TLC Week: What is The Learning Channel Teaching us Today?

Finishing off my week long talk of all things TLC Network, I want to look back at what this network used to be, and what it has now become. I have spent all week talking about my love, and one dislike, of the "90 Day Fiance" "franchise". There are some misses, but more often than not, for me, hits. Big time hits.

When I was a kid, and a teen, and even an early adult, TLC used to be a channel that actually tried to teach people things. TLC stood for The Learning Channel. They would have TV shows that would be akin to a history lesson I would have gotten in high school. They did scientific shows. They had TV shows that were primarily shown in classes in school. They really leaned into being a channel for people to learn about things that they may not have known much, if anything, about. They tried to teach the viewer something, and more often than not, they achieved that goal.

That has all changed now.

This is not to say that I haven't "learned" anything recently. It is just the stuff I've learned is pointless, and how easy it has become to be on TV. TLC now shows pretty much nothing but scripted reality shows. There is a major range from what type of scripted reality shows they have now as well. I, or more likely my wife, will turn TLC on and we could watch anything from "4 Weddings" to "My 600 Pound Life". Both shows are trash reality TV, but do they really teach me anything of importance? No way.

What I have learned from the latest incarnation of The Learning Channel? I do know that when you put 4 brides in a room together, make them attend each others wedding and then let them judge one another, they will be absolutely ruthless. I also have learned that there are people out there that are much more addicted to food than I am, and they let it get to a point where they cannot even get out of bed, or bathe themselves. And they usually blame everyone but themselves. I don't mean to be rude or aggressive, but you can stop eating trash food. People do it everyday. I find myself never feeling sorry for the person that has gotten to 600 pounds or higher. I'm sorry, that is just how I feel. Drifting even further from these shows, TLC has gone as far to put a show on recently, within the past couple of years at least, called "Sex Sent Me to the ER". This show is absolutely fake, ridiculous and insane, yet very watchable. It is like watching a fun bad movie. The reenactments on "Sex Sent Me to the ER" are nuts. Sometimes they have the real doctor playing themselves, or they have actors playing them. They always have actors playing the people who end up in the ER, and they are ALWAYS much better looking than the real person, who is interviewed about their incident during the show. Besides getting much better looking people to play the patients, I have learned that some people will do some dumbass stuff while being intimate. The worst I ever saw was some idiot put his member in a grill on a campsite. I don't know how real that was, but the reenactment was hilarious and insane. I was floored.

To wrap this whole week up, TLC has very much changed what they set out to do from the start. I think they wanted to be an educational channel, and they tried, but it didn't work. So they pivoted to reality TV, a la what MTV and VH1 have done, and they are succeeding now. The shows may be much worse than what they tried to do at the start, but damn are they enjoyable. I will close it all out like I started the week. TLC is the trash reality network right now, and they are crushing it. We will see how long it lasts, but right now, I love it. My hat is off to TLC. Keep doing what you are doing while you can, because this won't last forever. Ride that wave TLC. And thanks for the never ending, trashy entertainment.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Years ago Ty learned how to make a fire from TLC. Today TLC teaches him how to make a fire…in the bedroom.

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TLC Week: "90 Day Fiance: Pillow Talk" is a Welcome Addition to the 90 Day Family

TLC has another one of the most useless, yet supremely entertaining shows currently on TV right now. That show is called "90 Day Fiance: Pillow Talk". Did you all think I was done with the "90 Day" off shoots? Think again.

"Pillow Talk" is essentially a re airing of the newest episode, but this time they have other couples from other "90 Day" shows come on and talk about what they are seeing while they lounge in their home, or the home of a relative. I absolutely love this. I was on the fence when my wife said we should check it out because I didn't want to watch the same show over again. But, it is so much more than that. It reminds me of when VH1 used to show "I Love The Insert Decade Here" shows, or something like "Pop Up Video". It just enhances what I've just seen only an hour ago.

For this first season of "Pillow Talk", they assembled some great past stars from whatever "90 Day" they were on. We get people like Tarik and Dean, who are hilarious. David and Annie, I can't believe I'm saying this, are wonderful, and I find myself agreeing with what David says most of the time. Darcey and her twin sister Stacey are on it, and they are feisty and fun and funny. They even brought Darcey's two daughters on one time, and that somehow worked.

The best couple on "Pillow Talk", by a thousand miles, is Lexi and Loren. They are the most fun, by far the funniest, they have the best reactions and interactions and they are so god damn adorable together. They crack me up, especially how low key Lexi is, and how amped up Loren gets. It works out almost too perfectly.

Anyway, the things that the couples, or relatives see, and to see their reactions, is totally worth your time. I have said a lot this week that my wife and I judge the people on these "90 Day" shows, and that is exactly what "Pillow Talk" does, except the people involved lived through it. They were on TV. They had their engagements and weddings and life after all that broadcast to the public. They know better than any of us what these people are going through. So, to see them react to this most recent season of "Happily Ever After?" is tremendous. The amount of jaws dropping is amazing. The guttural yells that have come from some people are hilarious. Dean is such a humongous fan of Chantel's, that any time she and Pedro get into a fight, he immediately takes her side, and takes it with a vengeance. He is great. As I said, David and Annie's reactions are golden. David actually seems to have gotten his act together, or he just likes to judge people, and Annie always makes some delicious food and gives her 2 cents, which is very informative. Loren has made some of the best faces during all the Colt, Larissa and Deb stuff. She is clearly aghast at what she is seeing, as we all are. Lexi will just sit there and eat food, but even he has sat up in their bed and dropped his jaw. Those moments are priceless. I love how Darcey is all about people breaking up, or getting their money. She has no bones about who she is, and she is proud to show that on "Pillow Talk". I think what I enjoy most about the show, outside of the fact that I get to see what these people snack on, is that it is a neat little wrap up. It is a nice after dinner show to watch and get full reactions to the insanity that was the episode of "Happily Ever After?".

I cannot help it, I really enjoy the hell out of this show. I was actually bummed when they didn't have a new "Pillow Talk" last week for the "Tell All". That would have ruled. To see the way the cast from "Pillow Tal" would have reacted to the Pedro and Chantel stuff, especially Dean, would have kicked ass. Maybe next time they will. But for now, as odd as this show sounds, I highly recommend, for fans of the "90 Day" universe, to check out "Pillow Talk". It is well worth your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What does Ty Snack on when he is in bed watching “90 Day Fiance”? A big heaping bowl of chili of course.

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TLC Week: The Terrible Ideas, and Intriguing Couples of "90 Day Fiance: The Other Way"

Today I want to talk about another off shoot "90 Day Fiance" show. This one is called "90 Day...The Other Way". In this iteration people from America are going to live with their soon to be spouses in their home country.

This show rules. The Americans, for the most part, are the prototypical "stupid" Americans. They make us look like morons. But, that is what makes it so great. Also, the people leaving America, I feel zero sympathy for. Look, I despise this country right now, we are an absolute train wreck and we live in a waking nightmare, but that doesn't mean I am going to move, although Canada would be kind of dope. But, the people on this show are leaving to be with someone that they have online dated for, mostly, less than one year. Some of these people have only met face to face once, or some have only talked on Skype, but they are ready to uproot their entire life, and leave their extended family, to go live somewhere they have only ever been on vacation.

For example, there is this girl Devean from Salt Lake City, and she is ready to move to South Korea to be with her fiance Jihoon. Now, these 2 have met, and even been intimate. She is in fact pregnant with his child. This is part of why she wants to move there to be with him. She does have another young child who she is planning on bringing with her when she moves. I do need to say, I really like this Jihoon guy. He seems to be genuinely in love with Devean, and he wants to provide and his parents are cool as hell. What strikes me as odd though is all the things Devean is oblivious to with this move. There is one scene where she is talking to her folks, and she says, "wait, there is no ranch in Korea". It is hilarious. She is also leaving behind the people who help her with child care. Jihoon's parents came for a visit, and when her toddler was acting up, she just sent her over to her folks house. She just said she now realizes she won't be able to do that when she moves to South Korea. It is clear to me that she is impulsive, and she is very young. I do hope things work out for her and Jihoon because they do seem to be in love for real, but man is she just so very, very young. Also, I'm sure they have ranch, or something similar, in South Korea.

There is this other couple where the guy is moving to a small village in, I think, Brazil to be with his girlfriend. The girlfriend has openly told him that she doesn't want to get married or have kids, and that he should be the sole provider because that is what she expects. The guy, on the other hand, is a mama's boy, and he has done nothing but complain since he got to her hometown. He has griped about the car they own, the apartment they live in, their cooking supplies and the fact that they don't have a good internet connection. It took him about 2 days of living there before he started to complain about every little thing. He is such a whiner. Also, he has been there before, so he should have known what to expect. But, when he was there before, he was on a vacation high. He was staying in nice resorts that had everything he was used to having at home. Now that he has moved there, he is in way, way over his head. Also, I don't think this girl likes this guy clearly as much as he thinks.

There is one lady that is moving to Qatar to be with a guy that she married after she knew him for only 9 days, but she has reservations already. She also is leaving behind her best friend, but even worse, her only son. Their goodbye was absolutely heart breaking. She was his only family, that we the viewer know of, and she just left him. And now that she is in Qatar, she is complaining that her young husband is great in every way, except in the bedroom. She even brings stuff to enhance their bed room experience. He, of course, feels offended, but she could care less. She also has zero money left, and cannot get a job or make any kind of money until her Visa is secured. She clearly went to live there with no plan whatsoever. She is also in her early 50's, so you'd think she knows better.

Then we have a 60 year old grandma who is moving to India to be with her 30 year old fiance, who's parents do not approve of this union, and want him to live at home. These 2 are a total mess. She left behind all her grown children, and grand children, on a whim. She also quit her job and blew all her savings. And when she got to India, her boyfriend did not pick her up for a few hours. The boyfriend has not told his parents that he is living with his girlfriend, his friends think he is nuts, he quit his job and moved to Mumbai so he could be away from his family to be with her and they are now running out of money. I will say, he loves her, and she loves him. But, what I failed to mention until now, this whole relationship started as a catfish, and turned into what it is now. Next week he is actually going to tell his parents about her, and I cannot wait to see what happens.

Finally we have a couple that started out on "Before the 90 Days", and has been around forever. I'm speaking of Paul and Karine. Karine is young and wants a better life. Her parents are great, and she just wants to be taken care of. Paul is a god damn mess of a human being. He carries around a lock of his mother's hair. He is terrified of bugs and dirty water, and he goes to extreme measures to avoid all of this in the Amazon. He has a vast criminal record. He has no money. He cannot keep a job. He packs military grade boxes with junk to go and visit Karine. He has used the term "poop water" on several occasions. He has been accused of terrorism. He is a complete and total mess. He has asked Karine to take several pregnancy and STD tests, even though she has been nothing but faithful to this disaster of a person. He is the type of guy that, for sure, voted for this current administration, and will do so again in 2020 when he inevitably gets deported back to America. Paul is a dip shit and an idiot. I feel zero sympathy for him because he is so dumb and ignorant.

Even though I am dumping on these people, this show is extremely enjoyable. It is so much fun to judge and make fun of these people. There is another couple, where a very intelligent and level headed woman has moved to South Africa to be with her gambling addict fiancé, but honestly, they seem pretty normal and happy. They are the only "good" couple on the show. I am actively rooting for them. But, I highly recommend this show for TLC fans and fans of the "90 Day" ouvre. It is fun, a little different and trashy reality TV at its best. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty cannot imagine moving to another country for someone he just met. He had a hard time moving two towns over to be with a girl he had known for years.

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TLC Week: "The Family Chantal" is a Rare Trashy Miss for the Network

Continuing with my week long quest to write about TLC reality shows, last night they premiered "The Family Chantel", a "90 Day Fiance" spinoff show. I have to admit, I was excited to watch. I tried to play it all cool with my wife, like I wasn't stoked to watch the show, but I was. And after seeing the "Tell All", and how they interacted all season long on "Happily Ever After?", I assumed this was going to be one of the wildest, dumbest and most bizarre things on TV. Even the commercials made it seem this way.

Unfortunately, it wasn't wild at all. Actually, it was kind of boring, and seemed pointless. "The Family Chantel" kind of feels like TLC decided to take a shot, since they are owning trashy reality TV right now, but this was a total misfire. By the halfway point of the premier, I was already looking at stuff to buy on Amazon on my phone. I have been making a conscious effort to stay off my phone while watching shows because I want to really focus on what I am seeing. But, "The Family Chantel" was far too boring, and it just couldn't keep my attention. The same thing can be said for my wife. She was laying on our love seat watching, and she would get up to brush her teeth during the show, she got up to take her vitamins, she just kept getting up and down, and to me, that is a sign that she too is bored.

We both said, near the end, that the show was not what we were hoping, and expecting. Instead of drama and stupidity, it was literally watching a married couple struggle due to family issues. It was, at times, kind of sad. I felt bad for Chantel and Pedro because their families hate one another, and that has to be really hard when you are married. Now, these families go to the extreme, suggesting divorce, bringing tasers to their daughter's home, taking twerking classes, deflecting their problems onto siblings, pretty much cliché reality TV stuff. But, even that cliché stuff was boring. The whole taser scene should have been great, but it wasn't. The fact that Chantel's mom brought a taser, then threatened to use it, should have been great. But, it fell flat.

I think part of the problem is Chantel's mom is expecting to become a famous TV personality. The reality though, she is a horrible actress, and this "character" she is portraying on the show is very dull. She is the prototypical overbearing mom, but I have seen better on shows like "Flavor of Love" or "The Real World". She is not that good. Pedro's sister is the same. She is the villain, but again, she is predictable and not a good actress and played out. I've seen her do all the stuff on "The Family Chantel" that she does on "Happily Ever After?". It is lame. Chantel's brother River seems like he doesn't want to be there. And the same for her sister Winter, who is the only good thing about this show. She is the only real person on it. Even when the episode ended, and they showed the coming up this season stuff, nothing really grabbed me. This is where the show is supposed to get the viewer back, make them want to watch more, but it was more of the same.

Look, I know that the two families don't like each other, I know that Chantel's family does not like visiting the Dominican Republic, I know that Pedro and Chantel fight all the time, I know that Lydia, Pedro's mom, blames Chantel's family for her son's attitude. I have seen it all already on "Happily Ever After?" and "Before the 90 Days".

I commend TLC for going for it, but this just doesn't work. We took the show off our DVR after the premiere was over, and said the only way we'd watch it again is on a lazy Sunday if TLC is running a marathon, and nothing else is on. This was an unexpected dud, and it bums me out that it wasn't as wild and ridiculous as I hoped. Oh well, at least I still have all the other iterations, of which I will touch on this week, of "90 Day Fiance". But, "The Family Chantel", for fans of this, is a miss in my opinion.

Ty

TLC Week: The Awesomeness of "90 Day Fiance" and the Fallout of the "Tell All"

This week I'm going to talk specifically about shows on the TLC network. I have no bones about the amount of shows I watch on this network. I have also talked about some shows they put on that look disgusting. I have pleaded to anyone that will listen to me how they definitely need to change the name of the channel because the only thing I have "learned" from the learning channel is that anyone, and I mean anyone, can be on a reality show.

That leads me to what I want to touch on today. I love the show, and all its iterations, "90 Day Fiance". TLC has also learned that this is their biggest cash cow, and they have started to show the show in 2 and 3 hour blocks, and they even have 2 different versions on Sunday and Monday. TLC knows that this is their "hit" show, and they are milking it, as they should.

Last night was the "Tell All" for the most recent season of "90 Day Fiance: Happily ever After?", love the question mark in the title by the way, and it was mesmerizing. I know that this is vapid and stupid and content for the sake of content, but I was very intrigued by what I watched with my wife last night. I need to say too, the last hour of the 2 hour show was the "Tell All". The first hour was dedicated to one of the worst, which means they were one of the most fun to watch, couples on this recent season.

The couple in question are Colt and Larissa. Colt is clearly in love, like for real, with his mom, and Larissa has been in the US for 7 months and has been arrested for domestic assault 3 times. It is a real train wreck, and I literally cannot look away. I loathe these 2 people, but they make for great reality television. All the stuff that went on, from the trail, to Colt's mom telling him how awful his ex wife is, to Larissa living with a new friend, getting a new boyfriend and being asked to stay home for the trial because of ICE, it was all tremendous TV. It is like a drug that I know the effects will wear off soon, but right now, I am hooked. The Colt and Larissa special was wonderful and disturbing and weird and everything I hoped for. My wife and I judged everyone, and isn't that what reality TV nowadays is all about? It was great.

Then the "Tell All" came on, and let me tell you, it was something else. The yelling and fighting and stupidity and lying and ignorance was at an all time high. Some of the couples, mainly Pao and Russ and Andrei and Elizabeth, fans of the show will know who I am talking about, didn't really have to be there. But, the stuff between Jay and Ashley was great. Jay is a 20 year old from Jamaica that has cheated on his wife Ashley 2 times that we know of. He is a scumbag, but she is an idiot. She took this dude back twice after he did this stuff, and I am supposed to feel sorry for her? Get the hell out of here. Colt was there by himself, because he will be alone forever, and he just berated and yelled at everyone. He is a sad, sad, sad man. Larissa didn't even want to be in the same room as him, so she didn't go to the "Tell All", opting to call in via Skype. Nicole was really unnecessary last night, but I feel like something big is going to happen between her and Azan next week.

The cream of the crop that was this train wreck was Pedro and Chantel. It has been widely shown that the 2 families do not get along. They despise each other so much, TLC is doing a spinoff show about that which premieres tonight. Don't worry, my review will be up tomorrow. But the way these 2 interact with one another is toxic. It is really, really bad. Pedro always "jokes" about leaving Chantel, and Chantel is so god damn condescending. It is wild. When Chantel's parents came on, that was when it went from a 10 to an 11. Pedro kept leaving the stage, and then coming back to yell at her mom and dad. The mom and dad are as condescending as Chantel is towards Pedro. It was crazy lit, the way they yelled over one another and fought last night. My wife and I both watched, first in laughter, then in horror and then in sadness for how messed up they all are.

This 2 hour block was a total homerun last night. I say again, I know I shouldn't watch this stuff, but I am hooked, and I don't feel that bad about it. Reality TV is supposed to be like this, and TLC has really found a groove with the whole "90 Day" stuff. My dad hat is off to them.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Was he describing an episode of “The Jerry Springer Show”? That is what the head editor thinks Ty was describing.

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Where are the Great 4th of July Television Episodes?

Happy 4th of July everyone.

That is actually what leads me into what I want to touch on very, very briefly today. The 4th of July is a pretty big holiday. Or, at least, I imagine it is for most. For me as a kid the Fourth meant that I got to eat Dairy Queen and watch fireworks on the hood of my folks car. Pretty simple, yet very fun as a kid. As I got older, the fourth wasn't too important. Then I met my wife, and her family loves the Fourth. They have a big cookout, a barbeque and we shoot off fireworks. It has been that way for 13 plus years now.

I recently noticed that most of the TV shows I watch don't do an episode focused on the Fourth. I know that "Saved By the Bell" had one episode where they played games while working at the beach one summer, and it ended with fireworks, thus leading us to believe it was July 4th. And RD pointed out to me that the episode of "The Simpsons" where they go to Flanders beach house takes place on the Fourth. So, there are 2 examples of shows I do watch that may have a Fourth themed episode.

When thinking about this topic, I searched my brain for other shows I watch that do good holiday themed episodes, and none really came to mind. "The Office", the American version, even when it was bad, they did a good Christmas/Hanukkah themed episode. They also did solid Halloween episodes. But, no real Fourth of July ones. "30 Rock" crushes their Christmas episodes. I think they make some of the best in fact. But, not only do I not recall seeing a Fourth ep, I don't know that I have seen a Halloween or Thanksgiving one. "Parks and Rec", who you'd assume would have a great Fourth of July episode, or episodes, never touches on the holiday. They do excellent Halloween ones. The one with Greg Pitkitis, or when Gerry has a "fart attack", those are classics. But not even when Anne moves to Michigan and Leslie throws a mega party with all the holidays crammed into one, do we see a Fourth of July themed area. It just strikes me as weird is all.

I'm sure there are some shows out there that do celebrate this holiday, I just haven't seen them, or they were forgettable. It is strange is all I am trying to say. The Fourth of July seems to be a major holiday, and the shows I watch that cover major holidays, have never really dipped their toes into the Fourth. Please let me know if I am wrong, or just missed something because I'd like to see how an "Office" or "Parks and Rec" handles the day.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Make your 4th of July resolution to be the person on your block who grills the best hotdog. We have a guide for that.

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Season Three of "Baskets" Lets Martha Take Center Stage

I feel like I am one of a small bunch of people that watch the highly underrated show "Baskets". In fact, I wrote about how incredible Louis Anderson is as Zach Galifanikis' mom on the show. You read that right. The show just had its third season premiere about 3 weeks ago. I was excited for this season because last season ended on a big cliff hanger, and I wanted to see where they took every character's story from there. I was also pumped because a show like this was getting another opportunity to grow. I feel like FX is one of the few networks that will let a show grow. They will give it time to really suss out stories and characters.

This season, so far, has been doing just that, and today, I want to focus on another actor on the show that I think is doing a wonderful job. In previous seasons, Martha, played by Martha Kelly, has kind of been Chip's, one of the twins Galifinakis plays, sidekick. She is his ride everywhere. She will drop whatever she is doing to help him, and his family out. She has a full time job at Costco, in their main department. She helps take care of her mom. She is a main character on the show, and this season they are really letting her show some growth and change. In the first 2 seasons Martha was kind of a pushover. As I said, she would kind of stop whatever she was doing to help out the Basket family. At the start of this season we come to find out that she is seeing a self help coach, and this coach seems to be really teaching her how to be strong and forthright and honest. She is letting Chip know that she cannot boss him around. She is doing more things for herself. She is definitely standing up for herself. It is great.

In the most recent episode there is a self help retreat the she and Chip were invited to, and this episode has let Kelly do some of her best work. Martha is very monotone, and usually upbeat no matter what the circumstance. She pretty much always sees the bright side. Well, in the second episode, she is the pessimist when it comes to Chip looking for a new home. She continually lets him know that he can't afford the places he really wants, and even pulls him, physically, out of one of the condos he is considering. Well, in the next episode, we see Chip has bought the condo. I then remember that Martha brought him to one of the seminars, and the teacher took an immediate liking to him, and encouraged him to ask his mom, Anderson, for a loan. He got it, and the class loved it. Well, everyone except Martha. Now, in the last episode, we see Chip ask her to borrow her car, and even though he takes it, this is the first time we really see her fight him on it. She really needs her car, but Ship is selfish. Then, when she sees that they are both at this seminar, she gets pissed. She even tells him that the self help thing is her thing, and he is infringing on her time. She tells the teacher as much. When the teacher tells her that she is going to take Chip on a walk, you can see Martha get even more angry. Then, when they are preparing dinner later, after Martha has had one too many drinks, the real truth comes out. Chip claims to be a vegan, which Martha knows is untrue, and she lets him know it. She tells him, in only the way that an actor like Kelly can, and it is awesome. She calls him on his bullshit, but it is very monotone, and if I didn't know her like I do, I'd think she was being sincere. She was not. She is drunk and mad. So mad that she even calls Peter Cetera, who is at this retreat, that he is a "pussy", "because the potatoes aren't that hot". It is a real great performance from an actor that really deserved her chance to shine on this show. She totally knocks it out of the park, and my love for her character only grew after seeing this. It shows that she has a lot more inside of her than just being Chip's chauffeur, and the Basket family helper.

"Baskets" is a great show with a really solid cast. Louie Anderson was a surprise, Galifinakis is always good in what he does, and now Martha Kelly is fast becoming one of my favorite comic actors. She is excellent on this show. I highly recommend people check this show out so you can see great performances like Kelly's on a weekly basis. What a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used to chauffeur the head editor around. They have many incredible stories about it on one of our first podcasts.

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Ty Watches "The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience"

Last night I was finally able to watch the new Lonely Island visual poem “The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience”.

It is a wonder people.

This visual poem was one of the most unique and coolest things I’ve ever seen. It was made as a faux art project, I assume, and the Lonely Island absolutely nailed the absurdity of these visual art pieces. Add on the fact that it is basically a new rap album from them, this was bound to hit me in all the right spots. Then, add on the other news that Andy Samberg played Jose Canseco and Akiva Schaefer played Mark McGwire, I mean, it’s just absolutely perfect in every possible way. All the new songs they did, I’m already a fan, are peak Lonely Island. They’re goofy and hilarious, but the beats are top notch, and these dudes can rap. If they decided to go the Donald Glover route, and take it seriously, they could be this generation’s Beastie Boys. They’re that good. Add on guest appearances from people like Maya Rudolph, Jenny Slate, Hannah Simone, Stephanie Beatriz and Sterling K Brown as Sia, you read that right, take this from great to classic. I was absolutely blown away by this visual poem. It was so perfect in every way. It hit my funny bone perfectly. The Lonely Island are in that territory for me where they can do no wrong. Everything they’ve touched lately has been gold. This was a great follow up to “Pop Star”. I cannot recommend this enough. It’s weird and funny and absurd in all the right ways. I’ve already watched it twice and listened to the album 3 times.

Watch this visual poem, it rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He now challenges The Lonely Island to chronicle the rise and fall of Shawn Kemp. There could be a song called Fat Off Cocaine.

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Internet Idiots Could Not Ruin "Game of Thrones" for Me

Maybe Internet idiots need to discover this device

I, along with millions of other people, watched the series finale for "Game of Thrones" last night.

I liked it. I thought it was a solid way to send the show off. I felt like everything that happened was for good cause. I do not want to spoil anything, so I'm not going to go into too serious of detail. I understand that people don't get to watch everything they want to in real time. I'm sure there are a few people that haven't seen the finale yet, so I don't want to ruin it for them.

I do want to say, I thought Peter Dinklage was tremendous last night. His monologues were perfection. I also, like I said before, thought that everyone ended up pretty much exactly where I thought they should have. Sure, it was slower at the start, but things picked up, and the finale wrapped a nice bow on a show that I binged watched for the last year. It was good, the performances were good and I was entertained by all of "GOT".

What I really want to focus on today are the mean spirited internet bullies who have attacked this final season. Look, I have been there. On this very site, in the early stages, I trashed shows like "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead". I was rude and angry and I let my frustration show. For that, I am a little embarrassed in myself. But, I have tried in the past year to be less cynical about things like movies and TV shows and music. Hell, I have even tried a bit with sports. I understand that all this stuff is here for my entertainment, and I should be thrilled that I have so many options available to me. "Mad Men" was a great show that just lost steam to me. I shouldn't have been that hard on it. As for "The Walking Dead", it just went too far off the rails for me. I know a lot of people still like the show, and the fact that it is still running proves it has solid staying power. The only show, of which I tried to defend at first, that I feel I was right to go after was whatever in the hell Bill Simmons tried to do with "Any Given Tuesday", or whatever in the hell it was called. That was a bad show. I feel no remorse for trashing that. But, I do feel bad for going so hard at the other shows after what I have seen people do to "GOT" now.

Fans have been way, way too hard on this show that has entertained them for nearly a decade. The creators and writers and directors and actors owe us, the viewers, nothing. I know I've mentioned it before, and I am sure I will again, but I always go to the Poochie episode of "The Simpsons" where Comic Book Guy complains that he is "owed" something from the writers. Bart calmly tells him that that show has givens him hours of free entertainment, and if anything, he owes them something. That is exactly how I feel about this season, and for that matter, all seasons, of "GOT". This show has captivating millions upon millions of people. This has to be the most talked about, and I wouldn't be shocked, most watched show of all time. Hell, my wife just had a work party solely based on the show. We had my dad come over every Sunday to watch with us. I have talked to friends and family about it for the past year. It ranks right up there for me with shows like "The Simpsons", "Breaking Bad" and "The Wire". It is that good to me.

So, for the phonies and nerds that hide behind screen names and start dumbass petitions and live in their parents basement, it was never going to live up to their astronomical expectations. I'm sure these deweebs put such a high premium on this show, that no matter what happened, they would have made up something to complain about. And that is just the thing for me. No one can just be happy with a TV show or movie or music anymore. There is always going to be someone who takes it way too seriously and feels they are owed something from people that they will most likely never meet. There is always going to be a group of people that find something to groan about. As I said, I did this just as early as 2 years ago. And now, you have myriads of unqualified people starting a petition to redo the final season. What qualifications do they have? How many TV shows have they worked on before? How much writing have they done? Do they even know the first thing about getting a TV show put on the air? I'd venture to say no to all of these questions.

People need to chill the hell out. We are extremely lucky to have shows that entertain us for years. And to those of you that are saying you are going to cancel your subscription to HBO, or that you were "bored" by this final episode, or that you have "wasted 10 years of your life" on this show, that is just sad to me. "GOT" is a fantasy show about dragons and magic and people coming back from the dead and zombie armies and people who can have visions. It is fake. It is here purely for entertainment, and it entertained the hell out of me. I'm so weary of these bullies that have to hide behind a screen and gripe about one of the best TV shows to ever be on TV.

Anyway, I just needed to touch on that, and say that I really enjoyed this season, and all the previous seasons of "GOT". It was beautiful to look at, well acted, left me speechless at times and kept my interest all the way through. This show was a true achievement. Well done.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty was a big fan of “Game of Thrones” well before he saw an episode, and he has hated internet idiots for a while now.

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

Ty Watches "90 Day Fiance" Season Premier

A show that I’m pretty certain I’ve talked about on the site before came back this past Sunday night, and boy oh boy did they up the ante.

I have said many times that my wife has gotten into the whole reality TV craze, and one of our favorites, “90 Day Fiancé What Now?”, is back. This show is great because it’s so bad. It’s so poorly acted, and yes, these people are trying to be actors. I know it’s “reality” TV, but we all know now that it’s all scripted. “90 Day Fiancé What Now?” is “The Room” of reality TV. It started out as a look inside the K-1 Visa process, but now it’s blossomed into an insane portrait of couples that should not be together.

When the show first came out, it wasn’t as wild as it is now, and this newest season, they got some of the craziest and unstable people that they’ve ever had on the show. They took the worst of the bunch, making it the most gripping, I use that term very, very lightly, and engaging season so far. I mean, the couple that live in Vegas with the man’s mom, they’re nuts, in all the best reality TV ways. Since we last saw them, the wife may get deported, she flushed her wedding ring down the toilet, they got a new cat, the guy is even creepier than before and the mom is even more stressed out. We have the couple where the guy got a Tinder account only days after he was married to his girlfriend, who broke off 2 previous engagements because of infidelity. When these 2 are on screen, it’s so cringeworthy. It’s all fighting, the young guy trying to justify his scumbag decision, and the wife leaving him to walk home on the side of the road. We get the couple with the husband that legit looks like The Penguin, and is subjecting his wife to living in a storage unit, with no stove. Every time they interview her, I swear she wants to scream out, “help!, I’m a prisoner”. She looks so unhappy and uncomfortable. She’s also so bored, she’s taking an ESL class taught by her husband. The most “normal” couple is the one that lives in North Carolina, but we find out very soon that they aren’t together anymore, and then they flash back to 3 months prior. The husband is terrified to move, and the wife wants to become an actress and thinks Chicago is the best place to achieve this goal. She is also 20 and very much acts that way. The husband also gives off a real peaked in high school vibe.

But the best, at least so far, is the couple that lives in Atlanta. They’re a real mess. The wife’s family wants to hire a PI to investigate the husband. The husband started a huge fight with the wife’s family that he won’t own up to. They constantly bicker and fight. They can’t seem to agree on anything. The wife’s family is super duper crazy. The husband seems like he could be running a scam. It makes for great reality TV.

After the episode was over, we got a coming up on thing, and they’re going to bring back some classics for viewers of this ridiculous dumb, but addicting show. I cannot wait. Also, the premiere episode was 2 hours long, followed by a “where are they now” hour long show. That’s great. TLC knows what they have in this show, and they’re capitalizing on its popularity right now.

I literally cannot wait to see the next episode, and the whole season for that matter. I know it’s bad she dumb and pointless and predictable, but damn do I love “90 Day Fiancé What Now”. Check it out if you just want a hilarious escape for a few hours every week. It’s a delight.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is waiting for TLC to do a show about thoughtful people who get married. It can be called 900 Day Fiance.

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

Ty Watches "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson"

I have always really liked the comedy of Tim Robinson. He is absurd and goofy and goes for it all the time. Some times his bits work, sometimes they don't, but he goes for it 100 percent regardless. I love that. I enjoyed him when he was on "SNL", he did a great Gary Busey. I also felt like he didn't get a fair shot on the show. He could have been great. I also really, really loved the show "Detroiters". I was on board with that show from episode one. I feel like that show didn't get a fair shot. Season 2 got so much better, and I felt like that could have been a major cult hit for Comedy Central. But, they bailed too early on it, and that was a mistake. I was hoping that Robinson and Sam Richardson, I'm pretty sure they are very good friends, would get another chance. Well, Richardson still has his role on "Veep", which he crushes, and he is in a ton of movies and TV shows. He works, and works frequently.

With Robinson, I was listening to "Comedy Bang! Bang!" this week, and found out that he has a new show on Netflix. Robinson was the guest of honor, and was there to promote the show, "I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson". After listening to the pod, I immediately went to Netflix to check the show out.

As I said, I love his sense of humor, so I had high expectations. I'm 4 episodes into the first season, which has 6 episodes, and I love love love this show. It is so weird and odd and absurd and goofy and ridiculous and hilarious. I have found myself belly laughing while I watch the show. Some shows make me chuckle, giggle and I can occasionally get a little loud with my laugh. This show makes me howl. I mean, in tears from laughing so hard at what I am seeing. It is a sketch show, but it is like all the odd sketches that get cut from "SNL", which are usually my favorite. I love the stuff Kyle Mooney does for "SNL" now, but it always gets cut. That is what this show is like. Robinson has such an odd sense of humor, but for me, it works.

The show is bizarre. The sketches are absolutely ridiculous, but they work. Robinson is tremendous. Richardson shows up from time to time, and the chemistry is up front and center. People still on "SNL", like Cecily Strong and Vanessa Bayer, especially Bayer, are so good in the sketches they are in. That Bayer sketch is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Fred Willard was in a sketch I saw yesterday, and my god it reminded me of how funny he is. It's a great performance. Conner O'Malley, who was tremendous on "Detroiters", is just as good, if not better on "ITYSL". The whole "honk if you're horny" bumper sticker sketch is amazing. Also, each episode is abut 16, 17 minutes long. It is the perfect amount of time for a sketch show like this. They jump from sketch to sketch with ease, and I laugh even harder at the next one. I love it. I am a big, big fan of this show. I also like that it is on Netflix because they will not really mess with Robinson and his crew. It really seems like he has carte blanche to do the show he wants to do.

I hope this show gets multiple seasons. It seems like it will, it has gotten a great social media response, and I will be there to watch every episode. Check this show out if you like absurdist humor. It is hilarious, short and executed to perfection. It is really, really good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is in the weird inbetween of television fandom. He does not watch crap like “The Big Bang Theory”, yet he will not start petition drives to bring back his favorite shows. That is Ty’s tv fandom.

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

Timothy Simons is the Star in the Final Season of "Veep"

For the past 6 plus seasons of the show "Veep", currently airing its 7th and final season, I have been amazed at how funny and overall great the show is. It's dark and satirical and filthy and hilarious in all the right ways. My wife and I started late on the show, binge watching the first four seasons, and now watching in real time, and it has to be one of the best comedies to ever be on TV.

The performances on “Veep” are second to none. Julia Louis Dreyfuss is so wonderful, and so very deserving of all the awards she has won. She is gritty and angry and, probably, the filthiest one on the show. Her accolades are more than deserved. Matt Walsh, in a smaller role, is goofy and dumb and a total fish out of water, which I feel like is perfect for him. Tony Hale is tremendous as Selina's aid. He is a total whipping boy, who is the boorish son that Meyer never had. Sam Richardson was a great addition. I crack up every time he is on screen. Gary Cole is always consistent, and on "Veep", he adds so much greatness. Anna Chlumsky is as dirty as anyone, and her character Amy is at times insane, but other times, you feel for her. She really crushes this role. And even some of the people that are just side characters, actors like Patton Oswalt and Diedrach Bader and Andrea Savage, among others, are wonderful. But today I want to focus on the great, and I feel underrated at times, Timothy Simons.

Simons is a gem on the show. He plays Jonah Ryan, and each and every season, just when you don't think he can get any worse, or become more of a joke, he ups the ante. He started out as basically an intern on the show, and now, in the final season, he is running for president. I mean, it's insanely funny to see him mess up at every single turn, yet failing upward. It's funny, but also a little bit scary considering the day and age we live in now. Ryan has connections in the government, and that is the only way he has moved all the way up to a presidential candidate. And man, does Simons nail this. I find myself cracking up at him every time he is on screen. He is never not funny. Every word that comes out of his mouth is wrong and rude and crude and ignorant, and I find myself laughing, and then looking internally at America right now. Jonah Ryan would fit in perfectly in current Washington D.C.

But, "Veep" isn't making him look like a real politician, I feel like, in this final season, the writers and directors and Simons are trying to show the viewers how insane politics and D.C. truly are. The last episode of "Veep" was a great representation of Simons talent to play an ignorant moron. He uses words that no one nowadays should use, and he has to go to sensitivity training, where he is so much of an asshole he makes one of the workers there cuss him out. He also has a scene at a fair where he is, sorry mom and dad, deep throating corn dogs as a joke. He is married to his step sister, and constantly gets into fights with his step dad at rallies. There was a whole scene in the season premiere where women came out and said that they never dated him, and that anytime they went out with him, it was strictly business. He is such a creep that women don't want to be associated with him. His response to this was epic and hilarious.

Timothy Simons, at least so far, has been the star of this season. I am so excited to see what they do with his character and the people that he surrounds himself with. I know it is going to be great because this show is so great, and Simons is perfectly cast. But what makes his performance so much better is the fact that he is as liberal as myself or RD. He knows he is playing a ridiculous person, and totally runs with it. He is awesome, "Veep" is awesome and lets all hope that Jonah Ryan gets the crummy sendoff that he deserves. I really hope Simons gets recognized for some kind of awards come that season because he has totally earned it. He is one the best on a show filled with awesome actors and wild characters.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was thinking of running for President in 2020. Then Ty realized that he would be like President Not Sure, the smartest man in Washington.

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Ty Watches "Game of Thrones" Final Season Premier

Awhile back I wrote about catching up with "Game of Thrones" because I felt out of the loop, as far as social media stuff went. I didn't get a lot of the jokes. I didn't understand GIF's or meme's or jokes on shows I adored that were based on "GOT". My wife kept telling me to watch, but I kept putting it off. I tried once, early on with the show, but I couldn't get into it. But, after seeing how the last season that was on ended, I then decided that I was going to power through and watch it all.

Luckily for me, I was hooked from the jump. I don't know if it was time away or having my wife explain it to me, or the fact that I just wanted to be in the loop, I was on from episode one. I watched all 7 seasons in less than a month, which is pretty quick for me. After that, I was one of the million, maybe billions of people, that were left waiting for the new episodes, the final 6. I started to feel like everyone else. I was giving my own theories, guessing what was going to happen, siding with people I never thought I'd side with. It was crazy.

Well, last night the long anticipated wait was over. The first of the last episodes premiered, and it did not disappoint.

I'm not going to spoil anything, although, I feel like if you watch the show, you aren't going to watch to binge the final episodes, I'm sure you are going to watch in real time. Anyway, the season 8 premiere, in my opinion, was a great way to open the final season. Yes, there wasn't too many action scenes, although we did get the boat scene, but that is okay. I felt that this episode was more so to remind everyone of the big war that is coming, and reunions. The reunions in this episode were just awesome. I was so excited for the main characters who got to see one another again. The fact that Aarya got to see Jon Snow, Gendry and The Hound was perfect. Her interaction with each of them was so fitting for their respective pasts. I absolutely loved the 5 seconds her and The Hound had together. It was great. Jon Snow got the most scenes with people he hadn't been with in awhile. I already mentioned Aarya, but he also got to see Bran and Samwell. This was awesome, especially when he met up with Samwell. This was a very important scene, and totally sets the stage for the rest of the season, and it was great. To hear the news that was spilled, and to see the reactions, it was excellent. But the biggest "reunion", I don't even want to really call it that, lets go with "sighting", happened at the very end. This isn't a spoiler because it happened in season one, but at the very end, Jaime Lannister arrives in Winterfell, and he locks eyes with Bran. I mean, this has been years I the making. I was stunned, and I knew it was coming. It was such a baller move to end the first episode on that image. It has me very pumped for the rest of the episodes.

Outside of all that, I thought this was a very strong way to start the final season. I don't know why I was worried, this show has always delivered. I'm pumped for the rest, but I will be bummed when it is over. But, I have 5 more weeks, and I bet they are going to start getting very, very action heavy. "GOT" is back, and I'm fully back on board already. What a great, great show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also liked the scene where Jack, Hurley, and Kate got to meet up with Sawyer and Juliet in the past. Wait, that was a different show with a cast of many. 

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Ty Watches "What We Do In the Shadows" Series Premier

Two weeks ago a show that I have been waiting on for almost a year now finally premiered. "What We Do in the Shadows" aired its pilot episode, and I have to say, it was tremendous.

I was a teeny tiny bit worried, because I adore the movie so very much. But, they knocked it out of the park. I shouldn't have been so wary because both Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi were both attached, and gave their blessing. And man did it deliver. The pilot was pretty much like the first 10-15 minutes of the movie, with some added for TV type stuff. And it was so, so funny.

Right off the bat we meet the four main characters as they gather for a house meeting. The main vampire, the one who holds the meetings, is named Nandor, played by Kayvan Novak. He is so good as the typical fish out of water, that just wants things to run smoothly. He wants to have house meetings. He wants things to look nice for guests. He wants to make sure that the house is cleaned up after they have their feedings. He wants everyone to get along. One of my favorite scenes in the pilot revolved around him going to the store to get decorations for a big visitor, and he keeps calling crepe paper, "creepy" paper. It was hilarious. He also lights a paper skeleton on fire with a snap of the finger because he finds it classless.

We then meet the married vampires, Nadja, played by Natasia Demetriou, and Laszlo, played by Matt Berry. Nadja is a riot. She clearly doesn't like Laszlo, but due to circumstance and situation, it is best for her. She also creepily stalks a guy that she thinks is a reincarnation of a former lover of hers. The way she laughs is also very awkward, but also very funny. Matt Berry is a treasure. I am a big time fan of his, and to see him, finally, on a main stream, network-ish type show is well overdue. He is funny. He is dry and he rules. He also is pretty unhappy with his arrangement, but he accepts it. He loves to go hunt for food at night. He doesn't care for the house meetings, and voices his opinions loudly. And he sure loves to turn into a bat because he can fly instead of walk, which he doesn't care for either. I'm so excited to see where they take his character from here.

We also meet Nandor's familiar, a human that works for the vampire, Guillermo, played by Harvey Guillen. He is so sad and lonely, but Guillen plays it hilariously. To see him talk about why he wants to become vampire, due to a role by Antonio Banderas, was great. To see him clean the house, riotous. And to see him get "food" for his leaders, just tremendous. He is so funny. He clearly just wants to be turned into a vampire, but it seems like it will never come.

We also meet an energy vampire, and this was, in my opinion, the funniest part of the whole pilot. The energy vampire is named Colin, played by Mark Proksch. He is hilarious. To see him explain why he is a vampire made me howl. He talks about being the guy in the office that either talks about nonsensical things until the person is so bored they fall asleep, or to enrage people. To enrage people in the office, they show him jam a pencil into an electronic pencil sharpener over and over again. It was great. The other vampires also despise him. When they have people over to feed one night, they hide him away. But, he ends up talking to the victims, and he has bored them so much that their blood has no nutritional value. Again, it was so funny.

I'm so excited the show is finally on, and that it lived up to my personal hype. I cannot wait to watch the rest of the season, and to see it get renewed, hopefully, for many, many seasons. It is a treat.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to annoy people in his office with demands like eating vegetables and taking naps. It is a good thing his office is his house and the other tenants are his kids. Otherwise it would just be creepy.

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

TLC has Gone too Far with "Dr. Pimple Popper"

No, no, no

My wife and I watch a good amount of reality shows together. I never used to watch many, save for "The Real World", prior to meeting her. She has turned me onto these shows. They are trashy and goofy and ridiculous and I simply cannot find myself looking away. Hell, I even go as so far to pass judgement on the people that are on the shows. I have many opinions on other MTV reality shows like "Teen Mom" and "Teen Mom 2". I have let it be known how I feel about "16 and Pregnant". I enjoy a good cooking competition show. I also like stuff like "Trading Spaces". I truly think it is a very unique show.

Recently my wife has really gotten me into the plethora of reality shows that TLC has to offer. Now, TLC used to be good for teaching a lesson, or teaching me something new that I never knew before. But, much like MTV, TLC has totally changed their lineup. They are now focused on stuff like people getting married to people they met overseas on a show like "90 Day Fiance". I, no bull shit, enjoy the hell out of that show. It is insane and hilarious and wacky. The people are wild. The stuff they say is absurd, and I love every minute. I also enjoy all the off shoots they now have of "90 Day Fiance". Stuff like "Before the 90 Days", and "Happily Every After?" are just as much fun. I also find myself fascinated by shows like "Seeking Sister Wife". That show has me totally flabbergasted the whole hour, and I have so, so many questions when it is all over. I feel like that is their goal, and they nail it. Also, after reading books about the LDS church, and seeing a play like "Book of Mormon", I find that whole "religion" hilarious. So, to see these wackos talk about being in a plural marriage as "God's plan" makes me crack up every time.

Lately TLC is really staring to push the limit for what I can see before I get physically ill. One day I saw my wife watching a show on TLC called "Sex Sent me to the ER". While I thought it would be a laugh riot, it was more terrifying than I could have imagined. People getting stuff stuck in other stuff, or being attacked, or passing out or any manner of craziness that could happen, happened, and it was so scary.

Then, one night while eating dinner, I had to ask my wife to turn off a show on TLC called "My 600 Pound Life". This show is about people that weigh close to, or over 600 pounds, all due to their food cravings. I like food as much as the next person, but the way they showed these people get this heavy was upsetting. To see all the food they ate was outrageous. And to see them eat it all, that made me sick. I could not eat my dinner when she watched it. I told her that I thought I was going to get sick. She thought I was joking. I was not. This show made me ill. It was just so upsetting and gross, I couldn't handle it. I still cringe when she turns it on during the weekend.

But the other night I think she finally found the GROSSEST thing on basic cable. She had Monday off of work, and she couldn't fall asleep on Sunday night. So, she turned on TLC and a show called "Dr Pimple Popper" was on. Now, I had seen this lady on "Tosh.0" when I still watched that, and her little segment on that made me sick. But, what I saw, for maybe 5 minutes, made me really, really think I was going to throw up all the food I had eaten that day. This doctor has a gift of removing pus filled pockets that people have on their bodies. But, the way they show it getting done on the show is nuts. The poor people on this show too, I felt so bad for them. They have lived with these random pimples and pocks and just, again, pus filled sacks, usually on their faces. I saw Dr Pimple Popper pop some stuff on a lady, she had a bunch of bumps on her eyes, and it made me sick. I mean, just typing it is making me sick. So, after I saw that I told my wife I couldn't watch anymore. I rolled over in bed and just listened. And then the worst thing I could have imagined happened. Apparently a guy had a big boil on his forehead, and when Dr Pimple Popper popped it, she said, and I quote, "it looks like mashed potatoes that had too much water added to them". Oof magoof. That is DISGUSTING. Even my wife, who legit enjoys that stuff, said it was one of the most disgusting things she had ever seen. I feel like I have a pretty high tolerance for gross stuff. I have no problem with gore and horror stuff. I don't mind it. But "Dr. Pimple Popper" is a whole other level of nastiness. I honestly do not know who this show is for. I don't know who sits around and waits to watch this on Sunday nights. It is the grossest thing I have ever seen on TV, and I hope to never watch it again. I have no problem with what this doctor does, in fact, I applaud her for helping people. But, I do not ever want to see it on my television ever again. It is crazy.

I do not recommend “Dr Pimple Popper”, unless you want to be completely grossed out. It is nasty.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is all about learning about not knowing your pregnant, tiny houses, and any other of life’s important problems. Weird bodily fluids, that is not what Ty wants to learn about.

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

"My Furry Valentine" is an Instant Holiday Classic

I just finished watching the “Big Mouth” special “My Furry Valentine”, and just like the show itself, this was a perfect representation of this holiday at that time of life. The writers portrayed Valentines Day when you’re a pre teen or newly teenager so well.

This show, as I’ve said many times, is the best show about puberty. So, I expected nothing less, and of course, they nailed it. Valentines Day is rough stuff when you’re in middle school. All the hormones and new feelings and puberty and just overall awfulness that is that time of life is doubled on Valentines Day. “My Furry Valentine” showed it perfectly.

In the holiday special, we have Jay who just gets overwhelmed because his pillows, which are his lovers, want too much out of him. He’s worn out. Jesse is frustrated because her parents split, and she has no one and is just angry at her mom all the day. She pairs up with Matthew, who is, as he says in the episode, “the only out kid in middle school”, because he’s alone too. Their friendship and song in the episode is great. The stuff with Nick and his hormone monstress and his feelings are perfect. He’s the nice kid who is just now starting to go through the rough stuff. Connie, the Hormone Monstress, keeps pushing him, telling him he’s in love with his mom, and he pushes back. He’s upset and going through puberty a totally different way than all his friends. But the story I enjoyed most was between Andrew and Missy. Andrew found out last season that Missy likes him. He’s trying to play it cool, but he can’t. It’s not in his nature. Missy, on the other hand, is the level headed one on the show, and the way Andrew treats her in this episode makes her start to dislike him. He’s mean and yells at her, and when she told him she didn’t like him anymore, I said, out loud, “Hell Yeah”. Then go see Andrew freak out, it was hilarious. Even the side characters had some crazy stuff go on, but again, it made me think about how I acted, or wanted to act when I was that age. I also really enjoyed the one on one interview stuff they did, making it almost documentary style.

“My Furry Valentine” was funny, real and heartfelt. Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg have something really special with this show. I know this special came out about a week ago, but I’m glad I waited until it was actually Valentines Day to watch it. It’s great and I recommend checking it out. “Big Mouth” rules and “My Furry Valentine” is just another feather, of many, in their hat.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking for his own special valentine this year. Could it be you?

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Ty Watches "Miracle Workers"

The new show "Miracle Workers" on TBS premiered last night. I just finished watching it, and I have to say, it ruled.

For those that don't know, the show is about God and the angels that work for him. That is the simple premise of the show at least. According to the "coming this season" at the end of the episode, there are going to be plenty more story lines. That aside, as I said, the premiere was excellent. It was magical. It was funny and absurd and goofy in all the right ways.

God is played by Steve Buscemi, and this has the potential to be one of his best. He is disillusioned. The world is going to hell around him, and he just seems fed up. He is over it. At points in the premiere you see him chugging beers, calling his lazy Susan the best thing that he has ever owned, he's watching TV just waiting to hear someone call him out and thank him. He is over it all. He wears sweats and sleeps pretty much all day long. His assistant, Sanjay(Karan Soni), clearly loves his job, but you can see the cracks starting to form. He is there to do whatever is asked of him, but the ideas coming from God now seem insignificant and, quite frankly, stupid. At one point, when God is pitching him a restaurant idea, you can see him and his anger starting to boil over. That being said, he is still by God's side when he decides that he is going to blow up Earth. I have a good feeling his story is only going to grow and grow throughout the season.

We also meet a few angels during the episode. Angela Kinsey plays what seems to be a human resource manager, and she is great. She is callous, but also caring. The main 2 angels we meet in the episode are Eliza(Geraldine Viswanathan) and Craig(Daniel Radcliffe). Eliza is an opened minded, go getting type of person. She wants to change the world, and asks for a new job. She wants to be moved from the dirt department, where she literally just messes with dirt, and Kinsey decides that she should be sent to the Prayers Answered department. She is pumped by this news. She now really feels that she can, and will, make a difference. When she finally gets to her new department, she finds that it isn't all it seems, and she only has one other co worker, Craig. Craig is good at his job, and likes what he does. He only answers small prayers, like helping people find lost keys and gloves because that is fulfilling to him. He has been doing this job for centuries, and he has gotten good at it. But, he is also in a rut, not going after big prayers, just the small ones. He just doesn't realize the rut. He has no friends, he has never had a cheeseburger, he doesn't know what a happy hour is and he barely goes outside. He and Eliza form a fast friendship, and when they make a bet with God that they can answer an impossible prayer, you can see that they genuinely enjoy one another's company. I love when shows take this route with religion. I myself am not a religious person, so when someone makes jokes about the afterlife, and really embellishes it, I am on board.

As I said before, Buscemi is so perfectly cast for this role. He is tremendous. But so are Soni, Viswananthan and Radcliffe. They really add a great deal of comedy to the show. I found myself laughing out loud watching the episode. I am so excited to see where it goes from here. Simon Rich, who also wrote for "SNL", "Inside Out" and the very, very underrated "Man Seeking Woman" has what seems to be, at least in my opinion, a great show with loads and loads of potential.

I cannot recommend "Miracle Workers" enough. It is awesome, and I assume it will continue to be.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He, like his idol Homer Simpson, practices his own kind of religion. Just the other day he took the day off for the Feast of Maximum Occupancy.

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Ty Watches "Fyre" and "Fyre Fraud"

Pretty much this

In the past week I have seen both of the Fyre Festival documentaries, “Fyre” on Netflix and “Fyre Fraud” on Hulu, and boy do I have some thoughts. 

Right off the bat, screw everyone that was involved with this monstrosity save for the people that actually live in the Bahamas. The Bahamian's are the only people that I felt anything for. They got screwed over by spoiled rotten rich white kids that are thieves. They also got screwed over by Ja Rule too. Man is he a real piece of shit.

Ja Rule’s actions pale in comparison to the monster that is Billy McFarland. This dude is such a compulsive liar. This dude screwed so many of his employees out of money. He simply did not care about anyone but himself. All he wanted to do was go to an island and party. He figured everyone else around him would solve all of his problems. And when they didn't, he just continued to dig himself a deeper and deeper hole. He was way, way in over his head. And his way to "solve" these problems was to launder money, commit fraud and lie to all the people that worked for him. He is a true piece of human garbage. He deserves all the jail time he is currently serving. He deserves to have all of his possessions taken away from him. No one should ever work with him again. I'm pretty sure no one will. He is a horrible example of too much too soon. He is also a horrible example of growing up with a silver spoon. I feel exactly zero sympathy for him, his girlfriend, his parents and his so called friends. They helped create this monster, and the fact that they still are trying to clear his name is absolutely appalling to me. I genuinely hate this guy.

As I said at the top, everyone else is culpable. Everyone else is guilty. They could have hurt or killed someone, but all they cared about was their dumbass festival. The guys who run the company "Fuck Jerry" can go to hell. Those assholes are creeps and thieves and your prototypical frat boys that deserve a solid punch in the face. The guy that was going to perform a sex act to get water, he is as much to blame for Billy McFarland. I know he is supposed to be one of the "heroes" of the doc, one of the guys we should be rooting for. I do not root for him. Yes, the way he was treated was terrible, but he was willing to do stuff he didn't want to do so he could help out McFarland. That is rough stuff.

All the dip shits that worked at Fyre that thought all this nonsense was going to fixed are to blame. They may have tried to call him out, but none of them walked away. They stuck around even when they said they knew it was going to be a disaster. For example, we have the yoga guy. He comes off in the Netflix doc as someone that was hurt by this. He wasn't. He still went to the Bahamas and he still was willing to do what Billy told him to do. Grant, the guy that kind of ran everything is awful. He is a demanding little nerd that let the power go to his head. He thought he was a boss, and he thought he could get away with his bull shit. He can' t and won't. He will probably do some jail time, and he deserves it. For Ja Rule to come out and claim he had nothing to do with this after the fact is ridiculous. He was just as involved. He wanted this to happen. He was on board until it all blew up in his face. He is the epitome of a washed up former star.

And then we have the people that went to this festival. I'm sorry, but why should I feel anything for these spoiled rotten little brats that spent thousands and thousands of their parents money to go see Major Lazer and Blink 182? I don't feel a god damn thing for them except anger. They are little brats that didn't get exactly what they wanted, and they complained and complained. As Ron Funchess put it, "if you have thousands of dollars to spend to see Blink 182, and you end up in a Fyre situation, that is Darwinism at its best". Their attitude, and looting mentality once they got to the island was absurd. They are the worst of the worst. These kids and these "influencers" are awful people that only care about money and how many likes they get on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It is disgusting.

Both these movies painted a great picture of how poorly managed this whole thing was. They showed that, just because you have money, it doesn't get you out of real trouble. I'm upset that the Netflix one was produced by the "Fuck Jerry" guys because it made them look not so bad. They are bad guys. The Hulu one is better, and more damning of that shithead McFarland. They actually got him to do a one on one interview, and to see his punk ass squirm is just magical. Both docs are good, but Hulu's is much more eye opening.

I'm glad that the main culprits of all of this horribleness are getting what they deserve. This thing was going to be bad from the jump, and to see it all blow up in their face made me very happy. I know that may sound childish, or seem like the worst kind of schadenfreude, but I don't care. The Fyre people didn't care about anyone but themselves, and to see them get their comeuppance is grand. I recommend both docs, but I prefer the Hulu one. Either way, Billy McFarland sucks, Ja Rule is an ass and everyone else is to blame.

The people of the Bahamas did not deserve to have this happen to them.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was thinking if people paid this kind of money to see Blink 182, what could Ty get if he put a festival together with Prodigy and Smashmouth. Are you in?

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Ty Watches "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike"

Last week I finished one of the best shows that I have watched on Netflix. It only took me 2 days, which is very fast for me, but I finished all of "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike". It has been well established how much I like Killer Mike on the site and podcast. I love his music, his politics, and now, I love his new TV show. The show has a great premise, and with Killer Mike at the helm, it is pure perfection.

For those that may not know, the show is essentially about 6 problems that Killer Mike wants to fix. He takes this job very seriously too, but there is definite humor in the show. In episode one he talks about how to "live black. That is the title of the episode. Throughout the 25 minutes he tells the viewer that he will only buy from all black owned stores, restaurants, companies, doesn't matter, as long as it is black owned. He talks about how this used to be fairly easy, but it has become very hard as of late. He portrays this perfectly. I felt real bad for him at times because of how hard this exercise was. He found a lot of new problems and it was interesting to see him get through the three days.

In episode 2, entitled, "F*&k School", he talks about how public education is failing kids. He wants these kids to learn a vocation. He even goes to a first grade classroom, tells the kids that their dreams will most likely not come true, and brings in a buddy to show them how to fix household items. He soon realizes that he needs to go to older people, and see how smart they are. They are not very smart. But, he enlists his buddy from before and a "cam girl". He talks to them about making pornographic self help videos. They all get on board and do this. And you know what, it works. It was so hilarious, yet very eye opening. People nowadays are so attached to screens, and pornography is a big time industry. So Killer Mike uses this, and it is successful. It was great.

In episode three, "White Gang Privilege", he talks about how unfair it is that the Hell's Angels get a free pass, but the Crips and Bloods are looked upon as killers and criminals. He shows us that you can even buy Hell's Angel's stuff online. He enlists some Crips, and they start a soda company. He also gets the Bloods involved, who start another soda company. But he shows us that they can coexist, bringing them to a farmers market to sell their sodas. Nothing bad happens, and they even have some success. It was, my favorite word this blog, eye opening. To see how people changed their perception of the soda once they realized it came from Crips was wild. We also meet Mario in this episode. He is a key player in the series from here on out.

In episode 4, "New Jesus", we meet Sleep, Killer Mike's buddy. Mike decides that he is going to start a religion, the Church of Sleep, based on this dude's life. He is cool, calm and collected. He likes strip clubs, weed and sleep. And you know what, he gets a congregation. It is a wonderful episode. It might be one of my favorites.

Episode 5, "Outside the Box" was CRAZY. Mike decides he is going to use music to get to everyone. He uses it himself to get his word out, so he decides he is going to make a "super group" to open a RTJ show. This "super group" is filled with all different kinds of people. There is the previously mentioned Mario representing Latinas and gays, we have another albino that is a black lives matter leader, a Jewish lady that is into renaissance fairs, a horrific white nationalist, an African American that is a Jesus freak, and so on and so forth. It is wild. They fight and bicker the whole time. They wrote their own verses to a song, and they are rough. And to see them open for RTJ, and to get the fans point of view, it was something else.

The final episode of the first season, I hope he does more of this, is called "Kill Your Masters". Killer Mike kind of takes pieces from each episode he has done before and starts a new country, "New Africa". He is the leader and buys the land and sets everything up, but again, we have people bickering everywhere. They even have an election, one Mike doesn't win, or did he set it up that way? This was such a great way to close out the first season. It was a perfect summation of, what I hope is the first season of many. I hope he makes more of this. I love this show. It was tremendous, and Killer Mike is the voice I follow most in the music industry.

So, as Killer Mike says, I will go out and purchase something from a black owned company. If Crip A Cola comes to Saint Louis, you better believe I will buy it. One day maybe my son will watch one of the videos he made to learn a trade. And I would love to visit New Africa one day. My hat goes off to Killer Mike and everyone involved with "Trigger Warning". It is one of the best shows of the year so far. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once tried to start his own religion that centered around Skittles, Michigan Football, and Gatorade. Want to join?

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

Ty Watches "The Other Two" Series Premier

Last Thursday another show I was looking forward to in 2019, "The Other Two". had its series premiere. I was pretty excited about the show when I heard that Drew Tarver was cast as one of the leads. I'm a fan of his, especially whenever he is on "Comedy Bang! Bang!". He is a funny improviser, and I just enjoy him. When I found out that Chris Kelley and Sarah Schneider, former "SNL" head writers, were the creators, I was even more excited. I then saw some of the little previews and snippets that Comedy Central was releasing, and they all made me laugh. This just furthered my excitement. So, after I recorded the premiere, I watched it the next day.

It did not disappoint.

For those that may not know, "The Other Two" is about a family of three, who's father has passed away, and the youngest brother becomes ultra famous over night. He is a pop singer, and his song, "I Want to Marry You at Recess", becomes an enormous viral hit. He has 2 older siblings, one played by Tarver, the other played by Helene Yorke. They are not so successful. Tarver is a waiter and wannabe actor. The first scene with him, where he is at an audition for a commercial as "guy who smells fart", is wonderful. Yorke is, I think, a realtor, and when we first see her, she is squatting in an apartment building and eating day old pizza and splashing her armpits with soap and water. These 2 introductions are great. What makes them even better is the fact that their young brother is on "The Today Show", with their mom, the excellent Molly Shannon, and he is just being fawned over by everyone. They love him so much we even hear Hoda Kotb say that they had to bump Jennifer Lawrence because they went so long with Chase. That is the young kid's name, Chase Dreams he calls himself.

What made the premiere so good was how they kept showing the other 2 siblings lives, all the while they were watching their brother on TV. Tarver is a little jealous and is taken aback by how quickly his little brother is becoming famous. Yorke is a bit more angry, but she is constantly listening to her brother's song, and keeps saying that this year, she is "going to chase dreams". The episode was funny, but also very sweet.

Some of the best scenes in the premier include Tarver's boss at the restaurant telling him and the other gay waiter about all the gay movies he has been watching with his wife lately, namely "Brokeback Mountain", which he mentions twice. The stuff between Tarver an his "straight" roommate is going to make for some compelling stuff. I already mentioned the audition, but Tarver also has a job as an actor for a tour bus, where he dances. It was great. Yorke, in her mission to "chase dreams", says that her big plan is to "see 50 dicks" this year. She also is fervently working out while listening to her little brother's song and talking to her co worker about all her plans. She also talks about how she just broke up with her long time boyfriend because he still dabs and says, "damn Daniel". It was great. 

The sweetness comes from Shannon and the little brother. Chase isn't really ready for this life. He can't believe he is famous, and he just wants to hang out with his brother and sister. He also talks about how much he misses their dad. Shannon clearly loves all her kids the same. She doesn't care that Chase is famous, and the other 2 are struggling, she just wants them all to be happy. She is doing every thing she can to make sure her kids are happy, and okay. She seems to be a great mom, and not a "momager". The final scene in the premiere, where Chase sleeps in the hotel bed with his siblings because he doesn't feel well was so heartfelt. I loved it.

“The Other Two” has serious potential. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. I also appreciate that they didn't make Tarver and Yorke out to be villain like. They love their little brother, they just can't believe how fast he has become famous, as I imagine happens in a lot of families where one of the children gain sudden fame. They just want what is best for their brother. I'm glad this show got the greenlight and I'm happy to watch it. I suggest you all check it out too. It is great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is the youngest of four siblings, and understands how hard it is for his older brothers to have to deal with their little brother’s fame. Suck it up guys. You can crash on Ty’s coach if need be.

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