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
I’m so proud of this little device. I’ll be testing it this weekend in a nearby creek but I think it will be awesome to use in an ocean, lake, or pool. It’s mostly PVC pipe, 1 long screw, a couple of hex locknuts, a washer, and a tire that I found in a creek last week! The GoPro will mount to the screw using the GoPro tripod adapter and can be used right side up or upside down. Underneath I used a PVC pipe that allows line to go through it in case you want to pull it back to you, or attach small weights to give it more stability. That part hasn’t been tested yet.
I recently read made up a statistic that for every ten Justin Biebers there’s one Ginny Mayes. Don’t know who Ginny Mayes is? I’ll explain. While Justin Bieber is a good example of poor choices and selfish ambition, Ginny Mayes is the perfect example that there are still good people in the world. And while saying “the world” sounds good, it should be noted there are still good people in the U.S., too, no matter what we hear from our friends on Facebook the news.
It was a normal weekday when I left the house. It was a normal weekday when I took the interstate to downtown Nashville. But then it became anything but normal. I pulled into the parking garage at work and buh bam! I didn’t turn sharp enough into the parking spot and this happened to the car next to me:
This car was spotless. No scratches, no dings or dents. Sharp. So I left a note then called the bank to set me up with a loan! As I waited for a call from the owner, I decided I wouldn’t pray for God to magically get me out of the situation, because it was my fault, my responsibility. I don’t think that’s fair to ask God that. It’s sorta like eating fried chicken and drinking a milkshake, then praying for God to bless my health. Well, uh, you just ate horrible food so no, no that’s not going to be good for you. What I really wanted from this is a reason to believe people still have good in them.
All afternoon felt like a cliffhanger waiting for the rest of the story. So a few hours went by and then Ginny Mayes called. Would she set it up through insurance? Would she inflate the real cost of the fix? Well, it turns out… neither. She was confident the marks left on her car could be washed and buffed out. What? You’re not trying to milk this? Hallelujah! There are still good strangers around. She’ll never make the news with her act of kindness, but when she could’ve taken advantage and didn’t, she made an impression on me that will last longer than the 30 minute evening news. Even weeks later she texted me to say everything was fine. I’m glad she didn’t go the way of the greedy drones we hear about too often. So the next time you have the chance to be like Ginny, do it! You might be doing a lot more than it seems.
All of these were found in two of my junior high yearbooks from 1991 to 1992. God bless Stafford Middle School in Stafford, Virginia!
“forced at gun-point”the first case of someone wearing “blackface”? …and no one was bothered.young boys with no shirts on is just asking for some kind of lawsuit in 2014!another shirtless boy.Halloween, but also a brave young man.how many middle fingers can you find?no digital camera means no one discovers this till it’s developed. Or never, in this case.more guns.a scary Jason mask and another concealed weapon.
pointing a toy gun at someone’s head. and this made it into the yearbook! so imagine how much this happened without cameras around!
You can’t say bomb on a plane!
“terrorist tactics”… um, yeah, that’s a no no.cap gun.who wants to play a game in the back of my van, kids?
praying… maybe kids still do it in school but it’s certainly not listed in the yearbooks.
And the honorable mention goes to virus-free Apple computers… some things never change I guess.
Hey there! If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a fan of music and boy, do I have a story for you! It starts with a guy who’s sort of a dork (me) catching 2 bands at Nashville’s 3rd and Lindsley (making me a little bit cooler?). I’d only heard of one of them from listening to “Nashville’s independent radio” Lightning 100. The band Matrimony has a great song out called “Last Love” and when I heard tickets were on sale for this weekend, I jumped at the chance. I suppose it can all be summed up this way: both bands delivered! Very different in their music and I came away from it with an appreciation for both.
First up was a band called El El (like the letter… L L).
El El on stage.
This band was great. My friend there with me said they had a Jamaican/islandy vibe on some of the songs and I’d agree. Tonight they had 8 band members playing everything from the bass guitar to the triangle to trumpets, a sax, drums, and cowbell (Christopher Walken would’ve been so proud). They put on a good show, and of course, when you have 2 drummers, that’s an automatic win in my book. At one point they even had 3 guys banging it out, so that was really cool. They reminded me at times of a band from the 80s I only came across recently, Boney M. Like music that could be popular all over the world, that kind of appeal. A lot of their songs were anthemic. Not to mention they were really fun to watch: the bass guitarist was so animated, the guys playing brass (and the triangle, can’t forget that) were great, keyboards, drums, they all did great. I also thought the song they finished with was about as perfect of a choice as I’ve heard in a long time. But for the life of me I can’t find the title. It was about bees and beehives and girls. It was really good. If I can find the title, I’ll edit it in here: [ ]
Once El El finished it was time for Matrimony.
Matrimony on stage.
They call themselves a family band and without getting into my sappy personality (remember I’m a dork?), I’m big on family so I love that they’re all related (most by blood, one made it in through marriage). I had only heard “Last Love” on the radio and purposely didn’t do much online listening before tonight’s show. I like to hear music for the first time live so I have limited expectations going in. So for this band, since I’d heard one song, I was expecting something along the singer/songwriter lines. But what I got was so much more… it was rock! All their voices matched well with their style, and the lone girl, her voice definitely has a great singer/songwriter quality to it, which I love. Think Duffy mixed with a little Taylor Swift. Plus, when you can toss in a guy who plays banjo really well it’s pretty much an automatic score, especially in Nashville. It’s like, yep, pass Go and collect $200!
Not to mention they all had a lot of tattoos that looked awesome. If I had to pick one song that stood out, of course it would be “Last Love” but if I had to pick two, it would be the anthem “I Believe in Love.”
And since you’re still awake, might as well take a look at this video from the show. It’s Matrimony performing “Last Love.” Enjoy and thanks for reading!
-Out of the Wilderness
There are scenarios where having your tongue out is a good thing. For instance, when it’s snowing and you want to catch the snowflakes. Or if you’re Jordan. Or when the doctor uses that wood stick to “get a closer look.” So can you blame Miley Cyrus for letting her tongue hang out like a labrador? Yes, yes you can. But as silly as she is, I’m a victim of the same exact habit.
Stafford, Virginia. It was my 5th grade year and I noticed I had a habit of sticking my tongue out when I was concentrating. Not knowing how to resolve this, I enlisted my friend Robin’s help.
me in 5th grade sporting a Semper Paratus shirt, next to Whitney Williams.Robin Wallis.
I said, “Every time you see me with my tongue out, laugh.” I was sure when I heard Robin laughing at me, I’d know why and it would trigger a positive response. Let’s just say she laughed a lot. In hindsight, I should’ve expanded the team of helpful volunteers to more friends. Like JR, Chris, Meghan (who I still owe $5,000), Michelle, Joey, Whitney, Heather (who I loved?), Carson, and Lisa. All that laughing surely would’ve helped!
But I guess if Aristotle is right, that “we are what we repeatedly do,” then I’ll always be exactly like Jordan, in every way, especially basketball.
Out of the Wilderness 