Ty Loves Dehydrating His Food

Ty is ready for his next ready trip

As a stay at home dad for 3 plus years now, I have found and retaken up some old and new hobbies. I play basketball more than I have since high school now. It's the best outlet for me to go hang out with some adults for a couple of hours and get some good exercise. I also love the game. I have taken up running as well. It is a nice get away as well. I get to be by myself with my own thoughts for the 3 or 4 mile runs I do. Hiking is another thing I have taken up. I love being outside and walking up and down rocky hills, and seeing lakes and rivers is one of my favorite things.

But, my hobbies aren't exclusively sports related. I write now, obviously. I love it and I love that I have a platform to do it. I have gotten back into my guitar a bit (by the way, the Gibson SG is the greatest guitar ever). I don't play it as much as I did before my kids, but now when I play, they love to join in, and it is a free for all, and a blast. I also have my at home dad's group that I have written and talked about with Kirk on the podcast before. I also read a lot more than ever before. All the reading in school that was mandatory doesn't hold a card to how much I read now.

But, the one newer habit I have found that I love, that I want to talk about today is my new found love of my Nesco Dehydrator. This is by no means a plug for Nesco either. They aren't paying me a dime, maybe that will change after they read this, fingers crossed, but I have found a new love with this dehydrator. It was given to me as a gift about 2 years ago over the holidays. My mother in law, who is the best, gave it to me because she knows how much I love beef jerky, and she said that she heard this was a cheaper and more fun way to make and eat jerky. She was 100 percent correct. I was immediately on board with this thing. I couldn't wait to give it a try ASAP. I went out and got some ground beef first, that's what they recommended, and while it was fine, I was a little lost. I couldn't get the right texture or flavor that I was searching for. Everyone who tried the jerky said it was fine, but I think they were just paying me lip service.

I finally got around to reading more online about recipes and talking to other people that make their own jerky. The first thing I learned, especially with a Nesco, was to buy something like flank steak or leaner cuts of meat. No more ground beef. The leaner cuts are easier to cut into bite size pieces and easier to marinate.

The marinade was the next thing I learned. There didn't need to be as much salt for a cure as I thought I needed. I could literally do whatever I wanted. If I wanted no salt, that was fine. If I wanted a little to medium amount of salt that was fine as well. It was all based on what I wanted. I have gotten some great recipes from one of my wife's uncle's, friends and online. My, I guess he's my Uncle in law, favorite is his recipe.

I have also found some places that sell strictly beef jerky, there is a great beef jerky outlet in the Wisconsin Dells, and they sell some of their marinades to take home. Those are great as well.

Beef jerky is my favorite thing to do with my dehydrator, but there is so much more that I have found that I can do with it. I make snacks for the kids whenever we go on road trips now. Instead of feeding them chips and candy at every gas station we stop at, I make a batch of apple, pineapple and banana chips. And my kids love them. I will put cinnamon or pumpkin spice or even a little cayenne on them, and the kids, and my wife and I eat them up. Sure, it takes about 22 to 26 hours for the fruit to get that chip texture, but when it is done and cooled off, it is divine. My son always asks me if I'm going to make them whenever he knows a trip is upcoming because he loves to have it on the road. He also likes to help me with the seasoning when we do the fruit. Not only is he getting a healthy snack, but he gets to help pick what he wants on the selected fruit that we dehydrate. It is great for my daughter as well. I don't have to go out and buy expensive, sometimes organic snacks for her anymore. I can just make them at home.

The Nesco also works great for drying herbs. I'm not much of a cook, but my wife is. We aren't gardeners, but my mother in law is, and she gives us fresh herbs a lot. We usually do not use them right away as we should, but with the dehydrator, I can take some basil, parsley, thyme, whatever it may be, and slap it on a dehydrator tray, let it sit for a couple of hours, and boom, we have dried herbs that we can use for a long time. It saves a lot on our grocery bill.

Even today I tried something new with my Nesco. My kids love fruit leather. You know what I'm talking about. It is like a fruit roll up, but healthy. Well, I was reading my Nesco book and I found that I could make my very own fruit leather. All I needed was whatever fruit I wanted, a blender and the Nesco. My son picked out blueberries at the store, I got home, washed them, put them into the blender, added a little water and honey, pureed it and placed it on the special sheet I have for making fruit leather and it is dehydrating as I type this. I'm curious to see how it turns out, but I'm sure it will be another hit.

This new hobby has taken on a life of its own, and I love it. I feel like a chef when doing these things, and as I have already mentioned, I'm no chef. But, I get to pick out spices and the meat or fruit or herbs and put them on a tray, set the temperature that is given to me, and let the Nesco do all the work. If you like making jerky, I highly recommend getting a dehydrator. Any kind should work, but I recommend a Nesco. It's what I have, and it works. Also, you don't just have to be a beef jerky person if you want a dehydrator. I mentioned the jerky, but I also mentioned fruit and herbs, and I'm sure there are thousands of things you can find to dehydrate.

I just felt like sharing with everyone my newish hobby because I think it is a fun and easy thing for someone who is looking for something interesting and new to try out at your home. Get a dehydrator, they're a blast.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Do you have an interesting hobby that the world needs to know about, come tell us. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Adding Bogut and Williams Does not make Cleveland any Better

With the NBA trade deadline coming and going with a whimper, we always have players being traded then being bought out or waived by their newly acquired team. This happens every year right after, or during, the trade deadline. This year was no exception.

Many players, surprising players, were waived or just out right let go. Brandon Jennings, not Derrick Rose who deserved to waived much more, was let go by the Knicks. He quickly found a new spot in Washington, which I think is a perfect fit for him as a backup to John Wall. After the Rockets traded away a late pick and cash considerations to the Lakers for Marcus Huertas, he was immediately waived, and has yet to be picked up to the best of my knowledge. The whole Jose Calderon story is widely known NBA news for rabid NBA fans such as myself. He was waived by the Lakers, the Warriors went to sign him, did actually sign him, but when Matt Barnes was waived by the Kings, the Warriors opted for Barnes and, only 2 hours after signing him, the Warriors waived Calderon. To the Warriors credit, they did pay him 415,000 dollars and gave him the jerseys they had made for him, but they wanted Matt Barnes more. Barnes is now playing extended minutes for the Warriors due to KD's injury, and I'm sure Calderon will get picked up by some team any day now.

The 2 biggest names to be either let go outright or waived after being traded were Deron Williams, who was released by Dallas, and Andrew Bogut, who was traded to the 76ers and then immediately released. These 2 guys have had pretty steady NBA careers. Bogut is a NBA champion. At one time in the league there were conversations claiming that Deron Williams may be the best point guard in the NBA when he played for the Utah Jazz. But, that was many moons ago, and Bogut was not really a key to the Warriors title run 2 seasons ago. David Lee played more minutes in that particular finals than Bogut did. Also, Andrew Bogut has had a very hard time staying healthy for the past 5 or 6 years in the league. When he is healthy he is a great rim protector and bully. He blocks shots, grabs rebounds and gets in the head of the opposing team's center. But, he has been injured way more than he has been healthy. He got hurt in game 2 of the finals last season and was never seen again. When he was traded to Dallas at the beginning of this season he barely played. I know for a fact that he started the season on the injured list. He just cannot seem to stay off the injury report.

Deron Williams, like I said earlier, was great at one point in his career. He was an exceptional, true point guard. He looked to be the newer version of John Stockton for the Jazz. He ran that offense like a well oiled machine, and it did not hurt that he could knock down the open jumper. When he was eligible for free agency, he was looked at as a prize for whichever team signed him. In 2010, the Brooklyn, then New Jersey, Nets signed him to a max deal, and he was going to be the guy to bring a title back to the state of New York. Well, things did not work out that way. Williams seemed to become a shell of his former self. His game deteriorated each year he was a Net. His game got so bad it was painful to watch at times. It wasn't funny painful either, it was sad. He just seemed to get worse at basketball somehow when he should have been in his prime. The Nets ownership tried to help him out by bringing in guys like Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, jeopardizing their future, but none of it worked. I don't think the Nets ever made it out of the first round of the playoffs with Deron Williams as the point guard. He was released by the Nets after the 2015 season, and I think many people, myself included thought he might hang it up, but the Mavericks signed him. He had some flashes of his former self, but it was kind of like watching an aging baseball player that used to hit .335 regularly, and was now struggling to hit .250, but would go 3 for 3 every tenth game or so. He looked washed up.

This weekend, both of these guys, Williams has already made his debut, will be part of the Cavs quest to repeat, and a lot of basketball people seem to think this will put the Cavs on top as the prohibitive favorites. Me, not so much. I do not see this tilting the pendulum very much, if at all. I know KD is out, but he will be back for the playoffs. I know Kyle Lowry is out for a month, but he will back when it matters. Boston has no major players out with injury. Same with San Antonio. OKC has Russell Westbrook and only got better at the deadline. The Hawks are at full strength. I just do not see the additions of Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut making much of a difference.

First off, Bogut needs to stay healthy, and that will not happen. But how does he really fit in with this team? When Kevin Love comes back, they will have Love, Tristan Thompson and Andrew Bogut. That front line does not scare me one bit if I'm a playoff team. Bogut cannot move like he used to, and he is always hurt. Love will be coming off knee surgery, and he is already a liability on defense as it is. Tristan Thompson is a good defender and rebounding, but his offensive game is mediocre at best. I wouldn't worry too much if I were the Wizards or Raptors if they have to face the Cavs in round 2 or the Eastern Finals. I'd much rather have guys like Markeiff Morris and Marcin Gortat or Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valenciunas to go up against that Cavs front court. The only team in the East that would have trouble with the Cavs front court would be Boston. They have no rebounding or inside threat at all.

Then with Deron Williams, his addition literally does nothing for me. I don't see how he makes any kind of difference whatsoever for the Cavs. I heard someone say he is like a better version of Matthew Dellavedova. I don't know if that is supposed to be a compliment or a symbol of how far Deron Williams has fallen as an NBA player. And, Dellavedova barely saw the floor in the Finals last year because he was too slow to guard any of the Warriors guards. Guess what? Deron Williams is older and slower than Matthew Dellavedova. People have also said he will make the open shot when LeBron or Kyrie drive and dish. First off, don't they already have Kyle Korver and JR Smith for that? Second, when will Kyrie pass anyone the ball, and when LeBron goes into playoff mode, only he and Kyrie will see the ball.

The signing of Williams is very, very unimportant, in my opinion. In fact, the addition of these 2 guys literally does nothing to change my mind. When KD comes back, and he will come back, I still have the Warriors breezing to a NBA title. They have too much fire power, and Andrew Bogut nor Deron Williams cannot do anything to stop that. I don't get the praise that is being heaped on the Cavs front office for these signings. Prove me wrong Cleveland, but the Warriors are still my absolute favorite to win the title. Especially when KD gets back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Now that you read his thoughts on the NBA, hear him talk all about it the newest mini episode of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Taboo"

"Taboo" just finished its first season on FX. I have been very vocal about how much I anticipated this show. I loved how FX promoted the show. I loved how the commercials gave away nothing. I had no idea what the show was going to be about, and I liked it that way. I purposefully waited until now to write about the show because I wanted to fully experience it for myself before I wrote about it. Now, I am not going to spoil much, if anything, I know that binge watching is the new thing and "Taboo" is a perfect binge worthy show, but I do have some thoughts that I want to get out since the show finished its first season.

"Taboo" centers around a man named James Delaney(Tom Hardy) who has returned to his home in the UK after a trip to Africa. The people who know James Delaney assumed he died on this trip because of the stories that had made there way back to the UK. When he first arrives back home, the townspeople are shocked. Everyone has questions. Delaney has no time for answers. He is on a mission. First spoiler, his father has died, and Delaney is back to run the family business, which seems to involve some kind of shipping. The show takes place in the early 1800's by the way, hence the shipping company.

Anyway, we come to realize in the pilot that the entire Delaney family is mentally unstable. The mom, the dad and most definitely James Delaney. They are all very crazy. The mom is sent to an institution for all the horrible things she did when she was alive. The dad went madder and madder the older he got we were told. And when Delaney returns from Africa, he claims he can talk to the dead, he says, "They sing to me", and he has many hallucinations. The hallucination scenes are scary, but also very neat and interesting. He is also filled with many tribal tattoos.

We also come to find out that he has a half sister, same dad, different moms, that he is in love with. Her name is Zilpha Geary, excellently played by an unknown to me, Oona Chaplin. She too is in love with him, but after she assumed he died, she married a very mean and brutal man, Thorne Geary(Jefferson Hall). He is a dick head and he gets what he deserves. I'll leave it at that. The two of them love each other, but it is, so to say, taboo, and they do not end up together. Again, I do not want to spoil too much.

There are some other great supporting characters in this show as well. Delaney's butler is wonderfully played by David Hayman. His name is Brace, and while he is a very loyal worker to the Delaney family, he too has done some serious shit and has some dark secrets. We also meet Delaney's fathers second wife, Lorna Bow(Jessie Buckley), who is in it at first for the fortune, but later as a James Delaney supporter and helper. We also meet some prostitutes that may or may not have been some of his fathers clients.

Then we have the British Parliament. They are the baddest dudes in the whole series. The king is a disgusting, gout filled blob of a man. Everyone in this show is some form of filthy kind of monster, but the king takes the cake in looks and attitude. He is so gross. There's Solomon Coop(Jason Watkins), who is the king's right hand man, but he is a slime bag of epic proportions. Then there are the members of Parliament that are just as corrupt as any current politician we have in our government. Sir Stuart Strange(Johnathan Pryce) is a terrible, monstrous human being hell bent on money and killing people. Godfrey(Edward Hogg), the closeted note keeper for Parliament who is a male prostitute at night and Delaney spy on the side. John Pettifer(Richard Dixon) who is a corrupt underling of Strange's. Benjamin Wilton(Leo Bill) is another underling errand boy for Strange. Basically, all of Parliament is corrupt because Delaney owns a piece of land that they need to win the battle that they are in with the United States, but Delaney will not give it up. Watch the show to find out why he won't let go of this land.

Some other characters I really liked in the show include George Chichester(Lucian Msamati), the African American man that has climbed the ranks of government who works with Delaney for what is right. Cholmondeley(Tom Hollander), the chemist that makes gunpowder and just likes to have a good time that ends up helping Delaney out. Dumbarton(Michael Kelly), who is an American spy in the UK posing as a doctor and flag maker that meets a gruesome end. And Atticus(Stephen Graham), Delaney's former enemy turned adversary. There are so many more great characters, these are just the ones that stood out to me.

I enjoyed "Taboo" very much. At first glance I thought it might have been a little too much History Channel for me, but the way the story was told and how it unfolded had me rapt with attention. The show was violent and dark and sad and no one was the good guy. Sure, you root for some people, but in the long run, each and every character has way more flaws than not. The British Parliament is the "bad guy", but that is not to say that Delaney is the "good guy". He is very, very far from a good guy.

I highly recommend people watch "Taboo". It is a very interesting and unique take on some classic historical stories from the US and UK's past. I also recommend binge watching it. It is perfect for that type of viewing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If you have FX, you can get FX Now and binge all of "Taboo" right now. What are you waiting for? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Better Late than Never on the Incredible Film "Moonlight"

I just watched "Moonlight". I saw it yesterday for the first time and I cannot stop thinking about how great ofmovie it really, really is. I know that a lot of what I will say today has already been said, and the praise I will heap on it has already been heaped on from other places. But, I just saw it and I thoroughly loved every single moment of the movie.

Everything about "Moonlight" is perfect. The actors, the writers, the director, the story, the locations, it was all superb. As I said in my piece earlier this week about the Oscars, I was very much itching to see this movie. It arrived in my mailbox (Yes, Netflix still mails out movies) and as soon as my kids retired to their rooms for quiet and nap time, I shut myself off from everything around me and put all my focus on watching "Moonlight".

The movie is broken up into three chapters of the growth of a young gay black man in Miami and Georgia. In chapter one, we get the story of "Little". That was the main character's nickname as a child. His real name is Chiron, but everyone calls him "Little". It's a fitting nickname. He is small in stature, personality and grit. He constantly gets picked on and chased home by bullies from school everyday. He is also a confused young man. He doesn't know his place in the world. No one does at the age of 6 or 7 or 8, but Little is really confused and lost.

Little is hiding from bullies one day, and the local drug kingpin happens upon him in one of the abandoned crack houses. The drug dealer, played masterfully by Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, goes by the name of Juan, and he takes Little under his wing so to speak. He takes him from the crack house to get some food and tries to get him to talk. Little is so scared of everything, he does not say one word to Juan until he gets to his home and meets his girlfriend Teresa(Janelle Monae). She is a very pleasant and nice person to be around. She is a much better mother figure than Little's mom.

Little's mom, Paula, another great performance from an Oscar nominated actress, Naomie Harris, is a crack addicted, verbally abusive mom. All she does is berate and yell at Little. She is also very upset when she realizes he is spending a lot of time with Juan. She and Juan have a powerful argument on one of his streets.

Because Little needs an adult to look up to, Juan become the father figure that Little desperately needs though. He teaches him things about life. He teaches him to be the type of person he wants to be. He teaches him to swim. Even when Little comes home from school one day, after being chased and verbally harassed by bullies, he tells him that it is okay to be gay. Little doesn't really know what this means, but he knows that he can trust, and that Juan respects and loves him. Shortly after this heart to heart, Little realizes that Juan is also his mom's dealer, and that is too much for such a young kid to handle. He cuts off communication with Juan. We then get to chapter 2, "Chiron".

Chapter 2 of the movie focuses on high school aged Chiron. He is still very skinny and very tortured and trusts no one except Teresa and his life long friend Kevin. He still gets harassed at school. High school is hard enough, but add on being gay, having a drug addicted mom and being belittled everyday, Chiron had it much tougher than most. One of his bullies threatens to beat him up one day after school, and while Chiron is hiding out, Kevin bumps into him.

Chiron has always had a special place for Kevin in his heart. He loves Kevin. Kevin seems to be into girls during their conversation. But, one night, they are both hanging out on the beach, and Chiron has his first sexual experience with a man. This is one of the first, and probably only time in the movie that we see the character of Chiron smile. He looks like he may start to feel accepted, at least by one person. But, the very next day after school, Chiron's main bully convinces Kevin to punch him in the face three times, and then the rest of the bullies jump him. They put a pretty rough beating on him. It is really tough to watch. He is a helpless kid, and the only person he trusts, besides Teresa, has turned his back on him. Not to mention, his mom is more strung out than ever before and only talks to her son when she needs money for a fix. He is again, that confused scared little boy that he was in the beginning of the movie.

Chiron goes home after getting beat up, and shows up to school the next day looking for vengeance. This is one of the most powerful scenes in the whole movie in my opinion. Chiron walks through the entire school incredibly amped up and angry at the world, and when he arrives to class, he throws his backpack on his desk, picks up a chair and smashes it over his main bully's back. He then hits him with the broken chair a few more times before he is restrained, and we next see him being put into a cop car, and he and Kevin lock eyes before the cop car pulls off. This leads up to the final chapter of the movie, "Black".

In this chapter we see grown up Chiron, who is now a drug kingpin himself, driving a very similar car to what Juan had when they first met, he is ripped and has become a "gangster". He only goes by "Black" now, and he runs streets in Atlanta. He is the man when it comes to dealing. Juan has passed and he has lost contact with Teresa and Kevin and his mom. His mother still calls him all the time and wants to reconnect, but he has made an entirely new life for himself as "Black".

Chiron/Black's mom calls all the time, so one night he answers the phone, he assumes it's his mom, but much to his surprise, it's Kevin. They have a very short, but also very sweet conversation. Kevin apologizes for what happened in the past, and Chiron forgives him. He also tells him that he misses him. Kevin reciprocates, and tells him that if he ever goes through Miami again to find him. He is a cook now. We find out that Kevin went to jail as a young adult as well, found a love for cooking, so hence his new job as a chef.

Chiron decides to make his way back to Miami, this time as Black. He goes to visit his mother first, who is now in rehab. Their conversation is a long time coming and very moving, sad and gives them both closure. It's incredibly touching, yet sad at the same time, It is some masterful directing and acting by all involved. After he makes amends with his mom, he goes to see Kevin. When Kevin finally realizes that Chiron is in the restaurant, he looks to be filled with joy. They sit and they talk. They catch up. Kevin talks about his child and his child's mother. He tells him about his time in jail. He tells him about how he is making the best life for himself that he can. Throughout all this, Chiron is silent. He has reverted back to Little.

Chiron finally opens up to Kevin, and Kevin is not happy that he is a dealer and a "gangster". They proceed to Kevin's place after he gets off work to talk some more. While Kevin is going on about making his new life, Chiron finally opens up to him, telling him he is the only man that he has let touch him ever. I'm positive this is meant literally and figuratively. After saying this, we see tears welling up in Chiron's eyes. Kevin gives him a loving look. The movie closes on the 2 of them hugging each other on the couch, Chiron in tears.

This was a gripping, sad and difficult movie to watch. It's not difficult in the way "The Revenant" was, where I will never watch it again, I plan on purchasing "Moonlight". It was difficult because Chiron/Little/Black's life was so tough, and each actor portrayed that to perfection. Alex R. Hibbert as "Little", Ashton Sanders as "Chiron" and Trevante Rhodes as "Black" were each exceptional. They did not look all that alike, but I heard someone else say this, I cannot recall who, but they all had the same eyes and they all portrayed the pain and difficult life that this young man has. I was very much moved by this movie. As I said at the top, I cannot stop thinking about it. I have told everyone I know that they need to watch it immediately. I haven't seen many of the other Best Picture nominees, but I'm pretty damn sure that none of them will do to me what "Moonlight" did to me. "Moonlight" is a work of art and will go down as an all time classic. It was an incredible movie.

Ty

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

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

The Top 12 Best Gadgets For Business

We have come a long way from the top business gadget of the 19th century

SeedSing is proud to offer voices from all over the globe. Today we present a guest post from freelance tech journalist Matthew Young. Get your ideas heard by writing for SeedSing

You may think that because you now have the latest laptop or the most advanced smartphone and the tablet that you don’t need anything else. You will be surprised to know that there is always something that could be used to enhance your life, whether during your leisure time or in the business field. 

These new 12 executive gadgets that range from USB ports to drawing tools are bound to enhance your business operations and make your daily life a lot more enjoyable.

1. Skiva’s OctoFire 8 Port USB 3.0 Hub
This may be the only USB hub you are ever going to need. Besides syncing data at speeds of 5 Gbps, it delivers more charging power compared to any other wall charger available today on the market. It's completely compatible with iPad Air, iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Apple iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus—just to mention a few. When not linked to your PC or laptop, it will also act as a standalone charger. Skiva’s OctoFire 8 Port USB 3.0 Hub has built-in over-charge, over-heat, and over-voltage plus over-current protection. The Early Bird edition is available at Kickstarter priced at $66.

2. ZUtA – The First Mini Robotic Printer
This is the premier mini robotic printer. The ZUta comes with a rechargeable battery as well as an on/off switch and you can connect it directly to PCs or smartphones. It allows printing on any size of paper. More appealing is the fact that it can easily be packed into your bag for printing on the go. Using an omni-wheel system, it accurately moves around the page being printed at a speed of 1.2 pages every minute. ZUta runs for 60 minutes on a full charge. This amazing portable robotic printer has accrued a total of $511,662 of its $400,000 Kickstarter target for production. $200 is sufficient to secure you an early bird white version. The ZUta is expected to become available on May 2016.

3. Pencil by FiftyThree
This popular smart stylus is going be sold through Amazon online outlets and some selected Apple stores at prices starting at $69.99. The FiftyThree is a perfect gift for one who cherishes creativity. The rectangular shaped Pencil stands at 5.45 by 0.6 by 0.25 inches (HWD). The Walnut model is lighter at only 0.8 ounces while Graphite model is slightly heavier weighing at 1.12 ounces. The Pencil from FiftyThree is compatible with the 3rd generation iPad and the later makes plus, the Retina as well as non-Retina iPad Mini.

4. Spracht The Conference Mate
Available in black or white color options, the Conference Mate from Spracht is compact in size. The speaker top is black and has all the system touch controls for answer/end calls, volume, mute and play/pause functions for music. At the unit top is where you get the main speaker together with the controls. This NFC enabled gadget is easy when it comes to setting up. This fine little bluetooth speaker sounds good and performs well. It is ideal for the home desk, your office or any place where audio is needed. It is available at around $80 via Amazon. 

5. Vivitek Qumi Q5 LED Pocket Projector
This stylish and innovative Vivitek LED pocket projector has 500 lumens brightness. It’s a very light device too at about 499g. It is the premier 3D-ready projector whose HD pixel resolution stands at 800 x 1,380. It can be used with numerous devices such as laptops, netbooks, smartphones, tablets, video and digital cameras and is ideal for digital content sharing. The real winner is the thick, ultra-glossy top sheet, available in not less than 5 different options: white, black, red, blue and yellow. All these remarkable features perhaps justify the high price tag of $600.

6. IronKey Personal S250 Secure Drive 16GB
The IronKey S250 is fully compatible with all major operating systems such as Linux, Windows and Mac. If what you desire is the best kind of security currently available in the market to secure thieves, hackers, and the elements, the Fort Knox you need is the IronKey Personal S250. It keeps your data secure, although due to its rugged construction and security it comes at a rather steep price of $329 for 16GB.

7. Sony Smartwatch 3 Stainless Steel
This is not just the first Android Wear device that comes with GPS skills, it also comes with built in connectivity (NFC and Wi-Fi)—perhaps this is its biggest selling point. The SmartWatch 3 comes with 4GB of storage space and its power comes from a quad-core 1.2GHz Arm A7 processor, something that appeared like overkill during the early Android's ecosystem days. Inside the SmartWatch 3 you will get a 420mAh battery. This latest Sony product charges through Micro USB saving you the need of carrying a separate accessory for charging. The SW3 takes the game a notch higher in terms of waterproofing. You can control this gadget that is priced at $300 with touch, voice and your finger gestures.

8. HP Multi Jet Fusion
As of now, conventional 3D printing employ a sluggish process in creating layers of material gradually forming the output you desire. The time needed for printing large objects also places a limitation on the feasibility and scalability of 3D printing technology. The first machines using Multi Jet Fusion Technology that are going to be released by HP will be focused on creating high-quality 3D prints that are thermoplastic-based. The goal is to target businesses that are small and medium-sized, or the numerous “service bureaus” which are serving the printing needs of 3rd-party businesses.

9. Bitdefender Box
The Bitdefender Box concept is very smart. It works in a similar manner to a hardware firewall in preventing unauthorized access without inhibiting your outbound traffic. It also provides anti-malware and antivirus protection via the cloud. You can install the app on your tablets, laptops, and smartphones giving them protection even when connected to the shadiest Wi-Fi hotspots. The admission price is $199 plus $99 an annual subscription (applicable after one year).

10. SMART kapp Whiteboard
The Kapp IQ allows the user to draw on it—although what has set the device apart from the standard whiteboard is the ability of saving a snapshot of your drawing for further review. The device measures 33.675-50.75-4.75 inches and weighs at 107 pounds. Both 75 and 84-inch model are in the works. More significantly, anybody can interact with this device and it can connect up with 250 users simultaneously, using an Android device or NFC-enabled iOS. The Kapp IQ is retailing at $4000 while the enterprise version is available for $5000 in a 65-inch model.

11. SenseHUD
The gadget sits on your vehicle dashboard, projecting the screen of your smartphone onto its own electrochromic glass pane. SenseHUD glass will pick up the messaging, route guidance, and the speedometer making it visible to you as you drive. A major strength of the device is the price. Maker SenseDriver recently launched its limited preorder initiative, giving the device at $99. The final price will be determined later.

12. Vysk QS1
Manufactured by Vysk, the case enhances your privacy through a hardware solution inbuilt design. It is available for use with Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5, iPhone 5 or 5S. The Vysk QS1case enables you to encrypt photos and texts, and make your private VoIP calls via microphones that are inbuilt and a proprietary Vysk encryption processor. The QS1 can be ordered from Vysk since May 2015 at $229.

Conclusion
Creative people have a strong affinity to their trade tools. As you can see from the above 12 leading devices, when it comes to the latest technology, there is an abundance of new and innovative new office gadgets on the market which are definitely guaranteed to make you as a professional happy and more productive. You are indeed spoiled for choice. It’s up to you to decide what device best suits your specific office requirements. 

Matthew Young

About the Author:  Matthew Young is a freelance tech journalist and blogger hailing from Boston. He is passionate about new, emerging tech in the industry. When Matthew is not busy writing about awesome new technology, he usually spends time fiddling with his camera and learning a thing or two about photography. You can reach Matthew on Twitter @mattbeardyoung!

Ty Watches "Bar Rescue": Summit House Grill and Pub Edition

This past Sunday on "Bar Rescue", Taffer and crew headed to the Summit House Grill and Pub in Colorado. This was a husband and wife owned bar. The wife had a steady job in I.T., but her husband convinced her to quit that job and enter the bar industry.

This was an obvious mistake.

At first, the bar was making tons of money, as per usual. The husband owner said they started out making 30,000 dollars a week and at one point, then started to make closer to 45,000 dollars a week. They were making enough money that they were turning a decent enough profit, so the husband and wife decided to turn the bar over to the employees and managers, only coming in once or twice a week to check up on things.

This was when things started to go downhill. The employees and managers had free rein to do what they pleased. Some worked hard, Nichole to be exact. But, the others had a free for all. They did not respect the husband owner, they played free and loose with the rules and they basically did what they wanted. The husband owner would start to come in more often when he realized they were starting to lose money, but he came in only to get drunk. He seemed to care less and less about the bar and more and more about getting drunk and blaming everyone else for his problems. The wife owner was the one who called Taffer to come and save the bar.

When Taffer arrived, he had the wife come and watch her husband run the business. This was a nightmare. All he did was drink, berate customers and workers, hit on customers and cause big scenes. His wife was mortified by what she saw. When he started to get drunker, meaner and hitting on any female customer he saw, the wife said she'd seen enough and stormed in the bar and gave her husband the business. She yelled and crushed him for what seemed 15 minutes straight. It was beautiful. After the husband blamed her for all his problems, the employees cut him off and had to physically remove him from the bar. It was funny, but also kind of sad. Taffer came in during this fight and poured a beer on the husband as well. It was so disrespectful and totally awesome.

When everyone sobered up, Taffer had them in the next day to train. Before training though, Taffer made the husband blow into a breathalyzer, and luckily for him, he was sober. Then they got to business. The training was a nightmare. The employees had no idea what they were doing and it showed. The kitchen staff was just as clueless. The "experts" did their best to prepare them for stress test.

Needless to say, stress test was terrible. No drinks or food made it to anyone at any decent times. The husband looked so stressed, I said to my wife that he should have a drink to calm his nerves. The wife was great and so was Nichole. Everyone else, a total train wreck.

After shutting down, Taffer and his people got down to fixing the inside of the bar. Interesting fact about this bar, it was clean and nice, it was the husband that was the problem. So, the work Taffer and crew did was minimal. They kept the name and gave the inside a forest feel. It was one of their nicer efforts. Prior to relaunch, Taffer had a heart to heart with the husband, seems to be his new thing, and they hatched out all their problems. Everything seemed great after their talk.

During relaunch, the employees and owners were struggling, at first. I haven't seen something like this in awhile. Of course they dug themselves out and things were running smooth enough for Taffer to leave. During the 6 week check up, the bar seemed to be back on track and they were making a bit of their debt back. Nichole was also a full time manager now, which was much deserved.

This was a very down the middle episode of my beloved "Bar Rescue". That's not to say it wasn't great, but you could tell what was going to happen beat for beat. Come back next week for my review of the next episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to open a bar with his wife, but when Ty said he would not serve liquor, his wife shut the whole thing down. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Does not Watch the Dumb Oscars, but He still Has Some Thoughts

I said I'd have a follow up to RD's Oscars piece today, and I'm a man of my word. I'll get to other stuff later in the week.

First off, I totally agreed with pretty much all of RD's thoughts on all the categories. I don't really care about the sound stuff and the shorts. Don't get me wrong, those things are very important to movies, but I do not think the movie going public truly, really cares about those awards. I was very happy to see "Zootopia" win best animated movie. I very much liked the message and the animation and the story. It was a very well deserved win. I was so pumped that Masherala Ali won best supporting actor for "Moonlight". Ali is a wonderful actor, I loved him in "Luke Cage", and though I haven't watched "Moonlight" yet, I plan on seeing it tomorrow, I'm sure he is tremendous and well deserving. And "OJ: Made in America" is a must watch, and it won the award for documentary feature. These were my favorite things about the 2017 Oscars.

All the other stuff, save for Best Picture was predictable. The movie that won Best Foreign Language was a shoo in from what I read. Denzel Washington should have won Best Actor, but the academy gave it to a terrible, mean person, Casey Affleck. I felt real bad for Brie Larson, the presenter, because she does so much charity for victims of abuse, having to give him the award. Denzel is also a masterful actor. Viola Davis was more than deserving. This award was a long time coming.

Then we have "La La Land". As I said, I fully agreed with RD that the academy was going to reward a movie about white struggling jazz musicians, dancers and actors. That movie should have been called "Oscar Bait". And, for the most part, it won everything it was nominated for. I have no intention of watching this movie. I like the director, Damien Chazelle, I loved "Whiplash", but "La La Land" did nothing for me with the trailers. It's not my cup of tea. But, Chazelle won for directing, Emma Stone won for Best Actress and a few, not all, of the technical awards it was nominated in. I have nothing against this movie or the actors. I have made it wildly known my love for Ryan Gosling. I think Emma Stone is wonderful. I already said I love Chazelle's work with a movie like "Whiplash". But I was so excited when I read that "Moonlight" beat it out for Best Picture.

I've read and seen all the stuff that happened last night, with announcing the wrong winner. All that stuff just goes to show that EVERYONE expected "La La Land" to win, even Warren Beatty. But, for a movie like "Moonlight" to take the main prize, especially in this f'ed up political climate right now, makes me so in incredibly and irrationally happy. I haven't even watched it yet, but I'm so, so stoked that it won. This is a big deal for independent movies, which I love, and I'm filled with joy that "Moonlight" and Ali took home major prizes.

One more quick thing, screw the academy for not even nominating "Deadpool". The Golden Globes, and basically every other major awards show at least gave it a nod, but the academy decided movies like "Nocturnal Animals", "Arrival" (ed note: This film is is terrible) or "Hacksaw Ridge" were more deserving. Just give it a nod. You can nominate up to 10 movies, and "Deadpool" was most definitely one of the 10 best of 2016. The academy missed out on a big opportunity, but at least they cashed in a big opportunity with "Moonlight" last night.

Congrats to everyone involved with all the good movies and performances, it was a well deserved, great night for the people involved. Also, I heard that Jimmy Kimmel did a fine job as host, which I expected. Those are my takes on the 2017 Oscars.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He gave up on the Oscars when the best movie of the year, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" received a non-record zero nominations. The Oscars are dumb. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

SeedSing's Dumb Predictions for the Dumb Oscars: 2017 Edition

It is time for the 89th Academy Awards, and I have a few dumb things I need to get off my chest.

Last year we complained about how idiotic and pointless the Academy Awards have become. The night's top prize did not go to a movie beloved by audiences and critics alike (Mad Max: Fury Road). The Best Picture statue was given to Spotlight, a movie I bet 99 out of 100 people randomly surveyed would say they have never seen. That does not mean Spotlight is a bad movie, it is quite good actually, it just shows that the Academy Awards have no idea what movies are timeless, and truly the best films of the year. People remember Brokeback Mountain as a culturally important, and incredibly great film, while we all remember Crash as the terrible film the Oscars thought was a better movie than Brokeback Mountain. The Artist, The King's Speech, How Green Was My Valley, are forgotten footnotes who only come up in trivia questions, while classics like The Social Network, The Dark Knight, and Citizen Kane are films that get regularly listed as some of the greatest of all time. Even fairly good movies like Dances with Wolves, Shakespeare in Love, and Chicago are hated by people because those films "stole" Oscars that should have gone to Goodfellas, Saving Private Ryan, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. In short, the Oscars are dumb, and have been dumb for a very long time.

With that being said, why would SeedSing even do predictions for the Oscars. Because, dammit, we still love to watch movies. We also love to complain when our favorites are not honored. Complaining is awesome. The Oscars are the most watched awards show on television because movies represent the highest form of art in our American society. Movie stars are our royalty, movies are our mythology, and the Oscars bring it all together. 

Now presenting the SeedSing predictions for the 2017 Academy Awards.

Best Picture

When the Oscars expanded the field for Best Picture, the intent was to have more audience friendly mainstream movies make the filed. That has not happened. Deadpool should be in the list of 2017 Best Picture contenders, but it is not. The Academy decided that movies like Lion, Hacksaw Ridge, Manchester by the Sea, Fences and Hell or High Water could sit and lose and not excite any new viewers. 

Almost everyone thinks that La La Land will win the big prize, and why not. La La Land is a brave risk taking film that is about a white jazz musician, a white actress in LA, and uses classic Hollywood musicals as it's inspiration. How in the hell is that movie not going to win Best Picture. The producers should have just called the movie The 2017 Award Winner for Best Picture. There has never been a movie so focused grouped to what the Oscars award like La La Land. It exists to win the Oscar.

Some think that audience favorite Hidden Figures or indie success Moonlight may be an upset winner for the big statue, but that will not happen. The inclusion, and hope, for these films is just the Academy throwing a bone to the #OscarsSoWhite crowd. A win by either of these films would be justified, but La La Land is the brave tale of white people playing jazz and trying to make it Hollywood. The response to #OscarsSoWhite will be to give the whitest movie the biggest prize. La La Land is going to be 2017's Best Picture winner.

Personal note. My early pick for the Best Picture was going to be Arrival. Everything I heard about this movie made it sound like a better, modern, version of Contact. I was all in.

After I saw Arrival, I take any love back from that movie. It is terrible and incredibly stupid. Do not watch Arrival. 

Best Actor

Casey Affleck or Denzel Washington will win this award. The other contenders should practice their gracious clapping after they lose. Casey Affleck was a shoe in for Manchester by the Sea, and then some alleged disturbing allegations from his past started to make the news. The entertainment tried to keep it quite, but the reports kept on coming. Denzel Washington in Fences became the defacto safe pick for people who would not vote for Affleck. Denzel Washington will win.

Another personal thought. If Denzel was accused of what Affleck allegedly has done, Mr. Washington's career in movies would be over. Make your own conclusions to why this is.

Best Actress

Another two person race.

In one corner you have french actress Isabelle Huppert in Elle. She has already won a bunch of awards, is a legend in the business, and is almost universally considered to have given the best performance of the year.

Unfortunately in corner two we have young Emma Stone playing the struggling actress in La La Land. She wins the Oscar

Yet another personal thought. Elle is directed by Paul Verhoeven. I love Verhoeven films like Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. Elle is not like any of those movies. 

Best Supporting Actor

This is the only category where any of the nominees could win. Mahershala Ali from Moonlight has won most of the early awards, and this may be the best award the beloved Moonlight will win all night.

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis in Fences. No question.

Other Awards

Best Director - It would be awesome to see Barry Jenkins from Moonlight win and make history, but Damien Chazelle directed the film about the white hero of jazz in LA. Chazelle will win.

Best Original Screenplay - The Lobster is inspired insanity, but it is not about struggling attractive white people in LA. La La Land wins.  

Best Adapted Screenplay - Anything except Arrival. Please.

Best Animated Featured Film - Enjoyable remedial meditation on racism that is Zootopia will win. The Batman Lego Movie better damn well win this award next year. I know it will not and I am already irrationally pissed. 

The other categories, also known as the speeches you will fast forward through - La La Land will win any category it is in. Just please do not let Arrival win anything. It's sound, design, and cinematography was great, but the actual movie is so bad I do not want it to be an Oscar winner. Please.

Rant over. That is how the 89th Academy Awards are going to shake out from the SeedSing perspective. I will leave everyone with one more prediction. Jimmy Kimmell should do a good job, I hope. Enjoy the show.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did you like Arrival? How could you, it is terrible. I mean what was the point? I can talk my way to time travel? Why is their gravity different? Do the heptapods ever wear pants?   Come tell us.

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

Profiles in Congressional Republican Cowardice

One would think working here makes someone appreciate America

Republican Texas Rep Louie Gohmert will not be in attendance at his constituent town hall during the current Congressional recess. Representative Gohmert is not alone in spineless Republicans who will not face their own voters. The Republican Party has political control of the entire Us Congress, the White House, and are poised to make a big move on the judiciary, yet they are hiding under their desks when it comes to the voters. The GOP has spent decades trying to make themselves look like the only true American party who are tough, and can stand up to any opposition. Unfortunately, Republicans like Louie Gohmert are not even coming close to live up to the false ideals of the GOP. Gohmert and his cohorts are a bunch of wimpy cowards. 

What makes Gohmert's absence so newsworthy is the fact that he uses the shooting of former Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords as his reason for not attending the town hall. This is extremely vile coming from an opportunist like Gohmert. In his letter to constituents, Representative Gohmert says, "Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety. Threats are nothing new to me and I have gotten my share as a felony judge." If Louie Gohmert is so afraid of the American people, why would he ever leave the comfy confines of Washington DC?

Gohmert does not care about anyone's views except his own. When Representative Giffords was shot, and some of her constituents were killed, Louie Gohmert was part of an effort that would allow guns in the US Capitol. His response to the Aurora Movie theater massacre was to speculate that the killer was not fearful of a vengeful god. He is a regular guest on Glenn Beck, Fox News, and Info Wars where he expresses his fear of immigration. At one time he even voted for non-Us House member, and tea party champion, Alan West as Speaker of the House. (side note: The US Constitution does not say that the Speaker of the House must be a member of the House) The history of Louie Gohmert in the US House of Representatives is a history of conspiracy theories, and laughable ineffectiveness.

Representative Gohmert is right that there will be people at his town hall who are not happy with him. His record is terrible. The things he and the GOP are trying to do right now will hurt a lot of people. What Gohmert is wrong about is that these people are paid, violent, protesters. The Fox News effort to paint all the protesters as being paid has been proven wrong so many times. Donald Trump paying people to attend his rallies, that has been proven true. The violence from "strains of the leftist ideology" only makes sense to a mind willing to accept any proven to be false conspiracy hearings. The recent violent protests in Berkeley give the Republicans their cover in claiming left wing violence. There are many questions to who caused this violence, but that is not the point. This myth of a sudden rise of violent actors in the left wing of politics is laughable. Way more people came out to protest Donald Trump's new Presidency than those that attend the inauguration itself. There is photographic evidence. No big acts of violence. In fact more people died when avowed right wingers took over the Malheur National Wildlife refuge. Why are the Republicans not calling out the violence from idiotic right wing ranchers who have very little understanding of American law? It seems like Gohmert is not telling the truth on why he refuses to look at his constituents face to face.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman decided to find a more creative way to not face the voters. During the recess, Portman's office sold tickets to a dinner where the Senator would appear and give a speech to his constituents. A group not thrilled with Portman's recent record bought tickets and planned on attending the speech. The day before the event, the group's tickets were rescinded and refunded with no explanation. It was discovered that the people who were banned from the event were people who voted for a Democrat in the last year. In order to avoid his voters, Senator Portman checked on people's voting records to ban them from exercising their Constitutional rights. Senator Portman has not responded to this incredibly un-American act. Rob Portman is a coward.

Many other Republicans have decided to not face their constituents in fear of being called to task for their dismal record. Spineless worms like Senator's Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have predictably ran away from their voters. The current group of Republicans in Washington DC have spent the last few decades claiming victim-hood, and fighting any meaningful growth of government. Now that they have the power, their horrible agenda is front and center. Many people, republicans included, are very fearful of where our country is heading. The only voice the voters have left is to go to a town hall and tell their elected officials what is on the common person's mind. The Republican Party has now taken this basic American right away.

The GOP has long been open about their disdain for the voter. Through gerrymandering, and the Democratic Party's lack of care on local elections, Republicans have taken Congressional majorities with record low voter turnout numbers. The only people who can get an audience with DC Republicans are the special interest groups who fund their campaigns. The entire Republican agenda is being pursued to make very few rich people even richer. The 98% of Americans being left behind need to talk to their representatives. Congressional Republicans are silencing the voters voices by not even granting hard working Americans a seat at the table.

During the first recess of the 115th Congress, Representative Louie Gohmert and Senator Rob Portman have invented new ways to be cowards. Along with many of their colleagues, Gohmert and Portman cannot stand up for their terrible beliefs. Most members of Congress attend the town halls, and do not really answer questions. Gohmert and Portman are so spineless they canot even pander anymore. America should be very afraid if their self processed tough GOP elected leaders cannot stand up to criticism from good Americans, how in the hell are they going to stand up to America'a enemies. Gohmert, Portman, and the majority of Congressional Republicnas have proven that they are not man enough defend America. They should step aside so the non-cowards can keep the US safe and secure.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He really, really, wants an explanation for why the Republicans despise the US Constitution. Come tell us. 

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

The NBA Trade Deadline Changed Nothing

The trade clock struck midnight on almost every NBA team

The NBA trade deadline came and went with a whimper yesterday. There were bigger trades a week ago, Serge Ibaka, and the biggest one happened an hour after the All Star game on Sunday night, Boogie Cousins, but yesterday there was a ton of build up, but nothing really happened.

As far as winners and losers go, I do not do that type of thing because there is not enough time in the season to declare if a team "won" or "lost" a trade. Sure, the Pelicans may have "won" the trade, they completely robbed the Kings, but what is their prize? A possible first round sweep at the hands of the Warriors if they are lucky enough to grab the 8 seed from the Nuggets, Trailblazers, Timberwolves or Mavericks. Yeah, the Celtics may have "lost" because they did nothing, but they are currently the second best team in the East, so no big deal.

Look, I thought that maybe Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony would get moved, but it did not happen. So what. Sure, it would have been exciting if at least one of those guys moved, but like most trade deadlines, nothing big happened. It really looked like George or Butler were going to be a Celtic in the waning moments of the deadline, but as is their new norm, the Celtics would not give up any high picks and did nothing. Danny Ainge always claims to have some big deal in place for a super star, but he is becoming the boy who cried wolf. I just do not believe any reports I read about the Celtics getting a big named player anymore. Someone always floats a story that the Celtics are finally going to make the move, but when the time comes, nothing ever happens. I'm sick of the stories and I'm sick of Danny Ainge always claiming that he is going to make a move.

What better time than now for the Celtics? Imagine if they got Paul George or Jimmy Butler. That immediately makes them a legitimate title threat. Pairing up either of those guys with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford gives them a legit team. Both George and Butler are top 10 defenders, and they can score. This would have made it so much easier to hide Thomas on defense in the playoffs. If they were to face Toronto in a series, stick Marcus Smart on Kyle Lowry and Butler or George on DeMar DeRozan. Then, Thomas can guard some random guy like Corey Joseph. This would have made the Celtics lethal. I know they would have had to give up the coveted Nets picks they own and some young, possible stars like Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley or Jae Crowder, but the chance to get one of these guys that are already proven, you cannot pass that up.

Sorry, that is my long winded way of saying that the Celtics missed a golden opportunity.

But, as I said, I do not pick "winners" and "losers" from the trade deadline. I like to point out which teams possibly helped themselves and who hurt themselves. We all already know that the Kings are a garbage franchise run by people who have no clue what they are doing, but they looked so god damn stupid after this deadline. They're toast. Sure, they won last night, but just wait, they will be going on something like a 10 or 12 game losing streak real soon.

I was also confused by what the 76ers and Bulls did. The 76ers have this glut of big men, but the only one they traded was Nerlens Noel. I thought for sure that Jahlil Okafor was done in Philadelphia, but he is still a 76er as we speak. The return they got for Noel was nothing too. They got Andrew Bogut, who they will buy out and release, and Justin Anderson, who may be a fine role player some day, but who knows. The Mavericks got a great defensive and rebounding big. I like this move for Dallas and hate it for the 76ers. The 76ers also traded Ersan Ilaysova for Tiago Splitter and some picks to the Hawks. Again, they traded for a big man that they're going to buy out and some second round picks. Makes no sense to me.

The Bulls, who should have moved Butler, instead sent Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Thunder for Cam Payne and some dude named Joffrey. What the hell is this trade? Taj Gibson is one of the most beloved veterans in the league, and Doug McDermott isn't great, but he will hit open threes. The Bulls got a second year point guard that never plays and a dude that was the 10th or 11th guy off the bench for the Thunder. It seems like something is missing here. This trade really helps bring some more toughness and shooting to OKC. It brings nothing but questions for Chicago. Much like the 76ers stuff, this feels like it was part 1 of a 3 or 4 part deal that didn't pan out.

The Rockets made some good moves I thought, at least for the regular season. They went out and got Lou Williams for Corey Brewer and a late first rounder, and trimmed some more cap space to possibly sign a guy like Andrew Bogut by trading Tyler Ennis to the Lakers for Marcus Huertas, who they will immediately waive. Williams gives the yet another shooter. Now, at most times on the floor, the Rockets will have James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams shooting the ball. They could go for 130 a game and I would not be surprised. The only problem, none of these guys play defense, and in the playoffs, that could spell doom. Still though, good moves for the regular season.

Besides the trades I mentioned, nothing else that big happened. Some irrelevant guys got traded for other irrelevant guys. Carmelo Anthony is still a Knick, Paul George is still a Pacer and Jimmy Butler is still a Bull. The Boogie deal was the biggest deal no matter what else happened, but I expected more from this particular deadline after Boogie got traded. I thought, especially in the East that some big time, All NBA caliber players would get moved. As I stated, Boston should have made some moves, but they are the boy who cried wolf franchise to me now. I like what Toronto did with the Ibaka trade, and don't sleep on their move to land PJ Tucker, that should look good in the long run, especially the playoffs. But, the Wizards only added one bench guy, the Hawks only added Ilaysova and every other playoff team pretty much stayed pat. I still think the Cavs are a lock to represent the East in the finals, but Toronto, not Boston anymore, looks like their biggest threat.

As for the West, no matter what the Rockets or Thunder did, doesn't matter, the Warriors are winning. Even if the Clippers added Carmelo, they cannot beat the Warriors, they proved that last night, blowing a 12 point half time lead. The Spurs never make moves because they don't have to, so them doing nothing was not surprising. The Pelicans made THE move, but, as I said, if they make the playoffs, their "reward" is a thrashing at the hands of the Warriors.

We had another trade deadline that was very ho hum, but I expected more. I expected better. Oh well, I guess we will have to wait until summer to see if some of these big names finally get moved.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty thinks the only hope for the Celtics now is if some crazy fans go out and try to kidnap LeBron James. It worked out so well in "Celtic Pride". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Bar Rescue": St8 Pub Edition

"Bar Rescue" is back. I know that I'm a little late on my review of the mid season premiere, but other stuff has come up. Do not worry, I will be here every Monday from here until this season ends to update you on all the new episodes of the fifth season of "Bar Rescue". I have to say, with what is going on in the world right now, a show like "Bar Rescue" lets me escape the nightmare for at least an hour, and I am very grateful to Spike TV for this. So, lets get to it. 

On Sunday, Taffer and crew were back to rescue a bar that was in disarray in a small suburb of Denver, Colorado. The bar was called St8 Pub. I do not like this name. I'm not a fan of using numbers in place of letters. If this makes me a curmudgeon, so be it. I don't use emoji's, any abbreviations or numbers when texting, writing, or talking. I use full words and something like this seems lazy to me.

Anyway, this bar was small. It was only about 1500 square feet and only had one of each, a speed well, bar top and POS system. That is incredibly tiny. Anyone that has worked in the food industry knows how small that is. To make matters worse, the owner of St8 Pub was given the bar as a gift. He had to pay nothing for it. It was handed to him with the caveat that he would furnish it and pay the bank monthly rent. Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, this guy decided that he would rather forgo paying any rent and just get absolutely sloshed every night. When Taffer and crew arrive at the bar in their car and watch from outside, as they always do, all they see is the owner pounding drink after drink and shot after shot. To make matters worse, he would berate customers and kick them out if he didn't personally like them, and he let his friends drink for free, as long as he could get wasted with them. He also only had one other employee. It was him and a lady named Caitlyn working there. Caitlyn, to her credit, worked her tail off. She would tend bar and do anything that she could do to keep this bar afloat. She was the one who called the people at "Bar Rescue" to come and save the bar. The owners mom was there all the time too, but she was more so there to help out and continue to feed into her sons ego and alcohol problem. She was an enabler. I'm sorry to say that, but it was clearly evident that she saw nothing wrong with what her son was doing.

When Taffer sent in his spies, he first had them order a beer. The beer was served in a mason jar, and the bar expert blew his stack at this. This was an act of terrorism in his eyes. Then, Taffer had the spies order food, and what they saw next made them, and me for that matter, sick to their stomachs. The owner doubled as the chef, and prior to making the food, he smoked a cigarette and took out the trash, never washing his hands before touching the food. That is disgusting. He did put on gloves when making the food, but he kept touching the cutting board and kitchen top and wiping sweat off his face and forehead, rendering the gloves useless. The food he made, a sloppy joe, looked disgusting and looked like mystery meat, which he microwaved. It was gross.

This was when Taffer and crew blasted into the bar and proceeded to destroy this owner with words. They called him every name that every episode of "Bar Rescue" uses. He was a failure, a loser, a drunk, a low life, all bad things, this guy was called. It was brutal and I could not look away. Taffer even went as far as to mock the guy by taking his hat off his head, put it on his head, do an "impersonation" of the owner, and it was one of the most glorious moments ever on any episode of "Bar Rescue".

During this magnificent attack, we come to find out that the owner has not paid rent in 13 months, the exact amount of time he has owned the bar, that he was in debt 35,000 dollars with the bank, and had he not paid them in full by the first of the month they were going to shut down the bar, and that his mom was paying his rent for his apartment. This dude was a real piece of work. He tried to fight back when Taffer was crushing him, but he was too drunk and I genuinely feel like this talk opened his eyes. This was a berating that actually held some weight.

After Taffer closed the bar down, he had everyone come in when they sobered up so they could have a talk. This was when the owner owed up to everything he had done, and was doing, was wrong. He laid it all out on the table. Taffer and crew also proved that he and his one employee knew nothing about craft beer, which they claimed to be experts in. They immediately began training, and also had the owner hire some help. Of course they got up to speed and they got some fresh faces the day before stress test.

Needless to say, stress test was a nightmare. Nothing went right. Drinks were poured wrong. Beer was poured improperly. Food died in the pass. Tables never got drinks or food. It was your typical stress test. They shut it down, got to the root of the problem, and Taffer brought in his people to fix the place up. There was the heart to heart with mother and son. Son owned up, once again, to his mistakes and Taffer had that creepy smile on his face when they resolved their conflict.

When they came back for the re open, things seemed to be much better. Taffer renamed the bar Downstairs Pub and Grill. I very much dislike this name. He wanted a whole "man cave"(I despise this pairing of words), vibe, and he figured downstairs was where these man caves exist. He also put up fake pornography magazine cover photos on the wall. It was so god damn stupid. Other than those two dumb things, the inside of the bar looked much better. They had a new bar top, new stools and chairs, more POS systems, a better draught system and easier, better cocktails and food. The kitchen also looked much better. Smaller pots and pans, most everything used a pressure cooker and a fryer, so it was much less clutter. The kitchen was cleaner too. During the re open, everything ran much more smoothly. Food and drink was getting to the tables in correct timing, and everything, according to the customers, tasted very good. It was a great turnaround, as it usually is with most bars on "Bar Rescue".

When they did the 3 month check up, the bar was running smooth, the owner did not drink on the job, was paying his own rent and had a plan in place with the bank to pay them back in smaller increments over a certain period of time. It was your typical "Bar Rescue" ending.

We all need our heroes in dark time, and the crew of "Bar Rescue" are my bright knights. I'm very happy this show is back for me to review for everyone, and I cannot wait until next week to watch the new episode and write about it next Monday. "Bar Rescue" is back. Woo hoo!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When the world gets crazy, all Ty can do is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

"John Wick: Chapter 2" is Way Better than Expected

I believe a pencil makes an appearance in the film

Holy shit was "John Wick: Chapter 2" incredible! I'm not going to spoil anything during this review, but man oh man was this movie absolutely awesome.

I was very late, admittedly, to "John Wick", but when I saw it, I loved it. I thought it was the perfect role and movie for an actor like Keanu Reeves. He doesn't have to say much at all and he gets to kick a ton of ass. He also gets to work on his martial arts stuff, which he is very much involved with. When I finally saw "John Wick", I could not sing its praises enough. I told anyone and everyone I knew who hadn't seen it to watch it immediately, and most of the return I got from them was positive.

When I heard they were making a sequel, I was pumped. When pictures started to float around the internet, I searched them out. When people were mentioned in roles for the movie, I pictured how I thought they'd do. I was very immersed in anything "John Wick: Chapter 2". I did not know if I was going to be able to see it in the theaters, but I was fortunate enough to have some free time this past Sunday, called my dad up, and we picked a time to go see it on the big screen. This is the best way to see a movie like this, I love my action and violence on the big screen. 

"John Wick: Chapter 2" this movie delivers in droves. There is barely any time to catch your breath from one action scene to the next. Even before the opening credits, there is a heart pulsing, fast paced action scene. It was incredible. I was in from second one of this movie. It was everything I loved about the first movie, but it was like they made the second one on steroids. A movie like "John Wick: Chapter 2" is so much more action packed and fun than any of the "Fast and Furious" garbage that has been pumped out the past couple of years. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is far and away the best action movie that is out in the theaters, and I see nothing changing my mind about that for the rest of 2017.

My only gripe, and it is not even a real gripe, is the few set up scenes to the action and violence. There was a few scenes, totaling maybe 15 minutes of film time, that the director and writers put in the movie to set up the reason why John Wick is doing what he does in this movie. It reminded me a lot of what the people behind "The Raid 2" did, but I do not need any of that stuff. I watch the "John Wick" and "Raid" movies for the action. It is such a throw away gripe, but if I had to say one bad thing about either, it was the pointless dialogue scenes. At least it wasn't on the level of a movie like "300".

But, other than that, this movie was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted from a "John Wick" sequel. The body count is enormous. The way some of the bad guys meet their demise is brutal and made me say things out loud in a theater. I haven't done that since I saw the Ryan Gosling movie The "Drive". The fight scenes were incredibly choreographed and a total blast to watch. The supporting actors in the movie were awesome. Common was incredible. The new bad guy was slimy and creepy and a punk. He was great. Ruby Rose was awesome as the main bad guy's number one bodyguard. Her performance is really good. She is going to be a big, big star, if she isn't already. Laurence Fishburne was chewing the scenery like only he could, and I could not take my eyes off of him when he was on screen. He was so god damn good in this movie. I loved the reunion of him and Keanu. They clearly have tremendous chemistry. Ian McShane was suave and cool as hell. He is such a great actor, and his role in this movie wasn't needed, but the addition was great. I grew to love his character. Everyone else that I did not name, they were all great. All the henchmen and assassins and the random people with one or two lines, it was all simply perfect. "John Wick; Chapter 2" is the perfect sequel. They knew what they had going into this movie, and they barely changed a thing. It was just as brutal and violent, if not more so, than the first one, and I thought that was the exact correct choice. The actors do what they do best in a movie like this.

Everything about this movie worked. I'm so glad I was able to see it in the theaters, and I highly recommend everyone go check this movie out. It rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Although he is a pacifist, Ty does like his stylized hyper violence. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Was the 2017 NBA All Star Weekend Worth a Watch?

Next year the game should be played on the blacktop of any local school

Last weekend was NBA All Star weekend. This is a three day period that I very much look forward to. I love all the extra stuff that the NBA does leading up to the All Star game on Sunday night. I watch it all. I watch the skills competition, the celebrity game, the three point contest, the rising stars game and the dunk contest. I usually find it all very, very enjoyable. In fact, I wrote last year around this time that I thought that the dunk contest was back after the show that Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon put on, even though some think that Gordon got robbed, I personally do not. For the most part, last year's skills competition, three point contest, dunk contest, I found it all very exciting. I was very hopeful that this year would be the same.

Unfortunately, All Star weekend was a pretty big let down this year. It was quite dull in fact. The rising stars game was fun, I do have to say. It was cool to see the World rising stars play the US rising stars. I like that format since the NBA is a global phenomenon. Jamal Murray looked every bit as good as people said he was leading up to the draft and Johnathan Simmons is an inspiration to guys that may not think they have a shot at the NBA, but if they put in the work, they can make it. Other than those 2, Nikola Jokic and Karl Anthony Towns were the only other standouts.

The celebrity game prior to that was a complete dud. Winn Butler from Arcade Fire takes it way, way too seriously. Master P was an absolute nightmare. Go watch the "highlights". The famous NBA impersonator, his name escapes me now, is a really good player, but he was trying way too hard to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame. The only true highlight, and what saved the game, was the 7 year old child with a rare disease coming on the court, showing some sick dribbling skills and draining his only shot attempt. That kid and that moment was great. He should have been the MVP of the game, not only for the shot, but for the whole weekend. This kid was so funny and so much fun to watch allAll Star weekend long.

Then, we went to Saturday night. I recorded all of the competition stuff because I did not want to watch commercials so I could fully enjoy each event. They started off with the skills competition, and unfortunately, that was the "best" part of the night. I like the new setup of "Bigs" versus "Littles". It's pretty cool to see these big guys, each 6'9 or taller, going up against guards who are wonderful at the skills they put in the event. I was certain that Isaiah Thomas was going to win. He did great in the first two rounds, breezing by the completion, but when he went up against Gordon Hayward, he could not knock down the three and Hayward made one on his fourth try. Kristaps Porzingis, as far as "Bigs" went, looked pretty impressive. He was dribbling by the cones easily, putting the pass through the net with no problem, making the layup and dribbling down court for the pull up three. He breezed by all the "Bigs", and faced Hayward for the title. Again, Porzingis eased his way to victory, draining a pull up three with ease. It was an okay start to the night.

But, it got worse from there.

The three point contest was next, and I was hoping for Klay Thompson to do something like he did last season, but he did not even make it out of the opening round. In fact, most of the shooters looked a bit off all night. Shots were either short or very long. On some racks guys would find a rhythm but on the next rack, they'd brick 4 of the 5 shots. Wes Matthews and CJ McCollum did not do well. As I said, Klay was bounced before the second round. The only 2 who did any good were Kyrie Irving and Eric Gordon, and that is who made it to the finals. They had a decent final, it went to a 60 second overtime, and Gordon came out on top. But, I think it was partly due to the fact that Irving got tired and knew he needed to save himself for the All Star game on Sunday night. There were no amazing numbers put up by any contestant and the final, even with an overtime, was pretty bland.

The dunk contest was next, and this was a flaming bag of garbage. First off, no Zach Lavine. He said he wasn't going to do it before he got injured, but man did the dunk contest need him. At least we had Aaron Gordon, and his first attempt, with the drone, could have been amazing. But, Gordon looked like he was tired, and he just did not have it in him to do anything coming close to what he did last year. It took him four attempts on the first try with the drone before he finally put one dunk through the hoop. By then though, he already looked defeated. Glenn Robinson III had a pretty good first round dunk, dunking over 2 people backwards, but they gave him a perfect 50. No way was that dunk a 50. DeAndre Jordan should not have been in this contest. Seven footers never really do anything great in dunk contests. They are so big and do not have to have the amazing vertical that shorter guys have to do these amazing dunks. Jordan dunked over a DJ booth, but it was not that interesting, or that hard for a pro, for that matter. He was scored accordingly. Then there was the unknown Derrick Jones Jr. All week leading up to this contest people talked about what a leaper he is, and how he was going to replace Lavine no problem. Well, his leaping ability is nothing to shake your head at. In fact, I was very impressed at how high he can jump. But, the problem, he kept missing dunks. It took him 4 attempts to put one through in the first round. This contest hearkened back to the days of Nate Robinson, who I believe one time attempted like 25 dunks before putting one in, and that is not a good thing. By the time a dunker is on his third or fourth try, as a viewer, I check out. It is not impressive to me anymore. Derrick Jones Jr eventually put down a sweet windmill off a pass off the side of the backboard that he also put between his legs, but other than that, the contest was a total waste. Glenn Robinson III won, but it was basically by default due to all the misses Derrick Jones Jr had in the final round. This dunk contest stunk. It was real bad. I knew last year's would be hard to follow up, but this was a nightmare. It was boring and pointless.

Finally, we had the All Star game on Sunday night. The game went exactly as I expected. The dunks were so much better in the game than they were in the dunk contest. Giannis Antentekoumpo threw down thunderous dunk after thunderous dunk. Anthony Davis was hammering home alley oops. LeBron was putting on a show. Steph Curry got in a few dunks. John Wall was going hard with his left hand. Any dunk in the game was better than any dunk in the dunk contest. But, a lot of dunks were missed too. That was kind of a bummer.

No defense was played, but I definitely thought that was going to happen. People that are complaining about the lack of defense are the same people that would complain if these guys went out and tried as if the All Star game is not a glorified exhibition. They are the same people that praise guys like Pete Rose when he runs over a catcher in the MLB All Star game. They are all old, curmudgeon sports writers that claim the game is not competitive and needs to be changed. It does not. The people tuning in want to see a million points. I was hopeful that at least one of the teams would eclipse 200 points. I do not expect the players to go 100 percent on defense and I expect the players to let these guys get off crazy dunks and shoot open shots. I say again, it is an exhibition game. I do not want players to hurt themselves trying too hard in the All Star game. I was completely fine with all the points and broken records and lack of defense. None of that stuff bothered me. I think it is great that Anthony Davis shattered Wilt Chamberlin's scoring total in the All Star game. I loved seeing him go for 52, in his home arena. I loved his array of dunks. I do not care that he took 39 shots. The people complaining about that need to let it go. It was known that everyone on the West was going to defer to Davis. I also loved seeing Russell Westbrook go for 40 plus, KD getting a triple double, LeBron putting on a dunk show, everything Giannis did. I thought it was a very entertaining All Star game, and the second best thing from the weekend, behind only the 7 year old kid.

2017 in New Orleans was a very inconsistent All Star weekend. There were 2 good things, the game itself and the kid, but everything else I thought was pretty rough. I wonder if this will lead to some changes. I guess we will have to wait until next year to find out. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will maybe give the NFL Pro Bowl another shot if a team can score over 200 points. Just don't get in Kirk Cousins way. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Biggest Trade in the NBA Just Happened Because the Sacramento Kings are a Joke

It is tiring trying to figure out the King's plan

I have many ideas for pieces this week, but something real big happened in the NBA last night. That means my NBA All Star weekend wrap up will have to wait, and my reviews of the season premiere of "Bar Rescue" and "John Wick: Chapter 2" will have to wait a few days.

As I'm sure most, if not all, NBA fans know that Boogie Cousins got traded to the Pelicans last night for next to nothing. I know that I said the biggest name was already dealt, with Serge Ibaka heading to Toronto, but this trade is, by far, the biggest trade that will happen no matter what else, if anything, happens before Thursday's deadline. Even if someone like Jimmy Butler, Paul Milsap, Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward gets dealt, doesn't matter. Boogie is the biggest name. I did not think that Boogie would get traded this year. I figured, there is only about 25 games left in the regular season, and the Kings are somehow still in the playoff race, so I just assumed that they'd ride it out through the rest of this year.

I guess I was wrong.

The timing of the deal is incredibly weird as well. I mean, this happened literally about an hour after the All Star game ended. The All Star game was in New Orleans, so Boogie technically does not have to leave, but still, very weird timing. I did think that something was a bit off because Boogie barely played, but I assumed that he had a minor injury and that he was just resting. But, after watching the All Star game, then looking at Twitter and Bleacher Report and other sports websites, all of the sudden, I see this breaking trade. I did not believe it at first. I thought it would fall through and neither team would be able to come up with an equal deal. I mean, what do the Pelicans have that the Kings covet? Nothing besides Anthony Davis, but he is pretty much untouchable. But, much to mine and everyone else's surprise, the deal went through, and the Kings got absolutely fleeced.

More on that in a minute, I want to talk about the pairing of Boogie and Davis. On paper, this looks great. This is one of the best front court's in the history of the NBA. Two young stars, in their prime, averaging a double double each and playing exceptional on both ends of the floor. It should be an absolute slam dunk. But, the pessimist in me does not think that they will be able to coexist, and they are fighting to get the 8th spot in the West, which means they will face the Warriors in the first round, and probably get swept. If that happens, I do not see anyway that the Pelicans will be able to resign Boogie this offseason. He will want to move to a team in title contention. Davis is a great, great, great player, but he is who New Orleans needs to build around. He and Boogie essentially play the same position and the Pelicans have already tried something akin to this when they signed Omer Asik. Now, Asik is not 1/1,000th the player that Boogie is, but it is the same idea. Two big guys, one scorer and one all around guy, but it just did not work out. There was not enough space in the post. Davis can float out to the perimeter, but I think he is a much better slasher and rebounder going to the basket. Unfortunately for him, Boogie is a low post player, an absolute excellent one, and he will be clogging up that lane. So, while it looks great on paper, and I really want it to work out, I just do not think it will work. There is not enough time for them to get any continuity and they will be an easy out for a higher seeded West team, that is, if they make the playoffs. Looks great on paper, I just don't see it working on the court.

Now, the Kings. My oh my did they get absolutely robbed. This deal makes the Kings front office, and mainly Vlade Divac, look so under qualified to run a NBA team. Boogie is easily a top 10, top 5 in my personal opinion, NBA player. He is a throwback center, but he has expanded his game and he plays more defense now, and can sometimes hit a mid range jumper. The trade rumors have always been around. He is a headache, a coach killer, a ball stopper, a malcontent, everything nasty that can be said about a player has been said abut him, but it always ended with the caveat that he is an elite player. So, if you are going to trade him, you need an elite level trade package, no matter what baggage Boogie may bring with him. When the rumors started a few years back, it was always Boogie for another star, or a plethora of very high, unprotected picks. It was always looked at as a blockbuster. It needed to be big time.

What did the Kings get in return you ask? They got 2 picks, a 2017 first and second rounder, probably in the high teens in the first round and mid forties in the second round, and Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans. The picks are fine, but not Boogie Cousins fine. As I said, if you are going to trade Boogie for picks, you need unprotected lottery picks, not some mid first rounder and mid second rounder. That is insane and stupid. Then, you get an unproven rookie, Buddy Hield. I really like Buddy Hield, and I think he can be a very good pro, but he is a rookie that has struggled so far. His shot is not falling and his defense is not up to task yet. Now, he is going to one of the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA. That will only hurt his game. He will not figure it out for awhile, if ever, playing for the Kings. They have not had a prospect grow into a decent NBA player, Boogie being the lone exception, in over a decade. Look at the list. Guys like Jimmer Fredette, Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Ray McCallum Jr, Thomas Robinson, Orlando Johnson and Tyler Honeycutt. By my count, only one of those guys is still on the team, McLemore, only 2 are still in the NBA, Stauskas and Robinson, and who knows about the rest. Apparently Jimmer scored 73 points in a game in China, but he was recently cut from a D League team, so I take very little stock in his high point totals. Basically, with rookies, the Kings don't have a good track record. I feel bad for Buddy Hield.

They also got Tyreke Evans, in a return to his first team, but he is wildly inconsistent and has never really put it together in the NBA. He has moments, but more so than not, he has been a very mediocre NBA player. His addition to the trade adds nothing at all. It was basically a throw on at the last moment in some kind of saving face, but it still makes this trade look really bad.

Funny side note. People have even tried to make this trade on the video game "NBA 2K17", and the game says that the trade is too unfair for the Kings. So, that means artificial intelligence is smarter than the Kings front office.

This is an absolute disaster for the Kings. This puts their franchise even further away from rebuilding. They are going to be very, very bad for what seems to be another decade now. If they couldn't win and make the playoffs with Boogie, how on Earth are they going to win with a bunch of castoffs that haven't proven themselves in the NBA in their short careers? I mean, a starting five of Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Buddy Hield, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein is worse than anything the 76ers or the Lakers or even the Nets will put out on a NBA floor. This trade is real bad and real shocking. I hope, but don't think, it will work out for the Pelicans, and I know that this trade just set the Kings back for at least another decade.

The Kings got fleeced and they don't seem to care, or even realize it. At least Boogie got out of there and he may end up loving New Orleans and playing with Davis. But if he doesn't, he is a free agent and will have his pick of teams to sign with this summer. The biggest winner, by a country mile in this very bad trade, is Boogie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is putting his name into the conversation to be the GM of the Kings. How could he do any worse. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Man Seeking Woman"

I'm a big fan of the television show "Man Seeking Woman". I have watched it from the start. I was excited to see Jay Baruchel in a leading role on a sitcom. I've been a fan of his since I first saw him on "Undeclared", and the fandom only got bigger after seeing the excellent movie "Goon", and his role in "This is the End". I am also a Eric Andre fan. I think you all know this very well by now. So, I was pumped to see him in a major supporting role. Other than those 2, I hadn't really heard of anyone else that was going to be on the show, but I really have grown to like Brit Lower, she plays his sister, and the actors that play his mom and dad.

"Man Seeking Woman" has a simple premise based on a book with the same title. Jay Baruchel plays Josh, who is unlucky in love. Eric Andre is his best friend and the first two seasons were basically about their many mishaps when meeting ladies and the things that happened afterward. I thought it was great. I found the show funny, unique and very cool. They took things to the literal point on this show. In one episode, they mention going to a destination wedding, I believe I have brought this up on the podcast before, and the destination is hell. Well, the wedding is literally in hell, There are devils and demons poking and prodding people with pitchforks and everything. Most episodes are like this, and I think that it is great.

Then, when I saw promos for season 3, I saw that Josh had a steady girlfriend. I had a lot of questions going into season three. I thought, were they going to focus on Mike(Eric Andre) more? Or maybe it would be Josh's sister who got more screen time. Side note, there is an episode in season 2 where Josh's sister has an affair with Santa Claus that is so god damn good. Seriously people, go watch that episode. Maybe they would focus on the parents more. I really did not know what to expect.

I have to say, this season has been just as good, if not better than the previous 2 seasons. I know it is called "Man Seeking Woman", and the "man" now has a "woman", but that has not slowed the show down a bit. The show is just as biting and satirical and literal as it has ever been.

They did a whole unwanted citizen type theme for the season 3 premiere. Josh was staying at Lucy's(Katie Findlay, an excellent addition to the cast), his new girlfriend's apartment all the time and her roommates were fed up. So, the writers treated the whole episode as if Josh was an illegal immigrant. It was timely without the show knowing it would be timely, and it wrapped up very sweet, with Lucy leaving her cushy apartment to stay with Josh. I wish some of the monsters we have in government now would watch this episode to see how stupid they all truly are, but I know they would not get the joke.

From there on, each episode has been pretty decent. We have Lucy moving in with Josh and changing his whole place around so it suits her needs, only to realize this makes Josh upset. There was an episode where Lucy and Josh get into a fight and Josh escapes to Mike's "Bro Island", that was hilarious. There was an episode that showed the way different age groups act, like Millennials and Baby Boomers. They have the whole meeting the parents thing, which was a real standout this year, especially the episode where Josh meets Lucy's parents. I loved the whole "Where the Wild Things Are" theme they used.

Then we have this past Wednesday's show. It was real, real good. Josh and Mike are playing video games, and Mike inadvertently looks at Josh's phone for some info. As soon as he unlocks the screen, he sees that Josh has an article up about asking your girlfriend to have, and I'm not being gross, this was what came up, anal sex. Mike is thrilled, but he says that this is something you have to ask the Father of your girlfriend if it is okay, a la marriage. There is a great scene following that when Mike gets Josh's sister involved in the debate, and she agrees with Mike. So, Josh asks, Lucy's mom and dad say that they've been waiting for this day, then nonchalantly, Mike asks Lucy's parents if he can propose marriage to her, and they kind of blow it off and say sure. It was funny. The rest of the episode focuses on how much anxiety something like proposing can cause, and they never touch on the anal sex thing again. I loved that they showed how much terror the person asking someone else to marry them go through. I also love how they show the one being proposed to is overly prepared and just wants it to happen, no matter what. It was a very good 22 minutes of TV.

With all that being said, my fears that the show wouldn't be as edgy or literal as it was for 2 seasons were for naught. It is just as funny, takes just as many chances and the addition of Lucy was an absolute grand slam. I'm a big, big fan of this show and I think many more would be to if they gave it a shot. Go check "Man Seeking Woman" out, it is well worth your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still working up the nerve to ask his wife's parents if he can marry their daughter. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Carmelo Anthony is not an All Star

Carmelo is not even a paper star

With Kevin Love going down with what looks to be a regular season ending surgery, the East All Stars needed to find someone else to take his place. They had any number of players to pick from. I was hoping they would not take another guard because this All Star game is filled with great guards, and much to my pleasure, they did not. But, there choice to replace Kevin Love has me really scratching my head.

How on Earth is Carmelo Anthony worthy of an All Star spot? I just do not get it. If the All Star game were just about putting "super stars" in it, then if Carmelo is an All Star, so is Dwayne Wade, LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Embiid, Dwight Howard, Tristan Thompson, Blake Griffin and Nikola Jokic. All these players are well known names to your average NBA fan, and a few are way more deserving that Carmelo, I'll touch on that in a bit, but if most of them were mentioned, people would laugh at you. But, for some inexplicably reason, Carmelo will be making his 8th straight All Star team despite the fact that he plays no defense, he shoots the ball way too much, he is not the best player on his team anymore and that team is an absolute dumpster fire.

The fact that the Knicks have an All Star is asinine. And, if the Knicks are going to have an All Star, I'd first look at Courtney Lee, who has been surprisingly consistent this year, then Kristaps Porzingis before I even mentioned Carmelo's name.

But, the NBA wants those ratings, so they figured, lets put in an aging guy, that's way past his prime, because that will give us ratings. Newsflash NBA, you guys are as popular as you've been since the Michael Jordan era. More and more people are watching the NBA now. League Pass has been an enormous boost in your popularity. The glut of good young players seems to be endless. The Warriors are must watch sports television. Russell Westbrook and James Harden have been electrifying this season. LeBron James is quietly having one of his better seasons. The Spurs are playing great. This has been a great year for the NBA,

Putting Carmelo on the All Star team definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know that the game is a pointless exhibition, but the NBA has, by far, the best All Star game. Major League Baseball's All Star game is a baseball game, so it's boring. I do not watch hockey, so I cannot comment on their All Star game. And the Pro Bowl, the Pro Bowl is by far the dumbest and most pointless of all the All Star games. But, the NBA All Star game is filled with scoring, tremendous dunks, guys going crazy scoring buckets, tons of transition and alley oops, it is just a fun game. Last year's All Star game almost had a combined 400 points, which I loved. But, for some unknown reason, after the Love injury, the powers that be decided that Carmelo Anthony was the best possible replacement in the Eastern Conference.

When I saw that Love was going to be out, I started to rack my brain thinking about who would replace him, and when I saw Carmelo's name on some lists, I literally laughed it off. I thought it was a joke. I figured that someone like Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis or Joel Embiid would be picked as the replacement. Joel Embiid was definitely the sentimental choice. He has been great when he has played this year. He looks like the real deal. I wrote awhile back that he is the one and only reason to watch the 76ers. But, he has missed a ton of games recently, and he is injured. That was his death blow to making the All Star team. He has also pulled out of all the rookie and skills stuff as well, so there's that as well. Porzingis, unfortunately for him, plays on a terrible, terrible Knicks team, and he has actually taken a step back from last year. Some of this is his fault, some is the organizations fault. He doesn't attack the glass like he did last year and he has been settling for way too many jumpers. But, he also has to play with ball stoppers all over the floor. Derrick Rose still thinks he is an All Star, he is not, and he will not even look in Porzingis direction. Carmelo, to his credit, will try and get him the ball, unless it is a crucial possession. Then, he thinks he has to do it himself, which has stunted Porzingis' growth. With all that being said, Porzingis was rightfully left off the All Star team.

The guy I think should have gotten the spot was Bradley Beal. He has been playing very good basketball this year. It seems that he and John Wall squashed whatever beef they had, and they have looked great during their recent run of wins. Beal has been healthy and has been stuffing the stat sheet. He is scoring in bunches and has looked like the players the Wizards hoped he would be when they drafted him in the lottery to pair up with John Wall. Bradley Beal is the biggest snub in this entire All Star game, in my opinion.

There are many others who should have been considered ahead of Carmelo. Some may say, what about Chris Paul? He is hurt, so it would have only been a lets put him on the team, but find a quick replacement type deal. Other may mention Andrew Wiggins, too young and hasn't fully figured it out yet, or Karl Anthony Towns, he hasn't regressed as much as Porzingis, but his numbers aren't All Star worthy yet. People might say, what about Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum? Both guys have been fine, but All Stars, no way.

I legitimately believe that Bradley Beal is the biggest snub, and the NBA could have fixed that with the Kevin Love injury. But, they decided it would be better to put a "legend" in the game. I think Carmelo Anthony is incredibly overrated. He is an elite scorer, but other than that, what has he really done? He has never been to the Finals, he has never won the MVP, he has proven he cannot be the best player on a title contender and he constantly gripes and complains that he doesn't get what he wants. He has had a very average NBA career, if you take away his offense. He is a very, very poor man's Clyde Drexler. Drexler was great, but no one ever brings him up when people talk about the greatest NBA players, and I feel like that will be Carmelo's destiny. When I tell my son about watching the NBA when he is my age, I will talk about guys like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, all of these guys and many, many more before I even get around to Carmelo. Is he an all time great? No way. Is he an All Star this year? Absolutely not. The NBA got this very, very wrong.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He booked his ticket last year to attend the All Star Game in Charlotte. He just heard it had to be moved to New Orleans. No w why would the league do that? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Biggest Trade Has Already Happened in the NBA

The NBA trade deadline is approaching fast, but I think the biggest name to be traded has already happened.

There is always rumors and speculation surrounding big name players that will be the move, but I do not think that any of the big names being thrown out this year are going anywhere. I've heard Paul Milsap, Jimmy Butler, Dwayne Wade, Blake Griffin and, of course, Carmelo Anthony and Boogie Cousins possibly changing uniforms. Well, Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks head coach and director of player personnel, said he isn't going anywhere. The price that the Bulls will be asking for Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade will be much to high, especially for Wade, who is clearly on his last legs. Blake Griffin is not going anywhere until he is a free agent because the Clippers ownership is insane and they seem to think they can win a title with guys that have never gotten out of the second round of the playoffs. Boogie is not leaving unless a team offers the Kings an offer to great to pass up. It would have to be some big name guys and some very high draft picks. The teams that have the ability to offer those things won't. And the Knicks, try as they might, will not be able to unload Carmelo. They want to trade him so bad, but he has a no trade clause, so he can veto almost any deal he doesn't like, and teams that may want him won't give up what the Knicks are asking for in a trade. The Knicks want a good young player and draft picks, and Carmelo Anthony doesn't command that steep a price anymore. He is old, in NBA terms, doesn't pass the ball, doesn't play defense and can mess up team chemistry. Sorry Knicks fans, you guys are stuck with Anthony.

The big trade that already happened? Serge Ibaka to the Raptors. I think that the Serge Ibaka trade to the Raptors is the only "big name" deal that will be made. The Magic are clearly going nowhere and they knew that Ibaka would not resign with them this offseason, he will be a free agent at the end of the year.

With all that being said, and the fact that the Magic needed to move a player like Ibaka to make more minutes for Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezjona, they totally got fleeced by the Raptors. The Raptors won this trade by a mile. All they had to give up was Terrence Ross, who is a decent young player that could flourish now that he will be a main option, and a very low first round pick. I think they could have gotten more from a team like the Raptors, who want to win now, but it seems like they settled for the first deal that Toronto offered. Like I said, Ross is a fine player, but maybe the Magic should have, at the very least, mentioned names like Jonas Valenciunas, Corey Joseph or Demarre Carroll. This may have killed the deal, but I still think they should have at least asked.

On the other hand, the Raptors got one hell of a player to team up with guys like Valenciunas, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Demarre Carroll, as well as Patrick Patterson. The Raptors, at least on paper with this trade, look to be real contenders in the East. I know that they are in fifth place right now, but I think this trade could easily move them up a few spots, giving them a decided edge in the playoffs. The Cavs were just dealt an enormous blow with the news of Kevin Love's injury, the Celtics are playing great, but this move should put them on notice, the Wizards are currently playing out of their minds, but Scott Brooks will find some way to screw it up, and Atlanta will not keep up this pace for the whole season. I definitely see Toronto passing the Wizards and the Hawks, pushing them up to third. Then, what if Boston takes over the one seed from Cleveland due to the Love injury, and the Cavs decide that they don't really care about seeding in the playoffs? That could put Toronto as high as number 2, which I think is a real possibility now. It all doesn't matter, the Cavs will still represent the East in the finals, but Toronto is at least trying to make it interesting.

I love the fact that the Raptors went out and got Ibaka. He is in the perfect spot again, much like when he played with Durant and Westbrook in OKC. He will be able to fit in perfectly playing the four, next to Valenciunas. Valenciunas likes to play in the post and rebound, so that leaves Ibaka the ability to spread the floor and block shots as a help defender, which is what he does best. He has also become a decent jump shooter and three point shooter. This will help DeRozan and Lowry. They will be able to drive and kick and have the confidence that one of their big men will be able to knock down open threes and mid range jumpers. Valenciunas is not consistent enough to do this, but Ibaka is. And, as I have already stated, he is going to help them out tremendously on the defensive end of the floor. Ibaka and Valenciunas as rim protectors will put fear in opponents trying to attack the rim. Valenciunas is not great on the defensive end, but he is serviceable, and with the help coming from Ibaka, he may begin to look like a much better defender. Ibaka's presence will also help the back court. DeRozan and Lowry aren't the greatest defenders, but now with Ibaka back there they can take more chances on steals and play closer man to man defense on their opponents. DeMarre Carroll is already a very good defender, so he won't need the help, but he will get it from Ibaka anyway.

This deal has made the Raptors a much, much better team, and has further made the Magic's rebuilding stage that much longer. The Raptors definitely won this trade, and I think it is the only trade that will make any difference in the regular season. Ibaka fits in wonderfully, and he needed this trade and the Magic let him go for hardly anything. This will be the only big time deal that happens in the NBA this year, mark my words.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ticked off that his NBA2K games never let him get away with what the Raptors got away with in this trade. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Run the Jewels Prove they are the Best With an Incredible Live Show

Last night was the night. I finally got to see one of my new favorite bands. This is the band I have not stopped talking about on podcasts lately, and I finally got to see Run the Jewels live, and it was spectacular.

They had three openers and they were all okay, Gangsta Boo, from Three 6 Mafia fame, was the standout, but the night belonged to Run the Jewels. My only beef with the show, there was a 35 minute set break in between the last opener and Run the Jewels. This is a small complaint, but it is still irritating. I know it builds up suspense, but we are all there to see them, so I want all headliners to come on stage ASAP. The stage was set up in about 5 minutes, so the fans all had to sit and wait for 30 minutes. It was frustrating, but that was the only problem.

When Run the Jewels, Killer Mike and El-P, took the stage, the next hour and 15 minutes was tremendous. They went through most of their new album, sprinkling in some "older" classics as well. They owned the stage during their whole set. The two of them have such a great rapport and friendship, and that comes across ten fold when you see them live. They truly love what they do, and they love doing it for their fans.

Killer Mike was incredible last night. When doing new songs off "RTJ 3", like "Talk to Me" or "Hey Kids", Killer Mike was the star. He is such a great emcee and you truly got a feel for that when seeing him do the stuff live. He was on time and on point in every verse. He was having fun while delivering his message. He was angry when he needed to be angry, goofy when that was needed and just being an elite emcee when that was needed. Killer Mike was awesome.

Same thing can be said about El-P. He comes off on some of the records and some of their interviews as a "second banana", but that could not have been further from the case last night. El-P was just as good, and dare I say, sometimes better than Killer Mike on some of the songs. When he was doing his thing on songs like "Panther like a Panther" or "A Message to the Shareholders" I was blown away at how good he was live in concert. I should not have been, but since I have been a Killer Mike fan since high school, and I only recently got into El-P, I was surprised at how great of an emcee he is. I always knew he was an exceptional producer and beat maker, but last night proved to me how great of an emcee he is. He slayed his verses. I was bobbing my head and moving my feet as much to his verses as I was to Killer Mike's.

These dudes are at the absolute top of the rap game right now. They have been on their world tour now for months, this was their 24th of 36 shows, and if anyone thought that they may be slowing down a bit, that did not happen last night. As I said, they went through a lot of the new album. They opened with "Talk to Me". It was great. They also played the songs I previously mentioned, as well as tracks like "Call Ticketron", which was a lot of fun, "Stay Gold" which was incredible and "Don't Get Captured" which was really good, among many other songs on the record. When they did dip into older songs, they did not disappoint. "Lie, Cheat, Steal" was phenomenal, "Love Again" was grimy and gritty and hilariously vulgar and when they did their encore, I was amazed at how great the two "older" songs, "Close Your Eyes" and their very first song, "Run the Jewels" sounded. First off, "Close Your Eyes", which is one of my favorites, was just a bass thumping, wailing good time. Both Killer Mike and El-P were tremendous on this track. The light show was just a flashing display of strobe lights. You could barely see the two of them, but you could definitely hear them. It was a banger, and I was so, so glad that they played it last night.

That would have been more than enough to suffice my appetite, but then they played "Run the Jewels" and my mind was blown even further. This was their first song. This was what got me into this awesome band. This was their introduction to the world, and to hear them play it live so many years later, it was just tremendous. Both guys again crushed their verses. Killer Mike completely stood out on this one. He owned the stage, with the lights shining down on him as he crushed his verses. El-P was great too, he always is, but Killer Mike brought a little something extra to close out the night.

The show was great and it only reaffirmed my love for Run the Jewels. I highly recommend going to see them if you get the chance. I drove 4 hours from Saint Louis to Kansas City to see them, so you don't have any excuse. Run the Jewels is one of the greatest bands ever, and now, they are one of the greatest touring bands ever. Great show by a great band last night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He seen a lot of concerts. Hear about the good, the bad, and the Cubby in a classic X Millennial Man Podcast.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Oklahoma City was not Kind to Kevin Durant.

Many of the OKC fans were not in the mood

Saturday night was KD's first game back in OKC since he signed with the Warriors. I was as excited as anyone to see this game. I wanted to see the response and to see how he and Russell Westbrook played as opponents in OKC for the first time. The first 2 games in Oakland were blow outs, but I thought that maybe OKC would have a bigger home court advantage.

Well, that was not the case. The Warriors, after the first quarter, proceeded to dominate this game, as they should. The Warriors are the best team in the West, and all of the NBA for that matter. OKC, they are the 7th best team in the West, and probably the 10th or 11th best team in the NBA. The game went as it should have.

But, that does not mean that there wasn't any drama. The first quarter was close, and any time KD touched the ball the crowd booed him relentlessly. They also booed him pretty loud during team introductions. There was a smattering of cheers for him, but for the most part, it was all KD hate. The crowd even wore t shirts that read "KOWARD". Pretty ruthless. KD came out tight as well. He made his first shot, but missed his next 5 before putting in a mid range jumper. Westbrook did not fare much better. He looked to pass way too often and settled for jumpers. He also let Curry shoot without much pressure in the quarter.

The game was tight for the quarter until the backups came in for both teams. This was where the Warriors showed how much better they are than any team in the NBA. The Warriors bench proceeded to score at will, building a lead up to 11. Then, the starters came back in and the Warriors did not let up. They built leads of 20, then 22, all the way up to 26. Then, in a short burst, the Thunder cut the lead to 18 and this is where the fireworks started.

Westbrook, in what many fans were waiting for, started to jaw at KD, saying, "I'm coming". I loved this. He finally let his anger out and it was glorious. His team was getting killed, but he wanted KD to know that he did not need him and that he would not stop coming at him no matter the score or situation of the game. KD did a little bit of talking back, but it was in the vain of someone who hides behind their friends and tells them to "hold me back". It was weak. It proved to me that KD is not an alpha when it comes to basketball. He is a much better fit as a second or third option, which is fine, but he is no top dog. Westbrook, on the other hand, he is the alpha. He runs that team. That could have been the problem the 8 years they played together, but Westbrook is the type of player that wants to be "the guy", KD, not so much.

That is fine, but the way KD has handled himself since signing with the Warriors has been what has turned me off of him, as a person. He has constantly complained about how the outside fan views him, he continues to make snide and snark comments that are definitely about Westbrook, but he never admits to it, he talks about "playing basketball the right way" with the Warriors. Basically it has been childish remark after childish remark from a millionaire.

Then, after the game, his mother complained about the fans booing him. During the telecast, the announcers kept saying that he doesn't deserve this type of treatment and that one day the OKC fans will love him again, KD himself said how nervous he was about getting booed and that it had affected his mood prior to the game. To all this I say, boo hoo. You are a pro athlete. People are going to boo you, especially the way you left that team. They are also going to boo you because of who you signed with. KD joined a team that has won a title already, and were on the cusp of winning another one. He joined the Goliath. Hardly anyone cheers for Goliath. For him to act how he acted, I was very disappointed.

In addition to the whole Westbrook thing, but KD also went head to head with Andre Roberson after a hard foul. You are going to go after Roberson, really? That is a punk move. He would never do that to Westbrook because he is afraid of Russell Westbrook. Then, to have his teammates constantly hold him back, that is one of my biggest pet peeve's when it comes to super star athletes. I do not care if he does not want to fight, but don't act like you are some hard core dude when we all know that you are not.

To his mother, who I think is a great, great lady, she had to know that the boos were coming. It was going to happen. She must have sensed that the OKC crowd had turned on him because of how he left. I get that she is a mother and wants to protect her son, but this is what happens in pro sports. Fans are irrational assholes. I should know because I am one. I love that she wants to protect her son, but there is no way she did not know this was coming.

The game played out just like it should have, with the Warriors winning comfortably, but I left more unimpressed with KD's attitude than I did before the game. He is a hell of a player, I cannot deny that, but he has become a holier than thou cry baby since joining the Warriors. This game only made my dislike for the Warriors that much stronger, and I found myself once again rooting for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook is an awesome player who needs some help on that team, but KD is now just another guy on a team loaded with talent. Westbrook proved to me, even in a lopsided loss, that he is one of the best alpha's in the NBA and KD proved to me, in a win, that he is just happy being the third or fourth option. That is what I took away from this mid season NBA game on Saturday night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is wondering why KD doesn't just stick to his first love, fishing. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Watches "Legion"

Today I'm going to keep my piece kind of short. The main reason, I do not want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't watched the show yet, but "Legion" is going to be a masterpiece.

My wife and I just watched the premiere last night, and I was totally blown away. I loved absolutely everything about the show. The tone was dark with splashes of humor here and there. The acting was exquisite. All the main characters, and for that matter, the supporting characters, did a wonderful job. The set pieces were pretty much perfect. The pace and style was like nothing else I have seen. The color of the show was retro and really cool. The wardrobe was a 70's throwback, which I really enjoy. The interstitial scenes spliced in during David's "episodes" were terrifying, yet I couldn't look away. This is one of the most unique shows I've seen in quite some time.

The fact that the writers and producers can take a superhero property like X-Men and make it their own is a triumph in and of itself. I'm sure I missed a lot of real inside baseball stuff with side characters and dialogue, I'm not fully versed when it comes to the X-Men universe, but "Legion" held my attention for 90 minutes straight.

I also really liked the action sequences they had in the first episode. They were big on a small screen. It was the best action I've seen on the small screen since the season premiere of "Lost". I actually think "Legion"'s premiere was better than "Lost".

As I said at the top, I do not want to give anything away, so go watch the premiere as soon as possible. I also do not think you have to be a superhero or comic book person to enjoy this show. Its got something for everyone. Shows only get better, most of the time, after they premiere. If this happens with "Legion", it is going to go down as one of the greatest shows of all time. I cannot wait to see where they go from here and I'm pretty sure it is going to work and it's going to be great.

FX continues to have the best programming and continues to take the best chances on new shows. I love FX and I'm fully on board with "Legion". Everyone needs to watch this show now. It is phenomenal.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He really likes FX. Hear him talk all about it on a recent episode of the X Millennial Man. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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