Is There a Market for Anthony Richardson

While I was out exercising this afternoon I got a news alert on my phone that Anthony Richardson was able to seek a trade from the Colts. Let’s discuss.

I had high hopes for Richardson when he entered the draft. Florida wasn't very good in his final season, but he was one hell of an athlete. He kept them in many more games than they ever should have been in that season. He had a tremendous arm and he could manipulate the defense with his legs. He was like a bigger, although lesser of an athlete, Lamar Jackson. Don't get me wrong, Jackson is a much better QB and he has more than proven that, I just got Jackson vibes from Richardson when I watched him at Florida. He didn't disappoint at the combine either. He lit it up in fact. He did so well that he turned that into being the fourth overall pick in the draft his year. And he was in line to start right away for the Colts. He did and he would make plays here and there. He would do things that looked incredible. Then he would make a boneheaded throw, or run when he didn't have to. It was to be expected from a young QB in the NFL.

Then the injuries started to pile up. Richardson was a high pick in fantasy drafts his first two seasons, but then he would seemingly get hurt in week two or three. He was so useful in fantasy because of his ability to throw and run. But you can't do that when you're on the bench in street clothes. Then the Colts went out and got Daniel Jones in the offseason. And when they announced Jones as the starter I chuckled to myself. I figured the Colts were going all in on a tank job to get the top pick in this draft. But Daniel Jones played well. He did some solid things and he looked like he was going to lead the Colts to the playoffs and Jones was going to be a pro bowler. Then he got hurt. And instead of giving the starting nod to Richardson, they went out and signed Phillip Rivers, who's older than me. They convinced Richardson to take care of his plethora of injuries and opted for a 44 year old QB. What a crock. The Colts nosedived out of the playoffs and now Richardson is free to test the market.

The issue I see him running into though, there aren't too many teams that are going to start him over their incumbent QB. His current team has moved on to Daniel Jones. The Titans, Bears, Jags and Packers all have proven, yet young starters at QB. The Dolphins, Steelers and Cardinals should all be looking for new QB's in the draft or in free agency, but I bet they will want someone more established, or at the very least, proven. Other teams in the playoffs or hunt for the playoffs already have guys they count on. The Lions are set. The Eagles are all good. The Ravens have the best QB in the league. The Commanders will get Jayden Daniels back next season. They're all good.

So when I look around at teams that may go for Richardson in a trade, he will be going somewhere to back someone up, or be a one year bridge QB until they can move on to the younger guy. The Raiders are most likely going to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall and roll the dice with him. Richardson may be a solid option to back him up, but I don't think he will want to do that for a full season again. The Giants seem to be set with Jaxson Dart. The Saints found out they like Tyler Shough. The Bengals still have Joe Burrow and the Cowboys are sticking with Dak Prescott. These are some of the teams drafting in the top 15, and they won't be looking to give up big money for a backup QB.

When I look at it, when I take a step back and try to find a team that Richardson can go to and possibly start, there's only two teams on my mind, the Jets and Vikings. The Jets have already moved on from Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor. They want Mendoza, but they have the second pick and he will be gone by then. They'd be foolish to take a QB at the number two pick, so maybe they would give Richardson a shot to start. He is bigger and more consistent with the ball than Fields. He can make more plays with his legs as well. The problem is, Aaron Glenn needs to show some progress in year two, and if Richardson isn't that dude, or gets hurt, he will be in the exact same position as this last season, and that may cost him his job.

As for the Vikings, they have said that JJ McCarthy is not the definite starter going into next season. And they don't have many great options on the bench right now. I have heard that they are kicking around bringing back Kirk Cousins, but I would stay the hell away from that if I were them. Richardson is bigger and more athletic than McCarthy. McCarthy has a better arm, but not by much. McCarthy has also proven that he cannot stay healthy for more than a few weeks at a time. But I could say the same thing about Richardson. But, if I were the Vikings, and I'm in the market for a dual threat QB with a ton of upside, and who may need to prove himself, I'd take a flyer on Richardson and have him and McCarthy battle it out this entire offseason. And if Kevin O'Connell is this "QB whisperer", that could be proved tenfold if he can get anything out of Anthony Richardson, even if it is just a one year bridge to the next franchise QB for the Vikings. 

We will see where the next chapter of Anthony Richardson’s career is next.

Ty

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

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I Tried the Viral Cheesecake Trend

Recently there was a viral video going around of people taking cheesecake filling and adding cookies to it and letting it sit overnight. Some people added Biscoff cookies, others, Oreos. I saw some people putting graham crackers in there and I'm sure many others tried out various other cookies.

I kind of pushed this aside and moved on to the next video. But my son was adamant about these videos. He brought it up to me many, many times. I would tell him that we would try it later, but I never committed to it one way or another. I also thought of how caloric and gross it would be to have a tub of cheesecake filling sitting in our fridge that we stuffed cookies into. But then I remembered that some other people on the internet were using full fat greek yogurt to mimic the same thing. Now, this isn't all that much healthier, but it is better than cheesecake filling stuffed with cookies. So I eventually relented and let my son buy the necessary ingredients to make it at home. He was persistent and I was sick and tired of saying no.

So we got a big tub of Greek yogurt and my son opted for Oreos, which was a good choice I thought. And we went about doing it the same way we saw on the videos. My son shoved the cookies in the tub of yogurt and we let it sit. It was easy for him to wait because he had school the next day and he had decided that he was going to try it out as his snack. Well, when he got home he had to wait a little longer, I wanted his sister to try it with him. And he decided that he wanted us all to try it. So after I picked her up from school we all got our spoons and tried this.

The anticipation had gotten to all of us. And it was kind of a letdown for me. It is simply just yogurt with softened Oreos. I'm sure it is the same thing with Biscoff cookies. The wait softens the cookies up and then it is similar to eating yogurt with granola, or milk and cereal. It is tasty. I mean, how could it not be? The sweetness the Oreos brought was a nice counterbalance to the tangy and tart yogurt. But that was expected. I figured this would blow my socks off.

Maybe it would have been different if we did it with cheesecake filling, but why even bother at this point. I would rather just make a cheesecake and eat that, which my wife recently did and it was awesome. She made a salted caramel cheesecake for the family and it was ten times better than the Oreos mixed with the Greek yogurt. I think I prefer the cheesecake because of the graham cracker crust. That is the biggest selling point for me of cheesecake. I adore the crust. That is totally gone in this context. It is literally just the filling, which can be fine, but on its own it is lacking. When you have this viral dessert all you are getting is the filling, and to me that would be like only eating the icing off of a cake. The cake is the best part of a cake. The icing can be overly sweet and way too filling. The cake adds a nice textual difference that is needed in sweet dessert. When a dessert gets overly sweet it is tough to eat as much as you may want. That's the main issue I have with this viral dessert. It's just too filling and too sweet.

I also don't like how soft the cookies get in the viral dessert. You need a texture difference. You need something crunchy or thick to balance out all the softness. And a graham cracker crust also adds a mild saltiness that is needed. That tiny bit of salt can make a world of difference. It mildly cuts out the sweetness.

I am not as big a fan as I thought I was going to be of this viral cheesecake filling dessert. It's too much of a good thing. It's way too American to make something like this as well. We are so greedy and selfish as Americans that we think a cheesecake only filling dessert is something we need. I'm here to say we don't need this. It is too sweet and too filling. I'd say if you are on the fence about trying this viral dessert, I'd say skip it and have a slice of real cheesecake instead. That is much better. 

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 "Reality Check"

When my wife and I were first dating I used to spend a lot of time at her place. I still lived with my folks and she had her own spot. It was much better for privacy and intimacy. Being at her apartment meant that we watched what she watched most of the time, and she was watching a lot of "America's Next Top Model".

She loved that show. I was not much of a fan. I even went so far as to write an email to MTV stating that they needed to find something else to air, maybe even music videos. And I'm not saying that I had any hand in this, but about a week later, "ANTM" was suddenly off MTV's airwaves. I then kind of forgot about the show. My wife would go back occasionally and watch, but I just wasn't involved. I found the show offensive, boring and kind of stupid. It is your typical reality tv show. Tyra Banks kind of drove me nuts as well. My wife liked it as a mindless watch. She would tune in and do stuff or just have it on for noise. So, when she came to me the other day and asked if I wanted to watch the Netflix docuseries, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. But I wanted to hang out with her, so we started to watch it.

I was absolutely mesmerized by what I saw. This series is called "Reality Check" and it is a three episode miniseries that takes this reality show to task. I was talking to my wife about why I liked it so much the other day. She mentioned my previous distaste for the show and wanted to know why I was so interested in this Netflix series. I told her that I liked it because it was showing all the deviousness and taking down these people who made others so miserable year after year that this show was on air. I love how salacious the series is. I love seeing people who were involved with the show just take it down peg by peg. I like seeing other people talking about how horrible Tyra Banks was to work with and be around. Hearing former contestants talk about their awful experience was eye opening. It is everything I want in a docuseries that is hell bent on taking down this toxic show. Tyra Banks comes off very bad as well. She uses cliche speech in her interviews. She won't talk about anything that may put her in a poor light. She won't speak on past indiscretions. She comes off as a puppet to the tv corporation. Mister and Miss J, on the other hand, are more than willing to talk about their time on the show. They come off as the heroes in my opinion. Mister J has so much to say on working with Tyra Banks and he lays it all on the line. He had a horrific time on the show, especially when he and Tyra Banks stopped speaking but still had to work together. I hate that he was all but blacklisted in the industry due to Tyra Banks being so addicted to fame. Miss J seemed to be the heart and soul of this show. He was the funniest one on the show it looked like as well. And he was just kicked to the curb. He was let go and not thought about again. My wife told me he had recently had a stroke, and Tyra Banks wouldn't even come to visit him in the hospital. That's a bummer. I appreciate that Netflix allowed the former contestants to tell their side of the story with nothing seemingly held back. These poor contestants were pushed to their limits without giving consent to the people making the show. There is everything from hypothermia to sexual assault to making them act like other cultures to starving these poor people. And then they didn't even help the winner of each season because Tyra Banks and crew were too focused on maintaining their own fame. I also like that they gave the photographer, Nigel Baker, a chance to speak as well. Baker and Mister and Miss J were fully abused by Tyra Banks and UPN and that sickens me.

So take it from me, a person who never watched and pretty much despised the idea of a reality show like "ANTM", this docuseries, "Reality Check" is more than worth checking out. It gives us all the seedy behind the scenes details that I crave when watching a show like this. I highly recommend checking it out. 

Ty

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

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Stavros Halkias Delivered at His St. Louis Show

Over the weekend I had tickets to see Stavros Halkias do stand up. Let’s discuss.

For people that may not know who Stavros is, he has his own podcast, he is one of the better touring stand ups on the road right now, had a small but memorable role in "Bugonia", and he starred in a movie a few years ago called "Let's Start A Cult". Stavros stays working, and whenever he is a guest on a podcast I listen to, I'm always amped to hear what he has to say. Now, I was almost not able to go to this show. I had two tickets, and my buddy who I was supposed to go with got sick. Luckily my brother was off work Friday night, and he was more than willing to attend. He is a Stavros fan as well. I anticipated a good time because, when I tried to purchase tickets for the 7pm show, I couldn't find two seats together. so, I had to adjust and get two tickets next to one another for the late show, a 9:30pm start. This made me optimistic. That meant he was selling out Saint Louis, which usually means this person will come back to do more shows.

So, as we settled into our seats, I really didn't know what to expect. I prefer earlier shows because I'm old and like to go to bed by 11 every night. But when we got to our seats, the theater was probably about 95 percent full, and a lot of the people in the crowd were my age. The opener was solid. He did about 20 minutes and his stand up was pretty solid. He was also able to improv on the spot, which I always like, and he had some sports centric jokes which I appreciate. His name is Anthony Devito, and I believe he has been Stavros' opening act during this tour.

Then, a little after 10pm, Stavros took the stage and commanded the crowd for about 75 minutes. You could tell early on how much of a pro Stavros is at stand up comedy. His segues were perfect. He was able to bounce from bit to bit with ease. When he would do some kind of contortion with his face or body, it was seamless and added a ton to the bit. He also brought up timely topics and made it funny. We all know that the world is in a horrible place, and while Stavros noted that, he also buttoned it with jokes that had me cackling from my seat. My brother goes to live shows all the time, but for him it is music. He hasn't seen much live stand up comedy, and I was happy to have a little more knowledge than him at a live event. He has always looked out for me at concerts we have gone to together, but Friday night he was in my world. He found the show funny too. He was laughing harder than me at times. What stuck out to me was how well of a job Stavros handled the crowd. He had some planned crowd work in his act, but when it wasn't planned he was at the top of his game. He called out a "Star Wars" fan at the top of the show and that was dynamite. He had a bit about being an in vitro baby, and he used that as another chance to do more crowd work. He used local landmarks and areas for some more great crowd work. Outside of that, Stavros knows how to own a crowd and go with the ebbs and flows. He did a very long bit about being an uncle now and that was perfect. The jokes he made as being the weird uncle had me cracking up. But he was also very sincere when talking about his nephew, and I loved that. He had some great jokes about the horrific administration we unfortunately have to deal with at the moment. But what stood out most to me, what will always stay with me, was his runner about taking Zep Bound. Zep Bound is a weight loss drug. Others may know it by its other names, Ozempic or Wegovy. I personally have been taking Wegovy for a few months now and it is working. But hearing Stavros talk about his journey on this drug was dynamite and I totally related to it. Every joke hit me in a specific spot and I loved it. When he talked about having to literally jab the shot into your stomach, that was the cream of the crop for me. I also really liked it when he explained to the crowd about having to leave the meds in the fridge, which means you have to take the medicine out of a space in your home where you keep all your good food.

I was all in, excited and the show fully delivered. I cannot recommend going to see Stavros Halkias live if you get the chance. He is one of the best in the business and that more than comes across when you see him live. Check out his show. 

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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Better Late Than Never on "Bring Her Back"

I've been on a kick of watching movies from A24 lately. Lucky for me HBO Max has a whole category dedicated to this particular production company. I've gone back and rewatched some of my favorites, but I just finished "Bring Her Back".

I understand that the brothers who directed this also directed "Talk to Me", which I haven't seen just yet but is on my list. I picked "Bring Her Back" because I heard that Sally Hawkins gives an amazing performance, and since Amy Madigan was excellent in "Weapons", I wanted to see another actor I like play a very villainous villain. That was the main draw for me, and according to the minimal reviews I read, she is wonderfully heinous in the movie. So I turned it on and sat down and was traumatized, in a good way, by what I saw.

Right off the bat, this movie is not for the faint of heart. This is a tough movie with some heavy themes being dealt with. The whole crux of the movie is, a foster brother and sister's dad passes away and they are sent to live with Hawkins character. There's another young man living in the house with them, and this kid seems a little off. The brother is clearly going through some awful stuff, and the sister, who is legally blind, needs him to help her get around. The young man living with Hawkins is mute and left in locked rooms during the day. We come to find out that Hawkins is dealing with grief all her own. Her daughter, who was afflicted with the same eye disease the new girl has, died after being left alone by the house pool. She hit her head, fell in and did not make it. As the movie unfolds it gets more and more sinister and chilling. And Hawkins is at the forefront of every problem. She, after taking the children to their father's funeral, encourages the young kid to drink alcohol to deal with the pain. After their night of drinking, Hawkins makes the kid believe that he has wet the bed, a problem from his past trauma. But it is Hawkins who puts the wet spot on his pants. We see that. After Hawkins and the daughter go shopping, the two young boys living at the house have, or try to, a conversation. This is where the movie gets gross, and starts to explain itself. After the older boy gives the younger boy a piece of fruit, still on the knife, we hear some clanking metal sounds. The older one turns and sees the younger one trying to eat the knife. His face is all cut up, and as one would expect, Hawkins freaks out. The movie only gets crazier from there. Hawkins continues to torment the older boy, making him think he is crazy, that he hit his sister in his sleep and that he is the problem and needs to leave their house. The older boy doesn’t believe he is doing any of this, and even comes to find out that maybe the younger boy living in the house has been kidnapped. This is proven to be true. Before that was proven, we come to find out what Hawkins is truly up to, and it is upsetting/ Spoilers ahead. I mentioned that Hawkins' daughter has passed away. Well, she has kidnaped this young kid and had him possessed. He eats all the stuff in the house, knives and tables included, because the possessor is hungry. This boy is there to eat the "soul" of Hawkins' deceased daughter so it can purge it into the new foster daughter. Hawkins' character has made this plan and she is trying to set it in motion. She truly goes too far. She kills the older brother and his caseworker, her friend, when they find out the plan. She tells the new daughter what she is going to do. She is on the way to completing the plan until the new daughter actually calls her "mum", just so she will release her. The movie concludes with the daughter getting away, the kidnapped kid, who is badly hurt, getting rescued and the mom and her deceased daughter laying in a pool of water with police barreling down on her.

As I said before, this is a tough movie with gruesome themes. But I felt that the directors and writers did a very good, and unique, job of showing how far some will go when dealing with grief. They did dedicate the movie to a friend of theirs that unexpectedly died while they were making the movie. But the reason I would recommend this movie, and steer people towards it is Sally Hawkins' performance. She is so evil and so mean but she is also understated about it in the best possible way. She is sinister, but you also start to believe her at certain points. The things she does are truly awful, but then she will talk about her daughter and that makes you stop in your tracks. I think next to Madigan's performance, Hawkins' is the next best villain in a movie from 2025. If you do watch, it is a tough movie to get through, but you will also be rewarded with a tremendous performance from Sally Hawkins. 

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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Is the New "Animal Farm" Movie for Kids?

I wrote about the movie "GOAT" that I saw with my son earlier this week. Before the movie we had some previews and one stood out to me, and I fear it is for the wrong reasons.

"GOAT" is clearly a movie for kids, so the previews were movies geared towards kids. During one of the trailers I saw a bunch of animals talking and acting like animals from the book "Animal Farm". But I figured that couldn't be the case. "Animal Farm", the book, is pretty bleak. I've read it a few times and it gets bleaker the older I get. I need to say, I love the book. I think everyone should read it once in their life. I feel it is very relevant to society today. I mentioned to my son multiple times during the preview that I think he should read the book to get the true idea of its meaning. So the whole idea of turning this very important, very bleak story into a kids movie rubbed me the wrong way.

As the preview rolled out it almost seemed like they were trying to make it a comedy. The preview had the beats of the book, but it was all being told in a goofy, funny tone. The pigs were making jokes. The other animals were laughing and goofing off. The animation made it look very child-like. They even had the line, "two legs bad, four legs good". But it sounded as if they had a child say it in voiceover.

That is not the lesson I got from the book when I read it. The book is all about standing together to overthrow the bad guys, but then turning into said bad guys when you get power. It is the good and bad of having power. The book tells that story and tells it very well. The pigs are, spoiler alert, the bad guys. They start the revolution, but when they are given the power they get too fat off of it. The book shows you the downside of being in total control. This preview makes a joke of all of that in my opinion. I have mild optimism because Andy Serkis is directing, and the voice cast is great, led by Seth Rogan. But I got a very weird vibe from what I saw. I just can't wrap my head around it.

I've wanted an "Animal Farm" movie for a long, long time. But I want it to stay true to the book. I don't care if it is animated or live action either. Animated might be better since the animals speak to one another throughout the book. But this version has thrown me for a loop. I am kind of hopeful that the preview is just a misdirect. I doubt it since they showed it before a kids movie. And that is what has me most pessimistic. I don't think studios would have attached this to the movie "GOAT" if they weren't going for the same audience. "Animal Farm" should fall into the category of "Heavy Metal" or "Fritz the Cat". You can make animated movies for adults. It has been done in the past. And that is what they should be doing with "Animal Farm". They can have this same cast. As I mentioned, I love that Andy Serkis is directing. He has made one hell of a career for himself, but he is doing more drama/action stuff. Serkis doesn't seem like the type to do kids movies. But I am a little worried that they're going to sully the greatness that is the book. I could just choose to not see the movie. I don't have to even go to the theater. But I like all of the people involved, and it is one of my all time favorite books. Like I said before, I hope they are not revealing much of anything in these early previews, and they are going to make a more true to the book movie.

Time will tell. but right now I'm a little concerned that they're going to take this excellent book, about the corruption of power, and try to make a joke out of it. That would bume me the hell out. 

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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I Have a Way to Fix the NBA's Tanking Problem

The NBA has a tanking issue. It has become quite apparent and something needs to be done. Let’s discuss.

I love basketball, and in particular, the NBA. It is the purest and best form of basketball. The athleticism, the shooting, the defense, it is a true joy to watch. It is my version of ballet. I love it. But, especially at this point of the season, the teams that are out of the playoff picture start to tank games for better draft position. It waters down the games and it's a true drag to watch as a fan.

I'm currently rooting for a team that is in tank mode, and let me tell you, it bums me out. The Grizzlies have been out of it for awhile now, and lately they're putting players out there that I don't even know. They have a bunch of two-way guys, and since trading JJJ, the new acquisitions are getting the bulk of the playing time. I will say, I have enjoyed the hell out of watching Cedric Coward progress into a legit player to possibly build a team around. But all of this has not resulted in many wins. And lately I haven't been tuning in to many of their games. I know what is going to happen and I don't want to watch it unfold. I would be even more bummed out to be a Wizards or Nets fan right now. They've been tanking all year. Sure, they have found a few diamonds in the rough this year, but they aren't winning many games. Teams like the Jazz and Trailblazers had solid starts, but now the owners and GM's are more concerned with draft position, so injuries are piling up to crucial players and they are going into full tank mode. This happened a few years back when the Mavericks were dealt some injury blows, and they openly tanked, were fined by the NBA and still secured a lottery pick. Hell, after they traded Luka Doncic last season, they were rewarded with the number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg.

Tanking works in some scenarios, but it is just making some NBA teams unwatchable. I don't know what the solution should be, but I do have an idea that I have heard others mention on separate podcasts. I don't like the lottery anymore. It is a drag. I'm not here for fully getting rid of the draft. If they do that they may as well only house professional teams in big markets. I also think they need to keep free agency, both restricted and unrestricted. The idea I like the most, and think the NBA really needs to consider, flat draft odds. I want every team to have the same chance at the first pick as they have at the 30th pick. I don't care if that team just won 10 games or the title, I think everyone should have the same odds. I know this adds some issues with player placement. If this were the case this past draft, that means the Thunder would have had the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg. That would be tough to swallow for a lot of fans, but that feels like something that would happen once every 10-15 drafts or so. I do think that this would also help to make every team play the proper players. A lot of teams would be less likely to play a bunch of two way players or deep bench guys. I think this would lead to less load management from players and coaches. I feel like injuries would not be so prevalent. I just feel like flat draft odds would make it impossible for teams to tank. There would be no reward for teams that decide halfway through the year to throw in the towel. I also feel like flat odds would force teams to try as best as they can to stay in the race all season long. The product on the court would be much better. The better players would try harder. Defenses would be much more intense and focused.

I love the idea of everyone having the same shot at the top prospect. That's what I would pitch if I had a say to the higher ups in the NBA. Make it all even and see how that plays out. That seems like the best option they have at this point. 

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.

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Ty Watches "GOAT"

My kids had school off yesterday and my son has been asking to go see the new animated movie "GOAT". He was asking my folks to take him, but they didn't have the time. With my daughter being homebound since she is sick, my son and I were stir crazy, so I decided that was the perfect time to take him.

I did not know a lot about the movie, but one of my older brother's did tell me that he thought my son would enjoy it. He was correct. This review will be as spoiler free as possible, but a few spoilers may slip here and there. Forewarning. "GOAT" takes place in an alternate world where animals play a version of professional basketball called Roar Ball. Roar ball has, for the most part, bigger animals that play. We have pumas, rhinos, ostriches, grizzly bears and horses, among others. The sport is tough for smaller animals to play because it is, especially for a kids movie, pretty violent. The courts are also susceptible to the elements, since most games are held outdoors.

Early on we meet the main character, Will, and his mom. Will is a goat and he dreams of playing for his local town's team, the Thorns. He also wants to play with his favorite player of all time, Jett. He goes to a game with his mom and vows to become a pro one day. We fast forward 10 years and Will still has hoop dreams, but he is still small. His mom has also, unfortunately, passed away. Will works as a delivery guy for a diner, but he always finds time to play Roar Ball, mostly by himself. Meanwhile the Thorns and Jett are having a tough season and Jett looks to be getting passed by as the best to ever play. There is a new player in town, a horse named Mane Attraction. Mane Attraction is brash and bold and a top notch hooper. He is on the internet talking trash all the time and he knows how good he is. One day he goes to the Vineyard, this is where they play pickup ball, and he is taking on anyone willing to play him. Will gets his shot and breaks his ankles. Mane Attraction eventually wins the game, but Will's friends upload the video of his breaking ankles. This video goes so viral that the owner of the Thorns signs him. Jett doesn't care for this, but they need a sixth player, and Will is chosen for the job.

From here on out the movie follows the typical sports stereotypes. Will doesn't play at all and he cannot get through to his teammates. Jett is a ball hog and a loner. Eventually they come together as a team and start winning. Then the team gets sold before the semifinals. Will overhears a conversation between the owner and Jett and Jett reverts to her old ways. They all apologize and get back together and eventually win it all. And one of the players on the team is able to buy it from the owner and they don't have to move. They set up a sequel in the closing credits and, after 100 minutes, we were out of the theater.

This is your typical kids sports movie. It hits all the cliches. You can tell what is going to happen beat by beat. That being said, I found myself enjoying what I was watching, but not for the reasons I used to like sports movies. Will is all well and good to watch, and I liked the basketball adjacent game they played, but I enjoyed the hell out of the coach in the movie. Patton Oswalt voiced the coach, and when he was given full control of the team, I was all in. His message was all about teamwork and how teams, not individuals, win rings. He championed defense, teamwork and togetherness as ways to win. I have been saying this since I started coaching my son six years ago. I loved that this was the ringing message throughout the movie. And the only way they end up winning it all is by playing as a team. I loved that.

Outside the coach, my favorite part, this was a solid cast doing nice voicework. Caleb McLaughlin voiced Will and he was great. He was full of energy and optimism and I was there for it. Some other people lending voices were Gabrielle Union, Steph Curry, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll and Jennifer Hudson, among others. Everyone is doing solid work and seems to be having a good time doing it. The movie had a great message and the cast put that on blast. The animation was cool, the movie was short, the action was fun and I was never bored watching it.

I recommend any parents with young kids who play basketball go to see this movie. It is neat and cool and tells a positive and nice story. My son and I enjoyed it, and I think young basketball players will like it too. 

Ty

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

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My First Time at In-N-Out

Let me tell you a story.

I had a weekend trip planned for Phoenix. My wife and I were going up there so I could pace my buddy in his 100k race. This was the plan all along. We took our flight out on Friday and had pretty much a full afternoon and evening in the Phoenix area. The race was last Saturday so everything was looking like it was going according to plan. Then we got a call from my mom around 7pm. Our daughter had a 104.1 temperature. So, like I imagine most parents would do, we found the earliest flight we could get the next morning and headed home. we weren't going to have my folks, who are more than capable, have to deal with that kind of sickness. We wanted to be with our daughter and she wanted us to be there with her. My buddy running the race, who is also a dad, fully understood. My folks understood. We had to be back to take care of her. My job, as the at home parent, is to make sure my kids have the care they need, especially in a situation like this. And for those of you wondering, my buddy ran and crushed the race that Saturday, and my daughter, who was diagnosed with flu and strep, is feeling better. Her fever broke yesterday and now she is saddled with a nasty cough, but she is moving around and acting more like herself today. I say all of this to get to the point of what I wanted to talk about today, which is In N Out Burger.

I mentioned we made our flight before our daughter got sick, and we had an afternoon in Phoenix. My wife had been there before and mentioned that they had an In N Out Burger. She has been before, but I have not. I had actually kind of given up on the fact that I may never have this very popular fast food chain. I truly have no reason to go to the West Coast right now, although I'd love to, so the thought of trying this well known food spot was not really on my mind. That changed last Friday. We found one very near our hotel, we hadn't had lunch, we still had time before check in, so my wife decided it was time for me to try it. I was stoked going in. I have heard so many great things about their burgers, so I was eager to try one.

When we walked in, we ate there, it looked like your classic diner joint, which was very appealing to me. The staff at this location was incredibly friendly and made me feel like a regular the moment I stepped into the store front. I ordered the Double Double, which I have to assume is the regular pick for any newcomer, some fries and a soda. They gave us the cup to fill our drink, which was a bit of a letdown. For some reason I thought they had a soda jerk or something like that, but that's a me issue, not In N Out. After I filled my cup and sat down, all that was left was the waiting, and it felt like a bit of a wait. I don't know if this is just an Arizona thing, because the people who I have heard talk about this place that live in LA talk about how fast the customer service is. But they do make the stuff to order, so I did not fully mind the wait. After about 10 minutes, they called our order and I was ready to devour this food.

I went with my burger first and it was as good as advertised. The meat was flavorful and juicy and plentiful. The bun was soft and delicious. The veggies, we got them all on the burger, tasted fresh and fantastic. The pickles and onion had a nice crunch. The tomato was nice and firm. The lettuce added a nice freshness. The secret sauce was very, very good and added a whole separate flavor to the seasoning on the burger. And the cheese was melted and gooey. This was a fantastical mess of a burger and I couldn't get enough of it. My wife had about a quarter of her burger left and I about finished what was left on the table. I have eaten a lot of burgers in my 43 plus years, and the In N Out Burger is one of the better ones I've ever had.

The fries on the other hand were odd and not for me. First off they don't look as fried as other places. They also don't salt the fries, instead opting to give you a salt packet on top of the napkins they put on top of the boat of fries. And when I bit into my first one I was puzzled. They didn't have a snap. They were soft through and through. I told my wife, who does like the fries, that they tasted like they took mashed potatoes, shaped them into fries and then put them in the fryer for half the time other chains do with their own fries. I tried a few more, they're fries afterall, but I stopped after about seven. I wasn't into them. The texture was weird and off putting in my opinion. I have heard others say the fries are hit or miss and they were a miss for me. But that burger was so damn good that I am more than willing to overlook my distaste for the fries.

I implore anyone who is heading to a city with an In N Out Burger to try the burger. You will not regret it. I will definitely be looking to find more In N Out's on my future travels. I am a fan of the burger from here on out. 

Ty

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

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I Want the Bulls to Be Good

I don't know that I have seen such a mediocre fall off in the past decade when I look at the Chicago Bulls. Let’s discuss.

When I was a kid the Bulls were the best. They had Jordan and Pippen and Phil Jackson and they were winning titles left and right. Jordan is the greatest, Pippen was the perfect Robin and Jackson is one of the best coaches of all time. They were able to bring in great complimentary pieces, like Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper. They drafted properly with guys like Luc Longley and Steve Kerr. They were in on the international players before it was a big thing. But the most important thing, and I will say this until the cows come home, they drafted Michael Jordan and kept him through his prime.

The Bulls were the definition of a dynasty. They had some down years until they drafted Derrick Rose, who made them relevant again. They had some nice runs with Rose, but then his knee exploded and that was when this team became the best at being mediocre. They have gone through any number of players to try and make themselves a viable playoff threat. They traded for Nikola Vucevic when he was still a borderline all star. But he never really lived up to the hype as a stretch big man. He would have one of two good games a month, then revert to being average. They got Zach Lavine when he was angry with Minnesota. This seemed like a good move at the time, but Lavine is just an empty stats guy. He can fill up the scoresheet, but it never amounted to many wins. They went out and signed DeMar DeRozan, who is one of the better midrange offensive players in the game, but he doesn't play a ton of defense, and if we learned anything from his trade from the Raptors to the Spurs, teams seemed to get better when he was not on them. They traded for Alex Caruso, or maybe signed him, I don't remember. Caruso is only good when he is on a contending team and he has to guard multiple guys. He has never been a scoring threat and he never will be. That doesn't suit his skill set. I liked when they drafted Coby White, who had his moments, but he never lived up to the lottery selection he was, and now he is gone. They gave Patrick Williams a big deal when he hadn't really proved much of anything. And they seem to be whiffing on their most recent draft picks. All of this kept this team in the play-in race, but they never made it out, or if they did, they were an easy first round out. Billy Donovan is a solid coach, but he has never been given a real chance to win big in Chicago. Every time he shows some stability, and the Bulls get their head above water, they trade guys or force him to play players he may not want on the floor. They let go of Caruso so they could build a team around Josh Giddey. Giddey is okay, but he is not a number one option that you can win a title with. Plus, he has had some questionable off court issues in his past. They let Ayo Donsunmu go. Matas Buzelis hasn't been able to put together a month's worth of solid play. Jalen Smith is a fine backup center. He starts for the Bulls. They now have three of the exact same player in guards Anfernee Simons, Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey, all of whom they traded for. Simons can score and do not much else. Dillingham is wildly unproven and Ivey has been very up and down his whole career. And he tends to be injury prone. They also added Collin Sexton, who I like, but he cannot seem to stick with one team any longer than one or two seasons.

I don't know what game the Bulls are playing, but they, and by they I mean the front office, don't seem to truly know what they are doing. They are taking some of the oddest swings I have seen in a long time. They are too far in to tank, and their record, especially in the Eastern Conference, is on par with being in the play-in once again. The roster construction and team building makes zero sense and the powers that be seem to be more than thrilled to stay in this weird mediocrity they have set for themselves. I like the NBA much more when the Bulls are relevant. At this moment, and for the past decade, the Bulls have been wildly irrelevant. And that bums me out. 

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.

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Thoughts on a 27 Year Old College Football Player

I'm all for college football players getting paid, and if they can get more in college than in the NFL, go for it. No one knows how long they are going to be able to play, especially a sport like football, so get it while you can. There needs to be some more rules around NIL and the transfer portal, but that is a topic for another day. But I did see some news recently that made me throw my hands up in frustration.

By now we all know about the Miami linebacker who is entering his eighth year of college football. That is wild and kind of odd to me, but Miami is a blueblood, was just in the national title game and they may be even better next season. Yesterday I read about another college football player who was just given his ninth year of eligibility. The player's name is Solomon Tuliaupupu and he plays linebacker for Montana. I read that he started his career at USC, transferred to Montana and has become an all conference player since signing with the Grizzlies. I understand that he got a waiver due to injuries, and add that to the extra year for COVID, and a redshirt season, Tuliaupupu will be a 27 year old fifth year senior when he suits up for Montana next season.

This seems like overkill. I don't get why he would get a waiver for a ninth season, but Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss was denied a sixth season. Rod Moore got a sixth season with Michigan due to injury, but Chambliss was denied. I wonder why they are so hard up to not let Chambliss play, but this linebacker at Montana gets a ninth season. Keep in mind that he will be 27 when the season starts. That is an adult. He could be a father at this point. My wife had our first kid when we were 29, only two years older than Tuliaupupu. He is going to have teammates that are 18 when they start practice. How will he engage and talk with them? What are they going to be able to relate to?

That's too old to still be in college. Some people were all up in arms because Indiana had one of the older rosters in college football last year. They averaged 24 years old. This kld is 27. He is older than a ton of professional football players. There are some guys that have come and gone in the NFL before 27. I get it, maybe Tuliaupupu will not be a pro football player, but continually putting it off for so many years will only hurt any shot he has at the NFL. Teams are going to draft much younger guys that they can mold in the team's vision. Tuliaupupu is already the player he is always going to be. He could walk into a few locker rooms currently in the NFL where he is one of the older linebackers, as a rookie. He would be going on 28 his first season in the NFL. That is some players' prime, or even late prime. He would just be entering the league. I just don't see a NFL front office taking a chance on a rookie only two years away from 30. Maybe Tuliaupupu knows this, knows that he will be done after college football, so he is just trying to make as much as he can at Montana. Or maybe he just loves the game and doesn't want to stop playing until he absolutely has to. But this is just overkill. This is where some of the problems lie with waivers and the portal and NIL. Some guys get preferential treatment, and it almost feels like they give it to players who are not in a power 4 conference. There's far fewer players that make the league that are not on a power 4 conference team. And when they do, they are usually older and undrafted. But they are not 28 as a rookie.

Props to this guy for playing the game he loves for as long as possible, but there has to be a point where a player moves on and tries to be a professional. Being a 27 year old fifth year senior is too much and needs to be fixed. I'll be curious to see him play just because he is far too old to be a college athlete, but this is the state of the game at the moment. 

Ty

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

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Remember "The Angry Birds Movie"?

My daughter has been home sick for two days, she has a mild fever and a cough, and today she wanted to watch a movie. I let her pick and she landed on "The Angry Birds Movie".

I have to admit, I had totally forgotten that they even made one of these. It seemed unnecessary at the time of its release, and I had completely let it leave my mind that this even existed. I also remember reading some reviews, and as to be expected, the movie was panned by the major critics. I had very low expectations going into this movie.

That being said, I did find some stuff that made me laugh while watching, I thought the animation was cool, but all in all, this movie doesn't even need to exist. It was not great. My daughter loved it. Let me say that. She was laughing through some sniffles and when the movie ended she told me she had a good time. I watched it from an adult and critics point of view, be that necessary or not. Like I said, there were a few gags that got genuine laughs from me, and the movie looked like a much better version of the game. But all in all this was clearly just a cash grab. I don't know when or why Angry Birds the game became humongous, but the fact of the matter is that it is one of the bigger phone games, and I'm sure movie corporations saw that and jumped at an opportunity to make some more money. They even got a solid voice cast, including people like Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Peter Dinklage and Danny McBride among many others. But those people didn't have a whole lot to do in their roles. Sudekis was there to be aloof and make one liner jokes, which he excels at doing. But the jokes here, for the most part, land flat. You can tell this was written for a children's audience. Sometimes these movies are made for kids, but the people involved write jokes for the parents that are watching. That wasn't the case here. These were jokes for kids, maybe even written by kids. Danny McBride felt subdued, Maya Rudolph was only there to act like a hippy and Peter Dinklage, who got the laughs out of me, was barely even in the movie at all.

As for the story, it was simplistic, which can be fine, but they went way too simple here. The game goes that the birds need to protect their homes from the pigs. That was exactly what the movie did, but they added eggs, which I don't even remember if that is in the game or not. The eggs were the crux of what the pigs were doing. And it wasn't until the pigs stole the eggs did we even get to see the birds do what they do in the game. And that was the climax of the movie. This was the point where the animation was at its best, but it felt too little too late. I did enjoy how nefarious the pigs were, and Bill Hader voicing the main pig was great casting. But anyone could tell the pigs were evil the moment they stepped on screen, even if you've never played the game before. When they did finally show up the tricks the birds could do, it came and went so quickly that I had to ask my daughter who did what, and we had to rewind a few times to figure out who was causing what damage. Seeing the birds do destruction to the pigs town was cool because that is what the game is all about. But, again, it was the end of the movie and it was only about a five minute scene. The rest of the movie was filled with corny jokes, for the most part, a story of why birds should and should not be angry, the main bird being picked on as a kid and the town turning and then regarding the main bird. You see, very simple stuff. But, my daughter liked it and the movie made more than enough money to garner a sequel.

Herein lies my issue with this movie overall, there's hardly any original ideas anymore. Every other movie seems to be based off a property that gained enough fame to justify the cash grab that is the inevitable feature length movie. Hell, a studio made an "Emoji" movie. That should tell you all you need to know. I will say, if you have a kid who's interested, you should turn it on for them. But for the adults in the room, it won't do all that much for you. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Super Bowl LX

Super Bowl 60 happened last night and I have some takes. I'll start with the game.

The game was very dull for the first three quarters. I love a defensive battle, but this was more akin to the offenses playing poorly. Neither team could move the ball after their first drive. The Seahawks got a field goal out of it and the Patriots had something happening, but a sack stalled any momentum they had. After that it was a bunch of punts. The Seahawks were able to move the ball a little here and there. The Patriots could not do a damn thing. They were a three and out machine. I will say, part of it was the Seahawks defense. They were all over the Patriots offense. They were attacking the left side of their o line, which is their weak spot, and they ravaged the QB and run game. Devion Witherspoon was constantly in the backfield. The d line was getting pressure on almost every play. If I was a Patriots fan, it would have been abhorrent to watch. Lucky for me I'm not a fan, so this was a delight to watch. The Seahawks were able to get a few more field goals and head into halftime with a 9-0 lead. The second half was much better. The Seahawks finally got the first td of the game. Sam Darnold threw a nice pass to AJ Barner, who was wide open. This was the point where I figured the Seahawks were in control. That was most definitely the case. Sure, the Patriots scored a td early on in the fourth to make it a 12 point game, but it was never going to get closer than that. The Seahawks added a field goal, then they swarmed the Patriots on a pass rush that resulted in a pick 6. At that point, with the score 29-7, it was all over but the shouting. The Patriots scored a meaningless td with about 2 minutes left to cut it to a 16 point lead, but it was all done.

My final thoughts on the actual game, it was boring and dull. But it was cool to see these two defenses show up ready to play. Both the D's were fast and furious. They wanted to hit everything in sight. The Patriots were close to multiple interceptions. The Seahawks capitalized on turnovers, causing a fumble and the aforementioned pick 6. They also got a late interception that all but sealed the game. Both teams got tons of pressure all night as well. It was nice to see some modern teams playing ferocious defense for once. But both QB's had subpar games. The Patriots couldn't run the ball either. The Seahawks were able to run, and that was what separated them. They were able to sustain drives for longer periods of game time. Kenneth Walker had a massive game, leading to him winning Super Bowl MVP. Barner had a solid game, as did Cooper Kupp, which they needed due to JSN being held in check and missing time due to a concussion. The Seahawks o line, while not great, played better than the Patriots, and they opened up more running holes for their backs. The Seahawks were the better team on paper and on the field and they earned their rings. Mike MacDonald had a great gameplan, his coaches and players ran it to perfection and they dominated this game pretty much from start to finish. Congrats to the Seahawks on their championship.

As for the stuff outside the game, let's talk about it. Bad Bunny put on one hell of a halftime show. He is quite the showman and he had an energized and fun show. I liked that he brought out Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. I saw that Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba and Cardi B, among others, were on stage dancing during the halftime show. I also loved that his whole show was about love being stronger than hate. I liked that he brought out what looked like the 5 year old that was detained by monsters to present him with the Grammy he just won. The show was lively and easy to dance along with and just a good time. I liked it quite a bit.

As for the commercials, nothing really stuck out to me. I don't like that celebs are doing most of these commercials. Commercials should be for actors trying to break into the business. That was how it used to be, but now we have superstars doing commercials. I feel it takes away from the fun of older ads. I wasn't as stoked for the Dunkin commercial as years past. I will say I did like the one with Chris Hemsworth and the other one Matthew McCoungehey and Bradley Cooper. But that was about it.

All in all it was like most other Super Bowls. The game was off until it was on, the halftime was fun and the commercials were just fine. 

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 "Opus"

Last week I watched the movie "Opus". Let’s discuss.

Once I saw that Ayo Edebiri was going to be in a horror/comedy from A24 I was all in. I enjoy her work on "The Bear". She is the heart and soul of that show for me. I didn't finish "I Love LA", but I did see her small role as a European pop icon and I thought she played it perfectly over the top. I like her voice work on "Big Mouth", and now i'm stoked that she is getting more and more work.

As I found out more about "Opus", I got even more on board. John Malkovich was cast as a superstar pop icon. He was going to be playing one of the best singer/songwriters in the world. He also seemed to have a creepy aura about him, and you could see that from the trailers. From what I read, "Opus" was about Malkovich's popstar inviting people from the world of pop culture to hear his new record and then some flagrant stuff was going to go down. The two people I knew cast, and the premise were more than enough for me to want to watch.

Then some reviews came out and "Opus" kind of got panned. That bummed me out. That was when I decided to wait for it to come to streaming. It took me a bit, but I finally saw it and I have some thoughts. I do want to say, this review will have spoilers in it. Just a heads up.

So, this movie was not great. I want to start with that. It goes kind of nuts and off the rails in the final act. The stuff leading up to the climax was good and scary and thrilling, but you could tell what was going to happen from the jump. The rest of the cast was really great though. Besides Malkovich and Edebiri, we have Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Tony Hale and Amber Midthunder, among others. Whoever cast this movie did a wonderful job, and I don't necessarily blame the actors for the movie kind of unraveling the whole way through. Malkovich is good and creepy. I also appreciate that he actually sang the songs in the movie. Edebiri is great as the young and hungry journalist. She is a great actor and she did such a wonderful job in a co-starring role. Bartlett is funny, Lewis brings a solid veteran to the cast and Midthunder is downright terrifying. Tony Hale is barely in it, but he brings it for his two scenes in the whole thing.

For people who may not know, "Opus" is about a former pop star making a new album and inviting some people to his compound to be the first to listen. The compound is creepy. The people working and living there are clearly up to no good. The place is too pristine and too well manicured and taken care of. The invited guests, besides Edebiri, don't seem to see what is going on, and when they do, it is far too late. Look, while the movie is not great, it did keep my attention. Sure, it was easy to figure out what was going to happen beat by beat, but that did not take away from my viewing experience. Malkovich really brought it and he is scary to begin with. I didn't like the way they had him reveal his plan so quickly and abruptly, but again that is not his fault. And even in the end, when Edebiri finally gets to interview him, I could not take my eyes off his performance. Malkovitch is a good and dependable actor and you know he is going to bring it when he is cast in a movie. My biggest nitpick with the movie is the turn after the puppet show. This is when the whole plan is revealed and this is when they go way, way too gory. The kills were merciless and brutal. I felt like they took it a bit too far for my taste. The getaway was easy to spot. The wrap up from Malkovich in prison talking about how the survivors of his cult were still out there was way too easy to see coming. But I was still locked in the whole time. I think the better idea would have been to just keep the movie within the compound and slowly reveal the plan. That was the best part of the movie. When they let tension sit there and made the viewer think about what might happen, that was when the movie worked. They didn't let us sit in that long enough in my opinion.

I say one more time, the movie was watchable. So while not very good, I do think it is worth a viewing. Just go in knowing that the end product isn't great, but you will see some solid performances. 

Ty

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

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A "Blade Runner" Experience Like No Other

Last night I had a movie going experience for the first time in my life. I have seen the original "Blade Runner" dozens of times. It is one of the best movies ever made and it happens to be one of my favorites. I find new things to enjoy with each new watch. I grow to like it even more as I get older. It is truly a masterpiece. And I have seen every version of the movie that has been made available. But last night it was a totally new, totally different viewing.

A while back I saw that a local venue was going to show the movie on a humongous screen in 4k Ultra. That would have been enough for me to go, but this showing also had a live band playing the score of the movie as it was playing. I've heard of this before, but I've never been privy to a screening. My wife a few years back saw "The Muppet Christmas Carol" with a choir and orchestra, which she loved. But this was different. This was not a choir or an orchestra. This was a band playing along with the movie. They had three keyboard players. There was a person who played guitar and bass. They had two electric violin players. There was a person playing an electric harp. They had one singer and a person playing a humongous drum. And they played the score of "Blade Runner", which is more of an electronic, new wave type score. It was akin to something that Daft Punk would do nowadays. It was kind of like their score to the second "Tron" movie Disney did years ago.

This showing was cool as hell though. I didn't really know what to expect when I went into the venue. It was playing at The Factory here in Saint Louis, which is a decent sized spot. I got second row seats, and when I walked in, there were probably about 200 to 300 people. That is definitely the biggest crowd I have been with to watch a movie. I do wish I got seats a few rows back, I had to tilt my head up to watch the movie, but that's neither here nor there. I was also surprised to see the diversity in age at this movie. Most people were my age, or just a little bit older. But there were some younger kids, it was an 18 and over show. There were some people in their 20's, but there were also people who are my folks' age, and that made me happy. That means this movie has continued to gain fans year after year. The greatness of "Blade Runner" knows no age limits. That's dope. I love the movie, so that was no surprise to me that it still holds up incredibly well. It is a classic. But having that band added such a nice extra incentive to watching this movie. From the opening credits to the end credits, the band was on it. They hit every beat. When the drums needed to come in, they came in with a literal bang. The keyboards, probably the most essential part of the score, were banging. The players were on it, they had the right tone and effects and it was amazing to listen to. The violins added to the eeriness of the movie and the score. The electric harp was one of the cooler live instruments I have ever heard. The lady who sang the parts that needed singing had a beautiful voice and hit all the right notes. And the bassist/guitar player added the little extra that those instruments add to this movie's score. There were times when I knew that drums were coming, but they were so much louder that it made me jump in my seat. I made my way out of the venue in the middle of the rolling of the end credits and I could clearly hear the music outside while walking to my car.

This was a very wonderful way to see this movie. It was new and unique and interesting. I will for sure be going to more and more of these type showings, as long as they aren't wildly expensive. I highly recommend seeing a movie you love in this fashion. It adds a whole lot that I didn't even know was possible. This is a memory I will hold for the longest time. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on James Harden Going to The Cavaliers

Yesterday I wrote about a big trade involving the NBA team I root for. Well, the NBA decided they had to pull off an even bigger trade a few hours after JJJ was moved to Utah. Let’s discuss.

James Harden is on the move yet again. He started his career with the Thunder, and wasn't happy with the fact that he wasn't the focal point of the offense. They traded him to the Rockets and he had his best years with them. But he grew tired of each new star player they brought in to play with him so he decided he wanted to team up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and forced his way to Brooklyn. When Kyrie wouldn't get vaccinated and KD couldn't stay on the floor, he decided he wanted to play with Joel Embiid and edged his way to the 76ers. When that blew up in his face he decided he wanted to go home and play for the Clippers. And that actually seemed to be working out just fine. He didn't have to be the focal point, he was back home and he was playing pretty well. But he didn't get the contract he wanted, and even though he may have made some claims today saying he did not request a trade, he has found his way to Cleveland, being traded for Darius Garland and a second round pick.

I want to believe Harden when he says he didn't request a trade and that he wants a chance to play in the finals and that that is easier in the Eastern Conference and he wanted to leave the Clippers in a better space to rebuild quicker, but I just don't buy it. James Harden is a good enough offensive basketball player. He is a willing and very good passer. He is a tremendous three point shooter. He can still get to his spots on the floor. He shoots a ton of free throws. He is a ball stopper and constantly needs it in his hands, but he usually ends up doing good things with it in the long run. He can just come out and admit he wanted out of LA because he thought that it was going to be next to impossible to get to the Finals in the West. He is a mercenary. That has come to be his thing in the NBA, and I don't mind it from his perspective. He wants to get paid, he likes going to new and different cities and he usually helps that team win. And he is getting close to the end of his career, and maybe he truly does want a shot at a ring. I don't know if I fully believe that, but maybe this move is his last, and best shot at a Finals appearance.

The East is not close to the level of the West, the Cavs are getting better everyday and they can make a strong push to close the season out and make a deep run in the playoffs. Now, will the usual Harden show up in the playoffs? The guy that disappears in crucial moments? History points to yes. But maybe Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley can help him overcome that stigma. That's the best part for the Cavs too. They did have to trade a key piece in Garland, but they got to keep everyone else. Donovan Mitchell is still their top player. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will protect the rim and rebound the ball. Jaylen Tyson has been a total revelation. They have a solid bench, especially for the East. This is a good team that will be even better on offense with the addition of Harden. Harden is going to take some pressure off Mitchell, get three point shooters wide open looks and have Allen and Mobley rolling to the rim for lob dunks. This will only help the Cavs, unless playoff James Harden shows up, which is very likely.

The Clippers got a point guard that is 10 years younger than Harden. He is twitchier and faster than Harden. He isn't a great defender, but he is much better on that end than Harden. He doesn't have the ego Harden has either. But Garland is almost always hurt. The past two seasons have been filled with random, weird injuries that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Garland just cannot seem to stay on the court. Harden always plays. He barely misses games. Garland misses a ton. But I think, if they keep this group together, the Clippers did get wildly younger at point guard. They just need Garland to play. Kawhi Leonard is having a great season. Brook Lopez has started to look more like himself. Kris Dunn is an elite defender. And Ivica Zubac is looking more and more like himself with every passing game. I think the Cavs "won" the deal with Harden coming over. But the Clippers got younger and faster, as long as Garland plays 20 to 25 of the last 30 plus games.

I'm very curious to see how this all plays out for the rest of the season. But what I do know, the Cavs are going to push their way to a three or four seed and get home court because James Harden brings wins with him wherever he is traded to. 

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.

What are the Grizzlies Doing?

I truly have zero idea what the Memphis Grizzlies are attempting to do, but they are clearly up to something. I wrote while back that I was fully ready for them to trade Ja Morant. I wanted them to move on and preferably start building the team around a rookie, or even better, Jaren Jackson Jr (JJJ). Well, while out exercising this afternoon I got an alert on my phone that the Grizzlies had made a trade. I naturally assumed they had traded Ja, but I was wrong. Apparently they have traded JJJ to the Utah Jazz for a bunch of other players and draft picks. The Grizzlies, along with JJJ, traded a few other rotational players. But the big name here is Jaren Jackson Jr.

I just don't get it. The Grizzlies have been wildly inconsistent all season long. They will go on a little run, win five of eight games here and there, and then fall off a cliff. They are currently on the cliff as we speak. They cannot seem to close out games. They will carry a lead into halftime and find a way to get beat by double figures by the end of the game. They have been wildly frustrating to watch all season long.

Part of their inability to put together a long winning streak is the health of key players. Ja Morant has barely played this season. And when he does play you never know which version of him you're going to get. Zach Edey has been out most of the season. Kentavious Caldwell Pope hasn't brought it since the trade. He has only been 1/4 the player he was on his former teams. Ty Jerome, one of the better offseason additions, has not played a second yet. They have had no real continuity all season long. But, the one consistent player, the one guy I could count on to be on the floor most nights, was Jaren Jackson Jr. He may not be having as good a season as he has in the past, his defense and rebounding have regressed a bit, but he was almost always on the court. I knew he would be in the starting five and he would play 25 plus minutes a night. That's gone now. He is off to Utah.

Jackson is going to pair up quite nicely with Lauri Markkanen, if the Jazz ever let him play real minutes. JJJ is also going to help the Jazz defense. He will be another big body to clog up the paint. He can also take the ball outside and shoot the three. He has always had a solid low post game, but he has turned himself into a solid three point shooter. If I were Markkanen I'd be happy about this move. This would give me the feeling that they may not be going into the tank after this season. The rest of the Jazz roster is unproven and young, but some of these dudes have upside. Ace Bailey is a pure scorer. He just needs to get stronger. Isaiah Collier reeks of a microwave bench scorer. Keyonte George can hoop. Cody Williams hasn't lived up to the lottery pick he was in his draft, but he has shown minor flashes here and there.

The Grizzlies, I don't really know what they are planning on doing with this current roster. They let their most dependable guy go and apparently they're still shopping Ja Morant. The rest of the roster is odd to me. As mentioned before, Edey and Jerome have barely played or not played at all. GG Jackson can't seem to get real minutes. Santi Aldama had a few moments earlier this season, but that has died off as of late. Cedric Coward has been a bright spot, and maybe they will build around him if they eventually trade Morant. Brandon Clarke never sees the floor due to injuries, Cam Spencer is a one week wonder who has wildly cooled off as of late, Scotty Pipen Jr hasn't made much of a leap and Olivier-Maxence Prosper has not figured out the NBA. The Grizzlies roster is a total mishmash now that they have traded JJJ.

This really bums me out. I have had the pleasure of seeing JJJ play live and he was fun to watch. I, as mentioned before, relied on him to constantly be in the lineup. I knew he was going to do what he does and play a significant amount of minutes. That's all gone now. My hope for the rest of the year and into the summer for the Grizzlies is a full rebuild. Tear it down and try to build back up through the draft. Now that they have traded JJJ, they need to move Ja and some other vets. They should give the keys to Coward and see what they have in some other, younger and unproven players. Let this coaching staff start anew and give them two or three years to build the Grizz back up into a perennial playoff team. As for now, they have left me annoyed and confused. And there's still a few days left in the trade deadline to further frustrate me. Time will tell. 

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.

Ty Watches "The Smashing Machine"

A few months back I saw a trailer for the movie "The Smashing Machine". It piqued my interest at the time, but I never got around to seeing it in the theaters. It is now streaming on HBO Max and I had some time last weekend to watch it.

I recently wrote about my affinity for sports movies and "The Smashing Machine" is most definitely a sports movie. The sport is not one I watch or know much about, MMA fighting, but I've watched plenty of sports movies that feature sports I'm not a fan of.  I was most intrigued by what I saw Dwayne Johnson doing in the trailer. Johnson usually only plays roles in action movies where he can be the hero. That's all well and good and he seems to excel at such roles. He has done some different stuff, like "Southland Tales" for example. But he is usually the nondescript hero. This role in "The Smashing Machine" seemed much different. This is a more dramatic take. He had to go to darker places I felt. He had to do some real "acting" if you will. And I felt like he was up to the task here.

My quick initial review of the movie was okay. It was a bit melodramatic and overlong. I usually love Emily Blunt in her movies, but here it felt like she was directed to be an emotional over the top mess. She did that just fine but it was a cliched take on a girlfriend who felt scorned and not relied upon. There is an entire scene where she threatens to kill herself and I just didn't buy it. It felt very after school special. And as the Safdie's like to do, Benny Safdie had some real people and very green actors perform roles in the movie. It was fine, but it did not come close to the work that his brother Josh Safdie got from the same people in "Marty Supreme". you could tell the non actors in "The Smashing Machine" were not actors. I do want to point out the guy that played Johnson's buddy, Ryan Bader, did a fine job. This is his world, I read he is a former MMA fighter, and all he had to do was play a version of himself with a different name. The fighting sequences were cool and solidly acted and directed. But I just kind of got a hollow feeling after watching it because it was too sad and sappy for my taste when it comes to sports movies.

But, Dwayne Johnson was pretty great. He was the lone standout of this movie. He brought his A game. This was a role that had me realizing that he can be a solid actor when called upon to do something new and different. He was the titular Smashing Machine, Mark Kerr. I had no idea who he was prior to this movie, but I learned a lot about him from Johnson's portrayal. I guess Kerr was a pioneer of the sport and a pretty big reason why it has become as popular as it is today. Johnson also transformed his body for this role. He has always been a big dude, he was a college football player turned professional wrestler. But he had to build up his muscles even more for this movie. I read that Kerr was a pretty devout weight lifter and took his lifting very seriously. There is a part when Johnson turns his back to the camera and he had so many muscles on his back. I had no idea that one could have that many muscles and have them on one's back. Dwayne Johnson got absolutely ripped for this and he more than looked the part. Back to his acting for a moment. As I said, this movie was melodramatic, and in a melodramatic sports movie, the main character always seems to have a drug problem. Kerr was no different. He was addicted to opioids, namely pain relief drugs. But the way Johnson portrayed his addiction, he did it very well. You could see he was an addict, but he was able to hide it for a bit. And when he couldn't hide it, it reared its ugly head and Johnson did this very well. I especially liked the scene where he was in Japan at a fighting tournament and the strongest pain reliever he could get was Advil. Johson portrayed Kerr's addiction perfectly here. You could tell he was angry, but he didn't go over the top. But you could see him seething deep down which only furthered his addiction. And when he needs to get clean, him trying to stay sober with an enabling girlfriend was also very well acted by Johnson. The fight scenes were done very well by Johnson. It had to help that he was a professional wrestler and he has been doing stage fighting most of his adult life. I also enjoyed his arc throughout the movie and the ending was done very well.

Dwayne Johnson is the reason to watch this movie if you are thinking about checking it out. His performance is dynamic and it was the reason I was able to get through the more melodramatic stuff. So if you're on the fence, watch it for Johnson. His performance is worth the two hour runtime. 

Ty

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

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R.I.P. Catherine O'Hara

I was going to write about a movie I recently watched, but a very unfortunate thing happened as I was driving home this afternoon. I got a new update on my phone and checked when I got to a stoplight. I read that Catherine O'Hara had passed away at 71.

I was shocked. I didn't want to believe it at first. I thought that it may have been some misinformation that got wrongly released. I truly did not want this news to be true. Unfortunately it is true. Catherine O'Hara has died at 71 years old. She was too young and still had so much more work left to do. No reason for death has been made public, but the stuff I have read said that she had a brief illness. I am stunned.

O'Hara has literally been on my tv and movie screens since I was a kid. "Home Alone" was the first movie I can remember watching dozens of times. It was my favorite movie for a long, long time. "Home Alone" came out in 1990. I was 8. That was the start of my love for movies. O'Hara was the second lead, at least in my opinion, of that movie. She is the mom hell bent on getting back to her son. As a kid I sided with Kevin, as an adult and parent, O'Hara's foible and persistence to get back home hits so much harder. And again, I was 8 when I first saw that movie. She was in the next two "Home Alone" movies, which I obviously watched. But it wasn't until I was about 15 or 16 when my brother, RD, showed me the movie "Waiting For Guffman". Again, O'Hara has a memorable and major role in this movie, but this was also my first Christopher Guest movie. I began to heavily follow Guest's work after "Waiting For Guffman". This also meant that I was going to see a ton more Catherine O'Hara. Guest and O'Hara worked a bunch together after "Guffman". In "Guffman" she and Fred Willard are a hilarious couple who think they are the biggest actors in a small town in Missouri. It's a shame that both of them have now passed. After "Guffman" she did "Best In Show" with Guest. This is probably my favorite role of hers. She is so funny and gets to do her thing in this movie. I loved her limp, her backstory and the relationship she had with Eugene Levy in this movie. She is the star of this movie. She carried it, and this is a great movie with a wonderful cast. O'Hara steals the show and every time I go back and watch I find something new she does that cracks me up. In a break from Guest's work, she was in the very underrated comedy "Orange County", playing Colin Hanks' mom. She's great as the absent minded divorcee that is just trying to keep her youngest son home with her. In 2003 she returned to work with Guest in "A Mighty Wind". I mean, right next to "Best In Show", this is a powerhouse performance. She gets paired up with Levy again, but this time it is a totally different dynamic and O'Hara is more than up to the task. Her voice is also beautiful and I love when she sings in the movie. For three years she did a whole bunch of voice work before teaming up with Guest again in "For Your Consideration". I like this movie, regardless of what the critics said about it. The work she did with Guest was my favorite work of hers and she was always up for each and every job. I would be remiss if I didn't mention her work in "Beetlejuice". This is a great performance that was a joy to watch. I loved her work in a comedy/horror type movie. Her style was rad as well. And when they sang "Day-O", her mannerisms and facial acting was simply divine. She nailed it yet again in the sequel, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" She and Winona Ryder were such a great mother daughter duo in those movies. She was tremendous in her one episode of "Curb your Enthusiasm". She is the crazy Funkhouser and boy oh boy does she put on an absolute show. She is great as the "mom" in "Where the Wild Things Are".

Then, as a full fledged adult with a wife, kid and a house, I found "Schitt's Creek". I mean come on, Moira Rose is an all time character. This is one of those roles that will go down in history. The voice she used was perfect. Her performance was perfect. She was paired up with Eugene Levy again and the two of them continued to make magic. "Schitt's Creek" is a show that everyone needs to watch and O'Hara's performance is one for the ages. Since then she has continued to do voiceover stuff and, from what I have read, I have not seen either yet, she was tremendous in season two of "The Last of Us" and in the first season of "The Studio". This should show everyone how beloved and what a joy she was to work with.

Catherine O'Hara is one of a kind. She had her own comedy dynamic and she was unique. I'm still kind of in shock that she is gone. Like I said up top, I have been watching her content since I was 8 years old. That is 35 plus years now. I'm going to miss her and anything new she may have been working on. At least I have "Home Alone", her movies with Christopher Guest and "Schitt's Creek" to look back on.

Rest In Peace Catherine O'Hara. I hope you are making people laugh wherever you may be right now. I'm going to miss you. 

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.

Do You Want Your MTV?

mtv.com

On August 1st, 1981, American pop culture was forever changed. At 12:01 am people with cable tuned in to a new channel, saw a rocket launch and then heard the words "Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll", this was followed by the now iconic Buggles music video "Video Killed The Radio Star". Music Television, later branded MTV, was born.

The early days of MTV are now iconic. Music videos, cool hip Video Jockeys (VJs) guiding us through the day and night, and news just about the music of the day. As the years gave way to decades MTV changed. First a game show called "Remote Control" broke up the non-stop music videos, then more shows followed. The rise of reality television started on MTV with "The Real World" and the network executives at MTV pivoted hard towards unscripted shows and the music videos lost their time on the station. As cable expanded to more channels, MTV expanded to bring music videos back on other stations, but again those stations would bring on more unscripted television and the videos had to be sacrificed. On December 31st, 2025, MTV shut down all their music channels and retained just the original MTV for the showing of reality television. "The Real World" killed the Video Star.

Thanks to a coder that goes by the name FlexasaurusRex, you can have your classic MTV. MTV Rewind provides an easy-to-use archive of music videos. The site connects to YouTube playlists, giving users access to more than 40,000 music videos from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and today. Ads do appear periodically, yet they are ads from the time of MTV's music video dominance such as ads for Ginsu Knives, the Flowbee haircut system, and the California Raisins to name a few. There is an option to donate to the site to keep it truly ad free.

MTV Rewind will appease to all music tastes The site is broken up into several collections, including “MTV 1st Day,” Decades starting in the 70's and going all the way to modern day. It even has genre playlists that harken back to the channel’s signature shows, 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, and Headbangers Balls. There's a channel of MTV's live broadcast of Live Aid in 1985, a VH1 Pop Up Video Channel, and one that hosts all the "MTV Unplugged" performances. If you can't decide, there’s a shuffle feature that will truly make it Your MTV.

While many of us who grew up with MTV lament it's downfall, there are still people like FlexasaurusRex out there that answer the call of "I Want My MTV". If you need to answer that call, and you have some Aqua Net on hand, then give MTV Rewind a look. At the very least it will help you answer the trivia question "What was the second video ever shown on MTV?".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing.