Some of my favorite commercials

My poor little brain will probably remember a few more after I submit this post, but these are a some of the commercials I've particularly enjoyed. Some I like because they're funny. Others... I'm not quite sure why, to be honest.

Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch: Whether you liked the sandwich or not, you've gotta admit that song was catchy. Opinions seem to be mixed about whether this was the peak of Darius Rucker's career or its lowest point. Whichever one it is, you know you enjoyed that commercial. Good luck keeping it from getting stuck in your head.

Snickers Dark (Viking and Pilgrim at gas station): You know you mimicked that commercial a few times at least, unless you're one of those mature people who doesn't see the fun in making a fool of yourself for your own enjoyment. I don't think I've ever had a Snickers Dark bar, but I've seen the commercial a bunch of times, and it has brought me joy. (EDIT: Wow, I just linked to the commercial earlier today, but while double-checking if all my links work, I found out that the video has now been removed due to copyright, and can't find it online. And how long has that commercial been on YouTube? It's been a few years at least, and now they decide to take it down? Grrr.)

Snickers commercial with Betty White: Betty White said, "That's not what your girlfriend says." Betty White. 'Nuff said.

Any Mentos commercial: Popping in a Mentos has never turned a negative situation around (I've tried), but I probably couldn't count the times I've caught myself singing the Mentos song without even thinking about it.

Any Survival Insurance commercial: Survival had undoubtedly the corniest commercials I ever saw as a kid. As luck would have it, I like corny. Very much so.

Cheers To You!: I'm still divided on whether or not this product is real or not, since I can't see how anyone would be able to take it seriously. I never actually saw the commercial on TV, but it's still one of my favorites for when I need a quick laugh. Not surprisingly, this has been on FailBlog.

Any commercial with Billy Mays: Billy Mays was, and will always be, the King of the Infomercial. Love him or hate him, you remembered what he advertised. The ShamWow guy was just annoying. I normally don't enjoy commercials, but there was never a dull commercial with Billy Mays. The man with no indoor voice could make gravel interesting. May he rest in peace, unless he'd rather advertise Zorbeez or Mighty Putty in Heaven.

Trigon, whatever it is: If the commercial didn't show the name of the company at the end, I would have no idea what kind of product or business was being advertised. That would not matter to me one bit. I really hope that kid gets to be in a movie or TV show. I could definitely see him making a good actor if given the chance (apart from the Trigon commercials he's been in).

Trident Layers: I can't help but feel for the guy at the end, just like I do for the Trix rabbit those nasty kids won't let have the cereal, although with how sugary Trix is, they're actually doing him a favor. Anyways, the part with the sad utility worker at the end makes me laugh every time. The rest of the commercial is ehh.

Old Navy Performance Fleece: That song has gotten stuck in my head probably more than any other song has. To be honest, this is one of those things I'm not sure why I like. It's not funny, insightful, or particularly interesting. I guess it's the catchiness of the song that makes me enjoy the commercial. I don't understand myself sometimes.

Orbit Gum: Who didn't want to call someone a DooDooHead Cootie Queen or Stinky McStinkFace after watching this commercial?

Again, Lohan?!

Looks like Lohan is at it again, although not because of drugs this time, although drugs probably had something to do with it. I heard a few days ago that she stole a necklace, and now I read she's being charged with grand theft. She apparently tried to steal the necklace not long after getting out of her 108,348th stint in rehab, where she had an incident that could result in her being charged with battery. If she is convicted, she supposedly could face up to 3 years in prison, although being a celebrity, she'd probably end up spending no more than a couple months, if she ends up having any jail time at all. I don't have the facts. Maybe she stole the necklace, or maybe it was a misunderstanding, but based on her history, I'm inclined to believe the first. Is she ever going to learn to control herself? There's no way she doesn't have some kind of mental disorder. No sane person would, after all these chances, still screw things up this much. As long the courts keep letting her off easy, she most likely will keep getting herself into trouble. Apart from sufficient jail time, she needs to go to a bootcamp-type place where she won't be treated like anything but someone with problems that need to be fixed. She hasn't been acting like an adult, but it's time she gets treated like one.

Heaven in food form

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water and my heart flutter. When I am lucky enough to have it, stress and worry are non-existent. Just one bite, and I am immediately transported to a magical carefree world where the sun is always shining, the waters are pristine, and where unicorns peacefully prance around in a fields of the most beautiful flowers people have only dreamed of. Okay, so I might be exaggerating a little, but there is a feeling of euphoria, a bliss I wish could last forever. What is it that causes such an effect in me? It is the chili cheeseburger. Savory. Juicy. Tantalizing. (Checks thesaurus.com). Succulent. Delectable. The sight of one makes my eyes grow wide in eager anticipation and my mouth drool with desire. The smell tells me that, despite all the troubles and unfortunate things that happen in this great big planet we live in, that there are still great things in the world. And as I eat one, I hear in my mind such songs as "True," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," and "The Look of Love." Add in some bacon, and the result is the most exquisite culinary work of art, almost too beautiful to eat, the closest thing there is to heaven on Earth. It is perfection.

It is also something that will take much if not all my strength to resist, as I am trying to lose weight, to lose the talking stomach and gain the six pack abs I have always wanted but never possessed. It promises to be the most difficult test my admittedly weak willpower will have ever faced. Maybe just a little bite... No! I must be strong... Why must most of my favorite foods be bad for me...

The Blog

The Mechanic. The Fighter, The Roommate. These aren't nicknames I've given to people I know; these are recent movies with very simple names. They make me wonder how much thought went into naming those movies, if much time was put into finding a suitable title, or if whoever decided the name just used the first thing that came to mind. Sometimes simple is best, but a boring title won't make potential viewers more likely to want to see a movie. Of course, a title is not going to be what makes a person decide to watch a movie, but it can create a positive or negative first impression in someone who has just heard of the movie for the first time. With all the many movies that get advertised, it's likely that an average person will not know what a lot of new movies are about. Without word of mouth, the name of a movie could be what encourages the person to find out what it's about, and then whether it will be worth watching. Titles don't need to be very elaborate, but I can't really see when giving a movie such a plain name is suitable. But then again, I'm not in the movie business; all I can do write about it in a blog that I'm probably the only one who has read. Ok, I'll shut up now.

Umm... I'll pass...

I was on YouTube and saw an ad for Nicolas Cage's new movie, Drive Angry. The cheesy title already made me think the movie won't be worth watching, but I decided to watch the trailer, and my initial suspicion was confirmed. It looks to be one of those typical movies where a loved one gets taken, then the "hero" looks to get her back, shooting anyone who gets in his way, with a few unnecessary explosions sprinkled on top (Is Michael Bay the director?). The trailer even includes one of the number one ingredients to a corny action flick: the protagonist calmly walking away from an explosion, as if that hasn't been done a million times already. Now I'm not saying I could make something better. If I could, then I would. But I don't see how these kinds of movies make enough money for studios to keep churning them out. The action genre includes plenty of great movies, but there are enough bad ones that whenever I think of action movies, the image of wanton explosions (I do enjoy an explosion now and then, but not overdone as many movies do), unrealistic gunfights where one guy somehow kills a dozen bad guys (each apparently with no aim), and me dying a little inside.

So I ask you studios, please put more thought into your movies. Guns, explosions, car chases, and attractive actresses do not automatically result in a good movie. They can certainly help the movie, but must be used properly. Action movies should have action, but please stop overdoing it. And no more casting Nicolas Cage in these roles. He's just not convincing as a serious action hero. He does alright when you don't have to take him too seriously (I thought he was alright in Kick-Ass and National Treasure, the latter a movie I'm not sure why I enjoyed), but when there's no joking going on in a movie of his, I'm not feeling it.

And is that new movie with the cowboys and aliens supposed to be a serious one? It looked serious from the trailer, but I hope it isn't. Please oh please don't be a serious one.

Time for a change!

This New Year's, I made the resolution to get in shape. I made the same resolution the previous year. And the one before that. After a few years of wanting to get fit, I haven't made progress. This is not because of anything out of my control. No, this is due to my own lack of motivation. I've gained about 20-25 pounds since high school, which isn't a ton, but has added a noticeable amount of mass to my stomach area. It's certainly interfered with my goal of someday having a six pack. There really isn't much appeal to the one pack I'm currently sporting. Since gaining that extra weight, there have been multiple times when I wondered how I could let myself go like that. Somehow, all that wondering never translated into action.

I enjoy watching vlogs on YouTube. A couple vloggers (Shay and Philip DeFranco) both decided to work to lose weight and get in shape. It got me thinking again about how I've been wanting to get fit. As with previous times, I realized that there's nothing keeping me from finally fulfilling the resolution I've made multiple times. Yesterday was Day 1 of Phase 1 of Operation Sixpack. Phase 1 focuses more on losing weight and burning fat. Phase 2 will be about building muscle, while Phase 3 will just be not letting myself go again.

In high school, I was able to maintain a weight of around 135, despite all the junk food I ate (my lunches at school were usually either cup of noodles or Hot Cheetos and a Pepsi). I got a lot of exercise playing a game called Dance Dance Revolution, a game which, if played on the harder difficulty, involves a lot of jumping and fast foot movement, which results in a lot of burned calories. I played at least an hour of it yesterday, and it didn't take long for me to get out of breath and for my legs to feel like lead. However, after about 15 minutes, it got a bit easier. The rest of the hour went by pretty fast. After the workout, I felt good about myself, as I usually do after each infrequent workout. I did the same again today, and plan to do so at least 4 times a week.

I've also begun to watch what I eat. I'm not on any particular diet, but my intake of junk food is going to be seriously limited. It'll be hard not getting to eat ice cream, bacon chili cheeseburgers, etc. whenever I want, but sometimes you've got to give something to get something. Also restricted will be my snacking. Most of the times I snack is not because of actual hunger, but just because I feel like eating. My unnecessary snacking has been mostly cut in the last couple of days, although it hasn't been totally easy. Sometimes I just want to eat something, but I know that I have to make changes to my lifestyle if I'm going to lose the gut.

I've made too many excuses in my life to avoid making the changes needed to better myself. I've regretted letting myself gain that weight, but never done anything about it. Regrets are useless if not followed by actions. (cue the cheesy inspirational music)
I can spend all the time in the world wishing I was fit, but it won't burn that fat away. You can't always get something just by wanting it. You need to work hard for what you want sometimes. It won't always be easy, but if you keep at it, you might be surprised at the results.

Anyways, that's what I've decided, and what I'm going to work for. I encourage anyone with unfulfilled resolutions to work on them. We have no more need for excuses. We need to work hard and take good care of ourselves. I wish the best of luck to all of you.