Better Never Than Late on "Don't Worry Darling"

A while back I wrote about all the off screen drama involving the movie "Don't Worry Darling". The trailers and the cast and then all that nonsense had me pretty hype to watch the movie. I also loved "Booksmart", Olivia Wilde's first movie, so I figured she was due for another solid outing. I was on board to see this movie. And it is now streaming on HBO Max. My wife also wanted to see it, it was her turn to pick the date night movie and she picked "Don't Worry Darling". We sat down and were both excited.

The movie, for me, did not deliver. Now, my wife liked the movie. She enjoyed her viewing experience. And Florence Pugh and Chris Pine did a very good job with little material to work with. Those are the things I enjoyed about the movie. But everything else fell very flat for me. It was not worth all the hype. The story and most other performances just didn't work for me. The direction felt clunky and forced. Some of the acting was very blah. And the stuff that was left on the cutting room floor, according to internet research, probably would have helped. But I was not feeling it.

Pugh, as previously stated, was solid. She did a great job in fact. She is very good in these horror/psychological roles. She knows how to do that. But Harry Styles is not a great actor. He tried very hard in this movie, but I just didn't buy his performance. He has a scene where he has to cry and act upset and it looked like a first time actor trying way too hard. He did some things well, but most of it was very forced and not so good. At least he can sing. Nick Kroll was underused. He did not get a chance to shine in a role that is very different for him. I wanted more. I could say the same for Kate Bertlant, who I also like very much. She had moments where it looked like she was going to go through some stuff, but they cut her off or cut away from her character. I wanted to know so much more about her. Her husband, played by Asif Ali, only had a handful of lines. He was not fleshed out at all. Kiki Layne had a very juicy role, got to do some decent stuff, but she was the person who was cut the most. Her role was, seemingly, very important to the story, but she was more under utilized than Kroll. That was a bummer. Pine's wife, played by Gemma Chan, had this eeriness to her, but she never got fleshed out either. That seemed to happen a lot in this movie. Wilde gave herself a supporting role, and it felt like they wrote her character more than any other supporting actor. She had a backstory and stuff that happened to her, but I was not given enough time as a viewer to really care about her. What happened was sad and devastating, but they did not reveal any of it until the very end. There was no time.

Therein lies my biggest problem with the movie. They had a great idea, they had a solid cast, they had people game for this movie, the set pieces were dope, but they did not go far enough with this story and these people living in this world. The movie was a shade over two hours, but it felt unfinished. It felt rushed. It felt like they were all trying to not get COVID, this movie was filmed during a surge from what I read. It just did not tell this interesting story in an interesting way for me. The way they got to the twist was slow, but once they were there, they went too fast. Pugh tried her best to pull it off. Pine was a great villain, but the rest was just too bland. When they flashed back and forth, Styles looked like a bad guy from an early 2000's indie movie, and not in a good way.

I don't know. The movie had all this press and all this build up, but it just didn't hit home with me. And that bums me out. I really wanted to like this movie. Or, at the very least, I wanted this movie to give me a story. I wanted it to be memorable. But it was just a very bland and boring movie that did not deliver. Oh well, at least I have the off screen nonsense to look back on in the future. What a bummer.

Ty

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

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An Ode to Jillian Bell and Her MVP Performance on "Workaholics"

I am rewatching "Workaholics" for the, what seems like, millionth time. I love this show. It is one of my all time favorites. I enjoy the comedy, like the acting and think it is one of the funniest shows of all time. Everyone on it is very good at their roles. But there is one actor who I think may be the unsung hero of it all. That actor is Jillian Bell.

Jillian Bell plays Jillian on the show and she is the best scene stealer and quite possibly the funniest person on the show. Every time she shows up I find myself laughing harder than normal. I did not notice this until very recently. On this most recent rewatch I am going through and doing my own personal best of. I pick out a few episodes when I turn it on that I love. These ones always hit. And whenever Jillian Bell shows up I get pumped. I was watching one yesterday and it really hit home how great she is.

In this particular episode TAC, the company they work for, is selling a new female based product. All of the male salesmen are horrible at their jobs so they get replaced by the women. The women crush it, mainly Jillian. The success goes to Jillian's head and she starts to treat Blake like an object. Seeing her go from such a sweet, nice person to this mean and vindictive salesperson is a masterclass. She is so funny and scary. When she reveals her tattoo, that whole scenario is magic. When she exclaims, "I need my first cup of coffee ever", I laugh harder each time. She does such a great job.

It is not just that one episode. When she runs for snack manager, that is a classic for fans of this show. When she tells the boys about a promotion, and the way she just blindly goes about her day, genius. When she and Blake get a cat and co parent, oh man, that is some kind of wonderful. When she helps out the guys with their backyard wrestling, that is awesome. I love when she has to take over the office because Alice is sick and it is a disaster. And only someone like Bell could pull this off so well. Her timing, the way she plays this character, her comedy, the line delivery, it is all top notch. I find myself constantly impressed.

I have seen a ton of other stuff that Jillian Bell has been in, and it is all good. I adore "Brittany Runs a Marathon". It is one of the few movies that have made me cry, and that is due to Bell's performance. She is awesome as the villain in "22 Jump Street". It is a true tour de force villain role for her. "Sword of Trust" is an indie favorite of mine, and she is great. "Idiotsitter" is a highly underrated comedy and she was clutch on that show. She is probably the only funny part in "Fist Fight". I loved her in "The Night Before". Bell is a great actor. But it is her work on "Workaholics" that introduced me to her and it is my favorite thing she has done. I do want to see her new movie, "I'm Totally Fine", but I do not think it will be better than "Workaholics".

Seriously, go check out Jillian Bell’s work on this show. She is amazing and really took this role and ran with it. Anyone that can deliver a line, "I'm looking like a boss though, in head to toe Costco" is going to have a special place in my heart. Jillian Bell crushed it as Jillian on "Workaholics".

Ty

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

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An Ode to the Great Movies from the Safdie Brothers

While channel surfing the other day I came across the movie "Good Time". For those that may not know, "Good Time" stars Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie. They are brothers who are running from the police after a bank robbery gone wrong. Safdie is the brother with a problem and Pattinson is the brother trying to help the only way he knows how.

This movie is incredible. This is the third time I have watched it and it gets better every time. Pattinson delivers a powerhouse performance. This is the movie that I saw him in when I realized he could really act, that he wasn't just the kid from "Twilight". He and Kristen Stewart have gone on to have very successful careers since that movie.

What stood out most this time from watching "Good Time" was the direction of the Safide brothers. They both directed the movie. Benny Safdie was also in it, but he and his brother, Josh, are credited as co directors. This movie is anxiety riddled. It is fueled with intense moments. I found myself on the edge of my seat and I already knew what was going to happen. But watching Pattinson running around New York with all kinds of shady people made this movie that much more intense. Whether he is trying to break his brother out of a hospital with a police guard standing watch, or tricking a family into letting him in, or dealing with a formerly incarcerated alcoholic, it is all just pure chaos in the best possible way.

The Safdie brothers seem to thrive on making movies that freak you out without having jumor scares or built in scary stuff. There is a scene in "Good Time" where they are at a theme park after dark, and when Pattinson's character turns all the lights on, the noise from the park scares me. I think that is because I am so caught up in the madness that is occurring at any given moment. And nearly the exact same thing happens with the other Safdie brothers movie I have seen, "Uncut Gems". "Uncut Gems" is one of the best movies I have ever watched. They take another actor, Adam Sandler, and put him in these crazy situations, all of his own doing by the way, and Sandler nails it. It is his best non comedic performance in my opinion. When Sandler has good writers and directors attached to a genre he may not be all that comfortable with, he usually delivers. The Safdie brothers made a movie that fits that perfectly. Sandler is a degenerate gambler and habitually cheater in "Uncut Gems". He is slimy and smarmy. He treats people like human ATM machines. And he does pay a horrific price in the end, but again, it is all because he doesn't know when to quit. And the Safide brothers do a wonderful job of showing his day to day life in this movie. It is also anxiety fueled. There are moments in "Uncut Gems" that scare me and it is not a scary movie. The Safdie brothers get a tremendous performance from Kevin Garnett, who is essentially playing a heightened version of himself. They got The Weekend to play a total scumbag in this movie, and he nailed it. Idina Menzel, who plays Sandler's wife, is not your typical put upon wife in this movie. She is tough as nails and commits. I really feel like that is due to Safdie brothers direction. "Uncut Gems" is a must see movie. It was the last movie I saw in the theaters prior to the pandemic, and I was stoked to tell people that.

I guess what I am trying to get at today is how well the Safide brothers make these specific types of movies. They are scary without being horror. They have funny moments without being a comedy. These are crazy dramatic scenes without their movies being full on dramas. I don’t really know how to categorize their movies, and maybe that is exactly how they want it to be. All I know is, I am a fan of their work and I cannot wait to see what they do next. I read they are working with Sandler again, so that could be very cool. Until their new project comes out at least I have "Good Time" and "Uncut Gems" to hold me over when I want to be stressed out in a good way while watching a movie.

Ty

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

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An Ode to Gil Ozeri, "Comedy Bang!Bang!" Greatest Guest

This morning during my run I listened to the newest episode of “Comedy Bang! Bang!”. It has to be my favorite podcast. It’s my favorite that I don’t cohost for sure. I love pretty much everything about the show. It’s the best improv comedy show. It’s the funniest show. Scott Aukermann has turned it into an empire. They go on tour. I saw a live show and it ruled.

What makes this show so great for me are the guests they have after the main interview. I love the main interview, but it’s the next people that make this show the best. Aukermann usually has two of his buddies on and they play characters. No one is ever themselves. This is where the show jumps from great to classic. Any number of his friends are awesome too. But this newest episode may have my favorite buddy of Aukermann’s featured.

Gil Ozeri was the final guest and he was a delight. He okayed a “busy guy”. He referred to himself as the “busiest man in the world”. He says he’s a husband and a father to many kids. That he owns multiple businesses. That he helps everyone when he can. And he kept getting calls throughout the final twenty plus minutes. His phone kept ringing and each ring was a different person. He sold a movie, talked to his mom’s gynecologist, had an alarm for his viagra, talked to business partners, had a painting commissioned, I could go on and on. But something that shouldn’t have worked was dynamite. I found myself howling. I was still listening when I finished my run and I laughed even harder after catching my breath.

This is what makes Ozeri such a great guest. He goes for it. There is no joke he isn’t willing to run with. He has an idea for a character and he makes it work. He is an excellent improviser. He is so good at just going with the flow. After listening to him today I thought about other times he was on the show and it made me smile. The fact that he is so game makes it so wonderful. Just in this past year he’s been on two other times and they were both equally phenomenal. He was Dr Sweetchat the Small Talk Robot right at the beginning of the year. That is such a memorable character. The robot is on the plug bag song. I have listened to this episode multiple times and I laugh harder each time. It will be a classic for sure. It already is for me. He was on again awhile after that. He went on with one of his improv groups, Hot Sauce. That group includes Ozeri, Adam Pally and Ben Schwartz. That is a murderers row of improv people. And Ozeri was the funniest. He plays a singer and the songs he makes up are awesome. I have listened to those aplenty since his appearance this time. They are amazing.

What makes Ozeri so extra great is the fact that he’s been around “CBB” since the start. He first appeared on episode 151 and has been on a bunch since then. I just wanted to give him a shout out today because I really appreciate how hilarious he is. I want others to check him out too. Gil Ozeri is really great at what he does. Seek him out people.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story"

We watched "Weird" this weekend and I am here with a review today. Right off the bat, I was super hype to watch this movie. I could not wait. From the time that Aaron Paul did the short for Funny or Die, then the movie was announced and then Daniel Radcliffe was cast in the lead, I was ready for this movie to be released.

“Weird” totally delivered. This movie was everything I wanted it to be. This movie was nuts and funny and goofy and silly and did not take itself seriously at all. It was wonderful. I have similar feelings to this movie that RD and I both have for "Mad Max: Fury Road", but in a totally different way. "Weird" will definitely be on my best of list at the end of the year, spoiler alert. I mean, I don't even know where to begin when explaining everything I love about this movie. From start to finish this movie delivered.

When we see a young Weird Al, it is awesome. The actor they got to play him looked like him as a kid. The actor also did a phenomenal job. The actors who played his parents were so over the top and for that kid to keep pace, that was a feat. His mom is hyper supportive, but also knows when to tell the truth. His dad is straight out of every other music biopic, and that is exactly what they wanted. He is mean and grouchy and full of pain and anger. He is constantly yelling and fighting everyone. He breaks Al's accordion when he is a teenager. He is a perfect parody. And the kid who plays teenage Al, again, perfect casting. It was glorious. I loved that they also made accordion music like rock music in the movie. When teenage Al goes to a party all the kids are listening to polka and dancing like it is the best thing ever. And then when Al plays the accordion, they all lose their minds like it is the best thing they have ever heard.

After Al's dad breaks his accordion we transition to college Al, and this is when Radcliffe takes over. He is magnetic. He is up for anything in this role and he absolutely goes for it. I found myself super impressed at how well he acted in this role. He acted the hell out of it. From his rise to fame to his murderous rampage to his booze and drug fueled rants to audiences, it all works. It is all great. My favorite part was when he went to a party at Dr Demento's house and we got all sorts of cameos. From Conan O'Brien to Jorma Taccone, there were cameos aplenty. The best, for me, was Jack Black as Wolfman Jack. It was simply amazing. He had the look, voice and charisma of Wolfman. His perfectly coiffed beard was a sight to behold. I also need to point out how awesome Rainn Wilson was as Dr Demento. He played him superbly. Also, Evan Rachel Wood was phenomenal as Madonna. I was so surprised by how well she did. I fully understand how good of an actor she is, but this was a totally different role for her. She embodied Madonna. She made her even more bitchy and clout chasing. It was an incredible performance. I am not speaking out of turn, but I do think she should, at the very least, get Oscar consideration. The whole subplot with her taking over for Pablo Escobar was dynamite. Also, her being a bad influence on Yankovic, that was comedy gold.

I think what I liked most about this movie was how seriously they played all of it out. The movie was meant to be big and bold and wild and action packed. They did all of that, but they went even further than they had to. The violence was a shock, but it was also hilarious. Radcliffe's performance was second only to Evan Rachel Wood's. This movie is perfect. I think the idea of doing a parody movie about a parody singer is all too perfect. I love this movie. Please check out "Weird". It is totally worth your time.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Atlanta" Series Finale

I just watched the series finale of "Atlanta". This is one of the best shows that has ever been on TV. I was thrilled how they ended it. It did not have to be some hoity toity everyone getting together one last time for a love fest. They were all together, as they should be, but it was not a final type thing.

Looking back one can see that this was not a typical series finale. This was like any other episode of the series, and I mean that in the best possible way. This finale centered on Darius, a superb LaKeith Stanfield, and his day inside a deprivation tank. Or maybe the whole thing was all in his mind. We may never know. And I love that. I am a big fan of movies like "Inception" and that was what this finale ended up being. Spoiler alert, but the ending is up to us, the viewer.

Seeing the day through Darius' eyes was great. We got to go on a ride with him, and he is one of the more fun people in the show. We got to go through his ups and downs. Darius has always been a guy that does his own thing, but we got to meet an old friend of his. This scene was rad. We got to see he had a brother that he still talks to, even though he has, most likely, passed away. That scene was powerful. We also got to see him get real in a situation that was totally messed up. This was all wonderful.

Paper Boi, Van and Earn all had a day all their own that was wild as well. The whole Popeye's thing and going to the black owned sushi restaurant was fantastic. I could not take my eyes off Paper Boi and his journey through the day. Brian Tyree Henry was outstanding throughout the entire series. This episode showcased his talents tenfold. He was dynamite.

Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz had little to do, but they each had their own time to shine throughout the 4 seasons of the show. And in the little time they had in the finale, they crushed. Earn telling Darius that this was all real was great. Seeing how scared Van was while they were getting a swift talking to in the sushi restaurant was some excellent facial acting. I bought how scared she seemed.

I was blown away by how good the finale was, and how great this whole series was. I was finding myself getting closer to the end and saying, "I don't want this to end". I have not had that feeling much about most shows. When "Lost" ended, I was cool with it. I liked "Game of Thrones", but when it was done I moved on. I was ready for both "Parks and Rec" and "The Office" to finish. This finale was better than another favorite of mine, "Brooklyn 99".

Looking back "Atlanta" did things that not many other TV shows have done before. I found myself constantly thinking about episodes after I watched them. Certain episodes, like "Teddy Perkins" and all of season three stayed with me like a horror movie that I enjoyed. This show confused me in all the best ways. There was stuff that I just could not figure out, but reading and searching about it made it that much more enjoyable when it all came into focus. I will forever adore this show. Donald Glover created something that will be a classic. This show will go down in history as one of the best ever.

I, obviously, could not recommend this show more. "Atlanta" is an all time great. Thank you to everyone that worked on this show. Not only Glover, But Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiro Murai, Stepehn Glover and countless other genius individuals, thank you all forever. "Atlanta" rules.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Packers Stink

Before the NFL season started I assumed Green Bay would walk in their division. They have done it every year for the past decade, so I just figured it would be more of the same. I thought the Lions would be better, but not a threat. I predicted the Bears to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but they have some fight and play hard. And I thought the Vikings would be mediocre, a .500 team at best. It has almost always been this way.

The Packers are bad. They are very, very bad. They have no fight. They are constantly injured. The defense is seemingly always on the field. The special teams are beyond mediocre. The run game is nowhere to be seen. The pass game is even worse. The offense is terrible. And I am here today to put the majority of the blame on Aaron Rodgers.

I loathe this dude. I also loathe the fact that this team is so predicated on how one guy performs. But every week Aaron Rodgers makes some dumbass face or blames someone else or says some nonsense in an interview and it just bums me out.

I cannot believe I am still supporting this team. I do not like the QB or the coach. I only like some defensive players. The team has zero urgency. They have no fight. They cannot put it together at all. They have gotten worse every week. Last week against the Lions they managed 9 points. 9 freaking points. And it is not like they were not in the red zone a bunch. They had, I believe, four trips to the redzone. And, once again, managed only 9 points. Rodgers threw a pick to Aidan Hutchinson. I was stoked to see Hutchinson get a pick, but a defensive lineman picking off a QB that is supposed to be an all timer, that is rough stuff. But it has been like that all year. Even the three wins they have are all low scoring. They have won with defense. The offense is a wreck. I know that Davante Adams left, but he should not have made this much of a difference. He is an incredible receiver, one of the best in the league, but one receiver signing with a different team should not make this much of an impact. They still have Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. They still have solid wideouts like Randall Cobb. They got a solid rookie in Romeo Doubs. They still have the core of their O line. They have a decent tight end room.

I think it all goes back to Rodgers. He threw his fit, lied to everyone about being vaccinated, still got paid and now it is like he doesn't even care. He goes out on the field with his stupid haircuts and makes derpy faces all the time. It is aggravating. I am so ready for the Packers to move on.

I am ready to watch Jordan Love give it a shot. I want them to maybe draft a young QB in this upcoming class. I mean, the Packers are not going anywhere this season. They are 3-7 and it is not going to get any better. Sure, they are ahead of the Lions and tied with the Bears, but those teams play hard. And have players. The Lions are building a defense for the future, and I bet they will address the offense this offseason and in the draft. The Bears have a very good young QB in Justin Fields, they traded for Chase Claypool and they made some moves to get picks. They let Roquan Smith go, but they got picks. They traded a D lineman, but they got picks. They are building. As for the Vikings, screw their QB as well, but they have Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook. They still use Adam Thielen quite a bit. They traded for TJ Hockenson. Their defense is as solid as ever. I mean, they would be just fine with Justin Jefferson, but they have building blocks as well.

The only team in the division stuck in neutral, the Packers. This team needs a change and they need it at a lot of levels. They need a new QB. They may need some new coaches. They need to get some more solid wideouts. They need to revamp. They may even need to rebuild. This team is not good and the future looks rough. Time for some changes. 

Ty

After All These Years, "The Simpsons" Still Make Great "Treehouse of Horrors"

Last night my wife and I got around to watching the last two new episodes of "The Simpsons". Our son has been begging us to watch them. He has seen them a bunch and loves them. He joined us last night.

The first one though, entitled "Not It", is a Treehouse of Horror Story. I do not know that they have ever done this before. I have been watching this show from the jump and this is the first time I have seen them do something like this. It was cool. I am afraid of clowns. I believe I have mentioned this before. But this "Not It" episode was rad. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But it was scary. There were moments I had to look down. The animators made Krusty very creepy. He looked like Pennywise. It was frightening. It was also funny though. They made fun of Krusty. They shot him down. Krusty also made some jokes. It kind of took the edge off. It made it a little less scary. But there were still moments. When Krusty would show up and frighten them as kids, that made me jump. The ending of the episode, before they defeat Krusty was definitely scary, and gory too. I was taking my eyes on and off the screen the full 30 minutes. But I loved the episode. I thought it was very well made. The movie "It" scarred me when I was young, so I have not watched the new movies. My wife has. She enjoyed them and she said that the writers did a very good job making a parody. She was trying to figure out who each character was in the movie from the show. She said a lot of it was right out of the movie. When they showed that Moe was famous, she immediately pointed out that he was doing the Bill Hader part. I think she was impressed how they pulled it off. She also just watched the movies last week, so it was fresh. "Not It" was a very solid, very good episode of "The Simpsons". Doing a Treehouse of Horror Story episode makes me want more and I kind of wished they had done this in the past. Better late than never I suppose.

The actual "Treehouse of Horror" episode was one of the best I have seen in some time. I have never been the biggest fan of these episodes, but I do find them enjoyable. I also liked the original ones. I liked how they tried to be legit scary. And they usually pulled it off. That was how this new "Treehouse of Horrors" episode was. This was legit scary. The first story was like "The Babadook". They called it "The Pappadook", and it was genuinely frightening. Marge goes full on as the mom from "The Babadook". She continuously attacks Maggie. I can see why my kids were so scared by what they saw. There were very few laughs, and I think that was on purpose. I really liked how dark they went with it. The second story was the anime that they had been promoting. This one was a little more lighthearted, but it also had some heavy stuff going on. Lisa gains the power from a book to off the people she chooses. This episode was pretty heavy with the story telling. It was almost too real. It was wild. And when Lisa learns who found out her secret, it got really real. I was nervous for Bart for a second. But Lisa did the right thing and all was good. What I found most impressive was the animation in this story. It was rad. I was amazed at how they did it all. It was great. The third story was a "Westworld" take. It was my favorite of the night. The way the story unfolded, and what we saw at the end was awesome. I love how the Homer robot gained sentience and got the rest of the family involved. He picked certain robots that he wanted to work with. I also liked all the separate worlds they created and how they showed them all. I also think it was really cool how they got the Ralph robots to come at them continuously, and how they used old gadgets to fight them off. And when they pulled away, after they escaped, the twist was dynamite. When we saw Linda Belcher, and then the camera panned back and we saw all the other worlds they created, that was eerie and very neat. This "Treehouse of Horrors" was one of the best in a while.

These two episodes back to back make me respect this show even more. They are still doing things that nobody else can do. And they do it the best. I love "The Simpsons".

Ty

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

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Making the Whole Bed is a Whole Lot of Torture

As you all know by now I am the homekeeper of my house. I do all the chores. That is my job as the at home parent. But today I had to do what I consider to be the worst job of any homemaker, make a bed. And I do not mean just put the blankets on the mattress all nice and fluff the pillows. I am talking about making the whole bed. From bottom sheet to top sheet to pillows and pillow cases.

This is the worst. I loathe this chore. I put it off until I absolutely have to do it. It is too much for me. And I get that this is a champagne problem and I shouldn't be griping, I get to stay home, I do not have to go to an office and do mundane work. But the job of the at home parent can be hard at times and I have a venue with which I can vent about the stuff I do not like.

Let’s go through the ordeal.

First off, I am a bigger dude. I lost a good amount of weight, but I am still on the bigger side. I am also hairy everywhere except for my head. This means I sweat. A lot. So the full process of making a bed gets the sweat glands going. Then the whole process is just a nightmare. If you get the bottom sheet wrong you have to rip it off the mattress. If the tags are on the outside you have to start all over again. It can be very frustrating. The older I get the more I act like my father, and I love this by the way, so that means making the bed causes me to curse under my breath. And when it doesn't go right I am a sailor. I say all kinds of swear words to an inanimate object. I go off on the sheets, cases and blankets. Pillows better watch out because I am coming for them. Almost nothing frustrates me more. And even when you get that bottom sheet on, you have to do it all over again with the bed sheet. That is as much a pain as the bottom sheet. Then you have that thin top blanket that continuously blows off the bed with the slightest gust of wind. I could clear my breath and that whole blanket moves. It is a pain in the butt. Then you have the pillow case. This should be the easiest, but if you do not get that pillow in correctly the whole thing looks wonky and doesn't feel right. It almost makes the pillow harder if the pillow case is not on there properly. And just when you think you have finished, when it feels like the work is done, you have to put the blanket on top. Myself, my wife and now my kids all like our blankets to be faced in a specific way. And if it is not, we have to do it until it feels and looks right. This could be several different movements before it is in the right spot. And with my kids, after making the full bed, I have to put all their stuffed animals and other accoutrements on there. It adds up to five minutes. My daughter has so many stuffed animals that I had to put some away for donation just to make enough room for her to sleep comfortably in there tonight.

As I said, I get that this is pretty ridiculous to gripe about but I bet there are a good amount of people out there who agree with me. And I bet the ones who think this is nuts will look at making a bed a little different next time. They may think more about it. I just needed to get this off my chest today. This was a nice little therapy session for me. Thanks for indulging.

Ty

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

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"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is So 2005

This past Friday for date night my wife chose "Mr and Mrs Smith" for us to watch. I had never seen it and she hadn't seen it since she went to the theaters to watch it.

I thought the movie was fine. It was fun and the perfect popcorn movie. I didn't have to give it my full attention, but since I had never watched it, I did. But I am not here to review the movie today. Well, maybe you could call this a review. But this is more about that time in the world and movies like this.

This movie is quintessential early 21st century. There are so many things that just put me back into that time in my life while watching this movie. The movie came out in 2005. I had been out of high school for four years and had just finished up my career ready college. I was fully in as a dental lab tech and my wife and I would start dating in about a year. I was single, living at home and working. I had money to go out every weekend, and did sometimes, and I would go to the movies all the time. But "Mr and Mrs Smith" was not on my radar. I remember all the hubub surrounding this movie. It was all people could talk about. This was the movie that broke up Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. Pitt and Angelina Jolie were a couple shortly after the movie premiered and they were soon married. But that is not even why this movie is the perfect early 2000's movie.

While watching it the other night there were things that just screamed 2005. The movie is rated PG-13, but there is an inordinate amount of violence. The two main characters are assassins and they brutally kill people left and right in this movie. But the bad guys had foreign accents and were doing bad things, so it was deemed okay. Hell, some of the kills were played for laughs. But they also never showed any blood. It was almost like watching a modern superhero movie. Most of those get away with a PG-13 rating because they do not show blood. That is exactly the same thing that happened in "Mr and Mrs Smith". The murder count is massive, but no bloodshed means no R rating. The kills were also crazy. Bad guys would get gunshots to the chest and fly 100 yards in the air to their death. Houses would blow up. People got ran over. It was wild. But that was the thing back then when making these action comedies. They would kill tons of people, but with no blood, and undercutting them with jokes, we just would turn a blind eye. I know it was only 17 years ago, but it feels like a fully different lifetime.

Then we have the acting of the two leads. They have dynamite chemistry in this movie. It does ooze off the screen, especially when they are doing the therapy scenes. But it did not blow me away like I was expecting. I thought it was going to be palpable. I assumed they would be all over one another the whole movie. I had a fully different idea of what was going on on set. Sure, they played well off one another, but it wasn't the sexiest thing I have ever watched. I have seen much better movies where the two leads have way better chemistry. Hell, I probably have seen much worse movies with better chemistry. I think of a movie like "Accepted", that is not very good, but Justin Long and Blake Lively had as much chemistry as Pitt and Jolie do in "Mr and Mrs Smith", in my opinion.

The thing that makes this movie take me back so much is the look. The way the movie looked is very early 2000's. You can see that CGI is getting better, but it is still a work in progress. The costuming is great. Jolie looks wonderful, but she wears very mom-ish clothing during the rough part of the marriage. And when she put that bondage outfit on while doing a hit, most actresses would turn that down nowadays, and rightfully so. Brad Pitt wore goofy hats, looked like a downtrodden rich golf playing dad and had a shaved head. I think he looks better with long hair, but that is neither here nor there. That was the style back then. I remember saying to my wife that Jolie was far too good looking for Pitt in this movie. She disagreed but got where I was coming from.

So while I think "Mr and Mrs Smith" is worth a watch, it is not because it is some chemistry filled good time of an action movie. I think it is fun to transform yourself back to a time when you were younger watching a silly popcorn movie. That is why you should watch this movie.

Ty

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

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An Ode to Pretzel Slims, or Thins

I'm a big snacker. I love them. I also have a sweet tooth which makes it even harder, especially this time of year. But, just as Nick Kroll said in his recent standup special, "I love snacks!". They are the best. And with kids I usually have to wait until they are in bed to snack. I try not to do it too much anymore because it is horrible to eat most food before bed. It is even worse to eat bad food right before bed. But here we are. I choose to eat snacks more often than not, and it seems to happen after 9pm lately.

Anyway, one of my new favorite snacks are these thin pretzels. Or as Aldi calls them, Pretzel Slims. I believe other companies call them Pretzel Thins. Whatever they may be called, people in the know know what I am talking about.

These things are great. I have always liked pretzels in any form. I love the soft, hot ones from the ballpark, especially dipped in nacho cheese. I like the thick Snyder Pretzels. I like the pretzel bites that Snyder's makes now even more. Those things are loaded with flavor. Aldi has these "pub style" pretzels that are just dynamite. I am a fan. But the problem I run into with pretzels is the dryness. They coat my mouth. I always need some kind of liquid with them. Even when I dip them I still get that dry feeling. Not with these pretzel slims or thins or whatever. They figured out a formula that works. The pretzels are still loaded with flavor. Even the plain ones with salt, they are excellent. Thay have all the typical pretzel flavors just in a smaller package. I recently purchased everything bagel flavored ones. Those are exceptional. They taste great. You can see the sesame seeds and poppy seeds. You can taste the garlic. You can taste the onion. They are amazing. The ranch ones are solid. They have a very good ranch powder flavor. They scratch that itch. I cannot wait to taste all the other flavors this new snack has to offer.

I think what I enjoy most about these pretzels are the shape and style in which they are made. These pretzels are big. They are bigger than a typical pretzel snack. They have some good width. But they are flat, and I love that. There is no extra added dough. That is not needed. They are as thin as a chip. And that is what makes them the best. Chips have always had a leg up on pretzels and I think it is because of the size and shape. But these pretzel thins have found a way to fight that. When I eat them now I get the same experience I do whenever I eat chips. I actually tried this the other night. I know, I'm breaking barriers with my scientific work. But when I put them side by side, with no dip and only water to drink, there was no real difference. The taste was similar. The crunch was similar. The texture was similar, even maybe titled in the pretzel flavor. I was shocked at how close the similarities were.

I am a fan. I saw them at a buddy's house today and told him how much I love them. My wife and I were grabbing a snack the other night and I told her how happy I was that she introduced these into my life.

Keep it up pretzel thins or slims, you are crushing the salty snack game right now.

Ty

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

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"30 Rock" is the Funniest Television Show Ever

My wife and I like to watch TV before bed. A lot of people do this. We keep it on after we fall asleep. We put on a sleep timer, but very rarely do one of us stay up to hear the TV shut off. We alternate which shows we pick before bed. We usually pick comedies that we have seen a bunch. It is like comfort food.

The show we are watching now is "30 Rock". This has to be the 10th or 11th time we are going through this show. I did not watch when it was airing in real time, but I knew of it. I think my folks probably watched it. We all love Tina Fey, so when she left "SNL" to do "30 Rock", I'm sure my folks were pumped. And even though I did not watch it in real time, as mentioned before, I have seen it a ton. I have watched it from start to finish many, many times. And I am here today to tell you that I think "30 Rock" might be the funniest show that has ever been on TV.

"30 Rock" is not my favorite show, that is "The Simpsons". And there are other shows I like more, but there is something about the writing on this show that makes me laugh harder with each watch. This show is filled with jokes. My wife read something a while back saying that "30 Rock" has the most jokes per minute in television history, or something like that. And I fully believe it. We are in season four right now and I find myself constantly chuckling at random things on this show.

I do have to say, "30 Rock" is one show that I have made it to the TV shutting off before I go to sleep. That is because I am laughing all the time. For example, we were watching an episode last night where some of the writers take advantage of Kenneth by making up a religion. Kenneth is bringing them a pizza and says, "the pizza needs to be served by a blonde virgin", and smiles and points at himself. It was fantastic. I was howling. And that is how this entire show is made up. In season one, or maybe two, Tracy Jordan talks about a Halloween parody he made and the show cuts to him singing one line from "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah". Not only is that genius, but they ended up making an entire song due to the popularity of this five second clip. When Tracy proclaims, "it is a show within a show! My real name is Tracy Morgan", I cannot help but crack up. I also walk around quoting that all the time. When Tracy's wife gets her own reality show, "Queen of Jordan", and says "HAM", it is perfect. Tina Fey wrote some incredible stuff for Alec Baldwin. One line that has always stuck out for me is when Jack is explaining how he climbed his way to the top stating, "that is why I worked the day shift at that graveyard and the night shift at the Day's Inn". I mean come on, that is next level brilliant.

In the end it is Liz Lemon, the way Tina Fey wrote her, that is as iconic a comedy character as it gets. She has all the juicy lines. She crushes the comedy. The line reads are a stroke of genius. I love every single thing about Liz Lemon. When she gets her own talk show and sings, "you're a star/you're on top/somebody bring me some ham", that is one of the funniest songs ever. When she tells Jack about "lizzing", the way she explains it is amazing. The way she and Pete play off one another is some of the best chemistry I have ever seen between friends and coworkers on TV. The stuff with her boyfriends, namely Dennis Duffy and Jon Hamm is so incredible. I mean, Liz Lemon is a genius character for TV.

I didn't even mention Jenna or Grizz and Dot Com or Dr Spaceman or the multiple people Will Forte has played on the show. And then you get the cameos. Everyone from Al Gore to Pee Wee Herman have shown up here and there.

I have found with each watch I gain even more respect for "30 Rock". It is such a great television show. It will go down as a classic. It is comedy television at its absolute best.

Ty

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

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Chicken Out Adds to an Already Great St. Louis Food Scene

I am a sucker for a good chicken sandwich. I have written about my many different spicy chicken sandwich adventures before. I love a good fried piece of chicken between bread with some toppings. It is a delight. So when a friend took me to a local chicken sandwich spot in STL, I was intrigued.

The place is called Chicken Out and it is wonderful. There is a local BBQ spot here called Sugarfire, which is dynamite, and the owners of that own Chicken Out. That, to me, is a very good sign. So when I went the first time, I expected a good visit. It went above and beyond. I was wildly impressed.

The menu is fairly simple. There are about half a dozen or so sandwiches, some salads, a wrap or two and sides. This is another feather in their cap for me. When I go to a restaurant with a massive menu it makes me nervous. My anxiety jumps. To me it shows that you do not know how to make a few things great. It shows me you can make a lot of things mediocre, but not one thing really well. So when the menu is small, like Chicken Out, that lets me know that they know what they do, and they know they do it well.

On my first visit I got a chicken sandwich with cheese sauce and bacon. Again, super simple. I am also a sucker for a liquid cheese sauce, so this was an easy order for me. The sandwich was amazing. The chicken breast is fried to perfection, it is juicy and crisp and fills the sandwich. It is a big piece of chicken, but it also feels like the perfect size. Then they add this cheese sauce, it is liquid gold. It is so tasty. It smothers the sandwich but it doesn't take away from the taste of the chicken. And it is messy, but in all the right ways. The bacon is peppered and thick cut. I love bacon on all things, so this is no different. It is a nice salty addition to this already excellent sandwich. Then they use a potato bun. Potato buns are an absolute homerun. I remember the first time I had potato bread. I was a skeptic. Then I tried it and have been a fan ever since. It is not as heavy as white bread. I am a wheat bread fan, but potato bread takes it down. So a potato bun is perfect for me. They are buttery without butter. They have a hint of sweetness. They are the perfect accompaniment to this delightful chicken sandwich. And this is across the board for this menu. My dad loves the chicken burger. It too is on a potato bun, has lettuce, tomato and Duke's Mayo on it. He loves it, and the taste I have had was great.

I had a chicken parm sandwich on a different visit and it was good. It was on Italian bread, had tomato sauce and mozzarella and was really tasty. My son has had their BBQ chicken sandwich, and what makes it so awesome is the way they hold back and do not overload it with BBQ sauce. It is on there, you can taste it, but it doesn't take away from any other flavors.

The chicken fingers are outstanding. They are massive and taste great. The sides are also dope. I have had mac and cheese before. It is creamy and delightful. The potato salad is strong. The baked beans are good. But the trophy for best side is the fries. Fries are pretty common and pretty good at most sandwich or burger spots. What makes Chicken Out fries even better are two things, they are crinkle cut and they have chicken salt. I adore crinkle cut fries. They, to me, just taste better. But this chicken salt, which I have zero idea what it is made of, I love. It is extra salty. It adds a ton of flavor. You do not need dipping sauces. If you want to dip it in anything, get the cheese sauce that oozes out of the sandwich. They are divine.

I am a big fan of this restaurant. I just ate there yesterday and it was as good as the first time. I told my dad that, if Chicken Out is offered to me right now, I am going to pick it. I have been six times now and have gotten the Cheep N Cheddar sandwich three times. I will be trying everything on this menu in the near future. Check this place out if you live here in STL. For non STL residents, find a spot like this to try. Go to local chicken spots and support them. Their food is so much better than chain restaurants and they need your business more. Chicken Out is awesome.

Ty

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

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A Normal Halloween for Once

Last night we took my daughter trick or treating with a friend and my son went out with his friends. Both my son and daughter have done trick or treating prior to this with a group of people, but it was always family.

Then 2020 happened. My daughter was five and my son was eight. The past two Halloween's have been very downsized. We did a family thing in 2020. We had the kids go from room to room in our home and had them tell jokes to get candy. We did as much as we could to give them as "normal" a Halloween as we could. 2021 was not much different. We let the kids trick or treat, but it was just within our neighborhood. They did go to other houses, but they were masked, as were we, and we only hit, maybe, a dozen houses before calling it.

This year was different though. My wife and I recently got our Omicron boosters. Our kids got them last week. My folks have theirs, although we did not see them last night. Most of our school family friends have their boosters. What I am trying to say is, this is probably the most normal Halloween my kids have had in their short lives. My son might remember some Halloween's pre COVID, but I bet he will remember this one for a long, long time. We let him go out with friends last night. He went with a big group of kids he goes to school with. He got to do his own thing. He went to a friend's house, all the other boys met there and they went out on the town on their own. When I picked him up he was thrilled and exhausted. He kept talking about his great night and would end each story with how tired he was. He was in one of the best moods of his life to this point. He was on cloud nine. My wife and I took our seven year old to a friend's house and we stayed to hang out with the parents. The parents are friends of ours and our kids are as close as it gets. So we went over there after dropping my son off. We had pizza together. My wife made a fun drink for the adults, minus me, to have. The kids helped hand out candy before we took them all over the neighborhood. They hit a ton of houses. I usually take Monday off of running, and I did yesterday, but I was still well over 12,000 steps for the day. These girls had us going everywhere. And we saw so many kids out and about. Some were with folks, others were with friends and some were just doing their thing. It was wonderful to see. I fully understand that we are still fully in this pandemic. The winter is probably going to be rough. But last night was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was so cool to see kids out and about. It is made easier since Halloween is generally an outside holiday. You trick or treat outside. Haunted houses are outside. Theme park Fright Fests are outdoors. It is much easier and safer to be outside. I was just happy that my kids got to do Halloween right. It made me happy. It felt like old times last night doing things I used to do pre COVID.

Again, I fully understand we are not out of this, we may never be, but things seem to be returning, or finding some kind of new normal. I was almost as happy as my son last night. Almost. Halloween was a real success last night. The first real successful holiday since COVID came along. I hope we can ride this momentum for some time now because it makes me happy.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Barbarian"

Every Halloween I like to write a blog about the holiday. This year I am going to do the same, but I am also going to wrap in a movie review.

I have mentioned many times that, ever since the start of the pandemic, during our date nights in October that I like to pick movies that are on the scarier side. I like trying movies out that I may not pick any other time of the year. Sometimes it works, "The Babadook", sometimes it doesn't, "Midsommar". I had the pick for the last movie of the month and I chose "Barbarian". I have heard a lot about the movie, but I chose to not read anything or watch any trailers. That was what the people who were talking about suggested doing. The whole idea is to go into the movie blind. I did see a ten second clip of crowds' reactions to the movie in the theater, and they all looked pretty scared. So I was ready to pull the trigger. I was going to go hyper scary with the movie in the final week. Now, I am going to tread lightly so as to not spoil anything, but if something slips out, sorry. Try to watch the movie before reading this.

Now, "Barbarian" is a solid movie. It is scary. I jumped a ton. I was on edge the entire time. I feel like that is how it is supposed to be when watching a movie like this. It really got to me. It also stayed with me for a few days because I had nightmares. It was nothing related to the movie, but the movie's after effects stayed with me. That is another feather in its cap. The movie did its job. The acting was also really well done. I despised Justin Long, as you are supposed to. Bill Skarsgaard is as creepy as ever, and that is without any makeup on. And the star of the movie, Georgina Campbell, was dynamite. She did such a great job, was so easy to root for and she is so easy to watch. She was really, really good in this movie. I had only ever seen her in an episode of "Black Mirror" before this, which she was also wonderful in, so I am not surprised she carried this movie.

Now, for the bad part. As I said, this is a good movie, I understand that objectively, but I did not like it. I loved the story, how they told it and how it all came across, but it was gross. It was gory. It was terrifying. It made me shudder. It jumps tones and times. It was jarring at moments. And you could tell it was filmed during the pandemic. All that being said, I feel like that was the intention of the people making it. They wanted it to be gory. They wanted you to be grossed out. They wanted it to make you feel some kind of way and they achieved it. But it wasn't for me. Movies like this mess me up. I watched it three days ago and I still can't shake it. Images from it still jump into my brain and frighten me. I am definitely more of a psychological thriller type of "scary" movie viewer. Stuff like "The Babadook" does that perfectly.

So, while I can see why "Barbarian" is so loved, and why it got excellent reviews, it is not the movie for me. I do recommend it because it is fascinating, but I will never watch it again. That is the best I can say about it.

Ty

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

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Ty Listens to "Cheat Codes"

I've been in a bit of a personal music rut lately. The only new album that I have been super into is the new Kendrick Lamar. I have been going back to old classics a lot more lately. I feel like, as I get older, newer music just doesn't appeal to me. I feel like I have reached that age where new music sounds different and bad to me. There are some new artists I like, but the stuff my kids listen to, I am not a fan of. But I do have a buddy that lets me know when there is new music from artists I used to listen to all the time is coming out. One such record is "Cheat Codes" by Danger Mouse and Black Thought.

I adore Danger Mouse. Next to Rick Rubin he is the best producer in the game in my opinion. He works with so many different artists and each time a record comes out that he has produced and worked on, I love it. The work he did with Norah Jones is amazing. It is my favorite Norah Jones record. The stuff he did with The Black Keys is great. His work as one half of Gnarls Barkley is timeless. The stuff he did on his own, taking "The Black Album" and "The White Album" and making it work was a true bit of magic.

Black Thought is one of the best emcees to ever do it. The Roots are an all time hip hop group. Part of that is due to the way he rhymes and writes. I feel like Black Thought is a tad underrated which is nuts because he has been doing this at such a high level for a very long time. Black Thought is a true genius and everything he touches seems to work. So put the two of them together on a record, it is bound to work. And boy oh boy does it work.

As I said, I was late to listen, but I feel like I haven't stopped since my buddy brought it to my attention. I listened to the album three times just yesterday and was nodding along each time like it was the first listen. This album works on every level. The production is incredible, as one would expect when seeing Danger Mouse as the producer. The beats are clean, the way it is composed is pure hip hop, the songs mesh so well and the record runs like a well oiled machine. Then you put Black Thought on there as the main rapper, beautiful. His voice is so unique and pure. He sounds like an old head in the new age. He cruises through each song and takes over on some tracks. He is a genius. Then you add on the guest list and that takes this album from great to classic. This is the last record to feature MF Doom, that I know of to this point. It was so nice to hear his voice on an album nearly two years after he passed away. There is a song that features ASAP Rocky and Run the Jewels. That feels like they put this on the record specifically for me. It is my favorite song. Michael Kiwanuka, who is by no means a rapper, shows up and brings a different sound to his song. Raekwon is on a track. I love hearing from him. He seems to be everywhere lately. It also helps that I just saw Wu Tang Clan live and he was there. This record works on every level. It is near perfection. It is one of my favorite albums to come out in the last decade. I knew I was going to dig it, I just did not think it would become this big in my rotation.

While I have my doubts about the current state of music, while I am getting older and what's new is hip and I don't get it, it is nice to have something like this. I love hearing artists I have been following for more than a decade still doing their thing and doing it phenomenally. "Cheat Codes" is rad. Seek this album out for sure. It is definitely worth your time.

Ty

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

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Better Late Than Never on "The Thing"

About a week ago I finally watched "The Thing". A bunch of people have been telling me I needed to see this movie. Friends and family members have been on my case. I have heard people on podcasts singing its praises. I have heard how ahead of its time, and flat out great this movie is. And with it being date night in October, the only month I will watch vaguely scary movies, it seemed like a logical choice. So we watched.

I have to tell you all, everyone telling me to watch this movie was right. "The Thing" is an incredible movie. Take in the fact that it came out in 1982, this movie was definitely ahead of its time. That is what amazed me most about this movie. The acting is wonderful. The writing is next level. The direction is close to perfect. But it is all the other stuff surrounding this movie that makes it so great. The monster in this movie is absolutely terrifying. When I first laid eyes on it I had to close them right away. I was legitimately scared. I kept saying to my wife, "what is it?!", or "why is it?!". I could not put my finger on what the monster was supposed to be, and that was what made it extra scary.

The effects in “The Thing” were amazing. It worked on every level. It did the job that every monster movie aims to do. I was scared, my wife was scared, the monster achieved its goal. And it looked like it would work today. You can tell that this movie was made in the early 80's, but the monster effects would work now. It was not like other movies that came out back then. Movies with monsters back then looked hokey and rough. Not "The Thing". When the monster first appeared, through a dog, the way it showed itself, and tried to attach itself to other living, breathing things, I was fascinated. The way they showed it spread out and latched on, it totally worked. I bought it. It made sense and it looked good. Then I remembered it came out in 1982 and I was floored. To be this ahead of its own time was truly an achievement. I liked what this movie did on so many more levels than what "Citizen Kane" did. Both are epics, and the movie making world owes a humongous debt of gratitude to both, but "The Thing" is a far superior movie in my opinion.

You add on the other level of horror this movie brings about, paranoia. The paranoia between the guys living in the cabin in the Arctic was truly horrifying. I was, maybe, more scared at the paranoia than the monster. The way everyone starts to turn on each other was wild. When they draw blood to test who may or may not be infected, that was one of the scariest moments in the movie. When Wilfred Brimley, the scientist in the movie, has his computer screen open and it says something about infecting the whole world in record time, with COVID in the world now, it hit home and scared me even more. I am still trying to shake that image. When some of the guys do get infected, the way they transform and everyone else just stares, it was mortifying. But the way they continually turn on one another, it was like a class in paranoia acting. I like scary movies that do stuff like this way more than slasher movies or jump scare movies.

"The Thing" is a classic for a reason. I now understand why so many people were on my case to watch it. It makes total sense. I am a fool for waiting so long. This is why John Carpenter is so respected in the scary movie world. I loved "The Thing". I get it now. Check it out if you have not seen it yet. It rules.

Ty

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

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My Adventures in Disneyworld

Now that my basketball previews are all done I want to talk about anything else. Today I want to tell you all about my family trip to Disney World.

I had never been to Disneyworld before. My kids have never been and my wife has not been since she was a child. Her and her dad have been planning this trip since 2020. We were supposed to go in October of 2020, but COVID. And we kept pushing it back. We all felt safe enough this year, especially since my wife and I got our Omicron booster a week before. So we did it. I do also want to let everyone know that we did not pay for this trip. My wife's father has wanted to take us on a trip for a long time, my daughter's birthday was coming up and we pulled the trigger. I saw a ton of people with shirts that said stuff like "Most Expensive Day Ever", or, "Now, I'm Broke". We do not have to worry about this, but if we had to pay it would have been a totally different trip. Just wanted to get that out there. But we did it, we went. I flew on a plane, and it was surprisingly safe. About 1/3 of the passengers wore masks and we were able to stay in our own personal bubble.

What I really want to talk about is the parks we visited. The first full day we were there we went to Epcot. I was blown away. Epcot has that big golf ball looking sphere. It is amazing to see in real life. It was incredible. The park itself was awesome too. This is the spot we saw the most performers. We met a ton of dressed up actors. From Rafiki to the Penguin from "Mary Poppins", we saw a bunch. I also took lots of pictures of my kids posing with them. The rides I did were neat. They were VR, but damn did they feel real. My daughter and I did one where we went to Mars and I felt a bit nauseous at one point, in a good way. The food was on point. There was a Food and Wine festival so maybe that was why. But the pork lettuce wraps I had were dynamite. I also really enjoyed walking through all the countries. Every block you turned was somewhere new. From Mexico to Germany to France and beyond, it was all covered. It also smelled great. Even the iced coffee was solid. We even did a "Beauty and the Beast" singalong and it was wonderful.

The next day we went to Hollywood Studios. Walking into the park was like walking into old Hollywood. It was dope. As we got further into the park we ended up at Galaxy's Edge, which is Star Wars world. This was amazing. It was my favorite spot of the whole trip. The food was great. The features were amazing. The Millenium Falcon ride was rad. The performers were on point. My wife said she was starstruck when she saw the Kylo Ren actor. My son got a stormtrooper mask and was talking to the stormtrooper actors. He loved every second of it. I was totally blown away. We also did a "Frozen" sing along here and it was more fun than the day before. I truly loved Hollywood Studios, although RD was bummed I wouldn't buy him a lightsaber. They were very expensive.

On my daughter's birthday we went to Magic Kingdom. This was her choice. She wanted to see the castle they show before Disney movies, so we went there. It was wonderful. This park is definitely geared towards kids, and my kids had a blast. We rode Dumbo, The Great Goofini, my wife and kids did Space Mountain, we rode the teacups, we had lunch at a Space Mountain type of diner, we did all that we could. We had Dole whip, we watched a parade. My father in law got to see a barbershop quartet. We walked around the castle. It was an exhausting yet amazing day. My daughter couldn't have been happier.

On our last day we went to Universal Studios. I was most pumped for this. And when we walked in we saw Simpsons Land. It was truly a sight, for me, to behold. I was in my happy place. I was snapping all kinds of pictures. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We went to Krusty Burger for lunch, and this is when it all went downhills. The line was a glacier. It took well over an hour to get a cheeseburger. The burger was fine, but not worth waiting over an hour for. After lunch my wife wanted to go to Harry Potter World. We made our way there, but it was so packed we could not even go into a shop. We all wanted ButterBeer, but the wait was longer than that at Krusty Burger. We could barely move because of all the people. My anxiety was through the roof. My wife was frustrated. My kids were spent by that time. We cut that visit short. We were only there for three or four hours. It was the only misstep of the whole trip in my opinion. I don't know if it was because we went on a Saturday, or because it was early October or what, but it was far, far too crowded. We just did not want to deal with it.

Now when people ask me how my trip to Disneyworld was I tell them, I am glad I went, it was amazing to see, my kids had a blast and I loved it all being outside, but I do not ever have to go again. I'm very happy I did, and I will always remember this trip. But I just do not see any reason, unless my kids want to, go back. I loved it, and if you can I definitely recommend going. It is worth at least one visit in your lifetime.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

Ty's 2022 - 2023 College Basketball Preview

Wrapping up all of my basketball previews, today I am coming to you all with my men's NCAA basketball preview. Full disclosure, I do not really pay attention to college basketball until the college football season is over. I will watch games on nights that college football is not on, but I do not focus on any team except Michigan. So take this preview with a humongous grain of salt. I did look at the preseason polls, which are totally useless, but that is what I'm going to go off of to do this preview.

With all that, UNC is preseason number 1. They have a ton of returning talent. They were in the title game last year, they maybe should have won it and they appear to be absolutely loaded. They have a very, very good team with great experience.

Gonzaga is number 2, but I am done with that team. They are always ranked in the top 5, they always win a ton of regular season games, they get a 1 seed in the tourney and they get beat much earlier than they should. I wrote about it a while ago, but I'm done with Gonzaga. They are paper champs.

Rounding out the top 5 we have Houston, who will play tremendous defense, Kentucky, who has reloaded, has a great returning star in Oscar Tishbiwe and will be much better this season than last and Baylor is 5. They play very good defense, they have shooters and they have experience.

From there on out in the top 25 we have a ton of blue bloods. KU is in the top 10. They are always great. Duke has a new coach, but it is much the same. They have a great group of freshmen coming in and they are extremely talented. UCLA may not have Johnny Juzang, they still have a great core of dudes that have played together for more than two years now. Creighton is in the top 10 and I cannot name one single player. But this seems to be the case every year. There is always one team in the non power 5 other than Gonzaga that are always highly rated. It must be due to the camaraderie and the years of playing together. Teams like Creighton have so much depth and familiarity with each other and that pays dividends in the long run. Creighton will win a game in the tourney against a much more talented team simply due to the fact that they know how to play off one another. And then there is Arkansas. Arkansas is fast, athletic, plays awesome defense and I'm sure they have some dope transfers coming in. Then we have teams like Tennessee, who is getting great recruits every year, Texas, who recruits college basketball transfers like USC does with college football transfers, TCU, who is loaded with experience and Auburn, who gets elite talent seemingly every season now.

From the Big Ten we have Indiana, loaded with depth, experience, a great coach and solid recruits, Illinois, who has a tough coach and tough players, Michigan State, who play an elite style of basketball and always peak at the right time, The University of Ohio State, who is a solid 20 win team and Michigan, who has Hunter Dickinson, an elite point guard transfer and a solid recruiting class coming in. The Big Ten should be a bloodbath yet again.

Rounding it out we have teams like Oregon, always a threat, San Diego State, maybe the best defense in college basketball, Arizona, who is getting better and better every season lately, Villanova, who has some elite recruits coming in, Texas Tech, who play an old school style of basketball and Dayton, who has Obi Toppin's little brother and an up and coming head coach.

Men's college basketball is very wide open this season. Last year we did have UNC and KU in the title game, which is as blue blood as it gets, but it was still a surprise, a fun one at that, to get a title game like that. It was a blast.

As for my picks for the Final Four this year, I do not know. What I do know, I'm not picking Gonzaga again. Never, ever again. If I had to pick a Final Four right at this moment I'd say, UNC, Houston, Kentucky and Creighton. I'd put UNC and Houston in the title game. And I'm picking UNC to win it all this year. They are stacked. I do think Tishbiwe from Kentucky is going to win Player of the Year. As for the top pick in the NBA draft, well he will not be playing in college this season. Victor Webayama will be the first pick and he is playing professionally in France. And the second pick, Scoot Henderson will be playing in the G League. So who knows who will be the stud from college basketball. But I'm sure there are some incoming freshmen who will blow up this season and I will learn about them halfway through the season.

Okay there it is, there is my men's NCAA basketball preview for the 2022-23 season. And that wraps up all of my 22-23 basketball previews. Enjoy the season everyone.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2022 - 2023 NBA Season Preview: Playoff Predictions

Today I have my 22-23 NBA playoff and awards for you all. I just finished my countdown, so this is the next logical step for me. I also love doing this to see how wrong I am at the end of the season. Let's start with the East.

There are three teams at the top, a cluster in the middle and then some fighting for the play in. The East is not as good as the West, but it is a much improved conference. The three teams at the top, from 1-3 I have the Bucks, Celtics and 76ers. I understand the 76ers haven't won yet, but I do not put a whole lot of stock into three games. They need to start winning now, and I fully believe they will. The next three teams that will firmly be in the playoffs, from 4-6 I have the Heat, Cavs and Nets. I do think the Nets will squeak in, I love the Hawks offseason and I'm tired of sleeping on the Heat. They are always good and they always find a way to win. To round out the playoffs I now have the play in teams. From 7-10 I got the Raptors, Bulls, Wizards and Knicks. I really wanted to pick the Pistons, but I think they are a year away. As for the play in, I got the Raptors beating the Knicks to grab the 7 seed and the Bulls winning two to get the 8th seed.

Now for the East playoffs. The Bucks will once again sweep the Bulls in round one. The 4-5 will be pretty fun. The Heat are the old standby and the Cavs are new and fun. I do like the Cavs to win this series in seven, but it will be tough and hard fought. The 3-6 will see the 76ers beat the Nets in six. Kevin Durant is good enough to get two wins, but Kyrie Irving is a flake and who knows what they will get from Ben Simmons. In the 2-7, the Celtics will beat the Hawks, but it will be closer than we all think. I think the Celtics will win in six, but each game will be close and fun to watch. The semi finals will feature the Bucks facing the Cavs and the Celtics facing the 76ers. I like the Bucks in 5 over the Cavs and the 76ers, I will probably regret this pick, over the Celtics in seven. Then I have the Bucks kind of cruising in the East Finals. The 76ers will be tired and the Bucks will be fresh. And Giannis is just that good. The Bucks will represent the East.

Now for the varsity, the Western Conference. The West is going to be an absolute bloodbath. The conference, for the most part, only got better this offseason. My 1-3 teams are the Clippers, Warriors and Suns. These three teams are loaded, deep, talented and one is the reigning champs. They are so good. As for 4-6, firmly in the playoffs, I have the Nuggets, Grizzlies and Mavs. Two of these teams I cannot stand, and obviously I love the Grizz. I do believe all three of these teams will have 50 plus wins too. That is how deep the West is this season. When we talk about the play in, from 7-10 I have the Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trailblazers and, I do not know who to pick between the Kings and Lakers, I guess I will go with the Kings. In the 7-10 matchup the Timberwolves will cruise to the 7 seed. And the 8 seed will end up being the Pelicans again. They are too fun to not pick.

As for the playoffs now, in the 1-8 the Clippers will beat the Pels in five games. It will be a good series, but the Clippers depth is too much. The 4-5 will feature the Nuggets taking on my Grizzlies. I really, really want to pick the Grizzlies. I love that team so much. But with Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray all back, I unfortunately have to go with the Nuggets in seven. Prove me wrong Grizz. The 3-6 will feature a West semis rematch between the Suns and Mavs. I have the Suns exacted a bit of revenge and winning this series in seven games. The 2-7 will have the Warriors taking down the Timberwolves in six. The Warriors have too much firepower. In the West semis we will have the Clippers taking on the Nuggets and the Warriors playing the Suns. These are two series that should be a ton of fun. I think the Clippers will dispatch of the Nuggets in six games. This should be revenge for the bubble. And the Suns will find a way to beat the Warriors. I think the Warriors will be tired by the time they get here, and it is hard to repeat in pro sports. As for the West Finals I have the Clippers taking down the Suns in six games. Again, the Clippers depth is otherworldly and Kawhi is a playoff killer. I also think the Suns will be spent. The Clippers are the West champs.

That means I have the Bucks facing the Clippers in the NBA Finals. I think Giannis will get his second ring. He is just that good and I think we will all be reminded this season. I have the Bucks winning in six games. Giannis will be the Finals MVP as well.

Now let's do the regular season awards. MVP is going to be Joel Embiid. Once he fully takes over the team he will be unstoppable. Coach of the Year is going to Chris Finch from Minnesota. They are going to be a very good team this season. Defensive Player of the Year is going to be Evan Mobley. He is going to be tremendous all over the floor this season, but especially on defense. Sixth Man of the Year is going to be Jordan Poole. He is going to blow up even more this season. And finally, my Rookie of the Year is Paolo Banchero. I have not seen a rookie so ready to compete in a long time. He is the real deal.

There it is, my 22-23 NBA playoff and awards predictions. Let's see how this all unfolds now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.