Happy Thanksgiving

As I do every Thanksgiving, today I am going to give my own personal thanks. This year has been something. It is nowhere near as crazy as 2020 was, but 2021 has definitely had its moments. I will save science and doctors for the end because that is what I am the most grateful for this year.

As I say every year, I am thankful for my wife and kids. While my kids drive me nuts, I love them very much and they have had quite the year. My daughter started kindergarten. My son is in fourth grade. They are both excellent students and have made a plethora of new and old friends since returning to in person learning. My wife continues to be the best person in the whole world. She is kicking ass at work, she is still putting up with my nonsense and she just gets better and better every day. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm thankful that my mom and dad are still here and still healthy. We had a scare with my mom at the start of the year, but she is fully healthy again, and she continues to crush life. My dad and I have gotten even closer since he retired and our coffee days are my favorite day of the week. My in-laws still continue to be very supportive and completely wonderful.

It has been oddly nice to see full stadiums this fall in college football and the NFL. I am not going to go to any games, but it has been oddly comforting to have the return of fans. It does add to the watching experience from my home. I am thankful that I get to coach a semi-normal basketball season this year. My son is super into hoops, and he is on two teams and we started practice two weeks ago, and so far so good. I am also extremely thankful for running and the community involved. Running has changed my life. I did my first marathon this year. Running is the absolute best.

What I am most thankful for, what I alluded to at the beginning, I am thankful most for doctors and science. We have a COVID vaccine now. I have gotten my two shots and my booster. So has my wife. So has pretty much everyone I spend any extended time around. And my kids got their first dose over two weeks ago. In fact, they get their second dose next Tuesday. I cannot wait. The things I mentioned above, the full stadiums, gathering with more than ten people, playing and coaching basketball, none of that, and so much more, would not be available without the countless hours that scientists and doctors put into creating the vaccine. Of course we have people that are making the vaccine political, but I have chosen to not listen to those individuals, and to get them out of my life. It has made me a much happier person.

When you gather with your family this year, when you sit around the table and think back to last year and not being able to get together, please think of all the people much smarter than me, and a lot of you, that made this possible. Without all the doctors, scientists, Moderna, Johnson and Johnsons, Pfizer, and so many more people and companies, we would all still be socially distancing and not being able to gather as families. We can now because they all did something historic and life changing. So thank you doctors and scientists. You have all made me the most thankful I have been in quite some time.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Don't eat too much food.

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Damn You to Hell Coronavirus

I was going to write about another movie today, but I just got an email that upset me, and I want to vent. I have stayed away from this, but since we are going to be doing a pod that talks about this, which will be released tomorrow, I just want to get it out there.

CoronaVirus is awful for so many different reasons. It has stunted everything in sight. I became a teacher when I didn't expect to. It has taken so many lives because the powers that be weren't ready, or just figured it would go away. Businesses have shut down, unemployment is at an all time high and everyone is afraid.

This sucks.

For me personally, and I know it seems trite to complain about such little things, but my sports life has been shuttered. I cannot go to the gym to swim or play basketball. I was training some basketball players as this whole thing started to unfold, and that was stopped, as was my ability to bring home some money. I can't play in my pickup games.I was going to be playing in a men's rec league right as the stay at home orders began. I know it was all done in good conscious, and it seems to be working. Numbers here in Missouri have stayed relatively the same, with about 250 new cases a day, but we are fortunate enough to not have our hospitals completely overrun like other places. I get it. It is doing the necessary stuff it needs to do. I would much rather be alive than go play basketball. But that doesn't mean that I cannot miss it. Like I said, I feel bad complaining about such a miniscule thing, but we all deal with grief and being upset in different ways. I have talked to friends who love all the extra time we are getting. I do too. I have talked to friends that are terrified to even hang out while properly social distancing. That one, I am okay with, as long as we properly social distance. But god damn it, I miss my sports. I am a runner, and I am lucky enough that I can still do that in some capacity. I love to trail run, but state parks have closed everywhere. And that is fine, I can road run. But it has been weird doing it with a face covering. I am always going to be safe, but still, I feel like I am running in super high elevation sometimes.

What am really upset about is the lack of races. There has also been a number of races I was supposed to do that have been postponed or canceled. That was the email I mentioned before. I signed up for a three part trail series, and the first race is now canceled. My half marathon in March was postponed. The marathon I was supposed to run in a week was pushed to next year. Hell, I am not so sure about my fall and winter races right now. I don't know if the coordinators will feel safe, or if I will feel safe at that point. But, it sucks. So does the postponement of all major professional sports. The NBA has been off for two months now. And while they keep talking about bringing it back this year, what's the point? I mean, the players aren't ready, some of the coaches are in the most compromised conditions and it would be a waste of so many tests that could, and should, be given to people that really need them. Baseball is looking into a late June start, and while that may work, they would have to drastically cut down the season. That is fine too, baseball seasons are way too long to begin with anyway. But we also have the use of tests that should be used elsewhere. My son's baseball season has been pushed to June, and that is if we get to play at all. I know in Missouri we are starting to ease protocols, but I can't imagine a world where they allow a bunch of 8 year olds to get together to play baseball. All of this is a total bummer. I saw a headline on Bleacher Report the other day, and it said, "Sports Are Back this Weekend", and it mentioned UFC and NASCAR. To me, those aren't sports. I don't care to watch or read about either of them. I will say, they are doing it right by doing it without fans.

Which brings me to my last point. If/when sports comes back, they should all do it without fans for the rest of the season. That is the safest way to do this moving forward. The players have said they want to play, and people such as myself would gladly watch a basketball, baseball or football game with no fans. I don't care about the fans, I watch to see teams and players. The only people who seem to be against this idea are sports writers and TV people. To them I say, watch like the rest of us. You can still write about a game, even if you aren't there in person. I do it all the time. It works out just fine.

To wrap it all up, I am bummed, I miss sports and I wish things were different. They aren't though, this is the new normal for now, and while I am trying to be optimistic, like only reading good news involving this awful virus, it has been hard to be optimistic when it comes to sports. This sucks, I just want to see college and pro athletes play, run my races and not be afraid to go out in group outings for exercise. I hope we get some kind of conclusion, or vaccine or something sooner rather than later. This whole thing is just awful. It is a great unknown, and with each passing day, we still don't seem to have an end in sight. I'll be hoping that will change sooner rather than later. 

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Let's make the Olympic Games Great Again

Every four years, this should be the most interesting field of play

SeedSing is proud to offer voices from all over the globe. Today we present a guest post from Olympic enthusiast and top notch idea man Jon C. Get your ideas heard by writing for SeedSing

I love the Olympics. I very clearly remember watching the primetime coverage with my parents when I was a young child. I remember Carl Lewis sprinting and jumping to 9 gold medals, Eddie the Eagle plunging down the 90-meter ski jump at 60 mph and sticking the landing, and Michael Johnson wearing his golden shoes to the 200 and 400 meter gold medals. Even today I watch about 16 hours of coverage each day during the Olympic fortnight.

As one of the biggest fans of the Olympics, I believe I’ve earned the right to speak out on my biggest criticism of the world’s greatest sporting event. The Olympics should only include sports where winning the gold medal is the pinnacle of the sport. Compare the Wikipedia pages of Andre Agassi and Michael Phelps. Agassi’s page prominently lists his Grand Slam record, then other tournaments, and the last entry is his gold medal win in singles. Michael Phelps’s page prominently displays his Olympic record before all the other championships. Did you know Roger Federer has an Olympic gold medal in doubles? No, you didn’t, because nobody cares. The Olympics is cheapened by the inclusion of sports where the Olympics just becomes an optional part of the summer circuit.  This is evident by the number of professional golfers that decided to skip the Olympics with the cop-out over concerns about the Zika virus.

The inclusion of a sport to the Olympics should be based on the following simple poll question to the competitors:  What international competition would you most prefer to win? Professional soccer players would prefer to win the World Cup, tennis players Wimbledon or the other majors, and for golfers the Masters or British Open, but far down on the list is the Olympics. I include the phrase “international competition” because the NBA Championships and the Stanley Cup present a gray area where athletes from around the world would pick a national championship as the preferred event. Hockey is an iconic Olympic event and must be included. International interest and participation in the NBA has made Olympic basketball a staple.

The Olympics are for athletes that dedicate themselves to sports that are interesting to watch once every four years. I get really excited about watching bobsled, rowing, and weightlifting, but that enthusiasm can’t be maintained year after year. That’s what is so great about the Olympics; it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. After watching 2 days of bobsled, the amount of time it takes for me to be excited to watch it again is about four years. The Olympics are also for quirky sports like handball, which I can only imagine was invented by a bored Danish gym teacher that had a couple lacrosse goals, a volleyball and came up with a game where no one except the goalie can be inside the basketball three point line. But the games are fun and close-scoring, and it doesn’t take long before you start yelling at your TV, “Feed the pivot, feed the pivot!”

The Olympic games don’t need superstars like Rory McIlroy or Serena Williams to make it relevant, the Olympics makes its own superstars like Usain Bolt. Serena gets to shine four times a year. Over the next two weeks lets focus on the athletes that only get to shine once every four years.

Jon C

About the Author:

Jon C. used to be cool and drive a V8 Audi. Now he drives a mini-van and is not cool.

SeedSing's 10 Most Popular Posts of 2015

Follow me to great writing

SeedSing was born into existence in May of 2015. The idea behind the website was to bring a common voice to the politics and pop culture of our society. We started with the goal to post 3-5 articles a week and hoped to get around 100 unique visitors in each week. We are grateful that the websites traffic has grown beyond those numbers and are looking forward to all the new readers, and contributors, 2016. Today we present the 10 most read articles on SeedSing for 2015.

10. Thank You for Inhaling: Money, Freedom, and the Legalization of Marijuana  The movement to legalize Marijuana made its way to Ohio in 2015. Head editor RD Kulik takes  a look at the reasons for the sudden acceptance, and failure, of marijuana legalization.

9. We Must Halt the Dumbening of our Society  When Tina S contributes to SeedSing, it is always brings the intelligent discourse up a few notches. As someone who respects science, and facts in general, Tina is appalled that we  embrace and celebrate stupidity in our culture. This needs to end.

8.  The Greatest American Band Debate: The Introduction  SeedSing is filled with music lovers. In July Ty decided we should argue about who is the greatest American Band ever. With this introduction the debate was set, and many bands have been nominated since, with more to come.

7. Marty Will Be Here Soon. Do We Have All the Tech He Needs?  Kirk Aug wanted to kick off the celebration for Marty and Doc's arrival to 2015 by wondering how far we have come in inventing all the tech from Back to the Future II. We have come a long way, and even surpassed, many of the films predictions. Still no time travel.

6.The Ohio Problem  One of the very first posts on SeedSing discussed how the national political parties are leaving the cupboard bare for the local politicians. With the 2016 Presidential campaigns kicking into high gear the Ohio Problem will rear it's ugly head once again. Something must be done.

5. Our Future Source for Meat Will Not be the Animals  One of SeedSing's most recent posts quickly has become one of our most read. Kirk Aug looks at the present, and future, of lab grown meat. On top of the nutritional value, what will be the moral value of meat from the lab?

4. What is Real Food?  The debate of genetically modified organisms and how we label food intensified in 2015. Kirk takes a look at the science, and law, surrounding gmo's. Does the place your food was created really matter to the value of your meal?

3. In an Era of Bad Sports Announcers, Cris Collinsworth is the Worst  Early in the 2015 NFL season Ty decided to blow off some steam and label NBC sports personality Cris Collinsworth as the worst announcer in America. The public seemed to agree. Every Sunday night, SeedSing has seen a spike in readership based solely on Ty's piece. Maybe Cris Collinsworth really is the worst of a bad lot.

2. #ILookLikeAnEnginner Needs to have Meaning  Over the summer the twitter campaign #ILookLikeAnEnginner became a big news story. Tina S, a real engineer, was concerned with how this campaign was distorted the world of engineering. Many people agreed with Tina, and her post was shared on a variety of sites across the internet.

1. Please Leave Me Out of Your Cool Beard Club Ty decided to write a small rant about the rise of "cool beard guy" and why he did not care  for their club like mentality. What was supposed to be a small, humorous, post quickly turned  into the most popular piece ever on SeedSing. Dudes with beards seem to be very protective,  and sensitive, about how others view their facial hair lifestyle. If they are not careful, Ty may  just have a few words to say about their jeans and glasses.

Thanks to everyone for your support in reading SeedSing during 2015. We look forward to bringing more intelligent, humorous, and thought provoking pieces in 2016. We are the only place on the internet where you can read about the future of food, the current structural problems in politics, and the annoyance of the "cool beard guy". What more could you want?

RD Kulik (and the contributors to SeedSing)

RD is the creator and Head Editor for SeedSing. You can make the most read list of 2016 by writing for us.

Let me respectfully explain why your team stinks: Sports Thoughts by Ty

The NBA playoffs have just recently started the second round. I'm an Oklahoma City Thunder fan and since they're not in the playoffs this year I didn't think I'd be paying as close attention as I have been. I was racking my brain the other night trying to figure out why I was invested even though my team is not playing. It finally hit me, after thirty plus years of watching sports, not only do I like rooting for my team, but I also enjoy rooting against teams that I don't care for. I've never liked any team in any sport from Los Angeles, so rooting against the Clippers was a natural fit. It doesn't hurt that they are the most arrogant, whiny, good for nothing team that's achieved ZERO in their history. They complain about every single call, either for or against them and it's gotten to the point of embarrassment to watch them. They are a very good team and if they remained focused on the goal of winning a championship that would be fine. But, the constant complaining is utterly ridiculous. Also, Chris Paul is the dirtiest player the NBA has had since John Stockton. I always assumed, at least it's the unwritten rule in my weekly pick up basketball games, that it was out of line to hit a guy in the groin region. But, apparently Chris Paul and before him, John Stockton, get off on doing this. There's video evidence of these two being repeat offenders.

My hatred of my teams rivals has bled into other sports that I watch. I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan, so I enjoy seeing the Cubs out of the race by September. I'm a Green Bay Packers fan, so seeing the Bears being led by Jay Cutler is phenomenal entertainment. But the one sport that's been very challenging to me is college football. I'm a die hard Michigan Wolverines fan. Some of my earliest memories as a child are watching Wolverine games with my father. Being a fan as a teenager was great since 10 wins was a given, as was beating Michigan State and all the UM and The University of Ohio State, as former "road scholar" Terrelle Pryor called it while committing there on national TV, were hyper competitive. But recently it's been much tougher on me. The Michigan State stuff will pass because, as the old saying goes, even the sun shines on a dog's butt some days, so that doesn't worry me. But The University of Ohio State(I will only refer to them as this because it's hilarious) is going to be tough. It will be tough that is, until Urban Meyer has another fake heart episode and has to retire again, or until he recruits another convicted murderer(that's right folks, he recruited Aaron Hernandez to Florida when he was coach there and only suspended him when the NCAA put his feet to the fire). Until that time though, it's going to be tough. The University of Ohio State is a talented team and I'm one of the skeptics about Jim Harbaugh. I hope he sticks around long enough to fix the program where he once was the star quarterback. All I'm basically trying to say is, it's okay to hate watch sports like I do. It took me thirty years to realize this and it makes me feel better. So, Thunder Up, Go Cards, Go Pack Go and most importantly, Go Blue.

Ty

Ty Kulik is the Pop Culture Editor for Seed Sing.  He does not like that his brother lives in Ohio, his least favorite sports state.