Ty Watches "Bar Rescue": The Speakeasy Edition

We had a new episode of "Bar Rescue" this past Sunday. It was nice to see the show again after last week's check up episode. I prefer my "Bar Rescue" episodes to be new and not "clip shows", if you will.

This time around, Taffer and crew went to a bar called The Speakeasy in New Orleans. This was one of the most middle of the plate episodes that I have ever seen. It had everything you could ever want from an episode of "Bar Rescue". When we first meet the owners of The Speakeasy, it was your typical story. The bar was owned by a husband and wife, and they will making lots and lots of money. They had a nice spot in a town that is known for their alcohol and night life. They were making so much money in fact, the husband and wife decided that they wanted to have kids, so they sold their shares to the other owner and moved on from the bar business to start a family. They had 2 kids, each had solid office jobs, but they missed the bar life. They both liked to drink and party. The wife loved to dance, or as they kept saying in the episode, "twerk", side note, "twerking" is not a popular thing anymore, stop with the "twerking" stuff, it is played out. The husband loved drinking beer and taking shots. They each said that the corporate world was not for them, so they went back to the bar and bought back their shares.

When the couple returned to The Speakeasy, they noticed that the bar wasn't really doing as well, and it was not being properly taken care of. Did they do anything to fix this you ask? Well, if they did, it would not have been on "Bar Rescue". They, of course, neglected to fix the bar up and just let it get worse and worse. The owners cared more about dancing and drinking than they did about training their staff and keeping their bar clean and efficient. They started to lose tons of money, so much so, they were in debt 250,000 dollars. They were in danger of losing their house and their bar. The wife's mom was the other owner, but she did not need to be running a bar. This husband and wife should have been doing everything, but they had other stuff in mind.

Taffer brought a new mixology expert, she was involved in a previous rescue, and my favorite food expert, Aaron McCargo with him. When they got to the bar, all three of them watched from the van outside on the monitor. They saw what we all saw. The husband was drinking shot after shot and beer after beer and the wife was "twerking" and showing off her dance moves in between throwing darts. The staff was getting wasted with the owners and everyone was fighting with everyone. Taffer sent in his spies, one of which was McCargo, and when they got inside, it was much worse than expected. The bartenders could not make the simplest of drinks. The kitchen staff was non existent for about 20 minutes, and when the cook did show up, he did some disgusting things with old and unmarked food. He touched raw chicken with no gloves, and then proceeded to touch everything else around him.

When the food was coming out, it was at that point that Taffer came in and told his spies to not touch the food. He did his usual yelling. He told the staff and owners, after he got them all to stop yelling at each other and acting a fool, that they were in danger of getting many, many people sick. It was your run of the mill kitchen stuff, and it was a sigh of relief. Nothing like something very common to give me a sense of relief. Taffer and McCargo went to the kitchen, and what they saw was absolutely disgusting. This kitchen had clearly never been cleaned and the food was old, and most likely, rancid. Taffer dumped all the food on the prep table, all the while berating the whole staff. Taffer was yelling so much, the wife owner started to have a legit panic attack. It was bizarre.

Taffer ranted and raved, all of which was 100 percent correct and needed, and told the staff to clean the kitchen. They started, but they were all so drunk, they blew it off. This did not make Taffer and McCargo happy. They were pissed, as they should have been. Taffer had his crew clean the kitchen, but the next day, he laid into the owners and the staff. He really let them have it. It was more so a "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed", but coming from Taffer, it sounded brutal. He told the husband and wife that they were failing their kids and the wife's mom. The wife started to cry and Taffer called bull shit on the crying. I loved it. He told her it was a crutch and that when she cries, people lay off her. She told him that was true. He got to the root of her main problem. The husband was simply a drunk that needed to be relegated to the kitchen because that it was he knew. That's not a bad thing either. I know I was put on this planet to do grunt work and I'm fine with that. Each person has their thing, and this guy needed to be in the kitchen. And you know what, he was very good, when sober, cooking food.

Stress test went as expected. Their POS systems were garbage. The staff could not keep up with the orders. The kitchen was not getting their tickets because of the crappy POS systems. And one of the staff, Cassie was her name, was just terrible. She was put on as a waitress for the night, and she was rude and mean and never smiled. She was a nightmare, and she got rightfully fired after stress test.

After the terrible stress test, Taffer and crew got to fixing up the bar and training the staff. They changed the drink menu to make things simpler and they made the food much more Creole/Cajun style, perfect for the area. During relaunch, in which Taffer changed the name to Second Line, I did not care for the name change, I actually liked the name The Speakeasy, the bar was done up like most bars on this show. New tables, chairs, bar stools, big screen TV's, all the usual things we expect.

When they re opened the bar with the new name, things ran very smoothly, of course. During the 6 week checkup, the husband and wife were doing their respective jobs well and not fighting, the staff was doing better, and the bar was starting to make a bit of money here and there. And just to hammer it home, they said that the wife is no longer "twerking". They always do this now. They always have to add something on at the end that makes me say, "stop it with that nonsense".

As I have stated, this was your very run of the mill "Bar Rescue", and I loved it. I liked that he brought a new mixology expert that was part of a previous rescue. I'm always happy when McCargo is his food expert. And when Taffer not only has a bar, but also a relationship to fix, "Bar Rescue" is at its best. Keep up the good work, and I will be back next week to review the next episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is sensative about twerking ever since he lost a twerking competition to the head editor back in 2012. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Being an Adult Sucks When Your Damn Washing Machine Breaks

If the second machine breaks, time for plan c.

As a child, most kids dream of the day that they will be a teenager, then, eventually, an adult. We all know that it is coming, yet we still strive and long for those days. I am not alone in this. I can vividly remember sitting around with my friends as a pre teen clamoring for the days of high school. When it finally happened, we all could not wait until after college, when we would be adults and be "on our own". Sure, it all sounded neat and fun and great when I was 12, 13 and 14. But, the older I get, the more I realize that, it is not the candy and cake that I thought it was going to be as a pre teen.

It is nice to be an adult, don't get me wrong, but there is a ton of stuff that no one, not even your parents, can prepare you for. School definitely doesn't touch on the things that I will touch on today, but that is because school does not have the time to teach you everything. It is just the basics. Teachers in school do what they can, but honestly, they only get 9 months out of the year, and we all just go through the motions until summer break anyway.

This all comes about because of something I went through yesterday. I'm 34. I have made this widely known on the site and the podcast. I'm not young, but I'm not old either. I'm in that sweet spot. I'm an adult, but I still have my parents around, and I get to see them all the time since we live in the same city. I'm married, which is totally awesome, and I have 2 kids. I also own a home and pay bills. So, for all intents and purposes, I'm considered an adult. Well, part of being an adult is what happened yesterday.

I was doing laundry, part of my duties as a stay at home dad. I put the clothes in the wash, then took my 5 year old to preschool and had to run a few errands and do some catch up work for my coaching/instructing job. When I finished that stuff up, I had about 40 minutes before I needed to get my 5 year old, so I swung by my home to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer. When I got into my house and headed to the laundry room, I noticed an odd, mildew smell. When I opened the washer, I had realized, A) that's where the smell was coming from, and B)something was wrong with my washer. I did the usual stuff. I turned it off and back on. Nothing. I unplugged and re plugged hoses. Nothing. I headed for the circuit breaker and reset everything in the basement and laundry room. Nothing. The washer was broken.

I was stuck. I'm not a handy man by any means necessary, but I knew that I needed to do something or else these clothes would get ruined. I remembered that we brought our washer and dryer from our first house to the new house, and thus the madness started. First off, I had to empty the clothes out from the washer, ring them as dry as possible, and place them in the dryer. Then, I had to take bucket after bucket full of nasty, mildew scented washer filled water outside to dump.

After doing that for about 25 minutes or so, I finally got the washer to the point of being light enough for me to drag outside, or so I thought. I started the process of dragging the washer, and it was heavy as hell. I could move it, but it was only a few inches here and there. I should also mention that our laundry room is tiny, so moving a washer out was already a built in problem. After a good 45 minutes, I finally got the washer out of the laundry room and into our lower level/basement. Then I had to drag it out to the garage. After another 15 minute struggle, I finally got it out and was able to dump out the rest of the water onto the ground. So, only an hour plus worth of work, and I was halfway done.

I was pissed.

Next came the part where I had to drag in the old washer. Now, when I say this washer is old, it is VERY old. I think it was built in a Czechoslovakian factory. The washer was used so much the paneling on the sides just flaps around. It still works, but it is on its very last legs. After dragging in this messed up washer, moving it 6 inches every step, I had to figure out all the hoses and drainage. The hoses were easy, except I didn't tighten them tight enough at first. I got the hoses on, then turned the water back on but it was spilling out of the sides of each one of them. I tightened them enough, so that problem was solved.

Unfortunately for me, that was only one of the many problems with the new, but very old washer. When I got the hoses properly attached and the washer plugged in, I quickly realized that the drainage hose was not long enough for where the water drains out of this laundry room because, why would it be that easy. So I was stuck again. Being the idiot that I am, I still ran some water and thought, maybe it won't matter.

It mattered.

Water splashed everywhere when the washer went through the spin cycle. So, I proceeded back outside and grabbed the drainage hose that I took off the now defunct washer. Then, it was a matter of clamping it so tight that no water would get out. The first 2 tries did not work. I thought I had it twice, I was wrong twice. Then, as if the saying third time is a charm wasn't real enough, it actually worked on the third time. I got the hose tight enough that no water spilled out, but I kept checking every 10 minutes to make sure.

So, for over 2 hours I finally figured this whole washer situation out. I was exhausted and frustrated, but also a bit excited because I fixed something on my own. I did it without the help of a handy man or handy woman.

But, after about 30 minutes that euphoria wore off, and then I was just frustrated again. I quickly realized that this old washer would not be the long term answer. I knew that my wife and I would have to get a new washer ASAP, and that I would be installing it once again. Washers aren't super expensive, like a furnace, but they aren't that cheap either. It is going to be a frustrating and long weekend. It is going to suck.

So yeah kids, when you sit and opine that you want to be older, read this story, or have your parents tell you a story of their own that is similar. It's not just having to buy and install a new washing machine either. Gas and buying new cars is expensive, frustrating and will grate on you. Car salesman, and I am painting a very broad brush, are sleazebags, for the most part. But, you also have home loans, student loans, all kinds of bills, be they electric, water, air conditioner/furnace, I could go on and on and on. Being an adult definitely has perks. I can see any movie I want, buy alcohol, even though I don't drink, rent a car, coach kids and, if I want an animal, I can go rescue or adopt one without needing permission from anyone. But, there are a lot of small headaches that can turn into a big problems the longer you put them off. It has its good and bad, but it is very frustrating at times. I love and adore my wife, kids, family and friends, but I hate bills, home problems and car troubles. All of that entails what being an adult is like, at least for me.

My advice? Stay young as long as you can. Being young and carefree is the best and it just flies by way too fast. Don't wish to grow up, just be young and enjoy the very little responsibilities you do and do not have. It's fleeting and fast. Have fun while you are young.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is being a big baby about this washing machine. All he needs to do is build a creek in his backyard and get a good washing stone. Problem solved. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Sitting Stars is a Problem the NBA Needs to Fix Yesterday

No one wants to pay hundreds of dollors to see LeBron relax on a bench

This past Saturday night the Cavs played the Clippers in a prime time game, going head to head with the NCAA tournament. From a ratings stand point, this could have been a great heavy weight bout. But, for some unknown, and stupid reason, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all sat out, thus making this game pointless. Irving and Love were considered injury scratches and LeBron was just straight up rest.

Usually I do not like when teams do this, resting players in prime time games. First off, you guys play a game. I know it takes a toll on your body, and everyone deserves a day off, but you guys are professional athletes. You do not have the same job as everyone else. You guys are special. Look, I'm a big Spurs fan, and I adore Gregg Poppovich, but I always hate when he rests his best guys. It cheapens the game.

Also, when these guys announced they were resting, I thought, okay, they are on a road trip, and I'm sure these same guys will sit the next night. Well, their "road trip" consisted of playing the next night against the Lakers. They did not have a road trip. Both the Lakers and the Clippers play in the same building. So, the Cavs big three, and GM David Griifin, were perfectly fine with guys resting against a playoff team in a prime time game, but they were all good to go the very next night against the pitiful, clearly tanking Lakers.

This, I have a big, big problem with. Did LeBron and company not want the tough matchup, so they rested for the Clippers? Were they looking for an easy way out? Were they being lazy? Yes, yes and yes.

I love the fact that Karl Malone, pardon me, Hall of Famer Karl Malone came out and chastised these guys for doing this. He said basically the same thing that I have been saying. These guys play a game. I know I've said that I get tired playing one night a week, but I'm not a pro athlete. These guys train and shape their bodies for this. That is what Malone was saying.

Look, I really dislike the whole, "we were tougher back in our day", but it is clearly the truth. Back in the 70's, 80's and 90's, the NBA was a lot tougher. Guys played all the time. Super stars only sat if they were legitimately hurt, and it ate them up inside. I fell in love with the NBA watching, and rooting for and against guys like, Karl Malone, Shawn Kemp, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Gary Payton and so on and so forth. These guys never sat, unless they were for real injured, or they were on a "baseball sabbatical". I never remember turning on a regular season game between the Bulls and the Pistons in the early to mid nineties, and not seeing Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. They were always out there. The NBA was a better, and tougher product back then.

Then, in response to Malone I assume, LeBron James said one of the few selfish things he has ever said in his career. LeBron is one of the most selfless NBA players. He seems to always make the right decision, and that is one of the many reasons I love watching him play. That and the fact that he is incredibly talented. But, he was asked about sitting out, and he said something along the lines of, this is the new NBA, and the players and owners and fans have to deal with it.

Not cool. We the fans do not have to deal with it. It is incredibly selfish to the fan who puts a lot of money into the one ticket they get every year to see their favorite players play. I'm sure there were at least one hundred people sitting in the higher levels at that Cavs-Clippers game the other night, and they came strictly to see LeBron or Kyrie or Love. This was their one chance, and they figured with it being prime time that they would see these guys. But, according to James, they just have to deal with the fact that he wanted some rest, and Kyrie and Love were nursing "injuries". That is selfish and mean and ridiculous.

NBA tickets are a lot of money. I know, I have gone to 2 of them in Memphis the last 2 years, and the tickets were not cheap. Luckily for me, I got to see Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol in those games, but I could have just as easily been going to one of those games when those guys, or their GM's decided they needed "rest". I would have been livid if that happened. I live in Saint Louis, the closet city with an NBA team is Memphis, a 4 hour drive, so when I do go, my father and I want to see the best players on each team. If I had driven 4 hours to that Cavs-Clippers game the other night, I would have been incredibly upset and mad at the NBA and the Cavs. At least the Clippers played their big three, but the Cavs had no time for that, and that is wrong.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came out the other day and said that this is becoming a problem, but I feel like it is a too little, too late. This is an epidemic. Guys sitting out multiple games for "rest" is absurd. These guys have such a short career, so why not play as much as you can. They are also multi, multi millionaires, so skipping games is just flat out selfish. Don't blame the fans and your GM LeBron James. We all know that you are the guy who pulls the strings in Cleveland, an this was your decision. I also was very upset, as a rabid NBA fan, at his rude comments towards fans. I love watching you play, and I would love to see you play live. But, with this reaction, I don't think I could count on you if I chose to go to a Cavs game. Now I know for the future that I will not be attending Cavs games because there is no guarantee that you will play, and you are the only player on that team that I would want to see.

Please put a stop to this nonsense Adam Silver because it is cheapening the game, and the NBA is as popular right now as it has ever been. Lets fix this before it gets worse.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once attended a St. Louis Swarm game, a pre d-league outfit, and was happy that the best players did not sit. He paid to see those never going to be superstars.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Duke Lost, And Other Thoughts from the First Weekend of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

I figured I'd wait until after the first 2 rounds of the men's NCAA tournament before I'd do an update. I know a lot of people did quick and sudden reactions to each game, but I like to let the first weekend, at least, marinate in my brain for a night's sleep. I will say, if anyone is out there looking for instant takes, go listen to the podcast "T'd Up" on the Ringer podcast network. I have been listening to it everyday, it is one of my new favorite podcasts, I'm a big Mark Titus and Tate Frazier fan, and their instant takes have been poignant and often hilarious. But, for me personally, I like to think about all 48 games over the past 4 days for one full day.

My instant take away, at least from the first round, it was pretty much what was expected to happen. Sure, there was a Middle Tennessee "upset" over Minnesota, I think the majority of the country saw that happening, including the prognosticating geniuses at the X Millennial Man Podcast, and yeah, Creighton got bested by Rhode Island, but see the Minnesota-MTSU outcome. Xavier was an 11, and they beat Maryland, who was a 6, but after watching that game, the seeding should have been switched. I believe that Xavier was favored in that game actually. Other than that, it was all chalk. You can call Wichita State over Dayton an upset, but I think we all knew that Wichita State was the better team.

With it being chalk for the most part, there were still a few good, close games. The game to open the tournament, Notre Dame-Princeton went right down to the wire, with ND squeaking by by 2 points. St. Mary's and VCU played a very competitive first round game, before St. Mary's iced it with free throws. Arkansas got away with a terrible intentional foul call that turned into a technical foul that all but put away Seton Hall. Vanderbilt had one player who did not know the situation, and unfortunately for him, he essentially gave Northwestern their first round win, and continued the run of insufferable Northwestern fans for a few more days. USC-SMU was a very, very good game, that USC came away with a close fought victory. The fact that Semi Oguleye didn't even touch the ball in the final 2 possessions for SMU was a critical error on their part.

The game of the first round for me, and a lot of others for that matter, was Michigan-Oklahoma State. If you like defense, this game wasn't for you. But, both teams kept going back and forth. Michigan would hit a three, then Oklahoma State would get 2 quick layups. I think in the end there were about 20 lead changes and 15 ties, before Michigan and DJ Wilson went up 4 with 3 seconds left in the game. Yeah, the Oklahoma State guard hit a three at the end, to make the final score 92-91, but it was already over no matter what. Maybe it is my personal bias, maybe not, but this was the game of the first round. Derrick Walton was great, but so was Oklahoma State's point guard. It was a great matchup.

Oh yeah, all number one seeds, even with Gonzaga and Villanova struggling in the first half of their opening games, ended up crushing their 16 seeded opponents. Still no 16 over 1's yet.

Then, we got to round 2. This was where the "madness" began. Again, ND faced off in the opening game of the day, this time against West Virginia, and WVU pressed the hell out of them and controlled, even more so, dominated the tempo of the game. This game was never really in question. WVU was the better team, and they proved it.

In the second game of the day on Saturday, we had our first big time upset. Yes, Wisconsin was criminally under seeded, but Villanova was the overall number one seed and the defending champs. On Saturday though, they just didn't have it. They shot poorly and Wisconsin kept making big shots. Even with Villanova up 6 late in the game, I assumed Wisconsin would win, and they did. That move Nigel Hayes made at the end to win the game was awesome.

As for the other Saturday games, Xavier blew the doors off FSU, as did Florida to Virginia. That Florida-Virginia game was disgusting if you are a Virginia fan. 38 points! In a tournament game! That is atrocious Virginia. Gonzaga, even though all the new Northwestern fans will claim the goal tending, and yes it was one hundred percent a goal tend, but I do not think that would have changed the outcome, lost it for them, proved they were the better team. Gonzaga controlled that game, even with the late Northwestern run. Butler also smoked MTSU, as expected.

Then Sunday happened. Again, Michigan opened the day with Louisville, and after the first half, I thought my team was done. But, they adjusted, fed the German kid Wagner, DJ Wilson made some big free throws, and even though he had a rough shooting game, Derrick Walton hit one clutch three and a very big contested lay up at the end. Michigan beat Louisville, busting a lot of people's brackets, mine included. I did not care. I did not think I could get much happier, but something I will hit on in a minute made me grin even more yesterday. I'll get to that in a few.

After the Michigan-Louisville game, I thought we already had our great game of the day, but Kentucky-Wichita State was highly competitive, with Kentucky prevailing. Unfortunately for me, the one thing I remember from that game will be Greg Marshall's drunken wife swearing at Kentucky fans. UNC survived a scare from Arkansas to pull away late for a win. Purdue and Matt Painter did everything they could to blow their game, but Caleb Swanigan would not let that happen, and they prevailed over Iowa State. KU, after a close first half, blew the doors off of Michigan State, ending all the talk of Tom Izzo being a genius in March. Baylor-USC was very close throughout, but Baylor was very un Baylor like, and they pulled out a close win late, hitting clutch free throws and clutch shots. Oregon had to come back from double digits in what I considered one of the better games of the day, and they pulled out a 3 point win over Rhode Island. That game was close and tightly contested for pretty much the full 40 minutes. UCLA easily beat down on Cincinnati, but I honestly did not watch one second of that game because of the doubled upon euphoria I was feeling from the early Michigan win, and South Carolina beating Duke.

I could not believe what I saw South Carolina do to Duke in that second half. I was in and out during the first half. I saw Duke had a 10 point lead at one point, so I kind of checked out, but when I went back a half an hour later, South Carolina was up by 10 all of the sudden. They did not stop. Whenever Duke made a shot, or shot one of their almost 40 free throws, South Carolina came right back and scored on them. They scored so many points in the second half. In fact, they scored 65 points in the half. Let me repeat that. 65 POINTS IN A HALF! AGAINST THE TEAM EVERYONE ASSUMED WAS THE NATIONAL TITLE FAVORITE! Maybe there is some justice in this unjust world we live in right now. I kid you not, this South Carolina win actually gives me a little sliver of hope for the future of this country. If a team filled with scumbags like Grayson Allen, and coached by the ultimate scum bag can get beat this early in the tournament, maybe our country will wake the hell up and see what a mess we are right now. But, I digress. Anytime Duke loses this early, even if it destroys my bracket and makes my picks on the podcast sound stupid, I feel like we, the United States, wins. This almost makes up for the Falcons blowing a 25 point lead. Almost.

Looking at the 16 teams we have left, 15 of them are from power 5 conferences, and the other is Gonzaga, who is a national power. The breakdown by conference goes as such; 3 Big 12 teams, 3 SEC teams, 3 Big Ten teams, 3 Pac 12 teams, 2 Big East teams, 1 West Coast Conference team and 1 ACC team. That's right, the almighty ACC, who many thought should have gotten 11 teams in the tournament, ended up with 9, only has one team left. The same conference that dumbass Seth Davis made a plea on national television for, and all but assured us that Duke would win it all, I say again, has one team left. That is the same amount as the WCC. Good for you ACC.

I have watched more college basketball the past four days than I have all year, and I have to say, for how much crap I give men's college basketball, I still think it is very watered down, it has been a lot of fun. I'm excited to see where we go from here, If I had to pick a new Final Four, since I had Duke on the podcast, right now I'd go with who ever wins the Florida-Wisconsin game in the East, I'm sticking with Gonzaga in the West, I want to pick Michigan so bad in the Midwest, but I am going to stick with KU, especially after how they demolished MSU, and I'm staying with UCLA in the South. I also still have Gonzaga and KU in the title game, and KU winning it all. I just hope the rest of the tournament is as fun as these first four days were.

And one more thing. Duke lost in the second round. I just had to repeat that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He coaches kids basketball and has had to have his wife removed from the game a few times. After a couple pours from the wine box, she can get salty with the opposing team. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Terrible Coach Tom Crean will Not be Missed

Crean's next coaching job is on the other side of this sign at IU.

We are in the midst of what we call "March Madness", but I will wait until Monday to do my update. I do have a recent college basketball story to write about today. I want to give my take on the firing of Tom Crean by Indiana University basketball.

The Tom Crean dismissal was a long time coming, in my personal opinion. He never really did anything that was super impressive in his 9 year tenure at Indiana. First off, he cashed in on the success that was his 2003 Marquette team, led by Dwayne Wade, that went all the way to the Final Four. Yes, he was a multiple 20 game winner while coach there, but it wasn't until Dwayne Wade took the country by storm and willed them to the Final Four. He stayed at Marquette for a few more years, but when the whole Kelvin Sampson violation era hit Indiana and he got fired, Crean jumped at the chance to become head man there. His first three years started off with a whimper. Indiana was very, very bad, as expected. His first season, due to violations, transfers and guys going pro, Crean had a depleted roster and his first team at IU finished with the worst record in their long, illustrious history, at 6-25. That is not a record I think one would want next to their name. His next 2 years weren't great, but the team "improved" each season, going 10-21, then 12-20.

Then, like some kind of god damn magician, Crean pulled in a great recruiting class. I'm pretty positive that some kind of violation story will come out soon about this class, but nothing yet. The prize recruit that season was an in state kid, Cody Zeller, and he some how got him to stay home and play for the Hoosiers.

By the way, Hoosiers is the worst sports nickname ever. No ifs ands or buts about it.

Back to what I was saying. With this new class and top recruit, Indiana vastly improved to the tune of 27-9. They beat the Anthony Davis led Kentucky team, number 2 ranked Ohio State and number 5 ranked Michigan State all in the same year. They looked poised to make a deep run in the tournament, but they got ousted, by a wide margin, by the same Kentucky team they beat earlier that year.

Despite their exit, Crean was showered with all kinds of Coach of the Year awards. And he accepted them all like the smug asshole that he is. I know he is related to the Harbaugh family by marriage, but I despise Tom Crean. He looks like a used car salesman and carries himself like the sleaziest one on the lot. He also looks like he is constantly on cocaine. He could have easily been in "American Psycho" as one of the friends that work on Wall Street. He is an extreme douchebag.

Anyway, after their run to the Sweet Sixteen, the very next season, IU looked to be even better. He again had a great recruiting class that he called, "The Movement". I'll say it again, what an asshole. The players in this class included Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, sophomore Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo. This IU team was great. They spent the majority of the 2012-13 season in the top 5 in the country. They were the outright Big Ten regular season champs after they beat Michigan in Ann Arbor and Crean acted like the sorest winner I have ever seen. He was stomping his feet and yelling at John Beilein and the entire Michigan roster. He is a real piece of work.

That Indiana squad was also a number 1 seed in the tournament, but guess what? They lost in the Sweet Sixteen again, this time to Syracuse. He could not win big in the tournament. Say what you will about Tom Izzo, Thad Matta and John Beilein, but they have all been as many Final Fours, more so in Matta and Izzo's case, and all three of them reached at least one title game, with Izzo wining one. Crean was a mid level Big Ten head coach at best. To have the players he had for 2 years and to not push past the Sweet Sixteen is insane. That is mediocrity at its best.

After much attrition to pros and graduation, IU and Crean regressed back to being a mediocre team. The year after Oladipo went pro, IU went 17-15. The next year was better, but not much at 20-14. They were regulars in the NIT, but not in the big dance.

Despite all this and his resume overall, his IU team was supposed to be good this year. They were preseason number 3. They did beat Kansas and UNC, but they did not finish well. They started great, but due to injury and Crean's ineptness, IU went down the toilet. During January of this year, I watched my Wolverines, who were struggling mightily at the time, beat IU by 30 points. I was in shock at how bad IU looked. I mean I was thrilled that they crushed Crean and IU, but the Hoosiers looked terrible. I don't think that can all be put on OG Anouby's torn ACL. They have a roster full of highly rated recruits. they should have been able to, at least, stay competitive with the players they had. But, due mostly to Crean, they looked like they quit.

Indiana finished this season 18-16. They had those 2 big wins, but they lost 16 games. That is atrocious. They, of course, did not make the NCAA tournament but were selected for the NIT. Then, in some weird bizarre, only something Tom Crean would do, as the higher seed, they did not want to play their first NIT game in Assembly Hall because it would be degrading to Assembly Hall and IU basketball. Well, I do not think if they played on Mars it would have mattered. IU came out lifeless and got stomped by Georgia Tech. I say the real embarrassment and degradation of IU basketball is not the NIT, but Tom Crean.

Fittingly, IU fired Tom Crean yesterday right before the first NCAA tournament game tipped off. I cackled when I saw that. Crean deserved to be fired. I think it should have happened a couple years ago, but the higher ups at IU gave him one last chance and he screwed it way up.

Tom Crean is a mediocre coach at best. I'm sure he'll end up as a head coach somewhere in a year or two, but it will be D-2 or some low level D-1 school. He is not as great a recruiter as I think some say he is, and he is a terrible X's and O's guy. He's a sore winner and he cannot take his team to the promised land. Good riddance Tom Crean. I hope to never see you coaching basketball anytime soon.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did Ty predict the Crean firing before it happened? Check out the new X Millennial Man Podcast, premiering tomorrow, to find out. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Trial & Error"

I've been spending a lot of time this week talking about basketball, it is tournament time, so who could blame me, but today I'm going to write about a new show that I really enjoy.

This past Tuesday night NBC aired 2 episodes of a new show called "Trial & Error". When I first saw commercials for the show I was a bit dubious, but also kind of intrigued. The dubious part of me was seeing the commercial and thinking it was a rip off of "Parks and Rec" and "The Office". But, after much thought, not that much really, I thought, why not do something in that model. Both those shows were great and had great runs, for the most part. "The Office" got really bad after Michael Scott left, but it was pretty good up until then, and it's first three seasons were phenomenal. "Parks and Rec", I thought, was great all the way through. So, the bad feelings I had about the previews for "Trial & Error" kind of disappeared.

The trepidation fully left my mind when I saw more of John Lithgow in the previews. He looked funny. He looked like he was having a good time filming the show. He is an extremely talented actor who I have liked in pretty much everything he has ever been in. I loved "3rd Rock From the Sun". He was terrifying as the bad guy in the greatest season of "Dexter". He was decent in his smaller roles in "Interstellar" and the revamped "Planet of the Apes". He's just really good in everything, even if it is bad like "Cliffhanger". He is truly great as a bad guy, but has proven that he has some great comedic chops. That is why "Trial & Error" is the perfect show and perfect role for him.

"Trail &Error" centers around a murder investigation in a small town in South Carolina. Lithgow's character, a roller skating poet, is accused of murdering his wife after she is found dead, looking like she was thrown through a window. I know it sounds really dark, but this show is a straight up comedy. I saw some other people say it is a cross of "Parks and Rec" and "Making a Murderer", and I couldn't agree more with that comparison.

Lithgow is the unequivocal star of the show, but the supporting actors are just as good. Nicolas D'Agosto plays the big time lawyer from New York that comes into town to defend Lithgow. He is not really that big time, this is his first case without his boss, but he is from New York, so the people in the town of East Peck just assume that he is a hot shot. D'Agosto is very, very good in this role. Some of you may know him from the terrible movie "Fired Up", or the latest "Final Destination" movie. I remember him most as Hunter, Jan's assistant, from "the Office". He is wonderful, at least in the first 2 episodes, in a leading role. He is just as funny as Lithgow, and his looks to camera, the show is shot documentary style, remind me so much of Adam Scott and John Krasinski in their NBC shows. He is just as funny as they are, in my opinion. I know he has been a "star" in a few bad movies, but I feel like this show will really put him on the map.

Some other great actors that popped up in the first 2 episodes are Sherri Shepard, Steven Boyer and Jayma Mays. Mays is well known for her roles on "The League" and "Glee". But much like A'Gosto, I feel like this is a perfect fit for her. She is a hard ass lawyer in this small town, and all the locals love her. She is the prosecution's lead lawyer, and she has the town behind her. She is tough, no nonsense, but also makes weird passes at A'Gosto all the while hell bent on destroying him in this case. Steven Boyer is the goofy townie who happens to be A'Gosto's lead investigator. The only reason he got that job was because he knows everyone in town, and his brother/cousin is part of the local police, so he can get inside information. He is also always involved in some kind of hiccup that is a massive blow to the case, but then stumbles upon some new break that helps the defense.

But, my personal favorite character on the show is Sherri Shepard's character. She has so many weird abnormalities, and all of them make for some funny television. She has something called "facial amnesia". This means that she never remembers people she just met. She has a very funny line in the pilot where she says, "it's great for me and my husband because it is like I have a new lover every night. But...I do remember penises". I cackled when I heard that. She also has a disease where she laughs at incredibly inappropriate times. Whenever they mentioned something involving the murder that is horrific, Shepard cannot control her laughter. She mentions a death in her family, and it takes all of her strength to not laugh, but by the end of the interview, she is cracking up. She has another strange disease that when she sees something beautiful she passes out. Again, it is played for big laughs, and it worked on me tenfold. She is awesome in this role and on this show.

If the first 2 episodes are any indication of where this show is going, I am really excited. It was funny, goofy, dark and very well written. I have high hopes for "Trail & Error", and I think you all should too. If you haven't watched it yet, check it out. It is a very good show. Here's to hoping it gets a real chance at staying on TV.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is of the opinion that NBC should give good shows at least as many episodes as they gave "Veronica's Closet". That should be a law. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Lavar Ball, Terrible Sports Father, Needs to Shut the Hell Up

Please Lavar Bell, stop talking

I'm a basketball fan. You all know this by now. I'm also a coach/instructor as well. You all already know this too. So, what really gets me angry is a mom or dad who thinks that their child is so superior to someone else's child, and they are very vocal about it.

Look, I'm a dad and I want what is best for my kids and I think my kids are very athletic, but I'm not loud and brash about it. The same cannot be said for Lavar Ball though. Now, I'm not blaming the kids at all in my piece today. The three kids involved cannot be blamed for their father's words and actions. In fact, I think Lonzo Ball has proven that he is a fantastic basketball player. He has exploded for UCLA this year and has made them relevant again. He has awesome court vision, is a great set up shooter and loves the game. Lonzo Ball is awesome. But, for his father to come out and say that he is better, and will be better than Steph Curry, is ludicrous.

Steph Curry was great in college and is one of the three best players in the NBA. He is unequivocally the best shooter I have ever seen in my lifetime. He is a multiple MVP winner. He has an NBA title. I mean, Steph Curry is a once in a generation player. Now, that is not to say that Lonzo Ball cannot get to that level, I personally think he will be a very good pro, but I do not think he will even scratch the surface to being half as great as Steph Curry is. Curry is a Hall of Famer. I'll put that in writing right now. We do not yet know with Lonzo Ball.

Ball is a great college basketball player, but so was Adam Morrison, and that is who I think of when I watch Lonzo Ball now. Morrison was incredible in college. He was such a phenomenal scorer and producer for Gonzaga while he was there. He was the "guy". He was who the team looked to when they needed a big play. Then, after three flops in the tournament, Morrison was a top 3 pick. From there on out, he was a terrible pro. I mean, he was very, very bad. He never got up to speed in the NBA. He was always a step too slow. He lost his shot. Sure, he has a couple of titles, but it is because he was fortunate enough to be on the Lakers bench, as the 11th or 12th man, when they had Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and an engaged Andrew Bynum. I hope for Lonzo Ball's case he doesn't have the same fate. I hope he is a great pro and has a long and illustrious career. I genuinely enjoy watching him play basketball. I also really liked watching Adam Morrison when he was in college.

For Lavar Ball to say that his son is better than Steph puts so much undue pressure on his son, and it is incredibly unfair to him. I get that he is his kid and he pumps his child up, but in this day and age you have to watch what you say. This is just ridiculous. Like I said, I do not blame Lonzo Ball at all for this, this is all on his father for being a loud mouth, brash, arrogant and selfish stage dad. I thought he would have backed off after saying this nonsense, but he has only gotten worse from there.

Recently one of his sons, who is a sophomore, scored 90 plus points in a game. That's wonderful, but when they showed the highlights, the kid played no defense and just kept letting it fly. I have coached kids like this, that just want to shoot the ball and do nothing else, and for the most part, it is due to a parent yelling from the sidelines for their kid to do nothing but shoot. Basketball is more than just offense. Yes, you need to put the ball in the basket, but you also have to give effort on the other end. That is how guys like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Scottie Pippen, Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard have become great pros. They all worked extra hard on both ends. Putting up 30, 40, 50 and even 60 points sometimes doesn't matter if they gave minimal effort on defense, and their team loses. But, Lavar Ball made sure to let the world know that his 16 year old son scored 90 plus points in a game, and that he was the next big thing.

I have read and heard too many stories about kids that are going to be the next big thing that never pan out. I read the Lamelo Ball story, and I immediately thought of guys like Freddy Adu, Felipe Lopez and Darius Miles. They were going to be the next great stars. They were going to strike it rich and have long and fruitful careers. Well, Adu is playing soccer somewhere over seas I think, Felipe Lopez flamed out in college, and the last thing I heard about Darius Miles, he was detained at Lambert Airport in Saint Louis for possession of an illegal firearm. These stories are way more common than say a LeBron James or Bryce Harper story.

To make matters even worse, Lavar Ball recently said that he wants a one billion dollar shoe deal for all three of his sons. First off, he said billion, not million. Who does he think he is? This is asinine. No one has a one billion dollar shoe deal, except LeBron James, and that is a lifetime deal. Lavar Ball has one son that is a surefire NBA player, Lonzo, but what if Lamelo and LiAngelo don't make it? What if they can't cut it in college? Or, if they make it to the pros, what if they turn out to be like Austin Rivers, Jimmer Fredette or, the previously mentioned Adam Morrison. At least Rivers is still in the NBA, but no shoe company is clamoring for his endorsement. This is just flat out nuts to demand this type of money. I wouldn't go near this family with a ten foot pole if I were Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Reebok or any other big time shoe company. These kids have no guarantee that they will be super stars. They are not LeBron or MJ or Barkley or anyone else that has/had a major shoe deal.

I must say this again, I wish nothing but the best for the kids. But, their father is out of line. What makes Lavar Ball the worst though was his most recent statement. He recently said that he would have "cooked" Michael Jordan in a game of one on one back in his day. This is the same Lavar Ball that played one year of division one basketball at Washington State and averaged 2 points a game. During that very same season, Jordan was averaging 30 plus points a game in the NBA for the Bulls. Ball said he would've "backed him down, called every foul and make Jordan shoot jumpers", and he would have beaten him. This is just flat out stupid. This would be like me saying that I could beat Lavar Ball in one on one in my heyday. I'm a pretty good rec league and pick up basketball player, but I did not play in college, barely played in high school and I am way out of shape. Lavar Ball would crush me in one on one. He was good enough to play college basketball. I was barely good enough to play high school basketball. So, for him to think he could, not just make it a game, but beat Michael Jordan one on one is just ridiculous. Not only would Jordan beat him, he would shut him out and clown him anyway that he pleased. He could toy with him, shoot jumpers if he wanted, then take him to the basket with ease. Jordan is so competitive too, that he wouldn't even make it fun for Lavar Ball. He would want to kill him, not just in the game, but emotionally as well. I love that Charles Barkley came out recently and challenged Lavar Ball to a game of one on one. This is the most egregious comment, of many, that Lavar Ball has made.

I'll say it one more time. I do not blame the kids for their father's words. He is a blowhard and a loud mouth. It would be best for him and his family to just be happy that his kids colleges are basically paid for, and that he may have one or more kids good enough to be in the NBA. But, I'm sure he will say something else very dumb during the tournament. He cannot seem to help himself.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks parents that yell at their children during sports events must be the best parents ever. Why else would they make themselves the center of attention at a child's event? 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": Back To the Bar - Brick and Barley Edition

There will be no "Bar Rescue" update today. They did have a new episode, but it was a "Back to the Bar" theme. I already reviewed the episode with the bar they featured in the "Back to the Bar" episode, and I do not think I need to do a retread. If you want to read my review of the bar featured, search for the "breastaraunt" bar, or as it is now known, "Brick and Barley". There is another new episode this Sunday, and it is a real episode, so next week I will be back with my regular "Bar Rescue" reviews.

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 SeedSing 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

The courts are ready.

For my men's NCAA tournament preview this year, I'm going to do something a little different.

First off, there is no women's preview because UCONN should, and will, win it again. They are far and away the most dominant team to ever set foot on a basketball court. What they have done is nothing short of spectacular, and they should be the favorites every year no matter what the circumstance is. UCONN women's basketball is unmatched in their greatness.

For the men's tournament, last year I did a "Five Crazy Things That Will Happen". This year, I'll go region by region, pick who I think will meet up in each regional final, which team will represent said region in the Final Four, a surprise team from each region, then my Final Four, my title game matchup and my winner. I will also do Most Outstanding Player for the whole tournament. Here it goes.

Let's start with the East Region first. The overall number one seeded Villanova Wildcats are the team to beat in the East. They lost a few players from last year's title team, but they have Josh Hart back, some good younger players and Jay Wright is still their head coach. Unfortunately for Villanova, they are the one seed in the same region as the second seeded Duke Blue Devils. Duke looks excellent right now, the committee clearly wants them to win and they will get every and any call, as they always do. Wisconsin is the 8 seed in this region, and I wrote yesterday how terrible that is. The other decent seeded teams(3,4 and 5) in this region are very blah. Baylor is the 3 and they peaked too early. Florida is the 4 and while they could shock and have a deep run, I expect them to flounder, and the 5 seed is Virginia. Virginia is not a fun team, or really, a good team. The one team that I think could surprise someone in this region is SMU. They play slow basketball, but they get buckets when needed, and they have a few great players on their team. They play tough, hard nosed defense, and can win low scoring games, which they force teams to play. I inevitably see the East coming down to Duke and Villanova, and as much as I hate to pick them, Duke will be the East's representative in the Final Four. The lay out is way too beneficial and easy for them to almost walk to the Final Four.

Next we will look to the West. The West's number one seed is Gonzaga. I LOVE Gonzaga this year, but they always choke in the tournament. I hope they don't this year, but I never know with that team. Maybe Nigel Williams-Goss will propel this team to the Final Four. Arizona is the 2 and they have a chance to play in their home state if they make the Final Four. They have a very good team this year too. They also have Sean Miller as their coach. That could be their downfall. FSU is the 3, and while I like them, I feel about them like I feel about Baylor. They already balled out too soon. West Virginia is the 4 and Notre Dame is the 5. Both teams are fine, but they are susceptible to decent teams as well. Northwestern is making their first trip ever to the tournament in the West region. I see that lasting one, maybe 2 games for them. As far as my surprise team in this region, I like Xavier, finally not having expectations, to be a team that can make noise. They should easily beat Maryland in round one, I could see them easily beating the winner of FSU-Florida Gulf Coast, to make a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see Gonzaga facing up against Arizona, and Gonzaga finally breaking through and making the Final Four out of the West. Don't let me down Gonzaga.

Moving over to the Midwest, Kansas is the one seed. Kansas is great. The have a great group of players, led by the presumptive player of the year in Frank Mason. But, it is still a Bill Self led Kansas team. They could just as easily go out in round 2 as they can of making it to the title game. Louisville is the 2, and while they have the goods, they looked bad at the end of the season. They blew some games late and had a very early exit from the ACC tournament. Who knows with them. Oregon is the 3, but one of their best players just tore his ACL, and Dillon Brooks cannot do it alone, try as he might. Purdue is the 4, but I have no faith in Purdue. I love their size and I think Caleb Swanigan is great, but they are so up and down, and I do not trust their outside shooting. Iowa State is the 5, and with Iowa State, I say so what. Probably the hottest team coming into the tournament, Michigan, got the 7 seed, but they have to face a very good Oklahoma State team. In fact, Oklahoma State is the one team from the Midwest that I think could make a run to the Sweet Sixteen, possibly further. They play great, extended defense and they have scorers all over the floor. I'm so pissed that Michigan has to play them in the first round. I could see Oklahoma State beating Michigan, Louisville, then either Creighton, Rhode Island or Oregon, whoever they may face in the Sweet Sixteen. That's where they'd run into a KU, who I think they will play in the Elite Eight, and KU will crush them. KU, even though they had an early exit from the Big 12 tournament and are still coached by Bill Self, will represent the Midwest in the Final Four. They remind me a lot of Villanova from last year, but with better freshman.

Finally we have the South. This is, far and away, the best and toughest region. The one is North Carolina. UNC is great. they have everything you want in a college basketball team. They can go inside and outside and they play respectable defense. Kentucky is the 2. Kentucky is LOADED with talent, albeit very young. But, John Calipari has won with young talent, and continues to win with young talent. UCLA is the 3. I mean Jesus Christ, this is a tough region. UCLA does not play a whole lot of defense, but they score a whole lot of points. They can put the ball in the basket very much. Lonzo Ball is so god damn good. I think Steve Alford has gotten a bit too much credit for this team's success, but UCLA is very good. Butler is a very underrated 4 seed. They play very sound and very strong basketball. They can beat anyone, anytime on any floor. Minnesota is too highly seeded, at 5, but they will be done after one game. Middle Tennessee will beat them. Cincinnati is the 6, and they could make a run. But, my surprise team is Wichita State. I wrote about them yesterday as well. They won 30 games this year, yet they are a 10 seed for some unknown, asinine reason. But, I could see them beating Dayton, who is also a very good team, then beating Kentucky to push to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see UNC and UCLA facing off to go to the Final Four, and UCLA to represent the hellish South region.

My Final Four is Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA. In the Duke-Gonzaga matchup, I'm riding with Gonzaga. Part of it is my incredible hatred for Duke and the other part is that I think Gonzaga will finally break through. In the other matchup, KU-UCLA, I'm going to go with KU. I love this team, and I think Frank Mason wants to go out as a champion. That being said, I'm picking the Kansas Jayhawks to win the national title. I love the makeup of this team and Frank Mason is absolutely the best college basketball player in the country. He is on a mission. Now that I'm picking them I'm sure they will get bounced early, but I have faith in this KU team. As far as Most Outstanding Player, I have Frank Mason, of course. He is the best, and most important player on the best team. He will carry this team, a la Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, to a title. So, Rock Chalk Jayhawk to win it all this year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This year marks 20 straight years of Ty picking KU in the Final Four. KU has a history of dissapointing Ty. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The GOP's Inability to Govern - Healthcare Edition

This fake elephant has more ideas than the current GOP

It has been over fifty days since Donald Trump took the oath of office, and Obamacare still lives. After nearly eight years, the Republican party can finally vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and have a President who will sign their repeal. President Donald Trump claimed that Obamacare was a failure and promised to make repealing the law a top priority. Almost every single Republican in Washington DC has campaigned on the promise to repeal the law. After so many show votes, where Congressional Republicans unanimously supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, there is nothing stopping the GOP from fulfilling a campaign promise that dates back to the midterm elections of 2010. Yet nothing has happened. Is not the duty of the GOP to fulfill their promise to govern?

According to the Republican Party, the Affordable Care Act was such a terrible thing that the only way to fix it was to kill it. Never before in one of the countless show votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act did the GOP offer up a replacement bill. Prior to 2017, the Republican Party used taxpayers time and money to have one pointless repeal vote after another. It was feasible to think that the GOP had no idea on how, or any intention to, replace the Affordable Care Act. The only tactic the Republican Party knew how to enact was one of non-governance. They wanted to get rid of a law that was designed to help people. The GOP would rather go back to a time when people desperately needed help. That was the Republican Party plan on healthcare before 2017.

Unfortunately a funny thing happened when the Republicans took total control of the law making process in Washington DC. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and President-Elect Trump all started to talk about how they needed to "repeal and replace" the Obamacare. It seemed that the new power in Washington DC realized that the health care system, and the problems with it, were quite complicated. The President himself was shocked by how complex the issue was, even though he spoke about how easy the fixes would be while he was running for President. Everyone in the Republican Party started to realize that when they repealed the Affordable Care Act, they would then own it and have to deal with immediate consequences from the fallout. Millions of citizens would lose their healthcare, or see their prices skyrocket even higher. Once Obamacare is gone, the Republican Party would have to use their seats of power to steer the country out of more pressing problems. Repeal only was not an option. 

Another danger in a repeal only of the Affordable Care Act was that the GOP refused to acknowledge that the health insurance industry liked many parts of the Democratic Party's overhaul of the industry. Obamacare wanted to give more people insurance, but the federal government would pay the private insurance industry to cover the new customers. The Affordable Care Act was a transfer of money from the government to private business. Obamacare allowed the health insurance industry to go about business as usual, and have yearly guaranteed revenue from American tax dollars. Health insurance lobbyists were going to make sure that this fixed revenue stream was not going to stop.

There are also many parts of the Affordable Care Act that the health industry does not like, and this is where they have manipulated Congressional Republicans in crafting the replacement law. New customers with preexisting conditions cost a lot of money. Speaker Ryan may not understand how insurance works, but the sick are funded by the healthy in all forms of health insurance. By adding people with preexisting conditions, and little ability to make a reasonable income to cover these illnesses, the health insurance companies raised the rates on their healthy customers. If the Republican Party could get rid of the requirement to cover people with preexisting conditions, the health insurance industry could keep the rates where they are now, and not have to pay out to people with ongoing medical expenses. It may seem cold, but that was how the system worked before the Affordable Care Act. With no prexisting conditions to worry about, and being able to keep rates from going down, profits will be through the roof.

The individual mandate is another area where the health insurance companies was not benefiting. The financial penalties on not having insurance were going into the coffers of the government, and not the bank accounts of the health insurance companies. Speaker Ryan changed all of that by letting the insurance companies charge, and keep, the financial penalty for someone who let their insurance lapse. The doublespeak employed by Speaker Ryan, and Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, said that people should have the freedom to choose healthcare or something else to their liking. Chaffetz said people should chose between an iPhone or health insurance, they cannot have both. Through Representative Chaffetz, GOP has equated a person's health and well being as a luxury item. Luxury should be expensive, and not mandated by federal law. Here the GOP and the health insurance industry are in agreement. 

Predictably, the Republican Party has used their Obamacare replacement bill as a method to help the rich, and put greater economic pressure on the middle class. There are tax cuts for those who do not need them, and financial penalties for those that cannot afford them. Programs like Medicaid and Medicare that were created to be self sustaining are being robbed to cover the fiscally irresponsible practices of the GOP in the replacement bill. Even a seemingly good idea, and one championed by Donald Trump on the 2016 campaign trail,  like being able to purchase healthcare plans offered in different states was shelved from the replacement bill because the health insurance lobbyists would not let the Republican Party put it into the proposed law. No matter what non-jacket wearing Speaker Ryan, or twitter user President Trump say, the GOP replacement bill treats healthcare as a commodity, and does nothing to help the majority of Americans.. Because of this, the healthcare industry will not lower rates, they will make a ton of money, and millions of people will lose their insurance.

The Republican Party has spent the last few years claiming that the Affordable Care Act is a terrible law that is threatening the very fabric of the American dream. They are not wrong that the law is terrible, but their replacement law takes a bad idea and makes it much worse. By not leading when they did not have the White House, the GOP never crafted a law that will help the Americans they claim to be concerned with. The Republican healthcare law, written by healthcare lobbyists, is more of the same. Corporate welfare, class division, and not solving anything, that is what the GOP is good at. Maybe if the Republican Party actually knew how to govern we would see some innovative solutions. They do not know how to govern, they only know how to create division. To the Republican Party freedom is code for denial. They care not for the well being of the average American. Their healthcare replacement bill proves this.  If the GOP knew how to govern they would understand that healthcare is a human right, not an iPhone.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Is good health not a human right? Is an iPhone better than an HMO doctor? Why do we ask so many questions?  Come tell us. 

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

The 2017 List of Idiotic Decisions from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee

The selection comittee is hard at work

The NCAA tournament field is set. Tomorrow I will do my full tournament preview and predictions, but today, I want to point out some teams that I think got screwed and who got a little too much credit from this dreadful selection committee. There were some big time missteps and incorrectly seeded teams for this upcoming tournament. There were also some egregious bubble teams that got left out, but not as much as usual. Let's get at it.

First and foremost, Wisconsin got royally screwed by the selection committee. This is coming from someone that is vehemently opposed to all things Wisconsin, except for the city of Madison. I loathe the Wisconsin Badgers sports programs. But, they got hosed. All season long they were the second best team in the Big Ten. Yes, the Big Ten stinks this year, but still, they had over 20 wins, and not too many, if any, bad losses. Sure, they had a rough go of it for a week near the end of the season, but an eight seed they are not. I would have been upset if they were a 7 like many predicted. Wisconsin has a good team. They should, at the very worst, be a 6 seed. To put them in the eight spot is ridiculous. They have a rough first round matchup with a decent Virginia Tech team. Then, if they beat them, they have to presumably face the overall number one seed in the tournament, Villanova. That is unfair to both teams. Both Villanova and Wisconsin had good enough seasons that they should have, on paper, an "easy" path to the Sweet Sixteen. To put Wisconsin on the 8 line is a total slap in the face of the Big Ten. Wisconsin, in my opinion, is just as good as Purdue, and Purdue got a 4 seed. That is too big a disparity between the number one and number 2 team in the Big Ten. Wisconsin got hosed more than any team in the tournament.

The second most screwed over team is Wichita State. WSU is 30-4 and they got a 10 seed. The committee claims it is due to competition, but a 10 seed, come on, that is stupid. When will the NCAA and the committee realize that WSU has a great basketball program. They are ridiculously good every year. Sure, the level of competition in their conference isn't great, but neither is Kentucky's competition in the SEC. I think WSU is going to have a deepish run in the tournament this year, but a 10 seed for a team that won 30 games is outrageous. They also have to face a very good Dayton team in round one. That is simply unfair. WSU deserves the respect from the committee that they give any major conference team. WSU is the new Gonzaga.

Going back to the Big Ten, my team, Michigan, I think should have gotten a 6 seed. They had a magical run in the Big Ten tournament. First off, I wrote this team off months ago, and they have made me look stupid. Secondly, they almost did not even make it to D.C. for the Big Ten tournament. Everyone knows the story by now. Apparently they had a team meeting and decided to fly out the next day after the crash, and they went on to win the whole Big Ten tournament. I assumed, after everything they'd been through, they would probably lose to Illinois. Instead, they smashed them by 20 points. Michigan beat Illinois so bad in fact, they fired their head coach. Then they had to face Purdue, who worried me. Michigan had a rough start, got down 9, but kept plugging along, got some stops, pushed it to overtime and eventually won. Then they barnstormed Minnesota in the first half, let them tie it up in the second half, but instead of folding, Derrick Walton Jr became possessed and lead that team to victory. Then in the final yesterday, they pretty much controlled the tempo throughout and ended up winning by 15. So, I was excited to see where the committee would put them. They gave them a 7 seed and a first round matchup with a very good, very underrated Oklahoma State team. To put it in perspective, the committee looked at Michigan, who went 24-11, won the Big Ten tournament and may be one of the hottest teams in the country right now, and only seeded them one better than Michigan State. MSU lost 14 games this year and they have beaten no one outside of the Big Ten that is any good. Yes MSU has history, but they do not belong in the tournament this year. But, the committee pretty much thinks that MSU and Michigan are relatively equal. That is insane. Michigan's first game is going to be very tough, then if they get passed Oklahoma State, they will probably have to play Louisville. That is crazy.

And quick note on MSU, they don't belong in the tournament and neither does Syracuse, no matter what Jay Bilas or Joe Lunardi say. Yes, Syracuse beat three really good teams in UNC, Virginia and Duke, but Indiana beat UNC and Kansas, and I don't hear the same stories coming in defense of Indiana as I do Syracuse. Syracuse is a mediocre team and they do not belong in the field, just like MSU shouldn't be in, and Indiana rightfully did not get selected for the tournament.

As far as some snubs, Illinois State got screwed. They are 27-6, but since they did not win their conference tournament, the committee left them out in favor of teams like MSU, Vanderbilt and Seton Hall. I do not care what conference you play in, if you win 25 plus games, you should be a solid lock to make the tournament. Illinois State is better than MSU and Vanderbilt by ten thousand miles this year. Looks like the committee still has a bias against mid major teams.

I also think California should be in the tournament. They had an up and down year, but they won 21 games, won 10 games in the Pac 12 and played tough all year. Again, they are more deserving than some other teams that got in based on history or conference.

I do think the committee got the 4 number 1 seeds correct, but to have Gonzaga as the fourth number one seed is dumb. They should have been the second number one seed, behind only Villanova. I trust Gonzaga way more than I trust UNC or KU. Gonzaga lost one game all year. Both UNC and KU lost at least 5 games and were bounced very early from their conference tournaments. Gonzaga is the second best team in the country.

I also do not think Duke deserved a one seed, much to Seth Davis' chagrin. He is the biggest Duke backer, but they are fine as a 2 seed. I'm sure they prefer it that way. They have a very easy path to the Final Four, and that is where I think the committee did everything they could to make Coach K happy. Their toughest potential matchup would be in the Elite Eight against Villanova. They will skate in their first game, easily beat the winner of Marquette-South Carolina and then crush whomever they face in the Sweet Sixteen, be it, most likely, Baylor or SMU. This is just the committee rewarding Duke without giving them a 1 seed.

I'm sure there are other teams I left out, but these are the teams I feel got unfairly treated, or too fair treatment, from the selection committee. The committee was a mess this year and it showed during the selection show yesterday. Come back tomorrow for my full tournament preview. I just had to get this off my chest today.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He left off the University Missouri being robbed of any seed in the tournament. They won 8 games this year, what else do the Tigers have to do? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Brock Osweiler is the First Loser of NFL Free Agency

Osweiler, after the year he is having.

The NFL's free agency frenzy started yesterday, and there have already been a lot of moves, more than usual I think.

Some of these moves I have really liked for the player and the team. I love Desean Jackson to Tampa. This seems like a match made in NFL heaven. Jackson will line up opposite Mike Evans and, as much as I dislike him as a person, Jameis Winston looks to be pretty good and now has 2 great receivers with 2 differing styles that will give defensive coordinators nightmares. Brandon Marshall to the Giants on a short, financially smart deal is great as well. He gives the Giants another much needed weapon at receiver, and much like Tampa, the Giants now have 2 great options outside that will give opposing secondary's headaches. It also makes their offense much less predictable. Jacksonville has done a ton to upgrade their defense. Their offense is still horrific and will hold them back, but they have the players to have a legit top ten defense.

There are also some moves that I don't like. Brian Hoyer and Pierre Garcon to the 49ers makes no sense to me, other than the fact that the San Francisco front office has money burning a hole in their pocket. These 2 guys don't move the needle at all for the 49ers. Brian Hoyer is not a good professional QB and Garcon, who I like, is a second receiver at best. They gave him number one receiver money. The contract that Carolina gave Ryan Kalil is insane. He is an okay offensive lineman, but to give him 25 million guaranteed is outrageous. Sure, he gets to play with his brother, but still, that is way too much guaranteed money for a middle of the pack lineman. Alshon Jeffrey only getting a one year deal is bizarre to me. He could have gotten a longer deal somewhere else, but I guess he wanted to play in Philadelphia, and they only wanted to sign him for one season. The fact that Mike Glennon is making more money than Aaron Rodgers now is an absolute joke. Glennon is not a starting caliber QB. He is a second stringer at best. There's a reason the Buccaneers drafted Winston number one a few years ago. It is hilarious to me that the Bears think Glennon is worth that much money, and this will surely blow up in their face just like the Cutler deal and anyone else this team thinks they can play at QB.

But there is one deal that has me absolutely flabbergasted. I was literally shocked when the news popped up on my phone yesterday that the Texans had traded Brock Osweiler and their 2018 second round pick to the Browns for a  fourth round pick in this year's draft. This is the same Brock Osweiler that the Texans gave a 4 year, 72 million dollar contract one year ago to the day. Yes, Osweiler was atrocious this past season. Yes, he was a flash in the pan, a la Matt Flynn in Green Bay, that cashed in on a few good games, or in Flynn's case, one good game. Yes, when you can't get the ball to one of the best receivers in the game. DeAndre Hopkins, the problem lies with the QB, not the receiver. But, Osweiler's fall in just one year is unprecedented to me.

Osweiler was on top of the world at this point a year ago. He was the prize QB on the market. The Texans thought they finally found their franchise guy at the QB position. Then the season happened and Osweiler wildly underperformed. He was flat out bad. He may have been the worst starting QB in the league last year. There were times that I would have rather had Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles or Trevor Siemian as my QB over Osweiler. He was so terrible. He even got replaced during the regular season by Tom Savage. Yeesh. After that benching, instead of working harder, he only got worse. He continued to doubt himself. When he was pushed back into action due to an injury to Savage, he played scared. He just didn't have the killer instinct. Sure, he won a playoff game, but it was against the Raiders who's QB broke his leg in week 16 and it wasn't due to Osweiler's play, it was the Texans defense. Hell, swap the QB's from that game, and I still think the Texans would have won with Connor Cook, and Connor Cook is dreadful.

With all that being said, this trade still shocked me. The Browns had to give up NOTHING for Osweiler, and by all accounts, Brock Osweiler will not be on the Browns for the 2017 season. They will either cut him or trade him. The Browns are in full on tank mode. The Texans clearly wanted to rid themselves of Osweiler, and they will probably end up with Tony Romo, but geeze oh man did they give up on Osweiler fast, and I don't blame them.

Brock Osweiler was so bad, I actually feel like both teams won this trade. The Texans got rid of his contract to make room for Romo or Savage, and they got a draft pick. The Browns got Osweiler, as trade bait, and a second round pick themselves. The Browns will pass off his contract to some team like the Jets or Jags that will be looking for a "quick fix" at QB, but Osweiler will just set them back further.

I wanted to compare this trade to the Pelicans trade for Boogie, but no one got fleeced here, except for Brock Osweiler. He fell so hard so fast. He is now considered a mediocre QB. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole if I was a team in need of even a second string QB. He has to be a shell of himself from Denver. And, it's not like he set the world on fire in Denver. His play seemed better than it actually was because, A) he beat the Patriots during one regular season game and, B), his play was overshadowed by a historically great defense.

I'm sure some more crazy stuff will happen during the NFL's free agency, but nothing will compare to this bizarre trade that went down between the Texans and Browns yesterday. This was absolutely ridiculous.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has yet to put this trade through on Madden, he doesn't want to waste his time with video game Osweiler any more than the real world one.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

MVP or Not, Kawhi Leonard is the Best Player to Watch in the NBA

I have a new favorite NBA player.

During my childhood I was an enormous Shawn Kemp and Seattle Super Sonics fan. After he had his falling out with the Sonics and moved on to Cleveland, and later, Portland, I kind of fell off the NBA. I didn't watch it nearly as much. In high school, I got into players like Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson and Paul Pierce.

But, none of those guys held a card to Kevin Garnett. He was my new guy. I loved his tenacity and the pride and joy with which he played the game of basketball. I was crushed when he retired before this season. For the longest time, the longest since Kemp in fact, Garnett was my guy. But, after he left Boston for Brooklyn, I kind of stopped paying attention to him. T

his was when I went to Kevin Durant. I was an OKC fan and I liked what I saw from Durant as a rookie all the way to carrying that team to the Finals. I loved his game and his style. He was a better Dirk, in my opinion. Everyone knows how I feel about Durant now. He left OKC high and dry, has done nothing but complain and make childish comments about Westbrook and OKC, and now he is hurt, making him a non factor in the end of this season.

Today I realized that one guy I have watched with alarming consistency, even when he was in college, is Kawhi Leonard. I LOVE Kawhi Leonard as a basketball player. He is the definition of a guy that lets his game do the talking. He is probably the most quiet dude in the entire league. He is a bona fide star, but no one talks about him because he barely speaks. And, when he does speak, he uses very few words, but they are important and meaningful.

Kawhi Leonard has achieved a lot in his short career thus far as well. First off, he was the best guy on a really good San Diego State team. He carried that team to a deep tournament run, but no one ever talked about him as a game changer in the NBA. He was a good defender in college, but he was an underrated scorer. He didn't have the jump shot yet, but he could get to the rim. Due to his "lack" of an offensive game, he slipped in the draft, but that was a blessing in disguise because he ended up in San Antonio with Gregg Poppovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.

Leonard got to learn from some of the best veterans on the most consistent team in my lifetime. The Spurs ALWAYS win 50 games. It's like death and taxes. I have come to expect it from them. As for the Spurs, I don't like or dislike them. I have watched them a ton because they were my dad's favorite team when he still watched the NBA, but I respect the hell out of them. What they have done in this day and age of NBA basketball is incredible. I was a Sonics fan, turned into an OKC fan, and now, as you all know, I have hitched my wagon to the Timberwolves, even though they have wildly underachieved this year.

Anyway, back to Kawhi.

I remember really enjoying watching him play three years ago when they smoked the Heat on their way to the title. In fact, I really liked watching him the year before when the Spurs blew the title. He was a ferocious defender. He seemed to be everywhere on the court. He was, and still is, the only guy that strikes fear in LeBron James when he sees him on the court. LeBron overpowers everyone else in the NBA, but not Kawhi. Kawhi is strong, not LeBron strong, but still strong and he doesn't back down. When he is out on the court, even though he is quiet, he knows he is the best defender, and that no one will take advantage of him. He is the one and only guy that can guard LeBron one on one in the NBA. That is why he won the Finals MVP three years ago. Sure, he was putting up points, but the fact that he made LeBron a non factor was the sole reason he won that Finals MVP, just like Andre Iguodala 2 years ago.

After that Finals, with it looking like Duncan may play only one or two more years, the Spurs, even after signing LaMarcus Aldridge, gave the keys to the team over to Kawhi. He is the guy now. In his first season as the guy, he greatly improved his offensive numbers while still being the shut down defender that he is known for. He vastly improved his jump shot. You cannot play off him now. He will crush you from the outside if you leave him alone. Then, if you try to play him close, he will scorch you on his way to the basket for an easy 2. He is the guy that the opposing team game plans around when they play the Spurs. I think this is perfect for Aldridge as well. Aldridge is a much better second option, and Kawhi has taken on that first option easily and with authority. Yes, the spurs got run off the floor by OKC last year, but it was not because of Kawhi Leonard. He came to play. He was the guy that stopped Durant, but that left Westbrook to go off. And when he would switch to Westbrook, Durant would go off. He, unfortunately for the Spurs, cannot guard everyone.

This year Kawhi Leonard has taken his game to a whole new stratosphere, without changing who he is as a person. He is a legitimate MVP candidate. He won't win it, Westbrook and Harden are putting up ridiculous numbers, and that is what seems to win the MVP, but man oh man is Kawhi a force in the league. Look at what he did the other night to the presumptive MVP favorite, Harden. First off, the Spurs came back from down 16 against the Rockets, much of that due to Leonard scoring at will. Then, the final 30 seconds of that game was just incredible, awe inspiring basketball from Leonard. To hit that three, with his team down 2, going to his left and shooting it over a 7 footer was exceptional enough. Then, the chase down block was the best chase down block since LeBron in game 7 of the Finals last year. He rendered Harden's layup useless. He sent it back like Harden stole something from him. You'd expect Leonard to be jawing and talking trash after doing this, but he did not change the expression on his face at all. He did all this with that steely demeanor that has made me an enormous fan of his.

Leonard threw himself into the MVP conversation with that performance. He may have taken Harden's spot for me, if I had a vote. Right now, my top four would be Westbrook, Leonard, James and Harden. It has to mean something when the best guy on the most consistent team continues to get better every year and is now the focal point of said team.

Kawhi Leonard is so good at basketball. He just needs to be recognized by the casual fan, not the rabid NBA fan. He is firmly my favorite player to watch and root for in the NBA now. He is so good and so understated and lets his game due the talking. He never complains to officials, yell at officials, mock other players or coaches. He just goes out and does his job. Kawhi Leonard is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. In his preseason basketball writing, Ty had a familiar name penciled in for MVP.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Let Me Respectfully Explain Why Macklemore Sucks

The only good place to store Macklemore's "music"

Today I'm going to go back in time and do one of my favorite things, explain why I irrationally hate something. I usually save this for sports teams, but today, my sole focus for my hatred will be squarely on a "rapper". Many of you may have just read that sentence and assumed that I will be talking about Drake today, but not so fast. I'll save him for another day. I have also shit on him a lot on the podcast.

But, today I was driving in my car listening to my Pandora stations on shuffle, and something so damning to my ears came on that I got literally upset. I yelled at Pandora as if the AI could hear me for what they'd done to me. I felt like tossing my phone out of the car because of how angry I was that Pandora's AI thought I would want to hear anything from the "rapper" Macklemore. 

I DESPISE Macklemore. I think he is one of, if not the, most overrated "emcees" of all time. And yes, I'm going to continue to use quotes throughout this whole article because he is one fake ass "rapper".

Macklemore first jumped on my radar in 2013 with the horrendous song, "Thrift Shop". Everyone I knew loved this song, but me. I could not stand it. I did not like the hook. I thought that the beat was terrible, at best. I loathed the video for this song. But, what irked me most was this phony new "rapper" Macklemore trying to rap. It was disgusting. He sounds like a white guy trying to rap. That is not a compliment. You know when you hear someone like Eminem, El-P or Mike Skinner(AKA The Streets), and they sound like a legit rapper? That is the opposite feeling I got when I heard Macklemore. He was trying so hard to be a "rapper", where with real rappers, it just comes naturally. Of course "Thrift Shop" blew up. It was everywhere. Try as I might, I could not get away from the song. Every party, gathering, radio station or place I went or listened to, that damn song was on. It never grew on me at all. It had the opposite effect. The more I heard it the more I hated it.

People then looked for what he was going to do next, and to everyone else around him I give credit, his next single was "Same Love". This song has a great message, just a terrible messenger. If this had just been the lady singing who sang the hook, I would have been totally on board with this track. As I have said, I love and respect and agree with the message behind "Same Love", but, every time I hear Macklemore's dumbass "rap", I get angry.

A great spoof of how horrific a messenger Macklemore is was Andy Samberg as Connor 4 Real in "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" when he sang the song "Equal Rights". It is almost indistinguishable as to which guy is singing which song, and Andy Samberg was making a joke. That should, in and of itself, be enough evidence that Macklemore is an absolute joke.

Of course his record "The Heist" went on to win multiple Grammys, including beating out Kendrick Lamar's "Good Kid, M.A.D.D. City" for best rap record. That is one of the biggest "upsets" in the history of the stupid Grammys. In my opinion, that ranks right up there with Jethro Tull beating out Metallica for Best Heavy Metal Album, which many people see as the biggest upset in Grammys history. To make himself look even worse though, Macklemore supposedly texted an apology to Kendrick Lamar, telling him he deserved the award. What a douchebag. Just take your prize and let it be. I'm positive Kendrick Lamar doesn't give a second thought to the Grammys because he is way too busy making relevant, meaningful, incredible music. Only a moron like Macklemore would think that Kendrick Lamar would want an apology text from him. This was so stupid.

Then, Macklemore went on to show up in a multitude of Dr. Pepper commercials, claiming he was an independent artist who did things on his own terms. He would then take a sip of a Dr. Pepper at the end of these commercials claiming to be an "independent artist". This is such a sell out move. Just admit you did it for the money. Every musician and band does this now. It doesn't make you a sell out, unless you come across like Macklemore did in these stupid Dr. Pepper commercials. Some of my favorite bands, like the Black Keys for one main example, sell their songs to commercials all the time. I don't care because they don't come out and try and explain why they sold their music. I know why, they're getting paid a shit ton of money to do it. I'd do the same thing. Macklemore's Dr. Pepper commercials reminded me of myself when I was 17 and claimed anyone I liked that performed on TV or had one of their songs in a big time commercial was a sell out. Let me repeat my age, I was 17. Macklemore acts like a 17 year old. He also went on to do more stupid commercials, I don't even know what for, but he and Russell Wilson were hanging out. They said it was the Seattle connection, but I just saw a couple of holier than thou douchebags shilling some nonsense, and I hated those commercials too.

Many people anticipated Macklemore's second record, I couldn't have cared less, and it was a total flop. Again, I go to the "Popstar" comparison. Just like "Connquest" was a colossal failure for Conner 4 Real, so was "The Unruly Mess I've Made" for Macklemore. It was a colossal critical and monetary failure. That album got incredibly panned by critics and fans alike. I assumed the unruly mess he was talking about was his terrible "rapping", but I'm sure he was talking about some other bull shit that he thought made him seem semi important.

I hope this is the end of his "rap" career because he is garbage. I also do not know one single person, nor has anyone come to me and said, I'm a Macklemore fan. I know he sold millions of records, but I do not know one single person that owns a Macklemore single or record. It is a lot like The Black Eyed Peas with Fergie. I know they sold records, but I don't know one single person that claims to be a fan. Macklemore is trash and he should quit music forever. I hope it happens sooner rather than later.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was at the thrift shop yesterday and saw all of Macklemore's music for $.99. 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": The Dug Out Edition

This past Sunday was one of the most excellently trashy episodes of "Bar Rescue" that I have seen. Now, it's not on the level of gross that "The Landing Strip" episode achieved. But, this was trashy for other reasons.

First though, let me explain the nuts and bolts as I like to do. The bar that Taffer and crew came to rescue was in the heart of downtown Chicago. The bar was called "The Dug Out", and it was located literally right next to Wrigley Field. During baseball season, "The Dug Out" would make a ton of money from people coming and going to the game. It was during the off season when the bar would hemorrhage money. Well, that and the owner was a complete mess. This guy was so much worse than any owner I have seen, "Landing Strip" and "Piratz Tavern" included. This guy was completely clueless and did not seem to care about anything at all, except getting wasted. To the staff's credit, they tried very hard. They did the best they could, but they were never trained properly and the owner did not seem to care to train them. It was his way or the highway.

During baseball's off season, and during the regular season for that matter, the owner did not make the staff clean the bar. This was where I felt the staff could have done a bit more. This bar was disgusting. But, to the staff's credit, whenever I had a manager or owner that I worked for that showed no signs of caring, I took that as, I should not care as well. He didn't seem to mind that the bar was a disgusting mess, so why would the staff clean? They were still getting paid either way. And when I say this bar, and the kitchen too, were disgusting, I mean they were absolutely barf worthy in the filth that had piled up. I have never seen so many fruit flies in my life. The staff was swatting away flies left and right, the flies were on the walls, cups and trays, they were everywhere. The stools and tables in the bar were old and broken down. Cushions were coming undone and the tables just looked worn down. I also saw caterpillars, ants and some cockroaches crawling around in the front of the bar.

The kitchen was just as bad, if not worse. Nothing looked to have been cleaned one single time. The owner doubled as the chef, and when Taffer and crew watched from the van, what they saw, and what I saw, made me sick to my stomach. The owner did not wear gloves and cross contaminated everything. He also refused to clean anything, as I have already stated. Condiment bottles had so much build up he didn't even use the cap anymore because he could not close them. There was mold, grim and possible grease fire traps from all the loose grease everywhere. Taffer had his spies order food, but when he saw what was going on, he rushed into the bar to tell them not to eat anything. Taffer then told the kitchen expert to throw all the food out and close down the kitchen. He also told the bar expert to close down the front as well.

When they came back the next day, the kitchen expert had asked what happened to all the food he threw away, he did not see it in the trash, and the owner stated that he took it home to freeze. HE DIDN'T WANT RANCID FOOD TO GO TO WASTE! THIS IS VILE! The bartenders were sat down to train, and they were clueless. All they had known before was pouring random alcohols into a big fish bowl that was dubbed non ironically, "The Fishbowl". He also had a lemonade pitcher filled with multiple bourbons. He called this "concoction", "The Hot Pussy Shot", and they kept saying it over and over again throughout the whole episode. It was so gross.

Mind you, all this has happened, and I checked the time left in the episode, and we only had abut 25 minutes left. I soon realized that Taffer was probably going to walk out. Back to training for stress test.

During the training, the staff was on board with everything that Taffer and his crew were showing them. The owner though, he couldn't have cared less. He just sat through all this, questioned everything and told anyone involved with Spike TV and Jon Taffer that he wasn't going to do anything they told him to do once he and his crew left. He was a real asshole. The staff desperately wanted all the changes. What has become a recurring theme on the show, the staff needs the job way more than the owners do. They live paycheck to paycheck, so they need the bar to work out, or else they are back on their own looking for a new job. That can be very tough and stressful. So, the fact that this owner was so cavalier in his attitude really made me dislike him. The failures, as Taffer loves to say, were solely on him. If you cannot succeed with a bar that close to Wrigley Field, you should not be in the restaurant or bar industry. This guy had a goldmine and he was letting his childish attitude flush it down the toilet.

They eventually got around to stress test and it was, to no one surprise, a total disaster. The owner screwed everything up. Oh, he also decided to have a few drinks before stress test right in front of Taffer's front of house expert. This owner was a real piece of shit. I cannot stress that enough. During stress test and training he just floated and never paid attention to what needed to be done. When they were finally drowning in a sea of customers not getting food or drink, Taffer shut it down.

The next day Taffer gathered the staff and not the owner and told them that he was going to remodel the bar for them, but he was leaving immediately after that. He was leaving it in the hands of the employees. This was a first for me in watching "Bar Rescue". When he was telling the staff the plan, a few of the employees literally broke down in tears. It was sad. He let the staff see what he had done. He changed the name to "The Press Box". Not great, but not bad. He added some ivy to the outside and totally refurbished and refurnished the inside. It looked like a legit sports bar. It was one of Taffer's better "rescues".

The icing on the cake was just about to happen right near the end of the episode. After the staff saw the new bar, who should show up but the uninvited and incredibly wasted owner. He walked through the crowd and yelled, "JON! MY MAN!". He then went on to berate Taffer and his staff. He was slurring his words and couldn't say a single sentence coherently. It was a total nightmare. His whole staff quit on the spot. He yelled at them as they were walking away, but they did the best possible thing, given the situation. Then, after the staff and Taffer split, the Spike cameras followed this moron inside and chronicled all the nonsense he said when he saw the bar. It was total gibberish, and he even tried to do a line from "A Few Good Men", which came out horribly wrong.

They did do a 6 week checkup and 2 of the 4 employees came back, but the owner had changed everything back to the way he wanted it, even bringing back "The Hot Pussy Shot", which they just had to throw in there one more time. This bar was a total and complete disaster, and when I fully side with Taffer, there is a serious problem with the people involved with this particular bar. This owner was horrendous, and while I wish no ill will towards anyone, I hope he is no longer involved the food and bar industry because he is going to get people seriously sick due to his lack of caring. This owner was an abomination and he deserves to have his bar taken away from him. It's as cut and dry at that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor has been to Wrigley Field a few times, and has been to many bars in the area. There is a good chance that he was victim of "The Hot Pussy Shot". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

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!