Cemetery Photos on a Foggy Morning

I promise I’m not morbid but for the longest time I’ve felt something deeply moving by visiting cemeteries. I even went on a date to a cemetery. OK, that might be a little weird. It was really fun, though, because we had pencils and paper and were able to decipher the dates on some very old headstones. I am fascinated by the dates, especially when they are hundreds of years old. It affects my soul in a good way to think about these lives from times gone by. How was life for them? How did they envision life would be in 2021? What did they do for fun, for work, for rest? 

Sometimes I write about it. Sometimes I also take photos when I find cemetery grounds that have character or just seem interesting to me. Don’t think it morbid to check out the photos below from a recent morning in Nashville, Tennessee. I hope they might make you think about how big the world is, how short life can be, and maybe today you and I can take advantage of the breath we have in our lungs, the beating of our hearts, and the time we have on this planet. 

This first set is from that foggy Nashville morning. After that group are a few more I’ve taken that I love. 

-Out of the Wilderness

Does this count as teasing my dogs?

While I was out running a thousand errands, I stopped by Sam’s Club to pick up dog food. As you know, almost anything you get from a warehouse store like Sam’s is going to be enough food to feed a pack of dogs for a year, so I loaded up dog food for my two pups and might have simultaneously triggered an FBI (Federation of Beagle Investigators) for cruel and unusual punishment. 

How terrible of a dog owner am I for doing this? And you KNOW beagles have a nose that can smell food from a mile away. In my defense, I should get some points for taking them on a walk only a half hour before this pic was taken! Because, of course, the errands I had for today included walking them at a nearby Greenway. 

OK, your turn. Tell me how bad I am and how many treats I owe them for this!

-Out of the Wilderness

DoorDash dash pass commercial – the hound that stole the show!

I recently wrote about the new DoorDash ad featuring a lovable basset hound who holds down the fort while his person is at work. For that post, which reveals the name of the actor and the music, click here. Besides the business side of the ad (dash pass, unlimited deliveries with no delivery fee), the basset hound totally steals the show. Take a look! 

The basset’s name is Roscoe. Thanks to the team who created the ad, Martin Agency, I was connected with Roscoe’s management – Paws For Effect. Definitely go to their website but beware, you will want to adopt every single one of their animal actors, but remember – they’re not up for adoption. They are NOT up for adoption. They’re not up for adoption. Ben, do not email them again, you can’t have them… I keep telling myself that but gosh, I want all of them.

Anyway, much to my delight, I was sent info about Roscoe the basset, which I will now pass along to you. 

He is 8 years old and was adopted as a puppy. He was turned into a rescue for unknown reasons. He was always a good puppy very smart and eager to learn. Over the years he has complied quite the resume. Below is a list of some of his credits! When not on the set Bosco’s favorite pastime is sleeping on his favorite dog bed and sunbathing in the California sunshine. He loves to go on walks and the dog park is a favorite place. Snacks are his #1 favorite thing, and he always gets plenty when on the set. 

Credits…

Pup Star 2 – movie 
Maytag – commercial
Volkswagen – commercial
Bank of America – commercial 
Natures Miracle – commercial 
Blue Buffalo – commercial
The Unicorn – tv show 
Pup Academy – tv show 

Didn’t Roscoe do a great job? I have hound dogs so I know just how stubborn (and food driven?) they can be, so I am very impressed with Mr. Roscoe’s work in this commercial. 

If you liked this post, you can check out more of my TV commercial research by clicking on my TV ad info page here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Au revoir Norvell

As some of you know, I write “frustration posts” about Florida State because deep down I am still upset at the direction the university went back in the mid-2010s after the football team won the national championship. I will *try* not to spiral into what upset me back then, but because my family still loves the Noles and I love college football, I stay mostly up-to-date with FSU.

With that said, football coach Mike Norvell is in his second year with the team and, for this current season, has no wins and four losses. Back in the day, an 0-4 record would be devastating (not to mention, embarrassing) and coaches would have been, if not fired, put on the hot seat with a very, very short amount of time to correct things. Of course, the highest heights were with Bobby Bowden as coach, so one might say the team wouldn’t sink to 0-4 because under his coaching, they only had one losing season (1976, 5 wins, 6 losses).

FSU football hasn’t been relevant in a few years, so maybe there is room for Norvell to turn things around without fear of losing his job, like, say, Dabo Swinney, the Clemson coach who might be updating his LinkedIn profile as we speak! Two losses and only two wins? Yikes. You know something’s funky when Wake Forest is one of the best in the ACC.

Still, though, from my perspective as a football fan and knowing the way things go with top teams (again, FSU is not one), if the team has a losing record this year, I would say Norvell *might* get one more season but, honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the university said, “Au Revoir, Norvell.”

Of course, they would say it with a lot more words in a way that covers their own butt, but either way, he might be gone unless he can get a few wins.

How far do you think the Noles will fall from the glory days? Remember, it was only 8 years ago the team was holding the trophy as college football champions. I guess things can change in a hurry, can’t they?

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

CarMax’s fatal error in their Usain Bolt ad

Using a celebrity to endorse a product is nothing new, so it’s no surprise CarMax called on the speedy Usain Bolt to help promote their fast car-buying service. Take a look at the ad below…

There was a lot of potential for this ad to be effective, but CarMax got disqualified (to use a track racing reference 🙂 ) for one fatal flaw in the spot. It overshadows the message, unfortunately. It’s called a false start. In a race, if athlete #1 leaves the blocks before they’re supposed to, and they do that too many times, they get disqualified. 

The woman using the CarMax app finishes her task quickly, sure, but technically she cheated by starting before the race even began. It’s an unfair measure in which she should be disqualified! I know I am probably taking this ad too seriously, but it could have been fixed so easily. Here’s how. Just show the race starting and immediately following the start, the woman finishes with the app. She would win by a mile, no matter how far Usain is running. 

Wouldn’t it be that easy? 

When I see this ad on TV, it really bothers me. I guess we’ll never know which is faster, Usain or CarMax! My money is still on Usain. Sure, the app might be quick, but I’m left feeling annoyed and I’m less likely to use CarMax because of it, especially if they’re willing to not abide by established rules.

What do you think about the ad? Am I being too technical? They could have made a few small changes and really maximized their celebrity endorsement, but instead, this ad false starts and should be disqualified from all televisions. 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness