Ty Watches "Last Chance U"

Yesterday I finished another great documentary series on Netflix called "Last Chance U". Now, Netflix has been known, at least in the past year or so, to put out very good documentary series. You need look no further than the excellent "Making A Murderer", which is coming back for a second season. That show was damn near perfection. Everyone I know loved it, and everyone has an opinion, as one should when watching documentaries. "Last chance U" does not have the same stakes, not even close, as "Making A Murderer", but it is still very, very good. I was turned on to this show by a buddy of mine that I work with. He too, is a big fan of college football, and he told me to check the show out. It took me some time to get around to it, but I'm glad I finally did.

All of you know by now that I'm a huge college football fan, and "Last Chance U" focuses on a junior college team in the state of Mississippi. The team is the East Mississippi Junior College Lions. The thing that makes this school "special" or "unique", they take on transfers from big time division 1 colleges, or kids that were stars in high school, but couldn't make the grades to play D-1 football. EMJC is also an absolute powerhouse, obviously. When you are getting guys from major D-1 programs to come to your junior college for 1 or 2 years, you should dominate. They won the last 2 NJCAA national titles, and the title games weren't even close. In fact, they have won 3 titles in the last 6 years. They are the Alabama of junior colleges.

I sat down to watch the show, and we first meet the head coach, Buddy Stephens. He is a big guy, that immediately commands your attention. He has a southern twang to his voice, but his voice is booming. He is a salesman, but he is a damn good one. He convinces these kids that still want to play football and move on to another D-1 school to come to the middle of nowhere Mississippi to play football. He is a legend in the town and a legend in the junior college ranks. He is one of the greatest junior college coaches of all time. Not to be outdone, his staff is equally great. His offensive and defensive coordinators have a ton of experience, and they coach the hell out of these kids. He also has great, some former pro and college football players, as positional coaches. This staff is much, much to good to be coaching junior college, but Buddy Stephens has convinced these guys that this is where they should, and want, to be.

After meeting the head coach and the staff, we start to meet the players. This is the best part of this mini series, the players. There's two QB's at EMJC. One, Jonathan Franklin, was a former D-1 QB at Florida State. He was a star in high school, and was highly recruited. He got to FSU and saw his playing time was non existent. He was a good enough student, but he was upset at his lack of playing time, so he transferred out to EMJC. But, he had to split time with the other QB, Wyatt Roberts. Roberts was smaller, not as fast, but had better accuracy, and was more coachable. Roberts is also your typical country boy. He could have went to a 4 year university, but he didn't want to end his football career after high school. He wanted to keep going. He also loves hunting and living close to home, that is why he chose EMJC. The skill position players are boiled down to two of the running backs. They have receivers and tight ends, but we don't hear too much from them. The 2 running backs though, DJ Law and Isiah Washington, we get to meet both of them, and get their stories. Washington is the back up to Law. He is a true freshman, with lighting speed and the ability to find a hole in the smallest crease. But, he is not a good student. He does not care about school, so major D-1 straight out of high school is out of the question. He has to go to junior college to up his grades before he can go play D-1. DJ Law is the starter at EMJC. He is big, fast, strong, quick, finds space, can catch out of the backfield and block. He is the total package, but he also loathes school. He coasted in high school because he was so good at football, but no one offered him a scholarship because his grades were terrible. He would skip school constantly and, when he was in class, he couldn't keep up, so he was destined for junior college.

Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball, they point out linebackers and some secondary guys, but the mini series mainly focuses on one of the 2 defensive lineman. That D lineman is Ronald Ollie. Ronald Ollie is a kid who grew up with no parents. His dad shot his mom and then took his own life. He had to live with his aunts and his sisters kind of became his adult supervision. Needless to say, he had a very, very tough upbringing. But, he was always bigger than everyone else, and he dominated on a football field. Like the majority of the players on EMJC, he did not do well in school. Going to class was the last thing on his mind. School was boring, and he only showed up so he could play football. Man, what a great football player he can be. He was so dominant on the D line. Quick feet, heavy hitter and explodes through the hole to blow up QB's or running backs.

After meeting all these people, we go through the 9 game season with them. We see the ups and the downs. Early in their season, they get beat for the first time in 26 games. We come to find out later that the team they played had an ineligible player. We also see them regroup after the loss and go on to destroy any opponent that comes their way. They win games by 3, 4 and sometimes 5 touchdowns. We also see injuries and skipping classes come into play. Ronald Ollie suffers a concussion and misses 3 games. This is a big deal for a junior college player, because scouts will forget about a guy out with injuries, and move on to the next player. DJ Law also hurts his knee. This makes him question if he still wants to play football, and he flat out stops going to class. With Law out though, we got to see Isiah Washington, and that kid is great. There is also the QB competition all season long. Roberts becomes the starter, shockingly, and he does an adequate job, until he gets hurt. When Roberts gets hurt, we get to see Jonathan Franklin shine. He goes for 6 TD's, 4 rushing and 2 passing, in the first half of a game that will eventually ruin EMJC's shot at a third straight title.

We can see this title shot getting ruined earlier in the mini series. A few players and Coach Stephens get suspended for fighting with officials. The problem with running up the score, that makes the opponents take late shots, but the guys winning are always the ones to get caught, or made example of. That's exactly what happened in their final regular season game. They were crushing a far inferior opponent, 48-0 in the first half. Coach Stephens called a timeout, to give Franklin another series before half, and this incited an all out brawl. There were fights, people stomping on other people, trash cans were thrown, helmets were used as weapons, it was bad. Being the powerhouse they were, EMJC was forced to call the game, and their season was deemed over before the playoffs started. This made everyone upset. Some kids questioned being at the school. Others, they just wanted to get out of there quick, with graduation being around the corner.

The interesting thing about this part though, the recruiting didn't stop there. There was still another episode that showed how recruiting still goes on, even when your season ends. Most of the kids did get D-1 or D-1AA scholarships. Ronald Ollie ended up at Nicholls State in Louisiana. DJ Law got his act together and his grades up, and he ended up at UAB. Wyatt Roberts refused to go D-2, so he retired from football and decided to attend Mississippi State as a student. Jonathan Franklin ended up singing with Auburn, thus being the kid who got the best scholarship offer. I believe he is still there playing right now too.

"Last Chance U" is a must watch for football fans. It shows you everything you could want to know about the life of student athletes. The ups, the downs, the coaches, the academics and academic advisers, it's all there. I really hope Netflix continues with this series because I will watch every season. The show ended, spoiler alert, but not really, with Coach Stephens out on the recruiting trail, so that gives me hope that they will do another season. I also want to see what happens with Isiah Washington, because he already has offers from FSU and Auburn, so imagine what a good sophomore season can do for him. This show is great, and I think a lot of people would enjoy it. I know I sure did.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used to load up his NCAA Football rosters with juco transfers, and he was unstoppable. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: The Coup

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

Today I'm going to get back to my greatest American band debate, and the band I'm going to nominate is a very underrated, yet super conscious hip hop group, the Coup. The Coup is comprised of 2 people, emcee Boots Riley and DJ Madame Funkress. There are other members, but these 2 are the driving force behind this wonderful hip hop group.

I was introduced to the Coup about 10 years ago by one of my brothers. I was getting into politically conscious rap, i.e., Mr. Lif, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli, among many others, and my brother had just discovered the Coup, and he thought I would enjoy them. The first record he gave me was "Pick A Bigger Weapon". This was their fifth of six albums, but it was a great gateway to the awesomeness that is the Coup. I was blown away by Boots Riley. His rhyming was fantastic. He was fast, but also clear. It was conscious music as well. I was getting angry about dirty politics, and the way minorities were being treated, I still think the stuff that is happening now is disgusting, and the Coup, but mainly Boots Riley, was telling these stories.

The opening track, "Pick a Bigger Weapon", kicked off the anger and showed that Boots had something to say. He was angry about the way his people were being treated, and he put it all out there on the opening track. Then, from there on out on the record, Boots and Madame Funkress cover everything from racism to having babies to being underpaid to starting a revolution. "My Favorite Mutiny", featuring Talib Kweli and Black Thought, has the three emcees trading verses about over taking the government and taking a stand. Each emcee crushes on this song. Kweli has the best verse, but both Black Thought and Boots Riley are nearly as good. This is probably my favorite track on the record. They follow that song up with "IJustWannaLayAroundAllDayInBedWithYou", which is just Boots talking to his lady about wanting to stay at home with her all day and make love. But, he also takes a stand against the low wages given out to the working class. He complains about his alarm clock. He just wants to be with his lady all day. But, that divulges into some great takes about being underpaid, or even worse, being paid in IOU's from a crooked boss. Boots, the song makes it seem like he is just having a conversation with his lady, really takes a stance on how the working class gets screwed over by crooked companies. It's a great, funky and heady song. Some other tracks that showcase his distaste for being underpaid and undervalued are songs like "Ass Breath Killers" and "Yes 'Em To Death". Both of these tracks have a skit at the top, and then the song starts. They are both excellent. As far as starting a revolution, the very last track on this record, "The Stand", is a 6 and a half minute epic. The track is beautiful and poignant and has Boots Riley at his absolute best. This is a great, great song that has a very important message. Boots states that he is not going to take this stuff from the big wigs, the government and the crooked bosses of crooked companies, and it still, to this day, holds so much weight for me. This is an essential track for anyone new to the Coup.

I know that I have focused primarily on this one record, "Pick A Bigger Weapon", but it was my introduction, and it is their absolute best record, in my opinion, to date. Their early stuff is great, don't get me wrong. "Genocide and Juice" and "Steal This Album" are both phenomenal and they both have the same message. You could tell early on that Boots and Funkress had some important things to say, and that comes off ten fold on their first three records. But, they really hit their stride on "Pick A Bigger Weapon". They absolutely knocked it out of the park with that record. But, as I said, listen to their early stuff too. It's a bit rougher, they weren't totally solid yet, still great though. I actually like older stuff a bit more, but there is something special about "Pick A Bigger Weapon".

They released another record 4 years after, "Sorry to Bother You", which is also pretty good. It has the same message as all their stuff, but this time around, they sound like they are having fun making this politically conscious rap music. It's a bit poppier, in a good way. Boots is still there crushing it, it just has more of a radio sound.

I have talked almost primarily about Boots Riley, but Madame Funkress is not to be left alone. She is a great DJ, first and foremost. The stuff she does on their records is truly awesome. She is also an excellent singer. She has a soulful voice and can belt it out. She can rap too. Madame Funkress is awesome and she deserves just as much credit for the success of this band as Boots Riley does.

Boots Riley has also branched out and done other stuff with other musicians that is pretty great. He started another band with Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club. This band had the same mood as the Coup, but instead of beat machines, record scratching and drum machines, it's just Tom Morello playing guitar and Boots emceeing. It's like a funkier version of Rage. I really like the record they put out. And, when you put one of my favorite rappers along with one of the greatest guitar players ever, I'm going to like it. Other than his many collaborations with Morello, Boots Riley has done stuff with Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Les Claypool, Galactic, Del the Funky Homosapien and Killer Mike. That is a lot of different genres of music that he has leant his talents to. That should prove to any disbelievers that Boots Riley can do almost anything. Boots Riley is one of the most underrated emcees of all time. I know that true hip hop people and fans know him, but the common fan needs to know his name and listen to his music.

If you like hip hop, you will love Boots Riley, and the Coup. Look, this band is great and the world needs to know more about them. The Coup has gotten little to no recognition from the mainstream media, but I will sing their praises all day long. The Coup is not only one of America's greatest bands, but they are one of the most important bands too. They more than belong in this conversation. Do yourself a favor and go listen to anything by the Coup. I guarantee you will fall in love with their sound immediately.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Check out all of his nominees of the Greatest American Band. Make sure to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The NBA Hall of Fame Just Added Three of the Best Players Ever

I want to take my time today to point out how great this most recent NBA hall of fame class truly is. The three players that were enshrined last week are three of the biggest influences on me, growing up as a huge basketball fan and player. The class included Yao Ming, Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. I'm going to tell you why each one of these players were important for me. Some are much more important, thus they will get more words, but I truly think and believe that all three of these guys absolutely belong in the hall of fame.

First off, lets look at Yao Ming. I remember hearing about Ming when I was in high school. I heard that there was a 7 foot 6 inch guy that was coming to the NBA from China. I had never seen anyone that big before. I know Manute Bol was either 7'7 or 7'8, but he was a beanpole. Not only was Ming tall, but he was thick. I remember seeing him on draft day, and I could not believe how big he actually was. He was towering over his parents, and I just simply could not believe he was real. I thought that he would barely last in the NBA, as Bol had a very short career, because tall guys break down so easily. But, Ming had a pretty productive, and quite frankly, a great career. His body did break down, but it wasn't until the very end. When Ming was a rookie, he was already a beast. Another player I will talk about shortly, Shaq, said he was going to go straight at him, which he did, but Ming did not back down, blocking his first shot attempt. Ming immediately won my respect. From then on, Ming was a great rim protector, an excellent rebounder, a beast on the low block and a double digit career scorer. Ming was a very good, very underrated pro. He was a multiple all star, made the Rockets relevant again, and brought the NBA to China. Ming was a huge influence on many young big men that are playing in China now. I'm a big Yao Ming fan, and I'm very happy he is a hall of famer.

Next, we have Shaquille O'Neal. I remember hearing about Shaq when I was a pre teen. I was very heavily into college basketball, and Shaq was one of the best players in the mid 90's. He made me want to watch LSU basketball. He dominated in college, and he did much of the same in the NBA. When he was first in the league, he made the Magic relevant. He was the main piece of the puzzle that led that team to its one of only 2 NBA finals appearances. That whole team was built around Shaq. O'Neal was so good in the low post. He was basically unstoppable. The one thing I liked most about the Orlando Magic version of Shaq was how many times he broke the rims. He would dunk with such ferocity that the whole rim would come down, or the backboard would shatter. He was like a bigger version of Daryl Dawkins. After he left Orlando and signed with LA, I was mad, but I understood. The Magic went as far as they could, and Shaq wanted titles. When he was a Laker, that was when he became the most dominant player in the league. Shaq could not be stopped. He got bigger, yet his quick feet remained. He got stronger, but he was not much slower. Shaq could do everything, except shoot free throws. The whole hack a whoever, that started with Shaq. Teams could not stop him, unless they fouled him. He was one of the most battered stars of all time, but that did not stop him from dominating. He would still put up 30 points, grab 10 rebounds, block 5 shots and win. He was the reason the Lakers became great in the early 2000's, not Kobe Bryant. Even after he left LA, Shaq won another title, this time with the Heat. He wasn't the same, but he still commanded the respect and attention of opposing defenses. Shaq was a big part in helping Dwayne Wade win his first title. He bounced around to a few other teams, but Shaq got into the hall for his time with the Lakers and the Magic. Shaq was a monster of a player, he redefined rules and bent what a traditional big man could do. Shaq may be the second greatest center of all time, behind only Bill Russell. Shaq was a sure fire hall of famer. This was more than due and deserved.

The last, but most important person that got inducted, at least to me, was Allen Iverson. I mean, Iverson is the best pound for pound player to ever play the game of basketball. He did things that no one his size should have been able to do against high level NBA competition. Iverson would go into the trees and come out with points. I didn't know how he did it, I don't think his opponents knew how he did it, hell, I bet Iverson was even shocked, but he could score in the paint against any big man that was out there trying to defend him. But, he was also a wizard of the crossover dribble. He perfected it in college, and it only got better when he was a pro. He crossed up so many great defenders, but the time he crossed Jordan, as a rookie, that was the best. Michael Jordan, who is the greatest player of all time, was also an otherworldly defender, and Iverson shook him out of his shorts. It's still incredible to watch to this day. Iverson also made the 76ers relevant again. They were nothing for about a decade until they drafted him. He never really got the supporting cast he needed, but he had that team in the playoffs constantly, and thy even made the finals once, even stealing one game in LA, against the Shaq led Lakers. Allen Iverson was incredible on the court. He was also very influential off the court. He made the NBA hip. He was to the NBA in the early 21st century what the Fab five was to college basketball in the 90's. He was so cool, brash, in your face, did not care what others thought of him and he owned all this. He would say what was on his mind, and then some. This made me respect him even more than I already did. He was the coolest dude, playing the coolest sport when he was in his prime. He had a few forgettable seasons in Denver and Memphis, but he was electric when he was the man in Philadelphia. So many young players owe the way they play to Allen Iverson. He was the first to come and truly be the person he wanted to be. He did not answer to anyone. He did his thing, and he did it exceptionally. Allen Iverson is one of my personal favorite players, and he is one of the ten best players to ever play the game of basketball. Iverson was a beast, and him being in the hall of fame makes me very, very happy. Almost no one deserves it more than him. Go check out his hall of fame induction speech, it is incredible. 

This class was a great class and I feel like the NBA hall of fame ceremony, at least for the next couple of decades, is going to feature some truly great players that I got to watch when they were in their primes. This was just the beginning of much more greatness to come.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Podcast. The head editor wanted to practice some podcasts, but Ty said he is not talking about practice. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Is Soylent the Food For People? One Week Later.

It has been a week with Soylent now. I have been recording my thoughts related to diet daily since I first wrote about my Soylent experiment a few days in. Those thoughts are what follow.

DAY 4

Today I got up bright and early and had plenty of energy to actually stay awake and complete tasks before the rest of the house woke up. I have been having trouble with that lately. Is Soylent helping me get more energy? The jury is still out on that.

I do find myself more aware of what I am eating. I am going for 50% or about 1000 of my calories coming from Soylent. I am also changing my diet. I do not think that the ingestion of Soylent is causing more awareness. Rather, it probably has more to do with the change from habitual diet to something non-habitual. I’m not just using muscle memory right now, so that probably makes me more aware.

I have not really been snacking. I had a lunch today prepared by my partner from HelloFresh (a fresh food and recipe shipping service). I have a meal like this three times a week and they are all pretty nutritionally complete. HelloFresh or not, I am having a meal each day that has anywhere from 400 to 1200 calories.

DAY 5

I had two servings of Soylent during the day and I started feeling pretty hungry before it was time to start making supper. I ended up snacking on some baby carrots and hummus, but I am starting to think that three servings of Soylent per day is going to need to be the standard to keep me satisfied until supper time. I wake up pretty early and, with my partner's work schedule the way it is, I sometimes eat supper pretty late. Not that I think snacking on baby carrots and hummus is such a bad thing.

I was thinking about an article I read about how we get more out of eating than just nutrition. The article focused on the chewing part of eating and reasons that may be an essential part of our diet that we do not typically think about. Besides my desire to prepare and eat some meals with my family, this is another big part of why I would probably not attempt to go on a 100% Soylent diet. I thought about how someone who wanted to go all Soylent might deal with this. Chewing gum might be an option, but it is pretty soft. I guess someone could chew on a harder object like leather or a stick. In that case though, one might suffer the ability to socialize in our culture.

DAY 6

This morning I made bacon and hard boiled eggs and sat down and watched my family eat them. It seems a little strange, but not as much as I expected. Maybe it has already become a little familiar to me since I often prepare meat for them to eat. I have been enjoying a vegetarian diet for about a year already and as the person in the house who accepts the responsibility of preparing much of the food, I try to fill everyone's dietary desires to the extent that I am able. Maybe that is part of why it does not seem so strange to sit with people eating and not eat that myself.

Bacon does not do this, but I am starting to feel cravings when certain foods are being eaten around me. It is only those foods I am trying to get away from eating anyway though. The junk with little or no nutritional value. If I want to get away from that, there is going to be some of this no matter what change I make to my diet.

DAY 7

This evening I went to the movies and had some popcorn. I can usually go through the whole bag of popcorn without thinking much about it. Tonight however, I stopped eating and put it down after about a quarter of the bag. I picked it up a little later and had a bit more, but I did not even finish half of it. I am mentioning this to mark the fact that I have noticed that I am aware of feeling full before it reaches levels of discomfort. I welcome this change.

I am still getting up early without crawling back into bed or falling asleep on the couch during my morning meditation. I feel like I have a lot of healthy energy after my rest. Sometimes I nap a little in the middle of the day, but my urge to do that has decreased as well.

A couple of friends have mentioned doing something similar to what I am to lose weight. Any time you keep track of calories the way I am right now and if you are consuming a lower amount than you were otherwise, you will lose weight.

I lost over 100 pounds a few years back simply by paying attention to calories. The dangerous thing about that is that simply counting calories can still be very unhealthy. Many days while doing that before I ate low calorie foods so that I could eat more throughout the day. This means a lot of vegetables many times. But it also meant a lot of popcorn (sans butter) sometimes. There were also more days than I probably care to remember when my entire day's calories was donuts or some other high calorie pastry.

I have been losing a little weight since my calorie intake had been higher than I prefer. I did not get on the scale recently enough before I started to have an exact figure, but I can see it going down and I can feel it.

To conclude the first week, I feel an increased sense of satisfaction with my wellness both mentally and physically, I am definitely feeling and increased awareness of nutritional value of food intake, and feel much less like snacking between meals.

Kirk Aug

Kirk is interested in all things new and exciting, like drones. Follow his Soylent journey here on SeedSing and twitter @kirkaug.

Ty Watches the "Eric Andre Show" Season 4 Episode 5

After a one week hiatus, "The Eric Andre Show" was back this past Friday. This one started as usual, with the announcer saying Andre's name, and he proceeded to run at the stage, with intentions to destroy, but before he could crash the stage, he slipped into a portal. This wouldn't allow him to trash the stage, at first. But, after floating through the portal for a minute, he was dropped back on the stage, and this was when he proceeded to do his usual damage. He crushed his desk. He attacked the band. He threw vases and pots. His other new wrinkle this week, there was a guy dressed like a scientist that looked to be doing some blood work. Andre found this man and repeatedly punched him in the face. Just when you thought the bit was going to end, it went on for an extra 10 to 15 seconds. This is one of the things I love about Eric Andre, his willingness to push a bit too its outer most limits.

After the destruction, Hannibal Buress was announced, and he entered the stage on a kayak attached to a pallet of wood. Buress has been making some pretty cool entrances this season. After Buress exited the kayak, Andre started his monologue. This time around, very angrily, Andre just kept saying "joke, joke, joke, punchline", over and over again. He did this a few times, and Buress started to laugh. After Buress was filmed laughing, the band was laughing and so was the studio audience. Andre ate this up. Buress proclaimed that he figured out the secret to comedy. Andre continued with the words, "joke, joke, joke, punchline", and some dancers came on the stage. They were talking gibberish that was overlapped with Andre's words. Then, Penn Jillette entered the stage and said the words, "magic, magic, magic, atheism" over and over again. All the talking was overlapped, and, much like the opening with the scientist, the bit was pushed to the very edge.

Before they introduced the first guest, they immediately cut to a pre taped segment. This segment was called "Grocery Goofs". It was meant to be a blooper type show, a la "America's Funniest Home Videos", but it had Andre's twist to it. Instead of being a blooper show, when a customer entered and tried to buy a juice, Andre told him it cost 47 dollars. The customer was confused, but that was just the start. This was the only "blooper" type thing because right after charging way too much for a juice, Andre emerged from behind the counter, wearing nothing except a T shirt. This was very awkward for the customer. Andre kept talking to the customer like nothing was weird at all, but then we see another man, fully nude, emerge from behind the counter. Andre tells the customer that this guy is his "sex slave", and the customer can't leave fast enough. Andre tries to make it hard for the man to leave, but the guy makes his way out. It was all meant to be a spoof, but it was still disturbing and hilarious, two things only Eric Andre can pull off.

Then, we get back to the show, and they introduce their first guest, actor Jesse Williams. The interview was weird, as always, and at one point, Andre tells Williams that the interview is going to become extreme, and he straps some head gear on Williams that is fully equipped with 5 or 6 Go Pro's, and the camera it shot from Williams point of view. It was very shaky and nauseating, and when Williams noticed that Andre was trying to have a bowel movement on his desk, that was when he decided to leave.

Next up was the Brotendo segment. This was weird and wild, as always. Andre would approach people on the street, I should mention that he wears a bikini top, a Dr. Seuss hat, weird sunglasses and super high top boots, and says nonsense to them like, "I just got my crystal meth medical card", or " I just returned from Burning Man and it just isn't the same anymore". This time around, he had a fake double guitar, and pretended to shred in front of many confused onlookers.

They then cut back to the set and they had their second guest, Jillian Barberi on. This interview went off the rails quick. Andre started to complain about his messed up desk, and he ripped the top off to reveal a little person dressed like him and another little person that looked like Jillian Barberi. Not to be outdone, Hannibal Buress had a person that was dressed just like him as well. They were all talking over one another, saying the same thing. Barberi was very quickly turned off, saying it was like an acid trip, and she left the stage.

We are then transported back to their "Grocery Goofs" segment, but this time, it focused on the fully nude man, saying he was hosting a show for hostages. He tried to interview people, and as to be expected, they all turned him away. It was gross and weird, but still, it made me laugh.

At the end Andre had a rapper and a professional eater do a rap battle, while also having a hot dog eating contest. The rapper continually vomited and the eater was a terrible rapper. It was pretty funny actually. I don't like throwing up personally, but I find humor in others doing it, especially on TV.

The show ended there, and it was great to have "The Eric Andre Show" back after its short hiatus. I love his weird humor and I very much looked forward to watching the next episode. There will be another new episode this Friday, so come back next week for my review.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Is there any other absurd show Ty should be watching? Come on over to SeedSing and tell us all about it. 

The Ease to Forget: 9-11 and a lost generation.

The new normal

Today is the 15th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We wanted to reprint our thoughts about the aftermath of the tragedy and what has happened to our country in the years since that terrible day. This article originally appeared on September 11th, 2015.

At the dawn of the 21st century I was a twenty five year old man who just started to get his life in order. Many of my peers had started their careers, a few had even started families. I was already attempting my second career and had finally moved out of my parents home. I had a college education and skills needed in a booming economy, but various personal missteps had slowed my entry into independent adulthood. In my circle of friends I was an anomaly, someone who just could not figure out how to grow up. Twenty five may have been a little late to grow up, yet I was comfortable that my life was back on a forward trajectory.

September 11th, 2001 was a very sunny and mild Tuesday in St. Louis Missouri. I was on my way to watch the best golfers in the world practice for an upcoming event in the area. I was to meet a fellow friend at a nearby hotel where we would get breakfast and carpool to the golf course. On my way the local radio broke the news that something seemed to hit one building of the World Trade Center. The initial reports said it was a small plane or a news helicopter. Less than an hour later I was standing in a packed lobby of a hotel watching the true horror unfold. This is going to sound like a cliche,  I did not know at the time how much the world was about to change.

Fourteen years later I start my day like any other. It is a bright mild Friday morning in Cincinnati Ohio. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. My life has continued a forward trajectory, everything seems the same as it ever was. I start every morning looking through the news and social media to see what trends SeedSing wants to tackle next week. On the morning of September 11th, 2015 my feed is filled with "Never Forget" memes from  the old and new media.  Like Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Never Forget has become this programmed response everyone feels they should give on this one day of the year. There is very little thought given to what this means. Why should we Never Forget? Who should we Never Forget? What will not forgetting give us?

We have forgotten and society has been radically altered because of our memories. The national reaction, fed by the politicians and media, was one of extreme vengeance. The grounds was still smoking when President Bush boasted of leveling other nations. The public applauded his strength, the press gave the administration a pass on any faulty intelligence, and the congress gleefully accepted war. All of the grand estates of the American society were controlled by greedy baby boomers who were already gearing up for a war in Iraq. The September 11th attacks caused the public to line up behind the warmongers. Instead of attacking Iraq, we were invested in going into another nation. There was no way to question our ill advised blood lust. To question was to not honor the dead. The baby boomers in charge consolidated their power, increased their wealth, and sacrificed the millennials.

The millennial generation were mostly in high school or college when the September 11th attacks took place. The baby boomers and generation xers were in the work force, shaping the future for the millennials. In the aftermath of the attacks, the millennials were called upon to defend their country. The millennials were recruited into a holy war that had not been won by over a hundred generations before them. The ones who belonged to the lower economic classes sacrificed their lives and sanity for our irrational wars.  All the millennials had their economic futures sacrificed by the greed of those in power. Concepts like freedom and patriotism were being co-opted by right wing corporate and religious institutions after September 11th. Our society started to deify rich white CEOs as some kind of economic savior, they were the job creators. We allowed the polluters to have more free reign, so we do not allow the terrorists to dictate our lives. The thieves on Wall Street were absolved because they were the champions of american capitalism. The boomers got rich, the gen xers tried to tread water, and the millennials were lost.

In 2000, at the age of twenty five, I was behind my peers. Searching for a career, living at home, and being generally without direction. This was not society, this was my own doing. Since September 11th, our society has fundamentally changed. What we forget is how the boomers changed this society. It has become the norm for a college educated twenty five year old to be living at home. In fourteen short years we have allowed the politicians, corporations, and media to create an economic wasteland for future generations. The boomers are still mostly in charge, and they have gotten wealthier. The gen xers are still mostly treading water, waiting for their opportunity. The millennials are learning how to survive a new social and economic reality, and they have no guidance. We have failed the millennials, and we need their help to fix our problems.

September 11th and the aftermath has seen way too much death and suffering. On that mild and sunny Tuesday morning all but twenty of the victims were living their lives and looking forward to their next happy moment. The many powerful people who exploited this event for their greed and racism should not be left off the hook. The architects of today's society, one that is leaving the majority behind, have allowed the fear of that day to flourish. They have lost a generation. Never Forget.   

RD Kulik

RD is the creator and Head editor of SeedSing. Have another opinion? Let us know.

Have Some Courage and Stop Complaining about the iPhone 7 EarPod Evolution

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye.

Being an Apple user, I have an iPhone, so does my wife, and I have an iPod, I was not surprised that they were putting out a newer version of their phone, the iPhone 7. They do this all the time. It will be bigger, yet sleeker, new and improved, and it will be the best phone that they will have ever assembled, until the next one comes out. Look, I like Apple products. I think that they work really well and are very useful. But, I do not like the fact that they are putting out something new seemingly every 6 to 8 months. I just got an iPhone 6, which is a great phone, but I am three phones behind their newest model now.

That is not the reason for the blog today. My biggest problem from the new release of the iPhone 7 is the complaints coming from people that the earbuds are now wireless. Talk about your first world problems. Yeesh, for people to get mad about something as trivial as that, we clearly have a problem as a country. Anyone anywhere will find something to complain about, even when the product is the most advanced thing that has ever been created in its field. I mean, had you told me 15 years ago, when I was listening to CD's in my Walkman, that I would be able to buy headphones that have no wires, my head would have exploded. We live in a very cool time, as far as advances in technology go.

But, like I said, people will find even the smallest thing to complain about. I hear people complaining, saying things like, why is there no jack for head phones, or what if I lose my earbuds, or how will I listen to music in my car, what am I going to do now when I exercise. Think about what you are complaining about. I don't want to get all preachy and sound stuck up or anything, but do you think people living in huts in underdeveloped parts of the globe, or living in igloos near the northern most part of the world, or people living in houses with dirt floors in third world countries really want to hear us lazy Americans complain about some damn headphones? No way.

That is the problem with the US. We are lazy and complain about everything. Now, I'm not saying I don't do that. Hell, I complain about a lot of stuff on this website and on our podcast , but I know it is all in good fun, and when I get it off my chest, I let it go. Just like I will do today after I write this. But, I ask again, why is this such a big deal? Why is it front page news on websites? Why are so many people, mainly entitled millennials, moaning and groaning about this new era of earbuds? I don't know the answer, and that kind if bugs me.

I mean, first of all, who really cares. We will adapt to this, just like we did when VHS went to DVD and DVD went to Blu Ray. Or, just like when 8 tracks went to cassette and cassette went to CD and now, CD's have been replaced by MP3's or iTunes. Things change and we find ways to change with them. Sure, it will be weird at first, trying to listen to something in my car, I have not set up my bluetooth, but I will figure it out, and I am near being a technology illiterate. And yeah, it may be a bit different when I go for a run and put in wireless earbuds, but, what if I love it? What if it makes running so much easier? I tend to knock the earbuds out of my ears if I am running hard because I hit the cord that attaches them. Maybe this new invention will stop me from doing that. I don't know, but I know that I will adapt. As will all the people complaining about it right now. It is really such a minuscule thing that really has no effect or impact on our lives. We will get through these "trying" times. I just wish we weren't so entitled and lazy as a country.

I have dedicated an entire blog to those that are complaining about some headphones for gods sake. It's sad if you think about it, and it mainly comes from my generation. We think that everything should be easy, because if it's not, we will not do it, and let thousands of people know about our dislike. We need to get over it, and I'm talking mainly to all millennials. We live in a great time, but all we do, for the most part, is bitch and moan when something isn't the way we think it should be. I hope when my kids get older they don't have to deal with nonsense like this. Hopefully they will be more grateful for all the cool shit that they are going to have when they are my age. But, one can only hope.

Anyway, seriously millennials, it's some damn headphones. Get over it and just enjoy your new iPhone because there will be a new one before we know it, and the iPhone 7, with its wireless headphones and all, will soon be an afterthought.

ed note: The original title incorrectly called the headphones earbuds. They are called earpods. The internet is filled with helpful people.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Hear Ty talk about how he listens to music has changed in the last 30 years on a classic edition of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty is also on twitter, go follow him @tykulik. 

Is Soylent the Food for People?

It looks like milk, taste like milk, but this is no milk

Last November, I wrote about a food product called Soylent. I wondered if replacing my diet with the a product that represents the nutritional needs of an average adult would be a satisfying way increase my nutritional balance in a simplified way. At the time I did not heavily consider trying it.

For whatever reason, my desire to try Soylent has changed. I have been using it for 3 days. I think that this is as good a place as any to keep track of my experience with it. Before I go over my initial impressions, I’d like to cover some of my hopes and for the product and expectations in using it.

Goals

I have not been a very healthy eater lately. This is not something that is easily quantifiable, but I can say for certain that I do not feel a sense of wellness in relation to much of what I put in my body. I eat fast and when I find something tasty, I can easily eat more than the need for satisfying my hunger requires. This leaves me feeling miserable for some time after eating.

I do think that on average I eat at least one meal a day where this is not the case. A meal where I am conscious enough of my tendency to eat fast to either choose something with fewer calories or just slow down and wait for my body’s natural response. I also think that on average I eat one meal a day that is nutritionally balanced. At least much more so than other meals of the day.

I originally wrote about Soylent as not just a meal replacement, but a diet replacement. The idea was that it could be a human equivalent to dog food. I currently have no plans to use it that way.

As stated, I feel that for one meal a day on average I can already combat my habitual unhealthy tendencies. Also, I like to make and eat some meals with my family. Therefore, I will continue to enjoy up to a meal of non-Soylent food each day. So as part of this trial of the product, I will consume 50% or more of my calories using Soylent for at least a month.

Another thing that I am hoping to see is an increased consciousness of what I am putting into my body. I think a big part of my lack of feeling of wellness related to my diet has to do with snacking. I would like to feel less like snacking between meals.

Here is my short list of goals or hopes that I am looking for in the next month to determine if I would like to continue to use this product in this way. This list may not be all inclusive, there may be things I add to it as I continue my journey:

• Increased consciousness of nutritional value of food intake

• Increased feelings of wellness related to dietary consumption both physically and mentally

• Less hungry between meal (or Soylent consumption) times, therefore less snacking

Initial Impressions

When I took the first drink of Soylent, I thought the taste was just as neutral as it has been described. I have seen flavoring recipes for Soylent and I think that is why it aims for a neutral flavor. It is made to be adapted to the taste of anyone.

I personally am okay with drinking Soylent as is. I would describe it as a similar taste to milk after eating a non-sweet cereal such as Chex. In fact I would say it is exactly the taste of milk left after eating a bowl of Chex. I would normally drink that milk. Some people would not.

So far I have been drinking Soylent in replacement of the first two meals of the day. Depending on the calories expected in the meal that I eat, I have either been drinking 2 or 3 of the 400 kCal ready to drink Soylent servings. Each of these is representative of 20% of the average adult daily nutritional needs according the FDA guidelines.

I can definitely say that I feel different in the first two parts of the day. I cannot say that it is increased wellness due to the nutritional simplicity provided by Soylent. My body is adapting to a change in diet, and certainly the changed feeling has a lot to do with that. I am not prepared to evaluate whether this change feels good or bad, so for now I will stick with ‘different’.

I have not been feeling much like snacking. I have been noticing an increased awareness of the difference between a desired to eat because I am actually hungry and simply feeling ‘snacky’ for lack of a better term. I notice that I feel full for a good deal of time, say four hours or more, after drinking the Soylent.

So those are my initial impressions. I intend to keep this space of the internet updated with my continuing thoughts on my trial of Soylent. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to follow along. Share your thoughts below.

Kirk Aug

Kirk helps grow the Idea Farm around here at SeedSing. He is th eone who gets to try all the new innovative food stuff of tomorrow that the rest of us fear. Next up, lab grown meat?. Follow Kirk on twitter @kirkaug

Tim Tebow Signs with the Mets. No, Really

Still not getting to first base

So, I'm here today to eat some crow, but not really. I did not think any MLB team would give Tim Tebow a chance. I wrote last week that he was too old, hadn't played baseball in too long a time, was too big and burly, couldn't throw the ball well, couldn't field, basically, I did not think he had what it takes to be signed to any contract, be it major or minor league baseball.

Well, the New York Mets proved me wrong. Today they signed him to a minor league deal. Now, before the Tebow backers come at me and tell me that I'm a hater and that I was wrong, he has a minor league deal, but he still has a long ways to go before he actually has a chance to make any roster at any level of pro baseball. He will have to go through the Mets instructional program immediately, then, it's winter baseball in some place like Venezuela, then, and only then, will the Mets make a decision to even invite him to spring training. If he has a decent spring training, and that is a big if, then he will become an official pro baseball player, but he will have to start in the minors, probably double A.

Now, I watched the "highlights" from his baseball workout that he held a week or so ago, and I came away very unimpressed. He looked like a rumbling lumberjack when he ran the 60 yard dash. Yeah, he ran it fast, but that should have been expected. He was fast in high school, college and during his short NFL career. And, he has been working out non stop since this baseball "dream" began a few months ago. The 60 yard dash is something he should have excelled at. Yes, he does have power, but any 6 plus footer and 260 pound guy that knows how to swing a bat, when they connect, it will go far. That, like the 60 yard dash, was expected, especially when it's during batting practice. During batting practice, you have a pitcher that you, the batter, have chosen to throw you 75-80 mile per hour fastballs right down the middle. Batting practice is easily the best way to pump yourself up. You get meat pitches to crush. I loved batting practice when I played because it was easy and made me think I could hit anything that came my way.

But, those were the only two things that I took away that Tebow could do well enough. When the batting practice was over, he faced live pitching. This was when the workout started to tank, at least in my eyes. First off, he could not hit off speed pitches. Every curve, change up or slider that came his way, he whiffed or fouled off. And when he fouled the ball off, it wasn't because he was a bit late or a bit early, he was incredibly late or early when he fouled these pitches off. The foul balls were weak and floated into the stands. When he did get a "hit" off live pitching, it looked like bloop singles or slow grounders up the middle. The power that was displayed during batting practice was all but gone when he faced live pitching. Quite frankly, his batting during the workout was very, very below average. When all you can do is hit slow fast balls over the middle of the plate, your baseball career will be short to non existent. He is going to have to learn how to hit off speed pitches, and he has so much less time than players currently in the Mets minor league system.

When he did his fielding work during his workout, that somehow looked worse than his attempts at live pitching. He looked so awkward tracking fly balls. He would take steps back or forward that were so unnecessary, it almost cost him some catches on fly balls. When he was fielding what would be hits in real games, he looked as out of sync as some of the 5 and 6 year olds I coach. He seemed to bend over to far, or not enough. He did not field one single ground ball with ease. It all looked lumbered and tough for Tebow.

Then his throwing, man that was harder to watch than watching him throw a football. He would cock the ball back to far, and he actually threw a baseball like it was a football. That is not good. With a football, you have to bring your throwing arm back a bit further, with a baseball, you have to be a lot quicker getting it out of your hand, meaning you need to shorten up your throwing hand a bit. Tebow did not do this. His throws were so awkward, I had to look away watching him do this, it was that bad.

Never mind all this stuff that I'm saying today, or that I said last week, because the Mets deemed him good enough to, at least, send him to their instructional program. I mean, I could have understood a team like the Braves, they are in SEC country and they stink, or any team in LA or Florida, for the same reasons, save the Dodgers, signing him to a very incentive laden contract, but the Mets? I don't get it. He has already failed once in New York, with the Jets, and the Mets are a good team. They were in the World Series last year. Why would they sign him? They don't need the publicity and they don't need any other outfielders, but they signed Tebow anyway. My only guess as to why it was the Mets, they must have a deal with the New York Post, and other New York publications, and their sports writers need some fodder, so the Mets said they would sign Tebow, so they could have a month or two of bashing this clown show. That is literally the only reason I can even fathom that the Mets would even take a sniff on Tebow.

But, as far as the crow eating, he did get signed. I was wrong and good for you Tim Tebow. He has no shot at making the majors. He is too old, too burly and too much of a publicity stunt. He won't get past winter ball, let alone getting into the Mets minor league system. This is such a ridiculous story coming from an athlete that just won't give it up. Tim Tebow is a joke and I'm sick and tired of him getting a pass. He was a terrible NFL player and he will be an even worse baseball player. There is no doubt in my mind that he is going to fail at this baseball venture.

Not one single doubt.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. With the kickoff of the NFL season happenning tonight, you should listen to Ty tell you how the 2016 season is going to play out. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches "Atlanta" Series Premiere

Last night the TV show "Atlanta" premiered. I have been looking forward to this show for some time now. I'm a big, big Donald Glover fan, and when he went into social media silence, stopped making music and left the show "Community", I had no idea what he would do next. He put out a new album a little while after leaving "Community".

That album, "Because the Internet", was great, but it was also a sign that he was going to go into "hiding", if you will. The album talked about the problems with social media, and how bad this stuff can truly get. After that album was out for awhile, Glover was still on Twitter and Instagram, but he shut that down pretty quick. It was a bit frustrating because I wanted to know if he was going to make more music. I love his music. He is an excellent rapper.

I came to find out a little later, a month or two after his media silence, that he was working on a new TV show. But, that was all that was said. No one, except for those close to Glover, knew what the show was going to be. I assumed it was going to be comedy, because he is a very good comedic actor and standup. I actually kind of hoped this new show would meld his music and comedy. But, as I said, no one knew. The people involved with the show did a very good, in fact great, job of keeping the plot and stars and everything quiet about this new project.

About 2 or 3 months ago, commercials for this new show "Atlanta" started to show up on FXX while I was watching "The Simpsons". I first saw Glover, so I got very excited. I thought, like most commercials for new shows, they would let the viewing audience know what the plot was going to be. We would find out what this secret project was finally about. Well, the opposite happened, and it was on purpose. The commercials, that seemed to appear endlessly, made me want to watch the show even more, giving away nothing. The only thing I could glean from the commercials was the fact that Glover was the star, and he had a baby, a girl and a couple of friends. Oh, and the show takes place in Atlanta, obviously. The commercials were actually pretty cool. Some were shot and played in reverse. There is one commercial that has Glover walking out of a house, but it is all done in reverse. It was trippy, weird and awesome. They also had "regular" commercials, but with Glover's spin. They would show Glover's character talking, but they'd switch to a different scene, then another scene, but not to be outdone, they'd show you one more thing that was different. I could not get a grasp on what this show would be about.

A week ago, I was tempted to read a review from an entertainment magazine, but when they got into the meat of the review, and started to reveal things, I stopped reading. I decided that I wanted to see it for myself, with no spoilers. So, after I got home from my Tuesday night basketball, I showered and decided it was time to watch the premiere. There were 2 new episodes last night. I finally got a glimpse of what the show is going to be about.

In "Atlanta", Glover plays a down on his luck screw up named Earnie. He also has a cousin that goes by the name of Paper Boi, that is an up and coming rapper in the music scene in Atlanta. Glover, as I stated above, has a girl, with whom he has a baby with, but they are not a couple. He just occasionally lives with her and his child. Earnie's parents won't hang with him, his cousin is weary of him, his baby's mother does not want to give him the time of day. He is a loner, looking for something to make his life important. When his cousin has a song that is getting talked about via social media, Earnie decides that he wants to be his manager. At first, everyone thinks this is a bad idea, but Earnie won't quit. His father even tells Paper Boi, "Earnie is a hard worker, but he is going to do things on his own terms. By any means necessary". This lets Paper Boi know all he needs to know, and he is on board with letting Earnie be his manager.

There is a whole bunch of other stuff that happened in the 2 part premiere. There is a shooting incident. There is a great through line in the second episode in a holding area of a jail. There are great, short bursts of comedy throughout. Glover has done a show on his own terms, and it is wonderful. The premiere more than lived up to the hype for me. I cannot wait to watch more of "Atlanta".

This is a very new idea in an age of remakes and reboots. Glover has a totally original idea, and it is an absolute home run. And for the people out there that are mad and upset with the fact that Glover has left comedy and music for awhile, calm down. He is giving us this great, one of a kind new show and it is awesome. Go watch "Atlanta" right now. This show is going to be great for years to come, as long as Glover keeps his stamp on it. I really, really like this show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Check out all the other shows that Ty watches. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

College Football Proved in Week One Why it is the Best

The first weekend of the college football season is officially in the books, and I have some quick thoughts about what we saw this past weekend.

First off, isn't it great to have football to watch again? Look, I like baseball, but nothing, not even basketball, compares to my love for football season. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. I spent my entire Saturday watching college football games.

My first main takeaway, RD was right and I was way wrong on Oklahoma. I assumed that they had the firepower and talent to overcome their head coach ineptness. Well, Houston made me look stupid, and made RD look right. When they got out to an 11 point lead, Oklahoma that is, I thought that they'd cruise from there. That was not the case. Houston took the first punch, then punched back way more than Oklahoma could handle. The 109 field miss return was the icing on the crap cake that has become Bob Stoops' calling card. Oklahoma could not recover, and they have a big hill to climb if they want in the playoff at the end of the year. They can still do it, but their chances are very, very slim. And how good did Houston and Greg Ward Jr look? They are truly a team worth watching, and they could definitely crash the playoff this year. Their last 2 wins, Florida State last year in the bowl game, and Oklahoma to open this season, are legit, and so is Houston.

The Thursday before, the games were mediocre. The only "marquee" team was Tennessee, and they struggled. Appalachian State is an okay team, and they will forever haunt me for what they did to the Wolverines all those years ago, but Tennessee was supposed to crush them, especially at home. Well, that did not happen. They needed a fourth quarter comeback, and had it not been for a miracle play from their running back, they would have fumbled away their win. Tennessee may not be as good as some thought they would be. But, it is only week one. 

Friday night had some good games, most notably Stanford-Kansas State. This game was closer than I thought, but we still got to see some great running by McCaffery. He made great cuts and zipped through holes and ran over tacklers. That kid is good. Michigan State looked a bit disjointed in their game against Furman on Friday night, but they won. It was sloppy, but it goes down as a W. 

Saturday was the real kickoff. I mentioned the Houston-Oklahoma game, but there were a lot of other things I saw in those early games. The Big Ten, save for Northwestern, looked pretty good. Ohio State and JT Barrett absolutely pummeled Bowling Green. Michigan crushed Hawaii. Iowa ran all over Miami of Ohio. The mid to lower level teams, like Maryland, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska pummeled their opponents. Nebraska also did a fantastic tribute to their fallen punter. It was moving. Yeah, Northwestern got beat, but don't sleep on Western Michigan. They are a good football team. And as far as Rutgers goes, they stink.

The biggest win for the Big Ten came in the afternoon games, when Wisconsin beat LSU. LSU was supposed to be the second, or first overall team in the SEC. They have a great, great running back that was going to run all over Wisconsin. Wisconsin was also coming off an okay season, but they were breaking in a new QB, and their running back was coming off injury. Well, Wisconsin completely controlled every facet of that game. They "held" Fournette to under 150 yards, and forced LSU's QB to try and win the game, which he did not, throwing one of the most errant interceptions I have ever seen. But, I don't put this loss solely on Brandon Harris, I put it on Les Miles. He has become so vanilla. His offense is so predictable, and when you can get them out of their comfort zone, you have a great chance at beating them. The game was ugly, but it was exactly what Wisconsin wanted it to be, and they won. LSU is still a ways away from competing big time in the SEC.

In some other afternoon games, the competition looked good. UNC-Georgia was a very good game. I think I may have been a little low on Georgia in fact. If Nick Chubb can stay healthy, Georgia can be a very good team. Maybe they become the team that challenges Alabama in the SEC. Washington looked good, absolutely crushing Rutgers, Rutgers is not good. But, Washington looked pretty good. UCLA laid an egg against Texas A&M. They had no flow and Josh Rosen looked like he may have taken a step back. A&M won, but I don't think they are great either. Trevor Knight does not appear to be an elite QB, but that is the best they have. And, as I said, they got the win. Other ranked teams, like TCU, Oregon and Oklahoma State crushed their opponents, but TCU and Oregon both gave up more points than they should have against their opponents.

The night games on Saturday, one was great, the other, not so much. Alabama let USC stay in the game for one quarter, then realized that they are Alabama, and dismantled USC. That was an old fashioned whooping. USC looked like a very overmatched JV team against a very young, inexperienced Alabama team. As much as I loathe Nick Saban and Alabama, that team is great, and he is a great college coach. The Clemson-Auburn game was sloppy, but entertaining. Clemson won, but it was a dogfight, and Auburn had a chance at the end. Deshaun Watson did more than enough, at least in my eyes, to prove why he is the best player in college football. The game was also played at Auburn, which is a tough spot for any team, and Clemson still pulled out the victory.

 Sunday featured one game, Notre Dame-Texas, and that game was incredible. I fervently despise both teams, but that game was great. There was little to no defense played, but it was fun. Brian Kelly lost that game for Notre Dame. And, before you call me out for being a Notre Dame hater they would have won if he kept Deshon Kizer in at QB. But, he kept taking him out, and Kizer was unstoppable. So were the 2 Texas QB's. The freshman was more of a threat to throw, but Swoopes, man did he look good running the ball. And their running game was awesome. The way it ended, in double overtime, was excellent. That was a great, great game.

Last night, FSU came back and beat Ole Miss. For as bad as FSU looked in the first half, they looked great in the second half. The freshman QB calmed down, and the o line started to open holes for Dalvin Cook. Ole Miss is overrated. They came out guns blazing, but after the second quarter, they looked gassed, and it seemed that FSU figured them out. This game went as it was supposed to go.

There were a lot of good games, and this was a very good opening week. I don't like that they called the Oklahoma-Houston, Wisconsin-LSU and FSU-Ole Miss games, "neutral" site games. Houston got to play in Houston, Wisconsin got to play in Green Bay and FSU got to play in Orlando. Those are all home games. That was an unfair advantage for Oklahoma, LSU and Ole Miss, but that is just a nit picky thing of mine. Other than that, this season is off to a very promising start. I cannot wait for this Saturday to come so I can watch some more football. The best sport is finally back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He can breathe easier this weekend because the Wolverines did not have their regular Rodriguez / Hoke bad loss in week one. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Are you Ready for some Fantasy Football?

Like all good fantasy games, one just needs a good roll of the dice.

Last night I attended my first of two, or possibly three, fantasy football drafts, and I'm here today to tell you the good and the bad of playing fantasy football.

I love fantasy football. It is so much fun. There is so much more good than bad while playing fantasy football. I love the drafting process. I think it is great to try and figure out who you are going to take, not in the first round, that is easy, but in the later rounds, when the pool of good fantasy players really thins out. I had a good time last night trying to figure out what third or fourth receiver, or second string running back I wanted to be on my bench in the 13th round. I really like the fact that I get to act like a GM basically. Now, I fully understand that a real GM's job is incredibly hard, and it has to be one of the most taxing things ever, but being a fantasy GM is wonderful. You get to pick the best players in football to be on your fantasy team. There is no wondering, "whose going to be my third stringer, that I will have to pay 6 figures", you get, at the very worst, back up tight ends that sit on your bench all season. It is so easy.

For example, I had the 8th overall pick last night, I took Cam Newton in the first round, but in the second round, I wanted a running back, and I had to choose between guys like Thomas Rawls, Latavius Murray, Eddie Lacy, Jamaal Charles and Matt Forte. They are all starters that will see the field a ton, so I picked Rawls. He played at Michigan for three years, and he was a beast last season, replacing Marshawn Lynch, so I pulled the trigger. It may have been a bit early, but who cares, it's fantasy football.

That's why being a fantasy GM is so much better than being a real GM. I also never have to worry about losing my job as a fantasy GM. I can take big risks, like taking QB in the first round, or drafting an unproven running back in the second round because I think he will have a good year, and I don't have to worry about an owner firing me. You know why? I'll tell you. I'm not only the GM of my fantasy team, I'm the owner too. I like this as well. Every decision is wholly mine, and mine alone. I don't have 6, 7 or 8 people telling me different things, I just have my own thought on my own picks. It's the best of both worlds. I make the decisions, and I have to live with them. For people who complain about their fantasy players, the next time you start to whine, remember, you picked these players because you are the owner and GM. You made the choice. I don't want to hear whining, unless a player gets injured.

Another thing I truly love about fantasy football, anyone can play. Fantasy football is literally a toss up. People will say that there is strategy, they are wrong. There is no strategy. This is all blind luck. Fantasy football is pretty much the same thing as picking teams in "March Madness". My wife, four or five years ago, used to laugh at me for playing this game, she called it. Now, she is the commissioner of our league. She is fully invested. She never liked football, barely watched it before she met me, but now, she is fully into fantasy football. She sits and watches Red Zone Network with me whenever one of her players has a chance to put up points for her team.

It's not just her that got heavily involved either. She has recruited friends of hers to play in our league. These friends have no interest in football, but due to my wife's blind love for the game, she has convinced them to join. She always tells them that it is fun, you need no strategy, you don't even have to draft your team, auto draft can do that and that it is oddly, but also very good, friendly competition. They have all played in our league for the last 5 years. Fantasy football is like a community of football and non football fans. That may be the best thing about it. I love fantasy football.

There is some bad as well. It can be frustrating waiting around for a live draft to end. Last night was the only live draft I do, and it took over 2 hours. I was told that was the fastest draft they have ever had. Going into minute 85 or 90, I was done, and I wanted to go home. I still have three picks to make, but it was all the waiting. The live draft is a bummer because there is no time limit in between picks. I much prefer online drafts because you can set up a time limit, ranging from 15 seconds to 1 minute. It goes so much faster. Last night, we would wait anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes between each pick. It was very frustrating. Some people didn't even know when it was their turn, this also made me angry. There is also the worry of injury to a high draft pick. Anything can happen on the football field, and losing a high pick, someone you count on for a lot of points, they can go down in week one, and your team could be toast. I'm nervous that Cam Newton could get injured because I drafted him so high. Same with Thomas Rawls. But, that's life in fantasy football.

The last thing that angers me, or makes me upset, I find myself having to root for players on teams I despise. I loathe the Seahawks, but I want Thomas Rawls to succeed. That is a weird feeling. I will also find myself actively rooting against players I like on teams I like because I have players on other teams going against them. The week that I have Newton going head to head with Aaron Rodgers, the QB of my favorite team, I will root for a Green Bay win, but for it to be because of their running game or their defense, not because Rodgers had a big game. That is another curse of fantasy football. But, as I said earlier, the good outweighs the bad.

I love fantasy football, and I will continue to play it until they no longer provide the service. It is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend that everyone try it at least once in their life. My mom even tried it once, and she had a good time doing it, so anyone can have fun. Go out and be a GM and owner and enjoy a season of fantasy football. I bet you will grow to love it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His fantasy team Bush did Harmabe is going to get their legs swept by the Cobra Kai. Ty has a twitter, go follow him @tykulik.

We Should not let Colin Kaepernick's Football Irrelevance Take Away from the Importance of his Protest

This means different things to different people, and that is ok.

I have had about a week now to process this whole Colin Kaepernick situation, and I think I'm finally ready to give my take.

First off, I have absolutely no problem with his choice to not stand for the national anthem. Why do we have to stand for the anthem anyway? It's been put into our heads since we were kids, but when I am at a sporting event, I cannot wait for the anthem to be over so I can sit down and enjoy myself.

Secondly, his reasoning, I totally agree with. There are a lot of problems in this country right now. There are racist police officers and people that are getting away with murdering minorities, and that is a very big problem. Our country is becoming a scary place for minorities, and when one person cannot take a stance without getting raked over the coals, that's frightening. Kaepernick is no Malcolm X or Muhammed Ali, not even close, but he is allowed to take a stance and protest. For all the crazy right wingers, this country was built on free speech, which Kaepernick is doing, so don't call him out for being un American, he is doing one of the most American things anyone can do. I fully stand by, and respect Kaepernick's choice to not stand for the anthem, just like I did with Mahmoud Abdul Rauf's choice to not stand for the anthem back in the 90's in the NBA, after converting to the Muslim faith. These athletes are people, just like you and me, and they have a right to their opinions. You don't have to like, or agree with them, but they can have an opinion. So, yeah, I fully stand by Kaepernick's reasoning for doing this protest. More power to you Mr. Kaepernick.

I do have some problems with the person, not the protest. First off, for people to compare what Kaepernick is doing to the Ali protests of the Vietnam War, or everything that Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr did for civil rights, stop it. Colin Kaepernick is not a leader, or an athlete of great stature, so these comparisons need to stop right there. He is not Ali, Malcolm X, MLK or even Jesse Jackson or Jim Brown. He is not nearly, nor will he ever be, as important and influential as those guys were and are. When I want to hear about civil injustices from athletes, I will pick old Ali quotes, or just listen to what Jim Brown has to say. They are so much more influential and important than Colin Kaepernick.

I feel like Kaepernick's actions, I don't mean to sound crass, is a bit of a stunt to keep his name in the mouths of sports analysts and journalists. I personally have not even thought about Colin Kaepernick the football player, in two or three years. The 49ers and Kaepernick have become irrelevant. Colin Kaepernick has not been the same QB since Jim Harbaugh put all his eggs in his basket and traded away Alex Smith and built his offense around the young moblie QB's talent. Sure, he led them to a Super Bowl, which they lost, but since then, the 49ers have been terrible.

First off, they fired Harbaugh after he and the owner just couldn't get along. Then, they gave Kaepernick a huge extension and decided to completely build around him. Then, the 49ers started to lose players left and right to free agency, trades or retirement. Last season watching the 49ers was horrendous. They looked so bad on offense, I would leave the room when the Red Zone Network would switch over to 49ers games. They just couldn't move the ball. Kaepernick's biggest threat, his legs, became neutralized. Teams figured him out. He just couldn't make the necessary throws to compete at an NFL level. It got so bad for him, the 49ers benched him for Blaine Gabbert. That's right, the same Blaine Gabbert that couldn't cut it in Jacksonville, supplanted Kaepernick as the starter. The 49ers still stunk, but Kaepernick did not see the field again after this benching.

Going into this season, it was widely known that the 49ers hadn't picked a QB yet. In fact, they were shopping Kaepernick, until they hired the incredibly overrated Chip Kelly as coach. Some, not me, seem to think that Chip Kelly can get something out of Kaepernick. I disagree. During the preseason Kaepernick has not performed well. He sat the first two preseason games, then all anyone talked about was him sitting during the anthem in the third preseason game because his on field performance was atrocious. Again, he couldn't make the reads or the throws necessary to succeed in the NFL. But, he did keep his name in the news for sitting during the anthem.

This is my biggest problem. Yeah, the GM's that are coming out and saying mean things about him, where have all you assholes been when people bring up all the assault and abuse from current players. I didn't hear any "anonymous" GM's taking Adrian Peterson or Greg Hardy to task for what they did, which is about ten thousand times worse than what Kaepernick is doing, but he is not as good a player as those two are, so these "anonymous" GM's keep their mouths shut on them. But, they bring the hammer down on Kaepernick. What a joke. But, all these reasons above are why I think this may be a publicity stunt just to keep his, meaning Kaepernick's, name in the sports news. He is not a good QB anymore. He is a shell of himself. He doesn't play with the reckless abandon and love that he did a few years back when he was running all over Green Bay in the playoffs. He has become a mediocre QB, fighting for the starting job on a mediocre team. The 49ers are very bad, and Kaepernick cannot keep that starting job on lock.

Like I said at the top, I wholeheartedly stand by the message he's trying to get across, I just don't think they have the right messanger. I wish someone like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Cam Newton were the ones doing the protest. I think that QB's like those guys should join in with Kaepernick's protest, there is still time, because they would be able to shed some real light on the problems going on in the US right now. And, I wonder how "anonymous" GM's would react if Brady, Rodgers or Newton joined in. Would they curse those guys out? Would they say that they are locker room cancer? Would they say that they wouldn't want them on their teams? No, no and no. Those GM's would not say one word. So, yes Colin Kaepernick, I wholeheartedly support you and your protest, but I wish you were more of a relevant player, because that would make this protest that much more important. People would have to look at this problem much more seriously if you were a better, more important player. The talking heads at ESPN and at SI wouldn't be able to just push it aside and say that this doesn't matter because Kaepernick is irrelevant. If it were any of the other three QB's I mentioned, this protest would have some real momentum.

Anyway, you be you Colin Kaepernick, and stand up for what you believe in. I cannot say it enough, I fully support him, but he is irrelevant. This is the true definition of a double edged sword. No one wins because of the irrelevancy of the player bringing the message.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Gene Wilder Gave Us the Gift of Pure Imagination

We have lost another big, big time legend. The great Gene Wilder passed away at the age of 82 reportedly in early August. I was late to his movies, but when I did see his stuff, I was immediately a fan. I loved his look, his style and, most importantly, his comedic chops. He was a funny, funny man. He made me laugh in pretty much everything I saw him in.

My first exposure to Gene Wilder was the classic movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". I saw this movie when I was very young, probably 8 or 9, and I didn't really understand it at the time. Actually, it kind of scared me a bit. But, when I was older, probably 16 or 17, I watched it again, and I was struck at how great this movie was. I had the preconceived notion that it still may be a bit scary, but I toughed it out and watched it again. The second time around, 8 or 9 years later, it was just great. I loved everything about the movie. I loved the jokes, the absurdity and the veiled horror in the movie. But, what I kept going back to, and the person I watched the most, was Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. His performance in this role is absolutely timeless. From the moment he shows up with the cane, then proceeds to lose said cane and does a sommersault, to the way he deals with the bratty children, to the way he treats the oompa loompa's and to how he finally realizes that Charlie is the only child that is truly worthy to be in his chocolate factory, it was all greatbecause of Wilder's performance. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", after the second viewing, became a barometer for friendships and girlfriends for me. If new people that I met liked the movie, they had a leg up. If they mentioned Wilder's performance, I knew we were going to be friends for a long time. I still sit back and watch that movie to this day, and I'm still as moved by the movie, but more importantly, Wilder's performance, as I was when I watched it as a teenager. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a great entryway to the genius that was Gene Wilder, especially for millennials. Don't waste your time watching Tim Burton's garbage remake. That movie is trash and Johnny Depp is no Gene Wilder.

After my renaissance, if you will, with Gene Wilder, I needed to see more. My dad and brothers told me to watch this classic comedy called "Blazing Saddles". It was at this time that I was getting more and more into comedy, be it stand up, TV or movies. They all raved about this classic Mel Brooks spoof of western movies. I was hesitant again, I'm not that big a fan of westerns, but I watched it anyway because Wilder was, at least I was told, genius in "Blazing Saddles". So, I watched it and was completely blown away by how great everything was in the movie. "Blazing Saddles" is the top tier of spoof movies. Every part, every role, every spoken word of dialogue, every set piece, everything was just perfect and hilarious. I was laughing the entire time. I look back at a movie like "Blazing Saddles" and I can't imagine anything like it would be made today, but back in the 70's, it was great fodder. And what makes this great is Cleavon Little, as Bart and Gene Wilder, as Jim. Their relationship throughout the movie is wonderful. The first scene where we meet Gene Wilder's Jim, in the jail, is classic. The whole back and forth about him being the fastest gun in the West and how he may have lost a step or two, but then proving to Bart that he still had it, all of it was hilarious and perfectly Mel Brooks and perfectly Gene Wilder. "Blazing Saddles" is so great, and it is made even better due to Wilder's performance. Wilder was a lock to give you a great performance, especially a deadpan comedic performance. He was like an all time great athlete. When people counted him out, he would achieve. When people expected greatness, he would go above and beyond expectations. And his performance in "Blazing Saddles" was masterful. The movie definitely stands the test of time. Watch it today, and I bet you will laugh just as hard as the people who first saw it in 1974.

After seeing "Blazing Saddles", I took a long break from Gene Wilder movies. It wasn't a conscious choice, I was in college, and had other stuff on my mind. When I met my wife, while we were still "boyfriend and girlfriend", she used to tell me that, if I liked Wilder so much, I should see "Young Frankenstein". It was many years later, after we had married, that I finally rented the movie, and we sat down and watched it together. I got the same feeling watching "Young Frankenstein", in my late 20's, that I got when I first saw "Blazing Saddles". "Young Frankenstein" was great, and Wilder was absolutely wonderful. He was the star of this movie. He was great in every facet. He was so weird, but so funny. His takes on horror where just perfect. He, and Mel Brooks, spoofed it fantastically. "Young Frankenstein" is a perfect comedy movie. Gene Wilder is so phenomenal in this role. With "Young Frankenstein", I made the decision that Wilder may be the best, or at least in the top three, of greatest comedic actors of all time. He was great in every thing that he did. And "Young Frankenstein" may be his coup de tat. As much as I love "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein" is a comedic work of art. It's classic.

I know that Gene Wilder has done countless other things, i.e., his work with Richard Pryor, all the other movies he did with Mel Brooks and popping up on TV shows here and there later in his career, but these three movies are what I will remember most from Gene Wilder.

It doesn't just stop at movies for me. I love the fact that, without him, we may have never gotten to see the genius that was Richard Pryor, and vice versa. They were one of the greatest comedic duos of all time. The two of them working together is like having Magic and Bird on the same team, or Michael and Scottie. They made each other so much better and pushed each other to do great things. His look was undeniable as well. There was no mistaking when Wilder walked into a room. Everyone knew it was him. Look at the iconic hair. When my son was a baby, he had the wildest hair I had ever seen, and we called him "baby Gene Wilder".

Gene Wilder was a genius and a legend. He lived a long, fruitful life and he will be missed. There will never be another Gene Wilder. He was truly one of a kind. He has influenced so many people that I like, among countless others. He was, and always will be, one of the greatest. Hopefully you are making people laugh wherever you are right now Mr. Wilder, and keep using your pure imagination in the afterlife. RIP

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches "Stranger Things"

I just finished, last night in fact, "Stranger Things" on Netflix. Now, just to get it all out of the way, this is going to be a shorter post from me today. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, I'll get into that in a minute, but I do want to talk about a show that a lot of other people have been talking about. I was, at first, opposed to watching "Stranger Things". I thought it was going to be straight horror. I was picturing nothing but gore and scary stuff happening throughout. But, after some posturing and a good talking to from my wife, I gave in and told her I'd watch with her.

Boy am I glad that I gave in because "Stranger Things" was absolutely phenomenal. My wife and I usually take about two to three weeks to finish a season of certain shows, but we finished "Stranger Things" in less than two weeks, and we were out of town for three of those days. We would sit down after putting our kids to bed and just watch. We had to see what happened next. We could not wait two or three days at a time in between episodes. The mini vacation was great, but we kept talking about the fact that we couldn't watch the show. The people we visited, we asked them to not spoil anything because they had finished the show, but we were only half way through.

I haven't felt this way about a show since I got very heavily into "Lost". I know that I write about a lot of shows, like "Bar Rescue" and "The Eric Andre Show", both of which I truly adore, but "Stranger Things" was so, so much better than pretty much anything that I currently watch on TV. Some of the shows that I watch weekly, I can go a couple of days before watching, but I craved "Stranger Things". The show was quite spectacular. I'm not going to spoil anything because this show needs to be watched. It is so god damn incredible, and just like I did not want our friends in Chicago to spoil anything, I will not spoil a single thing. I feel that is only fair.

I do want to talk about some of the things I really liked about the show though. I loved the cast. Winona Ryder really showed up for this role and she was great. David Harbour, an actor I'm not to familiar with, did a very good job. Matthew Modine was creepy and excellent. The other, older actors all did a very good job in their roles. But, the kids on this show were the stars. They were all fantastic. The middle school aged kids were great. The high school aged kids were great. And the college aged kids were great. But, the young girl that is the main character, she is the star. She was exceptional, and she is going to start doing bigger things after this. 

"Stranger Things" captured the time, the style and the attitude of the 80's in a small Midwest town to perfection. I could relate to a lot of what was going on. Which leads me to the set pieces. The sets were excellent. Everything looked like it was from 1980. It just had that look, and I know you guys know what I'm talking about. The Duffer Brothers, the creators of the show, hit an absolute home run with pretty much everything they chose to do with "Stranger Things", all the way from choosing Netflix to how each character dressed, and everything in between.

I am so grateful to my wife for talking me into this show. Sure, there was horror and gore, but there was also comedic moments, coming of age moments, fights and stories about the importance of family. I have zero bad things to say about "Stranger Things", except for the fact that it took me so long to watch it. This show was perfect in every single way. I'm sure it will be back for a second season, and I can only hope it is half as good as this first season. If you like horror, mystery, comedy and science fiction, watch "Stranger Things" immediately. Read this blog, then stop whatever else you were going to do today and binge watch it. I guarantee that you will love it. It's so good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When rolling the die, he thinks Netflix is rolling some true 20's. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches the "Eric Andre Show": Season 4 Episode 4

This past Friday there was a new "The Eric Andre Show", and I am here today to review the craziness for everyone. This was, in a long line, another great episode.

The opening was the usual. Andre attacked the stage with his usual vigor. This time, he did the usual stuff, like trashing his sign, tackling the drummer and destroying his desk. But, he added some new things, as he does with every opening. He did some gross autoerotic affixiation stuff while destroying the stage. He also did a spoof of the Hardees commercials, you know the ones I'm talking about with the models cleaning cars, then eating burgers, but this time it was Andre dressed in a bikini top and cut off jean shorts. It was wildly disgusting, but also hilarious. He kept pouring soapy water all over himself, so much to the point that he choked on a little bit of it. I found myself cracking up, especially when the creepy stage hand kept licking his lips.

Then, the show started. They put the new stage up, and Andre sat down. Burress was introduced, but instead of coming from the curtains, as he usually does, he rose from the ground, a la a vampire rising from the coffin. Then Andre started his monologue. This time around, he straight up attacked Burress. It was all in good fun, but Burress, with his usual deadpan delivery, kept giving it right back to Andre. Andre wouldn't let up, and this all turned into a bit about the Bible. Andre claimed it was the one thing that could save you, but in usual Andre bits, there was a pistol inside the Bible, and he faked shot himself.

Next, they started the interview process. I know all this sounds crazy, but this is very usual stuff in every episode of this show. The first guest was Tichina Arnold. Many of you know her as Martin Lawrence's girlfriend's friend from the show, "Martin", but she is still acting. Andre asked a lot of uncomfortable questions, and put Arnold in weird situations. At one point, Burress put on glasses and a goofy mouth piece, and proceeded to do his best Austin Powers impression. This was immediately dismissed, with Burress screaming, "why do you guys make me do this stupid shit!". I loved it, Arnold was horrified. Then, Andre proclaimed that they were cutting to darkness, and the whole stage went black. They kept going with the interview, but the audience could see nothing, except for flashes of light, and a guy dressed as a Yeti. The Yeti kept getting closer to Arnold, to her total oblivion, and when she finally turned, she let out one of the loudest screams I think I have ever heard. I was howling with laughter.

They then cut to a pre taped segment called "Officer Eric". This segment had Andre dressed as a parking meter officer. He would go up to random strangers, tell them that they were illegally parked, but instead of giving them a ticket, he would start to pee on their car. I don't think it was real pee, but it very well could have been after watching this show for three plus years now. He did this to many people, and they all got very angry, or just upset. One guy chased him down the street, and Andre ran away, peeing the whole time. Another guy just kept asking him, "why are doing this?", over and over again. They did this segment twice during the episode, and it was very funny each time.

They had their second guest on, Steve Schrippa, from "The Sopranos", and this interview was doomed from the beginning. Schrippa was not amused by any of Andre's or Burress' actions. Andre handed him some walnuts to crack with his bare hands, which he did. But, then Andre handed him some ice to crack barehanded. Schrippa was not amused. They pushed him on what he is doing now, claiming that he was an irrelevant actor. Schrippa was growing more angry and sweaty by the minute. He claimed that he had a new spaghetti sauce, and Andre said he wanted to do a commercial for it. Schrippa reluctantly agreed, and then Andre had a naked PA come on stage to do the commercial with a gun pointed at his face. The PA, pretending to be scared, proceeded with the pre written commercial, and at one point, he was told to "put your balls in the sauce". He did, and this set Schrippa off. He went off on Andre. Andre poked him a little more, and started to ask his groin questions. Schrippa started to physically attack him, ending with him pushing Andre off a chair.

This led to the last pre taped segment, where Andre was in the middle of a pole rigged system, that had four other dummies, dressed exactly like Andre. He roamed the streets asking random strangers if they could figure out which one was the real person. This led to Andre walking into a porn store, asking for the best material to pleasure himself to. The owner kept asking him to leave, and Andre pushed until they had to kick him out. At this point, Andre was pushed out of the store, but he got stuck in between two of his mannequins. I loved this segment.

They ended the show with musician Ariel Pink. But, they kept adding things to his song. They dumped mud on him. They brought out a fake boy band to dance with him. They did a bunch of stuff, including Burress wearing a blond wig and a weed covered onesie, made him sing, and they called him Ariel Black. This made Ariel Pink attempt to tackle Andre, but Andre dove out of the way.

Once again, it was a bizarrely hilarious episode. I loved it. I loved the new segments. It was great. The show is taking one week off, for the holiday, but it will be back next week, and so will I. "The Eric Andre" show has been so good this season so far. I can't wait for more episodes.

Ty

What is Derrick Rose Thinking?

Maybe another year at Memphis would help Rose's ability to face reality

So, since Derrick Rose has signed with the Knicks, he has made 2 of the dumbest, most asinine and just flat out ridiculous statements I've ever heard.

First, a few weeks back, he says that "people are calling us and the Warriors super teams". Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is utterly absurd. What exactly makes you and your people think that the Knicks are a "super team"? Is it because they signed you and Jo Noah this offseason? Is it because you have the rotting corpse of Carmelo Anthony? Is it because we may not know if Porzingis is really good, or a one year wonder? Is it because of the hiring of Jeff Hornacek? I mean, does any of that sound like a "super team" to anyone but Derrick Rose? The Knicks will be lucky to be a 6 or 7 seed in the east next year, and that's if everyone, Rose, Noah and Anthony, are healthy all year. That will not happen, I would be willing to put money on those guys missing, at least, 10-15 games next year, and I'm not a betting man. When I can think of three teams out of the east immediately off the top of my head, the Cavs, Raptors and Celtics, that I think will be so much better than the Knicks, I don't think that makes you a "super team". Also, I didn't even mention all the teams that are better than them in the west, with the exception of the Warriors. Also, Derrick Rose is no Steph Curry. Carmelo Anthony is no Klay Thompson. Jo Noah is no Draymond Green. And Porzingis can only hope he's 1/10 the player Kevin Durant is. I only saw one Knick, Anthony, on team USA. I saw 3 Warriors, on the 12 man roster. The Knicks are not a super team, sorry Derrick Rose.

Then, earlier this week, instead of just letting his "super team" comment fade, he doubled down and said that he thinks the Knicks can win "every game" this year. I get that these guys are competitors, and they all think they are the best, but come on, it's impossible to go undefeated in any sport, with college football being the exception. And that is still very hard. The best teams in NBA history, the Warriors of last year, the 96 Bulls and the mid 80's Celtics, lost some games. The Warriors lost 9, the Bulls 10 and the Celtics, 15. And those three teams are considered all time great teams. It's just impossible to even think that you can win every game in the NBA.

I don't know what has gotten into Derrick Rose this offseason. He is not the player he was 5 or 6 years ago. He's not the fearless rim attacker he once was. He has tried to become a jump shooter, but his shot is garbage. And he doesn't play defense. If I were a teammate of his, especially Carmelo Anthony, I'd be so pissed at these comments right now. It's so much undue pressure for a middling franchise. He is clearly losing his mind if he thinks that this Knicks team is going to be anything but average. They'll be lucky to win 41 games. They are no super team, and they will not go 82-0. Sorry to burst your bubble Derrick Rose, but those are facts. Good luck in a contract year, but I'd be shocked if you play more than 50 games, and I'd be even more shocked if you guys win more than 25 of those games.

The Knicks are irrelevant, and Derrick Rose seems to be the only person that doesn't realize this. If he keeps up with these ridiculous comments, it's going to be a long season for his teammates and for Knicks everywhere. Being a writer, I hope he keeps it up, it's great fodder, but as an NBA fan, he needs to shut his mouth with this nonsense. It's absurd.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks the Knicks may be more like the "super team" the NFL had in Philadelphia a few years ago. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Making Life a Commodity

Did the price on males 25-40 rise today?

Drug maker Mylan and its CEO Heather Bresch are the newest monsters that has channeled the public's rage. The makers, and distributors, of the life saving EpiPen have dramatically increased the price of the medicine from around $100 in 2008 to over $600 today. Since the price increase Mylan has seen its stock price triple and Bresch's compensation has gone from $2.5 million a year to nearly $19 million. The furor over the EpiPen price gouge has even united many in the Republican and Democratic parties in condemning Mylan. Much like the controversy related to the steep price increase in the drug Daraprim, the public rage being directed towards Mylan and Bresch is meant to shame and cause meaningful change. What Mylan and Bresch have done, like Turing Pharmaceuticals and former CEO Martin Shkreli, is increase profits for billionaires at the expense of the lives of poor people with life threatening conditions. In their world the ability to make money is more important than saving a dying child.

In an interview to do some damage control, CEO Bresch told CNBC that "No one's more frustrated than me." about the dramatic increase in the price of the life saving EpiPen. "I'm running a business" is the excuse that Bresch gives to answer why the price of the drug keeps going up. The tone deafness of Mylan and Bresch does nothing to quell the public's rage over the EpiPen price gouge. It should not. The lack of humanity from people like Shkreli and Bresch continues to highlight the gap between the very rich, and everyone else. People are rightfully getting angry.

The problem is that Heather Bresch is right, she is running a business. What Mylan has done by increasing the price of the EpiPen is not illegal, in fact it is encouraged in capitalism. Turing Pharmaceuticals did lower the price of Daraprim, but it still costs 2500% higher than it did before the hike. Mylan bought the rights to the EpiPen (the drug is generic, the delivery system is what has value) in 2007, and has been raising the price 10% or more every year. This is how the for profit drug companies make money. Mylan did no research and development in creating the EpiPen. They do not sell the device at a loss. The EpiPen is a strong, and endless, revenue stream for the billion dollar company. By raising the price of the drug, Bresch has done exactly what she was hired to do, make money for Mylan.

In the United States drug companies can charge whatever they want. One of the core tennets of capitalism is to charge what the market will accept. When you are the sole provider of a life saving medication, the cost of a person's life can be quite large. Other industrialized nations have governmental agencies that negotiate with drug manufacturers to make sure that the cost of life saving medicines are not out of reach to the average consumer. It is illegal in the United States for the government to negotiate with drug manufacturers. The drug companies charge whatever they want, for profit insurance companies pass those charges onto their customers, and the US government subsidizes both the drug makers and insurance providers. The only person losing money is the consumer because they need the drugs to stay alive. US capitalism has put a price on life. That price is whatever the drug companies want it to be.

This is evil. When Mylan bough the rights to the EpiPen, CEO Bresch did not want to save lives. The company bought the product because they could make an obscene amount of money. The company claims to be concerned with the well being of general public by offering coupons and other means to make the EpiPen more affordable, but Mylan still makes over $600 off of the drug. The consumer may not pay the full price, but insurance rate hikes and government subsidies will cover the full cost of the EpiPen. One does not need an MBA, there are a lot of questions about Heather Bresch's education, to understand how to use an immoral system to make money. Mylan saw profit, no matter the consequences. The consequences of price gouging the EpiPen can mean death for those not blessed enough like Heather Bresch and the board of directors at Mylan. 

Mylan is not the first company to buy a cheap life saving drug and use their monoply to make obscene amounts of money and endanger innocent people at the same time. Heather Bresch is not the first soulless CEO to claim to be the victim in a world of bad press. They are not the first, and they will not be the last. The millionaires who are the elected representatives of the United States citizens would rather protect corporate interests than be concerned about the health of their constituents. Being one of the only civilized nations without government oversight on drug prices, the ruling class in Washington DC thinks that american lives are a commodity. Drug companies like Mylan, Turing Pharmaceuticals, and many others keep cozy with Washington so the lives of Americans can be quantified. It is sick and it needs to stop.

The righteous anger over the radical increase in the price of the EpiPen should not go away. An economically challenged child born with a peanut allergy, through no fault of their own, should not have to die because Mylan and Heather Bresch wanted to add shareholder value. We need to be angry, we need to demand change. Bresch's frustration should not be because she is being bothered by bad press, her frustration should stem from the fact that her company is not finding life saving cures and giving them away for free. One's health, one's life, should never be part of the bottom line in any company's earnings report. Mylan and Heather Bresch deserve to be frustrated. 

Healthcare is in trouble, and allowing immoral people to continue to make millions on the broken system needs to stop. The EpiPen battle is just the first skirmish in a war to make American lives valuable again. Call your elected representative, write an impassioned plea on social media, yell through a megaphone, but do not let the furor over the EpiPen die. The drug companies, and their cronies in Washington DC, need to feel the wrath of America. You should be the only one who can put value on your life, not a grotesque company with an uncaring CEO. Life is not a commodity, because life is something more than a monetary value.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are drug companies the heroes that the business press makes them out to be? No they are not. Let RD know where he is misguided by writing for SeedSing. 

Give it Up Tim Tebow

Tebow is not getting to first base anytime soon

Why won't Tim Tebow just give up, and give in to the fact that he is destined to be a commentator on ESPN for the rest of his life? He is very good at doing that, or hosting shows that have to do with pumping people up. Basically, he is a good looking young man, that had his shot at the NFL, couldn't cut, but has found something that he really thrives at doing. He is really, really good on TV, much to my surprise.

With the news that he is going to be holding a workout for 20 MLB teams this week, he still hasn't given up on his pro sports dream. There are many, many problems with his new plan to become a pro baseball player. First off, as I have already stated, he is great on TV. He exudes charm and professionalism while doing television spots, or talking college football. I do not like Tim Tebow, the person, at all, but damn, he is good on TV. He should just stick with that. He is really good. Next, he hasn't played competitive baseball since he was in high school. Sure, he was a decent high school player, he hit over .400, and had some power, but, I played with kids at my high school, who had no shot at the pros, that were much, much better baseball players than Tim Tebow. High school baseball is not that tough. you have to be incredibly good, Bryce Harper good, in high school, to be considered a top prospect that can make the majors at a very young age.

This leads me to the next problem with Tebow and playing pro baseball, he is 29. I know that is young in regular life, but in pro sports, that is ancient. Sure, baseball players can play well into their late 30's and early 40's, but the guys that have careers that last that long, they have been playing professionally since they were in their early 20's. Late 20's, early 30's in baseball, that is getting near the twilight of your career. Take Albert Pujols for example. When he broke into the majors, he was considered an older rookie, at 21 years old. Sure, he proceeded to be dominant for the next ten years, but when he left the Cardinals for the Angels, at 31, his career has fallen on harder times. He is not the feared hitter he was when he was younger. He was only 2 years older than Tebow is right now before his career kind of started to break down. Pujols is an all time great, but he is 36, and many people consider him past his prime. Hell, they considered him past his prime when he was 32 or 33, only three years older than Tebow currently is. Why would a team want to take a chance on a guy that may only give them one, two years tops, of good baseball.

Another player to look at, one that may not be as famous, or as respected as Pujols, Ryan Howard. Here's another 36 year old player, that was great for one or two years, in his early 20's, that has fallen off the map. He doesn't have really what it takes to be as feared as he once was. He gave the Phillies three great years, but after getting hurt, and older, he is not the same. His best days were in his mid 20's. He was younger than Tebow when he was mashing the ball, but now, he just doesn't have it.

That is just 2 examples of players that were great when they were younger than Tebow currently is, that have fallen on rough times. You could even look at some other people that have tried the whole crossover from one pro sport to another. Michael Jordan comes to mind first. He is the greatest basketball player of all time, but he could not hack it in double A baseball. He barely hit over .200, and he went back to basketball ASAP. Russell Wilson, who was drafted out of high school to pro baseball, also couldn't hack it in double A, hitting in the low .220's. Deion Sanders was great at football, and he was decent at baseball, gaining the leadoff spot for a pretty good Braves team in the 90's, but he was not nearly as good at baseball as he was football. He was also much younger when he played both sports professionally. The most famous person, that was successful at playing two pro sports at a very high level, was Bo Jackson. Tim Tebow is not even close to being anywhere near Bo Jackson's athleticism, and he never will be.

Basically, this all seems to be a publicity stunt, or he just won't let this dream of being a pro athlete die. He had his chance at pro football, and he couldn't cut it. He couldn't make the reads, the throws or run an offense the way it needs to be run professionally. Sure, he may be better than some teams second and third string QB's currently, but no NFL team is going to give a 29 year old washed out, spread option QB, that can't throw, a contract. It's not happening. And with the MLB, I mean, who is going to sign a guy that is almost 30? You don't sign with a team and then immediately become a pro, unless you are Robin Yount or Ken Griffey Jr, both hall of famers. You have to go through the minors. You have to take your lumps, and if you are lucky, you get called up after two or three years of bouncing around on buses and staying in dingy motels. I don't think Tebow can handle, or even wants to handle, that lifestyle. He is used to the finer things in life now. He had his shot, and he had a very short career in the NFL, but he made it.

I know hundreds of thousands of people that would give an arm to have his NFL career. He needs to let the dream die. No GM in the MLB will sign him. He is too old and too much of a distraction. Major league baseball likes to draft young kids, usually 18, 19 or 20, and let them grow in their minor leagues system, and then bring them in the pros when they are 21 or 22. That's how it goes.

Sorry Tim Tebow, but your pro sports window has passed, and just let the dream die. Pro baseball is not happening for you.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once held an open workout for professional soccer. The problem was not Ty's age, it was the fact he did not like soccer and therefore was not good. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Listens to Frank Ocean's "Blonde"

It finally happened. After what seemed to be years, I think it was two or three total, Frank Ocean finally released his follow up to the wonderful "Channel Orange". I was scouring Twitter the other night, and I saw that some of the people I follow were posting pictures and talking about the new Frank Ocean record. I immediately went to iTunes, in hopes that it would be available for purchase, and not only listenable to through Apple Music, and much to my pleasure, it was right there, the first record in fact, available to buy and download immediately. I did just that, and listened to it the moment it finished downloading. What I heard for the next hour was exceptional. Frank Ocean is a very, very good musician and very much a perfectionist. The album is called "Blonde", and it is so, so good.

"Blonde" was well worth the wait. I was growing frustrated, hearing stories from many different outlets that his second album was going to come out any day. I started to dismiss pretty much everything I heard. I thought Frank Ocean might have been a one album guy. I figured he would go out on a very high note. But, he did not do that. He delivered an excellent record that, I feel, everyone who likes music needs to buy. It is so different and is perfectly Frank Ocean.

What I liked about "Channel Orange" was expanded on so much on "Blonde". Ocean is like a throw back R&B singer who mixes modern hip hop with his music. He does that so well on "Blonde". I have heard some people say that it sounds a bit "disorganized", or "unfinished", but I say to them, go listen to "Channel Orange", it is the same thing. Ocean does things like changing the beat mid song, or cutting a song without a real outro, or throwing in short little songs or segues that some people may not like, or dismiss as not real music. I couldn't disagree more. This is what modern music has become, and when you can make it very good and commercial, you must be doing something right.

The album starts off great, the middle is weird, but awesome, and the last three tracks are epic. I love the opener to the record, "Nikes". The song finds Ocean using a very high voice and singing some great lyrics. He also transitions into a bit of hip hop during the song with equal accomplishment. The chorus, and intro, are very singable. I adore this song. "Pink and White" is another great early track song. He gets very high, and the instrumentation is epic. There is loud squealing from both Ocean and his guitar at the end, and it is great. The interlude that comes next is a great message, possibly from Ocean's mother, that is poignant and important. He then goes into "Solo" which is a great song. It is about being alone and lonely and it is incredible. Later, near the middle of the record, we get a "Solo (reprise)" song, and it features Andre 3000. His verse is absolutely phenomenal. It is reminiscent of something off of "The Love Below". And only someone like Frank Ocean could call up Andre 3000 and get him to do a verse on his new record. They are both similar type of musicians, but 3000 has been more focused on acting lately. He proves on this track that he still has it. "White Ferrari" and "Siegfried" are great songs near the end of the record. "White Ferrari" is a perfect hip hop/R&B song. It sounds like if R Kelly was a legit artist. Ocean is so much better than R Kelly. "Siegfried" is a good song, with some very important lyrics. The song tells a story, and it is a very good and very important story. The closer to the whole record, "Futura Free", is my favorite song on the whole album. It is excellent. Ocean does a bit more rapping, which I really like, on this song. The beat is excellent, the groove is wonderful, Ocean is fantastic and it is a very good way to close out the album. The song is over 9 minutes long, but the last 3 minutes are people answering random questions. The 5 or 6 minutes of "Futura Free" that are an actual song is tremendous.

Look, I know we had to wait a very long time for this record. I know some people may be complaining about the "disorganization" of the record. I know some people may not get it. But, two or three years from now, everyone will look back at "Blonde" as being one of the best records of all of 2016. Compared to some of the crap that is on the radio, i.e., Meghan Trainor, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, I could go on and on and on, we should be thankful that a good, real musician is putting out very good, very real music. "Blonde" is excellent, and totally worth any music lovers time. Go buy it now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He listens to all of his music on an old school 160 GB iPod. Hear him talk all about it on the X Millennial Man. Make sure you also follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.