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
Sometimes you just gotta get dirty, right? That’s the sentiment behind the Jeep commercial that starts off classy and clean. But then…mayhem… check it out.
The Music. The song setting the mood in the commercial is by an artist who goes by BVSIS. The song is perfectly called “Dirty.” Here’s the full track and check out more of his creative work on his YouTube channel @LoveSomeDance.
Something came over me about a week and a half ago. No it wasn’t bad egg nog or whatever flu is going around every winter. It was the notion that it was time to rejoin an official gym! That’s right. Me. Working out. With weights. And other people. Ben, the loner, rubbing shoulders with other like-minded people wanting to improve their health.
The side yard workouts I’d been doing were great– no crowds, good music, conveniently located. I’ll continue those, although less often, but as of last week, I’m back in Planet Fitness and I’ve participated in 4 workouts already since joining. I’ve been mesmerized by the the weights, the treadmills, the stationary bikes, the entire room dedicated to ropes, pull-up bars, and stretching. It’s crazy that the last time I was a member of a gym was during COVID, way back in 2020/21 in Nashville. Since then I’d been doing outdoor workouts, running, cycling, etc… but I’m excited to add weights back into my routine and find out if doing more anaerobic workouts can help improve results in triathlons I will sign up for in 2025.
Plus, if I want to keep up with my brother (won’t happen!) I need to be in a gym anyway. He’s always been strong mentally and physically so maybe this year I’ll catch up just a little bit…
At sunrise, it was downright frigid: frozen dew on the truck, breath floating in the air. Weather is probably the #1 reason I joined the gym last week so did I go to the gym for this morning’s workout? Of course not! Why would I do something so level-headed?
I was determined to ride 30 miles on my road bike– of course, I hastily made that promise to myself before I checked what was going on outside. Oh, great… overnight temperatures are in the low 30s. Beautiful. But I couldn’t back out, not when Strava is watching.
You can’t tell, but that’s me under all those layers. 3 layers in some places, in fact. It was cold. So cold I only cared 9% about where I blew out my nose as I rolled down the local greenway. Multiple nose clearings, too. It was a show for sure. But I did it… I finished all 30 miles with cold toes, a messy nose, and striking a pose (see sexy pics above).
More training ahead (maybe at the gym next time?) as I approach the first race of the year. Just a short one but it was a lot of fun last year- The Super Bowl Duathlon down in Orlando. No affiliation with the actual Super Bowl (legally, I probably have to say that) but it IS the day before, so there’s some kind of connection there. Hey, maybe Josh Allen will come by before Buffalo wins the Super Bowl. He can maybe see how the common athletes live.
Hello there and thanks for checking in on how my dating life is going on this, just the second day of 2025. Of course, not much can happen in two days so let’s call this the baseline for the year. The starting point. The “how it started” half of those picture montages.
Before we get into it, here’s a quick recap of how dating went last year…
Yep. Crickets. Well, that’s not totally true. There were some (few and far between) bright spots– a date here, a date there– but listen, if you’ve heard dating in your 20s and 30s is tough and 40s is nearly impossible, it’s all true. I can’t say everyone is suffering, surely the good-looking people are probably having a grand ol’ time because well, they’re good-looking. They can “slide into the DMs” and it’s flattering whereas us regular people do the same thing and it’s “creepy.”
We can’t all be Ryan Gosling, I guess.
At the tail end of 2024 a potential date popped up. I kept my excitement to a minimum but I was secretly pretty happy about it– looking forward to finishing the year with a sizzle but unfortunately, it fizzled. It turns out that a date cancelling the night before really does suck. I’ve been pretending for about two weeks that everything is fine after the abrupt cancellation but the truth is that it’s still affecting my mood. It’s like I was in a desert and saw a spring of water but when I got there, it was just a mirage.
I’m more on the hopeless side of being a hopeless romantic but I’ll cling to the part of 2024 worth remembering: Something can pop up so fast. I’ll also commit to put myself out there more. That whole miss 100% of the shots you don’t take thing. But seriously, I’m fine.
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!