Publix ad featuring Ro Malone “Home” is simply adorable!

Adorable. Cute. Warm. Charming. Memorable. These are all words to describe Publix’s new minute-long ad featuring clips of families in all types of situations spending time together. The commercial is backed by the song “Home” by Ro Malone. Take a look: 

There aren’t many commercials spanning a full minute but when one comes along, it’s got to be good in our TikTok-attention-span world. This one is oozing with all the things we traditionally love about “home,” whether it’s making meals together, laughing, playing, etc… but also fitting for the times we’re living in with clips of people using Zoom, Facetime, or doing online workouts. Plus it’s got babies and dogs, so of course it’s a winner.

[Publix Thanksgiving Ad features original song “I Remember This” and it’s amazing]

About the artist… Ro Malone started her journey in Ireland but now lives in California. She’s relatively new to the TV/music scene but has already had success with songs featured in various local California ads and a few national spots. You can see more of her work here. Wishing her all the success as she gets more exposure in the industry! Her song in this Publix ad is simply the perfect fit. Ro had high praise for the folks she worked with to make it all happen, saying, “It’s a privilege to have my music selected for use by a team of professionals, and I am filled with warmth that my song ‘Home’ which I wrote quite some time ago has indeed now found a home for itself, with a lovely brand too.”

Here is the full version of the song:

I’ll end this post with Publix’s newest ad for Thanksgiving 2020. Check it out here!

-Out of the Wilderness

would you rather buy new or used?

I put up an informal poll on Facebook to see what my friends like to buy new vs. used. The reason I did this is because one night when I should have been sleeping, I wondered how many things most people buy used. I would guess cars are the most common used thing people buy, at least in regards to the high dollar items. But I also thought of houses. We don’t really refer to them as used but if someone has lived in a house you bought, technically it’s used. So cars and houses are big ticket items on the used list. But what else? How about toothbrushes? Just kidding, that’s gross. Well, here are a few comments pulled from Facebook for what some people prefer to buy used.

Cars was the item most agreed upon. Then books. After that, furniture, one of my favorites to buy used usually at estate sales. Financial expert Dave Ramsey said about buying used furniture:

For what you spent on some little cheap piece of furniture that’s going to fall apart, you could’ve gotten on Craigslist and bought a real quality piece slightly used from somebody who’s just getting a divorce and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.

You can check out the rest of his comments in context here, but back to the Facebook inquiry, the list of used things goes on with:

puzzles

purses

athletic equipment

kids’ clothes

kids’ toys

kitchen cookware

quilts

area rugs

jewelry

computers

boats

houses

So you can see there is a wide array of things that folks will buy used. It’s also important to note that, as some of my friends commented, they won’t always and only buy these things used, because sometimes you do buy a new house or a new toy for your kids, but with things that have a short lifespan (kids’ clothes, for instance), buying used is a more economically sound thing to do. It’s why people buy used cars, too, because they say the second you drive a new car off the lot the value drops significantly.

How about you? Is there anything you prefer to buy used that’s not on the list? What will you only buy if it’s brand new? Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Shooting stars in the night sky

The other day I was outside looking up at the night sky and it dawned on me that I can’t remember the last time I saw a shooting star. Those used to be so special to me. I’d sit and wait, praying, “Lord, please let me see a shooting star.” I guess I have always thought of them as a sign (I’m careful using that word because I don’t need any more signs that God exists) that there is so much more out there, that God is so much bigger than I think, and yet He still cares enough to amaze me with something that’s thought of as a common occurance.

What concerned me even more this particular night, more than not remembering the last time I saw a shooting star, is that I can’t remember the last time I looked up for a shooting star with hopeful anticipation in God. I think at times in my life I get caught looking down. Not just caught, but in a routine of looking down. I forget that with God, the unimaginable is possible… and the imaginable, too! It’s like a hopeless romantic slowly routining the romance out of their story. Then it’s just hopeless. Days go by with the simple satisfaction of not having a bad day.

When did not having a bad day mean it was a good day?

So my hope for you and for me is that today you, I, look up with hope that we’ll see a burning light in the sky and remember God is big, and He cares.

-Out of the Wilderness

17 song titles that are perfect for 2020 madness

I’ve made a few lists of music that has to do with the coronavirus like 16 things you never thought you’d ask in 2020 or 15 stay-at-home songs, COVID-19 Edition. But the list below will focus on the crazy year that is 2020. From Tiger King to shut downs and masks to no masks, this year has been one wild ride. These song titles are aimed at that part of 2020, the wild roller coaster. Note: these are mostly about the titles, not necessarily the lyrics. Check them out for a laugh and comment below if you have any to add! 

SONGS THAT ADDRESS THE cRaZiNeSs OF 2020

“Day Drinking” Little Big Town
[what some folks did when they didn’t have a job or anywhere to go. But let’s be honest, this was happening for the pandemic 🙂 ]

“It Ain’t My Fault” Brothers Osborne
[says China]

“House Party” Sam Hunt
[cuz for a while there, there was no where else to go… legally]

“Gone Till November” Wyclef Jean
[can we just leave earth like those astronauts did and come back when things are back to normal?]

“Instead of a Show” Jon Foreman
[because all the live shows /concerts are cancelled]

“Memories” Maroon 5
[remember how things were in the “good ol’ days” like… January and February?]

“Civilized Hell” Lukas Nelson
[America, at the moment, although “civilized” is an overstatement]

“Purple Rain” Prince
[be honest, if we had purple rain from purple clouds, at this point would you even be surprised?]

“Welcome to the Jungle” Guns N’ Roses 
[the way things are going, we need less guns n’ roses and more guns n’ ammo]

“I Need You, the End” Kevin Max
[we’re all rooting for 2020 to just go away]

“A Lot of Things Different” Kenny Chesney
[almost everything has been affected by the coronavirus… so basically the title should be “All the Things Are Different”]

“I’m Scared” Duffy
[watching the news every day will do this to you]

“Madness” Muse
[America, at the moment, where every day seems a little madder than the day before]

“Close Up the Honky Tonks” Buck Owens/Dwight Yoakam
[thanks a lot Mayor Cooper!]

Only the Lonely Roy Orbison
[isolation, no hugs or high fives, many people are feeling the affects!]

“Never Be the Same” Camila Cabello
[Will it ever be how it once was?]

“Nobody Knows” Tony Rich Project
[everyone thinks they have the answer, but nobody really knows what to do]

-Out of the Wilderness

We are a country of cry babies – including the Emmy’s

When did we become a nation full of whiny children? And I’m talking about the adults! Just the other day I was driving around downtown Nashville and passed a group of protesters who have been camped out near the Capitol for something like 50 or 60 days. To be clear, I’m in full support of everyone’s right to believe/say/live how they want but the way a lot of angry people go about things these days is absurd. Like these camping protesters. They’ve demanded a meeting with the Tennessee governor (among other demands) to which he said he will not be meeting with them. And good for him! There is a proper way to go about having your voice heard in a way that actually can change things. If you don’t like a statue, immature children think, “I’ll just knock it down.” Adults should know better.

It’s like me wanting my beagle to “sit and shake.” When I say, “Piper, sit,” and she doesn’t do it, no amount of whining or making signs or pouting or camping out near her food dish is going to change anything. It takes discipline, rules, and the proper method to teach her to sit. Then to teach her to shake. Whining doesn’t help anything.

Unless you’re the dog.

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” right? Well, sometimes the squeaky wheel is just annoying and gets replaced with a new wheel.

If you want change, figure out how to make it happen the right way, not by being lazy and expecting everything to be the way you want it right now. Maybe it’s a problem because basically everything we have in America is “on demand.” When cry babies don’t get what they want when they want it, they cry. Because they’re cry babies. It’s what babies that cry do.

Moving on to the recent Emmy nominations (nominees are submitted by their peers, or even submitted by themselves), there is a little bit of whining going on about the lack of Latin nominees this year. One year it’s black folks, the next year it’s gay folks, I guess this is the year for Latin nominees to be the poster children for social justice.

Well, guess what? It’s their own friends and co-workers who are voting or not voting for them. That’s Hollywood, folks. Hollywood is as liberal as it gets, generally speaking, so maybe, just maybe, nominees and winners should be selected on the quality of their work, not the color of their skin or their heritage? Just an idea.

It’s like Joe Biden’s determination to have a black woman as his VP for the upcoming election. Does that smack of patronization? Why not just pick the best person for the job? It could be a man, a woman, black, white, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, trans, whatever! Just choose someone who will do the best work as Vice President. With the Emmy’s… vote for who you think is the best person in any particular category? If they’re black, yay! If they’re Hispanic, yay! If they’re white, yay! Let’s celebrate the best (as if I cared about the popularity contest anyway :/ ).

How’s that for a rant? What are your thoughts on any of these topics? Feel free to chime in with a comment below!

-Out of the Wilderness