Did The Bachelor jump the shark?

Just a quick Twitter check and I immediately realized I wasn’t the only one ticked off about the path the producers of this show decided to take in last night’s episode featuring a date with Peter and Victoria F. The lengths they’ll go through for drama/ratings/making a woman cry are limitless.

So to quickly recap: Peter and the women were whisked off to Paris Thailand Cleveland… which, when announced that this was their destination, drew silence from the women as if it were a joke. No, no, ladies the joke is still yet to come. Why Cleveland? Well, country star Chase Rice is performing there and producers have a little dirt on ol’ Victoria F. She dated Chris and now the setup has begun.

Peter “randomly” picked Victoria F. for a one-on-one date that ended with them attending a concert. Who was performing? Chase Rice, of course! Awkwardness ensued when Victoria F. felt terrible that they had to attend the concert of an ex-boyfriend.

Water under the bridge is how it should’ve been handled by Peter and Victoria because Heaven forbid it that Victoria has dated someone before Peter. Heck, only 2 episodes ago Peter’s ex- was sitting in his lap. So let by-gone’s be by-gone’s, right? Victoria’s tears were so unnecessary.

The issue here is the producers evil orchestrating of these events. Reports also say that Chase Rice wasn’t too happy about what happened either. Do they really want true love to be found on this show? Or do they just want ratings? Let’s break down all the things that had to be orchestrated in this “reality” show episode.

Finding out Victoria F. dating Chase Rice…

Chase Rice performing in Ohio…

Chase performance coinciding with the filming window of this season of The Bach…

bring the entire cast to Cleveland as an “fun” destination…

ensure Peter asks Victoria F. for this one-on-one date…

don’t let either of them know what’s about to happen…

I know most of us already consider this show to only loosely be categorized as “reality TV” but this was way past the line. To make this Chase/Victoria drama a reality, look at everything that had to be pieced together. The chances of Peter asking Victoria F. for the one-on-one in this exact moment were so low, I have a strong feeling he was “encouraged” to pick her for this date. I mean, what if he had picked one of the other women? So much drama would’ve never happened.

That’s why I think the producers orchestrated everything to happen the way it did. To put Victoria through this stress, to embarrass Peter and Victoria (and Chase!) that way, it shows they don’t really care about anyone finding love… and it’s not like the show has a track record of success in that regard, anyway.

I won’t even get into the part about Alayah making a comeback after being eliminated last week. Rules? What rules? If you don’t get a rose, it doesn’t matter. Just come back and we’ll see what we can do for you, mmmmk?

Last night’s episode of The Bachelor might be the last I ever watch. In fact, I didn’t even watch the whole episode, I was too turned off by it all. Instead, I turned on the Amazon original movie, Troop Zero, and what a treat that was! I’ll have a review posted soon but if you haven’t checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and watch it.

-Out of the Wilderness

10 weirdest band names I’ve ever heard of

I don’t even know where to start with this one, but there are some CRAZY band names out there! I decided to put together a list of the wild and weird band names either saved in any of my Spotify playlists, bands I’ve heard of, or a special bonus… bands playing in Nashville in the coming weeks. Take a look and chime in below if you have more to add! 

10 Weirdest Band Names in my Spotify… 

Boney M – The name supposedly came from a pseudonym band creator Frank Farian used for himself. Either way, I LOVE the band. 

Marshmello – you’re gonna leave off the ‘w’… really? And even if you kept it, why “Marshmello”? It’s just weird. 

Wolfmother – Surely this was from the mind of a guy. What’s tougher than a wolf? Who’s tougher than a mother? No one and nothing. 

Alien Ant Farm – I’m guessing this started off as a joke but then just stuck. 

Milli Vanilli – It almost sounds like part of a children’s rhyme, but hey, just blame it on the rain. 

fun. – no capital ‘f’ but they make sure to include a period… OKKKKKKKKKKK sure.

The Goo Goo Dolls – originally named “The Sex Maggots,” it’s not a surprise they changed their name when they got serious about pursuing success as a band.

Bow Wow Wow – someone in the band must’ve been a dog lover.

Coopertheband – these new bands with their kitschy play on letters and spaces. 

Shovels and Rope – after burying a body, they thought, “hey our band name could be the tools we just used!” 

Blessid Union of Souls – an ‘i’? Really? 

TV On The Radio – my brain can’t even compute having TV on the radio. It’s not registering for some reason. 

The Ting Tings – this literally IS their name, which is funny because the one song I know of theirs is “That’s Not My Name.” 

Chingy – I hesitated to use any rap names because 99% could also double as the name of a 1980s-era Care Bear… but Chingy is on my Spotify sooooooooo…… yeah. 

And a list of a few playing in Nashville in the next few weeks…

Csztr – umm, what?

Sleeping with Sirens – it’s nearly impossible for this to ever happen. 

The Cold Stares – I wonder if they love eye contact during their shows? 

Dirty Honey – a worker bee’s worst failure. 

The Amazons – they’re big in the US. Actually, they’re big everywhere. They’re just big.


Thanks for stopping by! If you have comments or suggestions, chime in below. Be on the lookout for more posts in the coming days…

-Out of the Wilderness

 

 

 

Every song I hear reminds me of Kobe Bryant

A few hours ago I got a text from my brother asking if I’d heard the news about Kobe Bryant. I said, “what news??” I was in church like a good little boy so I didn’t hear anything. For the record, my brother is a pastor so he was in church, too. He’s just more in tune with the sports scene… so that was when I first heard about his passing.

At this time of the day I was about to be driving around bringing Amazon smiles to my neighbors because I’m a good little delivery guy. The news still didn’t seem real. It’s not like I knew Kobe or any of us thought he would never die, but it’s the suddenness of it. Plus one of his kids died, too. So the news is heavy all over the country and especially the basketball community.

I start my delivering and I swear every channel on SiriusXM somehow orchestrated a master playlist to honor Kobe Bryant. I was flipping from coffee house to Elvis to 90s on 9 to a few others and every song I heard just made me wonder more about this tragic event. Here are a few that played with divine timing…


It was kind of crazy that every song playing while I was driving around town had an element of sadness, or celebration, and felt like it related to the passing of Kobe. Like each song was one piece of a stain-glass window… take a step back to see the beauty of the collection of songs forming a unintentional tribute to someone people loved.

Speaking of love… to be honest, I wasn’t a Kobe fan. I’m historically just stubborn like that. Especially when, and probably mostly because, he was SO good at what he did. Just like Michael Jordan. For the record, I didn’t even like Michael Jordan much till way after he retired. But for some reason this news is still shocking, sad, eye-opening, and it’s just too bad that his and his daughter’s life had to end this way. He’s a basketball legend and this final day of his life will be one that people ask, “Where were you when you found out Kobe passed away?”

I was listening to NBA radio on SiriusXM too, and a gentleman there said it best. Kobe was just starting his second act, tragic. But what’s even more devastating… his daughter didn’t even get her first.

Sad stuff. Hug those around you whether they’re people or pets or if no one’s around, hug yourself. You deserve it.

-Out of the Wilderness

She burped and it was all over

There’s this Elton John song I’ve been hearing on SiriusXM radio recently and I can’t help but love it. Have you heard this one yet?


Gosh I love lyrics. Gosh I love love. Gosh I’m lonely.

But to be serious, this is a great song! Had I heard it when it first came out back in 2013 I may have probably for sure definitely tucked myself under a bundle of blankets and wept till I fell asleep… because of a break-up I probably for sure definitely talked about in this post. So now we’re here… 7 years later and the song is stuck in my head. I want to tuck it under a bundle of blankets each night and rock it to sleep and wake up in the morning and fix breakfast for it before we go out looking for antiques at estate sales across Nashville.

OK that got weird. But this Elton John song reminds me of another one that I loved in high school. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” remember that one?


This song doesn’t remind me of Lion King. Nope. It reminds me of this girl I liked in high school, who I met at a church camp. She could burp on command and I knew, I just KNEW she was my person. I mean, the burping… I’m not saying that’s why I liked her but I’m not saying that’s not NOT why I liked her. What I can say is this, she had me at…

That’s neither here nor there. The whole point of this post is about having that special someone in your, or my, life. The person who you can’t be without. Nights you are not with this person have you singing the Elvis blues. One thing I miss the most…

Holding hands and realizing you can’t tell if the heartbeat you feel in your hand is yours or hers.

If you have the chance to experience something like that with someone you love, or even just like, remember those special moments that singers write songs about. As for me, it’s a random night in January, I’m alone, and for now I’m doing OK with that. But one day I hope to meet a woman that can either literally or metaphorically burp on command and she’ll already have my heart.

-Out of the Wilderness

I see it, I like it, I want it, I get it

No, no, no… this isn’t a post about Ariana Grande’s song with over 600 million views on YouTube… “7 Rings” …


She’s after some expensive stuff, that’s for sure. But me? Heavens no. I just kept walking by this piece of debris over at the nearby dog park. The walking trail is fenced in, but just outside the fence in acres of forest was this tempting little unidentified green object. I had been seeing it for days and kept thinking, “One day I’ll hop this fence and find out what it is.” That day finally came.

IMG_20200115_150321

I saw it, I liked it, I wanted it, and now this little green ball is mine. I’m just like Ariana Grande… without all the money.

-Out of the Wilderness