The SeedSing 2016 Year in Politics and Society: The Top Political Stories

Happy 2017 all.

Sorry to say, but we need to look back at 2016 one last time. The upcoming year is going to be quite different in politics than any year within many of our readers lifetimes. With that in mind, we here at SeedSing want to count down the five most important political stories of 2016. There are many important things that happened globally when it comes to politics, but our stories mostly look at the United States. What happened in the US will have massive global implications in the years to come. These events were crucial in creating the uncertain future that will begin in 2017.

We are going to start with the most overhyped political story of 2016. The endless coverage of Hillary Clinton being the first woman to be at the top of a major party ticket for President is the most inconsequential story of 2016. The Clinton campaign barely used this angle when the Secretary Clinton was on the campaign trail. It was widely accepted that Hillary Clinton was going to be the Democratic Party nominee, and the media decided not to cover the historic angle. It is a shame, because what Hillary Clinton did, by winning the election by a margin of nearly three million votes, is historic. It is an overrated story because no one talked about like they should have.

The fifth most important political story is the insanity that was the Republican Presidential Primary. Many, including us, thought that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush would easily win the nomination. If there was going to be a Barrack Obama like upset, it would maybe come from Florida Senator Marco Rubio. As the weeks went by, and New York businessman Donald Trump kept getting just enough of the plurality in primary states to win, things started to get strange. The endless debates started to focus on penis size, the attractiveness of spouses, and whose father helped to get JFK assassinated. There was no substance, no vision, just a comedy of errors. This chaos led to Donald Trump finally securing the nomination in June.

The fourth most important political story is the fact that the British people voted to leave the European Union, or Brexit if you want. Brexit is a bad, bad, idea, and the voters knew this. In what was soon to be a trend, the middle and lower class voters of Britain did not care about the consequences and wanted to send a message. No one in the press got it right. The stats gurus who set betting lines on public opinion got it wrong. Brexit sent a shockwave out that saw British Prime Minister David Cameron resigning, and most of the Conservative leaders actively running away from being the new leader of the British government. Theresa May stepped up to the plate and has actively delayed Brexit, even looking for her own exit to Brexit.

The third most important political story is the failure and incompetence of the professional media. During most of 2016 many media outlets, including SeedSing, treated Donald Trump as a joke. Many media outlets, mainly NBC, were treating Trump with kid gloves. Clinton was questioned for every small detail, but Trump's glaring problems were glossed over so the news networks could get better ratings.The stats gurus at Princeton, 538, The New Times, and many others were giving Hillary Clinton a huge advantage to win the presidency. They were all wrong. Once the election was over, these newspeople spent their time covering their own rear ends. It was never their fault. The only people taking actual responsibility were comedians like Stephen Colbert and John Oliver. People like Nate Silver and the clowns at Morning Joe were busy throwing fire in every direction. The need the media has for fame and profit outweighed the safety and future of America.

The second most important political story is the death of the Democratic Party. Since Bill Clinton was elected as President in 1992, the Democratic Party has almost entirely given up on trying to win any competitive election outside of the President. In the early part of the 21st century, then DNC chairman Howard Dean started to reverse this trend, but once Barrack Obama was elected, Dean’s plan was scrapped so the Obama campaign could demand all the money and resources. 2016 proved to be the Waterloo of the DNC’s President or bust strategy. The so-called “safe” Senate map did not give the Democratic Party a majority. Republicans took control of more state legislators, Governor mansions, and the White House. The Democratic Party responded to these humiliating setbacks by maintaining the status quo. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was once again elected to the position of Minority Leader. The same old talking heads the party has been keeping around far too long on the news networks all kept their jobs. The Democratic Party’s choice to keep the same failed leaders shows that personal glory for a few is more important than a more secure America for all.

The number one most important political story of 2016 is the ascension of Donald Trump. From the first rally, where Trump had to pay people to attend, to election night, Donald Trump is a political candidate like one not experienced in our lifetimes. He used juvenile insults on his opponents, threatened to jail Hillary Clinton, bragged about sexually assaulting women, claimed his use of bankruptcy law makes him a good businessman, and put the reputation of Russia ahead of the safety of the United States. All of these issues still caused the Republican nominee to lose the popular vote by nearly 3 million, but he did gain the needed electoral votes to be the next President of the United States. Since his popular defeat, but electoral victory, Donald Trump has spent his transition time insulting CIA intelligence professionals, media outlets, and his opponents. His cabinet is mostly made up of wealth seekers who actively want to make America less welcoming to anyone that is chasing the American dream. The rise of Donald Trump to the highest office in the land has not humbled the thin skinned tabloid mainstay. Over half the country does not want him to be President, but he is, and America needs to be ready.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are you part of the minority that voted for Donald Trump? Tell us why. 

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

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Podcasting

For my final best of list this year, I am going to go very niche, and I'm going to give you all my top 5 podcast moments, or just flat out episodes of the year. Some of these are compilations, or random appearances on certain podcasts by people I like, or just straight forward episodes. Also, all mine are comedy podcasts, except for one, because that is what I like. I do not have anything from NPR, ESPN, The AV Club, Cracked, nothing like that. Also, there is no "Serial" or anything like that on my list. That was a one hit wonder type deal, and I think the second season of "Serial" proved that very point. Anyway, lets get to it. 

At number 5, I have all of the "Doughboys" episodes during their "Tournament of Chompions". This was when Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, and one guest for each episode, went around to various fast food type restaurants and put the burgers in a tournament. They had franchises all over the US, places like Five Guys, Hardees, Burger King and Wendy's that they judged. But, they also went to places that some people around the US don't have, like Shake Shack and In N Out Burger. Look, I knew form the beginning of this tournament that In N Out was going to make the finals. Wiger, ever since the birth of "Doughboys", has talked about how In N Out Burger is the best place ever. He legitimately loves this place. There is no mistaking that. Mitchell knew this, so he tried to game the system by having friends of his that dislike In N Out on to "beat" whoever they matched up against. It finally happened, when John Gemberling appeared, and picked Burger King as the winner over In N Out. Wiger was audibly upset and Mitchell was audibly thrilled. But, like a whiny baby, near the end of this tournament, look, the whole thing was convoluted from the start, as I said, the matchup was going to be In N Out versus Shake Shack no matter what happened in each previous episode, they all but said this at the start, Wiger got In N Out back in, and they "won". But, what I liked about this whole series was how much Mitchell just got on Wiger's nerves. This is their whole setup for the podcast. Wiger is Mitchell's whipping boy, and he took that to a whole new level during the "Tournament of Chompions". It was funny, uncomfortable and everything I want from any episode of "Doughboys". It is a really good podcast.

At number 4, I have "The Bill Simmons Podcast" when Michael Rappaport was on the first time this year. This was one of the better episodes of "The BS" podcast, and it was all because of Rappaport. He is so lively and talkative and funny and has stories for days. When Simmons brought up the Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis, that was when this episode became great. Rappaport loves the Knicks, and he loves Porzingis even more. He really, really likes this Knicks team, but Simmons, and myself for that matter, do not think this Knicks team is that good, but do not say that to Rappaport. He went on and on and on about how they can compete, especially in the East, and talked about their potential "greatness", which involved Porzingis mainly. He loves this dude. He kept calling him the "Lativian gangbanger". He talked about how he was the next great NBA super star. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode because of Rappaport's lively conversation skills. His own podcast is great, but when he shows up on other people's stuff, it is must listen for me, especially when you talk about something in his wheelhouse, like the Knicks, or who the greatest "stick men" in Hollywood may be. Rappaport is a delight.

At number 3, I have any episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" that Neil Campbell is on, playing his loved character, the Timekeeper. This is one of the funniest things on podcasts right now. He is so weird, and sounds so odd, but I cannot help but belly laugh whenever the Timekeeper shows up. He is hilarious. Campbell is such a great improviser and so good on a podcast like "CBB". "CBB" is the perfect show for the talents of someone like Neil Campbell, and the Timekeeper is his greatest character. His performances are great, and any time he is on, I get giddy with excitement and listen, hoping that he will bring in the Timekeeper at some point. He was just on their holiday episode, and it was one of the funnier episodes all year of "CBB". This is always a wonderfully hilarious performance.

At number 2, I have the episode of "How Did This Get Made" where they cover the Village People movie, "Can't Stop the Music". The episode has Jason Mantzoukas and Paul Scheer, but no June Diane-Rapheal, but, they do get Cameron Esposito and Pete Holmes, and they are great substitutes for this live episode. First of all, "HDTGM" is one of the best podcast hands down, but when they do a movie this insane, and try to figure it out, it is laugh out loud funny. Mantzoukas seems legitimately confused the entire show, trying to explain this movie. Scheer is just dumbfounded the whole time, never stopping to ask any question that pops in his head. Esposito does her best to try and explain, but even she has a hard time trying to figure stuff out. At points she thinks she has something figured out, but then someone will give a counterpoint, and then she is questioning her theory. It makes for great podcasting. But, the star of this episode is Holmes. He, instead of trying to figure how this movie got made, he did what he does best, and just riffs the whole 90 minutes. He goes from doing impressions, to bad dad jokes and ends up doing some terrible, but also extremely funny, puns. Holmes is so god damn funny, and that is on full display during this 90 minute "HDTGM". I do not always love the live episodes, but this is one of their best of all time.

Finally, at number 1, I have the episode of "I Was There Too" when Matt Gourley had Marc Maron on to talk about his bit role in "Almost Famous". This was another live episode, but this was such a great, great podcast. First off, I vividly remember Maron in "Almost Famous", his catchphrase for "WTF" comes from that movie, and I loved his role as the angry club promoter. He went into this role. He talked about auditioning for the role, getting a call back, and reading with Cameron Crowe. I love these stories. Then he talked about set life. I love these stories too. But, after deep diving into his 3 minutes or so on screen, the talk divulged into stuff like cats, how he prepares for his own show, writing jokes and talking to the crowd. This is the perfect medium for Maron, and Gourley was great at letting him go on any tangent that he wanted. I really loved this episode so much,  I have listened to it 3 times, and it has never gotten old. It was far and away the best podcast of 2016, in my personal opinion.

As far as the worst podcast episode of the year, it was anytime that Bill Simmons got on his soap box and complained about his show got cancelled, and how it was not his fault. His show was bad, I know, I watched it, and it was because of him. He is not a TV host. He is a writer and a podcaster, and he is damn good at those 2 things. He doesn't need a TV show too. But, for him to blame everyone else became very tiresome very fast. I would fast forward through these 10 minute whine fests because it was so grating and uncomfortable to hear. His show was bad, and that is that. It got cancelled, and that is what it deserved. Simmons has gotten better about it lately, but anytime it is brought up, I groan because I am fearful that he is going to get into why he was great and why everyone else was wrong. He needs to get over it and let it go. It's so childish and ignorant of Simmons to whine this much.

That's it for 2016. This has been a crappy year, but at least we have the good things on these lists, so that has to be some kind of consolation. Thanks for reading.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The number one podcast in his heart is anything he does on the X Millennial Man. Check out his new one ones every Saturday. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Sports

Continuing my best of lists of 2016 today, I'm going to count down the top 5 sports moments of the year. This has been a year of some big, monumental sports moments. Lots of stuff has happened in 2016 in major professional sports. Many "curses" were broke, some big names traded teams, there was some incredible displays of athleticism and so much more. Enough chat, lets get to it.

At number 5, I have the 2016 NBA dunk contest during All Star weekend. The dunk contest had been in the toilet for over a decade plus, until this year. The last great dunk contest I remember was when Vince Carter was with the Raptors and did some of the most impressive dunks I had ever seen live. I'm a little too young to remember when Jordan dunked from the foul line, or when Dominique Wilkins should have beaten Jordan in a great dunk contest. I was not alive when Dr. J was showing the world how athletic basketball players can be at the professional level. I barely remember Spud Webb winning, but I have seen the highlight tape a thousand times. But, after the Vince Carter show, I tuned in to every dunk contest from there on out, and they were all terrible. There were too many missed dunks. It is supposed to be a "side show" of sorts, but some contests took that concept way too far. The best players, and dunkers for that matter, were not participating. I did not, and still don't, think that Blake Griffin's dunk over the front of a car was all that impressive. It was just flat out bad, and boring. Then, last year, both Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon showed up. The contest wasn't great in 2015, but Lavine and Gordon were. Then, this year, they went to a whole new level. It was a total, anything you can do, I can do better, contest. Gordon would jump over a mascot, put the ball under his legs and do a reverse jam. To top that, Lavine took off from the foul line, put the ball between his legs and jammed it with ease. It was a thing of beauty to watch in real time. I wrote about this dunk contest earlier this year, claiming that it was back, and I cannot stop thinking about how truly awesome, and athletic it was. I know that this is a total niche thing for a rabid NBA fan like myself, but there is no doubt in my mind that the 2016 dunk contest is easily one of the top 5 sports moments of the year.

At number 4, I have the epic ass whoopings that both, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps put on their opponents in the Rio Olympics. They were astounding to watch. Look, I do not care about swimming, unless Michael Phelps and the Olympics are involved. When Phelps is competing, I want to watch. I even named him my top athlete of the 21st century. He is undeniably the greatest champion in pro sports. He competes at the highest level sport, and dominates. When he wins, because he pretty much always does, it is a shock if he doesn't blow out his competition, and we are talking about Olympians here. These are the best of the best in the whole world, and Phelps dominates them all. The same can be said for Usain Bolt. He is the greatest sprinter ever. What he has/is doing in sprinting, at his age, is beyond incredible. This guy doesn't only win, but he blows away his competition, and he does it in style. This year, when he looked back at his opponents in one of his final races, with a smile on his face, shows you how truly dominant he is. He does wonders on a track. If he is not on your relay team, forget about winning gold, you are going for silver. Same thing if it is a solo race, and Bolt is there. He is going to win, and he is going to beat your ass while doing it. These are easily the 2 best Olympians of my lifetime, and maybe of all time, and they showed that ten fold in Rio this year.

At number 3, I have Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors this offseason. When he did that, it shifted the entire balance of the NBA. Before, when he was still in OKC, there were 4, possibly 5 teams, that had a realistic chance at winning the title. But, when KD decided on July 4th that he was going to Golden State, that trimmed an already small list from 5 to 2. But, honestly, if the Warriors do not win the title this year, it will be a failed season. When KD signed, the Warriors immediately had the greatest spacing ever. They can put him, Curry and Thompson on the floor, and good luck guarding that. People said, well they lost all their rebounders and rim protectors to get him. So what, they got Kevin freaking Durant! And, they still have Draymond Green, who can rebound and defend 4 and 5's with relative ease, even though he is maybe 6'8. Big deal that they lost Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes and Mareese Speights, they got KD. They also got Zaza Pachulia and David West, so they did not really lose all that much. Look, as I write this, the Warriors are far and away the best team in the NBA, and they haven't completely figured out how to play together. Some may say, well the Cavs just beat them on Christmas, but the Cavs gave that game their best effort, still needed help from the refs, have Steph go ice cold, and they still needed a last second shot from Irving to win. This Warriors team is the greatest collection of shooters that I have ever seen. It is cute when people say that the Clippers, Spurs and Cavs can beat this team, but if they play to their full potential, the Warriors should breeze to a title this year, and that all happened when KD signed that contract.

At number 2, I have the aforementioned Cavs coming back, down 3-1 to the Warriors, to win the NBA title. LeBron brought a championship back to Cleveland after a 60 plus year drought. Sure, they needed help from the refs, and for Curry and Thompson to play very average basketball, but what that team, and more importantly, what LeBron and Kyrie Irving did in games 5, 6 and 7, was incredible. They both played perfect basketball. Even guys like JR Smith and Kevin Love showed up in big moments. Smith hit some humongous, crucial threes. Kevin Love turned into a rebounding machine, and played some great help defense on a very important possession in a pivotal moment of game 7 against Curry. This comeback was amazing. Kyrie Irving was unconscious and unstoppable on offense and LeBron proved, that when he turns it on, he is unstoppable and the best player by a mile in the NBA. This was a big, big deal, and it only took LeBron 2 years to accomplish this lifelong goal. What a moment for the Cavs and the city of Cleveland.

But, all this stuff pales in comparison to what happened in the MLB this year. There is no sports moment, no matter what people may say, bigger than the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series. They ended a 108 year drought. It took them extra innings, a coach trying to blow the game, but a team of young guys that would not let this team lose. There was even a rain delay in that epic game 7, adding more historical meaning to one of the greatest baseball games ever played. I am not the biggest baseball fan in the world, but even I tuned in, after the 6th inning, to watch this game. But, the Cubs, much like the Cavs, had to come back from a 3-1 deficit. This was so much bigger than the Cavs deficit though for the Cubs. The Cubs were the best team, bar none, in the MLB. The Cavs were expected to lose, but the Cubs, they were the odds-on favorites all year to win the World Series. They had to have an epic comeback to fulfill their potential, and they did it. And, even though I'm a lifelong Cardinals fan, it was not that hard to root for the Cubs this year. They have a likeable team. This will change in a year or two, because this Cubs team is going to be great for a long time, but this year, they were kind of hard to root against. The Cubs ending a 108 year drought is, far and away, the biggest sports moments this year, and will be for quite some time. It was epic and it was, as much as it pains me to write this, kind of cool to see them win. Good for you Cubs.

As far as the worst moments in sports this year, all the abuse and violence that pro athletes are being accused, and convicted of, is just dreadful. These guys, and girls, are deplorable human beings that think it is okay to bully and put hands on people that are weaker and smaller than them. Be it Adrian Peterson, Richie Incognito, the Giants douchebag kicker, Hope Solo, anyone that has done it before and continues to do it now, makes me hate watching sports news because this domestic abuse is happening way too much, and it is getting scary. These people need help. They need to be suspended, or even better, kicked out of their pro leagues to teach them some kind of lesson. It is even happening at the college level. Look no further than what happened at Baylor this year. All this stuff is gross, disturbing and upsetting. It is becoming way too common, and it needs to stop now. It makes me upset, and makes me dislike people like Roger Goodell and Mark Emmert, the head of the NCAA, that let these things happen all the time with little to no punishment, more than I already do. Stop the hate and the violence.

That's it for today, come back for my final best of 2016 list tomorrow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His number one sports moment for 2017 will be when Urban Meyer leaves Ohio State because he has a health issue named Jim Harbaugh. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Music

My best of list today will be my top 5 albums of 2016. There was some good music put out this year, but honestly, this was probably the easiest list for me to make. When certain people announced they were putting out new records, I hoped for the best, and for the most part, they all delivered. Lets get to it.

At number 5, I have Frank Ocean's "Blonde". This record was tremendous. The wait was totally worth it. After Ocean put out the phenomenal "Channel Orange", he waited almost 2 and a half years before releasing "Blonde". The wait seemed like it would go on forever. The rumors never stopped, especially after he performed on "SNL", that a new record was in the works, and it would be coming soon. But they never seemed to develop. Then on some random Friday, Ocean announced that he had released his record on social media. I bought it immediately and listened to it right after it downloaded, and it was great. It was a perfect blend of R&B/rap/funk and the weirdness that is Frank Ocean. His voice is tremendous on the record. His switching back and forth between singing and rapping is totally on point. The guests on this record are second to none. Andre 3000's verse is one of the dopest things I've heard in years. "Blonde" is one of the first records that I can remember being worth the wait. Ocean is a super star now, and it is because of the success of "Blonde".

At number 4, I have Chance the Rapper's "Coloring Book". This is one of the most uplifting rap records I have ever heard. Chance the Rapper is a shining light in the music industry right now. He is clearly someone that does it for the love of music, not the fame, money or recognition. Every record he releases, he releases them for free. "Coloring Book" was first put on Apple Music only, but there were many other ways to download the record for free, instantly. Every song on the album has his perfect rap presence on it, but his singing is also really good. Take a song like "Blessings". The chorus is great, and Chance's verses are really good, but his singing on the song is just as good as anything else he does. He too has really blown up recently, due to "SNL" and the fact that he is the Kit Kat spokesman now, but he is one of the better rappers doing music right now. The record has straight forward rap songs, but there are some good R&B songs and some, I almost want to say, gospel type songs. "Coloring Book" is a revelation, and Chance the Rapper is on his way to the top. Go get this record now. It is free and it is awesome.

At number 3, I have my all time favorite rap group's newest record, A Tribe Called Quest's "We Got it From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service". This was a much needed record. After it was announced that Phife Dawg passed away, RIP, the remaining members announced that they were putting out a record of original material. They had some of Phife's vocals still recorded, and they made new songs with what they had, and the material was incredible. The album finds the band with a more politically conscious sound than ever, and it suits them incredibly well. They have great voices, and with what is going on in the world now, we needed to get their thoughts. Q-Tip slays on every song on the record. Ali Shaheed Mohammed is right there with the beats and the one liners that he is the master of. Even Jarobi shows up and does some nice things. Then, we get Phife. Man was he the best of the best. His verses were so great. Hearing him one more time on record was so god damn satisfying. I still miss the hell out of him, but at least I will always have his voice on records, and "WGIFH...TY4YS", he is wonderful. The guest list on this record is better than what Frank Ocean has in "Blonde". Andre 3000 is on this record, so is Jack White and the reemergence of Busta Rhymes. Busta Rhymes is a beast and he sounds dynamite on this record. I hope this means he is contemplating a comeback, because I'd love some new music from him. ATCQ is back, and this new album is awesome. Thank you for releasing it. We as a nation needed this right now.

At number 2, I have the new funk record from Childish Gambino, "Awaken! My Love". This album is incredible, unique, weird and awesome. It is as if Parliament came back and recorded a record for the 21st century. Along with making great TV, i.e. "Atlanta", Donald Glover also released one of the best albums of the year. I have been listening to this record almost nonstop for the past month or so. I love every track on this album. Glover goes totally off script and, instead of releasing a new rap record, he delivers a straight up funk record, and it is incredible. His voice is so tremendous. He hits some crazy high notes that I had no idea he could hit. From the opener, "Me and Your Mama", which is a great blend of funk and rock, to songs like "Boogieman", "Zombies", "California" and "Baby Boy", which are all straight up funk, the album is a homerun. The song "Redbone" may be the track of the year. Glover is tremendous on this song, and his band sounds phenomenal. The chorus may be my anthem for the crap fest that has been 2016. Glover sings, "stay woke/they be creepin/they gon find you/gon catch you sleeping". I mean, that is pretty poetic and prophetic for the state of our country. "Awaken! My Love" is a triumph, and further proves that Donald Glover is the most talented person in show business. I have mentioned him everyday in all my lists so far, so he must be doing something right. This record is incredible, and I cannot wait to see what he does next in TV, movies, but most importantly for me, music. I'm sure it will be awesome.

This all brings me to my number one record of the year, "Run The Jewels 3" by, Run The Jewels. I know this album has only been out for 3 days, but damn it is the shit. The band surprised released the record on Christmas at midnight, and as they would say, "it was a Christmas f&*(ing miracle". I have not stopped listening to the album for the past three days. When I go on runs at night, this record gets me through the 3 miles. When I clean the house, this is what I'm putting on my Echo or headphones. When I'm driving in my car, and my kids are not present, this is what I'm cranking. The record is dope, and this, more than any piece of pop culture this year, is exactly what I, and a bunch of other people need to get through these trying times. EL-P and Killer Mike take on the establishment in every track, and they take it down. These dudes are the voice for the downtrodden and they make me want to start a revolution. I would go to war with these dudes, especially Killer Mike. This record makes me want to accomplish things to take down the current state of the government. This record makes me have visceral responses. I will just yell random things, to no one in particular, when listening to this dope ass album. "RTJ3" is an absolute triumph, and RTJ themselves are the best rappers making music right now. EL-P and Killer Mike are phenomenal. They basically crashed the internet when they surprised announced that they were releasing this record early. I do not care that it has only been out for 3 days, it is the best record of 2016, and it will probably be better than anything put out in 2017. It is a god damn masterpiece. I'm getting fired up just writing about how much I love this record right now. Buy it immediately, if you do not already have it. It is the bomb diggity.

As far as the worst record of the year goes, anything that Drake puts out is always garbage, and the Macklemore record, which I have not heard one song of, I guarantee it is a joke of an album. Drake is an overrated, bandwagon fan, and a wannabe. His rhyming is garbage. His voice is garbage. His beats stink. I'd rather listen to anyone from the early 90's rap than listen to any piece of trash that Drake releases. He is, by far, the most overrated emcee of all time. Then there is Macklemore. Talk about a poseur. This dude and his DJ are fake rappers and Macklemore is the leader of this fake ass sound. He is just as bad as Drake, and he thinks he is "rapping" about important issues, and that he alone is bringing this stuff to light. Macklemore is garbage, and his 15 minutes of fame were done a long, long time ago. Do not listen to anything by these 2 guys because they are both equally terrible.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my best and worst sports moments of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His dislike of Drake goes back to the Degrassi days. Jimmy Brooks was the worst. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: Best, and Worst, in Movies

Day 2 of my "Best Of" lists will be my top 5 movies from 2016, and I'll throw in one bad one for good measure. But, I need to address the death of Carrie Fisher very quickly. SCREW YOU 2016. YOU ARE THE WORST. THIS IS A TRAGIC, TRAGIC YEAR AND IT NEEDS TO END NOW. 2016 HAS STUNK.

Okay, let's get back to the countdown.

My number 5 movie of 2016 is "Midnight Special". This movie totally flew under the radar. I heard, nor saw, next to nothing about this movie until it was available for renting from Netflix, and it came up as recommended for me. I saw no trailers, no reviews, nothing. But, I thought the story sounded pretty cool, l liked the cast, which included Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver and Jaeden Lieberher and I saw that Patton Oswalt was talking about it on Twitter, so I rented it. Man am I glad that I did. This movie was super interesting and very unique. It was an indie take on superhero movies, but it was so much more. It touched on moral and ethical issues. There was talk of family and friendship being so important. The story between the dad and the son, who had the super powers, was tremendous. The chase scenes, and any other scene that featured the kid's powers for that matter, were quiet, but incredible. I loved this movie so much, and I find myself thinking about it a lot still, and I watched it a few months ago. I highly recommend people seeing this movie, even if you are not a superhero fan. The movie is more about a father-son relationship than any superhero stuff. "Midnight Special" deserved to be talked about more, and I think it is one of the best 5 movies of the year.

At number 4, I have "Deadpool". This movie got the opposite attention than a movie like "Midnight Special", but that was not only a good thing, it was an incredible thing. All the previews and mini videos that Ryan Reynolds did as Deadpool were so incredibly awesome, funny and very much needed for this movie. Reynolds worked so hard to get this movie made, and I love the fact that he was out there beating the drum so loudly gearing up to its release. Then, the movie came out, and it was an absolute home run. Everything about this movie was new and different. Deadpool breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience the whole time was innovative and hilarious. The way the story was told was much like "Citizen Kane", in the way the story jumped time between past and present. The movie was wildly violent, but that is exactly what I wanted out of a movie that boasted that it was not a superhero movie, but a violent comedy. The opening scene was one of the best things I have seen in movies in quite some time. Starting out as Deadpool, but going back and forth, while wasting bad guys, between his present and his past was awesome. This was the perfect role for Reynolds as well. Any time he can quip, that is what he does best, it usually works well for him, even if the movie isn't that good. Fortunately for Reynolds though, "Deadpool" is awesome. This is one of the best "superhero" movies, but do not watch it with any child under the age of 17. This movie is violent and vulgar to a very high degree. I love "Deadpool".

My number 3 movie of 2016 is "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping". This is another pop culture thing, much like "Atlanta", that I have been beating the drum for since I heard about it. "Popstar" was the newest movie from the Lonely Island, and it was the perfect skewering of the ups and downs of celebrity life in the pop music business. This was probably the funniest movie that I saw all year. Andy Samberg was wonderful in the starring role, Conner 4 Real. He did such a great impression of a dirty version of Justin Bieber/Macklemore. Every step and bit of this movie was perfect. The idea of how selling out has become the norm, great. The fact that you have to be so in touch with your fans in this day and age, but how they can turn on you on a dime if you have one misstep, exceptional. Seeing the downfall of a "one hit wonder" was done so well. Seeing that person trying to make a come back and failing at this task, again, perfect. "Popstar" was everything I wanted it to be, and so much more. Samberg was great, as I said, but so were Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaefer, Chris Redd, Sarah Silverman and Tim Meadows. Meadows was exceptional in fact. He was the second best person in this movie. The unfortunate thing for "Popstar", no one went to see it in the theaters, and that is a shame. This movie is underrated, did not get the credit it deserved, but it will become a "cult classic". I guarantee this.

At number 2, and some may say this is cheap, but I don't care, I have "O.J.: Made in America". People may say it is cheap because it was a 5 part documentary series on ESPN, but for all intents and purposes, this was a 7 plus hour documentary, that was released in a few theaters in its entirety, so I count it as a movie. This is the best, hands down, documentary that I have ever seen. This told a tragic story of a tragic person so, so well. This was a perfectly made movie. We got every bit of detail we could have ever wanted out of the tragic tale that is O.J Simpson's life. From his high school to college to pro to after NFL to acting to everything after that, it was all covered in great detail. I do not know how anyone can watch this movie and not think that he was, at the very least, somehow involved in the horrific death of 2 people. Things got even worse for him after the famous trial, but things were bad for him all the way back to his college days. O.J. was/is a troubled person, and this movie shows us that tenfold. "O.J.: Made in America" is a true classic, and everyone should take the time to watch. It is dark, tragic and great.

My number 1 movie of 2016 is, "Hunt For the Wilderpeople". This movie was phenomenal. Everything about "HFTWP" was done perfectly. The actors, mainly Sam Neill and Julian Dennison, did a tremendous job. Taika Waititi did an awesome job of directing this gem. The writers were awesome. The setting and the shots were beautiful. "HFTWP" was just downright perfect. The story is about a young juvenile delinquent that goes to live with his aunt and uncle, but so much more happens. There's adventure, comedy, thrills, drama, sadness and a great chase scene near the end. This was another movie that did not get its just due until much later in its run in the theaters. This was such a well done, funny and moving movie. I truly believe that both Dennison and Neill deserve Oscar nominations for acting, and Waititi deserves one for directing. I have seen this movie already about a dozen times, and it never gets old. "Hunt For the Wilderpeople" was the cream of the crop when it comes to movies in 2016. This was one of the good things to come from this not so good year. Go see it now, I know you will love it as much as I did.

Now, for my one bad movie, it has to be "Batman V Superman". This movie was dreadful. Ben Affleck was terrible as Batman/Bruce Wayne. The guy who plays Superman, I do not even remember his name, was so god damn boring and terrible as Superman/Clark Kent. Amy Adams was whiny and way too involved in this movie as Lois Lane. Doomsday was too dark and hard to see, and way too CGI for my taste. Gal Gadot was the only good thing about this movie, as Wonder Woman, but she was hardly in this piece of garbage. "Batman V Superman" was so awful. I fast forwarded through most of it, to get to the fight scenes, but even those were terrible. Batman had some of the dumbest lines ever spoken in a movie, and Superman would destroy him in a real fight with one punch, but this guy playing Superman needed to brood a bit too much before he could even fight Batman. Also, screw the ending of this movie. So god damn lazy. Zack Snyder is making terrible movies that should be easy to make, or at the very least, they should be watchable, which "Batman V Superman" was not. This movie was absolute garbage.

That does it for today. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 albums of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thought Batman V Superman was about a famous Supreme Court case involving Sigmund Freud and the New Hampshire Parks Department Head of bat sanctuaries. He wishes that he was right. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: Best, and Worst, in Television

This week marks the week of my "Best Of"' lists. I will do TV, movies, music, podcasts and sports moments.

Right off the bat though, 2016 has been a pain in the ass. This is one of the worst years possibly in the history of the world. We have lost so many great people, George Michael even passed last night, I mean, Jesus Christ, we have lost some legends. There is also the terrible, horrible, dreadful election that we have spoken so much of on the site and podcast. The weather, at least here in Saint Louis, has been a nightmare. To make a long story short, 2016 has stunk. This is my generations "great depression", or World War or any other bad thing you want to say. It has been a horrific year.

But, some good, maybe, possibly, even great things have come out this year, and that is what I'm going to be talking about the next 5 days. So, even though I have laid out how shitty 2016 has been, I do have some "Best Of" stuff to get to. I will also throw in one thing on each list I thought was terrible as well, but today comes my top 5 TV shows of the year. I will count down from 5-1 on each list.

So, here we go.

At number 5, I have "Horace and Pete". This show came from nowhere. Louis C.K. had been working on it for some time, and put out every episode on his site on a random Saturday in the middle of the summer. It was an odd time to put out a show, but would you expect anything different from a genius like C.K.? But, getting to what made this show so great, it was so very different from anything C.K. has been doing. It was dark and very depressing. Sure, there were some funny moments, but there was way, way more dark and deep moments. C.K. shined on the show, but so did Steven Buscemi, Alan Alda, Edie Falco and every patron at the bar, especially Steven Wright. The show was shot like a play, which I enjoyed very much. It was unique, it was ground breaking, in its own way and it had Louis C.K.'s imprint all over it. I'm sure it will be on Netflix or some other streaming device, but I recommend buying it on his site. It is only 20 or 30 bucks for the whole series, and you will never forget the greatness that you will see when watching "Horace and Pete". I still can't shake the ending, and to me, that is the sign of a great show.

At number 4, I get a little lighter with, "People of Earth". I had heard very little about this show leading to its build up, but I knew Wyatt Cenac was the star, and I'm a big fan of his. So, I recorded the premiere, which was on Halloween, and waited until 3 or 4 episodes had recorded. I watched all 3 or 4 in one sitting and was immediately hooked. The show has a very easy plot to understand. A group of people calling themselves "Experiencers" get together every week to talk about the time that they were abducted by aliens. In each episode you get to see the people getting abducted, and what they each went through during their experiences. But, there is so much more to this show than just some UFO, alien stuff. The show is very funny. I laughed out loud at parts. There were episodes that were moving and heartfelt. Cenac is a star in this role. Ana Gasteyer is equally as good. The rest of the cast does great in their roles to. The best part though is the aliens. The interactions and things that go on on the ship are great. The creators do not treat the aliens like monsters. Sure, they look like aliens, but they have squabbles and get into petty fights just like anyone else at their respective job does. Like I said, the show did not get the coverage it deserved on the lead up, but the show is great, and it is coming back in 2017 for a second season, which makes me very happy.

At number 3, I have "Luke Cage". This show kicks ass people. I watched it not because it is a superhero show, but because Ali Shaheed Muhammed, from ATCQ, did all the original music for it. But, in watching it for the music, I fell in love with the show. When my wife asked me why I was enjoying it so much, I told her it is like "The Wire", which may be the greatest television show ever, but with superheroes, and it is easier to follow the story. When "The Wire" would go deep into cop talk, sometimes they would lose me, that never happens in "Luke Cage". It was easy for me to follow everything, and I loved that about this show. Mike Colter is excellent as Luke Cage, but everyone else on the show, be it Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Rosario Dawson, Masherala Ali, or anyone else in the cast, they are all stars. The show is dark and violent, but it is also incredible. I love Luke Cage's powers, I love his "origin" story, I loved watching the fight scenes, I loved everything about this show. They even had big time musical guest stars, people like Charles Bradley, Rapheal Saadiq and Sharon Jones, RIP, show up in some episodes. "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix Original that I have seen. People need to watch it, even if you are not a "superhero" person.

The reason "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix show leads me to my number 2 show of 2016, "Stranger Things". Honestly, has there been a recent show that has been more talked about on social media than "Stranger Things". The crazy thing about it, none of the talk was negative. I cannot find one person that does not think this show is awesome. I was skeptical at first when I heard it was a cross between "E.T." and the "X-Files", but as I watched, I found it to be a bit more like "Goonies" and "The X-Files", both of which I love. The kids on this show are wonderful. They are the true stars that are the heart and soul of what makes "Stranger Things" so good. But, the adults, mainly Winona Ryder, are just as good. They have to live in this crazy world that the Duffer Brothers created as well, and they do a phenomenal job on the show. This show kind of had it all. There were love stories, comedy, action, family drama, regular drama, monsters, aliens, weird old scientist guys, but above all else, the best Sci Fi since "Blade Runner". I do not want to give anything away in case there are one or two people that have not seen "Stranger Things", but damn is this show great. The best part is the kids, and that goes double for Millie Bobby Brown, who plays 11. Seriously, if you haven't seen "Stranger Things" yet, first, what the hell is wrong with you, but second, go watch it right now, and thank me later. This show is a true gem.

Finally, my number one show of 2016, "Atlanta". Did you really think I'd pick something else? I've been talking up this show since I saw the first trailer for it, and not only did it deliver on my expectations, but it exceeded them by a thousand miles. There hasn't been a show this original and unique on TV in quite some time. The time and effort that went into "Atlanta" paid off so much. The show was moving, funny, heartfelt, treated every character as if they were the main character, gave us some great newish actors and actresses to love and proved that Donald Glover is one of the best, and most innovative, people working in show business right now. This show had everything. All the episodes were all home runs. The show paid off and, as I have already stated, exceeded everyone's wildest dreams. Every episode with Paper Boi was excellent. Zazie Beets, who played Earn's baby's mother, was tremendous in her solo episode. When Earn and her go to her mother's party, another fantastic 30 minutes of television. But, the best episode of the season was when they had the "BET" type talk show that even included some commercials that Glover and staff made up themselves. This was the most original thing that has been on TV in over a decade. "Atlanta" was head and shoulders above any other TV show on this year, and we did have some decent TV this year. "Atlanta" was the best though, and it wasn't even close.

As far as my one bad TV show of the year goes, it cannot be anything other than "The Walking Dead". I hammeredlast season's finale, and true to my word, I did not watch one single episode of this season, but my wife did, and she said it was excruciatingly boring. They even killed off some "main" characters, but when she told me who they were, my response was something along the lines of "Who?", or "I don't even know who you are talking about". I do not care about Negan, I think the show did all it could in about 2 seasons, but now, they are scraping the barrel. People crushed "The Office" for going on too long, including me, so why doesn't everyone do the same for "The Walking Dead"? I don't get it, but from what I gathered, it was probably the worst show of the year.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for my top 5 movies of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He picked no network tv shows because he is under the age of 60 and does not wathc network television. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Happy Birthday Santa

Santa has been a very good boy

ed note: This article was originally published on December 24th. There have been some changes to update the dialogue.

In case you did not know, today is Christmas.

For my blog today, I want to focus on said fat man. To steal a line from "The Simpsons" and Bart, "aren't we all forgetting the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of Santa". That's what I want to talk about. Sure, some people will say it's the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but not me, this, the birthday of Santa, deserves the celebration. He's the one that's provided me with gifts my whole life and now gives me and my wife and our kids our presents. I know, Santa isn't real, but he's just as real, to me at least, as Jesus is. Why can't I believe in Santa like Christians believe in Christ? It's basically the same thing.

I just want to thank Santa for all the great gifts I've gotten over the years. The Pirates hat my brother and I spoke of on a recent podcast. My guitars, the many baseball gloves, footballs and basketballs. The computers, iPods and many, many CDs. The clothes, the candy and all the Michigan gear. Thank you Santa, you're the man. I'm so happy you were born many, many years ago on December 25th and now you celebrate your birthday by handing out presents to everyone in the world. You rule and you deserve to be celebrated.

Here's to you Santa. Drive that sleigh carefully tonight and deliver those presents to all the deserving people out there. I can't wait to see what you've given me, my wife and our kids. Thanks again Santa.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He has made the Head Editor confused by saying Santa is not real. Who puts the presents under the tree, Ty? Who? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Holiday Television Programs: Day 23 - "Seinfeld - The Strike"

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 23 "Seinfeld - The Strike"

Original air date - December, 18th 1997 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two

For SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday television shows, today, I'm going to write about the "Festivus" episode of "Seinfeld". I know the episode is called "The Strike", but lets be honest, I think we all know this as the Festivus episode. The Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" ranks right up there with any "Simpsons", "The Office" or any other TV show we have written about for the Advent calendar. In fact, I'm going to say that the Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" is the best holiday television show ever. I may quote "The Simpsons" more, or laugh at "The Office" more, but this particular episode of "Seinfeld" has literally changed the way I view the holiday. Today marks Festivus, and I will be airing grievances, showing feats of strength and getting the big pole out for this wonderful pre holiday holiday. 

The episode starts off funny. We all learn that Kramer was/is a worker in a bagel shop, and the strike that he has been seemingly on for years, has ended. Funny right off the bat. The whole thing with the bagel shop, and Kramer's past, and now present, are all classic "Seinfeld". We also get another story involving Elaine giving some creeps a phony phone number and there is some wackiness that happens with this plot line throughout. But, the true gem of the episode is when George's dad tells the world of the joyous day of Festivus.

We learn that when George was a kid, his dad was in line waiting to get him a toy, a doll in fact, and someone else got the last one. He pleaded and prodded the person to give him the doll, but they just would not budge. This caused Frank to lose his mind. He got very, very upset, as he almost always does.  This was when and where he Frank decided he needed to have a "holiday for the rest of us", and thus, Festivus was born. He decided that everyone needs to do many things to make themselves feel a bit better during this holiday season.

Let's be honest, this time of year brings out the anxiety and anger in the best of us. The holiday season can be pretty rough. So, the fact that Frank came up with a holiday where everyone can air their grievances, I love it. I wish this was a real thing and people would not get upset at the outcome. Imagine how nice it would be to tell everyone how you feel, but with the caveat that they cannot get mad at you, and they are allowed to do the same. This would be terrific. To let it all out, that would feel great from both sides. I love that the Costanza's do this every year, because who has more grievances than the Costanza's? No one, that's who. Imagine Frank, Estelle and George sitting around airing their grievances, it must be magically hilarious.

Then, the feats of strength. This would be my absolute favorite. This gives you the chance to prove who is the strongest in your family. I would crush this part of Festivus (ed note: no he would not), and I think my whole family, while they might disagree at first, knows that I would dominate. Now, imagine once again, the Costanza's doing this. I can almost guarantee that Estelle would be the strongest in the family. She may not look it, but I think she would absolutely dominate George and Frank in a feats of strength competition. I bet George is also the weakest, even at everyone's advanced age. He is so meek and mean, but that is just his attitude, I'm sure that does not translate into actual strength.

Then, we have the Festivus pole, which is the alternative to the tree and menorah used during this time of year. It is just an unadorned pole that sits in your living room on December 23rd. It does nothing, but it adds so much to this episode. The fact that Frank just wanted an alternative to all the glitz and glamour of the holiday's is a perfect representation of Frank and the Costanza's. They do not conform to social norms at any times, and I love that.

What makes this episode even more wonderful is the fact that people have made Festivus a real holiday. This has become a real thing. At the time of its airing, it was just an idea that Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and the "Seinfeld" writing crew came up with, but now, it is real. The computer hasn't proclaimed that I have spelled the word wrong once, there is actual written facts on the internet and most people actually celebrate the day. This has become a world wide, nationally celebrated holiday. I know for a fact that when I go see my family later today, we will celebrate some of the best parts of Festivus, and I cannot wait (ed note: also the fact that Ty will once again lose the feats of strength).

The fact that Festivus is a nationally recognized thing should be more than enough to get this episode on our list, but there are so many more reasons. It is a funny, goofy, Costanza heavy episode, which are usually the best that "Seinfeld" has to offer. While I love "The Simpsons", and it will always be my favorite show, this episode of "Seinfeld" is one of the best episodes of just general television, but it is also the best representation of this holiday that TV has ever put out. It is magnificent.

Go out and have a wonderful Festivus everyone. After all, it is a holiday for the rest of us.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did we mention that Ty always loses the feats of strength. He does always lose. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Grayson Allen has Evolved Into the Most Pure Duke Basketball Player

Coach K has Grayson's binkie ready

Earlier this year, I wrote about what a petulant little brat Duke guard Grayson Allen is. I compared him with many other Duke players that seem to have the same disposition, arrogant, whiny, spoiled brats that get whatever they want from their coach and the refs. He is probably, talent wise, the worst one of the bunch, but that is besides the point.

We have had 2 instances this past week that have went above and beyond his true terrible attitude and the way he carries himself on a basketball court. He acts like he is the greatest player in college basketball, but he may not even be the sixth or seventh best player on his team. But, his arrogance has gotten out of hand.

First off, he is not playing up to the incredibly high, unachievable goals that writers and pundits put on him this preseason. People were calling him an All American, saying he was going to be the player of the year and that he would cement himself as a first round draft pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He has been average, at best this year. As I have already said, he isn't even the main man on his own team, let alone a player of the year candidate.

Then, earlier this week, he went for a layup against some very low level out of conference opponent and missed. But, on the way up, he assumed he would get fouled, so he looked for contact that wasn't there. The defender smartly pulled away, not risking grabbing a cheap foul, and decided to just let these 2 points go. But, Allen missed the shot, and when he went to the ground, he threw a fit, and since the game was at Duke, the ref blew his whistle and called a foul. This may be one of the worst calls of all time, at any level, that I have ever seen. The defender literally did not even touch him. The coach of the opposing team was beside himself, as he should have been. I mean, Duke gets so many cheap calls, but this was on a whole new level. Seriously, go find tape of this and tell me when and where he got fouled. He was not touched.

Then, the other night against another low level non conference team, Elon, Allen came back with his trademark trip. He was having another poor performance, which is becoming his norm, and when he was beaten on defense by an Elon player, Allen did what he does best and tripped the kid. He blatantly stuck his leg in the air, almost kicking the player, and the Elon kid fell to the ground. After the foul was called, and a timeout ensued, instead of looking remorseful, or anything emoting regret, Allen decided it was time for him to throw yet another tantrum. This one was one for the ages. He looked worse than my 4 year old when I tell him I'm not buying him a toy at Five Below. He was jumping up and down on the bench, seemingly trying to hold back tears and yelling at anyone within earshot. And this is the supposed player of the year? Please. 

Afterward, many people wanted to know why Coach K has never done any real punishment for all this nonsense from Allen, and he said that they deal with this stuff internally. Bull shit Coach K. You want Allen to be your next Laettener, Parks, Redick, any of those guys, but he is not. Coach K may be the biggest hypocrite of all this Grayson Allen ridiculousness. He protects the players he likes and the ones on his team, but he feels like he needs to call out Dillon Brooks for hitting a long three after Oregon had the tournament game wrapped up last year. I heard Stephen A Smith, who I almost always disagree with, say this morning that if this was a Kentucky player coached by Calipari that the media would put his feet to the fire, so why don't they do the same with Coach K? I could not agree more, as unbelievable as it is for me to agree with Stephen A Smith. If this was say, Malik Monk tripping players over and over and over again, and throwing multiple tantrums, the "good" folks at ESPN would be punishing Monk and Calipari's handling of the situation. They already chastise him for all the "one and done" recruiting, but they turn around and praise Coach K for "adapting to the new style of men's college basketball". What a crock.

Duke should be embarrassed by this. Grayson Allen did get suspended indefinitely, but I guarantee that, by the start of ACC play, he is reinstated, and ESPN will then praise Coach K for his "handling" of this situation, even though it took Allen tripping a third player before he did anything at all. And all the talk from NFL execs saying they don't want Fournette or McCaffery because they are sitting out a bowl game, if I were a NBA GM, I would not touch this tripping, tantrum throwing child with a ten foot pole. There is no way I'd draft him. He would be a pariah from the moment he meets his new teammates. I can deal with the Draymond Green stuff because he is an incredibly gifted basketball player, which Grayson Allen is not.

The person that deserves the most blame for allowing this behavior to continue on an unusually regular basis is Coach K. This stuff has been going on at Duke since he was announced as the head coach there. The player deserves a lot of the blame, but players also act like their coach. They learn all the stuff from their coach. The coach is like there parent away from home, and we all know that children, for the most part, want to be like their parents. So, while Allen deserves a good share of blame, I also think Coach K deserves just as much, if not more. He is the figurehead that kept allowing this type of activity to constantly occur. Shame on Allen, Duke, but most of all, Coach K.

Duke basketball is becoming synonymous with having privileged assholes on their team that think they are bigger than the game, and that is sad. I hope Grayson Allen never plays basketball again, and I hope Coach K gets caught in some kind of recruiting scandal and he is relieved of his duties. Until then, this nonsense will continue to occur, and most of ESPN will be there to heap praise on this joke of a university.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He never thought he would see the day that one Dike basketball player would make Christian Laettner look like a gentleman. 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 Television Programs: Day 21 - "Saturday Night Live - TV Funhouse December 17th, 2005

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 21 "Saturday Night Live - TV Funhouse December 17th, 2005"

Original air date - Read the title 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty

We all need that special time where we rule the world. I can do no justice to the master work of Darlene Love and the people at TV Funhouse. 

Enjoy

RD 

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also did not wait in line for King Kong on Christmas Day. He wish he had.

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

Last Generation Gamer: The New "NBA 2K17" Brings Back a lot of the Great Oldies

For my birthday this year, my wife and kids got me "NBA 2K17" for the Xbox. I do not play a lot of video games, but the ones I play are primarily sports related. I have ventured out with games like "Crash Bandicoot", "Sonic", "Mario Bros" and "Smash Brothers", but my video game life consists of "Madden", "NCAA Football"(when they still made it) and now the "NBA 2K" series. And, to even further the point home that I don't play video games much anymore, I have 2 young children, and I just do not have time. I'm too busy with them, coaching, taking one to school, changing diapers, writing for SeedSing, podcasting for SeedSing, I have a lot on my plate.

So, when I opened the game, I was kind of excited. I thought that I could try it out when my kids went to bed. They both go to their rooms around 8pm, so that leaves me, at least a couple hours, before I go to bed. Sometimes I work out during that time, but lately, I have been playing "2K17", and I have to say, I think it is the best basketball video game since "NBA Jam".

This game is really, really cool, and very well made. First off, the graphics are incredible. When I first played the game, I chose to be the West All Stars, and all the players looked almost too real. Russell Westbrook had his Mohawk, and his speed, KD looked just as long on the game as he does in real life, Steph Curry was short, had his short hair, and could bomb from three. I mean, even Boogie Cousins, who had a great game, but an even better rant last night, seriously, go check it out, looked real. He was big, had all his cool tattoos, his headband and mouth guard were prevalent, and he even had his trademark scour. The same thing can be said for all the other players. They all look real. It looks like I'm watching a game on TNT, but I'm controlling what the players do. It is truly astonishing.

Then, as I got more and more into the game, I realized all the extra teams that they already have built into the AI. I was scrolling through, trying to decide which team I wanted to be, and I happened upon the 95-96 Seattle Super Sonics, my all time favorite team. I chose them to be my team, and there was Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Nate McMillan, Detlef Schrempf, and, of course, Shawn Kemp. It was totally awesome. I literally felt like a kid again. I wanted so bad to beat the team the computer chose for me to play, and I wanted Kemp to be the man, all of which was accomplished. But, "2K17" also has the "Bad Boy" Pistons team, the 95-96 72 win Bulls team, the great Celtics teams from the 60's and 70's and 80's, the "Showtime Lakers", I mean, any famous team you can think of past 1960, they have. I love that this game has put this in there for anyone to play. You don't have to win a certain amount of games, make a certain amount of shots, or do anything special to get these teams, they are just provided for you the moment you turn the game on. They also have all the other countries national teams, like Spain, France, Brazil and so on and so forth, and they even have the most recent Team USA. Again, all these teams are readily available, all you have to do is turn the game on. It's wonderful.

They still have the "My Career" and "My Team" modes on the game. I'm more of a "My Career" kind of guy, but it is pretty cool that you can take a team, say the 76ers, and build them into a powerhouse through the "My Team" mode. What I like about the "My Career" mode more though, you get to create yourself, or any iteration of a basketball player of your choosing, you go through a pre draft game with the other college stars in the most recent draft, and then, you have pre draft interviews. I love, love, love this type of stuff. After all this, you take your created player and you wait to be drafted. From there on out, the whole point is to build the player into a star. You start as a lowly rookie. But, if you put in the necessary work, that player becomes a sixth man, then a starter, then an all star, then a MVP candidate, and if you are lucky enough, you are the best player on a championship team. It's really cool to watch your player grow into a full-fledged NBA star.

"NBA 2K17" is a must for basketball fans, but I also think people that like sports video games would enjoy it. This is a whole new era of graphics and what you can do in the video game world. Hell, "2K17" even gives you rewards if you reach your step goal, if you own a Fitbit, which I do. This is an incredible game, and I cannot recommend it enough. Go check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is ready to challenge Ty on NBA Jam. Bill Clinton has been unlocked. 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 21 - Hard Candy Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 21st, 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 21: Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton (and the cast of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)

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

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty

The winter solstice can be one of the most dark and depressing days of the year. It is the day with the shortest amount of daylight. Many a December 21st we have been lucky if there were any daylight at all since the weather tends to be very dreary. My feelings on the depressing nature of the first day of winter slightly changed with the 2010 Doctor Who holiday special "A Christmas Carol". The episode introduced the idea that the winter solstice meant we were halfway through the dark. Everyday from here until late June was going to bring more and more light to our world. December 21st was not a day to be dreary, it was a day to think about new beginnings.

In 1978 "Hard Candy Christmas" was the second to last song on the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas The Carol Hall penned tune gained immortality when Dolly Parton took ownership of the melancholy song in the film version of the play. "Hard Candy Christmas" is not really even about Christmas, it is about finding your next step. Because the festive holiday is put into the title, "Hard Candy Christmas" has been locked into the December song rotation. Dolly has performed it on numerous Christmas specials, and many other musicians have covered the song for Christmas themed albums. Without any direct mentions of yuletide imagery, "Hard Candy Christmas" became winter holiday music tradition.

Late December is always a time for reflection. The year is nearly finished, and everyone gets into a what next mood. "Hard Candy Christmas" acknowledges that things are tough, but we will make it through the hard times maybe and something else. The song fits in perfectly with the beginning of winter. The next 10 days are going to be filled with parties, family, and memories. Our worst moments are going to back into our minds. Many of us will not have the easiest of times on Christmas Day. Yet we should not fear, the dark is halfway gone and we can make it through. We can leave the sorrow behind and find our next victory.

Now that we have made it halfway through the dark together, it is time to dream about what is next. What are you going to do with the growing daylight? Tomorrow may seem tough, but don't let your sorrow bring you way down. You could learn to sew, maybe just lie low, or you could find someone to settle down with. Me, I may just get drunk on apple wine.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He will not let a drop of apple wine get near him this year, that way he may lose some weight. Help all of SeedSing avoid a hard candy Christmas by supporting us. 

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 20 - "King of the Hill: Pretty, Pretty Dresses"

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 20 "King of the Hill - Pretty, Pretty, Dresses"

Original air date - December 15th, 1998 

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

We will stand by our good friends through almost anything, at any time of the year. These people became our best friends because they did something that made our lives better. Sometimes it is the little things, like sitting nest to you at lunch in the second grade when no one else would, or standing up for you when a bigger kid was being a bully. Maybe you were on the same sports team, and this particular friend was blocking the opposing team as you got all the glory. They took some big hits for you, and you will in turn take some big hits for them.

King of the Hill is the often forgotten Fox Animated show that aired alongside the early years of The Simpsons.  King of the Hill was centered on Hank Hill, his family, and his group of best friends. Nearly every week, Hank's existence would be upset by the misadventures of his wife Peggy, his son Bobby, or one of his alleyway drinking buddies. Even if he hesitated, Hank would always try to do the right thing, because that is what you do for friends and family.

The season three episode "Pretty, Pretty, Dresses" takes place Christmastime in Arlen Texas. The Hills are planning their annual holiday party, and Hank's sad sack friend Bill is feeling down. Bill's wife Lenore left him on Christmas many years ago, and he is not over the separation. Bill embarrasses the Hill's a few times with his mental agony, until Peggy finally decides that Bill is not welcome at the party. 

Hank attempts to help his friend out by destroying the lot of old gifts Bill has left for Lenore. This causes Bill to seemingly get better, until the next day when Hank sees his friend outside wearing a dress. Hank is not at all comfortable with this, and asks Bill what in the hell is going on. Bill is not Bill, he is Lenore. Hank's friend has lost his mind.

Through this struggle, Hank goes above and beyond to try and shield his friend from ridicule. Hank explains to the family that Bill blocked for him when they both played football at Arlen High. Bill's blocking helped Hank set the season record for rushing yards. When Bill shows up to the Hill's holiday party as Lenore, Hank is left with only one choice. As the crowd mocks and laughs at Bill, Hank emerges from his bedroom in a dress. He went above and beyond his own comfort to help a friend. Once outside, Hank gets Bill to finally understand that Lenore is gone and it is time to move on. Bill takes off the dress and thanks Hank for being a good friend.

The holidays are not an easy time for a lot of people. We may be filled with joy, while our friends are on the edge of a nervous breakdown. The best we can do is find a way to reach to these freinds and to let them no know we will do almost anything to get them back to good spirits. They were pushing opoosing players out of the way so we can reach glory, wearing a dress is the least we can do for them.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has been sad, and he has worn a dress, but never at the same time.

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

NCAA Football Players Have Every Right to Sit out Unpaid Exhibition Games

Sitting here pays as much as playing out there

With the recent news that both Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffery are sitting out their team's bowl games, I want to give my take, as so many other writers, bloggers, journalists and sports anchors have done.

I was watching "PTI" yesterday, and both hosts had different thoughts on the players sitting out. Kornheiser was fine with it, because neither kid was playing in the playoff or one of the New Year's 6 bowl games. Wilbon was upset, claiming that people in the states where the games will be played, will not get to see the best players on the teams playing in that bowl game. I have heard other people defend these kids, claiming that the school makes so much money off of them, so why shouldn't they protect themselves for the NFL draft, they both declared early, and these kids see none of that money, except for their scholarship. I've also seen other people, NFL executives for example, call these kids names and say that actions like this are selfish and prove that they are not ready for the NFL. These takes are all over the place.

My take, I think these kids can do whatever the hell they want. I get what Wilbon is saying though. It would be a bummer if you lived in El Paso, were a big Stanford fan, and you did not get to see McCaffery play, but those are the brakes. This also comes from a guy that constantly defends NBA coaches when they sit star players. So, Wilbon continues to contradict himself. I get what Kornheiser is saying, but the fact of the matter is, you can get injured during any game, practice or workout. That is the game of football. It is tough and hard on your body. That is why football has the shortest career span of any professional sport. I do 100 percent agree with the people that are saying that these kids see no money, so if they want to sit out a pointless bowl game, so be it. And if their teammates are mad at them for sitting, they are being just as selfish as Fournette and McCaffery are being perceived to be by others.

Both LSU and Stanford have made millions upon millions of dollars on these 2 kids names alone. Both universities go out and sell jerseys, t shirts, bobble heads, all kinds of memorabilia with these kids names and likeness on them, and neither sees any of this money. It all goes to the school. The AD, coaches, presidents and higher ups at these schools have made money hand over fist for the last three years on these kids, especially Fournette at LSU. He was the star recruit of his class, and the moment he set foot on that campus, the people that market and sell things there put his name on anything and everything they could. If someone had anything that had to do with LSU football on their body, you can bet that it had Fournette's name on it. And he did not see one dime from that. That is really messed up.

This is one of the biggest problems with the NCAA. They have all these pointless, nonsensical rules, but damned if these kids get anything in addition to their scholarship. I also used to be one of those people that thought a scholarship was enough, but as I have grown up, I have realized how childish and stupid that was of me. As I keep saying, these universities have so much money coming in from these kids names, you'd think that they would see some kind of payback, but nope, it is against some stupid rule in the NCAA rulebook, that is about 5 million pages long. It is a crock that these kids do not get something. I know that there are other students at each university doing something more important, like trying to find cures for diseases, becoming teachers and doctors, but truth be told, those endeavors do not make any money for the school in the immediate future like athletics do. That is the cold, hard truth.

Then, for NFL execs and other people to name call and tell these kids that what they're doing is wrong, selfish and means their draft stock will fall is, quite frankly, inappropriate. For execs to call these kids names, and some no name execs have called them very hurtful names, is so childish. This is coming from multi-millionaire adults, but the way they speak, you would think it was a child. Then to say that your team won't draft these kids because of this, even if you need a running back is stupid. Fournette and McCaffery are the 2 clear cut best running backs in this draft, and if your team can get them, you better hope they draft them. I'm a Packer fan, and I'd love either one of these kids on the team. Ty Montgomery has been a revelation, but he is not the long-term answer at running back. Personally, I'd rather have Fournette because I think he will be a transcendent player, but I'd be happy with McCaffery as well.

What is all boils down to, and I said it at the top of my blog today, these kids can do whatever they want. They are adults, getting ready for their professional careers. If they want to sit, let them sit. Yeah, I'd be bummed if Jabrill Peppers decided to sit out the Orange Bowl this year to prepare for the draft, but I'd also be excited to see how the next guy up for the Wolverines plays. The fact of the matter is, if you are lucky, you get to watch these kids for 4 years and then they are gone. So, for the people calling them out, stop it. This is their choice, and their choice alone. Let them do whatever they feel is best for their professional lives.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once sat out an english test to properly prepare himself for the rough and tough world of blogging. 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 20 - Alone on Christmas Day

ed note: This article was originally published on December 20th, 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 20: Alone on Christmas Day by Phoenix and Special Guest Bill Murray

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

I have spent many Christmas nights all by my lonesome. I was not alone for the whole day. My Christmas mornings have always been about waking up way earlier than normal and opening tons of presents with my family around. Once the intense excitement of Christmas morning was finished, I would pack up my bounty and head back to my 15th floor studio apartment in downtown St. Louis. Most of these Christmas nights I would stare out at the Gateway Arch on the usually cold evening and decided I would get a drink, at the fancy hotel a few buildings down. I would put on my Christmas sweater, wrap a scarf around my neck, and head to the hotel bar. Once inside I would find a seat in a corner booth and observe all the travelers who were truly spending Christmas alone. I would sip my Manhattan, listen to the piano being played, and was thankful I was not alone on Christmas Day. 

Earlier this December, Netflix premiered the Sofia Coppola directed Bill Murray holiday special A Very Murray Christmas. During the course of the program a lonely Bill Murray asks the catering staff at the hotel to play him a song. The staff happens to be french indie rock band Phoenix. The band, with help from Paul Shaffer on piano, Jason Schwartzman on drums, David Johanson (as Buster Poindexter) on martini shaker, and Mr. Bill Murray himself on featured vocals, cover the Beach Boy's rarity "Alone On Christmas Day".

Phoenix and gang take an unknown and discarded Beach Boys tune with "Alone on Christmas Day" and create a new holiday standard. The Beach Boys tune was originally unreleased in 1979, and after Phoenix requested to cover the tune, Mike Love changed some of the lyrics and released his own version. The Phoenix cover is light years better. The tune alludes to the sadness of being by oneself on Christmas, but "Alone on Christmas Day" encourages us to think of the gladness, and to keep moving on. Plus if you listen to the tune, no one is truly alone on Christmas Day. You will still have the bar patrons and employees to sing you a joyful tune.

I was never truly alone on Christmas Day. In the morning I had my family and in the evening I had the travelers and  employees at the hotel bar. We all came to the bar as individuals, but on Christmas evening we were together. The piano played on in the background, our drinks warmed our spirits, and we all got ready to move on, together.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He has given up the Christmas Night bar scene and traded it for his family sitting around the fireplace. He did not give up on his yuletide Manhattan. Celebrate the togetherness of Christmas by liking SeedSing on Facebook.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Holiday Television Programs: Day 19 "The Office - Christmas Party"

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 19: "The Office - Christmas Party"

Original air date - December 6th, 2005 

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

For SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday TV shows, today I'm going to write about one of my all-time favorite episodes of the American version of "The Office". The episode is simply titled, "Christmas Party", and it takes place in what most everybody believes is their best season, the second.

The episode starts like most, with one on one interviews, and we can see that Dunder Mifflin is decorated for the season. They have a big tree, lots of wreaths, holly, all the things you'd expect when walking into any office during the holiday's. We get an early interview with Jim(John Krasinski), talking about how he finally got Pam(Jenna Fischer) for secret Santa. They have always done a secret Santa at Dunder Mifflin, and Jim, apparently, has never gotten his true love, Pam before. This was well before they were married and had kids and everything, so I think it was great for the writers to have this as one of the main stories in this episode. Later, while speaking with Jim, Michael Scott(Steve Carrell) reveals to him that he got his favorite person in the office, Ryan(BJ Novak), for secret Santa. He proclaims that he spent a lot of dough and went all out because he wanted this party to be extra special. Jim says he thought there was a 20 dollar limit, but we all know Michael to be a bit of a spender and a pest.

When all the workers gather around the tree to do secret Santa, that is when this episode goes from good to great. At first, all is well.  Oscar(Oscar Nunez) gets the shower radio he wanted from his secret Santa, Kelly(Mindy Kaling). Jim gets his gift from Creed(Creed Bratton), which is just one of his old shirts, because Creed is never prepared for anything. Oscar has a gift for Creed, but he doesn't know anything about him, assumes he is Irish, and gets him a four-leaved clover keychain. Then, it is Pam's turn, and she opens her gift, which is a teapot that she has pointed out to Jim many, many times. He not only remembers to get her this teapot, but he also stuffs it with some inside jokes and a note telling her how he truly feels about her. She is very happy, and Jim is pleased with the great job he has done. Then we get to Ryan. He opens his present, and it is a video iPod. For those of you that are even younger than me, back then, in the early to mid-2000's, a video iPod was a big deal, and pretty expensive. It is so expensive in fact, they say that it cost 400 dollars for Michael to buy it, because of course he left the price tag on. After all the initial shock, it is now Michael's turn to open his present from Phyllis(Phyllis Smith). He opens the paper to reveal a homemade oven mitt. It is a very thoughtful and very nice gift, and just what secret Santa should be all about, but Michael is unhappy. He is so upset that Phyllis did not spend a single penny on his gift. He throws his Santa hat off and madly storms into the hallway to let the camera crew knows how he feels about Phyllis' gift. After a minute or so, the other workers ask if they should just continue to open gifts, and Dwight(Rainn Wilson), says no one does anything until Michael says so.

Michael comes back after about 5 minutes and declares that they are going to play a game called "Yankee Swap". The game consists of people deciding if they want to steal a present, open a new present or just keep what they have. We all know this game. Others call it "White Elephant" or "Nasty Christmas". The game is brutal, and shows people's true feelings. This is exactly what Michael wants, because it means everyone will want the iPod he bought. The game starts, and of course the iPod is the hot item. Everyone is trading for it, even Pam. When Pam takes it the first time, Jim is noticeably upset, but Pam says to him, "I mean, it's an iPod". Brutal and to the point. After awhile, Phyllis leaves the room after Michael bad mouths her gift and convinces Meredith(Kate Flannery) to take it. Michel tries to "explain" reverse psychology to the audience before this happens, and it is hilarious. Go watch it now. After Phyllis leaves, Michael asks what is wrong with her, and the rest of the workers tell him it is because he bought a very expensive gift, then bad mouthed all the other gifts.

Michael feels bad, and tries to make up for his mistake, but he makes it worse by telling everyone that he got a big bonus for firing someone, and this just makes everyone even madder. They all leave the circle around the tree, and Michael is despondent. Michael leaves to go get alcohol for the party because he thinks this will make everything better.

While he is at the liquor store, we get shots of everyone trying to get the gifts they truly want. Everyone wants the iPod, but Pam has it, and she loves it. She is smitten. Jim is trying everything he can to get the teapot back, Dwight has it now, but he just cannot convince him. Dwight claims he will use it for sinus infections, and that makes Jim even more upset. At one point, we see Dwight looking through the teapot, and he fins all the inside jokes. Pam sees this from a distance, and she starts to realize that Jim went through a whole lot to get this gift specifically for her.

Michael returns, with 15 bottles of vodka, and now the Christmas party truly begins. They aren't supposed to have alcohol, but no one truly cares, as I expect most real life offices would do the same. The vodka does help. People start to have fun, no one is mad at Michael anymore. At one point, Michael proclaims that Ryan is the "king of the party planning committee", because he found some shot glasses. Even Todd Packer(David Koechner) shows up, with mistletoe on his groin. During the party, Jim walks over to Pam, who looks like she is working, to tell her she doesn't have to answer phones at a party, but we come to realize that she has traded gifts with Dwight. Jim is thrilled and tells her that there is more to the gift than just the tea pot. He and Pam talk about all the inside jokes in the tea pot, but Jim slyly takes the note away and puts it in his pocket before Pam can get to it. We even get to meet Phyllis' boyfriend for the first time, Bob Vance, and his interaction with 3 of the workers is great. After the party they all decide that they are going to go to a bar for an after party, and they even invite Michael, who never gets invited to anything. Before they leave though, Meredith approaches Michael and takes off her shirt. Michael does not reciprocate the feelings, but it is pretty funny. I put this part in because it is the first true time we see how drunk Meredith acts. This becomes a running gag throughout the show.

This particular episode of "The Office" is great. They always brought their A game to the holiday episodes, but this was the first, and, in my opinion, the best. It is a classic.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He did not have any drinks at the SeedSing holiday party, but he did clean his sinuses with a teapot. 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 19 - Merry Something to You

ed note: This article was first published on December 19th, 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 19: Merry Something to You by Devo

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

There has never been a dumber news story than the idiotic War on Christmas. I understand that Fox News wants to keep white Christians in a perpetual state of anger, but this manufactured outrage is beyond moronic. The people who believe that their white christian values are being trampled upon by groups who want to be inclusive are worse than Scrooge pre-spirits. Jesus was not even born on December 25th, the Christians won that day with their war on paganism. The soldiers fighting to regain Christmas are pathetic.

"Merry Something to You" is an original song by Devo featured on the holiday compilation album Gift Wrapped II: Snowed In. The song is very short, and extremely joyful. Devo welcomes all faiths into the holiday season and wishes them a merry something. "Merry Something to You" is a perfect song to get any faithful, and non faithful, person into a solstice dancing mood.

There is a small throwaway line in "Merry Something to You" that is a direct hit by those trying to take Christmas away. Mark Mothersbaugh invites you to have any belief, but none of it is actually true. BANG. The holidays are not about some archaic story, it is about food and being merry. "Merry Something to You" is gleefully telling the religious zealots to get over themselves.

Devo has inspired me this yuletide season. With only a few days left in the holiday season I want to call a truce with the good Christian soldiers fighting the War on Christmas. So to you Fox News, lets have an old dance and gobble some festive food. Merry something to you. Deedle, deedle, deet, deet, deedle, deedle, deet, deet, doodly, doodly, doo. 

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man. He was awarded the Flying Spaghetti Monster uncooked pasta ribbon for bravery during the 2010 War on Christmas. Wish us a merry something by liking SeedSing on Facebook.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 18 - "A Very Murray 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 18: "A Very Murray Christmas"

Original air date - December 4th, 2015 

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

The Holiday season can be very lonely for some. In today's economy, many people will find themselves away from family and friends around Christmas. Even worse, some of us will be trying to get home, but the unpredictable December weather will bring some cataclysmic storm that will strand us where we stand. Sometimes the best thing to do when we are alone on Christmas is to find the nearest bar, and drink with your temporary holiday family.

Netflix got into the musical holiday Christmas special business with their 2015 release of A Very Murray Christmas. The one-hour special, directed by Sofia Coppola, featured internet sensation Bill Murray in his own modern holiday extravaganza. There was music, drama, and guest stars galore. The entire ordeal was a call back to the Christmas specials of the 50's and 60's, but A Very Murray Christmas incorporated the cynicism of star player Mr. Bill Murray.

The tale is a simple one. Bill is waiting, with his piano playing buddy Paul Shaffer, to start filming a star-studded musical Christmas special. The problem is that New York City is being pounded by a terrible blizzard. Bill is not optimistic about his special going off.  His producers are typical smarmy Hollywood people and urge him all will be well. How could all be right, the guest stars are nowhere to be seen? There is no George Clooney, or Pope Francis, or Angelina Jolie, the snow has kept them all away. Even if Mr. Murray wants to flee, the show must go on. Thank goodness Chris Rock gets stuck in New York. Bill has one, uncooperative, guest star to sing with. Then the power goes out. Special canceled, everyone is allowed to let it all go.

Poor Bill is still stuck in New York. With trusted Paul Shaeffer by his side, Mr. Murray decides to celebrate Christmas in the hotel bar drinking with the staff. He encounters a poor almost married couple (Rashida Jones and Jason Schartzman) who ended up in a fight because the weather ruined their picture perfect New York Christmas wedding. Being the lover of weddings that Bill Murray is, he tries to make it right. He sings with the kitchen staff (Phoenix), he orders drinks, he brings people together. Once Christmas eve becomes Christmas day, Mr. Bill Murray has had too much joy, and drink, and he proceeds to pass out.

In his dreamlike drunken sleep, Bill lives his grand Christmas special. George Clooney and Miley Cyrus join him for song, dance, and general holiday frivolity. The entire event is what makes the holidays magical. Bill Murray did it, he imagined the greatest 21st-century-holiday tv special ever. It makes the fact that he wakes up with just Paul Shaffer, and his piano, to keep Mr. Murray company for Christmas day a worthy reward.

We are never alone, especially on Christmas day. The weather may trap us, or jobs may be our late December prison, but we will always find people to be festive with. So many people think they will find themselves alone on Christmas Day, but they will always find each other. Barring their company, we will always have the spirits of the holidays. The ghosts of bourbon, vodka, gin, tequila, and rum will let us experience the joy of the season. They may even help us imagine George Clooney and Miley Cyrus. That is a true Christmas miracle.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has spent many times alone around Christmas Day. If only he had Phoenix there to help him out. 

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 18 - Tree of Life

ed note: This article was first published on December 18th, 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 18: Tree of Life as performed by Princess Leia

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

I am the father of a young son. One of my primary duties as a father is to teach my boy about being an intelligent, kind, and curious person. During the winter holiday season I have tried my best to introduce my son to the variety of holidays celebrated be different peoples. We put up lights for Diwali, we lit the Menorah for Hanukkah and will light the Kinara for Kwanzaa. I have also made a point of showing the boy all the great holiday entertainment of my youth. Because today is the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I have been trying get my son excited for some new December entertainment. Yet there is one piece of holiday nostalgia that my kid will not get to celebrate this year. This will be another year without the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special".

In 1978 Star Wars was a national obsession. People were enthralled by the film, kids were excited to be getting empty figurine boxes as Christmas presents, and CBS aired the only official showing of "The Star Wars Holiday Special". The public was not impressed. The comedy stylings of Bea Arthur, Art Carney, and Harvey Korman were made permanent members of the Star Wars mythos due to their involvement in the special. Disco legend Diahann Carrol gets to be Chewbacca's father's (Itchy) fantasy girl. A certain bounty hunter, who was fond of disintegration, was introduced through an animated short. In fact, the Boba Fett cartoon is the only part of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" that gives anyone fond memories. The only celebration was to be for a paid killer, not our heroes.

Then there was the music. The aforementioned Caroll sings, Jefferson Starship started their downward slide into 80s kitsch with a tune. Bea Arthur gets to sing with the Cantina Band (Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes). But the topping on this disaster cake was Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)singing the song "Tree of Life" to the original Star Wars theme. 

Life Day was a Wookie holiday similar to Thanksgiving or Christmas. Like any great holiday, Life Day had it's own kind of carol. "Tree of Life", or also known as "A Day to Celebrate", hits all the important notes of any species celebratory season. Peace, harmony, togetherness, and many more themes are sung off key by an extremely sincere Princess Leia. "Tree of Life" and it's seasonal message has become more famous for being a "what the hell" type of song than one that makes people, or wookies, celebrate. Princess Leia did not ruin "The Star Wars Holiday Special" with the awful song, but she made sure the crash was as explosive as possible.

Today is a great day. We get a new Star Wars movie as an early Christmas present. I am very excited to infect my son's mind with all things Skywalker, Jedi, Solo, and more. I will not infect his mind with Star Wars lore that should be crushed in a trash compactor. "The Star Wars Holiday Special" may be spectacularly bad, and "Tree of Life" may be the rotten cherry on the trash dump, but we still have new Star Wars for the holidays. Today is a day to celebrate, to laugh, to dream, to grow, to trust, to love, to be.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He wonders what happened to Chewie's wife Malla, and their kids, between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Did the Midichlorians get them? Make this a day for SeedSing to celebrate by liking us on Facebook.  

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Television Programs: Day 17 - "A Very Sunny 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 17: "A Very Sunny Christmas"

Original air date - December 16th, 2010, released on DVD and Blu-ray November 17th, 2009 

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

The memories of our childhood Christmases tend to be filled with joy and excitement. Of course we do have a few friends who hated Christmas because their parents were not into the holiday spirit, but most of us have great memories. We got awesome toys, people came over to visit, and the day ended with some fun activities. As we get older, we start to learn all the things our parents did to make these great, or unpleasant, holiday memories. Sometimes these truths from our Christmas past will ruin our Christmas present, and make Christmas yet to come look even worse. Sometimes we are only left with a simple activity to take our minds off of the ugly lie that is Christmas.

In November of 2009, the long-running FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia released an extra long episode on DVD and Blu-ray titled A Very Sunny Christmas. The episode had some harsher than normal language, and some animated nudity. FX was not ready to air the very special episode of the Always Sunny gang. With a few edits for television, A Very Sunny Christmas made it's television debut on December 16th, 2010 as the sixth season finale.

The supersized holiday special has Mac and Charlie excited for Christmas, but Dee and Dennis are not feeling the joy. Mac and Charlie love Christmas because as kids their parents made the holidays awesome. Dee and Dennis hate Christmas because their dad Frank used the joyous day to promise his kids great gifts and just end up faking them out with empty packages. 

This year Frank goes too far. He buys Dennis dream car, a Lamborghini Countach, and Franks intends to keep it for himself. He also carries around a designer bag, Dee's dream gift, and fills the bag with cheese snacks and chocolate. The Reynold's kids have been pushed to the breaking point and decide to pull a Christmas Carol scheme on Frank to make him change. 

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie are getting more excited for Christmas. On a visit to Mac's home, the two lifelong friends find a videotape of a young Mac at Christmas. Here we learn that Mac's criminal father used to take his family from house to house on Christmas morning to steal other families presents. It was presented to Mac as a South Philly tradition where you would go to other people's houses and take their presents while they went to your house and got presents for themselves. Once Charlie helps Mac see the truth, their Christmas spirit starts to dim. They decide to head over to see Charlie's mom, she is always filled with holiday joy.

At Charlie's house, Mac learns about the Christmases of the past in the Kelly household. Every year a Santa. or elf, would come to the door. The gentleman would give little Charlie a present, then head upstairs with mom Kelly. Many Santas, and elves, would come to the Kelly house on Christmas day. Being confronted with the fact that his beloved mother is an actual prostitue starts to completely break Charlie's fragile mind.

The Christmas Carol scheme of Dennis and Dee does not go well. Frank's old business partner Eugene, a man that Frank swindled millions of dollars from, is a born again Christian who just wants to talk about Jesus. Their attempt to show Frank how much people hate him just ends with the nude elder Reynolds bursting from a couch he demanded to be sown into. Their attempt to show him a future gravesite also fails spectacularly. The lesson of Christmas was not appearing before the Scrooge-like Frank.

With their terrible realizations, Mac and Charlie are still trying to make Christmas merry. On a trip to a mall to buy an old friend a new shirt, and a cool toy, poor Charlie spots the mall Santa and starts to approach the jolly fellow. Once on Santa's lap Charlie has one question, did Santa visit his mom (the real dialogue was too hot for FX, hence the early DVD release). With Santa quite confused, Charlie lunges at the man and red and starts to bite old St Nick's ear off. The scene ends with a little girl in hysterics.

The whole gang gets back together on Christmas Eve night and decide that the whole Christmas thing is garbage. They vow to forget their troubles by getting drunk and forgetting about all the awfulness. While they poor the first few drinks, Charlie receives a phone call and tells everyone that Frank died in a car accident.

Once the gang reaches the hospital, they see Frank very alive. He was in an accident, but just hurt his leg. He tells the crew that he had a vision, one that looks a lot like the Rudolph animated special. Through the vision he wants to be a better man. The gang doesn't buy it and heads back to the bar. The truth is that Frank does want to be better and has decorated the whole bar, with his old partner Eugene, for the holidays. Frank is giving Dennis the Lamborghini, Dee gets the designer bag, Mac and Charlie get the new hot toy, everyone is about to have a great Christmas.

Then Eugene enacts his own fake out and pulls a gun on the crew. He demands all the gifts and blows everyone down with an industrial snow machine. Christmas sucks once again. The only thing that everyone can do to make this Christmas worthwhile is to throw rocks at trains. Why wouldn't you throw rocks at trains?

The idea of a perfect Christmas is a myth. The truth of how people pull off a Christmas miracle is filled with some dark actions. Most people do not have criminal fathers, or prostitutes for mothers, but we all have parents who have gone to extremes to make the holidays memorable. When confronted with the truth, we have a choice to make. We can try to make the holidays joyous in our own way, or we can bite Santa's ear off. No matter what we choose, the day should definately end with anice group activity.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time had an Omni Bot. That thing was the stuff.

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