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
Surprisingly, the phone that I’ve had for a couple of years is still in tact. It’s been dropped, dampened, lost, found, folded, smeared with food, and had drinks splashed on it, yet it forges ahead. It’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
As you probably know, there was some concern with these phones having a bendable screen. What’s the quality, longevity, durability, etc., of something that needs to fold in half? I had my doubts too but I’ll admit I’m impressed! It’s not a perfect screen though, after a while the included screen protector wore down and I unpeeled it. Since then the plastic screen has a lot of stress-type marks on it, streaky areas where the film is wearing away. But no cracks, so that’s a plus!
I’m still pretty much enthralled with it and get comments regularly. Eventually I’ll upgrade to Flip 6, but the big outside screen kind of defeats the purpose of the original idea of the phone, which is to disconnect.
When I first heard this commercial I knew I had to find out more. For me, it was about the music. The melody drew me in and thankfully it didn’t take *too* long to find out who was responsible. Would you believe it’s The Rolling Stones? Check out the ad then scroll down for more…
The Song. It has a 1960s feel to it? On the contrary, the performer was born 30 years after the song was released by The Rolling Stones. It’s Halsey (birthday Sept 29, 1994) covering “She’s A Rainbow.” Here’s a short behind-the-scenes video she posted.
Season 23 of the singing talent show had its first episode on Sunday evening. This was the debut of “Jukebox Carrie” Underwood as a host. It was also the first episode I can remember where every single contestant highlighted made it through to Hollywood. Some squeaked by with barely enough talent or moxie to sway the judges while others were easy to say “yes” to. There was even a platinum ticket handed out, which I don’t really think helps the contestant the way it’s meant to (I’ll save that for another post). Here are my favorites from this first episode…
Breanna Nix “Jesus, Take the Wheel” – I think it’s a little weird to sing a song made famous by one of the judges, like are you trying to kiss up to them, or what? With that said, Breanna has an outstanding voice. The judges loved her… and her adorable son.
Crews Wright “The Fireman” – I don’t know if there’ll be a more country contestant than Crews. This is almost a separate thought regarding country music, but I couldn’t be happier that the entire genre is swinging back towards the classic, traditional sound… Crews is a great example. Judges loved him and it was hilarious to watch Luke try to sing this song with Crews.
Gabby Samone “Natural Woman” – Carrie called Gabby gorgeous and thereby stated what we were all thinking. What a smile! Her voice, though… wow. Luke said it right, also: A little singer with a big voice. Big fans were the judges.
Ian Ward “I Want To Know What Love Is” – His voice reminds me of Clay Aiken, good company to be in. I like this guy, and the judges did, too.
Slater Nalley “Traces of You” – I might have been a little trigger happy when I posted about this audition a few days ago. I get tired of the sob stories, however watching Slater’s performance again and I’m not surprised everyone was in tears. It’s a great story and his voice is a lot better than I first thought. I stand corrected.
Insite “Freak On A Leash” – I’m so glad the judges let Insite through. Not only is he a rocker, he’s a heavy/death metal rocker and that kind of variety on the show is awesome. I’m already envisioning a performance of “Karma Police” by Radiohead and it will stun us. Judge Lionel Richie jokingly asked how he would do on Disney night– a fair point– but also… isn’t it super interesting to wonder how he will do on Disney night? That would be fun to watch unfold.
Which contestants are at the top of your list so far?
Season 8 released its final episode today, the one where all the failed participants talk about why they’re not the successful participants and the successful couples talk about why they’re not the failed couples. This season saw one couple survive the length of the season– It was Daniel and Taylor all along, who knew!?
Even with Taylor’s weird (possibly narcissistic?) Instagram accusation, the couple remained together and, this surprised me after I gave them about a 0.05% chance after her mistrust was exposed, I started to like them during the episode featuring their parents.
The Villain. Dave. Need I say more? He came in as a player and left with his tail between his legs. His unfair judgment of Lauren was apparent and even when the couples all met for the first time and he pulled Lauren aside to drunkenly admit his mistake, Lauren didn’t budge. Atta girl!
The Hero. George Floyd? OK, that’s a joke… I’m not sure there’s a hero this season. Did any of you have “Mentions George Floyd” on your Love Is Blind bingo card? What a twist. If I had to pick a favorite woman, I’d go with Madison– she seemed so sweet, thoughtful, genuine, deep, and intent on making her life better– and for the dude, I guess I’d go with Ben. I like that his faith in God seems to be important even if he was willing to compromise and propose to a woman who was clearly not “equally yoked,” Sara. Nothing against Sara at all, I think she deserves a person who matches her passion for societal justices. They should’ve called it off as soon as she brought up her local hero, George Floyd, and Ben had no opinion.
The Boring Stuff. Basically episodes 12 and 13 were super, duper boring. So. Much. Talking. This is where the graph of my interest level would dip to the lowest all season and yes, I fast forward through most of these episodes. So. Much. Talking. Did I say that already? Can’t they skip ahead and just get right to the altar where couples finally answer if love is blind? And no, because of this show, I don’t think love is blind. In fact, if we were basing our opinions on this show alone, love seems to be a gigantic train wreck.
The couple that will be happiest at the end of this season is Dave and his sister.
The very talented Lady Gaga just released her album “Mayhem” yesterday (available on Amazon). I’m sure fans love all 14 tracks but there’s one in particular that’s creating a buzz. Check it out and ask yourself, “Hmm, which other female superstar does this sound like?”
Incognito. The song sounds a lot like hits from another artist, right? If you listened to it and your mind went straight to Taylor Swift, you’re either a Swifty or the dad of a Swifty (my brother took his daughters to the Eras Tour and said it changed his life 🎤🎵🥴🎶).
[pic courtesy of Orlando’s #1 Swifty dad]
I’m neither a Swifty or the dad of one, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Is that joke too old? Well, so am I! I’m too old to be a Swifty(and I don’t have daughters) but one of my first jobs in Nashville many, many years ago was working as a PA on a music video and guess who was there? Can you pick out Taylor Swift in this ensemble cast music video? My interaction with Taylor pretty much ended there as our careers skyrocketed in different directions. Hers to international stardom with luxurious homes all around the country, and mine to legendary status on the 2nd floor south wing, middle section of cubicles, and now living in a camper.
But we still have one thing in common… we both love to write! It’s not too farfetched to think one of us might have helped pen Lady Gaga’s song because, as you probably know, one of us is a heck of a writer. I’ll let you decide who that is 🫣. Maybe she’ll surprise fans during a concert and admit she was part of the team behind “How Bad Do U Want Me” for Gaga, then perform it on stage for all the Swifties (and their dads/my brother). Until then, the songwriting credits go to Lady Gaga, Michael Polansky, Andrew Watt, and Henry Walter.
Sidebar: One of my favorite songs Taylor’s written for someone else is “Better Man” by Little Big Town.
But Wait, There’s More… Listeners have been quick to point out the similarities between Gaga’s song and a couple of others, most obvious was Yazoo’s “Only You” from the early 1980s. In 2023, I was addicted to that song for a few weeks. And when I say addicted, I mean it was on repeat for days and days; I wouldn’t play any other song for an entire car ride. It’s also happened with this song and this group.
Another song being floated around as sounding like the Gaga track is Taylor Swift’s “Gorgeous.” What do you think?
Conspiracy Theory. At the time of this post, Yazoo isn’t credited in the creation of “How Bad Do U Want Me,” nor is Taylor Swift. But if one is so clearly part of it and a credit is coming soon, maybe the other is, too? Things that make my brother go hmmm.
Out of the Wilderness 