SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 17 - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)

ed note: This article was originally published on December 17th, 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 17: Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) by the Ramones

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

Every Christmas I drive my wife and son to St. Louis so we can visit our family. In some ways I am lucky because my parents and in-laws live in the same metro area. It does seem very convenient that we can spend the holidays at both parents households. In reality it has been stressful at times running between two households. My wife and I have many discussions leading up to our journey about who we will see and on what days. Sometimes these discussions become tense and we give up negotiating with each other. During the joys of the holiday season my wife and I will get into arguments about our plans. We rarely fight, but Christmas has a special power over many loving couples.

"Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" was the final track on The Ramones 1989 album Brain Drain. The song has the typical Ramones sound. Joey Ramones iconic voice, the driving repetitive guitar, the brevity. Like many other holiday songs, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" uses iconic Christmas imagery. Rudolph, Santa, snow, sugar plum fairies, and sleeping children all pop up in the tune. Christmas is supposed to be about these ideals, it is not a time to fight.

Society tells us that loving couples never fight. That is incredibly naive. "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" recognizes that people who love one another will fight. Joey just wants us to remember that it is Christmas, we should not be attacking each other. The Ramones believe the best way to not fight is to think of everything great about the holidays. When the fighting starts, think of Christmas, and we can all calm down.

I am an idiot for having silly arguments with my wife around the holidays, or anytime of the year. We are very lucky to have our parents in the same city. We are very lucky to have loving people around us during the holidays. When I start to get anxious discussing our Christmas schedule with my wife I will hum the catchy tune from the Ramones and think of everything great about the holiday. I will remember to tell my wife Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He and his wife rarely argue around Christmas anymore. They save their disagreements about which "Star" franchise is the best. The correct answer is Star Wars. Come tell RD why his view is correct by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 16 "The Boba Fett Cartoon Featured in the Star Wars Holiday Special"

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 16: "The Boba Fett Cartoon Featured in the Star Wars Holiday Special"

Original air date - November 17th, 1978

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen

Sometimes the thing we really want for Christmas turns out to not be that great. Maybe there was a big video game we were wishing for, and it was underwhelming. A new cool drone that crashes and breaks within ten minutes. A hoverboard that sets fire to your feet. Many times we have our heart set on something, and our anticipation is rewarded with shoddy craftsmanship. As we dig through the garbage that once was our wanted presents, we sometimes find something unexpected and spectacular.

It is well known that the Star Wars Holiday Special is an epic piece of trash. Premiering on November 17th, 1978, less than two years after the release of the original film, the holiday special was immediately greeting with disgust and disdain. George Lucas himself has wished for the destruction of every copy of the cash grab be destroyed. The story was idiotic, the guest stars were questionable, and the Tree of Life song was a special kind of stupid. The special only aired once, and has never been given a VHS, Betamax, DVD, or BluRay release. For almost two hours, the world was inflicted in holiday blues from a galaxy far far and away. It was mostly a major disappointment, except for a 10-minute cartoon smack dab in the middle.

"The Faithful Wookie" was a small animated feature that split apart the mind numbing stupidness of the Star Wars Holiday Spectacular. The animated short is most famous for introducing the bounty hunter Boba Fett into the Star Wars cannon. It is considered so influential that the 2011 BluRay release of The Empire Strikes Back has the cartoon remastered in high definition as an easter egg.

The adventure itself centers around Luke trying to rescue Han and Chewie from some McGuffin, and Boba Fett appearing as a helpful ally. The 1978 audience had never seen this character before and did not know what the armored man's motivations were. Unfortunately, we learn that Boba Fett is in contact with Darth Vader, and the bounty hunter is trying to set a trap for Han, Chewie, and Luke. The ever resourceful R2D2 catches Fett, and our new enemy uses his jet pack to escape, promising that they will all meet again. 

The ten-minute cartoon shows why Boba Fett has become one of the most popular figures in the Star Wars hall of heroes and villains. His armor is awesome. He uses the things on his wrist, and his jetpack. "The Faithful Wookie" features more dialogue from Boba Fett than what will come in the next two films. The adventure from our heroes is basic stuff, but the premier of this incredible new resident of a galaxy far far away was the only gift worth keeping from the Star Wars Holiday Special.

It is disappointing to get the new great thing and then learn it is a poorly constructed cash grab by some focus group driven idiots in a corporate office. The whole ordeal leaves a scar on what was once a favorite piece of pop culture. But, sometimes if we dig through the trash, we will find a gem. Sometimes that gem even comes in the mail with a rocket that shoots off of its back. If you find that gem, hold onto it, it is worth an obscene amount of money.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was inspired to write this because he just got done seeing Rouge One. He is now hoping to get his very own Death Star engineer figurine in the mail any day now

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

There Never Was and Never Will Be Another Craig Sager

So, 2016 continues to be a real kick in the ass. We lost another long time legend last night, Craig Sager.

HEY 2016, STOP TAKING GREAT PEOPLE FROM US! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, JESUS CHRIST!

I have been an NBA fan pretty much my entire life. From childhood, to teenage years, to college life, and now adulthood, I have watched the NBA. The one constant, besides the teams, throughout all this watching of games, has been Craig Sager. As long as I can remember, he was always there, on the sideline, ready to give some great insight and do a wonderful coach interview.

I remember watching, the first time I was a T'Wolves fan, all the great interviews between Sager and Kevin Garnett. Garnett was one of the first people to give Sager a "hard time" about his clothing, which I will touch on in a moment. You could tell right off the bat that Garnett, who is a known recluse when it comes to reporters, had a great rapport with Sager. That was when I instantly became a fan of Sager's. The fact that he could get Garnett to open up like he did, meant to me, that he must be a special reporter and person. He never seemed like so many other reporters that just wanted a story, hot take or something that people would talk about in the national media the next day. He was a guy that just genuinely loved what he was doing, and he loved NBA basketball.

There is no reporter, except for Howard Cosell, that got the same kind of love and respect that Craig Sager got from pro athletes and his peers. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Chris Berman, Tim Kurkjan, Buster Olney, they all wish that they had the gift that Craig Sager had. Sager was one of a kind.

This was even true when it came to his clothes, told you I'd get to it. He, I do not know how long ago, started to wear these very loud and colorful jackets on the sideline. The first time I saw one of these it blew my mind. I thought, what in the hell is he doing, but the more he wore them, and he wore a ton of them, the more I, not only accepted, but liked them. I looked forward to seeing what kind of sport coat he would be wearing while covering a game. It became something that everyone that watched the NBA talked about. I would go over to friends houses, talk about the game, but we also talked about Sager's coat. It was always a topic of conversation. This was just another one of his ways of standing out from the crowd. He truly was one of a kind.

The more I read yesterday, after his death was announced, the more I found out that the colorful jackets had meaning. It made Sager and the person he was interviewing stand out. He wore them because he liked them, not just as a fashion statement. He continued to wear them because so many people talked about it. The colorful sport coat became just another great thing that added to his awesomeness.

His reporting didn't just start and stop with the NBA either. He covered baseball for a long time. In fact, if you look back at videos of Hank Aaron hitting his 715th home run, and I just found this out yesterday, you can see Sager on the field with a tape recorder in hand, ready to interview Aaron. He was always prepared, no matter how big the situation. He also covered the Olympics for NBC. He was the absolute best part of NBC's coverage of the Olympics. For the most part, NBC stinks with their Olympic stuff, but not Craig Sager. He was worth watching. He was always good. He was always giving out the right information. He owned the Olympic coverage.

When Craig Sager was diagnosed with leukemia over a year ago, I, amongst many other people, hoped that it could be cured. At one point, it even looked like his cancer was in remission. But, it unfortunately came back, and it was a death sentence. Even with this sentence being handed down to him, Sager handled it as only he could. He never stopped smiling. He even continued to work. He did his first NBA Finals last year, and it was one of the coolest moments in sports history to see him cover a great Finals matchup. He was extremely sick, but you would never know it from the way he handled himself. He had his sport coat, his knowledge, and his trademark smile while doing sideline interviews. Seeing this actually gave me hope that he may be getting better. I mean, my own mother overcame cancer, so I thought that Sager could too.

But, even though we all knew it was coming, the news of his death yesterday shook me to my core. I was absolutely shocked when my phone buzzed with the news that Sager had passed away at the age of 65. That is way too young for someone that was filled with, and lived his life, to its full potential. I have loved all the tributes that have been coming out since yesterday. I feel awful for Rachel Nichols, who is an excellent NBA reporter for ESPN, one of the few good people there, because she was a colleague of his, and she had to announce his death on live TV. That was a tough, heart breaking watch. The guys on TNT last night celebrated his life. That was incredible. They told stories and talked about all the good times they had with Sager. It was a celebration of his life. The pre-game warm up shirts that the Bucks and Warriors wore last night were great. I'm sure most teams will start doing the same thing. Greg Poppovich's, I do not know if it was pre-game or post game press conference, where he only talked about the greatness that was Craig Sager, was absolutely touching and phenomenal. I have been moved by what I've seen for the last 16 hours.

Craig Sager was one of a kind, and he will be missed so much. He has been in my life as long as I can remember. He is my version of Howard Cosell, only I think that Craig Sager was better at his job. I will miss him so much, and that was very prevalent when I watched some games last night, and he wasn't there. It is going to be quite strange for a long time not seeing him on the sideline. Hopefully we get someone that can be 1/4 as great as he was, but there will never, ever be another person like Craig Sager. Never. Rest In Peace.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. 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 16 - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

ed note: This article was originally published on December 16th, 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 16: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by The Simpsons

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen

For the Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music, I'm going to talk about the classic, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

This is a real, authentic holiday song that I actually enjoy. I remember singing this in the school choir an an elementary student. I remember singing it amongst friends all the way through high school. And now, I'm starting to hear my three year old sing it, and it's making me sing along with him. It's a great song about an outsider overcoming adversity and, basically, saving the day.

The song was written in 1949 by Johnny Marks and it's still as popular today as it was when it came out 66 years ago. This is truly a generational song. Many famous performers have recorded versions of this song. People like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Paul Anka, Burl Ives, The Jackson 5 and Paul McCartney just to name a few. But, I prefer the 1949 original. This song is so popular, they made a movie entirely based on the tune. The movie is fantastic too. Check out the original one that's an animated/claymation movie, it's really great.

Let's look at the song. As I said, it's about an outsider that's needed in a desperate time of need. But, it starts off looking grim for Rudolph. First of all, the reindeer has an abnormality. All the other reindeer look similar, but Rudolph, he has a shiny red nosed. The song even claims that "you could even say it glows". Damn, that must be a really bright red nose. Then, poor Rudolph gets picked on by the other reindeer. They, "used to laugh and call him names". That's brutal. Poor Rudolph. They wouldn't even let him play games with them. What a bunch of dicks. But, then it's starting to look grim outside on Christmas Eve. Santa doesn't like the look of the weather that he will be flying through. This is when Santa steps up his game, acts like an adult, finally, and speaks up for Rudolph. As the song says, "then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say, Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you glide my sleigh tonight". Way to step up Santa. I like your tactics. He doesn't bad mouth the other reindeer for picking on Rudolph, no, he just politely asks Rudolph, in front of all the other reindeer, if he wants to be a leader. I love it. Rudolph jumps at the chance to lead and he does a kick ass job. He does such a good job, the other reindeer stop picking on him and as the song goes, "then how the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, you'll go down in history". They like him so much now, they say that he will be remembered for all of time as a hero. Children and other reindeer will look up to Rudolph. He's not an outcast anymore, he's the hero.

This is such a good song. It has everything you could want. There's a conflict, an older, wiser adult steps in and the one that was picked on, saves the day. Does it get any better than that? And this is a great time of year to have this song. The holidays can sometimes be a bummer, so why not have a song about overcoming adversity and triumphing. It's phenomenal. There's other versions, I remember singing added lyrics after original verses. Stuff like after "you could even say it glows", we'd say, "like a lightbulb!" Or "wouldn't let him join in any reindeer games", we'd say, "like Monopoly!". Everybody knows the version I'm talking about. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" is a perfect holiday song. I love it, my wife loves it and my kids love it. I'm sure about 99 percent of the people out there love this song. Go listen to all iterations of it, but if you want the best, listen to the original. And during this holiday, if you're feeling stressed, put yourself in Rudolph's shoes. He overcame teasing and being secluded to become a hero.

Rudolph is a true inspiration.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial  Man podcast. He was picked on when he was little because all the other kids could not deal with how handsome Ty was. Get caught up in Ty's good looks by following him on twitter. @tykulik.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 15 - "Futurama: Xmas Story"

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 15: "Futurama - Xmas Story"

Original air date - December 19th, 1999

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen

Christmas has changed a lot over the course of human history. Many Christians associate December 25th with the birth of Jesus. The earliest Christmas celebrations were usually pagan affairs. Many people associate the December 25th as the shortest day of the year, so a big celebration takes place to get everyone in a good mood. Today we look at Christmas as a time for gift giving and togetherness. What will Christmas look like a thousand years from now?

The Fox animated show Futurama imagined how a lot of the world would be like in the year 3000. Our hero Fry is from the 20th century, so things are very foreign to him in this advanced world. In the second season episode "Xmas Story", one of the things he gets homesick, or timesick, for is celebrating Christmas. Thankful the Planet Express crew, and most of humanity still celebrate the timeless holiday of Xmas, there are just a few things different. Pine trees are long extinct, so your traditional Xmas tree is one of the palm variety. There is still gift giving, but not necessarily from Santa. Santa is quite different in the 30th century.

In the distant future, society decided to make Santa real by building a robot that would deliver toys to the nice, and punish the naughty. Due to a programming error, being naughty was very easy to achieve. The majority of the planet was naughty, and every December 25th Santa delivered his punishment. That punishment came from the end of a few high powered guns. The new Xmas tradition Fry must learn is to barricade himself from Santa's carnage.

Not really knowing the severity of the tradition, Fry gets caught outside when Santa's reign of terror begins. He is trying to recapture Lela's present, a parrot, and Santa comes to deliver his Xmas purge. Bender is a big fan of the murderbot, but everyone else is fleeing for their lives. In the end, Santa has all the naughty Planet Express employees in his sights. All are naughty, except Dr. Zoidberg, he made Santa's good list. Fry's first new Xmas was about to end until Santa is tricked back into the chimney. Following a big explosion, the large built not so jolly robot is sent into the upper atmosphere. No more Santa until next year. The crew rejoices by singing the classic carol "Santa Claus is Gunning You Down" New holiday memories for Fry and his friends.

We get attached to the traditions of our favorite holidays, but time moves on. As kids we all bought into the idea of a jolly St Nick delivering toys. As we get older most of us accept the fact that the magic was largely an illusion. In the far future we will have the technology to make our fairy tale traditions come to life. The question is, will these new creations honor our dreams, or will they thirst for our blood. Happy Xmas anyways.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Next to Bender, he really wants to hang out with Tiny TimBot's creator. That person has some creativity.

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

The Problem With "Any Given Wednesday" was the Not Ready for Prime time Host

Once again, Simmons is better heard. Let it go

Bill Simmons, who I am a big, big fan of, I need to say that before I continue, has been speaking publicly lately about his show, "Any Given Wednesday" being canceled. He has been making many, many excuses for why this show just didn't work out. I wrote 2 separate pieces, one saying the show was okay, but the second talking about how it looked like it was going to be canceled. After about 3 episodes, I started to see what others were saying about the show. Simmons' takes were stale, he was not a good host, the interviews went on far too long, his schtick wasn't good for television, that we had seen him already not do great on TV when he did ESPN's pre-game basketball show, everything they said, and as I wrote earlier this week, I do not like critics, but this was one of the few times they were right. His show just did not work out, and that should have been fine. Yeah, they canceled his show, and to have that aired in public has to be a bit embarrassing, but he is a world renowned podcaster, a great sports writer and seems to know how to run a website.

But, his comments lately have left a sour taste in my mouth. He has blamed everyone but the one person who deserves the most blame, himself. He has called out the producers of the show for giving him a bad day of the week to put out a show. He claims that his takes were stale by Wednesday, and he was already behind the eight ball when compared to shows like "PTI", or stuff on Fox Sports 1. He has said he wished HBO made it a monthly instead of a weekly show. I think that is a terrible, terrible idea. Who wants to watch one show a month about sports. I love, love, love sports, but if he is complaining about having stale takes because his show is on a Wednesday, imagine how bad and old they would be on a monthly basis. All the takes he would have given had his show been monthly would have been talked about a million times over before he released the episodes. And who only does one show a month? That is just a dumb idea.

He has also blamed the viewers for not watching his show enough. Well, when the show is not that good, why would you expect viewers to continue to tune in? The only thing that he had on his show that was even close to being remotely viral was Ben Affleck's drunken take on deflategate, and that was incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Other than that, he had boring interviews with people like Aaron Rodgers, Seth Rogen, Ricky Williams, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, basically everyone that he had on the show was not that good, except for Vince Staples. I actually want Staples to get his own show, because I think that would work out very, very well. He was funny and comfortable on screen. But, juxtapose that to how uncomfortable Simmons looked and it made for bad television.

To blame the company that gave you a humongous contract after the whole ESPN thing, that is childish, and you seem to be poking the bear. Don't publicly call out HBO because they will bury you. It is not their fault that your television show did not work, it was your fault Bill Simmons. You can also still do other things for HBO, so I say again, stop complaining about them in public.

Simmons can do something like "30 For 30" for HBO, and make it even better. HBO has to have more money than ESPN, and I'm pretty sure that HBO has more viewers than ESPN. I watch HBO a whole hell of a lot more than I watch ESPN. I'd love to see you do sports documentaries for HBO. I think that would be awesome. You could make real documentaries too, that don't need commercials for funding, or anything like that. That is where you should put your focus instead of complaining about how everyone but you ruined your show.

All this brings me to my main point for today. You and you alone Bill Simmons were the reason that "Any Given Wednesday" did not work. You just do not seem to have what it takes to be a host of a TV show, and that is okay. But, this blaming of everyone else is childish and immature. Take the blame. You have so many other money making ventures, just bite the bullet on your show being canceled, and let it go. I love your podcast, but I'm getting annoyed that you have to bring up all the reasons that don't involve you being a bad host as to why your show was canceled. The most simple explanation is usually the right one, and the simplest reason is that you were bad on TV.

I almost feel like you are doing this just to have some kind of "hot take". That should embarrass someone of your caliber because you should be above the "hot take". "Hot takes" are for someone like me, a blogger for a small, but up and coming website.

"Any Given Wednesday" was a bad show and it was because of you Bill Simmons. It was nobody's fault but your own, and until you own up to that, people are going to continue to call you out, no matter how much you complain in public. I'll still listen and read your stuff because I like your podcast and your writing, but some people just aren't made for TV, and you are, unfortunately for you, one of those people.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Here is old sports takes on the X Millennial Man mini episodes. 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 15 - Christmas Lights

ed note: This article was originally published on December 15th, 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 15: Christmas Lights by Daniel Hudson

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen 

When it comes to Christmas lights, I tend to be an insufferable traditionalist. I will only use white, non-blinking lights in my yuletide presentation. My tree, white non-blinking. Outside lighting, white non-blinking. My pre-lit fake garland, only the best non-blinking white traditional lights. Multi color lights are for amateurs. Blinking lights are a big annoyance. Inflatable glowing Christmas characters are the most tacky. In the dead of the December night, I want my house draped in tiny bits of uniform white light. I take my Christmas lights very seriously, even if they are usually just the backdrop on the whole holiday season.

In 2012 singer-songwriter Daniel Hudson released the song "Christmas Lights" on the holiday compilation album A Very Jorma Christmas. The tune is a simple, infectious, piece of pop. Hudson joyfully breezes through everything that makes the holiday great. Hope for love, snow, and brightly colored lights. Yes, Daniel Hudson is not as particular about his light choices as I am, and he seems to be having a great time. The song is so happy and simple, it would make a great December bowling alley karaoke tune. In fact it is used in a karaoke scene in the recent Seth Rogen comedy The Night Before. 

The thing I love most about 'Christmas Lights" is how easy it is to fall in love with the tune. The lyrics flow together, the music is basic, yet it all comes together into something magical. The holiday season is filled with so much activity, and it always seems so hectic. "Christmas Lights" hits all the high points of the year, and makes it simple. "Christmas Lights" is the perfect song to listen to while you enjoy your neighbors displays. It puts you into a perfect, and bright, spirit.

The days are getting shorter, and many houses are being lit up all night with their bright and colorful Christmas lights. I, like Daniel Hudson, have a giddy little song in my heart when I drive around town and see the varying light displays. I also accept that the lights are secondary to other aspects of the seasons. "Christmas Lights" may be ok with the bright colorful displays, but my love for the song will not change my stance on proper holiday lighting.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He may be snobby about lights, but he has had a fake tree his entire adult life. Come in and tell us your insufferable holiday traditions by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 14 - "Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas Part 2: It's a Miserable Life"

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 14: "Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas Part 2: It's a Miserable Life"

Original air date - December 19th, 1995

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen

ed note: The first part of the special titled Huh-Huh Humbug is still great. It is a modern take on A Christmas Carol but this time a porno film features heavily. We have, and will have, written plenty on Scrooge-like shows. Today we will only focus on the back half of a must watch holiday program.

There is someone in our lives we could just do without. Maybe it is a co-worker, a boss, that terrible person in front of you at the grocery store, there is always someone who makes the world a worse place. It is not the way of a good person to wish death on this bad person, but we often times just wish they were never in our life to begin with. Without the terrible person, the world would be a much better place.

The 1995 Holiday episode of the MTV classic Beavis and Butt-head ended with the idiotic titular duo's take on the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life. The episode even begins with our heroes making fun of how dumb the source movie actually is. These guys know dumb, they spent the last few years deconstructing the still youngish genre of music videos. Their opinion is gold.

Like all great holiday television homages, this particular Beavis and Butt-head adventure mimics It's A Wonderful Life wonderfully. There's the guardian angel, the world without our hero, Butt-head this time around, and the happy ending, so to say. 

In this version, the world is a much better place if Butt-head was never born. Burger World has customers, Anderson has a yard Hank Hill would be envious of, McVicker has some rockin hair, and Stewart is wearing a Poison shirt, and has some self-esteem. To make the world even more nightmarish to Butt-head, Beavis is Stewart's lackey, and his former best friend is rockin a Winger t-shirt. Things get to a breaking point when Butt-head calls Beavis a bung-hole, and Beavis has no idea what that means. This is not a world Butt-head wants to know.

The guardian angel Charlie (or Charlie Angel as Butt-head calls him) tries to convince Butt-head that the world would be better without him in it. When Beavis reappears and calls his friend a bung-hole, Butt-head is convinced that Charlie Angel does not know what he is talking about. The guardian angel proceeds to fall off of a bridge into icy waters, and the boys stupidly giggle home to watch more tv. All is as it should be.

That person we hate means something to someone. We should be in a more charitable spirit during the holiday season, and we should not wish ill on others. Would you like it if your best friend was wearing a Winger t-shirt in your absence? Did not think so.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Beavis and Butt-head, along with 120 minutes, were the only places he could catch alternative music videos. He appreciates that.

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

MLB Bans Hazing, as Should All of Society

For once, baseball is not stuck in the past

I recently read that the MLB has put into motion a rule that will ban all hazing for rookies in the majors. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. Hazing is a mean, dirty, dehumanizing, disgusting, any other bad thing you can think of, a thing that is extremely archaic. Just the idea of hazing alone is quite upsetting. I mean, to demean someone because you are a few years older than someone is so stupid and childish. What has hazing ever proved, except that it is terrible?

There has never been a story about a hazing that was in good fun, or that guys were laughing and cheering each other on when they got hazed. Sure, the goofy hair cut thing, and small stuff like that may be funny for 5 minutes, but after that, why do they make that person continue on with the weird hairdo or clothes? I ask again, what does that accomplish?

The most regular stories we hear about hazing always seem to end terribly. People are put through horrible, horrible things, that can sometimes even lead to death. When I hear these stories, I get both upset and angry. I feel terrible for the person being hazed, for all the embarrassment they have to go through and, in the small case where someone loses their life, I feel horrible for their family. The hazing makes me upset because it is so barbaric. It is such an unnecessary practice that does not prove strength in one and weakness in another. Spoiler alert, if you are older and bigger than someone, you should not have to haze them to prove your strength. You should already be established as someone that is older and bigger. You do not need to shave someone's head or tape them to a wall or, even something as small as, filling their car with popcorn. It is just dumb.

Recently the hazing has gotten really, really awful, especially in sports. Why do athletes feel the need to degrade a fellow athlete that just happens to be younger than them? I ask for a third time, what does this prove?

The main hazing lately seems to be dressing men as women. First off, why is this a hazing tradition? Men dress as women every year for Halloween. It is almost expected. But, especially in current America, this is incredibly disrespectful to men that may identify as female, or females that identify as male. There are a lot of people out there right now that are grappling with their own sexuality and their own personal sex, and pro athletes think it is funny to make rookies dress like females? What a bunch of garbage.

No matter how far we may have come along as a society, we still act as if we live in the 50's or 60's. Just look at the recent election. I'm not going to go into great depth on it, but dumbass people, who will get totally screwed over, voted for an even bigger dumbass, with no government experience, and this monster probably thinks that hazing is hilarious. That alone should be enough for people to be disgusted by the prospect of hazing.

But, for some reason, when the country looks like it is taking a step forward, we take 2 giant steps back. We had a great 8 years of an Obama presidency, and now, we will be the biggest joke of a country in a little over a month when Voldemort takes office. But, at least the MLB is trying to take a step forward and push away from past and bring its game into the present. 

Baseball seems to be trying to get away from its checkered past with this new rule. Major league baseball does not have a solid history when it comes to being ahead of the times. They were one of the last sports to be integrated. It took the MLB forever to hire an African American manager. It also took forever for front offices to hire people that were not white. But, they are at the front of trying to ban hazing, and that is a good first step for them. I really hope this catches on in all major professional sports leagues, and trickles al the way down to high school and even lower levels than that.

Hazing needs to be banned all across everything, in my opinion. There is no place for hazing in the modern US, and yes frat boys, I'm speaking to you morons too. That is one of the main problems with hazing. When I think of it, or hear stories about hazing, I immediately think of fraternities, and that is a damn shame. Frats and sororities, and any other group of people that force you to pay, then haze you, to be in their "club" is stupid and pointless. But, that is just my opinion. 

Good for you though MLB. I love that they are taking a stand against what is the highest form of bullying. Hazing does not belong in sports, or any other form of life for that matter, and I'm glad that people are aiming to put a stop to this nonsense. Let's hope this catches on everywhere.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks the second best thing MLB has done this week is get rid of the idiotic "All Star Game" means something garbage. Looking good MLB. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 14 - Fairytale of New York

ed note: This article was originally published on December 14th, 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 14: Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl)

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven Twelve, Thirteen

I once spent a magical December evening in New York City. My wife and I had an overnight layover in the city on our way for a tropical Christmas vacation. It was bitterly cold that evening. We bundled up and caught the subway to have a nice dinner in Manhattan. The few cold hours we spent in New York City that December were amazing. The city was decked all out for the upcoming holiday. It was magical. On our plane leaving the city I glanced down for one last look. The joys of New York City during Christmas was a memory I will never lose. I am glad I did not stick around to see the hopefulness of Christmas give way to the brutal realities New York City is home to the rest of the year.

"Fairytale of New York" was released by the Irish band The Pogues on their 1987 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God. It is rumored that the song was written based on a bet between Elvis Costello and The Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan. Costello bet that MacGowan could not write a hit Christmas single. Once the music and lyrics were set, singer songwriter Kirsty MacColl joined MacGowan to sing the song as a duet. Elvis Costello must have lost the bet, because "Fairytale of New York" has spent the last few decades as one of the most popular Christmas songs in the United Kingdom.

"Fairytale of New York" starts off with the magic of New York City during the holidays. MacGowan and McColl are young, in love, and inspired.Being in the drunk tank on Christmas Eve cannot dampen their spirits. They have each other and the wonders of the city. The song treats their ideals as fake as the decorations around town. Love and admiration quickly turns to name calling and regret. Behind the holiday facade of the city lies a brutal, and ugly, reality. The two lovers were embracing the facade, but once the decorations are gone, their hate and despair shows through. They love the imagery and magic, they unfortunately do not really like each other.

The build up to Christmas can make us forget all the unfortunate things that confront us during the year. Our hopes, dreams, and love seem to get amplified in December. Once our holiday drunken stupor turns into a post December 25th hangover, our realities come into sharp focus. I enjoy the magic, and I am trying to prepare for the headaches. Thank goodness I will have the fine Irish ditty "Fairytale of New York" to be my musical companion through the transition.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He is embaressed to say that his dinner in New York that night was at Trump Tower. Come and tell your tales of Christmas in the city by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 13 - "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole 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 13: "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

Original air date - December 18th, 1966

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve

Sometimes there is something so popular, and for reasons one cannot explain, that thing will drive you insane. Ten years ago Justin Beiber was the big thing, and many people could not stand him. The same phenomenon is going on today with Taylor Swift. It is impossible to like anything from these pop culture sensations if you have invested so much of your heart in hating them. It does not matter if a large group of people like these things, your hatred is blind. The world you live in would be much better if someone took all of these songs and shoved them off of the highest mountain.

In 1966 Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! became an instant holiday classic. The previous year saw the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas and two years earlier was the premier of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The mid-1960s was the golden age for holiday television specials. Since 1966, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has aired on television every year, winning its timeslot regularly. It has more than earned a spot as part of the holy trinity of must watch holiday specials.

For those living under a rock, the story centers around a lonely creature who has chosen to make residence directly above a group of people he hates. The Grinch is akin to a modern-day prepper. His cave is extremely well stocked with all the necessities. He has scissors, red cloth, a sleigh, anything a creature would need in the who apocalypse.

Yet even in his state of preparedness, The Grinch cannot stand the whos, he especially hates them around Christmas. The whos make an incredible racket, cook non-canned food stuff, and all blindly follow the brain dead joy of Christmas. The Grinch is on edge waiting for the end times, and his hate has become downright irrational. This year is the final straw, the Grinch is going to rob all the whos, and then they will know pain.

The Grinch succeeds in his thievery, but those weirdo whos still get up and have a festive Christmas. This breaks the Grinch's brain, and he decides his years of lonely prepping were pretty pointless. Not only does the Grinch get in the holiday spirit, but he learns that a freshly cooked roast beast is way better than a 10-year-old can of creamed corn. 

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  was not just a perfect adaptation of a classic book, it also had a great look and incredible music. Animation legend Chuck Jones gave the special its look, classic Hollywood Frankenstein Boris Karloff told the story, and awesomely voiced Thurl Ravenscroft sang the iconic song. Of all the great Holiday television specials, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is the only one that is perfect.

It is a lonely existence to live in a world where one rejects what everyone else loves. There is no reason to fully embrace that piece of pop culture, but you should not totally dismiss it either. In all of the stuff you hate, there may be a shiny gem that made the journey worth while. If you will not give the popular thing a chance, then you are just a common hipster, or worse, a Grinch.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was a little under the weather today so he mustered up the strength of ten bloggers, plus two, to get the article written.

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

There is a Little Bit of Hope Playing for the Philadelphia 76ers

The clouds are starting to break apart over the 76ers

I have pretty much been one of the biggest haters of what the Philadelphia 76ers have become. They have, for the past 4 years, put players on an NBA floor that don't even belong on a D-League court. They have been so open with their tanking, it has become a joke. They trade away decent, young players for, as they put it, "assets". We all know it as more picks. They even draft guys that aren't ready, injured or play overseas and do not have to get out of their contracts for a few years. They also have traded some young players for younger players that have already flamed out in their very short NBA careers.

For example, they traded to get Nik Stauskas last year. He never really got a chance in Sacramento, but as much as I want him to succeed, he is a middling bench player at the absolute best. He is the poor man's JJ Redick, without the mediocre defense, or the shot, and everyone knows how I feel about JJ Redick. Then, we have guys like Nerlens Noel, a good defender, but has zero offensive game and had a torn ACL when they drafted him, Jahlil Okafor, zero defensive game, they already have multiple players that play the same position as him and he is a bit of a head case and Dario Saric, who was drafted, it seems, like 10 years ago, and is now, finally, in the NBA and looks like he still has a long, long way to go before he is a decent player. Their number pick, and first overall in the most recent draft, Ben Simmons, has yet to play in the NBA due to a foot injury as well. 

This all leads me to Joel Embiid. This is another guy that they drafted, with the third overall pick 3 years ago, that had a known foot injury and that he wouldn't be able to play right away. It seemed as if the 76ers were at it again. Taking a player that wouldn't be able to contribute anything at all for at least one year, so they could tank again, and have another shot at the number one pick in the following draft. I get it, teams want young players that they can develop, but at some point, you have to get some veterans on your roster to help out the young guys. The 76ers kept putting it off though, until they finally, and mercifully, parted ways with Sam Hinkie, AKA, Mr. "Trust the Process".

Well, all his moves seemed terrible, that is, until this most recent season started. Don't get me wrong, Hinkie was an absolute train wreck as a GM and owner, but Embiid looks like he might be the real deal. It looks like he may have gotten at least one thing right in his four years tearing down a historic franchise. But, man oh man does Embiid look like a legitimate perennial all star. I tuned in on opening night to see him play, because like everyone else, I was interested in what we would get, and he did not disappoint. This was the first time he had played a real game of basketball in about 3 years, and he looked great. Sure, he took some unnecessary shots, got some dumb fouls and only played 20 minutes, but he also did some wonderful things on the floor that night. He had an incredible spin move on Steven Adams, one of the better big men defenders in the NBA, and hit a pull up jumper on him. Embiid is 7'1 and he looked like a 6'2 shooting guard on that play. He also tracked down rebounds, loose balls, played very good, to great defense at times and looked like he had some very good footwork. He has also added some appropriate weight, and it showed when he muscled up some of the Thunder's big men that night.

So, I thought, he looked okay on opening night, but could he keep it up? Well, he has only seemed to get better. He is becoming a very good scorer in the low post. His chase down block on LeBron, whether it was goal tending or not, was an amazing feat, given his size, and the fact that it was against the best player in the game. He seems to have the desire and passion and even swagger to be one of the league's next big things. When he was still on his 20-minute limit restriction, he was so angry that he couldn't play in a double overtime game, he kicked a chair. I like to see that from young players. The 76ers have upped his minutes to 28 a game, pretty typical for a starter in the NBA, and I think it will only help him get that much better. 

Look, the 76ers still stink, I think they have 4 or 5 wins, but there is, at the very least, some hope for optimism. Joel Embiid has taken on the responsibility of being the player to build this team around. He wants to be "the guy". He has even started calling himself, "The Process". I usually do not like when people give themselves nicknames, but this one is just way too perfect to dislike. I actually find myself excited when I stumble on a 76ers game on TV, and Embiid is in there. That is about the only time I will watch them play. I just really like what I have seen from Embiid so far, and if he continues on this path, gets better and figures out the game even more, I think he will be a legitimate superstar, and the one guy that can turn the 76ers back into a relevant team. He is that good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. On this day in SeedSing history, the greatest thing on the internets was born. Wish Ty a happy birthday by following him 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 13 - The Twelve Days of Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 13th, 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 13: The Twelve Days of Christmas by Bob and Doug McKenzie

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven Twelve

When I was growing up I used to love to go Christmas caroling with some neighborhood families. I loved getting bundled up, sipping on hot cocoa, and singing the classic Christmas tunes in a large group. The way I remember the scene is very Norman Rockwellesque. Of all the classic tunes we would sing, I looked most forward to "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Like every other kid I enjoyed belting out the part about the five golden rings. The twelve days song was the peak of the Christmas season. The twelve days was the top reason to go out caroling.

As I grew older I started to real dislike "The 12 Days of Christmas" The gifts make no sense. What were the actual twelve days of Christmas? The length and repetitive nature of the song is excruciating. Every modern version of the song takes the horrid tune, and makes it a whole lot worse. My love for the song was pure childhood ignorance. If I could spend a whole holiday season without having to think about pipers piping, maids a milking, or five freaking golden rings I would be so happy.

On the 1981 comedy album The Great White North , Bob and Doug McKenzie (characters created and played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) redeemed "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with their comedic look at what Canadian hillbillies thought of the twelve days of presents. The entire song takes everything bad about the original, and makes it a whole lot more fun. They first try to identify what the actual twelve days are. We all know about Christmas and Christmas Eve, but we often forget Boxing Day (or is it wrestling day?). Who in their right mind would think a partridge in a pear tree is a great gift. The McKenzie brothers know that a beer is a great way to start of the first day of Christmas. Plus once you get eight comic books, there is no point to go on with the next few days. The McKenzie brothers understand how idiotic the original is, and just cut it off before the end to make the point. Coming up with twelve days is too hard.

Christmas is only twelve days away. Go out and enjoy shopping for presents. Give the McKenzie brothers "Twelve Days of Christmas" a listen and get some ideas. Any good person could use five golden tuques. If you are truly in a giving mood, go to a good doughnut shop and get me a bakers dozen for Christmas. Then I will fall in love with the music of the thirteen days of Christmas.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Instead of the seven packs of smokes, he really wants 7 writers blogging. Make his Christmas wish come true by writing for SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 12 - "Batman: The Animated Series - Christmas With the Joker"

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 11: "Batman: The Animated Series - Christmas with the Joker"

Original air date - November 13th, 1992

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

We all have some familiar comforts that make the holidays a special time of the year. When it comes to pop culture, we watch many of the same movies and television shows, and listen to a lot of the same music. Charlie Brown, John McClane, and Darlene Love are the faces and voices we crave for a few weeks every December. Since many of us do not work that hard at the end of the year, having our familiar pop culture is a welcome, comforting, relaxation. We want nothing to get in the way of our decades long string of watching the same Christmas-themed program.

Batman: The Animated Series was already loved by the views and critics alike when the show aired it's first Christmas-themed episode on November 13th, 1992. "Christmas with the Joker" was like a nice little present for the viewers. The episode starts with the prisoners of Arkham Asylum singing Christmas carols and decorating a tree. The Joker is invited to place the topper, when it is discovered that the entire tree is a rocket. In grand yuletide fashion, the Joker escapes into the late December night.  

Meanwhile, deep underneath stately Wayne Manor, Robin is trying to convince Batman that they should relax and watch It's a Wonderful Life. Batman is worried about the Joker having just escaped, but Robin really wants to partake in his annual tradition of watching his favorite holiday movie. The two agree to go out on patrol, and if they do not see the Joker, then they will return to watch the classic Christmas movie.

The dynamic duo do not find the Joker, or any crime, on the night of Christmas Eve, so they head home to fulfill the Boy Wonder's wish. Unfortunately, It's A Wonderful Life has been replaced by a live show featuring Commissioner Gordon, DA Harvey Dent, Gotham Reporter Summer Gleeson, and the Joker. The clown prince of crime wants to create his own classic Christmas moment of pop culture by playing games with Batman. He uses his hostages as motivation for the Dynamic Duo to go back out conduct some sleuthing on Christmas Eve.

Since Batman is the World's Greatest Detective, and the Joker is a crazy person, the former stops the latter. When the Dark Knight final gets a hold of the Joker, he tells him "Merry Christmas". In a perfect response, The Joker looks back and says "Bah Humbug". The pop culture of holidays oozes through all of us.

In the end, Joker's hostages are saved, the Clown Prince of Crime is once again on his way back to Arkham to sing carols, and Robin gets to watch It's a Wonderful Life. The spirit of the season even fills Bruce Wayne a bit when he admits that Robin's loved movie tradition has "it's moments".

The Christmas season is a special time when it comes to our pop culture. Certain movies, television shows, and music will always have a place in our hearts no matter what. We try to put off doing anything meaningful until we get our time with these gems. Thanks to Batman: The Animated Series we can now find time to celebrate our holidays with Batman, Robin, and the good old Joker.

RD

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Up until Batman: The Animated Series we could only celebrate Christmas with the Dark Knight by singing about his body odor, car troubles, and the fact that the Joker gets away.

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

If You Listen to the Critics, you Might Miss Out On Good Movies Like "X-Men: Apocalypse"

It is your choice alone to sit in the movie theater

Last night I finally got around to seeing "X-Men: Apocalypse". As you all know by now, I am a big X-Men fan. They are my favorite group of superheroes, Wolverine is the best superhero all time and I pretty much like all the mutants that make up the X-Men. I think their stories are the most unique and the coolest, by far. I have liked all the X-Men movies, with the exception being "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". It pains me to say that because of my love for Wolverine, but it is a bad movie. I almost put "X-Men 3" as the other bad movie because that ending is an abomination, but the first 3/4 of that movie is very interesting and kind of cool. The ending is just so, so terrible.

I put off seeing "X-Men: Apocalypse" for so long before the reviews were luke warm at best. The critics said that it was a waste of a good cast and the actors played cliché characters. They were hardest on Oscar Issac, who played Apocalypse, but I thought he did just fine. In fact, I enjoyed this movie.

My blog today is not a review, but more so an indictment of critics. But, I will give a short review. "X-Men: Apocalypse" is not even close to the same level as some other movies in the X-Men universe. "X-Men 2", "X-Men", "X-Men: First Class" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" are all better movies than "Apocalypse". But,as I said, I enjoyed all 2 and a half hours. I was never bored, the story was interesting and I really liked the acting. Michael Fassbender, James McCavoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolaus Hoult and the kid that played Havoc were all just fine reprising their roles. And the new people, the girl from "Game of Thrones" as young Jean Grey, the kid that played young Cyclops, the young Nightcrawler and young Storm, Psylock and Oscar Issac, I thought they all did a good job. I felt that "Apocalypse" was a fine addition to the X-Men pantheon. It was a good popcorn movie and I think most people would enjoy it if they watched it.

This all leads me to my main point. After the movie, I checked back on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic and IMDB and other sites like that to see if I misread the reviews. Well, I did not misread anything. The movie scored a 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, hovered right around a 5/10 on Metacritic and IMDB and seemed to be considered a flop by most websites that compile critics reviews. I read most of the consensus' on each site, and they all said virtually the same thing. They said the movie was "overwrought with action and clichéd characters that take away from a compelling story and good actors".

I could not disagree more. First off, overwrought with action? It is a god damn superhero movie. Superhero movies are supposed to be filled with action because they have superheroes in them. The same critics did not say this about movies like "Captain America: Civil War" or any other X-Men movie, and I feel like all those had way more action scenes than "Apocalypse". "Civil War" was basically all action, and critics loved that movie. I think it is a better movie too, but it is not that much better than "Apocalypse". And all the other X-Men movies that these same critics loved, like "Days of Future Past" for instance, they loved the action scenes and said they added so much to the story. I love the scene where Magneto destroys that baseball field in "Days of Future Past", but there was also a very similar scene in "Apocalypse", and the critics claimed it was "overwrought with action sequences". That is totally baffling to me.

Then, to call the characters cliché, what were they expecting? These characters are already in the ether. They have all been established a long, long time ago by the creators of the X-Men comic books. They cannot be any more clichéd than the characters in the comic books that I'm sure these critics read and loved. That is such a blanketed, ill-conceived criticism, in my opinion. I understand when they say that about a movie that does not have established characters, but saying it about a superhero movie is asinine. If these characters are clichéd, so is Captain America, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, basically any superhero, that these critics gave wonderful, glowing reviews, they are all clichéd. They are all the same character that they are in the comic books, so they are clichéd versions of their comic book characters. I'm sorry critics, but you cannot have it both ways. If the people that made these movies started to add new characters themselves, rabid fans would demolish them on social media, and I guarantee that you critics would chastise the people writing these movies for adding new, unnecessary people in an established universe.

I just do not understand the hatred for "Apocalypse" coming from so many well-known critics. I feel like they need to bad mouth some movies sometimes just because. they have no real reason, they just want to dislike something, so they choose the new superhero movie coming out with big expectations, and that is the one that they are going to crush on their websites and papers. This may be the same thing that happened with "Batman V Superman", but that movie had a director with a known track record of being mediocre. The X-Men movies have a well established, albeit a creepy dude, directing these movies, and for the most part, they have gotten glowing reviews.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is, do not trust critics, me included. If you want to see, read or listen to something, do it. Do not base your decision on what these people say. I wish I hadn't waited so long to see "Apocalypse", but I read, and trusted these critics, and it was the wrong choice. I try not to listen to critics, but I made a mistake. I really enjoyed "Apocalypse", and I think most fans of superhero and X-Men movies will enjoy it too. Check it out, if you want.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has not been kind to the movie critics this year. Hear him talk about it all on a classic X Millennial Man Podcast that is all about the Oscars.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 12 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 12th, 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 12: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas performed by Judy Garland

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

There are a few cultural icons produced by the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis.”  For example, it’s where Judy Garland met Vincente Minelli, thus creating Liza.  I had a film TA in college who theorized that the film inspired “Night of the Living Dead.”  But the one I care about the most is that staple of treacly holiday radio, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

A great many BAD versions of this song have been produced.  James Taylor has brought his special brand of anodyne blandness to it.  I once heard a bowdlerized version of it that replaced the word “fates” with “Lord.”  I guess the original line is just too pagan.  I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until Taylor Swift yell-sings her way through with her trademark lack of vocal subtlety.  (To whomever decides these things, I would happily pay $1.29 to hear Josh Groban do it.)  But Judy Garland’s lovely, heartfelt original is one of the finest pieces of Christmas music ever produced.

A great many of our holiday standards are unabashedly joyful.  Those are fine, I’m happy to hear “Silver Bells” and “This Christmas.”  But my favorite pieces of holiday art are the ones with a touch of melancholy about them, like A Charlie Brown Christmas.  To me, as a non-religious person, the holiday season is about finding light during the darkest time of year.  Most religions have a similar holiday, usually around the winter solstice.  Christmas, Hanukah, and Diwali, for example, are all about miracles and triumphs that chase away the darkness (metaphorical and otherwise).  Whether it’s baby Jesus born to bring hope, or lighting the way for Rama after his defeat of evil, it’s basically the same idea.

In Meet Me in St. Louis, the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is sung by Esther to her youngest sister Tootie after they learn they are leaving their St. Louis home for New York.  The song is Esther ostensibly trying to comfort Tootie by assuring her they will always have Christmastime to come with their loved ones, in person or in spirit.  But Esther is really singing about her own sense of loss at moving, and trying to remind herself that there will be joyful times in the future, even if all is bleak right now.  We can all use that reminder some years.

A very merry whatever to all!

Tina S

Tina is a sometime contributor to SeedSing and occasional guest of the X Millennial Man podcast. One time we even let her host the show.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 11 - "The Twilight Zone: The Night of the Meek"

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 11: "The Twilight Zone - The Night of the Meek"

Original air date - December 23rd, 1960

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

Our lot in life helps determine our truest wish. Almost any good hearted person, rich or poor, will wish for kindness to all of their fellow citizens of earth. The wealthy will fulfill their wishes by giving to charity, donating their time, and finding other ways to enrich the poor. People who are at the bottom of the economic ladder will also want to help their fellow man, knowing that they are also part of this group that needs help. Some people who are very poor will be obsessed with helping their neighbors and do not have the means to achieve their wish. Many times these dreamers can only find their solace in the bottom of a bottle. If they, along with the rest of the meek, can not get at least one day of joy, then the dreamer can choose to weep or drink. Most of the time they drink.

In the second season of the influential television series, The Twilight Zone saw the first of the anthology series Christmas themed episodes. In "The Night of the Meek" Honeymooners actor Art Carney played the role of Henry Corwin. Narrator Rod Serling explains that Mr. Corwin is a normally unemployed man who once a year plays the role of Santa Claus at a local department store. Corwin starts the episode in a bar having finished six drinks and half a sandwich. When the bartender catches the department store Santa grabbing a bottle of booze, Corwin is kicked out into the snowy street on Christmas Eve. 

It was a good thing Corwin was kicked out of the bar, because he was an hour late to his job of being Santa at the department store. His boss, Mr. Dundee, is not pleased that his Santa is late and drunk as a skunk. Corwin can not even get through the first rotten child, terribly named Percival in the kids own mind, before he stumbles drunkenly out of his chair. Percival's obnoxious mother doubles her terribleness and tells off Mr. Dundee. With all the unpleasantness that just happened, Mr. Dundee fires Corwin's Santa and calls him a drunk. Corwin apologizes for his condition and explains to Mr. Dundee, and all the assembled children, that he has to drink or he will constantly weep. He is so saddened during the Christmas season to look around his tenement and see children who are hungry and have no toys to play with. Just once he would like to see the meek inherit the earth. Since that seems like an impossible dream, Henry Corwin must drink, or he will weep.

The audience witnessed Santa Corwin's weeping earlier when the poor children were asking for gifts, and for their daddies to have jobs. Knowing he has no choice to drink, Corwin heads back to the bar. The bartender will not let Corwin in because as he tells the other patrons, "Santa is a lush."

Left with nowhere to go, Corwin hears bells in the air and spots an old sack on the ground. He notices the sack is filled with presents and immediately goes out to search for the kids. Each kid asks for a particular gift, and Corwin delivers the exact wish. With his renewed holiday spirit, Santa Corwin heads to a church service at the mens shelter. After he insults Sister Florence with the promise of a new dress, Santa Corwin is giving all the poor men their exact wishes. A pipe, a cane, a sweater, a smoking jacket, all of it was magically coming out of Santa's bag. The meek were getting at least one day of joy.

The gift extravaganza ends when Sister Florence brings Officer Flaherty in to arrest Santa Corwin for theft. At the station Flaherty is joined by Mr. Dundee and the two men demand to know how and why Corwin robbed the department store. Santa Corwin is filled with joy as he explains that the bag just gives out the people's wishes. Mr. Dundee will not have it and starts berating Officer Flaherty while the store manager digs in the bag to only pull out empty cans and a confused cat. When Corwin asks Mr Dundee what his wish for Christmas is, the rude store manager says a vintage 1903 cherry brandy, that was a good year. Without fail, Santa Corwin produces the bottle and leaves to deliver more joy to the meek. 

In the end, one of Henry Corwin's fellow tenement dwellers remarks that there is nothing in the bag for Corwin. Santa Corwin responds he got the greatest gift of all, he was able to really be Santa for the night. With Corwin left alone, in pure and sober joy, he hears those bells again. As he goes to search out the sound, Corwin is presented with a reindeer-led sleigh and a joyful elf. The elf tells Santa that it is time to go and get ready for next year. Still confused, Santa Corwin gets in the sleigh and takes off towards the North Pole. Mr. Dundee, who is now drunk off of great cherry brandy, spots Corwin in the sky and offers cheers to Officer Flaherty for miracles on Christmas Day.

We all have our hopes and wishes around Christmas time. Those without want can usually fill their hearts with the spirit of the season by giving to any charity of their choice. The poor do not have this option. They see the want in kids and adults like and can only find solace in hard drink. They have their misery amplified by Christmas. But as mid-twentieth century philosopher Rod Serling says "There's a wondrous magic to Christmas and there's a special power reserved for little people. In short, there's nothing mightier than the meek."

RD

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Want to know about the plight of mall Santa? Check out the great Fountains of Wayne song, "The Man in the Santa Suit".

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 10 "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

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 10: "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

Original air date - December 25th, 2010

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

If you had one more day to spend with the person you love best, what day would you pick? Everyone has a variety of perfect days, but most of us look at Christmas as being the best of all the perfect days. We tend to be surrounded by joy, and we are usually with good friends. Many of our problems disappear on Christmas Day. The only thing that makes Christmas Day more magical is having your special someone by your side. If you had only one day left, it would be very hard not to pick Christmas Day.

In 2005 the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who was brought back to television after being off the airwaves for sixteen years. Since the relaunch, Doctor Who has produced a special Christmas episode every December. Most of the time the Christmas specials would have a holiday feel. There have been monster snowmen, a wardrobe that transported people to a magical winter world, and a town named Christmas. On Christmas Day of 2010, Doctor Who decided to adapt the most classic British holiday story, A Christmas Carol.

The story kicks off with newlywed companions Amy and Rory on a crashing starship. Their craft was stuck in strange cloud formation surrounding a planet. The Doctor, played by Matt Smith, comes to help and learns that the dangerous clouds above the planet are controlled by one man on the surface. Here we meet Kazran Sardick played by Michael Gambon. Sardick is our Scrooge stand-in for this Christmas Carol. The Doctor learns that Kazran's father used to loan people money, and in exchange for the funds, the families would submit one of their loved ones to cryogenic freezing. The frozen person would not be released until the money is paid off. The Doctor decides that he needs to thaw the icy mans spirits, and since the Doctor has a time machine, why not pull a little Christmas Carol magic.

In order to pull off the Ghost of Christmas past, the Doctor goes back to when Kazran was a little boy and starts to change the man's memories. The young Kazran and the Doctor explore the clouds and learn that fish, and sharks swim in the skies. One adventure goes haywire, and a shark comes after the two. Everyone is ok, but part of the Doctor's trusty sonic screwdriver ends up in the shark. Young Kazran then convinces the Doctor to temporarily release one of his father's frozen debtor prisoners. The young women, Abigail, has a singing voice that can calm the sharks in the clouds. Kazran, Abigail, and the Doctor go on a shark-drawn carriage ride, and promise to meet up again every Christmas eve. 

Every year Abigail and the Doctor stay the same, but Kazran is growing one year old. During one adventure, Kazran and Abigail are around the same age and share a kiss. Their relationship grows every Christmas eve, until one time Abigail shares a secret with Kazran. That night as they put Abigail back into storage, Kazran tells the Doctor he does want to have anymore Christmas adventures. The camera pans away and we see a number counter on Abigails storage tank move to the number one.

The Doctor tries to reason with Kazran, but the old man will not let the crashing starship land safely. He is not concerned with the thousand of lives that will be lost. Companion Amy Pond is then projected via hologram to Kazran as the ghost of Christmas present. She explains that he can save everyone right now if he wants to. The entire ship is singing "Silent Night" to ease the ship through the clouds, but they can not control the sharks like Abigail could. They are going to crash.

Kazran says he does not care if they die, they should die. The Doctor comes again to try and reason with the man. Kazran tells the Doctor that his bitter nature is because of the Doctor and his adventures with Abigail. The secret she shared with Kazran all those years ago is that she is terminally ill, and the numbers on her storage unit count down the days she has left. Kazran understands that he is the Scrooge in the Doctor's Christmas Carol and does not care if he dies alone. His love for Abigail has turned him into to being a miser with her last day.

Here the Doctor reveals the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Kazran himself. The Doctor has brought the young Kazran to the present and asks him if this is the man you want to be. The little boy is horrified when Kazran comes to hit him. Kazran stops his hand, and breaks down. He sees that his hoarding of the memories of Abigail has made him not enjoy those times past. Kazran agrees to land the ship, but his change of heart has made him unable to control the clouds. Kazran's father built the machine for the bitter person his son was. This new joyful person was not recognized by the "isomorphic" controls. There is only one person who can control the clouds, and that is Abigail.

Kazran releases Abigail, and she remarks about how he took way too much time to spend their last day together. She sings to the fish, the clouds break, and the starship lands safely. Amy acknowledges that she is aware that this is Abagail's last day. The Doctor remarks that it is, but her and Kazran gets one more perfect time. If only we could all be so lucky. The last shot is an old Kazran, and a joyful Abagail riding a shark-drawn carriage through the snowy clouds.

It is hard to pick what day we would want to be our last one with our best love. Many of us never think of the answer to this grim question. Yet somewhere out in the universe people on shark filled cloudy planets face this question. If we try to find that one last perfect day, we will grow old and bitter.  Do not be bitter, be joyful, and choose Christmas Day. You can never go wrong spending Christmas with the one you love.

RD

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If he could not choose Christmas Day as his last, he would choose May 11th. He has always had good weather and good fun on that day.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 10 - It Feels Like Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 10th, 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 10: It Feels Like Christmas by Paul Williams

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

The best thing about Christmas Day is how happy I feel. The presents are always welcome, the food is great, but my feeling of personal contentment is the greatest gift I get every December 25th. The stress of buying presents is over, the long car ride to visit family is completed, the high anxiety of the holidays is gone. Finally being able to relax with my family gives me comfort. I wish I could have the feeling of Christmas all year long.

In 1992 Michael Caine took his turn playing Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol. The awesome Paul Williams, wrote many songs for The Muppets, uses "It Feels Like Christmas" as an introduction to the ideas presented by the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge has a lot and gives little, The Ghost of Christmas Present shows how those that have very little still give a lot during Christmas. The people (Muppets) are not giving store bought gifts, the are giving love and comfort. The spirit shows Scrooge that Christmas is about togetherness. Scrooge cannot keep Christmas because he is alone.

"It Feels Like Christmas" is the heartwarming ideal of the holidays. The comforts of love and family trump any toys and gadgets. The story of A Christmas Carol has always used happy gatherings as the path the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge on. The Muppet Christmas Carol is able to get the whole point across in under 3 minutes.

Christmas Day is not about rushing out to buy the right gift. Once the presents are all opened I look forward to the rest and relaxation I have been missing out on for weeks. I look forward to sitting by the fire with my family. I take joy in the love I am surrounded by. "It Feels like Christmas" may be a holiday song, but it's message carries on year round. I love Christmas for how it makes me feel. Whenever I am in the comfort of those I love, it really does feel like Christmas.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Being with family is the number one thing he loves about the holidays. The generosity of people is his second favorite thing - Support SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 9 - "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

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 9: "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

Original air date - October 30th, 1989

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

One of the very best things about Christmas is getting a great present. During our shopping sprees, it is inevitable to find something that you want for yourself. The desire to get that one great present usually turns into an obsession. For the few weeks leading up to Christmas, we can start to get pretty self-centered about presents. We sometimes forget about all the good feelings experienced by giving other people joy around the holds. Our selfishness can make Christmas a downright icy time of the year.

In the late 1980's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!  was there to capitalize on the sudden popularity of the Mario Bros. video games on Nintendo. Each episode started and ended with a live action adventure of Mario and Luigi with their celebrity friends in New York City. Cindi Lauper, Norman Fell, Vanna White, and many other late eighties luminaries stopped by the Mario Bothers plumbing shop. In between these live action segments was an unrelated cartoon adventure of Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom. The crew was constantly thwarting the evil schemes of King Koopa and his coalition of animal like bad guys (ed note: The Mario games had not named the main bad guy Bowser yet, hence the title King Koopa).

On the day before Halloween in 1989, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! presented an animated adventure titled "Koopa Klaus". The episode starts with Mario and the crew trying to dig a tunnel to HawaiiLand. Due to Toad's terrible navigation, they end up in the North Pole of the Mushroom Kingdom. Before the heroes arrived in the snowy landscape, King Koopa froze Santa's workshop and took Father Christmas hostage. King Koopa hates Christmas for some reason and wants to destroy all the toys Santa will be delivering. Our heroes decide to visit Santa's workshop on suggestion by Toad.  He is obsessed with getting presents. The Princess decides to give Toad his present early in hopes that it calms her servant down. Upon getting his new snowboard, Toad selfishly goes off to play. He never even thanks the Princess for the thoughtful gift.

The joy of Toad and his new snowboard is short lived, because King Koopa spots the crew and decides to attack. Our heroes see that Santa is a captive in King Koopa’s sleigh, and they all decide to save the big guy. Toad agrees to help, but not for Santa’s safety, he wants to save the toys. At one point, a bob-omb hits Toad and knocks him off the snowboard. He is concerned about his new toy, and the Princess scolds him for being selfish and only thinking of himself. Mario and Luigi use some good old platform jumping, some cave chasing, and other assorted video game moves to get Santa away from King Koopa and save the day.

Saint Nick was safe, but Santa’s workshop was still frozen. Toad is beside himself because he fears there will never be any new toys for the little guy. He then feels ok because at least he got a new snowboard, who cares about anyone else. The Princess tells Toad that Christmas is a time to think of others. With the spirit of the season finally coming into focus for Toad, he gives the snowboard to Santa so at least one present will make it for a Christmas delivery. The kindness of Toad’s gift causes the ice to melt, and free Santa’s workshop. Christmas is saved in the Mushroom Kingdom, and as a reward the Mario crew got to spend the evening delivering presents to all the toads, toadettes, and maybe even a few goombas and koopas.

Getting a cool gift is awesome. What we should not forget is that the feeling we get from giving someone a cool gift is what Christmas should be about. We will spend a lot of time in shops, or on the internet, looking for some great gifts. In our searches, there will be something great that catches our heart’s desire. This is not the season to be selfish. The joy of Christmas will be felt when you give someone else their heart’s desire. If your lucky, you will get that gift so someone else can feel the true holiday spirit.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of The X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still waiting for a game to feature the rad talking late eighties Link of The Legend of Zelda cartoon series.

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