College Football in Houston will Fall Back, While it Will Move Forward at Oregon

At least the footballs will be in good hands at Oregon

Two college football head coaching positions have been filled this week. One is a pretty big deal, the other, some will think it's a big deal, I personally do not think it really matters that much, because that team is going to become irrelevant again, very soon. In fact, let's get that one out of the way first.

There were multiple reports the other day that Houston had hired Lane Kiffin to be their next head coach. Then, throughout the day, a lot of those reports were refuted, and it was soon announced, that he was not the new head coach. I woke up this morning and read that they had hired their offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite, to be their next head coach. I remember watching Applewhite while he was a QB at Texas and thought he was okay. Then, as a coordinator, he has been sufficient. But, I do not think he is going to be that great of a head coach. Some people are more suited to be an assistant as opposed to the head man. Look at a guy like Mike Martz. He was an offensive genius, but when he was the head guy with the Rams, he was a train wreck. He did not care about defense, and that doomed him. I think he is still coaching somewhere, but he is not remembered for being the coordinator of one of the greatest offenses of all time, he is remembered as a failure as a head coach.

Unfortunately for Applewhite, I think he is destined for a similar outcome. He has an exceptional offensive mind, especially for college football. On his watch, Houston's offense has been a wonder to watch. They were fast, they scored a ton of points and gained lots and lots of yards. But, in the games they didn't win, their defense was exposed, and the offense could look stagnant and repetitive. I mean, how many times can you run the exact same read option play? You need some kind of diversity to keep teams on their toes. The only team that doesn't need to change things up is Alabama, and Houston is no Alabama. So, while I say congratulations to Applewhite on his first head coaching job, I also see lots and lots of 7-5 or 8-4 seasons on their horizon, and no more competing for big-time bowl games, or even competing against big-time teams.

The big coaching vacancy that was filled was the Oregon job. I did not know who they were going to hire. At different points, I was certain they were hiring Chip Kelly, then Lane Kiffin, then Charlie Strong, I even thought they were going to give Les Miles a shot. But, I could not be happier with their choice of Willie Taggart. Taggart is a great, up and coming head coach in the college football world. He has turned around 2 programs, Western Kentucky and South Florida. He took over 2 jobs that the teams were in the dumps, and left them in great shape. Western Kentucky was a dumpster fire, and he made them a perennial bowl contender, which is a big deal for them. Then, he took over USF, which was happy to be a 4 win team, and turned them into a very good team. They finished this year 10-2, which is one of their best records ever. Taggart is also a very player friendly type of coach. Everywhere he has been, his players say nothing but glowing things about him. They love him. He pushes them, but it is never to a boiling point. You talk to former WKU and USF players that Taggart coached, and they only say very nice things about him.

When Oregon picked him to be their next head coach, I was pleasantly surprised. I watched a bit of his press conference, and that only made me like this pick even more. He's a confident guy that wants to turn this team back into a perennial power. I think he is going to thrive with a big time program as well. He was able to recruit players to go to schools like WKU and USF, so just think of what he will be able to do at Oregon. Kids already want to go play there for the uniforms alone, but now that they have a charismatic, great head coach on board. He is going to clean up on the recruiting trail.

I also really like how he and the AD took a shot at Brady Hoke. Look, I hope Hoke catches on somewhere, it needs to be a smaller division one school, but he was a mess at Oregon and Michigan. He could not motivate players as the head man at Michigan, and Oregon's defense last year was one of the worst defenses I have ever seen. They were atrocious. They were Swiss Cheese. Anyone and everyone scored and moved the ball at will against them last year. Hoke was an awful defensive coordinator.

Anyway, let's get back to Taggart. Like I have said a few times, he seems like he is going to be the perfect hire for Oregon. The guy can recruit, motivate and win. He is confident and appears more than able to succeed at his first big time head coaching job. I expect him to turn Oregon around pretty quickly, but I think his destiny is to be an NFL head coach. He is that good of a coach. While the Houston hiring of Applewhite leaves me kind of blah, the Oregon hiring of Taggart has me very excited, and I am not an Oregon fan at all. Good job Oregon, you guys look like you have made the right choice.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He should not criticize Houston, as "The Simpsons" reminds us 7-5 seasons do not come cheap. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 9 - Christmas Time at My House

ed note: This article was originally published on December 9th, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 9: "Christmas Time at My House" by Da Yoopers  (ed note: There is no free way to hear this song, this is a video of the lyrics, you can enjoy the holiday musical styling of Da Yoopers with the classic Rusty Chevrolet). 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

For the Advent Calendar of Awesome Music I'm picking "Christmas Time at My House" by Da Yoopers. This is a way off the wall choice for some, but not my family and not for the people that live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Da Yoopers are a bunch of random guys from the UP. As you all know by now, the UP holds a special place in my life and so do Da Yoopers. Just some random dudes got together, one of them knows how to kind of play the accordion, another one knows maybe three chords on guitar and none of them can really sing. But, they know the UP inside out and if you've ever been there or lived there, you can relate. They talk about ice fishing, their love for the Green Bay Packers, Lake Superior and eating venison jerky. They mention all the snow and just downright cold weather that happens in the UP. They do get a bit un PC at times, but it's never hateful or hurtful. It's kind of like a comedian telling a tasteless joke. No harm, no foul.

In keeping up with this countdown, I picked one of their holiday songs to talk about. As I mentioned, it's called "Christmas Time at My House". They talk about everything from video games to lutefisk. The opening lyric mentions Italians at the door, spilling meatballs. Now, in the UP there's either Polish or Italian people. It's a small part of the country, so there's not too much diversity. From this lyric I gather these guys are Polish. Also, if you've ever enjoyed a holiday in the UP, this line is 100 percent true. My father's parents were Polish and my mother's parents were Italian and during the holiday, my mom's parents would come to my dad's parents bearing gifts that included meatballs. They later mention that some uncles are getting into a fight and say, "Christmas is going to be some night". Who among us can't relate to this. There's always one or two family members that have one too many drinks (ed note: not me) and inevitably fight. They later mention the kids being on a sugar high and stealing their uncles dentures and hanging them on a tree like an ornament. I've actually seen this happen in my own life, so I know this is a real thing that actually happens. It's commonplace to me. They also talk about the kids having "visions of the latest video game dancing in their heads". Also 100 percent true. When I was younger I always wanted the newest sports game for the Nintendo 64 or the PlayStation.

The chorus is as follows, "Christmas time, food and wine, family friend and foe. We celebrate his birthday by spending all our dough. Now we are broke and happy, it's a shame Christmas only comes once a year". All of that is very relatable. There's always alcohol, lots of food and you are surrounded by your loved ones, for better or worse. People spend way too much money buying gifts, but everyone seems fairly happy around this time of year. And yes, it is a shame it only comes once a year. Sure, some people hate the holidays, but me, and the majority of my family, have a great time during the holidays. It's a lot of fun.

After the chorus, in the third verse, they bring in the not so PC talk when saying that "the mother in law is dancing with bloomers on her head after drinking all the Dago red". Now, this may be an actual wine, I don't know because I don't drink, but why not call it Italian wine? I'll tell you why. This is exactly what my Polish grandpa called Italian wine. He'd never just call it by its name, it was always "Dago red". I'm not saying it's excusable, it's just the way it is in the UP. They also mention that the priest is at the house playing the organ, but he's drunk too speak the words. Yep, priests go over to your house in the UP, get all liquored up and are so drunk by the end of the night, they literally can't speak. It's all very, very true.

The final verse had them talking about a drunk uncle, dressed as Santa Claus, "digging in his sack", I think we all know what they're talking about here. He's also showing butt crack that the kids are sticking nickels down. And, to close out the night, he passes out and destroys the tree.

Reading this you may say, that's not me and my family, we aren't this low class, but you'd be wrong. Everyone can relate to some point of this song. This song is universal. We all experience one or more of these things during the holiday. And for those of you from the UP, you know this tune is 100 percent true. I'm sure it hits very close to home. Basically, I love "Christmas Time at My House". I don't like much holiday music, but this song, and any song by Da Yoopers for that matter, is classic. Go check this song out if you haven't heard it and I guarantee you'll love it.

Happy holidays.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. What he lacks in wine knowledge he makes up in college football awareness. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 8 - "The Simpsons - Grift of the Magi"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 8: "The Simpsons - Grift of the Magi"

Original air date - December 19th, 1999

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

Every holiday season there is some kind of toy that is the must have for children everywhere. We have had, going all the way back to the baby boomer's day, the pet rock. Cabbage patch kids were a big deal when I was a kid. My wife, who is one day younger than me, had to have an American girl doll. The Zu Zu pet was a big deal a few years back. There was a dancing Elmo, that also hugged you, when my son was 2. There have been hundreds of toys that are the must get. The one I remember the best was the Furby. It was some weird mixture of a hamster, a gremlin, an alien, it was just a hodgepodge of things that were fury. This was the toy to have for children. I remember searching and searching for my nieces when this toy came out.

All this leads me to a great "Simpsons" episode that I wanted to write about today for SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday television episodes. The episode in particular is the one with the Funzo, but there is so much more to unfold. This is one of my all time favorite episodes of "The Simpsons". The episode starts out with Springfield Elementary being nearly shut down. They don't have enough money to keep the school going, but at the last minute a corporation comes in and saves the day. They buy out the school and replace all the teachers with their own workers. Some of the kids love this change of pace. Bart is thriving with this new staff. As he says during the episode, "teacher says I'm kicking books at a 10th grade level. But, not all students, really just Lisa, feel like they are being challenged academically. Lisa is very skeptical of this new staff. She mentions that something just doesn't feel right and questions why the guest speaker was, "Jan from marketing". At one point, she is caught doing equations, and she is disciplined with having to write on the chalkboard, a la what Bart does during the theme song.

Other things happen before Lisa gets in trouble. As I said, Bart is thriving. Milhouse, Nelson and Martin all feel like they are contributing when they are asked questions about what they like in a new toy. Ralph does not know what he is doing, as per usual, and even his new teacher, who says that there are no right or wrong answers, yells at him because she is annoyed. While the new staff is trying to figure out what kids want in a new toy, the children yell stuff like, "it needs to be cuddly", and "it needs to have lots of firepower". The corporate big wigs are very confused and frustrated because they do not know what to make. During class, when Lisa is found to be doing actual school work, the teacher asks her to suggest some names for a new toy, and the teacher wants her to use the word "fun" in the title. She says fungus, fun stuff and when she lands on Funzo, the company people love it.

Now, back to Lisa's punishment. She is writing on the chalkboard when Bart walks in and says one of the best lines ever written in television history. He proclaims to his sister, "Lisa in trouble?! The ironing is delicious!". I love this line. I say it all the time. Then Lisa corrects Bart, and as he is gloating and walking out of the room, he cuts off the lights. Lisa is annoyed, but she notices a light coming from the side of the chalkboard. She goes to explore this light and stumbles upon corporate notes and a very bare bones model of the Funzo. She is shocked by what she has found.

Immediately the Funzo becomes the toy to have. The company has made thousands of Funzo's and they sell like hot cakes. Moe and Lenny don't even wait for the store to open to buy one, they just smash the window. The corporate execs are thrilled with what they are seeing. Everyone in town wants, or already has a Funzo, even Bart. Bart loves this new toy. Lisa admits it's cute, but she says it can never replace her Malibu Stacey. At this point, while Bart is shopping for all the accessories that come with the Funzo, we come to realize that the Funzo was made to destroy all other toys. Funzo rips off Malibu Stacey's head and chokes out a talking Krusty doll, in another hilarious scene in this episode.

Bart and Lisa decide then and there that they need to tell the corporation that this toy needs to be taken off the market, and this is where this episode goes from great to classic. When Bart and Lisa show up at the office, they run into the security guard, voiced by Gary Coleman. Bart and Lisa crawl to try and get away from him. They both stop when they hear Coleman talking on a telephone, complaining that he did not get enough prawns in his Galaxy of Prawns order from a Chinese restaurant. His exact words are, "3 prawns is hardly a galaxy". Lisa continues to move on, urging Bart to come with her, but Bart says he wants to stay to see what happens. This is when we realize that Coleman is not even on the phone. In fact, the phone is unplugged. After Bart realizes this, Coleman continues with his "call", and after he is through complaining about the lack of prawns, he is on to his "conversation" with the president. When Lisa and Bart make their way to the 2 people running the company, they are both mad at Coleman, and Lindsay Nagel goes to fire him. She tells him that his service is no longer needed, and Coleman says, "What you talking about Ms. Nagel?". She loves this, calling it adorable, and tells him he is rehired. Then Coleman says, "Ha! I knew exactly what she was talking about!". Awesome.

Now Lisa and Bart are urging the company to shut down the Funzo, but they are making money hand over fist, and they bristle at this idea and tell Lisa and Bart to leave. They decide now that they need Homer's help to stop this toy from destroying every other toy. Homer happily obliges, counting the number of times he has saved and ruined Christmas. Homer goes into each home, while Bart and Lisa sing carols, and takes the Funzo from each Christmas tree. They then go to the Springfield Tire Fire to dispose of the Funzo's, but they are met by Coleman, and they all have a very long and thoughtful chat on ethics and making money the right and wrong way. When they are finally done conversing, they realize it is Christmas morning. Homer, Lisa and Bart are on their way home, and they see a sulking Coleman. It seems like he needs somewhere to go on Christmas. Homer invites him over to their house, but Coleman scoffs at first, saying he has to go to George Clooney's house. Lisa calls him out on this lie, and he ends up at the Simpsons house.

The best part is the very end of this episode. They go through the things that have happened, such as, Mr. Burns finding some extra money in his coat pocket, so he keeps the school going, and Moe shows up with a goose that he cooked, instead of ending his life by putting his head in an oven. When Moe arrives, he says that he dinged up the Jeep that is out front, and Coleman says to him, "What you talkin about Moe?", and everyone laughs. Coleman then turns to the main camera and says "What you talkin about everyone?!", and the episode ends there. It is so funny.

I love this particular episode for many reasons, but Coleman's performance is the best part, by far. This is a must watch during the holidays for me and my family, and I suggest that everyone else out there go watch this episode. It is a true classic.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He desperately wants a mini NES for Christmas. One with lots of firepower. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 8 - Christmas at Ground Zero

ed note: This article was originally published on December 8th, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 8: Christmas at Ground Zero by Weird Al Yankovic

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

When I was a young child I was extremely frightened of being killed in a nuclear strike. Growing up in St. Louis, I would hear people say that the McDonnell Douglas plant my dad worked at was a prime target for the Soviets. The weapons being developed and built in the St. Louis area made us a prime strategic target, so I heard. The television movie The Day After  freaked me out even more with it's setting being in Missouri. Nuclear annihilation was never far from the front of my mind. If it was not for the joyous holiday season, I would be worried about being vaporized, mutated, or full of cancer. That fear would last the whole year.

"Christmas at Ground Zero" was included on Weird Al Yankovic's 1986 album Polka Party! Many people associate the great Weird Al with parody songs, yet "Christmas at Ground Zero" was one of his original tunes. The song uses classic and joyful holiday compositions with words that are absurd to our minds today. Weird Al makes fun of the popular culture associated with nuclear paranoia. Duck and cover, mutations, flying debris, fallout shelters, they are all combined with the yuletide celebration. No amount of atomic carnage seems to dampen Weird Al's holiday mood.

The video, directed by Weird Al, is a great companion piece to "Christmas at Ground Zero". The stock videos of duck and cover drills highlight the lunacy of nuclear paranoia. The inclusion of Hollywood Ronald Reagan counting down to the big day is a great touch. President Reagan was quite happy to increase our fear of being destroyed by nukes, and in hindsight his rhetoric is as absurd as Weird Al's tune. Reagan loved cold war paranoia, and he loved Christmas. Weird Al found married Reagan's to loves into something quite magnificent. That is the mark of a great director.

I am comfortable with the knowledge that I will not be vaporized while I duck and cover this holiday season. I am even more at ease that I will probably never need to dodge atomic bombs throughout the rest of the year. Anything is possible though, and if I need my radiation suit on New Year's Day, I will have the spirit in my ears with Weird Al's "Christmas at Ground Zero".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. His biggest fear watching The Day After is that his family may have to move to Lawerence, Kansas. That is frightening.  Tell your tales of duck and cover by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 7 - "The Late Show with David Letterman - December 19th, 2014 "

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 7: "The Late Show with David Letterman - December 19th 2014"

Original air date - it is right there in the title.

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Every year around Christmas we listen to the same songs and watch the same television shows. We all have our traditions, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. These little bits of holiday pop culture sometimes get us into the right mood during a cold December night. These annual traditions help us look back to other pleasant times we experienced during the holiday season. There is a comfort in looking forward to that one thing that makes our holiday season extra special.

David Letterman once famously said that it is not the Christmas until he hears Darlene Love sing that song. The song in question is the new standard (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home. Vanity Fair has a great oral history of how Darlene Love ended up on Letterman for almost thirty years singing her iconic song. That first appearance in 1986 was simple, and without pomp, but a beloved holiday tradition was born.

Because this song was - and still is - my favorite rock Christmas song ever, I was so elated back in Dec. 1986 when I heard David Letterman say "tomorrow night's guests include...Darlene Love to sing Christmas Baby Please Come Home".

The small band, and ugly holiday sweaters, had nothing on Phil Spector's iconic Wall of Sound, but Darlene Love still slayed with her vocals. Since that appearance, Darlene Love, Paul Shaffer, and David Letterman made (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home a fixture on Late Night, and then The Late Show. Only a writers strike would stop the trio from letting Letterman start Christmas. Many even believe that Love's Late Show appearances helped her finally, rightfully so, get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On December 19th, 2014, Darlene Love performed (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home for the last time on The Late Show. In May of 2015, David Letterman retired from the late night game. Everyone knew that the December 19th performance was going to be the last, and nothing was held back. The four-piece backing band of 1986 was replaced by a horn section, strings, backup singers, and Paul Shaffer on a grand piano. Love even decided to belt out the last few lines on top of the piano because she was afraid of breaking down when Letterman came to give her a hug. The 2014 performance of (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home was an epic curtain call for a singer, a talk show host who was a fan, and the viewers that counted on Darlene Love to usher in the holidays every year on late night television.

Darlene Love's final performance of "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home" on The Late Show with David Letterman - Dec 18, 2014.

Our holiday traditions are something to be celebrated. Listening to the same songs, or watching the same tv specials, is what makes December a great time. We all have that one special pop culture thing that gets us in the right Christmas mood. David Letterman had Darlene Love sing that song. We were truly lucky to share this tradition with Mr. Letterman.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The holidays do not start for him until he hears Linus and Lucy.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Better Late than Never on the Violent, Funny, and Perfect "Keanu

That is one bad ass kitty

I know that I am rather late to the party, but I just recently saw the movie "Keanu", and I loved it. I was already a pretty big Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael Key fan before seeing this movie. They were the only decent part of the mid-series run of "Mad TV". I would only tune in to see their skits and stories. I was an absolutely avid fan of their show on Comedy Central, "Key and Peele". They brought a new kind of sketch show to cable TV that was an absolute homerun. I watched every episode, in real time, and some of their skits and bits were some of the funniest things that I have ever watched on television. One of their very first skits, involving 2 guys griping about their wives and saying that they called them a "bitch", but going as far away as outer space so their wives wouldn't hear them, is one of the most memorable things on recent TV. I was saddened when they ended the show after a short, but very memorable run.

I found out one of the reasons they ended the show was to work on this movie "Keanu". I know in a very old podcast, I mentioned how it was one of the movies I was most looking forward to in 2016, but it is hard for me to get to the theaters now, what with 2 kids, work and coaching. So, that is why I was so late to seeing this movie that I have been looking forward to for almost a year. When my wife and I finally had a night with nothing scheduled, we sat down and watched, and laughed, and were just absolutely blown away by how much we enjoyed this movie. I was predestined to like this movie for all the reasons I mentioned above, but I did not think my wife would like it as much as she did. She was laughing as hard, sometimes harder than I was, throughout the whole movie. She put her phone down to watch because she was enjoying the movie so very much. I was very happy that she liked the movie as much as I did.

Lets get back to my review of this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of "Keanu". I liked how much Key and Peele put their touch on this movie. At its bare bones, the movie is about 2 guys, one who is a pushover, Key, and one that is depressed because his girlfriend broke up with him, Peele, that are lifelong friends. Key's character comes to soothe and help Peele get through the breakup, but when he gets to his house, he sees that Peele has found a cat, which he names Keanu. Now, at the start of the movie, we see a humongous shoot out between two guys called the Allentown 2 take down an entire drug cartel. Throughout the whole shootout, we see this tiny kitty running away, dodging bullets and finding its way through downtown LA to Peele's apartment. Peele finds the cat, and he immediately starts to feel better about the breakup. He then proceeds to give Keanu his full attention. He loves this cat.

Then one night while he is out, some people come looking for his weed dealer, hilariously played by Will Forte, because they think he has the cat, but they soon find out that it is in Peele's house. The bad guys trash his house and steal Keanu. When Peele returns to his home, he is distraught to see that his kitty is gone. Peele then becomes obsessed with finding Keanu, and he drags Key along with him. This is when the movie gets crazy.

There are a ton of big time drug dealers involved in this little cat's life. They go to a strip club, hilariously named Hot Pretty Vixens, or HPV, and that is where they find a notorious drug dealer Cheddar, played by Method Man, who has become a very good actor I might add, and he has Keanu now. He has renamed him New Jack, and he also puts a bandana on his head. From this point on, Key and Peele have to act like they are the Allentown 2, as Cheese has confused them for these guys, and they continue this act because Peele wants his cat back. They have to go on drug deals, a hilarious encounter with Anna Faris playing herself is not to be missed. They have gun fights. They smoke something they call in the movie "holy shit". Key teaches young thugs about how great George Michael is, and that team work and team building exercises are important. Key starts to fall for a female dealer that he meets. All this stuff is great, has Key and Peele's comedic touches everywhere and is just so, so funny. Everything that they go through leads to one big shoot out, where you find out some things about some of the characters that we have already met, and it culminates very violently, but also very funny. Key and Peele end up in jail, spoiler alert, but while in there, they are looked at as bad asses because they are believed to have taken out the Allentown 2.

"Keanu" is a great movie that I am glad I finally got to watch. It is funny, but it is also very violent, has bad words and goes way further than any sketch they ever did on "Mad TV" or "Key and Peele". I recommend this movie, and you do not necessarily have to be a fan of Key and Peele's comedy to enjoy. My wife never watched either show, and she thought "Keanu" was great. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once had a roommate with two cats, but Ty could have cared less of they were stolen by drug dealers. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 7 - The Man in the Santa Suit

ed note: This article was originally published on December 7th, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 7: The Man in the Santa Suit by Fountains of Wayne

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

I am embarrassed to know how much actual money Santa makes, and that real beard Santa makes the most money (nothing celebrates the season by shamelessly ripping off the great film Snowpiercer). I have this knowledge because my first professional job was to book performers for parties, including Santa. Many the performers I worked with were semi-normal, professional people. In the sea of clowns, magicians, and Elvis impersonators, the Santas were not quite as normal.  There was an air of desperation and sadness to the group. I paid Santa well, but money does not always buy jolliness. My theory was that these men could only make really good money a few weeks out of the year. To make this extra income these men had to endure a grueling gauntlet of uncooperative kids, demanding parents, and childless adult idiots that wanted themselves (and their dogs) to sit on Santa's lap. I paid Santa well because he had a tough and thankless job.

Fountains of Wayne, one of the Greatest American Bands, included "The Man in the Santa Suit" on their 2005 B-sides double album Out of State Plates. The tune perfectly captures the sad inner life of a mall Santa. Starting with the acknowledgment of "Santa" being a union laborer with a significant other who works at the hair salon. Mr. and Mrs. Claus seemingly live paycheck to paycheck. There is no holiday spirit to uplift Fountains of Wayne's protagonist, he just needs the money. What follows is a list of troubles Santa always has during the Christmas season. There are snot nosed kids who make fun of Santa's appearance (if that Jerry Garcia beard is real, Santa is making double this year), younger kids are throwing up on Jolly Old Saint Mall Nick, and all the older kids are commenting on Santa's beer for breakfast. Being  Santa is not as joyous as popular culture may have led us to believe. 

Santa's troubles are not just with the kids. The fellows at the local tavern also get on Santa's case. After a day of dealing with kids, barf, and attitude, Santa gets called names by the grownups. The world is filled with superficial jerks, and Santa is not immune to their attacks. Being overweight and harry in December may pay some bills, but it does not get one away from ridicule. The cruelty of people does not take a holiday during Christmastime.

"The Man in the Santa Suit" is on point for why any grown man would go through these troubles, it is all about the money. The name calling, the kids, the indignity of it all is worth the money. Fountains of Wayne's protagonist is zen about his current place in the world. He is getting paid for his looks. That is the hairy fat man's victory. He needs the money, and he has an opportunity to enhance his bank account. The bills will be paid up in Santa and Loretta's house this December. Merry Christmas to them.

On your way to the mall give "The Man in the Santa Suit" a listen. Understand what Jolly Old Saint Mall Nick is going through. Be nice to Santa. Every man who puts on the red suit this year will deal with more trouble than any one person deserves. In November my office used to be a revolving door of chubby hairy men looking for work. In January I was being sent a lot of small gifts as thanks. I paid Santa, and Santa needed the money. Santa deserved the money.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He is chubby enough to be Santa, but his jolliness needs some work. Any Santas out their that want to give us a gift - Support SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 6 - "The Wonder Years: Christmas"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 6: "The Wonder Years: Christmas"

Original air date, December 14th, 1988

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

We all wanted that one perfect gift for Christmas. Many times that gift was made by Nintendo. In the mid-eighties there was the original NES, 2006 saw the Wii, and in 2016 we are all out desperately searching for the original NES once again. There was the Furby, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and Tickle Me Elmo that drove people crazy during past holiday shopping sprees. Sometimes we wanted that perfect gift to be a big purchase we have been holding off on. A new car, a big vacation, or even the latest and greatest in television technology could be the gift that makes that particular Christmas the most memorable ever. That big gift would consume much of our holiday spirit.

In 1988, "The Wonder Years" was early in it's second season. The show was coming off a Best Comedy series Emmy and was quickly being recognized as one of the must-watch shows on all of television. Baby boomers loved the nostalgia, and gen xers loved the characters. Kevin, Paul, Wayne, Jack, Norma, and of course Winnie Cooper were people we wanted to spend time with. The third episode of the second season was to be the first of many Christmas-themed stories.

"Christmas" starts off with Kevin, Wayne, and Norma marveling at the new color televisions on display at the local store. They have decided that for this Christmas, color tv is at the top of their wish list. Throughout the entire episode, the members of the Arnold clan find their own way to convince patriarch Jack that a color television would make this Christmas extra special. Jack acts in his normal sensible way, but at one point he even admits to wanting a color television. Is the price worth it, or even feasible, is what troubles Jack. Reality is not on display for the rest of the Arnold's, and the color television becomes the obsession for Christmas.

Kevin Arnold is not only entranced by the hope of color tv, he also is still pining for Winnie Cooper. While daydreaming of a moment with Winnie, she approaches Kevin to present the young man with a Christmas present. Her only wish is that Kevin wait until Christmas to open the gift. This moment drives the smitten younger Arnold to find a perfect gift for Winny. He and Paul end up at a mall so Kevin can find the right perfume for Miss Cooper. After many attempts, he settles for a simple snow globe. In Kevin;s mind, getting a gift is what really matters.

Like any good episode of "The Wonder Years", the third act reveals the folly of Kevin's thoughts. When delivering his gift to Winnie, Kevin learns her family has decided to suddenly leave town and not spend Christmas at home. In the pilot episode of "The Wonder Years", we learn that Winnie's brother Brian was killed in Vietnam. This was to be the Cooper's first Christmas at home without their son, and they decided to spend the holidays elsewhere. Later, Kevin catches up with his color tv obsessed family as the sing Christmas carols. In the middle of song, it starts to pour down rain on the Arnold clan. All the anxiety of the holidays washes away as Jack breaks out into uncontrollable laughter. The rest of the family joins the father, and Kevin realizes what real memories are made on Christmas. The best memories of the holidays come from being together and experiencing the unexpected. Wanting something does not make for Christmas magic, experiencing something does. We learn that the family did not get their color tv that year, but nobody cared. Winnie's gift to Kevin was a simple four leaf clover and the wish of luck in the upcoming year. This Christmas was memorable because of what was unexpected, and welcomed.

There is a very good chance that most of us will not get that new car, big vacation, or mini classic Nintendo this Christmas. Right now in early December we may hope for the unexpected, and unreasonable, to happen. Really though, chances are that the perfect gift we have in mind now will not appear on Christmas morning. The thing is that we will not remember this holiday season for  what we did not get. Something will happen, unexpectedly, that will put this Christmas into our own personal history books. We just have to let those events come to us.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still interested in that mini NES. It would be an unexpected surprise to find one this holiday season.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2016 College Football Playoffs, Important Bowls, and Heisman Predictions

The College Football Playoff is set, for better or worse. We have the four teams, counting down from 4 to 1, Washington, The University of Ohio State(I know what I wrote), Clemson and Alabama.

First off, the University of Ohio State does not belong in this field. They got beat by Penn State, who I will talk about later, needed overtime to beat Wisconsin and got a tremendous amount of help from the refs against Michigan, who I will also touch on later. They are strictly there because the playoff committee and the TV stations have a disturbing love affair with Urban Meyer. This University of Ohio State team is not as good as they have been in the past. They are still decent, but not the third best team in the country.

With all that being said, they have a shot to beat Clemson. Clemson does belong in this field. They did everything they needed to do to get in the playoff. They have been incredibly inconsistent all year long, but when they show up, they are very, very hard to beat. They have a great D line, a great defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, they have great skill guys like Wyatt Gallman and Mike Williams, and they have Deshaun Watson. This team is loaded, it is just a matter of them showing up, which they have for important games this year. If the team that showed up against Louisville and FSU shows up, they will blow the doors off the University of Ohio State. But, if the Clemson team that showed up against NC State or Pittsburgh shows up, they will be in trouble. I assume the team that played Louisville and FSU shows up, and Clemson beats the University of Ohio State in a decent game. If I had to pick a score, I'd say Clemson 38, the University of Ohio State 24.

The other matchup is going to look a lot like last year's Alabama-Michigan State game. Good for you Washington. You won the Pac 12 title game convincingly, but your butter soft out of conference schedule is going to rear its ugly head. The only time Washington faced a legit defense all year, USC, they got completely smothered. Alabama is better than USC. Hell, Alabama beat USC by 44 points in the first game of the season. If Washington had a hard time moving the ball on USC, they will not be able to move the ball at all against Alabama. Even their coach seems nervous about this matchup. There was an interview yesterday, and Petersen sounded like he was already preparing for next year. Jake Browning is good, and Washington has good skill players, but they have not faced a team nearly as good as Alabama. Alabama's defense is historically good. They are suffocating. They have stopped everyone that has come their way. Their defense and special teams are so good, they had -7 total offensive yards in the SEC title game after the first quarter, and they were still winning 16-9. Alabama is incredible, even if their offense is not great. Alabama is going to cruise over Washington to the tune of something like 35-7.

That would leave us with a rematch of last year's title game, but this time, it will not be a shootout. Alabama, and their defense, will shut Clemson down. Watson is great, but Alabama's defense is so much better. This is one of the most dominant and clinical teams that I have ever seen on a college football field. They are like a machine. If Alabama does not win the title this year, it will be a bigger upset than Cleveland beating Golden State in the NBA Finals last year. Alabama is clearly the best team in college football, and it is by a wide margin. Those are my predictions for the playoff.

As far as some other bowls go, I do not really care for anything else outside of the playoff and the New Year's 6 Bowl games. I could care less about a Nebraska-Tennessee matchup or a Navy-Louisiana Tech matchup or a Iowa-Florida matchup. None of those sound appealing to me. But, when it comes to the New Year's 6, obviously I have a huge interest in the Orange Bowl. Michigan is playing FSU. If Michigan shows up, and is not deflated by not making the playoff, they should roll. They have a great run defense, and all FSU can do is run. Dalvin Cook is incredible, but if Michigan can slow him down and hold him to below 100 yards, there is not much else FSU can do on offense. Michigan's offense should be able to control the ball as well. Michigan is a better team than FSU, and they should win the Orange Bowl.

The Rose Bowl is going to be a blood bath. Penn State is not the fifth best team in the country. But, before I go on about this game, I need to address what Gus Johnson said about Penn State winning the Big Ten title being a "milestone" in the "healing process" for what happened under Joe Paterno. This was a terrible oversight. What happened for 2 plus decades under Paterno's watch is despicable, disgusting, disturbing and Penn State's football program should have been shut down. The vile and heinous acts committed by the old staff were horrific and upsetting. The fact that the main media wants to gloss over this is troubling. No football win is any kind of "milestone", nor does it help anyone heal from what happened. Those people that were abused have to live with that everyday. Football games do not change what happened to them. Shame on Gus Johnson, Mark May, Kirk Herbstreit and any other media person that tries to shove the terrible tragedy at Penn State aside and only focus on football. Penn State should not have a football team.

With that being said, they will be exposed by a USC team that has only gotten better and better every week. They will shut down anything that Penn State will try and do, and they will move the ball on Penn State with ease. This is a very low level game for the Rose Bowl. We have a 2 and 3 loss teams playing for the Rose Bowl. That is not great. Anyway, USC will win by 10 plus.

The Cotton Bowl is going to expose Western Michigan. Good for them and PJ Fleck. You guys finished the regular season undefeated. Only you and Alabama can say that. But, when your 2 best wins are against a 6-6 Northwestern team and a 3-9 Illinois team, that speaks volumes to the level of competition they faced all year. Wisconsin is going to dismantle Western Michigan. I'd love to be proven wrong, both for my dislike to the Badgers and the fact that I would love to see Western Michigan finish the year undefeated, but it will not happen. WMU is playing a big time team now, and it will show. I would not be surprised if Wisconsin wins by 3 touchdowns or more.

The Sugar Bowl features Oklahoma and Auburn. Oklahoma should win this going away. They play super up-tempo offense and Auburn is decimated by injury. Auburn has a good defense, but Oklahoma's offense is fantastic. Oklahoma does not play defense, but they won't have to play too much defense in this game because Auburn is not nearly as lethal running the ball, due to all the injuries. I say Oklahoma by 2 touchdowns.

I have Alabama winning the title, Michigan winning the Orange Bowl, USC winning the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin winning the Cotton Bowl and Oklahoma winning the Sugar Bowl.

As far as the Heisman goes, first off, the list of players they are sending to New York is a real head scratcher. Obviously Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson belong, but Jabrill Peppers, Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook? What the hell? I love Jabrill Peppers. He was so much fun to watch this year. I literally thought he could score anytime he had his hands on the ball, but he wasn't even the best defender on his team. That goes to Jourdan Lewis, Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley. Peppers is great, just not Heisman great. Then 2 guys from Oklahoma, give me a break. If you want someone from the Big 12, send D'Onta Foreman. He rushed for over 2,000 yards this year, and that is with every team gearing up to stop him. And if you wanted another QB, send Jake Browning from Washington. He had an incredible year, and it would be a nice consolation for him since his team, and himself, are going to get hammered by Alabama. This is a very odd group of players selected to go to New York. Since it is only a 2 man race, they should have only sent Jackson and Watson.

I'm going to stick with my preseason pick, and say Deshaun Watson wins the Heisman. His last 5 games have been very impressive, and even though his numbers aren't like Jackson's numbers, the lasting impressions should count. Jackson had big time stumbles against Houston and Kentucky, where Watson showed up for the ACC title, and has been unstoppable the last 5 games.

So there you have it, my final predictions for the college football season. I will recap everything after the year is over, but this is what I see happening over the next month or so. Enjoy bowl season everyone. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial man Podcast. He aspires to go to the Rose Bowl one day. Maybe he will be the Grand Marshall. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 6 - (When Is) Hanukkah This Year?

ed note: This article was originally published on December 3rd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 6: (When Is) Hanukkah This Year? by Melee

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

When I was in college I decided to find religion. I was raised a catholic boy, yet the experimentation of my college years led me into looking for a new religion. I went to a mosque, Hindu temple, a variety of the Protestant churches, and a Jewish temple. On the particular day I decided to attend temple was in early December, and much to my delight they were celebrating the third day of Hanukkah. I had no idea it was Hanukkah time when I entered the temple. It was awesome.

The Jewish Festival of Lights has always been overshadowed by the large presence of Christmas. Nearly every person in the Western World is aware that Hanukkah is around Christmas time, yet almost no one knows when the holiday actually starts. I had such a great time at temple during Hanukkah that I wanted to come back every year. The problem is the next year I completely forgot to check when Hanukkah was being celebrated and I missed out on the festivities. The same date from last year was after Hanukkah of the past year. Oh well, I know that Christmas will always be on the 25th.

In 2009 Orange County based band Melee released "(When Is) Hanukkah This Year?". Melee used the biggest question Jewish people get during the holiday season, and made it rock. Very few people want to know what Hanukkah is about, we just want to know what day the celebration is held. Forget for a moment that Hanukkah lasts for eight days, we need to know the one day to associate for the holiday. We are comfortable with the idea of Christmas owning the same day every year. All the holidays that own a single day every year get way more attention. Some may say that Easter gets plenty of attention, and it is a holiday that does not own a day. The mostly christian religious community does put forth a big celebratory effort for Easter, but the secular community does not care that much. Everyone knows about "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas", but not many are familiar with "It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown". The holidays that own a day, own the full public interest. The holidays where we have to question what day it is on, will always have an uphill battle. Melee embraces this idea with their great tune.

The boys of Melee use "(When Is) Hanukkah This Year?" to inform the listener of what a typical American Jewish boy goes through during those eight days and nights. Reading from the Torah, lighting the Menorah, Manischewitz, golden coins, kugel, worried mothers and grandmothers, and many days of presents. The song is a rocking tour of the Hanukkah season. Once the dialogue of the first minute ends, Melee builds until the song ends in an incredibly rocking way. The only song people hear this time of year in relation to the Festival of Light is Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song". There is nothing appreciative about the holiday in Sandler's tune. You learn about many fine people with Jewish heritage, but there is no information about the eight days and nights of Hanukkah. There was the animated movie by Adam Sandler Eight Crazy Nights, but the less said about the film, the better. Melee uses "(When Is) Hanukkah this Year?" to actual share the joy of Hanukkah. It is a song that made this gentile remember that great night at the temple.

To answer Melee's question, Hanukkah starts on December 6th this year. Enjoy the beginning of this joyous time of year. Light some candles, have some great Jewish food and drink, call your mother. Make these eight days and nights rock. By the way next year Hanukkah will start on December 24th, mark it in your calendars. Please do not ask your Jewish friend in 2016, hey, when is Hanukkah this year.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor of SeedSing. He does not really recommend Manischewitz, but a good kugel is awesome. During these eight days of gift giving, keep SeedSing on your mind.   

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 5 - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 5: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Original air date, December 6th, 1964

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four

Let's talk about Rudolph.

Usually I will talk about how our modern holiday struggles / joys relate to the television special I am writing about. Not today. Why? Well, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has no connection to what we see during our 21st-century pursuit of the perfect December. It is frankly an outdated story, with a message that is detrimental to the growth of society at large. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" should be an embarrassing relic of a confused time long ago, yet there is still so much charm to the television special. That charm is why we return every year to the tale of a mutant freak who one time saved Christmas.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" premiered on December 6th, 1964. It was already a well-known commodity due to the popular song that was based on a famous poem from 1939. The famous animated talents of Rankin and Bass gave Rudolph and his friends their iconic, beloved, look. The hour-long special holds the distinction of being the longest continuing broadcast Christmas special in the history of television. Multiple generations of kids and adults have been subjugated to the great look, and terrible lessons, of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

The story of the Rudolph is filled with red flags. We have the father, Donner, telling his young son to hide his differences. We have the kids, and the gym teacher, laughing and excluding Rudolph. We have the benevolent dictator that is Santa Claus being angry and disappointed in Donner for creating a non-acceptable specimen for his sleigh engine. Hermey the elf not having a choice in life, he must be a toy making slave. The island of misfit toys being an excuse to discard anything not normal. The victory for the Island of junky toys is for kids around the world to be gifted defective gifts. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an hour of terrible lessons to teach children. 

Yet, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has become must watch in many families homes during the holiday season. The animation is awesome, and iconic, so that may be the reason. The song is catchy and part of our culture, that could be the ticket. I think the reason Rudolph persevere is because of it's archaic nature. Not accepting people is from a time we have gladly left behind. In 1964 Donner and Santa may have seemed normal, today they are downright comical. If Hermey wants to try something else, we celebrate that. The U.S.A. has long past the time of racist, uncaring, blowhards being the leaders we look to for guidance (ed. note: We wrote this sentence on November 7th of 2016.) We watch Rudolph because we know the red nosed reindeer, and his wanna be dentist buddy, will win at the end. They represent the society we evolved into away from. We rejected the idiots of Donner and Santa. Rudolph is our victory trophy.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will always be a part of my holiday viewing pleasure. I am old enough to see the terrible lessons, but still love the music. Children everywhere will watch it for the first time, and question the behavior of their beloved Santa, but they will fall in love the iconic imagery. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is like an Ayn Rand novel, something filled with awesome imagery and terrible lessons. It is part of our holidays, for better or worse. Plus, Yukon Cornelius is all kinds of awesome.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This holiday season he only wishes for silver and gold. Want to help out? You can.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Listens to Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!"

Last Friday, December 2nd, Childish Gambino released his third album, "Awaken, My Love!".

I adore this record.

For those that do not know, Childish Gambino is Donald Glover's alter rap ego. Glover is an actor, comedian, creator, writer, director, and rapper. He is one of the most talented performers working today. I became aware of his rapping about 7 years ago. He was deep in his run on "Community", and I had heard rumblings that he was going to put out a record, and had some mixtapes that were floating around the internet. I was intrigued. I first thought it was going to be jokey rap, a la The Lonely Island, but I could not have been more wrong. I listened to some of the mixtapes and tracks he released before his first album, and they were very good.

When he released his debut album, "Camp", I was blown away. This was a full-fledged rap record. It was not jokey or goofy in any way. It was a straight up rap album, and it was good. Glover proved that he was a very good, sometimes great, rapper. I loved this first album. I was surprised, but in a very good way.

Then, a few years later, he released his second record, "Because the Internet". This was a departure from "Camp", but I found myself enjoying it just as much, just in a different way. "Because the Internet" showed Glover taking more, spacier chances. The record had longer instrumentals, which I like. Glover also talked primarily about how social media, and other things that are on the internet, are more problematic than they are good. I thought it was a very good second step. He showed his fans that he could do something different, but still be easy to digest. The guest list on "Because the Internet" was made great simply by putting Chance the Rapper on some tracks.

Glover took a long time away from music after "Because the Internet". "Community" was done, but he was acting and developing his phenomenal new show, "Atlanta". He had other things on his mind, and those other things were all great. I missed his music, but the stuff he was doing made it not as bad as I thought it would.

Pretty much right after the first season of "Atlanta" had its season finale, which I cannot say enough great things about, it is the best new show on TV, Glover announced he had a new record coming out. I was stoked. I listened to the early release of some of the songs, and I was even more intrigued. It sounded way different than anything else he had done previously. The songs were not rap songs, but more so in the funk genre. Needless to say, I purchased the album the morning it came out, and I have listened to it almost as much as I have listened to the new Tribe record.

"Awaken, My Love!" is tremendous. Like I said, it is so much different from his other stuff. The opening track has a 2-minute instrumental intro, with very little singing, and then Glover comes in and basically sings a rock song. It is wonderful. Glover, who I will refer to as Gambino for the rest of this piece, proves that he can sing, as well as rap. I love his vocals on this track. "Have Some Love" is a straight up Parliament song. George Clinton himself probably wishes he wrote this track. It is so, so good. The song is so funky and groovy, and Gambino sounds like Clinton, and the band sounds like Parliament. We get another great funk song, "Boogieman". The song has a creepy groove, and Gambino sings it with almost a Dracula-ish voice. It is tremendous. The album only gets better from there. Some other notable tracks are "Redbone", "California" and "Stand Tall". "Redbone" is probably the best song on the whole record. It is the best put together, it sonically sounds the best, the lyrics are great and poignant and Gambino is perfect on this song. It is the true standout on an album filled with great songs. "California" is a weird, groovy, funky and, at times, Gambino's first "silly" song. The lyrics talk about a lady that wants to move to California, and Gambino tells of all the ills that could come her way if she does. The beat and the instrumentation are awesome. The closing track, "Standing Tall", is a perfect ending to this new Gambino sound. The lyrics, instruments, sound, everything about this song are perfect. "Standing Tall" closes out the record excellently. 

After 6 or 7 fully listened through times, "Awaken, My Love!", reminds me of a mix between Parliament, Saul Williams and Andre 3000, from "The Love Below". This album is an incredible departure from what we, the fans, have come to expect from Childish Gambino. I truly do not know of any single performer/artist that is doing the wonderful, challenging and different things that Childish Gambino/Donald Glover is doing right now, and "Awaken, My Love!", is one of the best things he has done in a year that has seen him do some great things. This album is one of the good things to happen in 2016. I hope Childish Gambino continues to push the envelope and try new and odd things as a musician. But, with that being said, go out and buy this album right now, it is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He feels like we lost a lot of great musicians in 2016, but we have gained some great music in the last part of the year. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 5 - I Wish it was Christmas Today

ed note: This article was originally published on December 3rd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 5: "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" by Julian Casablancas

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four

The conventional wisdom tells us that the winter holiday shopping season peaks on Black Friday. Once the day after Thanksgiving doorbusters are exhausted, the general public falls into a slower holiday shopping pattern. I disagree with this theory. Black Friday does have a large mob of people looking to score off brand electronics for ultra low prices, but the majority of sane people save their holiday shopping for after the mayhem. The first weekend of December is when the holiday shopping season really kicks into high gear. This is when the Christmas spirit starts its full invasion into our culture.

"I Wish it Was Christmas Today" started out as a simple SNL sketch featuring Horatio Sanz seemingly playing a novelty guitar and singing, Chris Kattan head turning and holding a very large keyboard, Jimmy Fallon providing backing vocals and very rarely playing the keyboard, and lastly Tracy Morgan awesomely dancing in place. Every few years the quartet would add a few lyrics, but the singing and dancing remained the same. Tracy Morgan is great in nearly everything he does, but I do think this is the funniest skit that Sanz, Fallon, and Kattan have ever done. Every year I would look forward to hearing "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" on SNL. The simple tune immediately put me into the holiday spirit.

In 2009 The Strokes lead singer Julian Casablancas released a cover of "I Wish it Was Christmas Today". The simplicity of the SNL version was replaced by a hyper kinetic ultra joyful new song to celebrate the holiday season. Casablancas version of the song starts at the top and never relents. For just under 4 minutes, the holiday season gets the positive excitement it so truly deserves.

Both the SNL and Casablancas versions of "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" celebrate the happiness of Christmastime. There are endless stories on the news of people complaining about the length and commercialism Christmas. Fox News invented the moronic War On Christmas to continue their agenda of splitting the country and feeding the idea of white christian victim-hood. "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" leaves all the negativity behind and says that Christmas kicks ass.

Today I will be out starting my holiday shopping. My house is decorated. my spirit is getting into high gear, and "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" will be on my playlist. The crowds at the stores, the idiots at Fox News, and all the naysayers will not dampen my holiday spirit. I love the awesomeness of the holiday season.  I do't care what anybody says, I wish it was Christmas today.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He is hungry right now and really wishes it was Thanksgiving today. Tell us about your favorite time of year by writing for SeedSing.

Our future source for meat will not be the animals

The cattle farm of tomorrow

What if we could enjoy the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without subjecting the animals from whom the meat comes to the suffering that we currently put them through? In vitro meat is an attempt to fulfill this ideal. Also known as synthetic meat, test-tube meat, and victimless meat; in vitro meat is an animal-flesh product that has never been part of an animal that has been alive.

Winston Churchill said in an article that was written in 1931, “We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” Thus, the idea of in vitro meat has been around for a long time. Only recently have we actually developed the technology to try it.

The first lab grown burger was cooked and eaten in 2013 at a news conference in London. This was accomplished by taking stem cells from a cow and growing them into strips of muscle. It was tasted by two critics, one of whom stated: “There is really a bite to it, there is quite some flavour with the browning. I know there is no fat in it so I didn't really know how juicy it would be, but there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, it's not that juicy, but the consistency is perfect. This is meat to me... It's really something to bite on and I think the look is quite similar.”

There is, of course, a world of difference between lab tested and consumer ready. Some challenges exist before we will find this option at our local grocery stores. One challenge is the cost. In 2008 a piece of in vitro beef weighing only 250 grams cost about $1 million. The burger that was created in 2013 had about $275,000 in funding to develop it. The professor leading the team estimated that it would be about 10 years before it would be cost competitive to traditional beef.

Another challenge, which is related to cost, is scale. Producing this stuff in a large enough scale to be useful to consumers is going to have to be considered. How do we culture these cells in a way that provides a well-balanced mixture of ingredients and growth factors? One possible solution is using a plant-based medium to keep costs down. In that case allergenic factors might need to be considered.

In vitro meat would not only reduce the suffering of animals, there are possible benefits for those who eat it over traditional meat too. Artificial growth hormones may not be required for production of in vitro meat. Omega-3 fatty acid could be added to it as well. It would also be produced in a much more sterile environment leading to reduced exposure to things like pesticides and fungicides.

On the environmental front, an Oxford study found in vitro meat to be much more friendly and efficient. According to the study, cultured meat would generate up to 96% lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditionally produced meat. They also estimated that it would require 7-45% less energy to achieve equal volumes of pork, sheep, or beef. Another major benefit would be 99% lower land use.

As far as ethical and religious concerns, thoughts vary among interested individuals. Though many animal welfare organizations are tend to favor in vitro meat since it does not have a nervous system, some who enjoy a vegetarian diet argue that using fetal calf serum as a growth medium negates the ethical consideration. Those identifying as Jewish disagree on whether in vitro is kosher. Scholars of the Muslim population state that in vitro meat would be allowed by Islamic law if the original cells and growth medium were halal.

I personally have been on vegetarian and vegan diets in the past. Currently meat does not sit well with me from the standpoint of suffering that it causes, therefore I have not been eating it. I would eat this “test-tube meat” were it to be available to me inexpensively. I am going to keep an eye on the progression of in vitro meat and am a candidate to be an early adopter once it is ready for consumers.

What do you think? Would you rather eat traditionally grown meat or meat produced in vitro given a choice if the end product was almost indistinguishable? Comment to let me know.

Kirk Aug

Kirk cultivates the Idea Farm here at SeedSing. He is always on the look out for the next great sociological invention. If you have an interest in the future, make sure to follow Kirk on twitter @kirkaug.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 4 - "M*A*S*H: Death Takes A Holiday"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 4: "M*A*S*H: Death Takes a Holiday"

Original air date, December 15th, 1980

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three

Christmas memories affect people in different ways. Some remember great joy during the holiday season. Some remember anxiety about the financial demand that Christmas puts on people. Most people experience a mixture of these two memories, along with a whole bunch of other happy / sad feelings. Others look at Christmas as a particular special day . We want everyone to be happy, healthy, and think only of joy. We do not want to think about death and starvation.

In December of 1980, M*A*S*H was one of the most watched shows on television and had recently passed 200 episodes. The adventures of the 4077th often time mixed comedy and drama. On the 15th of December, "Death Takes a Holiday" would be remembered as a great piece of television because of the serious nature of the episode.

The staff and doctors of the 4077th are getting ready to throw a Christmas party for a local orphanage. After learning that the food for the party was lost in an enemy attack, the MASH decide to donate their own food gifts from home to the meal. Everyone is a good sport except for Maj Charles Winchester, who donates very little. Charles was always seen as being snooty, so the rest of the unit believe he is just being a typical Scrooge.

What everyone else does not know is that Charles is upholding a family tradition in anonymously donating his chocolate bars to a needy charity. The Major later finds out that the orphanage sold his fancy chocolate on the black market. Charles is upset and confronts the director of the orphanage, but understands that the chocolate was worth a lot of money, and now the orphanage can afford rice and other staples for many meals. Maj Winchester wanted to give the kids joy on Christmas, but is satisfied to know that his gift allowed for a longer survival for the charity.  

The party itself is good fun, but some are absent because a mortally wounded soldier is brought into the MASH. Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret are tending to the soldier, and quickly figure out that the man will not live. The group also find out that the man has a wife and young children. It is assured the man will die, but Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret make a vow to keep the soldier alive until Christmas has passed. They did not want the man's children to remember Christmas as the day their father died.

The surgery is not going well for the mortally wounded soldier, and he dies just before the end of Christmas Day. Hawkeye goes to the clock and moves the hands until it is after midnight. He announces the death as 12:05 am, December 26th. Margaret says she has never falsified a record, and one of the doctors says she should, he informs the group that Christmas should be a time of birth. The group kept their promise to the dying man.

Terrible things happen to people every day. Many of us use Christmas Day as that oasis away from the hurt in the world. Christmas should be a day of birth, and joy, and togetherness. Unfortunately reality cannot use that one day to save starving orphans, or give a young father the chance to watch his kids grow up. What Christmas can give us are happy memories that will carry us through the bad times. The orphans will remember that an anonymous donor gave them months of food, and a family will remember that their father/husband held on for one more Christmas Day. Those memories will make Christmas special.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing

3D Printing and the New Manufacturing Revolution

3D print your own keys for the typewriter

Star Trek has driven my desire for a lot of technological advance. Much of it is already here. For example, Personal Access Display Devices (aka PADD) have come in the form of the many iPads, Surfaces, and other tablets that are ubiquitous today. Some functionality of the tricorder is already available in the pocket sized tablets which (for some reason) we refer to as phones. While I would love to go anywhere on Earth relatively instantly using a matter transporter, what I think we are much closer to today are the replicators that the ships on Star Trek have installed pretty much everywhere.

For the non-trekker, a replicator on the show is a machine capable of creating (and recycling) objects. Replicators were originally seen used to synthesize meals on demand, but in later series they took on many other uses. In the show the replicator works by rearranging subatomic particles to form the object. Here in the 21st century however, we actually have to be able to recreate the object using raw materials. What I am talking about here is 3D printing.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, was developed in the 1980s. But it was not until some patents expired more recently that we started seeing the open-source community develop both commercial and do it yourself printers that brought costs down enough to be accessible to the average joe.

The manufacturing applications of 3D printers are many. Companies can make use of mass customization to allow customers to create a unique version of their product using a simplified interface. Companies looking to prototype their product before having it manufactured in mass can now do that easily. If you as a consumer do not have access to a 3D printer, there are online companies where you can upload your design and have it shipped to you.

In the world of Star Trek we were first introduced to the replicator as a way to be fed. Therefore, I was more interested in 3D printing as a way to indulge my hunger. My interest was peaked when I saw pancakebot, a printer specifically for making pancakes, and a NASA 3D printer making a pizza. Crackers, candy, and pasta are apparently already good candidates for 3D printing as well.

Other applications for 3D printing have so far included a car known as Urbee which has had all of it’s paneling and glass printed using additive manufacturing. Apparel makers and fashion designers of products such as shoes, bikinis, and dresses are using the technology for prototyping. Eyewear frames can be customized for the customer right in the shop. Architects no longer have to create their models by hand. There has even been plans for a 3D printed gun released online leaving many to question the efficacy of gun control in the world of today.

As with all technology it can be used for the betterment of society or its destruction as the firearm example arguably represents. On the other side of the coin medicine has been benefiting from patient specific implants and prosthetics. 3D bio-printing technology has been studied for possible use in tissue engineering applications. Layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium or sugar matrix and slowly built up to form three-dimensional structures. 3D printed pills are also on the horizon. Spritam, a drug that treats epilepsy, has already been FDA approved and uses a specialized 3D printing process to enable high doses of the drug in a single pill which quickly dissolves.

The big question is how these printers, once fully accepted and sufficiently advanced will start to affect things like our basic economy. Here again we have technology that replaces labor. How will we adjust as more jobs are taken away by home manufacturing machines? It is certain that we need to readjust our models of employment and distribution. The value of human labor is set to change dramatically. I am anxious to see how that all unfolds.

Kirk Aug

Kirk is looking forward to the day he use a computer to print out a computer and then submit an article with his new computer. Follow Kirk on twitter @kirkaug.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 4: Don't Shoot Me Santa

ed note: This article was originally published on December 3rd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 4: Don't Shoot Me Santa by The Killers

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three

I used to live in an urban neighborhood just north of Downtown Cincinnati. Urban living introduces you to wide variety of personalities not always found in the suburbs. I was part of the yuppie community trying to "rebuild" the city. We had some extremely rich people living a few blocks away in their estates overlooking the Ohio river. A few blocks the other way we had a lot of low income people living in government assisted housing. Every single stoplight in our area was populated by panhandlers. Many of these beggars were drug addicts and con artists. Some times we would see college age kids end their "shift" by getting in a car and a new person would take up the empty corner. The started to internally identifying the regular panhandlers with descriptive names. There was one down on his luck guy who always wore a filthy shirt and nice jeans. He was named Clean Jeans. Professor Shakey was a talkative man who never outright asked for money, oh and he was very jittery. One particular panhandler had a bushy white beard and a jolly old face, this man was to be named Hobo Claus.

Since 2006 Las Vegas based band The Killers have been releasing a new original holiday song with part of the proceeds benefitting Product RED . Of the ten offerings, "Don't Shoot Me Santa" is far and away the most surreal. The song is a two character play backed by the rock stylings of The Killers. Singer Brandon Flowers is a naughty boy who has been killing people who tease him, and Santa is coming to deliver justice. Not many holiday songs discuss how Santa deals with the naughty kids. Popular culture has attributed the lump of coal as the go to gift for the naughty. The Killers decided to go a little bit farther. Flowers spends the majority of the song pleading, and Santa is not having any of it. At one point Santa points out that he was a troubled kid, unfortunately that will not be enough to save Flowers. As one last gift Santa does allow Flowers to indulge in the great memory of being young and tasting some sweet Mojave rain.

Outside of the strangeness in the dialogue of the two character play that is "Don't Shoot Me Santa", the song has the great music one expects from The Killers. The band has established itself as one of the greatest pure rock bands of the current generation (Greatest American Band Debate feature?). "Don't Shoot me Santa" has The Killers signature sound, but there is a nice mix of Mariachi like desert music mixed in. Every time I hear "Don't Shoot Me Santa" I image it as a signature tune for Walter White on "Breaking Bad".

Hobo Claus is the placeholder for Kris Kringle whenever I hear "Don't Shoot Me Santa". The naughty kids should not be visited by a jolly old Saint Nick, their Father Christmas should be dirty, smelly, and generally uncomfortable to be around. The video for "Don't Shoot Me Santa" seems to agree with me on the unkempt image. This holiday season pray for a jolly, nice smelling Santa. If you have been naughty, watch out, because Santa may be coming for you.

Ed Note: These Holiday music article are meant to be fun. Having said that, this is the most important time of the year to help the homeless in your city. Your time and money is needed to assist your local homeless charities. Contact the United Way to find a charity in your city.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He is trying to be really good this year. He hopes Santa can see the goodness through the small bits of naughtiness. Come bask in our goodness by liking us on Facebook.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 3 - "Saved By the Bell: Home for Christmas Part 1 and 2"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 3: "Saved By the Bell: Home for Christmas Part 1 and 2" Original air date, December 7th and 14th, 1991

Opened Doors: One, Two

Going to the mall during the holiday season has its ups and downs. It is always very crowded, people are downright rude, and there are cheesy Christmas activities going on everywhere. Santa is patiently attending to thousands of scared, or overly greedy, children every single weekend. All the stores are playing the same holiday standards you were sick of decades ago. Untrained, seasonal, workers slow down the cash registers at stores people only visit in December. And if you are lucky, there will be a half-assed holiday pageant or play going on near the food court. Nine times out of ten, this production is an extremely loose interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol".

In the early 1990's, the gang from Bayside High taught the gen xers and millennials the important lessons of the late 20th century. Lessons like staying away from caffeine pills, be nice to the hot girl in a wheelchair, and should you use dope? Nope. The lesson on two Saturdays in December was about how homeless people are real. 

Home for Christmas was a two-part episode that took place entirely away from Bayside and The Max. Due to this geographic change, there is no Mr. Belding to be seen in this extended adventure. Instead we have the kids all hanging out at a local mall for a variety of reasons. Kelly is working at a mens store to make some extra money. Jessie assisting Santa as one of his elves. Slater is wrapping presents, very poorly. Zack and Screech are not being employed, but they are still hanging around because Zack's mom is getting ready to put on a mall production of "A Christmas Carol". Lisa is volunteering at a hospital, but she also finds plenty of time to get away and join the crew. Shenanigans were about to start.

The craziness gets started when Zack and Screech discover an extremely well put together homeless man shaving in the mall bathroom. Later, on a date with a girl he just met, Zack remarks unkindly about the homeless man. The new girl promptly storms out. The whole crew becomes obsessed with the encounter with the homeless man. The girl Zack pissed off also happens to work at the same store with Kelly. Storylines start to connect after Zack sees the new girl wolf down a basket of fries. She was eating like an animal, not a classy early 90's socal teenager. We learn that the homeless man and the girl are father and daughter. This Christmas was about get real in Bayside California.

The story progresses like any other good Saved By the Bell. The crew discover a problem, hijinks ensue, a lesson gets learned, and our new friends get a better shot in life. There is the Scrooge-like character of the mens shop owner, the bratty kid who kicks Jessie, and the women rightfully upset about Slaters bad gift wrapping job. All of these people exist in large quantities in the real world, but in the Saved By the Bell world we have the Bayside crew to make it all better. The Scrooge discovers the Christmas spirit, the gang learns a lesson, and the homeless people get to live in the Morris house until next episode. A true god bless us everyone. 

Even if you do all of your holiday shopping online, and you should, it is always fun to get out to the local mall. The people are usually terrible, the kids are brats, and there may be less desirable homeless people in the bathrooms, but the Holidays are alive and well in these retail wastelands. The malls are also filled with teenagers, and some of them may be well meaning. If they lack in empathy, maybe they will at least give you a terrible rendition of "A Christmas Carol". The memories of that awfulness will keep Christmas going all year.

Ed Note: These Holiday music article are meant to be fun. Having said that, this is the most important time of the year to help the homeless in your city. Your time and money is needed to assist your local homeless charities. Contact the United Way to find a charity in your city.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks if you are going to watch only one two-part Saved By the Bell that takes place in a mall, skip this one and watch the one where the crew buys U2 tickets.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing

Flying is Still Pretty Awesome

Waiting can be the most unpleasant part.

I just finished a marathon of flying.  In the last couple months, I’ve gone to Philadelphia, Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix, Anaheim, and Moline for work.  In addition, just a couple days after my latest west coast business trip, we hauled my entire family to Hawaii for vacation.  During this time, I’ve had long layovers at HNL, ORD, MSP, ATL, LAX, SLC, and LGA.  And for the most part, I actually enjoyed it.

Most of you now think I’m insane.  It’s fashionable to bitch and moan about airlines, airports, and the TSA.  And most of this is well deserved.

Domestic airlines are terrible.  Their idea of customer service has sunk ever lower into the blue liquid of airplane toilets.  Gate agents are often crabby and unhelpful (mostly due to problems created by their employers), and flight crews are frighteningly underpaid.  Domestic airports are also terrible, for the most part.  Due to TSA rules we can’t bring water in, so there’s a new cottage industry charging $5 for 16 oz of bottled water.  The wifi never works and the chairs are uncomfortable.  And then there’s security.  The TSA’s absurd attempts at security theatre are well documented, so I won’t go into them here. 

And yet, I still get a little excited as I drive up to the airport.  Bear with me here.

Part of it is that I think planes are, for lack of a better word, “neat.”  We lowly primates have actually figured out how to fly regular people, including the very young and very old, safely around the planet at Mach 0.8.  See?  Neat.

I’ll let you in on a secret.  My business travel profile says I prefer an aisle seat, but that’s a little white lie.  I feel like it’s a “grown up” thing to request an aisle, but secretly, the kid in me wants the window.   Once the plane pushes back from the gate I perk up a little, and crane my neck to look outside.  One of my favorite parts of the taxi is the turn toward the runway where I can see the queue of planes waiting for takeoff.  I always smile a little when I see the variety, sometimes a tiny ERJ-135 lined up in front of a massive A330, or if you’re lucky, a majestic 747.  When we make the final turn, and the engines spool up for takeoff, and we start hurtling down the runway, my inner six year old comes out.  As the nose comes up, and we ascend into the sky, I look down and watch the “toy” cars and the streetscape recede into the distance, and I feel as though I’m off on an adventure.  Even if that adventure is probably going to take place in Moline.

I also spend a lot of time looking out the window once I’m in the air.  I’ve seen some pretty amazing things from 35,000 feet.  Once, on an overnight flight to London, we flew above a thunderstorm over the North Atlantic.  Watching the lightning crackle between the purple clouds below you is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.  On a trip from London to Paris, the sky was totally cloudless, and over the English Channel I could see the southern coast of England and the northern coast of France, and it looked exactly like a map outline.  (And Normandy from the air looks just like central Illinois.)  I’ve never seen the Grand Canyon from the ground, but it’s pretty grand from the air!  The Rockies are, literally, awesome.  On my recent trip to Hawaii, flying from Kauai to Honolulu I saw the remote Kaena Point, where my husband and I had hiked just a few days prior.  Flying into New York, I like seeing how the Pennsylvania farmland gradually gives way to the snarl of north Jersey traffic and the concrete jungle.  Even when it’s an overcast day, I love breaking through to the bright sunshine, and seeing an ocean of fluffy white clouds beneath me.

Kaena Point is no Moline

Granted, some of my enthusiasm is just nostalgia.  I had a lot of fun on planes as a kid.  I remember having playing cards with the Eastern Airlines logo, back when airlines still gave out playing cards (and Eastern Airlines still existed).  My older sister taught me to play Crazy 8’s with those cards.  When the beverage cart came, for some reason, I always ordered ginger ale.  I still associate ginger ale with airplanes.  The first time I had Diet Coke was a sip from my mother on a plane, right after it came out in the early 1980’s.  I remember not liking it.  Back then, going to India to see relatives was a bit of a project.  (I guess it still is, somewhat.)  Since there were no non-stops, we always had to stop in Europe, and then fly from Europe to India.  Before modern improvements in technology, you needed a big plane like a DC-10 to make a LHR-BOM trip, but there weren’t all that many people on them.  So as kids, we could run around the mostly empty back of the plane (in the smoking section!) and not feel so confined.  You could also push up all the armrests in a center row, and take a little nap. 

So yeah, I kind of like being in the air.  But airports, they don’t have any redeeming qualities, do they?  Well, domestic terminals, not so much.  The intercoms are so fuzzy they sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher.  And I don’t care how many airport restaurants Wolfgang Puck opens, the food is always uninspiring.  Plus, the armrests don’t go up on the seats, which is an extra thumb in the eye of a stranded passenger hoping to get some rest.

But, in a nice big busy airport like ATL or LAX or even ORD, there is fun to be had.  I like to wander over to the international terminals and watch people and planes.  It’s fun to see the big jumbo jets lined up, each with the paint of a different national carrier.  Aer Lingus, Air India, JAL, Qantas, Emirates, and so forth.  They all show national pride in their carefully designed liveries, and they remind me that 12 hours in the air can get me almost anywhere in the world.  That is mind boggling.  In my car, 12 hours would get me to Minneapolis.  (Not that there’s anything wrong with Minneapolis.)

It’s also fun to people watch, in both domestic and international terminals.  Everyone is coming from somewhere, or going to somewhere.  Business travelers, looking blasé or harried, whiz by on their way to some conference in Vegas, or maybe a sales call to Anytown, USA.  Little kids experience a moving sidewalk for the first time, and run in circles laughing their butts off (mine did).  Some brave women zip through the terminal on 6 inch spike heels.  I assume they’re all fashion executives, just back from Milan.  Sometimes you see happy young couples heading off for their honeymoons, and then, like a ten-year flash-forward, you spot a bedraggled Mom and Dad, hauling a stroller, 2 car seats, and 3 rugrats home from Florida.  Some people are happy to be going wherever they’re going, some are just glad to be home, and some are upset for whatever reason, but everyone has a story.  It’s a reminder that life is full of possibility, and that the world is smaller than it has ever been.

So yes, it’s a damn shame that various economic and geopolitical forces have conspired to make air travel far less glamorous and fun than it was in the past.  But if you go in with the right attitude and outlook, you too might catch a thunderstorm out the window from 6 miles up, on your way to Bangkok, or possibly Moline.

Tina S

Tina is a sometime contributor to SeedSing and occasional guest on the X Millennial Man Podcast. She is currently working on a photo series of the best food courts in all of the world's airports. There is not a lot of variety. We made a twitter for Tina, go follow her @TinaSeedsing. 

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 3 - Last Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 3rd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 3: "Last Christmas"

Opened Doors: One, Two

Christmas is filled with memories. We remember the great gifts of years past. We never forget he food and drink that highlight the season. We also remember the our loved ones that we spend the holidays with. Sometimes the pressure of the holiday season takes a toll on couples, people separate, and we take Christmastime as a chance to move on. Christmas may be filled with memories of holidays past, but the season also represents hopefulness in creating new lasting memories.

"Last Christmas" released in 1984 by Wham (Andrew Ridgeley and his singing partner) is not a romantic song. The singer (George something) had his heartbroken last year on Christmas. He spends most of the song letting this heartbreaker know that he was in love, and the feeling was not mutual. Christmas Day is often filled with romance, and Wham acknowledge as much in "Last Christmas". The receiver of George's heart seemed to let the romance of Christmas take hold, it was not until the next day was George's heart given away. This betrayal has left a large scar on George's mind, he alludes to the fact that he was bitten by love, but is now twice as shy. He tries to stay away, but will steal a glance from afar. It pains that his love affair from a year ago might not recognize him. He feels foolish for giving his love, but he is confident if his past lover kissed him right now, he would be fooled to love them again.

With all the heartbreak, there is some hopefulness in "Last Christmas". George does not understand how his love can be given away by this person, but this Christmas he is determined to find that someone special. George's problem is that last Christmas he was a bit to hasty in giving away his heart. This year he is determined to find that special person who will give him something in return. Last year's Christmas was a learning experience for George.

Like all great holiday songs, "Last Christmas has been covered by many people. Taylor Swift just yell sings through her tone deaf money grab version. Jimmy Eat World does their Jimmy Eat World like version. Florence + The Machine once did a slow acoustic version for BBC Radio 1. "Last Christmas" has been well covered, but the original recording by Wham! still has no equal.

The first week of December is the time most people put out their holiday decorations. As we hang lights and trim the tree we are filled with memories of previous Christmas times. The strongest memories stem from the lovers lost, and gained, during the winter holidays. As you start to dress your home up for the festive year, give "Last Christmas" a listen. The bad times of Christmas past may come to mind, but the hopeful ideals of this Christmas will carry through the season. Last Christmas is over, find something special to remember this Christmas. 

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Next Christmas he is looking forward to all the great posts on SeedSing from this Christmas. Are you someone special? Write for us.