grey Goose spot. Check out Ryan Heffington’s work in the Sia music video.

Behind le ad. The commercial was created by ad agency MullenLowe LA. Evidently the martini is making a resurgence in popularity so whether you like it shaken or stirred, you can be cool like James Bond with this cocktail.

Do you like the ad? Do you think the music ads the overall joie de vivre Grey Goose wants you to feel? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

Tesco Christmas Commercial – Music, Vaccine Passports, and More!

UK grocery chain Tesco put together quite an elaborate TV commercial for the Christmas season. It’s called “Nothing’s Stopping Us.” Take a look at the 90-second ad below, then scroll down for more info…

The Music. A perfect fit for this ad, they chose Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Listen to the full track here.

The Creators. The ad was created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty Ad Agency. They’re based in London, England. Check out their website here.

The drama. According to this article, folks in the UK took issue with Santa showing his medical status in order to board a flight. Why he would need to this when he has a sleigh is not really addressed but I guess a few kudos can be given for slipping in a timely message about coronavirus in an ad about grocery stores.

Mixed Messages. I might be riffing now but… is it contradictory to title your ad “Nothing’s Stopping Us” (meaning that nothing will get in the way of celebrating Christmas this year) whilst implying Santa (and everyone else) can’t fly unless they have a vaccine passport? Because that definitely implies that without the vaccine, your plans will definitely be stopped. Hmm.

Alternates. There are a few other uploads of the commercial. On YouTube you can see their ad with British Sign Language, or with an audio description of the scenes.

Final thoughts. Conundrums aside, I love the effort put into this ad. For one that only airs around Christmas time, they certainly didn’t hold anything back and the quality shows. Lots of great production value and nice editing, too. Plus, using Queen is almost always a win.

How do you feel about the ad? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

Apple and Bruno Mars with New AirPods Commercial

Apple is promoting the new AirPods 3 in their latest ad. They’ve included some big names to perform the soundtrack for the ad… check it out then scroll down for more

The song is “777” by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, and Silk Sonic. Here’s the full track…

Officially this track is credited to Silk Sonic, as it’s one that appears on their album “An Evening With Silk Sonic.”

This 3rd generation of the AirPods boasts a lot of fancy features, click here for all of that. You can find them on Amazon (may arrive after Christmas) by clicking here.

Or if you’re like me, just buy a great pair of bluetooth earbuds for less than half the price.

But back to the ad, does it fit with the image Apple likes to project of their brand? And more importantly, does the commercial make you want to go buy AirPods?

Chime in below and, as always, thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness