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
Country singer Morgan Wallen surprised fans (and everyone, actually) with a new music video on New Year’s Eve. In the video, he sings on the stage of a late night show and right off the bat you can see he goes off script, which worries the producers, director, and crew. The song becomes an instant hit, much to the delight of the producers, director, and crew. Take a look then scroll down for more…
All That Glitters. The relationship is fizzling, but the video is sizzling. As in sizzling hot! His fans are over the moon to end one year and start the next year with the surprise music video. It’s very well done, too. Director Justin Clough did a great job capturing the highs and lows of television… when things happen that can be super good one minute then dramatically bad the next.
Funny how that industry parallels romantic relationships. It’s amazing one day and disastrous the next. Sort of what Morgan’s singing about…. smiling for a picture as if everything is golden when it’s really just yellow.
If this is any indication about the state of country music in 2025, I think we’re in for a great year. I’d love for the genre as a whole to return to songs with deep, emotional lyrics about heartbreak or how life can be rough but fulfilling. Enough of the soft, lovey dovey boyfriend, formula crap from the last few years/decade!
As 2024 comes to a close and everyone prepares to watch Ryan Seacrest for 43 hours while he preps us for the ball drop in NYC, I thought I’d do a quick review of 2024. Skipping over the valleys, here are my top 10 mountain top moments of the year!
Triathlons. This one was easy to pick because I’ve loved (almost) everything about the training, racing, community I’ve found with this sport. Even in the race where I had my worst accident (more here), that still was one of my favorite races because I performed well (except for that clumsy accident, of course) and there was a family-and-friends cheering section for me and my brother-in-law. Good times!
Reading. The best book I read all year is “The Housemaid.” It’s a young adult book so I guess the entertainment part of my academic brain is still an immature teenager but by golly, the twists and turns of that book, plus others I’ve read throughout the year kept me on the edge of my seat. I also read a book about Roy Orbison that was very good, too.
Camping. Always a highlight of each year and 2024 was no different. My favorite place to settle in for a few days–or more– is St. Andrews State Park in the panhandle of Florida. Besides that park, I also managed to find campsites near triathlons so it was fun to double up by getting to camp and race in the same place.
Joining A Gym. I haven’t been a member of any gym since Covid but just last week I ended that streak. I’m excited to workout with weights again, all in an effort to be a better triathlete in 2025.
One is Silver. Through various activities in town and out of town, I’ve expanded the group of people I call friends. A lot of them are connections to things I enjoy so we’re already like-minded in that regard whether it’s… for instance… triathlon stuff, church, or dancing. I’ll also add in family here. They’re the reason I returned to Florida and haven’t regretted it for a second.
Dancing. It’s like square dancing but it’s called Contra. If you have a chance to try it, I bet you’ll get a kick out of all the music, laughing, and not to mention it’s a great workout too. I’ve loved going somewhat regularly in 2024.
Vote. Every 4 years we get to vote for who we want to be President of the United States. This was one of those years. In spite of the non-stop political commercials, it was good to be part of the democratic process. Of course, it helps my morale knowing the person I picked got elected but beyond that, I think he’ll return America to a sense of normalcy and we can all flourish because of it.
I Do. I didn’t… but my niece DID get married so that was a fun season of the year. Maybe not for anyone tasked with any of the wedding duties (there’s a whole heck of a lot of stuff that surrounds a 30 minute ceremony, sheesh!) but this niece is the first of the kids in the family to take this step, so everyone was happy, teary, nostalgic, and excited.
Books. My books continue to sell. I won’t be on the New York Times bestseller list but even having a few sold here and a few sold there over the course of the year gives me a sense of accomplishment. The hard work I put in with the whole process of each book continues to bring a return (happiness, and a few dollars) so for that, I’m grateful. Whether it’s friends or family, it makes me happy that people are enjoying the books! Plus, a church here in town purchased some for a particular ministry and it’s that kind of unexpected blessing that has this year ending with a sizzle (and not a fizzle)… also, if you want to order a book here are the direct links…
Writing. It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing here every day since January 1st, 2020. Crazy how time flies, right? I’ve loved challenging myself with writing so much but I had no idea I’d continue it in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. I guess I’ll roll on into 2025 doing the same thing… except hoping to be more creative, more transparent, perhaps more personal posts, but at the same time writing about music and TV and movies and commercials and maybe even dating ;).
Thanks for checking out my blog today and I hope you come back often. I post every day at 1pm central!
As 2024 comes to an end and Walmart is already decorating stores for Christmas 2025, I thought today’s post would be a good time to mention how “O Holy Night” has been popping up more than usual… even around the holiday season. Kind of like when I went to Vietnam in 2006 and somehow “My Heart Will Go On” was heard everywhere we went. And mind you, this was about 10 years AFTER Titanic came out in theaters. So it’s not like it was a new song. Asians love Celine Dion, I guess?
Besides the artists you’d normally associate with this song, here are a few new performances of “O Holy Night” by three fantastic singers, one of which I was most surprised by– Billie Eilish. At the end she says she’s not religious at all but just loves Christmas music. Hey, most of the best Christians would say they aren’t religious either… and that’s a good thing. 😉
Next is young country gospel singer Anne Wilson. Her vibrato is… I can’t put my finger on what I love about it but some things just don’t need to be defined, right? She’d probably consider herself religious and it comes through with so much joy in her music… like this song for instance.
And the final is from a former contestant on “The Voice.” And what a voice it is from Thunderstorm Artis. I heard him sing this on a TV show that I can’t remember the name of but this rendition below is just as good. He’s got that shaky vibrato, too, and now I wish I had it so I could sing in public and people would stop what they’re doing to listen.
Do you have a favorite version of this song? Don’t you think it just might be the best Christmas song ever? The lyrics get me every time. And the soul felt its worth.
Recently I posted about a photo contest organized by Florida State Parks. At the time, I couldn’t decide which 8 photos I’d submit, there were about 10 I really loved. Here’s that post if you want to review the photos I was deliberating about. I’ll say this before I reveal which pics I submitted: the state parks in Florida are so amazing. From the wildlife to the terrain, the staff, the water (springs, lakes, ocean), I can’t imagine any state having a better state park system (unless they have sewer hookups #luxury 🤪).
I had no idea I’d be talking about poop in this post but hey, if you’ve ever camped, you know how nice it is to have a sewer line at your campsite. When you’re excited about poop, you’re officially an old fart. Get it? Poop… fart…. OK I’m immature. Moving right along… here are the photos I chose for the 2024 contest– only submitting 7 because I guess they’re only allowing one pic per category per person, I don’t remember that being the case last year but anywho, here we go.
Running with the Birds. Henderson Beach State Park. The composition is one part about this photo I love. And it was accidental. Really just a fleeting moment that I captured between photos of other things at the beach, and it turns out to be a favorite. Go figure!
Sunset Surfer. St. Andrews State Park. I keep coming back to this photo because of the casual stance of the surfer. His board is obscured by water so it’s just so interesting to me, plus I love silhouette backlit shots.
A Leg To Stand On. Henderson Beach State Park. Sometimes seagulls lose their legs, I guess? Who knows the story behind this one-legged creature but as I observed it, there wasn’t really any difference in its activities compared to the rest of the seagulls in the area. No self-pity party for this fella!
Friendly Wave. St. Andrews State Park. I mean, does this really need any explanation? Of course we wave and appreciate the service men and women in the Coast Guard. Thanks for all you do to keep your fellow Americans safe! Also, thanks Dad :).
Sunset Grazing. St. Andrews State Park. This young buck wandering around the campground was cool to see. He came out, I think, every day I was there (about 4 days). I love the small, furry antlers.
Light Waves. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. The sunset reflecting on the chaos of a wave crashing on shore, I had no idea it would look so wild and pretty. But the way the water is going in almost every direction, even upwards, is pretty… and pretty cool!
Hanging On. Silver Springs State Park. Nature has a way of adapting, fighting, and surviving. Such is the case with these flowers, using another plant to grow tall and get some sunlight.
There you have it. My favorite photos from camping in Florida State Parks in 2024. I hope to start up a new gallery in 2025 because there are still plenty of campgrounds I haven’t been to or want to go to again!
A lot of people do this the first day of January but I decided to do it today, 2 days after my 46th birthday (and 4 days before January). It’s something I haven’t done in about 4 years: I joined the gym! I was just gonna run 4.6 miles to commemorate turning 46 years old but, well, it’s been cold and rainy and who wants to run in that kind of weather? Not me.
I’ve completed all of one workout so far but it was a good one. Chest. Check. Biceps. Check. Triceps. Check. Back. Check. Treadmill. Check. A little bit of everything… except legs.
I super pumped to have access to weights again. It’s all for a purpose, too. I won’t say every workout will be designed to make me a better triathlete, but ultimately that’s the goal. When I head over to the gym, the overriding theme will be: Will this workout make me a faster swimmer, cyclist, or runner? If the answer is “no” then I better have a dang good reason to be going to the gym at all!
Out of the Wilderness 