The NFL Has a White Coach Problem

While recording a pod this afternoon the news of David Culley being fired by the Houston Texans came across my phone. I was kind of, not stunned, but wary of the news.

The Texans are not a good football team, but Culley had them playing tough at the end of the season. They also came out in week one and proved that the Jags were going to be far worse than they were, which made my preseason preview marking the Texans as the worst team far off. They also had to throw Davis Mills out there at QB because of all the off field issues with Deshaun Watson. They also let most of their best players leave a season earlier and they were left with unproven rookies and vets looking to continue their careers. I do not know who their running back is. I only know Nico Collins because he played at Michigan. I cannot name one player off the top of my head on their defense. And Culley still found a way to have this team go out and compete. They did not get crushed by anyone, they played admirably and, even though they only won four games, that could have easily turned into six or seven games.

This was a bad move by a bad franchise. What makes this move worse, Mike Tomlin is now the only black coach in the NFL. Now that Culley, and equally as unfair, and Brian Flores have been let go, Tomlin is it. He is the only one left. That is ridiculous. The fact this league does not seem to care about hiring black men in positions of power is downright sickening. Every year we go through coaching hires and fires, and every year it seems that coaches of color are never given a second look. Looking at all the chatter right now, the only black coaches I see mentioned for jobs are Flores, Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles. Every other big name is a white guy. From Jim Harbaugh to Lane Kiffin to Brian Daboll to Kellen Moore, it is a sea of white men. And I am not saying they are not qualified, but why are they deemed more qualified than black coaches who work just as hard and do a great job at their current jobs? Byron Leftwich has proven himself to be an excellent offensive coordinator. Tom Brady is a million years old, but the game plan put together by Leftwich has let Brady continue to be elite. Todd Bowles is one of the best defensive minds in the game. Prior to him being hired in Tampa, their defense was a dumpster fire. He was the coordinator for one of the more dominant defenses I have ever seen in a Super Bowl last season. He also has experience as an NFL head coach. Eric Bienemy continually gets passed up for head coaching gigs yet he has run one of the best offenses in football for three straight seasons. The fact that he isn't a head coach in the NFL is criminal. Brian Flores should have never, ever been fired by Miami. He had that team on the come up, he had two straight winning seasons and he has proven he is the only Belichek disciple that can beat him regularly. Yet these guys either never get a shot, or they get just one shot and they are let go at the drop of a hat.

Look, part of me doesn't want to lose Harbaugh because I do believe he has Michigan going in the right direction. But also, why would the Bears or Raiders choose him over a younger, more liked coach like Byron Leftwich? Harbaugh showed he could win in the NFL, but he also showed that his abrasive style is not for everyone. Or take a guy like Brian Daboll. Why is he the bell of the ball all of the sudden? His offense in Buffalo is not even close to the level that it has been in Tampa. Hell, the Texans offense under Culley looked better at times this season. Kellen Moore is young and innovative, but I go to Leftwich again, and he has a Super Bowl ring to his name. As does Bienemy. It is so shocking how the NFL and Roger Goodell just skirt the Rooney Rule. They do nothing real to enforce it. The interviews are all a sham. It is purely for show.

I have grown extremely weary of the NFL over the past three or four years. It doesn't have the same amount of fun or pageantry as college football, a sport that is also ripe with problems. But now, with black coaches being fired, or not getting real interviews, it just further hammers home how truly racist the league and their front offices are. They are a mockery of a diverse workplace, and Goodell is too spineless to do anything about it. The NFL is gross. And now they are showing their true racism. Something needs to change, I just do not know who will have the guts to enforce it in the NFL. What a crock.

Ty

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

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Ty Gets COVID

cdc.org

I had mentioned in my previous two blogs that I was in quarantine. That's right, your boy had the rona or the vid or COVID or whatever the people are calling it these days. I just called it COVID.

I am lucky enough to be vaccinated and boosted. That means my symptoms were very mild. I never lost the sense of taste or smell. I never had a fever. I was never overly tired. I never had a cough. I did have a very runny nose. It felt like a waterfall at times. It was definitely the stuffiness I have been in some time. For three days it was like a facet. But I woke up yesterday and felt fine. I finished my quarantine this afternoon and made my way back up to the living room of my home. I cleaned up where I was living for the past five days, cleaned myself up and gave my wife and kids some big time hugs. I really, truly missed them most of all.

That is what I want to talk about today. As stated, my bought with what I assume was omicron was extremely mild. A runny nose, as previously stated, was all that really happened. It felt like a bad cold. But, again, that is because I have been doing what scientists and doctors have said to do, and I got my shots, and will get any other shots they deem necessary. I have never stopped wearing a mask in public settings and I sure as hell won't stop now. What was hardest for me was the quarantine. I love to be around my family. I see my dad at least once a week for coffee, that had to be pushed. I spend pretty much all of my free time with my kids doing activities or coaching them in random sports. That was all pushed. I love to snuggle in bed with my wife, I love giving her a morning and good night kiss and I love our afternoon coffee dates and lunches when she works from home. That was all pushed as well. I am also not good when on my own for a long period of time. I can survive. I am a capable adult who can take care of himself. But the loneliness gets to you. I would eat all my meals by myself. If I needed to come upstairs to get clothes or some Nuun to drink, I would have to announce my presence, put on a mask and tell my kids I could not hug them. That made me cry the first few nights in the basement alone. The kids get it at least. They are both in school full time, so they know of people that have tested positive or had to quarantine due to being a close contact. But that doesn't make it hurt any less. I also felt really bad for my wife. She already works a full time job, and then some. So add on the fact that I could not do what my job is, being the home and caretaker, and she had a very rough five days. The kids glomb onto her when I'm not sick. So add on the fact that I couldn't do anything and the glombing, it was taking it from a 10 to an 11 or 12 for her. I can tell she is exhausted. She also had to do all the cooking and cleaning. I felt like a real waste of space. I know I have been overcompensating since I came upstairs today, but I feel like I need to make up for lost time. I also did not like playing video games or running in place or riding on the recumbent bike or just watching movies all day. Again, it made me feel like I was wasting time. I am not a video game guy, so that died out pretty quick. Running in place is maybe the most boring thing in the world as far as exercise goes. And then there is the recumbent bike. That may be as boring as running in place. And there are only so many movies I can watch or tv shows I can watch before I just get bored.

I'd say the only good thing that came out of quarantine, besides my family not getting COVID, was that I re-found my love for reading. I read one and a half full books in the past five plus days, which is a lot for me. But the loneliness was brutal. I do not like to just sit there, especially at night time, with no one to talk to about my day. I was able to facetime and text people, but that is not enough for me personally. I like to see people. I love to hug my family and talk to them face to face. I was not very happy while in quarantine. I know it was the right thing to do, but that does not mean that I have to say it was great.

I have mentioned a few times how I am going into this year being hopeful. That has not gone away. That is still my resolution. But with Michigan getting beat in their bowl game, then all this Jim Harbaugh news, then some of my family members getting COVID, and then myself getting COVID, it has been a rough start to 2022. I'm not giving up on my hopeful resolution, but these first almost two weeks have been a rough start. Hopefully better days are ahead. And please continue to wear your mask people. It is not that hard and it is the best way to mitigate the spread of this horrible virus. I haven't stopped wearing mine, and now, not that I wasn't before, I will be even more vigilant about wearing mine.

That is the tale of my first battle with COVID. I'm sure it will not be the last, but I am still hopeful we have a way to stop this thing from spreading further. That's my hope anyway. Stay safe out there.

Ty

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

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RIP Bob Saget

While quarantining in my basement, again more on that tomorrow, my wife called down to me on Saturday night that Bob Saget had died. I did not hear her correctly at first so I asked her to Facetime me. She did and told me that Bob Saget had passed away.

I was stunned. I truly did not expect to hear this news. He was young. He was in his mid 60's, and nowadays that is young. He was also touring, his opener said he seemed totally fine and I was just in shock. I was watching Comedy Central yesterday and with every commercial break ending they went silent and showed a picture of Saget and it said RIP. This hurt every time it appeared on screen.

I have a weird relationship with Bob Saget. I was born in the early 80's and grew up in the 90's, the TGIF era of TV. Of course I adored "Full House". That was my jam as a kid. I thought it was hilarious. I loved the dynamic of the family in the show. And Uncle Joey was super funny. The show, and some of the people involved are now problematic. But that does not take away from the joy that show gave me when I was a pre teen. I already stated Uncle Joey was my guy. Uncle Jesse was cool. Stephanie and DJ were great foils to one another. And the Olsen twins were great actors as children. But Danny Tanner, Saget's character, was the glue that held that family together. He was never the one that got the most jokes or had the most moving scenes, but he was THE DAD when it came to prime time TV. He was the GOAT. He was the guy we all looked to. He represented a dad doing his best and thriving in a very unfortunate situation that that show gave his character. So I liked Danny Tanner. He was a good person to look up to on TV.

As I got older and stopped watching "Full House". I was too cool and too hip, in my own mind, to watch the show anymore. I kind of forgot about everyone on the show too. Jesse, Joey, Stepahine and DJ, Michelle Tanner and Danny all went away. Then, when I was 16 Saget showed up in the movie "Half Baked". I loved that movie. Jim Breuer is a total douchebag now, and Dave Chapelle can be problematic, but "Half Baked" was my jam. Saget was uncredited for his role, but it was memorable. He played a former junkie, and the stuff that came out of his mouth was vulgar. I couldn't believe Danny Tanner was saying such things. But it made me laugh. Then, in 2005, my dad and I went to see the movie "The Aristocrats". That movie is hilarious. It is also the first movie I have seen people walk out of because of how vulgar it was. My dad and I loved it, and Bob Saget kept popping up telling his version of the joke. If "Half Baked" made me gasp, "The Aristocrats" made my jaw drop and made me guffaw. I was astonished at how dirty and foul and blue Saget could be. Here we have Danny Tanner saying some of the grossest things I have ever heard a human being say. But it made me laugh out loud in the theater. It was only after the movie did I learn, from my dad, that Saget had always been a very blue comedian. Long before any of his TV or movie work he was a stand up comedian and he was a filthy stand up comedian. He would say things that would make Redd Foxx blush(thanks to Krusty the Clown for that line). That was his gimmick, and apparently he was very good at doing it.

Saget was a consummate stand up. He was liked by a lot of people, and they wanted to go on tour with him. I looked up some of his old gigs on YouTube, and they were gross and hilarious. After this I noticed Saget more. He would appear in TV shows and movies I watched. He was even on the very bad Jamie Kennedy rap record, and Saget was the only good part. He was also a good person off stage and off screen. Jimmy Kimmel gave an incredibly touching monologue on Saget last night to open his show. Go check it out if you need a good cry. He also started a charity in honor of his sister who was misdiagnosed with a disease multiple times before it was too late. He helped many people with this foundation. It seems as if his stage persona was just that, and that his acting was a means to an end. It also seems that he was a beloved actor and stand up. I have never heard of anyone saying that he was a bad guy or did bad things. He seemed to be on the level. He was a good guy and this is just straight up bad news.

While this one didn't hit as hard as Norm Macdonald, this one still hurts. Saget could still be doing stand up and doing shows. This is a bummer and Bob Saget will be missed. RIP to another great one, gone far too soon.

Ty

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

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Ty's 2022 NFL Playoff Preview

After a wild day of football yesterday, the NFL playoffs are set. I have not watched much NFL this year, but due to some circumstances, more on that later this week, I have had to quarantine in my basement, so I have been watching football to pass the time. And today I come to you with my NFL playoff preview and predictions. I was off on the Giants and Baltimore, but I think I got the rest of it pretty close to the actual finish. Anyway, let's get to it.

I'm going with the AFC first.

The Titans may be the least threatening number 1 seed I have ever seen. I know they get Derrick Henry back, and he has had a good amount of time to rehab his injury, but other than him they do not scare me. For the 2-7 matchup, Kansas City and Pittsburgh, I have the Chiefs, but in a closer than expected game. Pittsburgh snuck into the playoffs, the Chiefs haven't looked great and it will probably be cold in KC. I expect a low scoring game, but I also expect Mahomes to make a play or two and win the game. In the 3-6, Buffalo and New England, I really do not know what to think. Buffalo is overrated. New England has a rookie QB and a bunch of guys I have never heard of before. They still have Bill Belichek, but this game is in Buffalo. The weather will be frigid, and with any old Patriots team that would not matter. But this group is full of unknowns. For that one reason alone I am going with Buffalo. The 4-5, Cincinnati and Vegas, will be the most fun first round matchup. I'm going with the Bengals because they are the more fun team. The Chargers also showed that you can throw on this team at will, and Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase will eat that up for a big day. The Bengals will win and should win relatively comfortably.

That means my semifinals are the Bengals and the Titans, and the Chiefs and the Bills. I really want to pick the Bengals for so many reasons, mainly for my brother and his son, but I think the Titans defense is good enough, better than the Raiders for sure, and they can slow them down just enough. This is where having Derrick Henry will help too. They can control the ball all game. The Bengals have a bright future, but they are not ready yet. The Titans will win. The Chiefs will have home field, they are a different team than who the Bills faced earlier this season and they are just a better team. They have more weapons and speed and a much improved defense. I think the Chiefs will win, and pretty convincingly.

That means my AFC title game is Tennessee and Kansas City. And I'm going with KC. Again, they are better, they have more weapons, they are an improved defense and the Titans are non threatening. The Chiefs will be in their third consecutive Super Bowl.

On to the NFC.

The 2-7 features Philadelphia and Tampa. Philly has been a great story, they have a great run game and I am a Jalen Hurts fan. But Tampa is simply better. Even without a guy like Chris Godwin, they still have multiple other weapons. And a solid defense. Philly could be on the rise, but not this year and not against Tampa. The 3-6 features two teams that I have never been a fan of in my lifetime. The Cowboys can be a lethal offense and when Dak is on, he is on. San Francisco is not near Dallas' level on offense, but they have an elite defense and they can go blow for blow against the Cowboys offense. They just held a very good Rams offense in check. I really do not know who to pick in this game. Dallas could go for 40 or 10. San Francisco could run for 150 yards or they may have to rely on Jimmy Garroppolo if they get in a big hole, and nobody wants that. For those reasons, and because I watched Mike McCarthy constantly underachieve for years as Green Bay's head coach, I am going with the 49ers in a very close game. The 4-5 is going to be almost as fun as the AFC's 4-5. The Rams and Cardinals will face off in Arizona and a ton of points will be put up in a hurry. I could see both teams going for 30 plus points and 350 plus total yards of offense. I am going to go with the Cardinals because I like Kyler Murray way more than I like Matt Stafford.

So that leaves me with Green Bay playing Arizona and Tampa playing San Francisco. Tampa should cruise by the 49ers. They have the offense to match their defense. They have a solid enough defense to stop the 49ers run game and force Jimmy G to beat them. Tom Brady will go wild and the 49ers will go home. The Packers should, and damn well better, beat Arizona in Green Bay. Look, it is no secret how I feel about Aaron Rodgers, and it is so hard to root for him and the Packers right now, but Green Bay is simply better. They have already beaten the Cardinals once and I think they are more than up to the challenge again.

That means we have a rematch at our hands, with Tampa traveling to Green Bay in the NFC title game. I am going to stick with my preseason pick and stay with the Packers. They are much better this year, and as long as they do not have to count on their special teams, they should be good to go. It also helps that the game is in Green Bay. I know Tom Brady has played plenty of cold weather games, but he hasn't in two years, and it will be beyond frigid in Green Bay.

So I have the Packers and Chiefs in the Super Bowl. As cool as it would be to see the Packers win the Super Bowl, I cannot, in my right mind, pick them. I loathe Aaron Rodgers and I simply cannot deal with someone as arrogant and prickish as him winning the Super Bowl. He is an ass and I cannot root for someone like him. For that reason, and the fact that the Chiefs are a really good football team, I am going with the Chiefs to win it this time out. Mahomes is a better person and QB, the Chiefs defense is better and they can rely on their special teams if it comes down to it. I'm sorry to my fellow Packers fans, but Aaron Rodgers does not deserve to be put on a pedestal. He is an egocentric maniac and he has made it impossible for me to root for Green Bay. The Chiefs will be your Super Bowl champs, and Mahomes will be the MVP.

Ty

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

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What the Heck is Going On With Michigan Basketball?

I need to eat some crow today. I was super high on Michigan basketball going into the season. The women's team has been great. That one I was right on. They have looked every bit the part of a team that made the Sweet Sixteen last year and are building off that success. The men's team has not been great. What happened?

I was stoked going into this season. They were coming off an Elite Eight appearance, they were a number 1 seed and they had a wonderful group of freshmen coming in. They were a preseason top 10 team, they were picked to win the Big 10, Hunter Dickinson was a national player of the year candidate and Caleb Houstan was going to be a lottery pick. It all looked so good.

Well things have not gone as planned. They lost an early game to Seton Hall. Seton Hall is good, that game seemed like an aberration and stuff like that happens in college basketball all the time. But they struggled to put away a below .500 team after that game. It seemed like they were going to go on a run, and then Arizona demolished them. Again, Arizona was underrated at the time, but they beat the brakes off of Michigan. That game wasn't close. They also got destroyed by UNC in the Big 10/ACC challenge. UNC is also not very good. Minnesota came into Crisler, with the Wolverines riding a two game win streak, and crushed them. Then UCF crushed them. And, most recently, Rutgers got their first ever win in basketball over Michigan the other night. They play MSU tomorrow, and I am not very hopeful for that game, causing me to rethink my 2022 resolution.

This team is not good right now. They play too much individual basketball. They rely too heavily on Hunter Dickinson. Caleb Houstan has not played very well to this point. Eli Brooks can't hit the ocean. Moussa Diabate got hurt. Kobe Bufkin got COVID. Brandon Johns has regressed. Frankie Collins is too inconsistent. They just do not play as a team. They also find some way to melt down after halftime too. They have held leads, or the games have been close at the half in most. Then they get extremely cold from the field and they cannot play defense. UNC throttled Michigan in the second half of that game. Minnesota did the same. They could not stop Geo Baker against Rutgers. It has been a constant downfall in the second half all year. Even the games they won, minus a few, they have really struggled. They have been missing far too many free throws, blowing leads, falling behind by double figures, blowing defensive assignments and just letting one bad thing snowball into many bad things. It has been a struggle. They are not a top 25 team. They are not even a NCAA tournament team right now. They have a lot of work to do.

I do believe they have time to turn it around, or at least become more competitive. The game tomorrow is going to speak volumes to me going forward. Win or lose, hopefully they win, how they perform is going to shape the rest of the season. They have the talent to turn it around. Juwan Howard is an excellent coach. The players are good enough to put it together, they just have to find a way. But this is not the team I was expecting this season. I do not think it was the team they were expecting. They are bad. They have things to figure out. They have to put in more work. But they can do it. I do have hope they can turn it around. I feel like they just need to tweak a few things and put together a full game to get their confidence back. I think they may have been feeling themselves before the season, buying into the preseason hype. Well they have fallen flat on their faces. Now they can try and fix it, or just go deeper into a hole.

Hopefully they figure it out. They are no longer a top seed, a national title contender, a team to fear. But, they can maybe become a solid tournament team. Time will tell.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Don't Look Up"

I just finished "Don't Look Up". I am being as literal as possible. I just turned off my tv after watching the movie.

First off I loved it. It is a great movie, very well made, the acting is superb and it is wonderful. I do not understand the bad reviews. My only critique is that it is a bit too long, but it did not feel like any of the footage was overused or unnecessary. The movie is very funny, but also horrifying. I actually look at this movie more as a horror movie than a comedy.

For the people that do not know, the movie is about a comet the size of Mt Everest coming to Earth in six months. There are scientists, astronomers, doctors and other very smart people that want to do whatever they can to stop this comet. Then we have the politicians, their followers and the tv people that just want ratings who choose to ignore the smart people. We also have a tech company leader, a la Steve Jobs, who is a money grubbing genius, and may be the most evil of all the villains in the movie. I am not going to spoil the movie because people must watch this movie. It is an important piece of pop culture that perfectly encapsulates our modern society. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play the scientists, along with Rob Morgan. Lawrence discovers the comet, she tells her teacher and mentor, DiCaprio, about it and they celebrate, until they find out how disastrous this comet is going to be. They have done the calculations over and over again, and it keeps coming up that the comet will destroy Earth in just over six months. They tell Morgan's character this, and since he has connections to the White House, he gets them in front of the president.

Meryl Streep plays the president, and my goodness she is wonderfully scary in this role. She is this media obsessed, money grubbing scumbag of a person. She doesn't care about anyone but herself and she is all about her image and her votes. She crushes this role. Jonah Hill is her son and chief of staff. And he is woefully terrible at his job because he doesn't know what he is doing. There is a great runner that starts when the White House and scientists meet, and a general charges DiCaprio, Morgan and Lawrence for their snacks. Then they realize that they are free. It is truly the funniest bit in the movie.

From this meeting on out we get the whole social media circus. Tyler Perry and Cate Blanchett play a morning talk show team that just wants ratings. They loathe Lawrence and love DiCaprio. When Lawrence tells everyone the truth, she is immediately made out to be the pariah. She is memed to death. She is portrayed as the "bad guy", She is the only one that lets everyone know the truth from jump street. But that doesn't stop everyone from finding a person to bash. That is exactly what people do everyday now. It is maddening. And this movie shows that to perfection. Streep as the president takes even more of a heel turn when she gets rid of the original crew who told her what to do, and tells everyone to simply not look up. The comet is in the sky, we can all see it, but she is too busy worrying about the upcoming election. She goes so far as to put a hat on. It is frighteningly hilarious. And when stuff does hit the fan, the way people reacted, it sent chills up my spine. It was like looking at the real world. I cannot fathom what we would do as a country if this really happened. I have sat here just typing and thinking about how truly scary all of this would be. Then I remember that we have something similar with COVID. It is so wild and so scary.

Watch this movie now. It is required viewing. It is important to watch and discuss. Everyone must, must watch this movie. Please.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "The Super Bob Einstein Movie"

Last night my wife and I watched "The Super Bob Einstein Movie". We have been kind of champing at the bit to see this movie. We happened to be out of town when it was originally aired, then the new year kind of took over our time, but last night we had the requisite 90 minutes to watch, and it did not disappoint.

For those that may not know, Bob Einstein is a comedy writer and actor. He is also the brother of Albert Brooks. He had a wonderfully prolific career, and it is all talked about during this movie. I know of Einstein from "Curb". He plays Marty Funkhouser, and he was an absolute treat whenever he was on the show. He had some of the best scenes in the history of that fantastic show. We are rewatching "Curb" right now, and we saw the episode last night where Funkhouser tells Jerry Seinfeld one of the funniest, and most revolting jokes I think has ever been put on TV. Of course they talked about his work on "Curb". That was pretty much the last 20 to 25 minutes of the movie. And it was simply wonderful. To see all these people, Susie Green, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines and Larry David sing his praises, that just further proved to me his worth among those comedy giants.

What was new to me was all the stuff Bob Einstein had done before "Curb", and I had no idea. He was one of the first writers hired by the Smothers Brothers. In fact he and Steve Martin worked as a team on that show, and according to people in the know, they wrote some of the best bits. They showed some of them in the movie, and my god they were funny as hell. I was rolling. To hear Steve Martin essentially give him all the credit, that spoke volumes to me. Einstein then went on to work on a number of variety shows. He did "The Redd Foxx Show", "Sonny and Cher", and his creation with another buddy, a show I have never seen but will now be searching out, "Bizarre". The stuff he said, and the people who knew him back then, made these shows sound wild. It seemed like the wild west, and Bob Einstein was the go to guy for the best jokes. "Bizarre" looked exactly like its title. The clips were insane. But they were also wildly hilarious. It was on this show where he came up with the character Super Dave. I always heard the name Super Dave as a kid but I had real idea who it was. Well this movie has made me go and check out classic Super Dave bits on YouTube today, and they are incredible. This was a great idea, they wrote great stuff for him and he delivered it like only he could. No one else could have done the great things that Bob Einstein did with Super Dave. They even showed the work he did with his brother, Albert Brooks, in the movie "Modern Love". It was just one scene, but boy did he shine. They played the whole thing during the movie and it was dynamite.

What I also enjoyed was the talk of his personal life. He stayed married to the same lady until the day he died. He was a doting and caring father. He was a wonderful grandpa. He just seemed to be a solid dude his whole life. I also loved the old footage of him telling some wild jokes. Those jokes really made me laugh.

I really liked this movie. It was short and sweet and to the point. All the talking heads were great and insightful. For any fans out there you have to see this movie. For fans of comedy, you should watch as well. I highly recommend it.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Tries Baby Feet

My wife really likes to do spa stuff at home. She has a whole routine she does every Sunday night. It is very cute. She has also gotten me to do some of these things with her. I have worn these under eye things that are supposed to make my eyes less baggy, and it did not work, at least for me. I've let her use a nail file on me because I am too afraid to do it myself. I let her and my daughter paint my nails before. I have used scented shower steamers and fancy lotions just to see if it works. None of it makes a noticeable difference to me, except this new thing she had me do this past Saturday.

She had this thing called Baby Feet on her Xmas list and I bought it for her. I think she has done this before, but I do not remember. Hell, I may have done it with her for all I know. I cannot remember. But this past Saturday she said she was going to do it and asked if I wanted to try. Now, a bit of a preamble to explain why I was so eager. I do get athlete's foot quite often. I run everyday, and even though I have great shoes and socks, athlete's foot is just part of the game for me now. It doesn't hurt, but boy oh boy does it itch. I have scratched myself raw before. Sorry to be so gross, but it is true. And I use all kinds of creams that I have purchased and that a podiatrist has given me. They work, but I do not do it enough to make it completely go away. It is all on me. So I figured that I would give these Baby Feet a try. I am going through some athlete's foot right now, so this seemed like the perfect time to try it out. These Baby Feet are supposed to make your feet feel soft like a baby's. That is what the package says, that is what the people online have said and that is what my wife said when she showed me how to put these things on. So when my wife busted these out I was intrigued.

Baby Feet is literally a bag with some goo and water in it. You put that on your feet and tape them shut. Then you are supposed to put on socks and simply wear the Baby Feet for an hour. We did just that, removed them after an hour and washed our feet. After about 30 minutes I complained to my wife that nothing was happening. My feet were still itchy, no skin was flaking off and my feet felt like those of a 39 year old runner. She told me it would take a few days. Well here we are, three days removed, and things are starting to happen. First off, I have not had to scratch them at all the past three days. That has been a relief. My feet also feel tighter, which my wife said is a sign that it is starting to take effect. And today when I got home from my run and after I got out of the shower, I noticed the skin was flaking away. It is starting to work. And it feels great. I am enjoying this odd feeling. I am also super hopeful that this is a new way to deal with my athlete's foot. I'm not so sure it will cure it, but it has been simply wonderful not having to itch my feet. All of my skepticism is fading away. These Baby Feet are working, at least it seems.

This is the first "spa" thing that my wife has had me try that really seems to be doing its job, and I love it. I may keep you all informed later, I do know this can be kind of gross for some to read. But I was so excited to talk about it, and I have a blog, so here you go. Baby Feet is super cool, and I highly recommend it for runners looking for a relief from athlete's foot or any type of foot issue they may have. It is awesome.

Ty

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

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It is Time for Will Ferrell and Adam McCay to Make Up and Make Great Entertainment Again

Over the past couple of weeks, and months for that matter, my wife and I have been watching Adam McKay and Will Ferrell movies. We love these movies. They are so funny, they fit what I adore about comedy, they are very niche and they are good, despite what the critics say.

We watched "Anchorman" 1 and 2, "The Good Guys", "Talladega Nights", and most recently, "Semi Pro". We had our date night this past Saturday, it was my turn to pick the movie and I wanted a funny sports movie. "Semi Pro" more than fits the bill. I loved this movie when it came out. I saw it in the theaters with a group of friends when I still did that. My wife came with me, except we were only dating back then. That's right, "Semi Pro" came out fourteen years ago, which blew my mind. The critics were tough on this movie, but, to me, it is the quintessential Ferrell and McKay movie. It is goofy, well made, has a ton of great comedic actors and they got to base it on basketball, a sport both of them love. All the other movies I mentioned are great, but "Semi Pro" is the best thing those two ever did.

After watching the movie my wife and I got to talking about how much of a bummer it is that they do not work together anymore. I know that Ferrell wanted to do his own thing and that McKay wanted to make more serious movies. But I was holding out hope that they would get together every now and then to do a silly movie. But the more we talked about their split, the more bummed I got at how minuscule it truly seemed. As I said, they each wanted to do their own thing.

More news has come out recently, with McKay even commenting on record why they actually split. McKay has a new basketball show coming out soon on premium cable, and I cannot wait to watch. I am not a Laker fan at all, but this show looks amazing. And when I saw the casting I was pumped. There are a good amount of unknowns, but there are some big name people in it as well. McKay has gotten to a level where he is a guy that actors want to work with. He has some pull now. And when they showed John C Reilly as Jerry Buss, I was stoked. But this seems to be where most of the trouble with McKay and Ferrell bubbled over. I guess they had someone else in mind for Buss, but when that actor pulled out, McKay gave the role to Reilly. Seems simple enough. Well, according to McKay, Ferrell was really upset that McKay didn't even ask him to play Buss. Ferrell is a lifetime Laker fan, and it seemed like he was destined for this role, especially considering McKay was making the show. Well I guess McKay never asked him, just gave the role to Reilly, and this pushed Ferrell over the edge.

That stinks. I get it. Ferrell probably dreamed of this role, probably assumed he had it, and then it was given to a good friend of his by another former friend of his. But I also feel like it is a bit juvenile to end a friendship and a partnership over something so trivial. I am not there either. I am not in the room, I have no idea what may have gone down with the two of them behind closed doors, maybe they have some bigger beef that they aren't releasing, I don't know. But it kind of bums me out, as a fan, that they simply refuse to work together anymore. This means no more silly, goofy and great comedy movies from two brilliant comedic minds. They have both done great stuff since they split, but nothing that holds the weight of "Anchorman" or "Talladega Nights" or "The Good Guys" or, especially "Semi Pro" for me. I hope they can get together and figure this all out sooner rather than later because the fan in me would love to see them work together again. They were so great as a duo, made some great movies and great content for Funny or Die, and I just really miss their style of comedy. They were unmatched as a team. They were my generation's great comedy team. But now it is just gone.

Again, that stinks. Hopefully, it will change. Hopefully they reconcile. My fingers will be crossed until then.

Ty

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

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A Look Back on 2021

Here we sit about twelve hours from a new year. 2021 was good and bad. Well, more bad than good, but that seems to be the way of the world right now. But I do have a slight glimmer of hope going into the new year. I think we have the ability to, if we all chip in, change the course of things that are going on right now. I'm more upbeat about 2022 than I was about 2021. But do not get me wrong, 2021 gave us some great things. Let’s discuss.

First and foremost, we were finally given a vaccine for COVID. I know it may not be perfect, it is a two to three shot system, but hey, this gives us a chance to return to "normal". I got vaccinated in March of 2021. I got my first shot at the beginning of the month, my second near the end, and got my booster in November. I know Omicron is a different animal, but my family and I have done what the doctors and the science have told us to do. My wife is boosted as well. My kids were able to get their shots in November of this year. I don't want Omicron to take away all hope from people. For those of us that got vaxxed and boosted, that is a big time deal. Science rules.

I was also able to see family and friends safely this year. After a year of not being able to do that, I was ecstatic when I, and the people I was seeing, felt comfortable enough to gather. I did not realize how much I missed that in 2020. My kids were able to return to school and sports. I know that right now there are things that may halt that, but I also know that, because of science, it will not be canceled. My daughter loves soccer. And my son is obsessed with basketball. It has been great to be able to coach again too. I did not realize how much I missed that.

My running has reached a whole new level in 2021. I run all the time now. As you all know, I ran my first full marathon this year, and it was a trail marathon. I almost hit 1500 miles running this year, just about 20 miles short.

My family was able to travel this summer. I am not the biggest fan of Gulf shores, but I had an absolute blast one year after having to postpone. The beach was rad and the running was hot and interesting.

My wife just keeps on going higher and higher at her job. She works a lot, but she also makes time for me and the kids. She is so excellent at what she does, and 2021 has more than proved that to me and everyone else.

I went to two weddings this year. I was masked, as was my family. But it was fun to be at such a joyous occasion in 2021. It was nice to be around smiling and happy people.

My brother, RD, got to go back to the theater for movies. He loves that. My other brother Seth, he got to go back to live shows. And my oldest brother, Ross, and his wife have taken their daughter, my niece, on actual real college visits for next year. All these things, and a lot more, have me kind of hopeful in 2022.

Even vaccinated people I know that have gotten COVID, they are better within three-five days, and none of them have had to be admitted to the hospital. I have also chosen to just not acknowledge anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. I still wear my mask, I am obviously pro vaccine, so I am not going to waste my time with people that do not trust or believe in science. If they ask me why I trust it so much, I will tell them, but I am done trying to change their minds. It is like talking to a brick wall.

I am also done talking politics. I am as liberal and democratic as anyone can get. But I am sick and tired of being called out by crazy right wing nut jobs and people that do not vote for either major party. They are not going to change my mind and I am not going to change theirs. It is too much of a headache. I think that is what I'm going to do in 2022, that will be my resolution. I asked my family about resolutions, and I got a bunch of stock answers. For me, I'm going to go into 2022 with an open mind and I'm going to keep my mouth closed. I've been doing that for the past few months, and it has worked.

Long posting short, I feel better and my anxiety has gone down. So, and I'll say it again, I'm hopeful going into 2022. It is going to be a tough couple of months to start out, but if we can get through this, if we can start listening to scientists and doctors, I see things getting better, hopefully, by early spring. That is my resolution, my plan for 2022, being hopeful. Happy New Year everyone. Have fun and be safe tonight.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches Nicole Byer's "BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)"

Last week, before departing for our holiday trip, my wife and I were finally able to watch Nicole Byer's new stand up special "BBW" on Netflix.

We are Byer fans in my house. We love "Nailed It". My wife and I think she is tremendous on "Brooklyn 99" as Trudy Judy. She is the star of the new, very good show "Grand Crew". She is always a delight when she is on a podcast or hosting her own. But I have never seen her standup before. I have heard about it from other people. I have heard that she works very blue, that she is very funny and that she knows how to control the crowd. A buddy of mine saw her pre-pandemic and said she was amazing, but he did not know that she was so dirty. He knew her from "Nailed It" as well I believe. So I was pretty pumped about the special. I did know, or heard, that she does work dirty, but I could care less about that. I have seen a bunch of comics that work blue and the same amount that work clean. It does not matter either way. A good comic is a good comic. Hell, Tracy Morgan was incredibly blue when I saw him, and it was amazing. Brian Regan is known as a clean comic, and he was fantastic every time I have seen him. Jen Kirkman straddles the line, and she rules. The language does not matter. But make no mistake, Byer is blue, and that comes off right away in "BBW".

The special opens with a pole dance, those of us that follow her on Instagram know how much she has practiced this, and it is great. It is a perfect way to open the show. From there on out Byer touches on a ton of things. She opens talking about life during the pandemic. That can be tiresome, but she made it funny and personal. She talked about how it has affected her sex life. She cannot find a good and safe way to hook up with another person. It was very funny. From there the special just got better and better. Her whole bit about Karen's was simply wonderful. I loved her portraying the children of said Karen's. When she talked about flying on a plane with a humongous NICOLE chain and getting drunk, that was the best bit of the night. I loved the button she put on that bit, talking about getting Shake Shack in the morning when she landed, and eating it in the airport toilet. Another pandemic joke I loved was when she talked about the only people who oppose masks are the people who should be wearing them to hide their not so great looking faces. That was perfection. I really enjoyed the crowd work. That is always a plus for me. I like how she went after JK Rowling, and the Harry Potter stuff was gold. I related to her dropping pizza on the ground but deciding to finish it anyway. But what I loved the most was when she talked about singing and how she is not very good at it. This included some wonderful crowd work. She made some very solid jokes about how her appearance can fool people who may think she is a singer. But it was all wrapped up in a great bow when she was talking about Shake Shack and eating it in the toilet. This was when she was so hammered that she decided to sing to try and calm her nerves and let the other people in the bathroom know she was okay. This made me laugh the hardest. This had me giggling afterward. I am smiling thinking about it right now. It is a great bit of comedic storytelling.

Check this special out. Byer is finally getting the shine she has deserved for a long time now. Byer is a great actor, but she is an even better comedian. This special more than proves that.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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RIP John Madden

Last night after dinner I went on Bleacher Report to check if there were any news stories I had missed during the day. Minus the usual COVID news that is hammering the world right now, I saw that John Madden had suddenly passed away.

I was upset. My wife asked what was wrong because I immediately exclaimed, "No! What a bummer". I told her the news, and she asked, the video game guy?'. My son said the same thing. He then asked if they were still going to make the video game even though Madden had now passed. I told him I assumed they would.

That interaction with my wife, who does not care about football, and my nine year old, who is very new to the game, said a whole lot about John Madden to me. Being the sports fanatic that I am, I knew Madden as the head coach of the Raiders the last time they were really dominant. It also helped that my father taught me the history of sports as a young kid. To my dad, John Madden was a coach. He knows of the video game because I still play it, but he is much more of a coach to my father. I have to assume that is the same for his generation of football fans. He was a great coach too. A Super Bowl winning coach. He turned the Raiders into a power when he was the head man there. He was great.

Madden then shifted to broadcasting. He was instantly a hit. He has won so many more awards as a broadcaster than he did as a coach. He was a classic. For me he is second only to Keith Jackson, and that is because I prefer college football to the NFL. But Madden was great. He was one of the few NFL broadcasters that I actually liked. The team of Madden and Pat Summerall has yet to find an equal. Summerall was such a great play by play guy. He knew the game inside and out. He was incredible. He also knew when to rein Madden in, but more importantly, when to let him go off. These were some of the best Madden moments. He would go on and tell some of the wildest stories you ever heard. He would say some stuff that would make Yogi Berra blush. My favorite was, "the team with the most points at the end of the game usually wins". That one still cracks me up to this day. He would talk about the importance of scoring TD's like it wasn't universally already known. But he did this in a way that was so delightful. It was a joy to hear him spew crazy nonsense out of his mouth. One of my favorite things he ever did was his and Summerall's appearance on "The Simpsons". That is an all time classic episode, and to have him end it with the great line, "now that doesn't make a lick of sense", when Vincent Price invites him on a bus is truly amazing.

Today John Madden is known for his incredible video game. Madden Football is THE football video game. It was the first one I played. It is an instant buy for almost every video game player. It is the most intuitive and educational football game that has ever been made. I have read stories from other people saying that, when Madden agreed to do the game, that he insisted it was as real as it could get. It had to be 11 on 11. They needed to have real plays and playbooks. He even gave the creators his old playbooks. He wanted the game to be as close to the real thing as possible. That is incredible. Most other sports games are just heightened versions of the sports they are representing. I love games like NFL Blitz or NBA Jam or NBA Street, but none of them is as real as Madden is. Even if the game has gotten a bit stale, it is still the closest we have to representing the sport it is supposed to. And Madden Football is universally known. As I stated before, my wife and son knew his name because of the game. I have spoken to some other, younger kids who only know Madden from the video game. I bet if I asked ten people to tell me how they know John Madden, or if they know him, all ten would say something about the video game. It is a classic. And Madden has his prints all over it.

John Madden was a great coach, a better broadcaster and helped to create one of the greatest video games of all time. He will be missed. RIP John Madden. You were, and will be remembered as a true legend.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 15

Last night my wife and I were finally able to watch the season 15 finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". We are getting all caught up on the shows we missed while we were away celebrating the holidays.

This season may have been short, only eight episodes, but it was pretty damn excellent. I was fully in the whole time. They tackled the pandemic. They talked about owning a business during unprecedented times. They traveled to Ireland. They used CGI for the first time. We met Charlie's real father. They even got the waitress involved. And they did it as hilariously uncomfortable as they always do.

"IASIP" is a near perfect show. There are no real problems with it. Even if they have some past controversy, they owned up to it, and even talked about it and made an entire episode confronting it this season. That ep was phenomenal by the way. I also really enjoyed the CGI monkey they used this season. That was another great ep, and it was the nudge they needed to go to Ireland. When they got to Ireland, that was when this season went from good to great. It was some of the best stuff this show has ever done. I like that, the older they get, the more they touch on real life situations. Dennis got COVID, minor spoiler alert. And that brought out the horribleness in other characters, mainly Frank. Dee finally got an acting job, but things kept getting in the way for her. When she got the big bump on her head, and how they redistributed the blood, that was great. This was also how they got the waitress involved, and she becomes pretty important in the penultimate episode of the season. Mac was even looking to get involved with the church after he learned some stuff about his past. That was a great runner this season.

Charlie, at least for me, was the absolute star of the season. He meets his real dad. He finds his place. He knows the people of Ireland. They write and speak and act like him. He finally has a person he can relate to that seems to know him. He finally has someone that really loves him. But all the stuff that this brings up in Frank made it all the better. Frank and Charlie are definitely the best "love story" on the show. They are the only two that seem to genuinely enjoy one another's company. So when Charlie meets his new dad, and wants to spend all his time with him, Frank is noticeably upset. He acts out. But in the end, they come together. And that is not a spoiler for anyone that watches this show regularly. I was blown away by Charlie Day's performance, especially in the season finale. He went to some dramatic places and really shined. He is a good actor, but this performance truly shined through. I was super impressed.

I also love the way they closed out the season, being the usual obnoxious Americans that we have all come to know and love. It was a very fitting ending for this season. The finale reminded me a bit of the one where Mac came out to his dad. While not as moving and poetic, it was still pretty damn awesome and profound.

"IASIP" is a pantheon show. It is iconic. And season 15 is a feather in their cap. I cannot wait for season 16.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Encanto"

Hello again everybody. I took the past two days off to spend the holiday, safely, with my family. But I'm back. I have watched a good amount of content, listened to some different stuff and got some cool shit I want to talk about on my blog. Today I will start with the movie "Encanto".

We watched this movie last night. We got back home from our trip and my wife, my kids and I have been waiting to watch this movie. We are still a bit hesitant to go to the theaters, so we waited for it to be on Disney+, and with it not premiering until Xmas eve, we waited until the day after Xmas to watch.

Right off the bat, this movie was great. I loved every second of it. Watching movies at home, if I need to do something around the house, I usually get up and ask my family to tell me what I missed. I did not do that with "Encanto". I did not want to miss a thing. This movie reminded me a lot of "Coco" and "Wall-E", my two favorite Pixar movies. The comparison to "Wall-E" was how beautiful everything looked, but also the cracking world around them. As far as "Coco", I know it may sound cliche to compare a Spanish movie to a Colombian movie, but it was also the colors and the voice actors and the music. While "Encanto" did not have as good music as "Coco", no movie does for that matter, it was still very festive and fun and well written and beautifully performed. I loved the music in fact. I am not the biggest Lin Manuel Miranda fan, but when he just writes the music, like he did for "Moana", I find myself bopping my head and tapping my feet. That happened with "Encanto". The music was very good, very well done, very cool and just flat out fun. As for the colors in this movie, my goodness was it vibrant. I found myself blown away by how beautiful the movie looked. There were so many bright pops of blue and yellow and orange and red and green, it was amazing. I was mesmerized. I also loved the way the clothes looked, how the characters looked and moved and how neat and old school the house in the movie was drawn. The voice acting was impeccable as well. Stephanie Beatriz was made to voice a character like this. She added so much and embodied Maribel. I was fully on her side the whole movie. Beatriz also has a very good singing voice too. I knew she could sing, but given this role, she took on a ton and totally nailed it. John Leguizamo was excellent. So was Wilmer Valderama. And the rest of the family, from Maria Cecilia Botero as Abulea, to Adassa as Dolores, and everyone in between, they were all amazing. But make no mistake, Beatriz is the main star of the movie, and she more than handles it. I really enjoyed the story of the movie as well. I am very close to my family, and to see a family like this portrayed in a movie, I was bound to enjoy the movie. They did a great job talking about all things involved with being a family, they just added super powers to the people in the cartoon. But my main takeaway was family. You should love your family, even if you have disagreements, or some other things get in the way. I loved that message in the movie. I also really like, minor spoiler alert, that they never gave Maribel a "power". She was just a regular person in an irregular, superhero style world.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is so good to watch with your partner, but even more so with your family, if you have kids. Both my kids, my 9 year old son and 6 year old daughter, absolutely loved it. They have been talking about it all day today. Check out "Encanto". It rules.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 24 - Snoopy's Christmas

ed note: This article was first published on December 24th, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 24: Snoopy's Christmas by The Royal Guardsman

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty One, Twenty Two, Twenty Three

The Christmas season can feel like a battle. There are large crowds and everyone seems to have their own agenda. People are constantly fighting each other for parking, space in line, and the hot holiday gift. We move through the malls and hardly acknowledge one another. On Christmas Eve, the holiday season reaches its peak while everyone rushes past one another to complete their individual goals. Christmas Eve is the final struggle we face on the battlefield of the holiday season.

"Snoopy's Christmas" is the 1967 follow up to The Royal Guardsman hit "Snoopy vs The Red Baron". The band made their name by incorporating in their songs the Peanuts character of Snoopy, and his exploits of aerial dog fighting against The Red Baron. "Snoopy's Christmas" reads like a classic tale from Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strips. The Red Baron is terrorizing the skies, and Snoopy with his trusty Sopwith Camel (his doghouse) must engage in  battle high in the sky. While Snoopy valiantly tries to defeat the German ace, disaster strikes. The Red Baron shoots down the pup in German territory. Snoopy lands and believes that the end is here, then suddenly the bells ring out over the countryside marking the beginning of Christmas. Being inspired by the spirit of the season, the Red Baron offers Snoopy a drink and wishes him a Merry Christmas. The brotherhood of Christmas Day causes the foes to befriend, and they then go on their separate ways. Christmas Eve saw bloodshed, Christmas Day is about peace.

The exciting tale being told in "Snoopy's Christmas" is based on a true event, the 1914 Christmas Truce of World War I. British and German troops were shelling each other on December 24th, suddenly the firing stopped when both sides heard the bells from the countryside ring out for the beginning of Christmas Day. The Germans invited the British troops to cross no man's land and have a peaceful celebration. The enemies shared food and drink, showed pictures of their families, and even played games together. The magic of Christmas stopped sworn enemies from killing each other. The feeling of brotherhood trumps the anger of war. It is a magnificent piece of human history.

Christmas Eve can be a tough day. Many people are frantically trying to get that last must have gift. We have no time to be kind and courteous to our fellow man. If you are not relentless, you will lose the battle of the Christmas Season. Once midnight hits and the bells of the village rings out for Christmas Day, a new feeling takes hold. Our disagreements on religion, geopolitics, and philosophy take a day off. Christmas makes us one family. Enjoy your holiday, and thank you for your eyes this Advent Season. As the Red Baron would say, "Merry Christmas my Friend".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. No matter who you are, or what you believe, the bells at midnight will make you the editor's new friend. Join our circle of joy by liking SeedSing on Facebook.  

SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Holiday Television Programs: Day 23 - "Seinfeld - The Strike"

ed note: This article was first published on December 18th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 23 "Seinfeld - The Strike"

Original air date - December, 18th 1997 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two

For SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday television shows, today, I'm going to write about the "Festivus" episode of "Seinfeld". I know the episode is called "The Strike", but lets be honest, I think we all know this as the Festivus episode. The Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" ranks right up there with any "Simpsons", "The Office" or any other TV show we have written about for the Advent calendar. In fact, I'm going to say that the Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" is the best holiday television show ever. I may quote "The Simpsons" more, or laugh at "The Office" more, but this particular episode of "Seinfeld" has literally changed the way I view the holiday. Today marks Festivus, and I will be airing grievances, showing feats of strength and getting the big pole out for this wonderful pre holiday holiday. 

The episode starts off funny. We all learn that Kramer was/is a worker in a bagel shop, and the strike that he has been seemingly on for years, has ended. Funny right off the bat. The whole thing with the bagel shop, and Kramer's past, and now present, are all classic "Seinfeld". We also get another story involving Elaine giving some creeps a phony phone number and there is some wackiness that happens with this plot line throughout. But, the true gem of the episode is when George's dad tells the world of the joyous day of Festivus.

We learn that when George was a kid, his dad was in line waiting to get him a toy, a doll in fact, and someone else got the last one. He pleaded and prodded the person to give him the doll, but they just would not budge. This caused Frank to lose his mind. He got very, very upset, as he almost always does.  This was when and where he Frank decided he needed to have a "holiday for the rest of us", and thus, Festivus was born. He decided that everyone needs to do many things to make themselves feel a bit better during this holiday season.

Let's be honest, this time of year brings out the anxiety and anger in the best of us. The holiday season can be pretty rough. So, the fact that Frank came up with a holiday where everyone can air their grievances, I love it. I wish this was a real thing and people would not get upset at the outcome. Imagine how nice it would be to tell everyone how you feel, but with the caveat that they cannot get mad at you, and they are allowed to do the same. This would be terrific. To let it all out, that would feel great from both sides. I love that the Costanza's do this every year, because who has more grievances than the Costanza's? No one, that's who. Imagine Frank, Estelle and George sitting around airing their grievances, it must be magically hilarious.

Then, the feats of strength. This would be my absolute favorite. This gives you the chance to prove who is the strongest in your family. I would crush this part of Festivus (ed note: no he would not), and I think my whole family, while they might disagree at first, knows that I would dominate. Now, imagine once again, the Costanza's doing this. I can almost guarantee that Estelle would be the strongest in the family. She may not look it, but I think she would absolutely dominate George and Frank in a feats of strength competition. I bet George is also the weakest, even at everyone's advanced age. He is so meek and mean, but that is just his attitude, I'm sure that does not translate into actual strength.

Then, we have the Festivus pole, which is the alternative to the tree and menorah used during this time of year. It is just an unadorned pole that sits in your living room on December 23rd. It does nothing, but it adds so much to this episode. The fact that Frank just wanted an alternative to all the glitz and glamour of the holiday's is a perfect representation of Frank and the Costanza's. They do not conform to social norms at any times, and I love that.

What makes this episode even more wonderful is the fact that people have made Festivus a real holiday. This has become a real thing. At the time of its airing, it was just an idea that Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and the "Seinfeld" writing crew came up with, but now, it is real. The computer hasn't proclaimed that I have spelled the word wrong once, there is actual written facts on the internet and most people actually celebrate the day. This has become a world wide, nationally celebrated holiday. I know for a fact that when I go see my family later today, we will celebrate some of the best parts of Festivus, and I cannot wait (ed note: also the fact that Ty will once again lose the feats of strength).

The fact that Festivus is a nationally recognized thing should be more than enough to get this episode on our list, but there are so many more reasons. It is a funny, goofy, Costanza heavy episode, which are usually the best that "Seinfeld" has to offer. While I love "The Simpsons", and it will always be my favorite show, this episode of "Seinfeld" is one of the best episodes of just general television, but it is also the best representation of this holiday that TV has ever put out. It is magnificent.

Go out and have a wonderful Festivus everyone. After all, it is a holiday for the rest of us.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did we mention that Ty always loses the feats of strength. He does always lose. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Joys of Family and Gifts this Holiday Season

With the world seemingly on fire endlessly, I'm going to focus on upbeat and happy topics on my blog. I will do reviews and stuff like always, but I want my blogs to be a relief from all the horribleness that is going on in our world. It is even happening in sports. I can't escape when I read about the sports I love. I am still plugged in, I know what is going on and I follow science and doctors. I am doing all I can to stop this never ending pandemic. I implore others to do the same. Okay, got that off my chest.

What I want to talk about today is the joy my kids had on their faces when they opened their presents this morning. My family does two Christmas's each year. We have an early one with the four of us, and we travel to a house with my extended family for the actual day. We do celebrate Xmas, but not in a traditional way. We do not go to church, we do not watch many Xmas movies, my wife loves Xmas music, but the rest of us are kind of blah on it and it is only required of my extended family to be together on Xmas eve and Xmas morning. My extended family is also fully vaxxed, including the youngest kids, and all of us that are eligible have boosters. I feel pretty safe doing that. But when my family, the four of us and our dog, celebrate, we do it the day before the trip, which is today, the 22nd. We get up, I went for a run at seven and was home by nine, and we open presents and do our stockings. For my wife and I it is all about what we deem essential gifts. I got her a bunch of bath stuff. She likes to pamper herself, she likes to do steamy showers and baths. She is all about that spa life, especially if she can do it in our home. She got me a couple of books I wanted, a pair of running shorts and a new hooded sweatshirt. It was perfect.

Then it was the kids turn to open their gifts. This is where we get the most excited. We love seeing them in this first round of gift opening. And I know it sounds like I am being a material asshole, but the gifts are a humongous deal for my kids. They are nine and six. That is the prime age for gifts. My son has been champing at the bit for his first round of gifts. My daughter lit up when I started to bring them out of our bedroom to the living room. It was the first of many happy faces this morning. We let my daughter go first and with every gift she would exclaim, "I love this!" or "I was hoping I would get this!". It was wonderful. She is so polite and says all the right things when she gets a gift. I adore that quality. She is a good little kid. She got super fired up when she opened her new Play Doh set. This was the biggest smile from her. She absolutely lit up. She was as excited as I have seen her in a long time. Seeing that smile made me so happy. It made me realize that this is why we go out and get these things and wrap them. It is totally worth it. My son was so hype to open his gifts. He was the last one to go this morning, by his own choice. We got him a good amount of basketball gear. He is super into basketball right now, and we ran with this. He got new basketball socks. I know, socks for a kid? Well, he was stoked. He also got a new headband, which he has yet to take off. A family friend got him a new, good leather basketball, which he has been dribbling around the house all day. But the big gift for him was his new LeBron James Lakers jersey. My wife and I worked hard to find this jersey. And seeing the smile and joy on his face when he opened it up made it all worth it. It was fantastic. Seeing him grin from ear to ear was so sweet. Seeing him wear the jersey as I type this warms my heart. It makes me think back to when I was a kid and my folks would buy me the jersey that I asked for that year. It brought me back to that time that I find myself missing. I know it is not good to live vicariously through your kids, but I do not think that is what I'm doing. I am just remembering the joy I had as a kid, and now seeing it through my kids eyes. And it is the best. I love seeing them light up and smile all day long. It is one of the best things about being a parent. And it also makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to do these things for my kids.

I struck gold with my family. I highly recommend watching the joy in your kids eyes when they open their gifts this holiday season. I know some of my Jewish friends have already talked about the joy they saw with their kids opening Hanukkah gifts. It is so wholesome and one of the best things in the world. I am forever grateful that I get to see my kids do this.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Tracey Ullman has Been an Awesome Treat on "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

I give a lot of love to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on this site, and it is well deserved. And this newest season, which will be over after Sunday, has been amazing. I put it in my top five shows of the year. I have loved everything they have done. I am totally in on how they have attacked this season, and it feels like it could go down as one of the best of the series. But there is one move they made for this season that has put it over the top and made it the classic it will soon become.

Adding Tracey Ullman as Irma has been an absolute home run. She is terrific in this role. She is perfect. She is the funniest part. She makes me laugh harder than anyone else when she is on screen. She commands the viewer's attention, and boy oh boy is she crushing it. I didn't know what to expect when she showed up on screen. She was sitting in a crowd at a political rally and she and David had an interaction. I remember watching that scene and asking my wife if that was Ullman. She later confirmed by looking it up on the internet. We both thought it was going to be a one off, "Curb" does that a lot, but she was there to stay.

Ullman plays a political person in Larry's neighborhood. And for those of us that have watched since the season premiere, Larry needs help from the local government. David decided he was going to date Irma to get what he wants. I am not going to spoil anything further, rather just use the rest of my blog to praise her performance. Ullman's character is supposed to be a gross, loud, obnoxious and simply a miserable person to be around. Everyone who comes in contact with her says as much. And Ullman is nailing it. She is repulsive and gross and hilarious. The interactions between her and David are gold. When Ullman is around other people, say Susie, it is just as great. The most recent episode has a back and forth between Susie and Irma that had me rolling on the floor when I watched last night. Ullman also seems to be having the time of her life in this limited role. She is really going for it and absolutely nailing it. It feels like, and my wife said as much last night, that she and David have known each other for years, and the two of them are just enjoying the hell out of improv-ing off one another. They are clearly having a good time.

Ullman on "Curb" this season has also made me reevaluate how great of a comedy mind the actress has always been. She is not mentioned often enough when people talk about great television minds. "The Tracey Ullman Show" was an absolute treat. It also started "The Simpsons", which will always hold a special place in my heart. On that show she also worked with the likes of Anne Beatts and James L Brooks. She also won multiple Emmys for the show. She then found great success with HBO. She did a bunch of shows based on her character work, which is impeccable. She's also appeared on "Ally McBeal", "How I Met Your Mother", the BBC's "Howard's End" and "Mrs. America". She works. But her role on "Curb" this year has been the creme de la creme. She is simply the best. I hope she sticks around for the next season. I'm super curious to see what they do with her in the season finale.

All I know is, no matter what happens from here on out, Ullman has been dynamite and I am so glad that I got to watch her on this season of "Curb". I recommend you all do the same.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Jacksonville/Urban Meyer Experiment Did Not End Well

Well, I think I called it, but I also did not think it would happen this quickly. Urban Meyer has been let go as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I have to admit, the cynical, hater side of me absolutely loves this. I knew he was going to be a disaster. I called it around this time last year when he was hired. I knew he was going to rub the franchise the wrong way and I knew his style was not going to work with professionals. But this was even worse than I ever imagined. Let’s discuss.

From the start this was a total nightmare. It seemed every move he made was the wrong move. I have even read some other, more notable journalists, saying this may be the worst hire in pro football history. I thought, when Meyer was hired last January, that it would be his style that would be the problem. Well, that was just one of the many problems. After he was hired, and fully took over, he started off by hiring Jack Doyle. Now those of you that do not know who that is, he was fired from the University of Iowa a few months prior to Meyer hiring him. He was let go at Iowa due to allegations of racist talk towards players. He was also, by all accounts, a total asshole. When this was brought up to Meyer he claimed that he knew Doyle, and that was an isolated incident.

Well, Doyle resigned a few days after all this news broke. Meyer made up some phony apology and went to his next debacle, signing Tim Tebow as a tight end. Tebow had never played the position, was out of football for nearly a decade and, of course, did not work out. This was clearly a publicity stunt, and it failed masterfully.

In his first NFL draft he wanted former players he coached. When that didn't work his way, he went out and got the front office to sign players he used to coach. Most, if not all of them are washed up. I didn't even know that Carlos Hyde was still in the league.

Next Meyer told national media that vaccination status was put in play as to who the team would cut. I am all for players getting vaxxed, I think it should be required, but a head coach cannot say something like that out loud. Even I know that, and I am as liberal and democratic as they come.

Once the season started, oh boy did the Jags look bad. I thought the Texans were going to be the worst team, but they destroyed the Jags in week one. Meyer looked lost. He did not know how to coach up Trevor Lawrence. The offense was simply abysmal and the defense was not much better. And the Jags did not get any better from there. Teams were basically licking their chops to play them. I do not know how they won two games.

I think the straw that finally broke the camel's back was after the Bengals game. We have the new Josh Lambo story, Meyer kicking and belittling him, and this whole thing with him lashing out at the assistants he hired, but the incident after the Bengals game was a hilarious mess. The Bengals smoked the Jags, and instead of going back on the team plane, Meyer decided to stick around Cincinnati for the night. He even decided to go out and maybe blow off some steam. But then the dancing happened. He was clearly wasted, didn't know what was going on and decided he needed to grind with a woman that was not his wife. The video that ensued was one of the most cringeworthy things I have ever watched. It was brutal. Imagine your dad doing that, that was how I felt watching him dance with this young lady. He lost all respect and trust, little of which he had, from his team right after that. Then he put out that bull shit apology, which was awful. And then the owner and team openly mocked him towards the media. At that moment I have to imagine everyone saw the writing on the wall. They had to know that this wasn't going to work out. I just cannot believe it took until week 15. And, even though they got beat again yesterday, I loved seeing James Robinson, who Meyer benched in favor of Carlos Hyde, have a solid game.

This hire was an unmitigated disaster. This was one of the worst hires in all of professional sports.This tarnishes whatever kind of "legacy" Meyer has as a coach. This proved he cannot cut it with the big boys. He doesn't have that pull with professionals. They do not take him seriously. I also really hope the Jags do not have to payout the rest of his contract. I see they are saying they fired him for cause, of which there are plenty that make sense, and if that works, they do not owe Meyer another cent. That would be the cherry on the top. Again, I am not right on many sports things, but even I saw this being a horrible hire from the start. Meyer just does not have what it takes to coach at the highest level, especially with an even playing field. The schadenfreude in me is ecstatic to see Meyer getting all the hate he so justly deserves. And the football fan in me is happy to see that the Jags didn't even let him finish the season, and they are going to try and pay him as little as possible because he was so awful at his job. I do not see Meyer coaching again, at any level. This was that bad of a job.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

2021 Top Five - Sports

Today I am wrapping up my best of 2021 lists. I always save sports for last because I love them so much. It is one of my favorite things in the world. There was a lot that I had to leave off my list as well. The return of fans, Shoehai Otahni and Vlad Guerrero Jr, the Cardinals massive win streak, Deion Sanders getting the top recruit in the country to commit to Jackson State, Urban Meyer's punkass getting fired, the college football coaching carousel, all of that stuff, and so much more could have easily made my list. But I think I got it paired down to what I consider the five best sports moments of 2021. Let's get to it.

At five I have the Summer Olympics. All of it. There isn't one event that I want to focus on or anything like that. It was all so good. Simone Biles was amazing, both on and off the gymnastics field or court or board. The skateboarding was kickass. Basketball was fun. Table tennis was oddly interesting. The races were incredible, especially the marathon. The stuff beforehand, the rooms and what not, that was all great. The swimming was phenomenal. I let myself get fully engrossed in the Summer Olympics, and it was awesome. I think it may be a mixture of the pandemic, the fact it was pushed to this past summer and how competitive all the games were, but it all worked so well for me as a sports fan. I also think this may have made me an Olympic fan for life. I am stoked for the Winter Olympics, and you better believe I will be watching the Summer Games in 2024.

Coming in at number four I have the Name Image Likeness bill. This is a humongous deal. We can already see the positive ramifications of the NIL. These college athletes are finally getting paid if the university they attend uses any of the three things in the NIL. And it is all across NCAA sports. It isn't just basketball or football like a lot of naysayers predicted. I have read that all kinds of college athletes are making bank from the NIL. It also isn't just making the stars of their teams money. One of Michigan's bench players on their men's basketball team makes more NIL money than any other player. He barely plays, but he has a massive Tik Tok following. And even the stars, they are cashing checks. One of Michigan's starting running backs gave over 10 grand in gift bags to a local community center. Another Michigan player donated a ton of his NIL money to the Oxford school. Players outside of Michigan are doing the same, I just notice Michigan because that is the team I follow. I also love the NIL because college coaches, who make millions upon millions of dollars, are so up in arms about their players getting paid. It is so hypocritical, but I find it so funny. That is the good thing about the NIL. It is changing the college game, which was sorely needed.

At number three I have the Milwaukee Bucks winning the 2021 NBA title, but more so, Giannis' performance in game 6. I was stoked that a Midwest team won the title. I love that it was Milwaukee because my father has been a long suffering fan of theirs. And I adore Giannis the player and person. He is so wholesome. He seems genuine. He clearly knows how lucky he is in his life. He gives back to family and his community. And that performance he had in the game 6 clincher, that was amazing. He refused to be beaten that night. He scored 50 points. He grabbed double figure rebounds. He made his free throws. He had chase down blocks. He made Phoenix's best offensive players uncomfortable all night long. Every time it seemed like Phoenix may take the game, Giannis did something to turn the tide back to the Bucks. It was an amazing performance. It was one I was glad I watched in real time. I will never forget watching that game. It was that fantastic of a performance. One for the record books.

At number two I have the 2021 Michigan football season. I had little expectations for this team. I believe I picked them to finish 7-5, but it seemed more likely they would go 6-6. I did not know what to expect from all the new hires and I had little expectations for the offense. Well, they proved me, and a whole lot of other people wrong. From the start of the season they had an edge. They played very sound, very fast defense. Their run game was simply amazing. When they had to pass, they did what was needed, with some big plays added in from time to time. Josh Gattis took control of the offense and won assistant of the year. The offensive staff was totally overhauled and it worked. Outside Gattis, Mike Hart changed the run game, Sherrone Moore had the O line playing exceptionally well and the younger staff changed the whole offensive dynamic. The defense had even more of an overhaul, and they were amazing all year. They shut teams down and forced most of them to be one dimensional. They also beat the university of Ohio State for the first time in their last eight tries. I was ecstatic at that outcome. They also won the Big Ten title for the first time in 17 years. They are also in the CFP for the first time since its introduction. Jim Harbaugh won the AP coach of the year and Aidan Hutchinson was a Heisman finalist. This team exceeded all of my wildest dreams. I am so excited to watch them in the CFP in 2 weeks, although I am so very nervous as always. Had someone told me that Michigan football would win 12 games, beat the university of Ohio State by 15, win the Big 10 and play in the CFP before the season, I would have laughed in their face. Well here we are now, and all of that stuff is true. What a season.

And at number one, this is a personal feat for me, I finished my first full marathon this year. I have been working up to that distance for awhile. I have been training for longer distances for a long time. I actually had one planned for the summer, but I got injured. I was devastated when the doctor told me I couldn't run that race. But instead of wallowing, I amped up my training after I healed. I then signed up, along with my buddy Kirk, for a trail marathon(Kirk did a 50k). And the day of the race came and I was nervous as hell. It was a looped race, so I knew I would have my own personal aid stations, but still, nerves were high. It got bad enough that I wanted to quit after 18 miles. I felt awful. But the great people involved with the STL Track Club calmed me down, helped me get over the pain and frustration, gave me some sugar and I went back out for that final loop. As I got closer and closer to the finish line, my emotions took over. I could not believe that I was about to finish a full marathon. I was going to do something that seemed impossible a decade before. And now I have already signed up for a few other marathons. I am returning to run the same marathon in October of 2022, but I may up it to a 50k, who knows. But the fact that I ran a full marathon, that I finished it, that I had the support of Kirk and the STL Track Club and that I am contemplating doing more of them, that is an achievement I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Okay, that wraps up my best of 2021 lists. I love doing these lists and I would love to hear from the readers about some of their favorite things in 2021. Have a good and safe Holiday and a Happy New Year.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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