Ty does not give a pass to garbage people like Hope Solo

Why the double standard for Hope Solo?

By all accounts she's a garbage person who goes on national TV and lies and then sees no discipline from the US Women's National Soccer team. She blatantly lied and was made to look like the victim when she was the instigator. She physically beat up her sister and her nephew, but when she saw an opportunity for a "redemption" story from the Today Show and ESPN The Magazine, she decided that she could lie herself into looking like a victim. The fact that her nephew is 6'7 and about 280 pounds, who would question her, she has an athlete's body, but she is still smallish. But her sister is much smaller than she is, so why did no one question this at the time. Well, it looks like one (and only one) group in the ESPN family, Outside the Lines, decided it was time to go back and look at the police records and they found quite the treasure trove. Apparently Hope Solo called at least two of the police officers a gay slur, called them 14 year old boys, and when they asked her to remove a necklace, she told them that it was worth more money than they make in a year. Now, I'm not a fan of police officers, especially in the town of Ballwin in St. Louis County, but I have at least the dignity and the respect to not talk to authority like that.

Hope Solo seems to have a  speaking tone like the one employed by trash people who live in the gutter. Why does she think she is so much better than these police officers? Why does she think she can hit people and get away with it? Does she believe she can get away with this type of behavior because she's good at soccer? Spoiler alert, most Americans don't care about soccer. And you're not some world class athlete with sponsorships coming out of your ears. If Outside the Lines hadn't done this story, I wouldn't be able to pick her out of a police lineup, which I'm sure she's been in a ton. This isn't her first domestic abuse case either. She's had at least one other incident that's been reported. So she's had, at the very least, two reported domestic violence cases and yet team USA soccer does nothing in the way of discipline. She gets to travel with the team and play soccer and when reporters ask her about the cases, she deflects the question and says she just wants to talk about soccer. Spoken like someone who's guilty. What Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice did was just as bad. They are both big time athletes, one who knocked his wife out cold in an elevator, the other who beat up his 4 year old child, at least faced some consequences from the NFL. Both of them got suspended, without pay, for an entire season. They did terrible, horrible, unforgivable things to women and children and at least faced some form of discipline. Hell, Ray Rice still has not been signed by a team, because I think, no one wants that kind of PR nightmare. So, I ask the question again, why the double standard for Hope Solo? Yes, she's a woman and there's barely any cases of a woman being the aggressor in domestic disputes but, coming from my mom who works in the social work field, the disputes when they involve a female as the chief instigator are treated the same as when the man is the instigator. And good for Hope Solo's sister for coming out and speaking out in defense of herself and her son. These abusers need to realize that they can't get away with the horrible crimes they are committing by beating people up. You shouldn't stand for it and if someone is abusing you seek professional help. There are people out there to protect you from the Ray Rice's and the Hope Solo's of the world. So, shame on you Hope Solo and USA Women's soccer. You are just helping this horrible person think they can do whatever they want because they are good at a sport.

Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Hope Solo, and their media enablers disgust me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor at Seed Sing. Throw him a follow on twitter @tykulik If you are a victim of domestic violence, get help, that is the only way to stop the violence.

Cloves and Fedoras: If you love movies Ty says listen to Maltin on Movies

My podcast pick to talk about this week is Wolfpop's Maltin on Movies with co-host Baron Vaughn.

Each week, Leonard Maltin and Baron Vaughn take a subject and review three movies associated with the topic.  In the first segment they talk about a well known movie that they both enjoy. They tell you what they both like about the particular movie and why they think you should watch it. This weeks episode was titled Adult Cartoons, and they chose a French movie called Persepolis for their first segment. This movie takes place through the eyes of an Iranian French girl growing up through war times in Israel. I've never seen the movie before, but hearing the two of them talk about it, makes me want to watch it. According to Vaughn, it's a real tear jerker. In the second segment they talk about a movie neither of them like, or as they call it, a turkey. This segment might be my favorite. I like to hear them tear apart movies that almost no one likes. Both of them are very eloquent as well, so it doesn't sound like my friends and I ripping a movie apart. These two actually know what they're talking about. This week their turkey was Cool World. This movie sounds so bad that I want to watch it to see how bad it is. Apparently it was meant to be a horror cartoon, but the studio turned it into a dark noir comedy. Those words don't work together at all. The third and final segment, they talk about a sleeper movie. These movies are off the radar to most movie goers and not very well known, but highly regarded by both Vaughn and Maltin. I like the suggestions given during this part, because I hardly ever know what movie they're talking about, but every one that I've seen since I started this podcast, I've really enjoyed. The movie they mentioned this week is called Max and Mary. It's a story of friendship between two loners. One being a young outcast girl, Mary. The other, a 44 year old man with no family or friends named Max. According to Vaughn, this is a must watch, but it's very off beat and very dark at times. So, it may not be for everyone, but I'm going to check it out. The episodes come out every Wednesday and are no more than an hour long. They're 31 episodes in, but for movie buffs, this is a must listen.

I highly recommend it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He loves movies and hearing people talk (or write) about movies.  Follow him on twitter @tykulik

Cloves and Fedoras: Ty lets you know about the greatness of Silicon Valley

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known. 

I just want to take a moment of my time to talk about one of the best shows on T.V.

Silicon Valley may be the best comedy on TV(maybe the second best behind Louie). The cast is made up of great improvisers that have known each other one way or another since before they were cast on the show together. Thomas Middleditch, who plays the lead character Richard, is perfectly cast as the squirmy, uncomfortable founder and CEO of Pied Piper. Some of my favorite moments are when Richard tries to stand up for himself and take charge. It's so funny to watch him try to be a bad ass. It doesn't fit his demeanor at all, but Thomas Middleditch is such a good actor, you think in your mind, he might have this tough side to him. Gilfolye(Martin Starr) and Dinesh(Kumail Nanjiani) are great as Pied Piper's two main coders. These two are always trying to one up each other. But, I also feel like they're really best friends and this is just how you act towards your best friend. Starr and Nanjiani take their smallish roles in the show and make them huge. They're great comedy actors and improvisers. Jared(Zach Woods), who's Pied Piper's business manager is the quiet, mousy punching bag for everyone, but he's also the most cheerful guy working there. Every challenge they're faced with, Jared finds a positive spin for it. And this brings us to Ehrlich(the wonderfully cast TJ Miller). He's the "incubator" for the guys. Pied Piper is run through his living room. He's a guy who cashed in his company when the bids were high and now he has people with business ideas come to him and pitch. TJ Miller is so good in this role. It's almost as if Mike Judge wrote it specifically for him. He's so egotistical, but there's moments when you see shreds of humility in him. TJ Miller deserves any and every award that should be coming his way for his role in this show. He's incredible. The addition of Russ Hanneman(Chris Diamantopoulos), the billionaire financier, has been really good too. He's a very douchey, rich guy who's never really earned his money, but believes that Pied Piper can make him richer. Every scene with him is met, by me, with a held breath, thinking how will he screw these guys over. This show is a must watch for improvised comedy fans out there. It is so well acted and directed. The season finale(season two) is this Sunday, June 14th, so catch up if you haven't already and enjoy this wonderful show.

It's really excellent.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He is one man with one T.V. and needs people to help him cover pop culture.  Write for Seed Sing. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik
 

Last Generation Gamer: The Beautiful Loneliness of Skyrim

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

So you know there are SPOILERS of the plot to Skyrim in this article.

When Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, 2011) begins you are not alone.  The first person view all the Elder Scroll games start with show the back of a horse drawn cart with prisoners being escorted through a rough mountain road. Through the dialogue of others it quickly becomes clear that you are a prisoner going to execution with your fellow cart travelers.  Although you are with others, you are not part of their group.  One man is a horse thief who will not factor into the plot.  The other two men are rebels who are fighting the empire (one of the men is the leader of the Stormcloaks, I assumed the reader knew this but I did not want to leave important info out).  You are not a thief (yet, if you want) or part of the rebellion (again yet, if you want).  You have no identity. You are alone.

I purchased Skyrim in 2015 to see all the fuss.  It has been heralded as one of the greatest video games ever made.  I played Oblivion (not yet finished, but still loving the game) and I purchased Skyrim on a Gamestop buy two get one free deal.  My plan was to finish Oblivion, but one day I decided to pop Skyrim into the X-Box 360 to see if it lived up to the hype.  It begins like most other games, a big event facilitates you taking control, then a simple dungeon so you can learn all the basic controls.  Once you complete the first dungeon, the world opens up.

It is the most magnificent first look at the open world in any game I have ever seen.  Cyrodill in Oblivion looks majestic, mostly green, and bright.  Skyrim feels, rocky, cold and isolated. I can remember going north in Oblivion through the Jerrall mountains and seeing the wasteland beyond the horizon I could not cross  The first unassisted view of Skyrim makes you feel alone in that challenging wasteland. There is a rough, partially snow covered, stone road. Once you look around you see snow dusted trees and massive mountians all around you. This is the land of dragons, there is no doubt.  I feared any creature early on in the game because I thought anything that could thrive in this environment is going to be tough. 

I want to take a quick detour and elaborate on why my visceral reaction was so strong.  My parents grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan right near the shores of Lake Superior. When I was young my parents would take myself along with my brothers for vacations in the U.P.. On the way to my parents homeland, the highway stops about a hundred miles out.  The rest of the trip is a two lane road through dense woods and quaint towns.  We mainly went up there in the summer, but on a few occasions we ventured there in the winter(once for a cousins wedding the first week of October, I slid my Dad's car off the road because it had snowed a few feet the night before).  It was bleak, desolate, and cold in the U.P. those winters.  I was truly surprised that anyone lived there year round (like my grandparents).  My first look at Skyrim reminded me of the U.P..  The first person I talked with in Skyrim sounded like a retaliative. This was going to cause a little bit of extra immersion during my gaming sessions.

I do not want to make it sound like Skyrim's grays and desolation make it unattractive, it is gorgeous. The first time you trek up the Throat of the World, and take some time to look out over the expanse, it is breathtaking.  When I approached Solitude and saw the grand tower built on top of a natural rock bridge formation above me, I simply stopped and stared at my television for a few minutes. Walking through the quiet snow packed plains in the middle of the night on my way to Solitude was strangely tranquil.   I have spent over half my time in Skyrim just staring.  There have been other games with beautiful vistas, but none of them have put me in a state of awe like Skyrim.

The other part of Skyrim the game that makes Skyrim the territory so overwhelming is the loneliness. The majority of your journey can be done all alone.  There are plenty of opportunities to pick up people who will help you on your quests, but they are not required.  A novice player, like myself, will not even know how to bring an ally around.  When Lydia was assigned as my Housecarl in Whiterun, I unintentionally had her stay put.  I did not find her again until I bought a house in Whiterun.  Once I had her join me, she was killed within the next hour because of my exploring.  Most of the game I have been alone, and Skyrim makes you feel isolated.  There is a quest option to join the Imperial Army and bring down the rebellion.  There is an alternative quest option to join the Stormcloaks and bring Skyrim independence.  Both of these quests may bring you new friends, but neither is necessary. The introduction of teammates may seem anti isolationist, but the ambiance of Skyrim will always make you feel alone.  The low tones of the noises in dungeons,  the ambient noise of the outdoors, the sudden break of silence due to a wolf, all of these atmospheric touches make Skyrim a jumpy place. Feeling like you are a lone soul in this beautiful and dangerous vista is Skyrim's crowing achievement.

I have not finished the main quest of Skyrim. I absolutely adore this game and do plan on completing the main storyline, and then dive into some of the DLC (I hear you can ride a dragon, that in it self will be worth the effort). While the quest may not be completed, I do get the urge to load Skyrim up and just walk around for a while.  Most of the time I tell myself that I need to do some character development, but the real reason is I just would like to enjoy the views in quiet solitude.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor of Seed Sing.  Thanks to reading a random book in Skyrim he knows how Oblivion ends.  That will not stop him from completing the game, it just might have to wait a few hundred hours until the last dragon soul of Skyrim has been absorbed.

Cleveland once again will need to wait for next year.

Well there goes my hope for a great NBA Finals.

Now that its been reported that Kyrie Irving has a fractured knee cap and requires surgery and he will be out 3 to 4 months, I need to make a change to my NBA Finals prediction. In my previous blog, I picked the Warriors to win in five games. Now, with Irving out and Matthew Dellavedova, the guy that the team left at the arena the other night and he had to take an Uber to the team hotel, will be starting, I'm changing my pick from Warriors in five, to a sweep by the Warriors. This is a huge blow to an already hobbled Cavaliers team. If the game on Thursday night showed us anything, no matter how well Lebron James plays, the Warriors have a complete team that plays great defense and offense. Way too many iso plays by the Cavs, with the only two being able to score Lebron and Irving, the Cavs are in serious trouble. They have to feel even worse, because both Klay Thompson and Steph Curry didn't play anywhere close to where they normally do. They threw up some air balls and they were throwing bad passes that turned into turnovers. I don't see the two of them playing any worse than they did on Thursday night and that is doom for Cleveland. Now with Dellavedova being the point guard and having to guard Steph Curry. That simply means Curry is going to light Dellavedova up. It might be embarrassing for the Saint Mary's grad. Unfortunately for all of us watching the Finals, after how great Game One was, this is going to be a stomping for the Warriors. Lebron can carry the Cavs only so far. Even if he goes for 60 points in each of the next three games, it won't be enough. JR Smith's jumper looks broken, and Shumpert and Dellavedova can only make threes when they are wide open. That won't happen against the Warriors. And, Tristan Thompson and Timofy Mozgov can only give a little help on offense. I think they had a combined 20 to 25 points on Thursday and that was a great night from the two of them.

Sorry, GM, coach and player, Lebron, you'll have to wait until next season to have a shot at another ring.

(Ed note: I originally disagreed with Ty and said Cavs in 6.  I am a wrong person and agree with Ty on this one. Warriors in 4).

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor at Seed Sing.  He was all church league first team three years in a row.  Follow him on twitter@tykulik.

The impotence of the Republican Party's national identity

The Republican Party has equipment that does not work.  Their national identity does not have the ability to bring excitement and stimulate the imagination of the national electorate.  There are a few of the little things they do right.  They can get some of the small things done adequately, get us mildly interested.  However when it comes to the big show, it will end in disaster with a lot of soul searching and finger pointing.

Tired of the impotency metaphor.  Let's move on.

The modern Republican Party has built a brand that works in carved out legislative districts, and states that have local Democratic parties who do not know how to win elections (see the reasons Democrats have failed in state elections here.) I want to address the issue of branding in the local districts. While the republicans worked to get majorities in state houses, and in turn created districts that look like a 4 year old was coloring way out of the lines, the Democratic Party worked on a national messaging and outreach programs.  The republicans created a brand that would cater to a slight majority of the people in these gerrymandered districts.  Their local brand became dependent on political rhetoric that would cause the majority to fear the minority.  Black lives matter, equal pay for women, transgender acceptance, gay marriage, and many more social issues became the fodder for republican attacks. Divide and hate were the core of republican rhetoric. 

While campaigning in the local districts, these wedge issues can help drive necessary voter turnout among certain segments of the white vote.  In addition to creating the majority fear, the local republicans worked very hard to create a narrative of Democratic party voter fraud.

Go ahead and look up cases of actual voter fraud over the last twenty years, I can wait.

Welcome back, I am sure you came across a few cases (the name Ann Coulter definitely came up) but for the most part there is an insignificantly small amount of voter fraud cases.  Why are the republicans so worried? It works in their narrative to protect the right to vote, and to deny the vote at the same time.

These dividing tactics have served the Republican Party very well in the local elections, and helped push their message through a lazy corporate media.  Why do they not work at the national level? The answer is quite simple. They cannot sell their majority fear to a large nation. The urban areas have actual power in the national election.  Very few big states, like New York and California, can give a candidate a sizable electoral advantage (plus Texas is clearly in the national Democratic Party sights, watch out).  The Democratic party has been less than desirable on their social messaging, just look at Hillary Clinton, but they are not publicly speaking out against these emerging minority groups.  When Caitlyn Jenner makes news, Mike Huckabee makes a moronic joke about dressing like a girl to shower with girls in high school. He completely gave up any chance to win a national election with that comment, and he does not care.  It is more important for Mike Huckabee to be appealing to an out of touch voting block who will vote republican no matter what a candidate says.  When the scion of the Duggar clan admits to molesting young girls, including his own sisters, most of the national republicans do not condemn.  Instead they spend their time pushing false equivalence narratives to again protect a voter base that will never abandon them.  I know the argument will arise that you need the out of touch hate groups of the party to win the primary.  Even if that is the case, what you say to appeal to the hate groups will live on through the election (see Romney and 47%).  

I want you to think about what I just explained, the republicans need the out of touch hate groups.  Regardless of what the Fox News pundits say, America has always been socially progressive.  We have a number of amendments giving people rights, and we have only one taking away rights (plus that amendment was repealed so chalk up one more to giving rights). The electorate has expanded for one group when we acknowledge the minority rights. The early Republican Party (Lincoln's party, not Reagan's) saw an influx of voters after the 15th amendment.  The republicans again saw a voter influx after the 19th amendment.  The USA is the melting pot, we want your huddle masses yearning to breathe free.  Where in the hell does intolerance fit into that narrative.  There is no law demanding that anyone get married, so why do you want to deny marriage? There is no law dictating ones gender, so why do you care what someone feels in their soul?  The Republican Party seems to care about these issues, and that is why they are always fighting uphill in the national elections.

This is where my impotence metaphor is valid.  The republicans have all the right equipment, and it works for the most part.  The issue lies in a very important action, the republicans cannot achieve the ultimate satisfaction (the Presidency I mean of course).  Their grass roots of intolerance does not allow for them to reach out to an audience that does not buy the social division.  The Democratic Party has been sleep walking for decades on governance and strategy.  Their greatest advantage is the disdain for the Republican Party. Social division will always drive the disenfranchised urban centers to turn out (usually barely enough) for the elections that matter to them.  Without Ralph Nader, Al Gore would have been the President. George W Bush needed that Democratic Party division in one particular state to win the election with his light hate. Time has moved forward, communication technology has improved, and the Republican Party has continued their policy of division and hate.  

The first Republican to learn that all Americans can vote will be the person the Democrats have not been prepared to face.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He is flabbergasted that people who openly hate other Americans will be featured on Meet the Press this Sunday.  Come write for us to express your ideas. Join us.

Goodbye Reggie Watts, this fan of Comedy! Bang! Bang! will miss you

Last night marked the end of the Reggie Watts era on The Comedy Bang! Bang! TV show.

They gave him a pretty fitting send off. The episode opened with an aged Scott Aukerman giving an interview in the future about his old best friend Reggie Watts. Flash back to present time and the show started like it always does, with the theme song, intros and the guest coming to the couch. Judd Apatow was the guest last night, but he was only in the first five minutes of the episode. I appreciated this because this episode needed to be about Reggie and Scott's friendship and what it's like for a close friend to leave for higher profile job(Reggie Watts is the band leader for the new Late Late Show with James Corden).

Throughout the time Apatow was being interviewed, many jokes were made about how great a comedy team Scott and Reggie are and how it's great that they will always work together. During the interview though, US Army soldiers raid the stage and say they were sent to capture Reggie Watts because he's an alien and his race was coming to destroy Earth. I felt this was a good way to send him off. It wasn't sad or corny, it was a typical CBB bit. Reggie's alien race, made up of three different versions of himself, proceed on Earth, but Reggie and Scott come up with a plan to film a video saying that Earth was covered with water and this is very poisonous to their race. The video worked and the aliens retreated. Everyone was very happy and you thought that things would go on as normal.

Oh the contrary my friend. The Army was still planning on capturing Reggie and taking him away. Scott refused to let them do this, saying that they'd have to kill him if they wanted Reggie. Well, the lieutenant said okay and fired at Scott. Reggie stepped in front of the bullet and was hit in the chest and yellow goo oozed out of him. Seeing that they had taken care of Reggie, the army felt they did their job and left Scott to grieve over his friend. After the soldiers were gone, it was revealed that Reggie was okay, stating that bullets are like Viagra to his race. Seeing that his friend was alive Scott was relieved and thought the show would go on as it always had, with Reggie as his band leader.  Reggie pointed out that when the Army found out he was still alive they'd come back for him and he didn't want to put anyone in harms way. Scott asked him what he would do and Reggie said he would roam the Earth like a nomad. Scott and Reggie hug, say their good byes and Reggie walked out the stage door. Flash forward, back to old Scott Aukerman and he's doing a crossword puzzle and the clue is, someone who misses and loves his friend Scott dearly and they pan to a picture in the paper and it's an aged photo of Reggie Watts, the crossword puzzle author(a call back to a joke earlier in the episode). This was a great way to say good bye to a guy who's been with the show since its infancy. Very goofy and silly. Exactly what you'd expect from CBB. Reggie Watts wrote the theme song for the podcast, he wrote and performed most of the songs that are used for games and segments in the show and podcast. He did pretty much all the music stuff for Comedy Bang! Bang! He was an integral part. Kid Cudi will be the new band leader when the show comes back on July 9th and while I enjoy his music, he's no Reggie Watts. It will be interesting to see if Kid Cudi has the comedic chops Reggie Watts has.

You will be missed Mr Watts, but you are on to bigger and better things. And for all the alternative comedy fans out there, I'm sure he will still show up from time to time, so he's not really going away, he just got a new opportunity.

Good for him.
 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He thinks one day people will leave network late night shows to join Comedy Bang Bang as a better opportunity.  Give him a twitter follow @tykulik.

Ty takes a close look at the NBA Finals.

Tomorrow, June 4th, marks the start of the NBA Finals, maybe one of the greatest finals match ups, between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs came out of the Eastern conference with relative ease. The only team that beat them in any series were the Chicago Bulls, who only got two games out of them. They swept the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. Golden State didn't have much trouble in the Western Conference either. They swept the New Orleans Pelicans, beat the Memphis Grizzlies in six and beat the Houston Rockets in the conference finals in five games. Both teams should be very well rested since they cake walked to the finals and have had nine days off.

The Cavs have been bitten by the injury bug in the playoffs, losing Kevin Love for the playoffs in their first round series and Kyrie Irving is at about, I'd say, thirty percent tops. Lebron James has/had one or both ankles sprained, but he should be 100% by the time the Finals start tomorrow night. Golden State on the other hand have had some close calls, with that scary fall from Stephen Curry in the conference finals and the concussion suffered by Klay Thompson, also in the conference finals, but they have stayed pretty healthy for the most part. Klay Thompson was cleared yesterday to play in Game One of the Finals.

Now, let's breakdown the rosters of each team. Cleveland boasts the best player in the world, Lebron James. They also have former All Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving, but as I said, he's very injured right now. With Kevin Love out, after those three, the Cavs have, at best, a rag tag bunch of players. Some are fringe All Stars like JR Smith and Iman Shumpert. They have a decent rim protector in Timofy Mozgov. A relentless rebounder in Tristan Thompson, although his offense leaves something to be desired. After these six guys, they only have a few other players who see any type of real minutes in the NBA. Their next guy in line is probably Matthew Dellavedova, who's a relentless hustler, but may also be the dirtiest player in the playoffs.(just ask Kyle Korver, Al Horford, and Taj Gibson). After him no one besides James Jones or Shawn Marion really see the floor at all and that's just for their shooting abilities since they're liabilities on defense, then can guard no one. Mike Miller, Brendan Haywood, Joe Harris and Kendrick Perkins round out the rest of the roster, but the four of them only get in during garbage time. What this team does have though, is Finals experience. Lebron James has played in five straight NBA finals(a record). Along with James, Mike Miller and James Jones played with him while they were on the Miami Heat when they were regulars in the Finals and Brendan Haywood was on the Dallas Mavericks when they won the 2011 NBA Championship. Golden State on the other hand has a roster with no NBA Finals experience, but it's loaded with talented players all over the floor. They also go way deeper than seven players like the Cavs do. Golden State is led by 2015 NBA MVP, and best shooter and ball handler in the league, Stephen Curry. The rest of their starting five consists of, the other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, Defensive Player of the Year runner up, Draymond Green, supreme rim protector and rebounding monster Andrew Bogut and lock down defender and all around great athlete, Harrison Barnes. The bench has some pretty key components as well. First off the bench for Golden State is Andre Iguodala who they still run some parts of their offense through and he's still a pretty good defender. After Iguodala, they have 6'7 point guard Shaun Livingston, instant offense in Leandro Barbosa, one defensive minded big in Festus Ezeli and one offensive minded big in Mareese Speights. David Lee has not seen much time in the playoffs since he's such a liability on defense, but he was once an All Star. The rest of the bench is rounded out with guys that barely play at all. Guys like, Justin Holiday, Brandon Rush and Ongjen Kuzmic. I'd have to say that Golden State has the better, deeper roster overall. But, like I said, the Cavs have the experience. Both coaches are rookie coaches, so this is their first Finals as head coaches, obviously. Comparing the two is pretty easy in my opinion though. David Blatt is basically a substitute teacher. He looks like he's in charge, but you, me and the rest of the basketball watching world knows that Lebron is not only the Cavs best player, but he's also the coach and the GM. Hell, bench coach Tyronn Lue gets more respect from the players than Blatt does. Steve Kerr on the other hand, took a pretty decent Golden State team and turned them into a 67 win team. This team already played very good defense, but since Kerr has instituted his offense, they went up into a whole new level. This team fires on all cylinders and a lot of that has to do with their head coach. Once again, advantage Golden State. As far as Golden State guarding Lebron, that's a toss up to me. If I had to guess, I'd say they will start with Harrison Barnes on him and if he can't cut it, they will put Draymond Green on him. But let's face it, Lebron will get his. He's a beast. The rest of the matchups are much more of a toss up. A banged up Kyrie Irving won't be able to keep up with Steph Curry. I don't think a fully healthy Irving would be able to stop Curry.Shumpert and Klay Thompson is a wash. Both are excellent defenders, but Klay Thompson is so much better on offense than Shumpert, so I'll give this one to Golden State. The Warrior tasked with guarding Tristan Thompson, be it Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green, better dust off the hard hat and get ready for a rebounding battle. Thompson is relentless on the glass, especially on the offensive glass. Advantage Cavs. Bogut and Mozgov are pretty much equals when it comes to rim protecting and rebounding, but Mozgov is a touch better on offense, so I will give the Cavs the advantage here. The benches are so different. Golden State's bench is about a thousand times better than Cleveland's. A thousand times better. No contest, advantage Golden State. Wth all this being said, even with the starters being pretty even, and Cleveland having the best player in the world, Golden State's team is so much better, their bench and their coach are light years ahead of Cleveland's that I don't see how Golden State doesn't win the championship this season. Lebron will get at least one win because he's Lebron James, but I only see Cleveland getting one game. The Oracle Arena is almost impossible for a road team to win there and Golden State has home court advantage.

I'm picking Golden State to win in five games and Curry will cap off his MVP season with an NBA finals MVP.

(Ed. note:  I cannot compete with Ty's breakdown, but I will make my own prediction.  We will see Lebron James complete the greatest season a player has ever accomplished and will this Cleveland team to a championship.  Cavs in 6.)

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor at Seed Sing.  He was all church league first team three years in a row.  Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

The Fallacy of Hillary's Inevitability

Hillary Clinton will not be President of the United States.  Hillary Clinton will not even be the Democratic Party nominee.  Will I be the first person to say this? I'll check back in a year.

Hillary Clinton vs the republican clown car.  That is the grand narrative from a broken and lazy national media a year before the final state presidential primaries will be wrapping up. You cannot stop it.  Hillary 2016, I'm with Hillary, Hillary's time, whatever the work shopped slogan may be - IT IS HILLARY'S TURN.

I could have written those exact same words (substitute Hillary 2016 with Hillary 2008) back in 2007.  I was working in the political field at the time, and that was all I heard from my Democratic Party friends.  Hillary had the experienced staff. Hillary had the money network. Hillary had history.  There was no denying her ascendancy.

Problem is that Obama won the primary, and he became the President.  Hillary waited, she is ready, and nothing will stop her now.  I am telling you that 2016 will end exactly as 2008 (not with Obama, but someone different). 

Why am I so sour on Hillary's inevitability.  Because the exact same narrative is playing out, and technology has changed the world.  I will explain.  I have many friends who have gone to work for a "Hillary Clinton Exploratory campaign" over the course of the last year.  I myself have been approached a few times to "work" on a possible presidential campaign.  The experienced Democratic Party talent has all been gobbled up by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Along with the talent, the money has also been holding for the Clinton campaign.  I have a whole trunk full of problems with the talent and money at the states being held out for a national election, and I address those issues here.   The tactic that the Hillary campaign seems to be employing this time around is to gather all the resources and starve out any potential challenger. That seems to be the grand strategic plan.

Hillary Clinton, along with most national political figures, have yet to figure out how to capitalize on free social media platforms.  The current political, and media, models are all built around catering to the Baby Boomer generation.  The Generation Xers and millennials have yet to be considered in a Hillary Clinton campaign, except for lip service on issues that have become politically beneficial(i.e. LBGT rights).  The non-boomers want more.  We want consideration for student debt issues (Hillary is silent), we want government surveillance to be reigned in (Hillary is silent), we want an end to the endless wars (Hillary has not completely owned up to her support for Bush's wars), we want to be considered.  The boomer culture will not relinquish control of the political culture, and Hillary Clinton feeds off of this. She needs to start addressing these issues to create excitement for her presidency.

The boomer only kind of pandering is what caused the non-boomers to flock towards an unproven, and unknown, Barack Obama.  The allure of words like "change" and "hope" spoke to the non-boomers.  We were ready for anyone who was not part of the insipid boomers who have told us how worthless we were. The Hillary 2016 campaign sure as stuff cannot use words like hope and change, especially after the Obama presidency. How is the Clinton campaign going to reach the non-boomers.  Being able to get campaign info through our smart phones was infinitely more valuable than the constant door knockers asking about my feelings on the Democratic Party. I keep hearing more about the canvasing plans for the Hillary 2016 campaign and I cringe. Where is the innovative social media campaigning.  Why have they not learned?  The boomers are still a large voting block, but the gen Xers and millennials can win you the election.

These systemic issues are not the only thing that can derail Hillary Clinton's inevitability.  There is always the stink of the Clinton brand. The Clinton Cash issues, and the history of Bill and Hillary may seem minor to many loyal Democrats, but they always produce smoke.  The lazy media will want a horse race, and they will keep these scandals burning.  An enterprising Democratic Party candidate can take advantage of these scandals, and media unprofessional-ism, to move up in the public perception. 

I have yet to see a candidate who could capitalize on Clinton's shortcomings.  Missouri Governor Jay Nixon had the ability, then he decided to muck up everything about Ferguson. Martin O'Malley will have the same issues with Baltimore. Bernie Sanders has some excitement, but he has a very small percentage of the party and its money (let's pray he does not become another Ralph Nader).  The Hillary Clinton campaign seems inevitable now, but there is a ways to go in this horse race.

Stay tuned.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing. We want your thoughts on the 2016 election.  Write for us.  RD is looking forward to the day boomer culture does not constantly infect his politics.

Cloves and Fedoras: Ty thinks you should give "Womp it Up!" a listen

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known. 

As you all know I listen to many, many podcasts. I'd say about ninety to ninety five percent are comedy. When I heard that Marissa Wompler(Jessica St Clair) and Charlotte Listler(Lennon Parham), who are beloved from their many appearances on the great "Comedy Bang Bang", were getting their own podcast,"Womp It Up!" I subscribed to it immediately I listened to the four mini preview clips with much anticipation. Now that they're four episodes deep, it has not disappointed.

Wompler and Listler are still up to their usual shenanigans. In episode one, they have Eric Gutterman AKA Gutterballs(Jason Mantzoukas) controlling the soundboard and he and Marissa still have their hilarious back and forth. Clearly she loves him, but he's not into her. Jessica St Clair and Jason Mantzoukas are both so excellent as these characters I'm filled with joy when I see that they're are going to be on a podcast together. They are great. Each episode of "Womp it Up!" is show is broken down into sections. On every podcast they will do a spot called "Hot Topix", where in, Marissa dishes the dirt on what's going down at Marina Del Ray High School(that's where the podcast takes place). Then there's "Listler's Love Lockdown", where Ms. Listler reads letters from someone who has a crush on someone else and proceeds to give them advice. They also have the "Spotlight On" section. In this part, they interview a friend, or teacher, or sometimes even former teachers from the school. In episode one, theater teacher, Dr. Lionel Drioche(the always hilarious Seth Morris) explains what it's like to be the theater teacher at Marina Del Ray High. In episode two, "Spotlight On" features Lil Nicky(Chris Gethard), a foreign exchange student from New Jersey, whose passions include ghost hunting and managing an acapella group called "Deep Treble". In episode three, we get to meet Mr. Jordache(Neil Casey). He's a former computer science teacher who had an incident in the men's locker room. Pretty hilarious to hear him explain the incident, I am not going to spoil it so just go listen. In the most recent "Womp It Up!" we get two guests for "Spotlight On". First, we have Marissa's step dad Seth(Brian Huskey reprising his role from "Comedy Bang Bang") and Dr Dennis Endercut, who writes a literary magazine and wants to talk about his bucket list. Each episode ends with Marissa reading a listeners email and giving her "sage" advice on what to do. In the beginning of the podcast we learn that this is a project for the STARS program that Ms. Listler started, which isn't a real thing. The STARS program they explain, is for the kids taking remedial classes. We also find out in the first episode that the podcast is all taking place in the library and that the principal does not know about it because her and Listler are enemies. I know this all sounds crazy and probably a little ridiculous, but fans of "Comedy Bang Bang" and the TV show "Playing House" know exactly what I'm talking about and they know how damn funny these two ladies are. The episodes, up to this point, come out every two weeks. As I said, they're only four in and each one is about an hour long, so there's plenty of time to catch up.

I highly recommend "Womp It Up!" Womp up the jamz everybody!

You can find "Womp it Up!" on the Earwolf network - here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor at Seed Sing. What is better than reading about culture? Writing about Pop Culture. Join Ty's Pop culture team and write for Seed Sing. You can follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty gives his praise to the Tracy Morgan interview.

This is Ty's follow up to his article on Tracy Morgan.  You can read his original thoughts here.

I just watched the Tracy Morgan interview on the Today Show and that is one strong man. He showed a lot of strength in just doing it and he hit a home run. He didn't try to tell jokes or be funny, he just told the truth and showed that he's a real person that has gone through a terrible tragedy. He lost one of his best friends and he showed his true emotions on national television. He misses his friend dearly and just bringing up the name Jimmy McNair brought him to tears. Anyone who's lost someone can really feel for Tracy Morgan. Matt Lauer asked him if he was going to go back to performing or acting and Morgan responded as only he could. He said he loves doing comedy, referring to it as her, and he wants to get back to it, but he also said that he's not 100 percent yet. He has two scars on his heard where he suffered brain trauma and he's still using a cane from the broken leg, but today was the first step toward his return. This interview was everything I hoped it would be.

Tracy Morgan is on his way back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing. Give him a follow on twitter @tykulik

Cloves and Fedoras: Ty thinks "Ex Machina" may be a vision of our near future

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

Yesterday I saw the film Ex Machina and I think it is a modern day Sci Fi cult classic.

Ex Machina is very small on the effects and relies more on the story telling, which is impeccable. The movie opens with a young employee named Caleb(Domhnall Gleeson) who works for a computer company called Blue Book. Caleb wins a grand prize via email to go to the company owner's, Nathan(Oscar Issac), secluded island. Caleb thinks it's just going to be a meet and greet type of thing, but it turns out that Nathan wants to have Caleb do a Turing test with a female robot named Ava(Alicia Vikander, in a star turning performance). Caleb is very on board with this idea, seeing how this could be a great opportunity not only for himself, but also for mankind. The movie is broken into seven sections, each one titled "Ava: Session One", "Ava: Session Two" and so on up to "Ava: Session Seven".  As the tests go on, we start to realize that Nathan may have brought Caleb to his island under false pretenses. Nathan may be a sociopath using his employees as "bait" for his female robot tests. As we get deeper into the movie, we see that Ava may have some tendencies of her creator and she may be playing a game with both Nathan and Caleb. This is a movie you need to go into, I'd recommend, not watching any trailers. If you've seen the trailers, take them with a grain of salt. This is not some type of erotic thriller. This is a disturbing type of horror movie about what life will be like in the not to distant future because lets face it, AI's will be here, if not in my lifetime, they will be here in my son and future daughter's lifetime (is that right Siri?). This a great piece of work done by first time director Alex Garland(writer of "28 Days Later"), so let's hope he gets a lot of work in the future. I don't want to say too much more about the plot because it is such a well written movie with lots of twists and turns that you don't see coming. People need to go see movies like this, so movies like this will continue to be made.

So, go see Ex Machina, let it wash over you and gaze into the horror of what the not to distant future is going to look like. We as a people are so obsessed with upgrading our electronic devices that the only thing left to upgrade is the human race, or as Nathan says in the movie (this is NOT a spoiler by the way), "Ava is not an upgrade, she's evolution"

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  Is that right Siri?  Damn Siri can't seem to connect right now.  Give him a follow on twitter @tykulik

Before you watch Tracy Morgan on Today, Ty remembers what made him so damn funny

Tracy Morgan is a personal comedy idol of mine

This coming Monday, June 1st, I want all fans of comedy, especially my generation(millennials) to tune in to the Today Show and watch Matt Lauer's interview with the great Tracy Morgan. This will be his first interview since the horrific accident with a WalMart semi truck nearly a year ago. In fact, the first stand up show I saw was Tracy Morgan at the Saint Louis Funny Bone. I feel like a lot of people have forgotten how hilarious a sketch performer and comedic actor he is. He was a phenomenal cast member on Saturday Night Live with such memorable characters as Brian Fellows, Astronaut Jones and who could forget his great portrayal of Star Jones(quintessential line, "Yes, I am a lawyer" starting every sentence of the character). He was revitalized with his role as Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock. He's  also criminally underrated as an actor. He's the only one worth watching in a crappy movie like "Cop Out" and his scenes in the fantastic Chris Rock movie "Top Five" are some of the best comedic parts in a very funny movie. The fact that this accident happened was a terrible thing. Amongst the many reasons why it was so awful was, he was in development with FX for a TV series that for all intents and purposes seemed to be on the fast track to hilarity.

I don't think Tracy Morgan gets the credit he so achingly deserves. He's so very, very funny. So, do me and yourself a favor and tune in, as I will be doing, or DVR the interview with Matt Lauer and sit back and enjoy the mere fact that, at the very least, Tracy Morgan is on his way back. Let's just hope his full recovery comes sooner rather than later because the world needs some more hilarity from the great and very underrated Tracy Morgan.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing. Give him a follow on twitter @tykulik

Cloves and Fedoras: Ty thinks you should give "Doughboys" a listen

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

Ed note: The podcast is called Doughboys.  They do not feel the need to have the differentiated THE.  We have corrected the text.  Find this great podcast here.

I recently talked about a great podcast called "I Was There Too" by Matt Gourley.  I'm always on the hunt for new podcasts that are comedy centric and I've just discovered "Doughboys". The hosts of the show, Nick Wiger(writer for Comedy Bang Bang) and Mike Mitchell(Birthday Boys) have a guest join them each week and they go out and review restaurant chains. On the first episode, they go to Chili's and they review it as if they're professional restaurant critics, but with a comedy edge, since they're both comedy performers and writers. It's very funny, but they also take it kind of serious. I mean, they really give constructive feedback on the food. In the Chili's episode, they really take the ribs to task. Saying that they are too saucy and they look gray. But, with all that being said, they still seemed to enjoy the rest of their meal. The only other problem they had was, the drinks were too sweet. After they review the restaurant they give it a ranking of one to five forks and give their overall impression. While going through the review, there's always some kind of funny story or experience that they've had at said restaurant in the past. Following the fork review, they go to a segment they call "Snack or Wack", where they have some type of big brand name snack(Chocolate Chip Resse's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chips Ahoy in the Chili's episode) and decide if the snack is good(Snack) or bad(Wack). Also, very funny to hear them rate these well known snack brands as if they are big time food critics. Being a fan of the Birthday Boys(both the comedy sketch team and the TV show) Mike Mitchell being attached to this made me excited to listen, since the Birthday Boys show was cancelled. I was just happy to see he was still doing things since he is my favorite Birthday Boy. They've only done three episodes, with the third one being released today, May 28th 2015. The restaurants they've reviewed are, the aforementioned Chili's, Taco Bell and today, IHOP. I highly recommend checking "Doughboys" out, it's pretty great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for Seed Sing.  He will only visits restaurants that get reviewed.  He is eagerly looking forward to his first trip to Chili's, Taco Bell, and IHOP.

Last Generation Gamer: Bioshock and Objectivism

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

I want to begin this reflection of Bioshock with a small discussion on privilege and maturity.  I studied political science at a small school that was 90%+ white.  Many of my classmates came from wealthy families. It was during these years I picked up Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I immediately decided to be an objectivist, and later a Libertarian (ed note: here is an explanation of Objectivism.)  In 1996 I supported the candidacy of Libertarian Harry Browne.  When I was released into the real world, my view of Objectivism was becoming more critical. I felt like my white maleness was a prerequisite to embracing the objectivist philosophy. During that period of my life I believed that we could do without government interference because I turned out ok.  When I started to take a more critical look at why society may need course corrections, I realized that Objectivism worked only for those who are white men with the means to gain capital. Shortly after this revelation I decided to give up on Objectivism and decided Marxism was the new go to political philosophy.  I did not stay a Marxists very long, I exited before I could even support a presidential candidate. It always struck me as odd that in my twenties I could strongly be associated with two diametrically opposed political philosophies.  It was hard for me to articulate why I embraced these ideas.

In 2014 I picked up a used copy of Bioshock (released in 2007) for my X-box 360. I had a vague idea that the game was tied to the ideas of Ayn Rand, but I mostly thought it was a brainless art-deco styled first person shooter. Within the first ten minutes I was all in.  The only action I had been able to do in the game was swim to the lighthouse. No wrenches or plasmids, just exciting first person swimming. I became hooked when I stopped to read the banner in the lighthouse -

NO GODS OR KINGS

ONLY MAN

That was awesome. I used to strongly believe that.  I thought if this game stinks, I will get my money's worth by replaying that one scene a few hundred times.  The game play itself was ok, not great, in my opinion.  I did not care that much for the photo taking (I got sick of that in Dark Cloud 2).  I have also never been a huge fan of first person shooters (mainly because I am not very good at them).  The story of the game is what made me move on.

I am shocked today with how many people do not think of Bioshock as a critique of objectivism.  In researching this article I found entire college theses on the subject. Outside of the art-deco design of Rapture (which is incredible), the freshman level philosophy class was the highlight of the game.   Since I had a fairly good understanding of objectivism it felt like Bioshock was making damn well sure I knew that Ayn Rand was completely wrong.  

Rapture is a disaster of mans' hubris.  Freedom is the father of  chaos. That seems to be the fable Bioshock is trying to impart on the player. What we the player sees is the end of Rapture.  To build this grand underwater city must have taken the work of many dedicated geniuses (and whole bunch of crazy people).  Objectivist principles built Rapture, and these same principles quickly destroyed it. That is the reality of objectivist (and libertarian) philosophy.  Unfettered ambition and skill will bring anarchy if it is not reigned in.  That is the moral of Bioshock.

The city of Rapture shows hopeful ideas, and it is populated with degradation.  Here is where Objectivism and Marxism share a similar influence.  Both philosophies believe in an Utopian idea for society.  Marxism was born out of uncontrolled capitalism, and Objectivism was born out of spreading communism.  Both philosophies want to unshackle mankind and allow us to reach our greatest potential.  Both philosophies forget to factor in greed and ambition. Objectivists will tell you the greatest of us will have charity.  Some of these supermen may have charity, but the majority will want more capital.  History has proven that nations have ascended, and fallen, due to a few individuals and their quest for more. Rapture did not fail because of the ideas used to create her.  Rapture failed because of the people who built her and wanted more.

The next time you decide to discuss politics in an unknown group and someone starts preaching the tenets of Objectivism (or Marxism), ask them if they have solved the problem of the individual.  When they tell you that Objectivism celebrates the individual and gives us freedom, smile at them and hand them a copy of Bioshock. Say to your new friend "Would you kindly play this game." That person may not immediately see the folly of Ayn Rand's ideas, but they will at least get to play an exciting game with a killer story.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He one time harvested the ADAM from a little sister and spent the next three days feeling guilty (actually he still feels guilty)

Calling all MRAs, Ty has a few thoughts to share with you.

After the phenomenal "Mad Max: Fury Road" I did some internet research on the movie and read about some douche bags who call themselves "Men's Right Activists" that were complaining about the lead of the movie being female.

These guys are the WORST.

I can't believe some assholes are out there complaining that a female has a strong leading role in an action movie. First of all, Charlize Theron is a total badass in the movie, so what's the problem? She kicks as much ass and is as good, if not better, fighter than all of the men in the movie. Where do these "activists" get off complaining about anything that a women gets. Second point - being a man myself, I've gotten way more advantages in my life than an average female gets. I also get to enjoy these advantages and I'm a stay at home dad! My wife goes out there and works her ass off everyday to take care of our family and I couldn't love or adore her anymore for it. She wears the pants in our family and I have no problem with that at all. She brings home the bacon and fries it as well.

She's a boss.

The fact that these guys are out there complaining about women getting more than a man is an absolute joke. They sound like a bunch of ignorant, arrogant, self absorbed dick heads who've probably never kissed a girl before. What a bunch of dildos. I read some more about the "activists" and saw that they are also very concerned and upset about the all female cast of the new "Ghostbusters" movie. Once again I ask, what's the problem? If you want an all male cast of "Ghostbusters", you know what, they made a few of those already in the eighties and they are awesome (ed note - Ghostbusters is awesome, Ghostbusters 2 is ok). Just go and watch those movies and keep your stupid mouths shut. I feel like, in today's culture, people just look for something to complain about. I mean, it's almost impossible, actually it is impossible, to make anything that the majority of people will be happy about. Someone somewhere will find something to gripe about. But, in rare occasions, you get insane people like "Men's Rights Activists".

The MRAs are some of the most difficult people in the world to understand and frankly, I hope they just stop talking so we never have to hear from idiots like this again.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for Seed Sing.  He enjoys being a stay at home dad and never engages in self loathing or being an idiot

Ty does not have enough thumbs to point up for Mad Max:Fury Road

"Mad Max: Fury Road" may be the greatest action movie made this year. Scratch that, it may be the greatest action movie EVER!

The movie opens with a voice over by Max(Tom Hardy) explaining the plight of the human race and then the action immediately begins. I will no relay some of the insanity. Max gets chased and captured by the War Boys who immediately tattoo his information(i.e. license number, blood type, organ donor, etc.) and are about to brand him, then he gets away, a huge fight ensues, only to have them capture him again and put him in some sort of birdcage. Then, the inhabitants of this post apocalyptic land meet to be given their instructions for the upcoming gas acquiring mission. Here we meet Imperator Furiosa(Charlize Theron). She's a total badass with a metal arm and a ton of firearms and ammunition. She also has a war rig, which is the best car to have in this society. Next we meet the leader/dictator Immortan Joe(Hugh Keays-Byrne) talking to the crowd, explaining the upcoming events and then giving the town a small taste of water, since it's so scarce. He's a terrifying looking bad guy and he's as mean as he looks. While going away on their mission Furiosa takes a detour, which we find out later that she's taking the young pregnant ladies(Breeders) somewhere safe. When Immortan Joe realizes what's happening, he sends his whole fleet of WarBoys out to capture her and bring her and his Breeders back. One of the WarBoys, Nux(Nicholas Hoult), is having blood transfused into him from Max, to keep him alive, and he's so excited to go and fight, he straps Max to the front of his car so the blood can continue to pump into him and he won't miss anything. While chasing Furiosa, they all get trapped in a sandstorm and many of the WarBoys meet their demise. This scene is so intense, with the constant color change and flashes of lightening, I thought I was going to have a seizure.

Now keep in mind, this is about the first twenty to twenty five minutes of the movie.

There are parts where they explain things and you get an idea of what Furiosa is really doing on her rogue mission, but I'd say about ninety to ninety five percent of the movie is straight action. The climatic scene was one of the greatest sequences of car chase, action and fighting I've seen in a movie in a really long time. It's epic. So, for my movie fans out there, there's two movies filled with action, that also happen to be good movies, this summer, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Mad Max: Fury Road". I don't know which one I like better, but since I saw it today, I'd go with "Mad Max".

It's awesome

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He is going to sleep now because Mad Max: Fury Road took all his energy away today.  Seriously, go see this movie

Is Everett Golson the right fit for Florida State's football culture? Is that a good thing?

I watch sports for two reasons, to root my teams on and to hate on teams I don't like. With that in mind I ask myself why is it of no surprise that former Notre Dame quaterback Everett Golson,  who was kicked off the team for academic reasons only to be brought back and beat out by another teammate, is now transferring to Florida State. I'll tell you why it doesn't surprise me, because it seems like character and off field issues don't matter to a school like Florida State. All that seems to matter to them is how many wins they can get for their football team. This is a shame. Sure, Jameis Winston is a great football player  One does not get taken first in the NFL draft if you are not talented, but this kid has more issues than the New York Times. First he gets accused of sexual assault, later to be thrown out of court for some unknown reason( I'd say the people of Tallahassee paid this person off), then he yells vulgar things in the lunchroom like a child.  To top off Winston's grand behavior he also steals food from a grocery store! But all this gets thrown out because the dude knows how to throw a spiral. Now they're bringing in Golson, who by all accounts is a good football player, but has character issues as well. First, he gets kicked off Notre Dame's football team because he can't get his grades straight,  and then he just gets flat out beaten out for the starting spot. Who should be there to catch him when he's falling and whining like a baby, Florida State. This is such a joke. I also don't think it will work to their advantage as well as they think. This kid turns the ball over A LOT. I'm just so unhappy with the state of college football right now. When these young kids don't get their way, they just leave a school to go somewhere else and play. It seems the players are following the behavior set by the coaches (looking at you Nick Saban). They've been told yes their whole lives and when someone comes in and beats them out, instead of staying and fighting for their spot, they think it's just best to leave and go somewhere where they can play. Florida State may also be the biggest joke of a "university" there is today. Clearly all they care about is marketing their product and making bundles and bundles of cash more so than the well being of assaulted students or getting these athletes the education they deserve.

Florida State, you're an embarrassment to colleges everywhere.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He is a life long college football fan, yet the likes of Florida State are starting to challenge that commitment.

Cloves and Fedoras: Is Leon Bridges poised to be the next great soul singer?

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

I'm always on the hunt for new music that sounds like old music. By this I mean it sounds like a throwback to older music. For example, I started listening to the Black Keys because they sounded a little like Led Zeppelin to me. I started listening to Gary Clark Jr because he had that old blues feel to his music. Saint Paul and the Broken Bones sounded as if they'd just recorded with Rufus Thomas. Well, I think I may have heard the next Otis Redding, or dare I say Marvin Gaye. He's a 25 year old soul singer named Leon Bridges. His music sounds like he just got done recording at Stax Records in the 60s. This guy is legit. He writes and plays, on guitar, all of his own music and he uses vintage equipment to record. How cool is that. This guy is going to be a star. I know comparing him to an Otis Redding or Marvin Gaye is a bit much, but this guy has the chops. His album doesn't come out until June 23rd, but do yourself a favor and go check out his stuff on YouTube. That's where I found out about him. So, next month, go out and buy his album "Coming Home".

Remember the name Leon Bridges. He's the next big thing in soul music.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He likes listening to the musical styling of his parents generation being sung by people of his generation.

Last Generation Gamer: Mass Effect - Renegade Edition.

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

I picked up the first Mass Effect game in the summer of 2012, five years after it was released.  The only information I had on the game is that it was a space adventure and a lot of people were not happy with the end of the third game.  I thought, hey I like space games and I like video game controversy let’s give Mass Effect a shot.

I am not going to go into an in depth review on the Mass Effect series today.  If you have not played this game, go play it right now. These three games are beyond awesome. Like many people I am partial to Mass Effect 2.  Unlike many people I did not absolutely hate the ending (I hated it a lot less when I downloaded the free extended ending from X-box live). If you are new to the game, choose to be the female Commander Shepard.  Once a movie is made out of Mass Effect the producers would be dumb not to make Shepard a woman.  She far and away has one of the greatest action hero arcs ever put into the zeitgeist.

Now that you have played the game (hopefully as FemShep), go and start over on Mass Effect.  We are going to choose all the renegade options.  Early in the series the renegade Shepard seems to be a stuck up militaristic xenophobe. The best way to play as a true renegade is to speed through the game, no side missions (that is the reason you should go full renegade on a second play through, you will need the advantages of a fully equipped and better experienced crew). Once you get to Virmire, the renegade Shepard becomes a full blown jerk. Wrex will draw his weapon on you once the discussion of Saren’s genophage research becomes personal.  You will gun down your ship mate, and then tell the salarians to dump him in the ocean.  That is when you become a cold hearted snake.  What makes that moment great is that the rest of your crew is still fully behind you.  It helps that Ashley is also a xenophobe, but the rest of your crew really does not have a good excuse to back you up.  I guess they could justify your actions by saying Wrex was unstable, but the dumping in the ocean line, cold.  On the second play through, your renegade Shepard can still complete the romance option, and can even cause the first incarnation of Saren to commit suicide.  One less fight, way to go jerk Shepard.

Mass Effect 2 is where renegade Shepard moves from being a jerk, and starts to become a sociopath.  A speed run through of the game is vital to make renegade Shepard truly shine. You need to skip all the loyalty missions to make sure that your crew is not safe (on a third play through there are some epic renegade options to explore in the loyalty missions).  The only loyalty mission worth exploring is the one on Omega to kill the Asari Justicar Samara’s daughter (Morinth).  This mission uses all the skeeviness of Renegade Shepard and allows you to have your allied killed by a dangerous psychopath.  Morinth will even join your party and disguise herself as Samara.  The extra great bonus of gaining Samara is that after the game you can load your last save and have Morinth sex you to death.  I am not kidding.

If you played Mass Effect 2 as a true renegade, and gained Morinth, the ending will be very lonely.  Nearly everyone will have been killed, including Garrus (the subject of a future Last Generation Gamer).  The only people left on the Normandy will be you, Joker, and Morinth. 

Your actions as a pure renegade Shepard make Mass Effect 3 a very different game.  There is no Garrus on Palavan (you uncaring jerk).  There is no Talia to help liberate Rannoch (thanks to your lack of safety upgrades on the Normandy).  Grunt, Miranda, Mordin, Legion, Thane, Jacob, Ashley/Kaiden – all gone.  Your play through of Mass Effect 3 will only consist of Shepard, Liara, Vega, EDI, and maybe Ashley/Kaiden.  The true renegade Shepard will tell Ashley/Kaiden to stay with the alliance and not join the Normandy.  This may be the most humane thing renegade Shepard does, especially since most people who have served on the Normandy ended up dead.

With all the bodies you have left behind as renegade Shepard, the galaxy still makes you their most trusted warrior.  Why not?  Your methods may be unfeeling, and dangerous, but you have gotten things done.  The big final question to renegade Shepard is what ending must be chosen.  If you followed my advice, and this is the second play through, all options should be available.  The most obvious choice is to become a reaper (which is a fitting end for renegade Shepard), but I do not think this is the best ending for this play through.   If you downloaded the extended ending there is a fourth answer option to give the Catalyst, keep fighting.  That in my opinion is the true renegade Shepard option (even if the clip says paragon). When you tell the Catalyst that you will keep fighting, it does not end well for our heroes.

I love Mass Effect because of how it made me feel about my ship mates.  I felt responsible not only for all of the galaxy, but for my friend’s less than epic issues (except for Jack, I did not really care that much about her).  Being renegade Shepard actually challenged my sense of morality.  I honestly did not attempt this kind of play through until my fifth time.  I also completely changed my Shepard’s appearance in each game so I would not feel like I was betraying a true hero.  I know that sounds lame, but that is the power of Mass Effect.  The games make you emotional tied to your decisions.

Go out and play these games.  On your third or fourth play through, give renegade Shepard a chance.  It may feel wrong, but you will see a great old game in a new twisted light.  Being renegade Shepard may even make you respect the ending of the Mass Effect trilogy.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He loves playing RPGs on his new-old X-Box 360 and is always looking for recommendations.