Ty Watches Bar Rescue: City Bar Edition

This past Sunday, "Bar Rescue" premiered another new episode. Now, this is the last new episode they will air until September 18th. They are taking what some would consider a mid season break. It's no big deal, but I will also take a break from writing about the show until they air the new episodes. I will still write on Tuesdays, but it will be something different until "Bar Rescue" comes back.

I will say, they went out with a bang at this midseason finale, if you will. The "Bar Rescue" people found themselves back in Vegas, Taffer's hometown, he seems to be "giving back to his community" a lot more, to a bar called City Bar. This bar had never really had any big money making moments since the owner bought the bar. He said during his interview before Taffer got there, that the only nights that they really had customers was when they had events planned. He said that if they didn't have an open mic, live concert or comedy event, they literally had no customers. The bar was a ghost town on the off nights. So, this owner decided that he would schedule something every night, and he let the bartenders and other employees plan some of the nights events. Now they had something going on every night, but they were still losing money, and there was a ton of in fighting.

When Taffer pulls up to the bar, he is by himself. He wanted to watch the interactions alone, so he could properly assess the situation. What he saw when he got there was a bar that had no customers. He also saw that the bartenders, two in particular, did not like each other. They were openly insulting each other verbally, in front of the two or three patrons at the bar. Taffer sent in his recon spies and they were less than impressed by what they saw and ordered and how the bartenders worked. The recon spies said that the bartenders looked like they had no idea. They couldn't make simple drinks like Bloody Mary's and Manhattan's. That seems to be a running theme this season, bars that can't make the simplest of drinks. The spies, and Taffer, then saw one of the bartenders smoking behind the bar. They also saw that same bartender sticking her fingers, ungloved, in some olives for drinks she was serving. It was all very, very disgusting.

It is at this point, Taffer calls the owner and tells him to come out to his car so he can watch the madness with him. The owner joins Taffer, and what he proceeds to see, especially one certain thing, makes him lose his mind. The owner saw the fighting, the drinking behind the bar, the arguing between employees, the smoking, everything, but that paled in comparison when he saw someone walk into the bar with what looked to be a wooden cross. He was baffled, as was Taffer. Taffer asked him what this could be, and he had no idea.

The people at Spike TV then cut to a patron of the bar saying that when the owner leaves on certain nights, they have a fetish and BDSM night. Some disgusting looking douchebag of a guy and one of his BDSM girls walk in the bar, with the cross, and explain what is about to happen. This sets the owner off. During this whole sequence, Spike kept cutting to videos of people doing these things. It was odd, but also a little funny. The owner bursts through the doors of his bar, screams at everyone, and takes the wooden cross and tosses it outside. This makes the douchebag guy and his BDSM girl very upset, and they leave the bar in a huff.

You'd think the yelling and screaming would've stopped after they left, but that was not the case. Taffer proceeds to lay into the owner. He keeps calling him a failure and telling him that it's his fault that he let the bar get this way. I couldn't agree more with Taffer. The owner of City Bar did not take this new laying down. He yelled back at Taffer. He called him names, including, "surfer boy". They are almost face to face, but after a commercial break, they both seemed to calm down, obviously.

After this altercation, Taffer brings in a drink "expert", and he is stunned at how bad these bartenders are. They can't make any drinks, even the simple ones I mentioned earlier. He also is taken aback by how much fighting goes on between them. He has them work on making drinks, to get ready for the stress test, and they are a complete disaster. They are not ready for the stress test, but the owner says to bring it on, so Taffer sets it up. The stress test goes off the rails very quick. The bartenders can't keep up. The owner is yelling at people and running around like a crazy person. One of the bartenders starts to break down and cry, and another bartender "comforts" her by telling her to "prove to everyone that you aren't just an addict and a stripper. Prove that you can do this". I mean, how crazy is that?!

Once the owner realized that his bartenders may not be as decent as he thought, he finally relented and let Taffer and crew do their thing. They fixed up the bar, and got it up and going. When they get to the big reveal, we see that the owner has gotten a haircut and shaved his bushy beard down to a trim goatee. He stated earlier in the episode that he wasn't going to shave until his bar started doing better. Everyone was shocked at his new look, and then we got the big reveal. The crew turned around, and the bar's name was changed from City Bar to Bradley's. The owner's name was Brad, so I thought it was a good name change. They also fixed up the inside. They had new seats, stools, a bar top and POS(point of sale) systems. It was the typical Taffer and "Bar Rescue" stuff. The bar was packed for the re opening, and all the patrons loved it. They had a band, got rid of the other "special events" nights, and the employees seemed to be getting along. Taffer left with his head held high. At the end of the show, we got the 6 week update, and the owner said that they were busy pretty much every night, the staff was getting along and the sales were up. Again, typical "Bar Rescue" stuff.

The first half of this season of "Bar Rescue" has been wonderful, and I cannot wait for the next half to start in a few weeks. I'm so happy that "Bar Rescue" has returned to its greatness, and I'm very humbled and privileged that I have readers that look forward to my reviews. I'll be off the reviews for a few weeks, until the show comes back, so my Tuesdays will be different for awhile, but come back in mid to late September when "Bar Rescue" returns with new episodes. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love that I've been getting for this "Bar Rescue" updates.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor wants to buy him a drink for a good half season of "Bar Rescue" recaps, but Ty's does not drink. That means two drinks for the editor. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season 4 Episode 3

This past Friday there was another new episode of "The Eric Andre Show". This one started out as usual. Andre's name was announced, and then he proceeded to destroy the set. He jumped through the brown and orange rectangular sign behind the couch. He ran after the band again, but this time, he took the drummers kick drum and trashed that. Not to worry, he still tackled his drummer. The band, this time around, didn't seem to worry too much about the destruction. They actually played heavier music. The band this season also features all very old gentlemen, I don't know if I mentioned this yet. To go along with his usual destruction, he added some new, very gory stuff. It was your typical opening for the show, with new wrinkles, as usual.

Hannibal Burress was introduced as the co host and Andre proceeded with his monologue. This is new to this season. He did monologues very sporadically before this season, but every episode so far, he has done one. Each monologue shows Andre strife with anger. He clearly, at least his character clearly, doesn't want to do these. This time around, after a minute or two of gibberish, a cartoon snake with sunglasses and a guitar appeared. Andre loved it, Burress hated it. What made it funny, and made it work, the viewing audience could see the bar and tennis ball that they used for "CGI" during this segment. When the snake appeared, Andre cheered him on and asked him to play some tunes. The snake did, but it also hurled insults at Burress throughout. This made Burress angry. When the second guitar playing snake appeared, Burress knocked the tennis ball of the bar and threw the bar to the ground. They immediately cut to a taped segment after this.

The taped segment found a lady at an internet café, trying to login to one of the available computers. When she sat down, Andre, dressed as a robot, busted through the table, and harassed her. He accused her of looking at adult material, but then said he was a spokesperson for Braazars. The lady was terrified, but the joke landed.

Once the taped segment ended, they cut back to the studio and Howie Mandel was introduced as the first guest. He was immediately thrown off by the dirtiness of the chair that was provided for him. I know that they made it filthy on purpose because Mandel is a well known germaphobe. He refused to sit in the chair. Andre started the interview, but he just simply made fun of Mandel the whole time. He also asked him if he was a cousin of a famous violinist, I don't remember the name, Mandel said he was, and Andre asked him, "what's it like being related to a f*&%ing nerd!". The "studio audience" erupted with laughter, so did Burress and Andre, but Mandel was not amused. He walked off the stage, as most first guests of the show do.

Next up, they cut to another pre taped segment, where Andre played a character named Mike Penis. He had his hair in a weird style, kept yelling his name, saying he could get into any club and that he was named after his father. Well, he couldn't get into any club. He was consistently pushed away. He also angered many people by simply yelling his name. It was so bizarre, but I found myself cracking up the entire time.

The second interview was with "Basketball Wives" "star", Malaysia Pargo. She was immediately turned off by the fact that Andre was using a juicer in his desk that malfunctioned and shot celery juice all over her boots. She claimed they were very expensive, but he and Burress just laughed at her. Then, the chairs they were sitting on were attached to a mechanical device that lifted them in the air. Pargo was freaking out, but Andre kept asking questions. After they got back to ground level, the interview continued, but was interrupted when Burress' military "brother" showed up and yelled at Burress the whole time. He then turned his anger to Pargo. This confused and frightened her, and she left the stage.

Oh, I forgot to mention the other pre taped segment from earlier. When Mandel was still on, Kraft Punk came on stage. I have mentioned this character before. Once again, Burress and Andre harass him until he leaves the stage, but before he goes, he says he has a new segment. He calls it "Kraft Punk'd", and he goes out to outdoor pick up basketball games and steals the ball, dunks it in a bucket of cheese and finishes the "prank" off by making a basket with the cheese covered ball. The players look disgusted with him, but, once again, I was cracking up.

To end the show, they introduce DJ Flying Lotus. But, instead of playing music, they have him check his email. They act like it is very hip and fun, but Flying Lotus literally just checks his email. After a minute or so, Burress' "brother" shows up again, and berates Flying Lotus. It was all the bizarre wonderfulness that I have come to love about "The Eric Andre Show". come back next week for my review of this coming Friday's episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What else should Ty watch and write about. Tell us. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest Television Ever: Seinfeld's "The Contest"

I was channel surfing yesterday after my kids were done resting, and I came across a 2 hour block of the show "Seinfeld". I'm a huge fan of the show. It is one of, if not the, greatest live action sitcoms of all time. Everything about the show is perfect. The writing, the directing, the acting, the jokes, the stories, everything is great. I happened upon the last episode of the 2 hour block, but boy was it a great, all time classic episode. The one I got to watch was "The Contest".

For fans, you all know what this episode is about. But, for the people that don't know, this episode is basically about the 4 main characters, Elaine, George, Kramer and Jerry, challenging each other to see how long they can go without, how do I put this lightly, giving themselves pleasure. This may be the greatest episode of "Seinfeld" that has ever been on TV. In fact, this may be one of the greatest 22 minute blocks of TV ever created. That includes all genres on all networks of all time. Everything about this episode is peak comedy and peak "Seinfeld".

The episode starts like almost every other episode. Kramer, Elaine and Jerry are hanging out at Monk's, having a conversation that is essentially about nothing. They are chit chatting, and then George walks in with a very disgusted face. They all ask what is wrong, and he goes into a story about his mom walking in on him, again how do I put this lightly, I'll just say pleasuring himself for the rest of the blog. He says that he was there to drop some stuff off, no one was home, and a "Glamour" magazine was on the table. George says he started to leaf through the magazine, and "one thing led to another", and his mom walked in on him doing that. She immediately crumpled to the ground screaming, "George! What are you doing!". George then says that his mom threw out his back, and when she went down, he said he had to decide between helping her, or zipping up. He chose to zip up, claiming, "I couldn't go over there the way I was". Everyone laughs at him, and George proclaims that he is never going to pleasure himself again, ever. They all laugh at him, and he claims that he could last longer than any of them. They all decide then and there to have a "contest" to see who can last the longest. Even Elaine wants in, but they try to explain how ladies can last longer. Jerry says that she needs to give them odds. Elaine balks at this, explaining that women have the same needs. She even says that she has to shave her legs, when shaving is brought up, and this makes Kramer exclaim, "not everyday". Hilarious line. The guys eventually cave, but Elaine has to give 50 extra dollars. Now, the contest begins.

The next scene has everyone hanging out at Jerry's house and Kramer bursts through the door. He has spotted a completely nude lady walking around her apartment across the street. Jerry, George and Kramer rush to the window to check it out. Elaine walks in, and is cocky that this will be a cake walk for her. Then, Kramer leaves without saying anything to anyone. Then, about a minute later, Kramer walks in, slams money on Jerry's kitchen counter and says, "I'm out". So, now there were three.

Later in the episode, Elaine is at her aerobics class, and she comes to find out that JFK Jr is in her class. She is smitten and taken aback by this news. She gets a spot right behind him in class and is in love. We later cut to the four main characters trying to sleep. George, Elaine and Jerry cannot sleep, but Kramer, he is sleeping like a baby. We go back to Monk's and Elaine is telling the guys about JFK Jr being in her class. Earlier in the scene, George and Jerry have claimed to be "masters of their domain", and they ask Elaine if she still is, and she says, "I'm Queen of the castle".

The episode cuts back to Jerry's apartment, and Jerry is on the phone with his mother and Kramer is watching the lady across the street. Jerry is watching cartoons, and after he gets off the phone with his mom, he is singing children's songs to keep his mind off the lady across the street. This tactic doesn't work because Kramer is singing the tune, but it is about the lady across the street having no clothes on. Elaine goes to her aerobics class the next day, all done up. Her hair is nice, she has makeup on, the whole nine basically. She comes to find out that JFK Jr won't be there, he was in an earlier class, but the lady behind the counter let her know that she made an impression on him. Then, it's another scene of the four of them sleeping. George and Jerry are still restless, but Kramer, and now Elaine are sleeping like babies. Elaine walks in Jerry's apartment the next day, and, after a great scene involving George and Jerry fighting with each other over little things out of pure frustration, she puts her money down on the counter and says, "I'm out". Shock and awe from George and Jerry's faces. They thought she would coast, but she explains that the JFK Jr news got to her. Now, there were 2.

George is growing more frustrated by the day. He goes to visit his mom, and we see that the hospital bed next to hers has a young patient and nurse that is giving her a sponge bath. This is driving George nuts. He makes extra visits to his mom just to see this. He looks to be caving. But, Jerry is equally frustrated. He is dating a virgin, and he cannot get past kissing her. She wants to take it slow. He, being the "good" guy that he is, agrees, but it is driving him crazy as well. Both George and Jerry are pent up and frustrated. The ending of the episode is classic. We already know that Elaine and Kramer are out. But, when we get our final sleeping scene, both George and Jerry are resting comfortably as well. They have clearly caved, but we don't know who won the contest. We do find out in the series finale, but the fact that they ended this episode on a cliff hanger, and don't divulge who won until very later on in the series, makes this ending that much better.

I'm so glad that I came across this episode of "Seinfeld" yesterday. It's a classic, and it still holds up very well. "Seinfeld" is great, and "The Contest" may be their finest half hour. Go back and check out this episode, it is so, so great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has been master of his domain for over 20 years, so he says. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: The Wheel House Edition

The most recent episode of "Bar Rescue" was great, as they have all been this season. The latest adventure found John Taffer and his crew in a small town in California. I don't remember the name, but they said it was about 90 minutes outside of LA. I figured this would be some big time, hot shot place, but this city was almost at the poverty line. They said the median household income was 27,000 dollars a year. That's only $5,000 above being considered in poverty. So, this bar needed to have a niche. Their niche was, the bar was attached to a roller rink. Apparently, the guy who now owned the bar was an employee who climbed the ladder all the way up to upper management at the roller rink. They had an empty space next door, so he turned it into a bar. He didn't give it a name, but the roller rink was called The Wheel House, so he used it for both the rink and the bar.

At first, the owner of The Wheel House said that they were raking in the dough. They had so many customers, it was hard to maneuver for the bartenders. There was also a lineage of workers that went to the rink as kids, got to know the owner, he does a ton of community service, in fact, he's like a local legend, that were now bartenders. It was a "family" owned and run business. But, as of recently, the bar had fallen on hard times. The roller rink was also not immune to the downturn in business, it was also struggling financially.

The roller rink I get, those things are outdated, but why was the bar failing you ask? Well, the owner was very low key and he let his employees get away with pretty much everything. They took money from the tip jar, they drank behind the bar, they basically refused to make food when ordered. Did I mention that the kitchen was over 100 feet away from the bar? Well, it is. The bartenders also argued with and cursed out customers. It was rough and the owner did nothing about this.

When Taffer and crew arrived, they noticed the dysfunction immediately. They saw all the things I just mentioned. They had a spy go in the bar and had him ask why this bar was failing. They all said that the staff was mean and the owner was nice, but needed to be tougher. When Taffer and crew went in the bar, they immediately called out one bartender for complaining about making food. They told the owner all the nasty things she said about him, and they forced him to fire her, one of my favorite things on the show. He did it, and got little backlash. In fact, the remaining employees seemed to take him more seriously afterwards. They did the stress test, the bartenders didn't do great, they didn't know how to pour proper drinks, but they at least tried. The kitchen staff was also good, but there was no system. We had come to find out that the owner was holding everyone back. He agreed to this as well, and he let Taffer and crew do everything necessary to get his money and his bar back in order. They kept mentioning, and saying the word, community a lot during this episode too. This owner was big time in the community, so Taffer and Spike TV ran with the word and they must have said it 10,000 times. After Taffer did his upgrades, he gave the bar a name, calling it Derby's Bar and Grill, a decent effort, and had the roller rink closed to all adults. The bar was for adults, the rink for kids. Great choice by Taffer.

After the rescue, the bar sales went way up, about 60%, and the food sales were even higher, coming in at 75%. This was all due to adding new, and useful systems. Taffer did it again. He turned a failing bar into a moderately successful one. Another strong episode this season from "Bar Rescue". Come back next week for my newest review.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor of SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He visited a roller rink one time, he was there when it was bulldozed to make room for a Starbucks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
 

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season 4 Episode 2

This past Friday there was another new episode of the "Eric Andre Show", and I'm here today to review it. This episode started like the older episodes normally do. This time around, Andre, after his name was announced, proceeded to destroy his stage. He ran on camera, screaming. It was just like every other season. Andre ran on his desk and crushed it. He ran through the signs on set and destroyed those too. He did one of my old favorites, and tackled the drummer to his band, while the rest of the band continued playing with terrified looks on their faces. There was a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln that proceeded to kick the crap out of Eric Andre. It was all familiar, and great.

After the destruction, Hannibal Burress was introduced and Andre went into his monologue. This time, Andre was just yelling random stuff at the screen while Burress sat back and harassed him the whole time. It was very funny.

They then introduced their first guest, Stacey Dash. Dash was in Clueless 20 years ago and today she is another hate merchant on Fox News. She is a horrible, horrible person. She has stupid and incoherent views on politics, and just life in general. Andre knows this, and he pushed her with questions. He asked her about abortion and showed her doctored pictures of President Obama. Andre was pushing her buttons, and it was all uncomfortable and hilarious. Then, the camera panned down and we saw three very big mice walking on the floor. One of the mice walked across Dash's foot and she freaked out. I was laughing very hard at this. She was so scared, she leapt on Burress' back. She then walked off stage, terrified.

Once Dash and her horribleness left, Andre cut to some more of his pre filmed segments that he does on every episode. One had him selling bites of Chinese food on a New York subway. This was awkward and weird and funny, as usual. Another segment was Andre doing his, "Eric Andre on the Street" interviews. He would try to interview people, but most of them physically pushed him away. This made the segment turn into something new called, "FU TV". During this, Andre went off and yelled at his camera men and kept telling them to stop filming him. He showered them with curse words and made them run very far with him, but he was doing all of this in front of people, to see how they'd react. They all acted as you would expect, with shock and awe. Andre brought a classic back for the third segment, the Brotendo guy. This is a douchey character that Andre plays, that talks to random strangers about very random and very weird things. He also wears a very bright green shirt, with the nipples cut out, and tells crazy stories to people on the street. He acts like he knows these people, but they have no clue, making this that much more funny. This is one of my favorite side characters that he plays on the show.

They then went to their second guest, Jack MacBrayer. He is friends with Andre, but even he seemed to be very confused by everything that was going on. He was hesitant to answer questions. He looked uncomfortable. He kept asking Andre if he was okay. Then, at one point, a stage hand brought out some gray colored food and Andre offered it as a snack. MacBrayer declined, but Andre indulged himself. They had a conversation about how it's not good to just eat food put in front of you, but to end it off, a guy painted completely white busted out of Andre's desk. This made MacBrayer jump out of his seat. The guy said some gibberish and took off. MacBrayer was utterly confused. He was about to leave the stage when another stage hand came on to check his microphone, but it was just another person sent to make MacBrayer squirm. The guy kept touching him, instead of checking his mic. MacBrayer had enough, and he walked off the stage. At this point, we see Stacey Dash again, this time pulling back a curtain and saying that she found some more mice.

To end the show, Andre had some of his rapper buddies play a game called "Rapper Ninja Warrior". He had three or four guys come out on stage, blindfolded, and made them freestyle to a beat he created while dodging soiled underwear, an inflatable ball, a guy dressed as an American Gladiator, and finally, an inflatable pool with real snakes in it. To top all this off, Andre also had an electrical shock stick, which he used on every rapper. This was, like everything else on the show, was weird, but funny. One of the rappers totally wiped out in the snake pit. Another rapper ran off the balance beam, this resulting in a shock from Andre. Another guy got knocked off by the gladiator. Just typical "Eric Andre Show" stuff.

This was another great way to spend 11 minutes. I love this show, and I will be back next Monday with the review of the newest episode coming this Friday.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Is there a show out there that Ty should watch and review? Tell us all about it. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

NBC Hates the Olympics and they Hate You

We gave up on the audience years ago

The Olympics still hold some magic. Here at SeedSing we have talked about the games on our X Millennial Man Podcast. Guest contributor Jon C wrote a piece talking about his excitement about certain sporting events every four years. The Olympics should be must watch television in the United States. Being an American, we can see our athletes compete in nearly every event, and many times will medal in these events. Shooting, cycling, fencing, rowing are all sports not usually associated with American dominance, yet all of them have seen Team USA get a medal. The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro seems to be an event of peace, understanding, and sports. It seems to be a really cool thing.

I have to say that the Rio Olympics seem like a cool thing because the only way someone living in the United States can watch the games is through the channels of the National Broadcasting Company. Since the Athens games in 2004, NBC has been using a number of their cable outlets ,and the internet, to produce nearly twenty four hours of coverage during the Olympic games. All those channels and full days coverage. There should be no need for only tape delayed events. The 2000 Sydney games were almost entirely tape delayed, but the coverage was only on NBC's main station and not on any cable outlets. With major time delays in Athens, and again Beijing in 2008, NBC has presented a tape delayed package of the marquee events, in spite of having more channels and internet streaming. Sports like gymnastics, track and field, and swimming were shown to the American audience exclusively in prime time. This practice continued with the 2012 London games due to the five hour or more time difference between Britain and the United States. The last time someone in the United States was able to watch the games big events live were during the 1996 Athens games that took place in the United States.

It has been twenty years since someone living in the most powerful nation in the world could watch their Women's Gymnastics team perform live. In 1996 the ability to stream video over the internet was not readily available, twenty years on and it is easy to see live video from one's phone. NBC has gone to great lengths to make sure an American spectator can only see the Olympics when NBC thinks you should see the Olympics. Thanks to the global community of social media, any result in Rio is reported live. US Gymnast Simone Biles dominant gold medal win in the all around was broadcast to most of the globe immediately. The American audience had to wait eight hours until they could see the history making performance. When the results were posted to twitter, anyone in the USA who wanted to watch the performance was greeted with a message that the video was blocked in their region. NBC has usurped the government of the United States and is having video blocked from the citizens of the most powerful nation on earth. That is not good.

What is particularly galling about the 2016 Olympic tape delay is that host city Rio de Janeiro is only one hour ahead of the US eastern time zone. During the 1996 Atlanta games, people in Chicago were one hour behind the games, and NBC still showed the events live. The practice of tape delaying the games has been around since the games have been televised. In the 1980 Lake Placid New York Winter Olympics, the famous Miracle on Ice game was played in the afternoon, but ABC did not show the game until prime time. The difference between 1980 and 2016 is the ease of seeing things live in today's world. NBC does recognize the will of the people by allowing one to watch many events live via the NBC Olympics website. You will use your probably capped bandwidth and be at the mercy of your internet connection. Also being that NBC is owned by cable giant Comcast, the only way to access this live stream is to be a cable subscriber. Sorry cord cutters, only tape delays for you.

Putting aside the access of watching the games, NBC's coverage of the Rio Olympics has been insulting and generally terrible. Starting with the Opening Ceremonies, NBC once again let out of touch Matt Lauer and Meridith Vieria, and new comer Hoda Kotb, emcee the events for American audiences. Never mind that Lauer and Vieria were widely panned by media critics for their insulting, mildly racist, and dumb commentary during the 2008 and 2012 opening ceremonies. The 2016 edition was even worse. The veiled racism was present when Vieria referred to the Portuguese conquest of Brazil as immigration, Lauer referring as the Cayman Islands as a good place to holiday, or Kotb's groan inducing joke about the country of Djibouti. The trio more than lived up to the idea of the ugly American by constantly referencing Team USA. The opening ceremonies are supposed to be about the world coming together for two weeks of peace and sports competition. NBC and their commentators were presenting one hour tape delayed footage of Americans in Ralph Lauren between their eight hundred commercial breaks.

The awfulness of Lauer, Vieria, and Kotb extended to the people employed by NBC to provide commentary during the actual events. Early in the games, NBC swimming analyst Dan Hicks loudly proclaimed the husband, and coach, of dominant Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu was the "man responsible" for the swimmers world record victory. Social media rightfully shamed Hicks. Longtime Gymanastics announcer Al Trautwig felt like it was important to point out that the adoptive parents of multiple gold medalist Simone Biles are not her real parents. The coverage of out gay and lesbian athletes has been insulting in that NBC refuses to talk about it. British swimming medalist Tom Daley is engaged to Oscar winning writer Dustin Lance Black, yet no camera close ups and human interest stories from NBC. Brazilian Beach Volleyball player Larissa Franca embraced her wife after a win, and NBC commentator Chris Marlowe felt like he should point out that Franca was hugging her husband. It is 2016, and this is what NBC sports employees are saying.

NBC and their Olympic team does not care if the audience is being insulted. The opening ceremony coverage has been widely criticized, yet no response from NBC. Vieria and Lauer were already insulting to the world two times before, why would Comcast care if they are idiots a third time. Hick's "man responsible" remarks were defended until a day later, then NBC issued a weak apology. Since those remarks, every race Hosszu has competed in, her husband has been prominent in NBC's coverage. The only time we saw Michael Phelps "man responsible" coach was on the final night of swimming. Trautwig decided to dig in and defend his comments about Biles parents, until he was finally forced to apologize because of the large backlash. People have rightfully pointed out the poor coverage, and NBC has stood by their terrible announcers. Comcast has been on the side of their ignorant coverage more than they have been on the side of the audience. 

NBC does not care about the audience, in fact they are openly hostile to the American viewer. Their marketing team has already blamed women for the networks terrible coverage. NBC thinks people want a packaged story, and not the tales being told through the competition. In 2012, the network was so invested in American gymnast Jordyn Wieber that when she did not win the individual all around gold, the network still focused on her. The actual gold medal winner was fellow American Gabby Douglas, the first African-American woman to ever win the all around gymnastics gold. NBC was set on making Wieber focal point, and win or lose she was still the main attraction. The endless commercials prove that the the non people corporations mean so much more than the eyeballs of actual human-American.

The spirit of the Olympics itself is another part of the games being ruined by NBC. One of the best parts of the opening ceremonies is the march of nations. For almost two hours, half of which was commercials, Lauer, Vieria, and Kotb spent most of their focus only on Team USA. The parade of nations is a great time to learn about the culture and history of unknown parts of the world. NBC thinks this is a non marketable distraction. There is a team made up of refugees. NBC has devoted less than five minutes of coverage to this incredible team. One of their athletes, Yusra Mardini, helped push a boat filled with refugees across the Aegean Sea, that is an inspiring story. A North Korean and South Korean gymnast posed for a selfie together, no NBC coverage. Comedy site Cracked spent more time than Comcast on these brave young women. The spirit of the Olympics is strong, in spite of NBC's best efforts.

The Olympic games have many, many problems. With the corruption of the bidding process, the bankrupting of nations, the constant cheating, the games always have a dark cloud hanging over the events. The little hope and excitement that still exists in the games is being put to the side in order for NBC to please corporate sponsor, and the network's out of touch media personalities. Unfortunately, Comcast has the rights to the summer and winter games until 2032. The only way to escape the idiocy of NBC's coverage, and truly feel the spirit of the games is to watch the Olympics in another country. Who is up for a road trip to Canada in 2018 to watch the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in their pure, and not, stupid glory? I will hold a seat at the bar.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is going to need some money for his 2018 trip to Canada. Help him out by supporting SeedSing.

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Champagne's Cafe' Edition

This past Sunday, Jon Taffer and crew headed to Taffer's hometown of Las Vegas to rescue a bar. What was weird about this episode, right off the bat, they had some old guy being interviewed that was not an owner, nor was he an employee at said bar. He came on, said some stuff about how people don't like change in Vegas, basically, it was just rambling. My wife and I were both very confused.

Once the weird intro ended the meat of the episode started, and we eventually met the owner of Champagne's Café. He seemed to be a mild mannered guy that just wanted to own a bar. He got the seed money from is mother, but after only a year or two, the bar started to lose money. They then cut back to that weird old guy from the beginning. He said some more stuff, but I was even more confused by this point. Then, they went back to the owner, and he was saying how this bar was another historical landmark. He said that the Rat Pack used to come in and hang out at the bar because it was far enough away from their rabid fans. He also said that the bar used to be a mobster hangout. Goodfellows would come in and, much like the Rat Pack, it was a place for them to get away. It was kind of a mobster hideout. Once the mob connection was presented we find out who this old man was that had been talking at us the whole episode. He claimed to have been a crony for the mob, and he vouched that the people he worked for did, in fact, hang out at Champagne's. So, the mystery of the old man was finally solved.

When we got back to the "rescuing" of the bar, we found out that the bar wasn't dingy or dirty. They still had a decent customer base. The drinks were good enough. No, the problem with this bar was the owner. He was a total pushover, and he did not have the skills to train the bartenders. On the first night, Taffer and his "expert" sat outside and watched as the owner allowed two of his employees to no call-no show and watched him poorly train the only bartender in the building. The recon spies asked for very simple drinks. One wanted a Manhattan and the other, a famous drink called the Bee's Knees. These drinks are supposed to be very simple, according to Taffer and the "expert", but the new bartender had no idea how to make them, and the owner, well, he was just as clueless. It got so bad that the "expert" went into the bar, ordered a drink, it was made incorrectly, so she went behind the bar and showed them how to make it properly. At this moment was when Taffer showed up inside the bar. He didn't yell or berate this guy, he just seemed disappointed in him. He gave him a hard time about poorly running a hospitality business in the hospitality capitol. The owner was a mess. He never raised his voice or got angry at the workers that skipped out on him and almost everything Taffer suggested, he obliged. The one thing he wasn't so happy about was the fact that Taffer may change the wallpaper in the bar. This dude had some weird obsession with wallpaper. He spoke of it as if it were his child. I think he may have been in love with the wallpaper.

Aside from the owner being a mess, the bartenders, when they did show up, they were actually pretty good. They knew how to make drinks and how to make them fast and correct. This was one of the first times that the employees, save for their disregard to schedules, seemed to be on top of things. They knew what they were doing. Instead of a stress test, Taffer had people come in and taste test the drinks made by the three bartenders. The winner would get the best shift. It was an interesting change from the beloved stress test.

After the taste testing and the crew working on the bar, we got the big reveal. When Taffer got to the number 3, the crew turned around, and very little had been changed. They kept the name, once again because of the history. And, aside from a new neon sign, the outside was only touched up with paint and made to look brighter. Then, they went inside. This was when the owner was at his most anxious because he thought that the wallpaper would be gone. But, much to his relief, the wallpaper was still there, and it was actually made to look a bit nicer. They didn't change too much inside either. The allure of this place was the old school-ness of it, so Taffer kept it that way. I thought the changes inside were nice. It looked like a hip, old school type bar.

This season of "Bar Rescue" has been very pleasing to watch so far. We've gotten a little bit of everything from each episode, and this was a particularly unique episode because the bar wasn't in disrepair, it was the owner that needed to shape up. By all accounts, Champagne's is doing pretty decent business, and the owner looks to be close to out of debt. He also has a tighter leash when it comes to schedule and he said he is not the pushover that he once was. Good for him, and his bar.

Come back next week for the review of the next episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Due to the fact that Ty does not drink, he appreciates the look of a bar. He especially likes well thought out wallpaper. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season Four Premier

I do watch other TV shows besides "Bar Rescue", and one of those shows is the "Eric Andre Show". The fourth season premiered this past Friday, and it was glorious, hilarious, weird, bizarre and everything I was hoping it would and could be. This show has always been weird, but I'm a big Eric Andre fan, so I expect as much. I got really into this show about a year ago, and I watched the first three seasons in a week. Each episode is only 11 minutes long, so it was easy. I also love the fact that Hannibal Burress is his co host, and he is the perfect foil for Eric Andre.

The fourth season premiere started a little different from most seasons. Each episode starts out with Andre destroying the set, sometimes beating the band members up along the way. This season started with Andre sitting in his chair, looking exhausted. Then, when the music started, he was flung around the studio, attached to wires, and proceeded to destroy the set that way. He was an unwilling participant in this destruction. I know that it was fake, but it was still funny. After they replaced all the things he broke, Burress appeared and did his usual deadpan stuff. Then, a newish wrinkle in the show, Andre did a monologue. But, this time around, he acted as if it wasn't his choice. It seemed that Adult Swim was forcing him to do it. He even got shocked by a shocker at one moment, then they cut away to happy pictures of Andre. I loved all the jokes that made it seem like Andre did not want to do this.

After the insanity of the intro, the show cut away with their usual still frame and the words " we will be right back...". After the little break, Andre introduced his first guest, the rapper T.I. The interview immediately went off the rails, as it is supposed to. Andre asked uncomfortable questions that T.I. did not want to answer. Then, Burress tried some rapping that was purposefully terrible. Then, Kraft Punk showed up, that is a Daft Punk impersonation, except the helmet is made of Kraft mac and cheese. Eric Andre and Burress berated Kraft Punk right in front of T.I., forcing him off the stage. Then, a guy dressed like a zombie appeared from the ground, and T.I. kicked him in the face.

Once this insanity was complete, they cut away to one of the many side segments they do during the show. The segments on this episode ranged from, Andre appearing to be very hurt, riding on roller blades, asking people if they knew where the Sprite headquarters were so he could become the pitchman. Andre also rode a bike through a glass window, pretending to be a Chinese food bike delivery man. One of the other segments was Andre and a friend dressed as a horse for a segment called "Horsin Around", where they interview people on the street as a horse, but the interview quickly turned to a fight after Andre accused the back half of the horse of trying to put a finger in his butt. All the segments were very weird and very funny.

Once T.I. had enough and left, it happens with all the guests, they had "Dance Moms" host, Abby Lee Miller. She is a monster, and when Andre asked her about being abusive, she quickly changed the subject, but they wouldn't stop there. They pushed her, and then the interview, once again, went off the rails. A drone flew in hot dogs for Andre to eat. Burress left the stage, destroying a shelf along the way. They ignored Miller, much to my delight. She eventually asked if she could leave.

To end the show, they had the band American Authors on. They played their hit song, "Best Day of My Life", but Andre made them perform it as a human centipede. It was weird and disgusting and just what I expect from "The Eric Andre Show".

I'm so pumped for this show being back on air. I will update each episode on Monday, so come back next week for the next update.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used to destroy his laptop after every blog post, then he learned that laptops did not grow on trees. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Gallopin' Goose Edition

Tuesdays mean it's time to talk about last Sunday's Bar Rescue

This past Sunday, Jon Taffer and his crew visited another bar that they felt the responsibility to "rescue". The crew went to a bar in Arizona called the Gallopin' Goose. This is an actual historical landmark bar because it is the first place that country music legend, one of the few good country musicians in my opinion, Waylon Jennings, first performed live. This was a for real bar. I was kind of shocked that they did a rescue of a place that a lot of people know about.

As the episode wore on, we come to find out that it wasn't so much a "bar" rescue as it was a relationship rescue. Sure, Taffer's team had to replace the bar top, there was grime everywhere, the kitchen needed to be cleaned and the owner was losing a ton of money, but that was all standard stuff for any episode of "Bar Rescue". What Taffer quickly realized was that he was, not only going to have to rescue the bar, but rescue a broken relationship as well.

These are some of my favorite episodes. I love that Taffer thinks he is some kind of marriage counselor. He spouts off cliché line after cliché line to try and repair these marriages. This one was particularly tough because the guy that owned the bar, he very quickly married his first wife, they had a baby, she got pregnant with their second child, but while she was pregnant, this scumbag cheated on her with a bar patron and got that lady pregnant as well. This did not sit well with the people in this small town. This was when the bar started to lose it's customer base and money. This was when this guy, who I assume was already pretty trashy, became complete trash.

The owner of Gallopin' Goose is, as I stated earlier, a real scumbag. His ex wife moved away from him because of this, taking their 2 children with her. This also really tore the guy apart. He started drinking more heavily and stopped taking care of himself and the bar. His ex wife eventually moved back, but she then found herself raising this other child of his. They never said what happened to this kids real mom, but the owner's ex wife now had three kids she had to raise. When they got back to the original timeline, Taffer had the ex wife as his spy in the car, and while watching the bar being poorly run, we also saw the owner talking shit about his ex wife to the other employees. He was complaining that she was never there and that he had to do all the work. Never mind the fact that she was taking care of three kids, one of which was not biologically hers, but she also came to the bar whenever she could to help out. This lady was being very poorly treated by the owner. He was a real big dickhead.

When Taffer comes in to confront him, he immediately rips into to him. He calls him a failure and a lowlife, classic Taffer. He talks to him as if he is a child. He threatened to kick this dude's ass, and this guy was way, way bigger than Taffer. It was all classic Taffer, and it was all hilarious. The two of them eventually cooled off, and the owner started to take Taffer's advice. He was very willing to listen to all of his suggestions. He was even willing to take Taffer's "expert" advice in relationship counseling. It was all very calm and quiet after their first encounter.

The Gallopin' Goose switched over to a whiskey bar. This worked very well in their favor. They also became an all day breakfast food place. Apparently, they had a successful breakfast buffet on Sunday's, so they decided to do this 7 days a week. Then, in classic "Bar Rescue" fashion, Taffer had a sit down with the ex wife and the owner, explained to them why they needed to reconcile, full of clichés again, and of course, at the end, they seemed to be back together again. Taffer was thrilled by this.

There was a very weird moment late in the episode as well. Taffer turned the bar back into a live country music venue as well, he did not change the name because of the history, and he invited one of his favorite country bands to play at the reopening. I didn't catch the name of the band, but they sounded terrible. The best part was that at one point, the band was playing and the camera turned towards Taffer, and he was bobbing his head and very creepily smiling at the lead singer. It was all very weird, but also exactly what I would expect from "Bar Rescue".

This episode has been the highlight of the season so far. It was very good and everyone was very polite and kind, for the most part. Seek this episode out of you haven't seen it yet. Come back next week for my review of the next episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Sometimes when he needs a pick up, Ty blasts Waylon Jennings for all the neighbors to hear. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: The Blacklight District Edition

Turn the channel. Bar Rescue is about to start.

This past Sunday we had another episode of "Bar Rescue", and I'm here to review it today. This time around, Taffer only brought one "expert" with him because this place was only a bar. He brought along Phil Wills, who may be one of two "experts" that I can tolerate, because he is a "mixology" expert. He knows his drinks inside and out.

The crew traveled to a bar called The Blacklight District in Long Beach. This bar was a simple bar, but they also doubled as a punk rock, and only punk rock, music venue. The owner is a huge punk rock fan, and he figure, if I'm opening a bar, I may as well make it a music venue as well.

The beginning of this episode was a bit different than most. Most of the time the owner is talking about all the problems with the staff and the fact that they can't make money after they were raking it in when they first opened. This time around though, the owner wasn't really complaining, although he was 200,000 dollars plus in debt, he owed a friend of his 17,000 dollars on a loan, he was losing money and his bar would be gone in less than 2 months. He acted blasé and just seemed disinterested in his bar being rescued. He assumed that the show would give him the upgrades his bar needed, and build him an entire new kitchen because he wanted to start selling food. He must have thought that "Bar Rescue" was a hand out and not a reality show, that only fixes up bars, not completely refurnish and build new areas in the bar. The owner was also a total dickhead. He was making homophobic slurs towards his staff. He yelled at everyone that disagreed with him. He told people they were phonies if they didn't like punk rock.

When Taffer and crew came in to first talk to the owner of The Blacklight District, Taffer invited the bass player from an all time great punk band, The Vandals, to be one of his spies. When the owner of Blacklight District was told that this person played bass in a real life, successful punk band, he demeaned and insulted him. He told him he wasn't a real punk rocker because he didn't like his bar and because he was wearing a sweater. This guy was a real piece of work. He also constantly laughed in Taffer's and Wills' face at any suggestion they gave him. The staff all seemed willing, able and wanted to change so they could make money, but the owner, this was all a joke to him.

During the stress test, Taffer packed the place, as he always does, and while the staff was keeping up, and actually, doing a very good job, the owner, he was loafing around and when the band that "Bar Rescue" hired to play that night, he paid more attention to them than anything else, and the band was terrible. The acoustics in his bar where terrible too. The band sounded muffled and grumbly, and I know that I've said on this site more than once that I'm not a big punk rock fan, but this band was absolute and utter garbage. They sounded even worse when you put into account the very terrible sound quality the bar offered. Oh, and prior to the stress test, we got our second dead mouse of the season that the camera crew continued to keep the shot on for an uncomfortably long time. They kept showing it and making the staff look at it. It was gross and that is 2 of the 4 episodes so far that have shown a dead mouse. It never gets any easier to look it. It's still gross.

Anyway, after the stress test debacle, Taffer and Wills started to devise their plan to upgrade the bar and make the drinks more accessible to the community. They also had the idea to turn the place into a rock bar, not just punk rock. This episode was one of the few were I sided one hundred percent with everything Taffer and his "experts" wanted to do. Everything they talked about, for this particular bar, sounded perfect and money making. When Wills was training the staff on the new drink menu, they abandoned the kitchen idea early on, everyone was in, except for the owner. He laughed at the proposed new drink menu. He kept making more homophobic slurs regarding the drinks and directed some of them at Wills himself. The owner, as I have stated before, was a real piece of human garbage. He seemed to think that being "punk rock" meant to be an asshole. There was nothing likable about him at all. He was degrading, mean, ugly on the inside and out, a thief, a bad friend, an idiot and quite possibly the most stubborn person I've seen on "Bar Rescue".

This episode was different than most in that it is only the second time that I've seen where Taffer elected to not "rescue" the bar. He said, and I agree one hundred and ten percent with him, that this owner did not deserve their help. The owner didn't deserve help from anyone because he is a selfish douchebag. The staff at the end seemed to be quitting on him, and I hope they stuck with that decision. This guy is a shitty person who does not deserve success because of the way he treats people. I'm glad Taffer and crew walked out and didn't do anything to help out. I'm pretty sure that Blacklight District is out of business, and that is what that owner deserves. This was one of the few times that I have felt bad for Taffer, but he did the right thing by not helping this guy out. That is why he is the founding, and first, member of the late night hall of fame. Come back next week when I review the next episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He would definately go to a punk rock bar before one that specialized in easy listening soft rock of the 1970s. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

"Vice Principals" is Another Great HBO Comedy

Something new and funny is flying into your tv antenna

I know that I'm about five days late, but Danny McBride and Jody Hill have done it again people. Their new show, "Vice Principals", premiered last Sunday, July 17th, but my DVR got all messed up from the storms I wrote about last week, so I finally got to see the premiere yesterday. It was almost as good as their premiere of the all time great TV show, "Eastbound and Down", almost.

"Vice Principals" opened on Bill Murray, who I believe is only in the first episode, as a principal of a high school and that day was his last at the school. He was getting ready to raise the flag one more time and he was chatting with two of his employees, played by Walter Goggins and the great, criminally underrated Danny McBride. They were all cordial at first, but as the conversation dragged on, you could see that Goggins and McBride's characters hate each other. They are literally enemies. When Bill Murray has had enough of the fighting, he makes the two of them perform the pledge of allegiance, all with his back turned, and the quiet back and forth between McBride and Goggins was classic Jody Hill and Danny McBride's comedy writing. The two were fighting, flipping each other off and insulting each other, basically all with their eyes and gestures. Very few words, other than the pledge, are spoken during this first scene.

We then cut to a fight happening inside the school. McBride is the vice principal, and he is the first administrator to see the fight. He goes to break it up, and while doing so, he gets punched in the face. He takes the three kids involved in the fight into his office to hand down punishment. If this wasn't on HBO, it would have been a cut and dry suspension scene, but since it is HBO, and they can be uncut, McBride goes off on these kids. He's calling them names, swearing at them the whole time and hands down a very by the book high school punishment, but the way McBride delivers the lines, it is so funny and so hilarious.

We later come to realize why McBride and Goggins hate each other. We see Goggins at a lunch table with all the other administrators and other teachers, and he is the coolest, most fun person for the to be around. McBride, on the other hand, has no friends at the school, except for the lunch staff, that only seems to tolerate him. He is talking to one of the workers about how much he hate Goggins and that he is so much cooler than him. Again, classic Danny McBride stuff. We also learn a bit later in the episode that McBride has a daughter and is divorced from his first wife, played by Bijou Phillips. The back and forth between them, while watching their daughter take horse riding lessons, is very funny and kind of uncomfortable . It is only made more funny by the fact that Bijou Phillips new boyfriend is a very nice guy that wishes well to McBride all the time.

McBride assumes that he is going to get the principal job, so he tells his ex wife, her boyfriend and his daughter, that he is going to be named principal the next day. His ego is only more inflated when he gets home and has a message from the school saying that they made a decision, and they want to see him in the office in the morning. The next morning, when he arrives at school, he parks in the principals spot and proceeds to the office, sits in the desk and gives Goggins a piece of his mind, because he assumes he is the principal now. But, we come to see that not only did McBride not get the job, but neither did Goggins, or anyone else at the school. They hired a principal from another school with incredibly awesome credentials.

McBride is crushed. He tries to get the administrators and teachers to sign a petition to get the new principal fired, to no avail. He tries to organize a student walkout, to no avail. He sends an open letter to the school board to get rid of the new principal, to no avail. Everything he tries, it doesn't work. He arrives home from work that first day, after getting the hammer from the new principal, and his daughter and his ex wife's boyfriend are throwing him a surprise party. He has to explain to them that he didn't get the job, but his daughter and ex wife's boyfriend, are so complimentary and supportive of him. That scene is one of the best in the entire pilot episode.

Later in the episode as McBride is on duty as basically a crossing guard, we come to see that Goggins, who has been acting like a total gentleman and getting on the new principal's good side the whole episode, dislikes her as much as McBride does. They both want to take her down. They decide to join forces to get this new principal fired. Goggins character said it perfectly, "She is your enemy. You are my enemy and she is my new enemy, so my old enemy has a new enemy, making my old enemy my new friend. Let's join forces". They high five and the credits roll.

I cannot wait to watch more "Vice Principals". Danny McBride is playing a classic Danny McBride character, which he excels at doing. He is a dreamer in a crummy situation, trying to make it sound much nice than it really is. McBride thrives at this kind of stuff. Goggins, who we didn't get a whole lot from in the pilot episode, until the end, is going to be great on this show. He is a menacing, yet very funny actor who I was late on the bandwagon to. I really enjoy him in everything he does, and "Vice Principals" looks like it will be another homerun for Goggins. This show is going to be great. Danny McBride and Jody Hill are great comedy writers. And this is the type of show that HBO excels at doing. I cannot wait for more, and if it turns out to be 1/10 as good as "Eastbound and Down" was, "Vice Principals" will be great. I love this show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He visted the vice principal's office many times in high school due to being too real. Follow Ty's realness on twitter @tykulik.

"Any Given Wednesday" is No "The Bill Simmons Podcast"

Some people are better when they are heard, and not seen.

A few weeks back I wrote a review of Bill Simmons new show, "Any Given Wednesday". I thought that it was fine, but I also thought that it had some room to grow. I am a big Bill Simmons fan, so I just assumed that I would love his show. It seemed that he was bringing his wildly popular podcast to the small screen. What could go wrong, I thought.

Well, after four episodes, the show has shown very little, to no growth. It's just the same thing over and over again. I feel like, after only four episodes, the show has become stagnant and a little boring. This show has all the potential to be great, but they cannot seem to get over the hump. Now, it is only four episodes, and a lot can change, but they have done zero so far to make this show better.

The premiere was fine. I thought Charles Barkley was funny and seemed to be having a good time. Simmons seemed a bit nervous, but who wouldn't be with a new show premiering. But, when Ben Affleck went on his rant, that premiere went off the rails. It was bizarre and incredibly awkward TV to watch. I was squirming in my seat at home. I cannot imagine how the studio audience felt. I love that Affleck is such a big fan of his team, but that rant was so, so weird. It was bad TV as well.

The Affleck weirdness was followed by the second episode which featured Simmons interviewing Malcom Gladwell and Mark Cuban. They had a heated discussion about the owners and the amount of money being thrown around in free agency and how it has gotten out of hand. Cuban, being the billionaire and owner that he is, he had no problem with it. He was defending some of the ridiculous contracts being given out to marginal players. Gladwell argued that some of these players weren't worth it, and since he is so smart, his argument was eloquent and poignant. But, that was problem that I had with this episode. Malcom Gladwell is one thousand times smarter than most people in the room, and I felt that he had to dumb down his speech just so Mark Cuban could understand what he was saying. Now, Mark Cuban is by no means a dummy, but he is nowhere near Malcolm Gladwell's intelligence level. Not many people are at his level. This conversation would have been so much better if it was two owners or two intellects. You cannot put one very smart person with a marginally smart person and except a fair argument. This was a mismatch and the interview just didn't work. Simmons kind of lost control pretty early on during the conversation.

Episode three has been the highlight of the season so far, but it wasn't because of Bill Simmons or his writing crew. This episode succeeded because of Chris Bosh. Simmons had Bosh and actor Anthony Anderson as his guests. Anthony Anderson was fine. He is a very well spoken, smart person whose acting I really enjoy. But, when Chris Bosh spoke of Kevin Durant's decision to leave OKC for Golden State, it was phenomenal. There is no one else, possibly on the planet, that can relate better to what KD did. I, and many other people, have written about KD's decision, but we don't really know how it went down, or how he feels. Chris Bosh, on the other hand, he went through exactly the same thing when he left Toronto for Miami. Bosh's speech, and the way he talked about making decisions like that, was just great. He kind of opened my mind. I mean, I'm still kind of pissed that KD left OKC, but, Chris Bosh made me understand just a little bit why players make choices like this.

The latest episode  had Aaron Rodgers on for a one on one interview for the majority of the show. This should have been a slam dunk, especially after Bosh crushed it on the show the previous episode. But, this was very, very boring TV. Aaron Rodgers, while being a great football player, he is a pretty dull person, by choice. Most interviews he does are boring. He just wants to talk about football and being QB for the Packers. and that is fine, that is his job and he is wonderful at it. But, to dedicate 20 plus minutes to an interview with him was a bad choice. It was slow. They didn't talk about any real problems, with the exception of concussions, in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers seemed very coached in a lot of his answers. When asked certain questions, Rodgers would wait, almost calculating the right answer in his head, then proceed with his answer. It was only 20 minutes, but it felt like 20 hours. The other problem with this, this episode was on the day after Tim Duncan retired and they only dedicated about 2 minutes to him. Bill Simmons is a basketball writer, and he only gave himself 120 seconds, on his own show, to talk about one of the 5 greatest players of all time. That was a big bummer to me.

There have been other people on, guys like Joe Rogan and Bill Hader, but their interview were forgettable. I had such high hopes for "Any Given Wednesday", and they can still turn it around, but it feels more like they will be cancelled before they get a second season. Simmons, who seems so comfortable on his podcast, looks and sounds incredibly uncomfortable on his TV show. TV may not be his thing, and that is fine because he will always have his podcast and his website. Some people thrive on TV, but others don't. Bill Simmons, so far, has not lived up to the expectations of being a good host on his own show. His time is running out as well. Hopefully they turn it around, but it seems unlikely.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His podcast hero is still Bill Simmons, but his tv hero will remain to be Homer. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

A Millennial's Appreciation of Garry Marshall

Yesterday we lost another legend. This legend was huge in television and movies. We lost the great Garry Marshall at the age of 82.

Marshall was one of the great writers and directors that Hollywood had ever seen. Marshall had his hand in on many, many great television shows. Among many other things, Marshall created "Happy Days", "Mork and Mindy", "Angie" and "Laverne and Shirley". He wrote on classic TV shows like "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Odd Couple" and "The Lucy Show". He directed classic movies like "Pretty Woman", "Beaches", "Overboard" and a bunch of the television shows he created and wrote on. He was a master of comedy in the 60's and the 70's. "Happy Days" is a timeless television show that, at least the first couple of seasons, still holds up. "Mork and Mindy" was the coming out party for the greatness that was Robin Williams(another person we lost way too young). "Laverne and Shirley" was, and still is, one of my mom's favorite TV shows, and I really enjoy it as well. It was one of the first shows that featured 2 females in lead roles. Marshall was an innovator.

Writing for the shows he wrote for was just incredible. During that era, there were very few channels, so whatever the higher ups at the channels wanted on TV, that what was on. That included some great shows like "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Lucy Show" and "The Odd Couple". Those shows are all timers and Marshall was one of the lead writers on each one. Dick Van Dyke was an enormous star and a lot of his spoken words were lines written by Gary Marshall. There is almost no one as big as Lucille Ball in the history of TV, and Marshall wrote a lot of her jokes. "The Odd Couple", featuring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, again, written by Gary Marshall. Lemmon and Matthau are two of the biggest stars of all time, and Gary Marshall was one of the leaders in the writers room, feeding these guys their iconic lines.

I know that his movies near the end have become a punchline, but look at the ones I mentioned above. "Pretty Woman" was Julia Roberts coming out party. That movie made her a star. Also, to get a movie made in the 80's about a prostitute with a heart of gold, that's super impressive. Like I said, he was ahead of his time. "Beaches" is one of the saddest, most heart wrenching movies ever made, but I do not know one person that hasn't seen at least most of that movie. That movie is so sad, but it is also very well made and excellently directed. "Overboard" is a great comedy movie starring two fairly unknown people at the time. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn were marginally famous, but that movie put them over the top. That movie is also very, very funny and it does hold up. The farcical story is so out there, but due to Marshall's directing, it's believable and executed exceptionally. I never thought of Kurt Russell or Goldie Hawn as comedic actors until I saw "Overboard".

He also had a hand in on a lot of the stuff his sister, Penny Marshall, was involved with. Be it helping her write or cast or perform himself in the movies, he was a big help. His minimal role in "A League of Their Own" stands out among many great things in that wonderful movie. I'm sure he helped some way in one of my favorite movies, "Big". He directed, and gave his sister her start, in the wonderful "Laverne and Shirley". He also never had any problems helping his sister out. When he was called out for nepotism, he didn't hide from it, he embraced it. His famous quote about hiring family members, "When in doubt, you bring in relatives. Nepotism is a part of my work", is incredible.

I know it might seem weird that the millennial of the site is writing about Garry Marshall, but he has been involved, some way, throughout my entire life of watching TV and movies. I adore Gary Marshall's TV shows and most of his movies. I'm also curious as to how the podcast "Comedy Bang! Bang!" will approach this news. For those that don't know, Paul F Tompkins plays a lot of characters on the podcast and the TV show, but I think his most beloved is his impression of Gary Marshall. He does a spot on impersonation, and I hope they do something special to remember the man. I'm sure they will and I'm sure it will be hilarious and heartfelt. I eagerly await your move "Comedy Bang! Bang!".

Rest in Peace Garry Marshall. You were an innovator, a genius, a writer ahead of his time and an all around fantastic TV and movie personality. Your directing and writing will go down in history. Enjoy the afterlife good sir.

ed note: We forgot an extra r in Garry when the article was first published. We have corrected the mistake. Sorry that we are idiots.

Ty

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Baseline Bar and Grill Edition.

Turn the channel. Bar Rescue is about to start.

I figure, as long as my readers want to read about my feelings on episodes of "Bar Rescue", I will continue to watch and review the new episodes. 

On Sunday there was anew episode of "Bar Rescue". This one took place at a bar in Arizona called Baseline Bar and Grill. The owner did her whole thing at the beginning, talking about all the problems the bar was having. It was your typical "Bar Rescue" stuff. The bar started out great, raking the dough. The Success did not last. Baseline Bar and Grill fell on hard times and now the owner was in some serious debt. I believe this lady was on the verge of losing her house. Instead of trying to make the business profitable again, she just let her employees, two of whom are her children, continue to run the bar straight into the ground. This isn't the first time that Jon Taffer has had to not only rescue a bar, but a family as well.

Game on.

When Taffer showed up to the bar, well, his first stop wasn't at the exact right spot. He and his two "experts" showed up at a place called Baseline Pub. Taffer and crew show up, claim that this place looks okay, but quickly realize that they are in the wrong spot.

Strike one for Baseline Bar and Grill.

Taffer is livid that there are two bars, within a 5 mile radius, that names are that close to each other. Taffer usually gets angry pretty quick, but he was real mad right off the bat. This was a great start to the episode.

When they finally get to the right spot, Taffer and crew get very angry once again. They have their decoy or secret shopper go into the bar. This decoy is a female, and the owner previously said that the bar is not nice to females. The whole bar tending crew is female, and they do not like to interact with female patrons, they flat out  say this on the show. To make matters worse, one of the owners daughters finally serves the lady, but she is incredibly rude and off putting. She even swears at her when she orders a "fancy" drink. It was very weird.

Strike two.

This wasn't the thing that put Taffer over the top though. A few seconds later, after ordering some awful food and the whole bartender-patron fiasco, the owner of the bar inflates a kiddie pool and fills it with cold spaghetti. No one in Taffer's car, including Taffer, can figure out why they are doing this. Then, 2 of the bartenders step into the kiddie pool filled with spaghetti and begin to spaghetti wrestle. It was bizarre and looked pretty violent and kind of gross. I'm not a big fan of any wrestling that involves food, and cold spaghetti did not change my mind. I know that one of the workers either broke or had a badly injured nose form the wrestling, and this was when Taffer stepped in.

The patrons all saw Taffer coming, and so did some of the employees, but the owner had no idea. Even with one of her other employees very clearly yelling, "Taffer is coming!" three times. This is what makes "Bar Rescue" great. When the owner gets blindsided by Taffer, it is a thing of beauty. He immediately lays into everyone at the bar. He takes no prisoners when it comes to his wrath. He really lets them have it. The owner asks Taffer to not be so hard on her.

Strike three.

Oh boy does this set Taffer off. The owner is the person who is usually most to blame for the demise, so when they ask for a little relief, he yells at them even more and louder. And, I have to say, he is right most of the time.

After all this, the rest of the episode is your typical "Bar Rescue". The bar cannot handle the stress test, but there is always a silver lining. The whole crew gets re trained in the bar industry. Taffer has a conversation that makes the mom and the daughters close again. Taffer changes the name of the bar, this one from Baseline Bar and Grill to Brick and Barley, one of his better efforts. And the check up shows that the bar has turned things around.

Like I said last week, there is some odd comfort in the consistency of this show. A few weird things did happen though. First, during the reveal of the new restaurant, one of the employees said, and I quote, "this place is classy as f%^k now!", with no ironic tone to her voice at all. That one quote encompasses the type of people that Taffer and Spike TV deals with weekly. Second, during a commercial break, Taffer came on and gave a bar tip. His tip was to "eat up, before you meet up". What made this odd, he has never done this before. I have never seen an ad featuring Taffer during the show. It was weird, odd, bizarre, but brilliant. I actually watched a commercial for the first time in ages.

"Bar Rescue" is back and better than ever. The first two episodes of this season have been great and I will continue to watch and do write ups, not only because you guys are reading it, but because it is so much fun for me. Come back next Tuesday for the review of this coming Sunday's episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Since he doesn't drink, Ty is always looking for a bar with high quality entertainment. Food wrestling is not high quality. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

How the Internet has Changed Pop Culture

Popular culture is a complicated beast. Like the Hydra, it has many heads, and when you think you've figured it out, two more heads pop out of the last. I'd like to thank SeedSing.com for helping expand the conversation on so many topics, including this one. If you have time, check out their article about why the book is always better than the movie—argued from the perspective of someone who doesn't actually agree!

For its relatively short lifespan, pop culture has undergone many changes. Within the past century, it has developed alongside different forms of media, including radio, movies, television, and finally the internet. Of these forms of media, none has been more transformational than the internet.

While radio might at first seem like the first big mover of pop culture, the vast majority of pop culture has been a one-way street for nearly a century. Entertainers delivered material, and consumers absorbed it, transmitting it to other consumers in the process and growing the market. The internet has massively altered the way information is transmitted and, as a result, turned the entire pop culture scene on its side.

The Two-Way Street

In some ways, there's always been some level of interaction between fans of pop culture and perpetrators of pop culture. Music concerts, fashion shows, and other spectacles allow fans and enthusiasts to attend and see the latest—that much hasn't changed. But with the internet, people can also provide meaningful feedback instantly.

It has replaced the thousands of fan letters that are never read and go unanswered. Services such as Twitter and Facebook allow everyday people to interface with real celebrities, artists, and content creators on a very personal level. Rather than wait days or weeks for a response to hear from these famous figures, the public may see a response in mere minutes.

The leaders of pop culture haven’t let this change go unnoticed either. More than ever, social media pages are advertised on television, over the radio, and even within products. “Visit our website to learn more,” they say. “Text (something) to 321” will get you added to a list for any number of different things.

Even a person like Dr. Phil has gotten in on the act, with his show sometimes weighing the opinions of the public by broadcasting their responses to his questions live. As this trend continues, entertainment shifts more and more away from being a mostly passive to sincerely welcoming interaction.

The Death of Cable

Another amazing phenomenon we’ve begun to experience is the slow demise of cable. While there is still a hefty subscriber base to standard television, the numbers are beginning to dip. Consumers are seeking their entertainment elsewhere, mostly through streaming services over the internet.

As a result, the movers and shakers of pop culture are no longer just the late-night TV hosts or the faces of prime-time television. A new demand for quality entertainment that directly answers the wants and needs of the consumer has created an incredible lineup of original shows that can be seen any time so long as you have a subscription to the right service (typically Netflix).

That brings us to the heart of our next point: The change in audience has created a new type of consumer.

On Demand

The instant nature of the internet has, in many ways, altered the patience of consumers. As progressively more content becomes available on demand, it changes audience expectations. Pop culture becomes something the audience doesn’t want to wait to read about in the tabloids tomorrow—why bother when they can visit TMZ’s website right now?

In some ways, this has also created a conflict between the previous generation and the new. The older generation is used to waiting; what choice did they have? "Snail mail" got its name precisely because it was so slow. But the new generation wasn't raised on that.

The new generation has been exposed to an entirely different upbringing that is reshaping everything we know about pop culture. Deemed “millennials,” these new consumers are used to things being available instantly. They grew up with cell phones, email, and instant streaming movies.

Naturally, pop culture has developed to answer these needs. Vendors of popular items sell their goods online with fast-paced shipping. Virtually every major bill can be paid online with a few taps. And since the newer generation spends so much time online (typically on a phone or laptop), much of advertising has moved there as well.

Copy That

In many ways, the internet is solely responsible for the most freely produced content since the dawn of history. Because all online entertainment is stored as data, it can be (largely) freely copied. Unlike physical media, there are no limits to how many times data can be reproduced.

Internet users first figured it out on a large scale when Napster became big over a decade ago. A single user could post a song they had on CD, and thousands of other users could download it and share it themselves. Because there was no physical limitation on the number of copies, it meant millions of people could get music for free.

With time (and faster internet), file sharing expanded to videos and larger programs. So too did the record companies’ fight against what they deemed internet piracy. Today it still continues unabated, but new efforts have been made to fight against file sharing.

The Fight Against Piracy

This brings us right back to today’s on-demand culture. Piracy has been combated in two different ways. The first is through censorship and monitoring. The FBI has taken down several pirating websites, and Hollywood has sued the owners of select IP addresses that pirated movies. Well, except the people using VPNs, since they’ve been able to hide their IP addresses.

The second way has been just to make content more accessible. Instead of having to visit the video store, you can load a show up without leaving home. Music can be purchased one song at a time instead of having to buy an entire album. Little tweaks to the market have dissuaded quite a few pirates by making the legal way just as easy.

Other entertainers have embraced the idea of free content by literally making their stuff free but stuffing it with ads or add-ons that can be purchased for cold, hard cash. Video games have changed quite a bit as well. Many games can be bought before they’re even finished, allowing users early access to the still developing product.

Where most games usually shipped finished, now we see games sell with only a limited amount of content and the rest purchasable at a later date. This is made possible only by a fully connected population that can go online at any time to buy the new content.

What Tomorrow Holds

If present trends continue, we’ll only see more digital media come to replace physical media. The internet can’t quite replace live conventions or concerts, but it has afforded many more access to these events than ever before.

While print struggles to stay alive, online versions of popular magazines and TV shows flourish. Independent content also continues to grow in popularity, with YouTube and Twitch providing platforms for individuals to create content for other users.

We won’t know what tomorrow holds until it happens; my bets are in for something fast, convenient, and accessible anytime, anywhere.

If you have thoughts to share about pop culture and the internet, post a comment below.

Isa

About the Author: Isa is an internet security specialist and entertainment blogger. If you enjoyed her work, check out some more of her writing on Culture Coverage. Follow Isa on twitter @ Go like Culture Coverage on Facebook. 

The Greatest Television Ever: The Series Finale of "Maron" brings a Great Show to an Untimely End

Tonight marks the series finale of the IFC show, "Maron". Depending on who you ask, this was either IFC's choice to cancel the show, or it was Marc Maron's choice to end it after 4 seasons. Either way, this is an upsetting end for me. I really, really like this show. "Maron" centers around the life of comedian/writer/actor/podcaster, Marc Maron. It is a heightened version, but nonetheless, it was pretty much autobiographical. From the series premiere to tonight's finale, the show has been very funny, but also more realistic than any reality show on TV right now.

The first season was pretty much about how Maron and his podcast, "WTF" was blowing up. People were recognizing him and, in typical Marc Maron fashion, this made him uncomfortable. He did not like the spotlight being on him. Even more so though, he didn't feel that he deserved the spotlight. It was a great way to start a series about his life because his podcast was really blowing up at that time. Sure, he didn't have President Obama on yet, but he was getting some pretty famous people to appear on the show. The first season also talked about how his friends, the great Dave Anthony and Andy Kindler, were either jealous or didn't think Marc Maron deserved all the attention. There were funny and real moments during that first season that were just fantastic.

Season two found Marc with a new, very young girlfriend. She was controlling and wanted a baby. While this may sound like a big departure, it was still a very good through line for the season. Season 2 found Maron trying, and failing, to relate to his girlfriend's very young group of friends. Maron was trying to be hip and cool, but he also knew that he was older and he didn't want to do young adult things anymore. He wanted to play his guitar, do his podcast, play with his cats and listen to records. Maron's parents were more involved in this season as well. This really showed how the person Marc Maron came to be. His dad was a crazy man that lived in an RV that never showed any real love towards his son. His mom, retired and living in Florida, was a tough, no nonsense women who always told Marc that he was fat. This was also very good stuff. We also got to meet Marc's brother this season and more of the characters in his life. Season 2 was a big step up from season one, and I loved season one. The second season ended with him and his girlfriend splitting up, but it was definitely for the best.

In season three Marc Maron really starts to explode. His podcast is bigger than ever. He is getting deals done and doing some of the best work of his career. Friends and family even respected the fact that he was getting the acclaim he deserved. This all came to a head wonderfully and tragically in the season 3 finale. Maron finally got his own talk show, but he had previously hurt his back trying to stay in TV shape, thus leading him to a pill addiction. If you don't already know, Marc Maron, both the person and the character, is a recovering addict. Some shady doctor decides to give him oxycotin for his back, and being the addict he was, he got hooked right away. During the taping of his pilot episode, he was so high, he passed out. This was a harrowing season finale to a comedic show. It was dark, but funny, as only Maron and his writing team could do.

The start of this fourth season found Maron living in a storage unit and fully addicted to all pain pills. He looked rough. He had an unkempt beard that was shaggier than mine. He was sleeping with a nurse, who was keeping a cancer patient alive, so he could get pain pills from her. Dave Anthony, who I cannot stress enough how great he was on this show, finally gets him to go to rehab. Maron had screwed enough people over, and he needed help. The scenes that took place in the rehab were funny, poignant and terrifying. He was put in a rehab with a bunch of young, rich white kids and that seems to be one of Maron's biggest pet peeves. He hated this, but he did what he needed to do to get better. We, the audience, also come to see that Dave Anthony has become a big time guy in Hollywood, but it was all due to him stealing Marc's life. It was, much like the whole series, very funny and very weird. The scenes between Dave Anthony, Marc Maron and Amy Smart, who played Anthony's wife, were so bizarre, but I couldn't look away. While going through recovery, Maron is doing his apologies to the people he had wronged, and we come to realize that he fathered a kid as a sperm donor. In the penultimate episode, Maron leaves town to find this kid. He ends up in the hometown of the child, is about to leave, but changes his mind and stays.

Tonight we get the conclusion to this whole series. I'm excited, but also sad to watch the finale. I truly hope it was Maron's decision to end this show. I know it's going to be great, but I could have watched so much more of this. Well, at least we will always have "WTF" to listen to. Thank you for four great seasons of television. "Maron" will be missed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Like "WTF" Ty hopes his podcasting career takes off in season two. Catch the first episode of our second season where The X Millennial Man talks about great dogs. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

"Bar Rescue" is Back to Reclaim our Joy and Disgust

This bar is just right when it comes to my standards for trash

This past Sunday, July 10th, the new season of "Bar Rescue" premiered. I have written once before about this show, which I adore, but the episode I wrote about was rather disgusting. "Bar Rescue" is almost always about some dingy bar that is in dire need of a "rescue", so hall of famer in the nightclub industry, Jon Taffer, comes in with two experts and they fix the bar up.

The episode I wrote about previously was the first, and possibly, only time they "rescued" a strip club. Everything about that episode was gross. Jon Taffer is always gross, but he was extra disgusting. The experts looked scared and like they needed a shower afterwards. The strip club, which was called Chix on Dix(ewwwwwwwww), changed it's name to The Landing Strip, but that was the only change. It was still extra gross and downright sad.

Well, after that episode, I kind of lost a little interest in "Bar Rescue". They had crossed a line, in my opinion. I'm not a fan of strip clubs and the fact that they tried to "rescue" one, it all seemed way too weird and icky for my personal taste. But, my brother and head editor and owner of the site, RD, said I should watch this season premiere because they were doing a bar in my home city, Saint Louis. I thought, why not, let's give it another try. 

Man am I glad that I watched "Bar Rescue" again. When the episode opened, they did their patented thing of talking to the owner and having them explain why their bar is failing. This particular bar, called City Bistro, was losing money because the bartenders were getting drunk on the job, giving out free drinks and flashing their bare chests to patrons in hopes of getting big tips, they did not get those tips. The fact that these bartenders kept exposing themselves kind of gave me that icky feeling again, but it wasn't because it was a strip club, this was a legitimate bar. People should never be topless or bottomless in a place of business, unless it is a strip club. These bartenders were being gross because they were drunk and lost any inhibitions they once had. Tami, the main bartender, was constantly drinking and flashing anyone in the bar. Taffer, who was watching everything from his car, as he does on every episode, was growing more angry by the second. He was literally yelling at his two experts about this bartender drinking and exposing herself. There was even a shot of Tami, aka Tam Tam, taking her shoes off behind the bar. At that moment, Taffer walked in and went directly to the owner Tiffany. He spoke to her about what he was seeing and told her, this is his trademark, that she needed to fire Tami immediately. I swear, Taffer gets some weird pleasure from telling owners to fire people. It's disturbing how his face lights up when they go through with it and fire said employee. Tami was fired, obviously, and in typical fashion of the bad bartenders shown on "Bar Rescue", she walked off, swearing and slurring all her words on the way out.

Then, the experts had their turn to slam City Bistro. Taffer's drink expert showed the remaining bartenders all the fruit flies in the liquor bottles and how dirty the bar top had become. It was very straight forward "Bar Rescue" stuff. Then, the food expert went to check out the kitchen, and to his and Taffer's surprise, the kitchen was not even open. Apparently, they shut it down awhile ago because they couldn't afford to buy the inventory needed to run a kitchen. The kitchen was filthy, but the topper, and perhaps one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen on any TV show, there was a dead mouse floating in the fryer. It was just as gross as anything I saw on the strip club episode. What made it worse, the camera crew kept going back and staying on the shot of the dead mouse. My stomach is upset thinking about it now, and it's been two days. They cleaned that kitchen better than I had ever seen any kitchen cleaned on "Bar Rescue". I still wouldn't eat there, but they cleaned the hell out of that kitchen. They eventually got it up and running and hired a cook, Sam. Sam was the best part of the whole episode. He was funny, a hard worker and seemed more involved than any other employee there. Sam was great. The owner and the bartenders got to go on the Busch Brewery tour so they could "reconnect" with the local beer company. This was all pointless, wasted TV time. It felt shoe horned in the episode.

After retraining and cleaning up the bar, they changed the name to Beechwood, because Busch beer is "beechwood aged". I thought City Bistro was a better name, but Taffer always picks stupid new names. They seemed to be doing okay after Taffer and his people left, as is the case with every episode, but after reading some local stuff, I guess Beechwood isn't as great as "Bar Rescue" and Jon Taffer hoped it could be.

The good thing about this episode, one, they didn't go to some gross strip club and they fired the main person that was exposing themselves, but secondly, and most importantly, it was like any other episode. If you've ever seen an episode of "Bar Rescue", you could figure out what was going to happen, beat for beat. There is some kind of comfort in the familiarity. I'm actually excited to watch more episodes now. I'm back on the "Bar Rescue" bandwagon, as long as they stay away from strip clubs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Being the youngest of four brothers, Ty has been going to bars since he was 10 years old. He knows a disgusting bar when he sees one. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

The Merits and Virtue of "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom"

MTV is the model of highlighting kids having kids

So, for all of my posts this week, I wanted to try something a bit different. My wife and I were talking the other day and she told me that I should argue a point that I don't necessarily agree with. All five posts this week will be topics given to me that I have expressed a dislike for to, either my wife or everyone who reads my blog, but I have to give the opposite view. I have to explain why these things are actually true, or that they at least have some good qualities. This is going to be a weird, but also very fun, and maybe even a bit difficult, but I'm up to the task.

Let's get started with the first topic. The topic sentence my wife gave me today was, "explain why shows like "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" are, in fact, not garbage reality TV, but that they have had a positive impact on society".

Here we go.

I first saw "16 and Pregnant" about 6 or 7 years ago. My wife has a very deep love for reality TV, and I enjoy spending time with her, so I watch a lot of the shows with her. "16 and Pregnant" immediately held my attention. It was fascinating to see these children pregnant. They were literally babies having babies. It was unreal to hear these 16 year olds complain about always being hungry, tired and "feeling fat". I would say to my TV, "that's what happens when you get pregnant. You should have waited like 90 percent of the country does".

As the episodes wore on, I found myself seeing some good coming from "16 and Pregnant". I was happy that MTV was letting these girls be as real as they wanted to be about their not so good situation. I have 2 kids, one is 4 and the other is almost 9 months, and it is very hard. But, I'm a 33 year old adult. I lived my childhood and had a pretty much carefree teenage experience. The same cannot be said about the girls on this show. They had to deal with people saying things behind their back, calling them names and making fun of them. High school is hard enough, most people are going through puberty and almost everything is awkward, but throw being pregnant on top of that, that had to be brutal. So, the fact that the people behind "16 and Pregnant" had the thinking to let this reality show be an actual reality show, I give them big, big kudos.

The producers show you all the hard parts. They show the stretch marks, the clothes not fitting, the snickers, the loss of friendships, the pain of going into labor and delivering a baby, and then, to top it all off, they showed how hard it is to have an infant. You have to feed, clothe and diaper that baby when that baby needs those things. You are not the most important person anymore, your child is, and "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of portraying this. They also showed how terrible teenage boys are at being fathers. These kids, for the most part, had no interest in being involved after their child was born. They all still wanted to go play basketball, ride their bikes or continue to party. Well, all that ends when you have a kid. Some of the couples, while the girlfriend was still pregnant, were going to get married. None of them did, or if they did, I'm sure they are now divorced. "16 and Pregnant" definitely showed how real it is to have a baby. It is tough. Tack on the fact that the kids are teenagers, "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of not glorifying having a baby. I will always give them kudos for this. They let the viewing audience know how insanely hard, unforgiving and flat outbrutal it is to raise infants when you are still a child yourself.

A few years after I saw my first episode of "16 and Pregnant", another show came on called "Teen Mom". This show followed the girls from the first season of "16 and Pregnant". They waited a few months, even some a year, after their kids were born to see where they were. This was also an interesting wrinkle inside the life of a teen parent. For the most part, the couples that were still couples in "16 and Pregnant" had broken up. They were all inevitably stuck in some kind of custody battle. This seemed odd and selfish to me. Now, the parent that was absent when the baby was an infant, wanted to be involved because the hard part was over. They didn't have to get up in the middle of the night for feedings or diaper changes, most of the babies were sleeping through the night. That is so selfish to all of the sudden want to be involved in a child's life when the tough part is over. You cannot pick and choose when you want to care for your kid. You made that kid, so you should have been there all along, not when it is convenient for you.

Once again, MTV and "Teen Mom" did a very good job of showing how tough it is to be a teen parent. They show the kids going to court, or meeting with child protective services, or getting divorced, all before they turned 21. This was fascinating to me because, when I was 21, I was still living at home with my folks and had a dead end job and was going to concerts every weekend. I didn't have a kid to care for. Had I seen "Teen Mom" back then, it would have made me even more secure in my life decisions.

"Teen Mom" did not sugar coat how hard all this stuff is to do. But, what "Teen Mom" did that "16 and Pregnant" couldn't do, they showed all the joy that comes from having kids. These teen parents got to see their child walk, talk and smile for the first time, and so did we as an audience. We got to see many triumphs from the parents. Things like potty training be successful, families reuniting, and so on and so forth.

Look, I'm not one to watch reality TV, it just isn't my thing. But, I will say that shows like "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom" are so much better and they actually show consequences to actions than any piece of garbage that the TLC Network puts on TV. "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" can also be given a huge thanks to the decreased number in teen pregnancy, so there is a real life correlation that these shows do work. If you are a teen, and you think you can be made famous by getting pregnant, I'd suggest watching "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom", because it is not the quick and easy way to make money. It will alter your entire life.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. After reading Ty's thoughts, it seems like he is not pretending to like the MTV teen mom genre. He will be here all week folks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Bill Simmons is Back with "Any Given Wednesday"

There is some new TV in the air

Last night, Bill Simmons new show, "Any Given Wednesday" premiered on HBO. This show was a long time coming for me. I'm a very big Bill Simmons fan. I like his takes. He is one of the most knowledgeable NBA writers on the planet. He isn't afraid to attack morons like Roger Goodell. And he seems like a pretty genuine, cool person.

I watched the show this afternoon, and it was just fine. I don't know why I was expecting it to be like "Real Sports", which is a great show, but I thought it as going to be more like that. "Any Given Wednesday" is the opposite of a show like "Real Sports". "Any Given Wednesday" is sports and pop culture, mixed with elements of comedy. There is no panel on this show. Simmons has people come on and talk, but it is more interview and less talking head type stuff. What the show all boils down to is, it is a live taping of his podcast. The show is very free flowing. There is a looseness to the show that I found refreshing. Simmons looked totally calm and in his element. The show is a perfect way to get his view across.

Last night, he had Charles Barkley come on to talk about LeBron James. Simmons asked, after doing a great opening monologue about why he now thought James belonged in the conversation as the best NBA player ever, and Barkley shut that notion down immediately. Barkley is definitely stuck in his old view of the NBA, but that is one of the many things that makes Charles Barkley so great. I personally agree with Simmons. I think LeBron is a top 5 all time player, but I liked hearing Barkley say he had to win a couple of more championships before he would put him past Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. I also enjoyed Barkley letting Simmons, the studio audience and everyone watching know that his top five all time players will never change. He is set in his way. Barkley seemed just as comfortable as Simmons was, even when Simmons pushed him on stuff like Barkley holding Larry Bird's arms back so Dr. J could punch him in the face, or Barkley's many past gambling stories. After the Barkley interview, Simmons did a kind of funny spoof on the Under Armor and Steph Curry commercials. There was some decent humor in it, but it was just okay. The commercial Simmons and his writers created was a very funny closing bit to the joke.

Then, Simmons had another one on one interview with Ben Affleck. They talked about the Batman stuff and what drove Affleck to becoming a director, but when Simmons brought up the Patriots and Tom Brady and "deflategate", Affleck went off. This was at times funny and very revealing. Affleck is a true sports fan and a true Boston fan. This dude loves Tom Brady and thinks, like most of the sports watching public, that "deflategate" is so dumb and so unimportant. His speech was impassioned. I recommend people seeking it out on the internet to watch, it is bizarre and telling. I know that I was enthralled.

Once Affleck has done speaking the truth, Simmons did his first of what I'm sure will be a weekly segment, where he gave the "championship belt" to the best thing of the week. This week was the year 2016 and how it has become so unpredictable. He mentioned the Cavs winning the title, the fact that the Cubs have the best record in baseball and that he now has his own show on HBO, among other things. I very much enjoyed this part of the show. Like I said, it was basically a live taping of his podcast, and that is a good thing, in my opinion.

I will be curious to see how future episodes attack sports and pop culture news. I also hope, at some point, he goes off on ESPN. I know he did that recently in a magazine interview, but I want to see him do it live on his TV show, curse words and all, since it is on HBO. I also hope he brings on some of his recurring guests from his podcast for face to face interviews. I don't think it will happen, but I'd love to see Jalen Rose and Zach Lowe on his show, but they both work for ESPN. He can have his buddy Joe House on, or Chuck Klosterman or even more famous NBA players, like Charles Barkley. Anyway, it was a decent premiere of a show that I will watch every week because I am a Bill Simmons fan. Don't go into "Any Given Wednesday" expecting "Real Sports", it is a totally different show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may not have the slurred passion of Ben Affleck, but Ty is also not a fan of "deflategate". Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Pathetic State of LeBron James Fanboyism at ESPN

Being in the bag for LeBron must be cutting oxygen off to the ESPN anchor's brains

To wrap up my week of NBA talk, I am going to criticize two of ESPN's lead anchors that are completely in the bag for the Cavs, and more specifically, LeBron James.

The first anchor is the loud mouthed piece of garbage known as Stephen A Smith. You'll remember him as the same guy that said that Kevin Durant made an enemy for life when Durant questioned a report that Smith put out about his impending free agency. Durant said that himself and his people didn't, or do they ever, talk to Smith. He called him out on his false report and said he was a liar. Well, instead of owning up to his mistake that he was caught red handed doing, he decided to go into attack mode, making that dumbass "you don't want to get on my bad side" comment. That shit was laughable, and I'm sure Durant and his people had a hearty laugh over his all around nonsense.

Before last night's game one, Smith was on some show saying that LeBron is the most disrespected and one of the most underrated NBA players of all time, and that if Kobe Bryant was the leader of this Cavs team, they'd be favored. All of that is utterly ridiculous. Everything that comes out of Stephen A Smith's mouth is garbage. He is not good at his job and he isn't that smart either. First of all, no one that knows even a little bit about basketball has ever disrespected LeBron James. Sure, some people may not care for him, but we all know that he is one of the 5 best players to ever play in the NBA. He is a legend and an all time great. Second, LeBron is not underrated at all. In fact, he may be the most perfectly rated player to ever step foot on an NBA court. He had high expectations when he entered the league as an 18 year old, and he won rookie of the year. Then, the Cavs got better every year he was there, even making the finals once. Then, he bolted for Miami, won 2 titles and went to the finals four straight years. He did as expected there. He comes back home, takes the Cavs to the finals last year, and they are back this year. LeBron has exceeded expectations everywhere he has been. He is not, not even a little bit, underrated. He may be under appreciated, but he is not underrated.

And the whole Kobe Bryant thing. If this Cavs team had Kobe in his prime, they wouldn't even be able to have this argument because they would be a mid to lower level playoff team. People think Kyrie Irving can be a ball hog, but imagine if he played with Kobe. Kevin Love would barely ever see the ball. Tristan Thompson wouldn't even touch the ball unless it was an offensive rebound. And, they would be even worse on defense than they are now, and they are terrible on defense now. If this Cavs team had Kobe and not LeBron, they'd be lucky to be a 43 or 44 win team. They would be a lot like the Rockets are now.

There, I just disproved all of Stephen A Smith's nonsense in about 500 or 600 words, yet he is a millionaire and he still hasn't lost his job at ESPN. Stephen A Smith is a moron and a jerk and he needs to get his smug face off my TV. I'm sick of hearing his stupid voice. My TV cannot handle it when he starts to yell talk, which is whenever he is on TV.

The next target of my ire is Brian Windhorst. This guy is an absolute joke. Yeah, he is from Cleveland and he has been following LeBron's career since LeBron was in 8th grade, but he is one of the worst journalists I have ever read or seen on TV in my life. He is so in the bag for the Cavs and LeBron, it's almost sad. As I just said, he's been following LeBron since he was a 13 year old, but Windhorst was in college when he started following him. Think about how creepy that is for a second. Windhorst was in his late teens or early 20's and he was following this child around the AAU circuit. First off, he looks like a creep, so if I was a parent of a kid on that team, I would have reported him to the authorities immediately. Second, what kind of college student decides that they are going to follow the career of a child? Yeah, LeBron turned out to be an all time great, but what if he didn't? What if he was just average, or a complete bust? Brian Windhorst wouldn't have a job if that happened. He would be looked at as another vulture that tried to capitalize on a young kids talent. He is so much worse, in my opinion, than any AAU coach or a guy like Sonny Vaccaro. At least those people pushed LeBron to greatness and gave him things, all Windhorst did was show up to his games and write some bull shit columns about a young phenom. And now, he has followed him to the pros, all the while, writing shitty article after shitty article. He even moved to Miami when LeBron went to play there and moved back to Cleveland when LeBron went back. This guy is like the worst possible friend that the group cannot get rid of. He is always there, whether you want him to be there or not.

When Windhorst would go on TV to talk about the Cavs, or the Heat when LeBron was there, he would always put the blame on someone else. It was never LeBron James' fault, it was always his supporting cast or coach. When LeBron did win titles, it was because of his greatness. Never mind the fact that Ray Allen made one of the most improbable shots of all time, or that Dwayne Wade found the fountain of youth during their second title run, or the fact that Chris Bosh completely overhauled his game to fit in with LeBron, none of that mattered to Windhorst because he is so far in the bag for LeBron James that it disgusting.

In the ongoing Windhorst shit show, he goes on TV yesterday to talk about how LeBron will never admit to being an underdog because he "has the heart of a champion" and he "will never admit that anyone is better than he is". Yeah, we all agree that he is the best basketball player in the world. Why do guys like Windhorst and Stephen A Smith need to keep bringing up something that we already know? The fact is that LeBron is the underdog in this finals series, no matter how much that may hurt Windhorst to say. The Cavs are playing a 73 win team. No other NBA team has ever won 73 games in a single season. LeBron James is the underdog, deal with it. But Windhorst is just another douchebag that is still on ESPN's payroll and he is one of their lead NBA guys. What a shame. He is a moron with blinders for anything negative that people may say about his beloved LeBron James.

Brian Windhorst, much like Stephen A Smith, is a blow hard and a piece of human garbage. But, this seems to be the down direction that ESPN is heading with their anchors. They want fan boys that are only loyal to their teams. That's not what a journalist should be. They should be non biased, so other people can take them seriously. Well, I don't take anyone seriously that works for that garbage company in Bristol. The sad fact is that Stephen A Smith and Brian Windhorst are the biggest dummies in an office filled with dummies. Pathetic.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is going to continue his quest of pointing out overrated pop culture when the X Millennial Man talks about musicians that are not as good as people think. The newest episode will premier tomorrow, wherever your fine podcasts are sold. Also, make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.