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
New York, NY — Progressive liberals have run out of things to cancel so they have turned their aim towards late night comedy. A grassroots effort is picking up steam in an attempt to force NBC to drop The Tonight Show starring the beloved Jimmy Fallon. Granted, they aren’t asking to cancel the show. In fact, many liberals applaud Jimmy’s opening monologue that consistently delivers Donald Trump jokes at a rate of 10 to 1 versus any other topic.
Where the sensitive liberals take issue is with the name of the show. The official petition reads: “…calling it ‘The Tonight Show’ is in itself exclusionary, biased, and not what RBG would have wanted.” Apparently they’re suggesting the show is narrow-mindedly excluding “morning” and “afternoon,” and this omission is a slap in the face to equality nationwide.
A statement released by NBC stated in part: “Here at NBC, we no longer believe using ‘Tonight’ in the name show was inclusive enough. Who are we to assume the show couldn’t be watched in the morning, or early afternoon, or at dusk?”
NBC executives have opted to drop “Tonight” from the title, now to be called “The Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Even with this landmark win, some progressives are still upset the show will include the host’s name, claiming it infringes on the rights of everyone not named Jimmy Fallon. A few signs held up by protesters outside 30 Rock had the message: “Not My Host!” and at one point a comrade ripped a picture of Jimmy Fallon’s face in half.
I will preface this by saying that I can’t speak for all Democrats, although I think most of them would agree one reason they hate Donald Trump is because he won’t require everyone to wear a mask. But why the outrage? Is there a reason a lot of folks on the left freak out when Trump (or anyone) appears in public without a mask? I have a theory. Let’s take a look at an example of my theory using “Jeff” as a Democrat.
Jeff wears a mask. Jeff believes firmly that science says masks work in fighting COVID-19. Whether the President mandates it or not, Jeff would wear a mask. That much is clear. But Jeff is livid every day that Trump hasn’t made everyone wear a mask. What upsets people like Jeff is not that Trump isn’t telling THEM to wear a mask (because they already wear the masks), it’s that he isn’t telling EVERYONE ELSE to wear a mask. They want everyone to behave like they do. This is a problem.
You see, this is how immature children behave. When I was a child, if my parents didn’t make my brother do something I thought he should do, I got upset and acted out. It came from a selfish place, as if I knew all the answers, and since I couldn’t make him do whatever it was I wanted, I hoped my parents would.
Getting back to Democrat Jeff, he would say his enthusiasm for the mask is completely altruistic. He wants good things for everyone; in this case “good things” is the avoidance of sickness and death from the virus. But what if Jeff’s motives are the exact opposite– egoistic? (definition: Being centered in or preoccupied with oneself and the gratification of one’s own desires; self-centered)
Could it be about control? You might think that now I’m going to say Jeff wants all the control. Nope! I mean, it’s kind of like that but really it’s that Jeff (and people like Jeff) want to be controlled. This is the closest thing I’ve seen in my lifetime to someone literally wanting to be enslaved by someone else. After all we’ve seen and been taught about the horrors of slavery, and here we are again with people willingly putting themselves in chains!
Donald Trump (and maybe conservatives, in general?) thinks the American people have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to do this or that. It’s a novel idea called freedom. If non-mask-wearing Mark doesn’t want to wear a mask and this upsets Jeff, then Jeffy boy has to figure out a way to be an adult about it. He can be frustrated, annoyed, and irritated thinking Mark is being selfish and stubborn, and both have the right to feel the way they do. It’s a novel idea called freedom.
It’s a scary proposition, but I believe some mask-loving Democrats want to be enslaved by their leaders. “Tell US to wear masks. Tell THEM to wear masks. Take away our choices. We will do whatever you say.” They want Uncle Sam to be their dad. On the other side is personal freedom. Also remember, while this freedom means some won’t wear a mask, there are plenty that will. Now, I don’t like a smooth-talking politician, not many people do, but I’ll take one of those any day of the week if they’re the type who says, “You have the right to choose how you want to live, how you want to treat others. Yes, you need to live within the law but other than that, go enjoy your freedom!”
Until this particular group of Democrats can force everyone to believe the same things about masks, climate change, sharing wealth (taxes, minimum wage, etc), they’re going to moan, whine, and pout like I did when I was a selfish, immature child. It’s really not a good look and I hope people wake up to this soon before we all wake up and hardly recognize a novel idea called freedom.
I’ve learned in the last year or two that I really enjoy putting together music playlists. It started when I regularly played pick-up volleyball here in Nashville. There was often music as the backdrop, provided by some random person who was also there to play.
I began thinking about what songs I’d add to a playlist so I worked on it. Besides falling in love with Spotify, I eventually came up with a playlist that I thought was worthy to share on one of those volleyball nights.
Now, I will share with you tiny nuggets of advice I’ve learned since then.
You aren’t just picking songs you like, you are choosing music that creates an atmosphere.
Think about all the folks that will be hearing the music. What might they like? What is the event? Obviously, if you’re making a playlist for sports, it’s going to be different than a playlist for a funeral, a wedding, Sunday mornings, etc. Pick songs that fit the environment. That’s the most critical part of all of this.
2. Think about beats per minute.
This isn’t always necessary but if you’re coming up with a “hype” playlist, say for a pre-game football warm-up, you’re not going to be playing Jack Johnson music. You’ll want something that has a good drum beat, rocking guitar, or lots of bass. Rap music works really well in this situation, just also be aware of the lyrics as most of them are “explicit” these days. Another example is a playlist I have for running. I’ve learned that there are certain songs that help me run faster, and there are some that do nothing for me. The higher beats per minute, the more motivated I am to run faster. I have a post about that here. Back to Jack Johnson, if you’re putting together music for sand volleyball, he definitely is someone to check out for the laid back beachy vibe.
3. If you have a chance, ask people for a few songs they like.
This is easy to do if you’re part of an organized team. Just check in with your teammates on what songs they like, what songs get them pumped. You can add those songs as well as other songs you’ve discovered that fit the environment of the event.
4. Most of the time, lyrics are secondary.
Especially for something like pick-up volleyball, softball, mostly any sport actually, you won’t want to use songs where it’s important to listen to the lyrics. The sport being played is the #1 focus, so anything that distracts from that (trying to listen to lyrics) is counterproductive. That’s a no-no. With all that said, it is totally OK to have a theme! If you’re school or team is the Tigers, for instance, it might be fun to include songs that fit with a tiger, “Eye of the Tiger,” is an easy example.
Putting together playlists is so fun. I love doing it. If you are into it too, just be sure to have fun! Definitely include music you like because chances are other people like the music you like. Just remember to think about the playlist in terms of the listener, not just yourself.
Do you have any additional points we can add to this list? Chime in with a comment below. Thanks for stopping by!
Atlanta, GA — The Center for Disease Control conducted a COVID-19 study earlier this month, the results of which have become the foundation of a list of new guidelines published today. One of the recommendations is garnering praise from politicians and government officials who feel as if Americans do not have enough rules to follow as it is. “I’ve been busy shutting things down all over my county from funerals and weddings to Thanksgiving and Christmas parades,” said Mayor of Nashville, John Cooper.
The study showed that many people constantly touch the outside of their mask whether it’s to adjust for comfort or to get a breath of fresh air. “This habit significantly reduces the effectiveness of the mask,” says CDC staff member Mark Teague. “Based on our research, we are advising everyone heading out the door to grab another mask because if wearing one mask saves lives, then wearing two masks will save even more lives.”
According to the official explanation, using a second mask on top of the first mask means the first mask will be touched less often. When asked by reporters about the threat of the second mask being touched regularly and thus still spreading the virus, CDC ended the press conference.
Power-hungry governors and mayors seem to be chomping at the bit to implement this as a mandate in their respective cities and states. Gavin Newsom, Governor of California stated, “I was coming up empty on more ways to deflate the morale of Californians, but I’m thankful that now I’ll have another way to give people something to frown about.”
At this point in his political career, Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential run is looking more like Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. How he is anyone’s #1 choice for President is mind-boggling. He seems to have miscues or gaffes almost daily. If you still need to vote, consider that it might be the Democrats plan for Biden to simply be a placeholder for Kamala Harris which, if true, would be one of the most sneaky, evil things to ever happen in American politics. Remember that when you go to vote. If you like Harris, more power to you. But let’s get back to Biden’s blunders, bloopers, and baffling campaign… he and his wife recently cast their votes in Delaware. Take a look at the video as they exited the building in the first 20 seconds of this video.
Nothing about his posture and body language says, “energy, vibrancy, strength.” In fact, it says the exact opposite, “fragile, vulnerable, weak.”
When we see a person being assisted down a small set of steps by their spouse, other options should be considered for who we want to be the leader of our great country.
What do you think about this single event? How about him picking a VP running mate that just a few months prior called him racist? Should any of this be a concern as part of a broader view of Biden’s possible physical (and mental) decline? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!
Out of the Wilderness 